Now see what you have wished upon us!

Image by Vicki Nunn from Pixabay

Now see what you have wished upon us!

And the red looked pretty upon the white snow,

and she thought to herself,

would that I had a child.

I will have a child, even if it is a hedgehog.

If all the pigeons in this field were turned to sheep and belonged to me,

as white as snow,

if all this water was turned into wine and belonged to me,

as red as blood,

call for a kingdom, for gold, pearls, rubies, diamonds,

ask for a dress the color of the moon,

ask for

a black pudding,

as black as the wood of the window-frame,

for princely garments and wealth untold,

as bright and shining as the sun.

GloPoWriMo Day 6 - the power of "if"

This is a found poem. Here are the fairy tales I used: 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/042.txt

Donkey Skin: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/perrault11.html

The Ridiculous Wishes: http://www.longlongtimeago.com/once-upon-a-time/fairytales/the-fairy-tales-of-charles-perrault/the-ridiculous-wishes/

The Best Wish: https://fairytalez.com/the-best-wish-the-story-of-three-brothers-and-an-angel/ 

Hans-My-Hedgehog: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm108.html

How to Raise a Baby Alligator

Image by sven kopping from Pixabay

How to Raise a Baby Alligator

Baby alligators are much like the babies of any species

Martha, my dear

cute, little and seemingly helpless

Though I spend my days in conversation, please

It is illegal in all states to release a pet alligator into the wild

Remember me

Any pet can show aggression; be prepared and cautious at all times

Martha, my love

If you're having difficulty with your alligator, contact your local wildlife authority for assistance.

Don't forget me

Thick rubber bands can be placed around the alligator's jaws

Martha, my dear

Alligators can live in captivity for more than 50 years

Hold your head up

Survival instincts cause alligators to view humans as a threat

You silly girl

and possible dinner option

Look what you've done

a constant battle against 100 million years of evolutionary programming

When you

add rats and rabbits to the menu

Find yourself in the thick of it

reaching an adult length of 4 to 7 feet

Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you

Unable to resist temptation

Silly girl

the Caimans are smaller, but more aggressive

Take a good look around you

Create an enclosure for your alligator

Take a good look; you're bound to see

Use the lights to mimic the seasons

That you and me

Offer food at the same time every day

Were meant to be

Use a different routine

For each other

getting ready to feed

Silly girl

you definitely don't want them to confuse the two

Hold your hand out

they have to be removed eventually

You silly girl

These can be purchased frozen from a reptile house

See what you've done

but must be completely thawed before

When you

mice pinkies, cricket and earthworms

Find…

GloPoWriMo Day 5 - lines taken from an outside text, lines that oppose each other

This is a found poem. I used alternating lines of:

How to Raise a Baby Alligator

and

Martha, My Dear by The Beatles

Peacock in Repose

Image by pixel2013 from Pixabay

Peacock in Repose

I keep sitting here,

waiting.

There is nothing else to do.

Does it look to you

like I am resting?

I didn’t choose these wings or these feathers.

I was bewitched into walking on my hands

long ago.

I have no cravings.

I can not stomach human food.

All I ever think of these days

are those apples.

Red as sin.

GloPoWriMo Day 4 - a sad poem

The Ghost Tree

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

The Ghost Tree

Snow comes to mind first

when the wind picks up the flowers.

Japan, though neither one of us has been.

A child is sitting in the tree.

Time has frozen this image.

You are lying in a hammock,

your feet towards the ghost tree.

Red toenails.

No need to close the eyes any more.

There is nothing to distract you,

no new images to interfere.

You can now see the blue sky clearly.

And since we are there, let’s throw in a rainbow or two.

Maybe an eagle is flying over,

or a pheasant.

In my world colours are not as vivid

as they used to be.

Darkness is coming.

Your darkness.

In my world the child is a man now

and they cut the cherry tree a few years ago.

I still have to rely on cold facts

and what is or isn’t there.

Darkness is coming and, once it does,

I will have blue skies and eagles

and a cherry tree on my threshold.

GloPoWriMo Day 3 - a story that unfolds over an appreciable length of time

Was It Us?

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Was It Us?

They blamed it on the wind,

the usual suspect.

It was caught at the crime scene

the next morning.

The wind, of course, said nothing and

there were no other witnesses.

Yet, everyone knew this made no sense.

The crime was too cold, too calculated.

The cut was too neat.

I suppose we will never know who killed the tree.

Was it us?

Was it all of us?

GloPoWriMo Day 2 - Ending on a question

How to Keep Your Pen Happy

Photo Credit: Daniel Ari Friedman Flickr via Compfight cc

  It needs                                    regular exercise.
Otherwise, its arteries will clog, which can lead to
          erratic language and lame simile.
Take your pen for a brisk walk                      three times a day.
                                                                          Let it run.
        Make sure its diet is healthy.
Pens are carnivores, so please provide            plenty of carnage and gore.
Chewing at bones will keep their teeth                              sharp.
                 Do not trim their nails.
  Their claws are deadly, but they bleed                      easily.
      Once the bleeding starts,                                   it can't be stopped.
                   There will be smudges.

                                                                  Your pen is nocturnal.
It might ignore you during the day, but it will seek your companionship                  at night.





GloPoWriMo Day 1 - Instruction Manual

Self Portrait as Lady Macbeth

John Singer Sargent [Public domain]

Self Portrait as Lady Macbeth

I never volunteered for this job. I was simply left behind as the armies marched on. I had too much time on my hands and idle hands are the devil’s workshop, so here I am. I go down every night and work in this minefield. Cleaning is a job like any other. Someone has to do it. Someone needs to fix everything that’s broken and a lot of things are broken down here. I never could sleep well anyway and I am afraid of the dark, so I wait for the day to come. Then I rest for a while. Nor do I mind this broken proze. Let’s leave the pentameter to heroes. I will not be remembered as a hero, but I do hope they will remember me as someone who was willing to get her hands dirty.  

GloPoWriMo Early Bird Prompt - a poetic self portrait in the guise of a historical or mythical figure