Written for Cinquain Poetry Prompt #25.
Our inspiration word is “fire”.
This is my mirror cinquain.
Tag: Work
Four By Four
Today in Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday post
entitled ‘Work Harder Day’, he has asked us to
write about a song that includes the words
work or hard. Bonus points for using both!
Written for Song Lyric Sunday, here’s my response.
I Hated That Job Anyway
Written for Ovi Poetry Challenge 60.
‘Haste’ is our inspiration. Here’s my Ovi.
Haste makes waste, I’ve heard it said
Why get up? I’ll stay in bed
It’s August! The office is dead
Good day to sleep in
Push the snooze, catch more ZZ’s
How I wish I could make time freeze
Loll around doing as I please
I’m just so very tired
Phone is ringing off the hook
Guess I should go take a look
But instead I throw a book
My boss left a message
You forgot about the meeting
Future customer was seething
It’s too late now, he is leaving
You blew it, pal
Do not bother coming back
Forget your stuff; someone will pack
And one more thing, you’re fired Jack
Think I’ll catch forty winks
NAR©2024
https://ronovanwrites.com/2024/08/07/ovi-poetry-challenge-60-haste-is-your-inspiration/
This is “I’m So Tired” by the Beatles
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Tall Ships
This is The Unicorn Challenge.
Our objective: to be creative in
250 words or less, prompted by
the photo below. This is my story.
Battery Park. The glittering lights of tall ships parading up the Hudson River. New York at its brightest. The Big Apple – excitement and energy down to its core.
So how the hell did I end up in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, hopelessly in love with my Amish husband Abel, married for four years with three kids and twins on the way?
Good old revenge. I wouldn’t play ball with my boss so instead of being assigned to photograph the tall ships in New York Harbor, I was banished for a month to cover the “Plain People’s” Summer County Fair.
What I thought was going to be a nightmare was a delicious surprise. When the handsome, lusty Abel Jansen and I locked eyes, it was “Goed gevoel” – a “good feeling” from head to toe and all parts in between.
Being accepted into the Amish community, let alone marrying, is difficult but we had a few things going for us. I was a city girl, not afraid of getting my hands dirty. We were mature. Most Amish were married before age 20; Abel and I were both 26.
But the clincher was the serendipity attached to my name …. Menno Jakob.
The most revered men among the Amish were Menno Simons and Jakob Ammann. The elders were convinced I was descended from them when I was actually an Italian Jew from Canarsie! Who was I to argue?
Abel was my tall ship and I was his splash of Manhattan sparkle. Nothing else mattered.
NAR©2024
250 Words
This is “Sailing” by Christopher Cross
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
UNDER THE BAEL TREE
Kabir and Deepak sat under a bael tree taking a break from the heat of the afternoon sun. They shared an aloo toast sandwich while keeping watch over their rickshaws, Deepak smiling and contented, Kabir scowling and dejected.
“What is your problem, Kabir?” asked Deepak. “You never seem happy nor do you have anything cheerful to say. You do not talk about your children and how they are doing in school nor do you discuss how things are with your wife.”
“We are struggling day after day, Deepak. Nothing positive ever happens. There are bills and rent to pay. Now my wife just told me she is expecting another child!”
“Congratulations, my friend! Another child! How can you say nothing positive ever happens? This is a blessing for you and your wife!”
“You think so, Deepak, when we can barely feed the three children we already have? Now my wife will be unable to work and I will be the only wage earner in the family. My pockets are empty and I will have to work even more hours!”
The two men ate in silence for a while, then Deepak spoke. “Kabir, we have known each other all our lives. We are like brothers so I am going to speak plainly to you. How we greet each new day shows clearly on our faces. If you are negative and always feel you deserve more in life, that is the first thing people see. When your wife told you she was expecting a baby, did you embrace her and tell her how happy you were? Did you share this joy with your other children? I can see by the look on your face that you did not. Why, Kabir?”
Kabir hesitated for a moment. “Deepak, it’s true we are like brothers but you have never had to scrimp and save for the things in your life. Your children are happy and do well in school while mine are sullen. Your wife is content and radiates joy while mine is depressed. Do not try to tell me we are the same when we have been dealt a very different lot in life.”
At this Deepak became angry. “Kabir, you are a fool! Do you think I haven’t had to work for what I have? How our children grow and behave is a direct reflection of us and how we behave. How our wives feel is directly based on how we feel. If we are sullen, our home will be bleak and if we are optimistic, our home will be cheerful. Together my wife and I pledge to make the best of every day. Nothing good comes without effort.”
Having said that, Deepak stood to leave. “Kabir, it is never too late. You still have time to turn things around. May your life always be full and blessed and may your rickshaw … and your pockets … never be empty.”
Kabir sat alone under the bael tree thinking what a camel’s ass he had been. The passengers will still be here one hour from now; first he needed to go home and embrace his wife.
NAR © 2023
The Elephant's Trunk 