Released, But. . .

It’s Quadrille Monday again at the dVerse Poets Pub; time to create a 44-word poem. This week, we’re asked to create a poem using the word “Ash” or some word that incorporates it.

Thanks to Sarah for hosting and getting us started.

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Released, But…

Soon we’ll all be gone,
vanished; all of us,
everywhere.

But for now,
while we wait
—away from home
and hours from sleep,
lost and alone at midnight—
all we can be is ash, only ash,
released; waiting to be scattered.

Soon. Soon enough.

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dVerse Poets Pub
Quadrille Monday #138
~ Ash ~
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A Sevenling

Sevenling (they always shouted)  *

They always shouted at him:
“On your mark! Get set! GO!”
but he could never find his mark.

Once upon a time he decided
to live happily ever after.
He finished at the starting line.

He’d run a human’s race.

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*Not familiar with the Sevenling form? You can read all about it HERE.
Fair Warning: Addictive
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Miz Quickly’s Octoberfest #18
~ beginning ~
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This Just In:

Tried & Failed at 4AM

Television’s not a cure for insomnia.

All it’s ever been is double-talk.
Why even bother turning it on?
They’re just trying to sell something.

But that blonde’s a real hottie.
Is this news or a commercial?
Wait. Wait. Wait a minute. What?

It’s way too early for this.
Maybe it’ll all make sense later.
I’ll just keep my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile: Blah blah. Blah blah blah…

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A Twofer:
Miz Quickly’s Octoberfest #16/17
~ pay attention ~
And
Six Word Saturday
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If Only

(I’ll be on the road today, so I’m resurrecting this one just to keep Miz Quickly off my back.)

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If Only

If only he had wings, or even if he
could only imagine having wings
—and they wouldn’t even have to be
real wings—
                       If he could only have
even imaginary wings, he was sure
he could probably convince himself
that his fall wasn’t a fall but flight

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Miz Quickly’s Octoberfest #15
~ flippin the bird ~
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The Greater Loss

The Greater Loss

There I was again in that same ruined acropolis of
semisleep at almost 4AM, unable to either breathe
easily or drift away, stymied by both my isolation
and my total lack of vision.
                                                 There I was without her;
silent; adrift in nothingness, lost in my cell’s darkness
without a clue, without a hope, without a map or even
a sense of direction.
                                     And even singing to myself
my usual lullabies, chanting my regular incantations,
even the made-up ones, was useless; not even the
usually comforting comforter would comfort me.

Nothing would flip the invisible switch; nothing
would put an end to the sad, interminable wait for
whatever I had fooled myself into expecting, given
the history of what I usually fail to create.
                                                                         And even
if I could, even if I could somehow capture bliss
—or even if I could only sleep—none of it would matter
without her here to share it with me tonight.

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dVerse Poets
Open Link Night #301
~ Open Link – LIVE ~
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The Drive-By

The Drive-By

A busy day, after the fire
at the homeless encampment,
attempting to salvage the salvaged.
No one knows how it started.
Only the homeless care.

Jimmy can remember all the fine homes
in all the fine towns he’s ever lived,
each one finer than the last.
He reads the paper every morning;
doesn’t look out the limousine’s window.

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Miz Quickly’s Octoberfest #14
~ 2×5 Same / Different ~
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Yeah, It’s Always. . .

It’s not a good sign
when Friday the 13th
falls on a Wednesday

But at least it’s Wednesday, so it’s
coffee all day long, maybe even
a cup after dinner – or a mugful:
half a mug of coffee, half a mug of
your favorite liquor to help you sleep.

Sometimes it goes on forever:
They call it Retirement Wednesday,
but it might as well be ‘Notherday or
Ummday or Zzzday: a good day,
always more laid back than productive.

In Germany, it’s Mittwoch (‘Midweek’)
but it’s only mid-week here if you
bother looking at a calendar.

Tomorrow’s a brand-new day
—a brand-new Wednesday—
Wednesday. Tomorrow. Wednesday.

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Miz Quickly’s Octoberfest #13
~ Wednesday ~
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Comfy Cage

Comfy Cage

Everybody knows
how I used to be
before we met.

So it’s not just me
saying thank you.

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Tuesday Twiglet #248
~ things were feral ~
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Legacy

Legacy

Before he disappeared forever
the real Albion Moonlight
gave me an alto sax.

I didn’t play the alto; hadn’t
ever even held a horn; but
it was a Moonlight gift

and he knew what I wanted:
to morph into Charlie Parker
or maybe Ornette Coleman.

It didn’t work out that way but
I’ve still got my dreams and
every now and then

Moonlight comes to visit;
we break out the sax,
parade The Quarter.

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Miz Quickly’s Octoberfest #12
~ Horn ~
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A Peace Of Glass

My Beloved Sandra recently completed a multi-session Glass Arts Class at The Foundry associated with Lyndon State College & worked on a secret project, which she presented to me a couple of weeks ago & I finally got around to finagling its hanging chain & getting it mounted in Writing Room’s window.

As if it weren’t heavenly enough to look out & see my beautiful Vermont, now I get to look out through a piece of beautiful (& touchingly meaningful) artwork, created by the Love Of My Life.

Thank you, Dr. Stanley, for saving my life & salvaging what’s left of my Peacenik vibe.