For today’s prompt, write a time out poem. There are moments in my life that I wish I could take a time out. For instance, it would’ve been nice earlier this year when I had pneumonia, but life and work keeps chugging along. But there’s always a chance to take time outs in poetry if you dare. So dare to write a time out poem (or two) today.
Robert Lee Brewer's Original Post
Time Out!
ReplyDeleteThe dishes need washed
laundry needs done
house needs cleaned
litter boxes - the bins of
eternal stink - need cleaned.
The car needs to go to the garage
have to call the plumber
get cats to the vet
and the bills need paid!
I sit at my little desk
sorting bills - setting out
stamps and return address labels...
then I look up out the window
where the wind gently moves
the emerald green leaves highlighted
by the sun that shines through them.
Birds and squirrels run and play
eat bugs and berries that have fallen
to the ground. A cat sleeps in the
middle of the yard and I find myself
wishing I was that cat with nothing
to do but sleep in the sun while
birds and squirrels feel safe enough
to play and eat around it.
But there is no time for me to even
enjoy this short time out and I turn
my attention back to the bills and work.
I DEFINITELY need that kind of time out!
DeleteI loved the peaceful interchange. It was like watching a movie or listening to a symphony where the music get big and dramatic and suddenly lowers to a peaceful level. Terrific!!!
DeleteWell said!
DeleteTIME OUT
ReplyDeletea villanelle
I’m sitting here and here’s what it’s about.
I didn’t do one thing that’s bad, I swear!
Daddy’s gone and put me in time out
He got so mad, all red with screams and shouts
just because I went and cut my hair.
I’m sitting here and here’s what it’s about.
I would not ever eat a brussel sprout
and gave my starving dog all of my share.
Daddy’s gone and put me in time out
Daddy says I’m always acting out
just cuz toys need to be repaired.
I’m sitting here and here’s what it’s about.
I only thought that it was turnabout
To pour perfume all over Bonnie’s hair.
Daddy’s gone and put me in time out
Now I can’t play so I’ll just sit and pout
I wasn’t bad, it really isn’t fair
I’m sitting here and here’s what it’s about.
Daddy’s gone and put me in time out.
omg! too funny! had me chuckling from start to end :-)
DeleteGreat Villanelle!! I loved how you incorporate the theme into it that way. At least I wasn't a poopyhead today. LMBO!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in my traveling years
ReplyDeleteI wished I'd had more time out to visit my kids
I tried taking them with me
just one at a time
Brian lasted longest
through cherries, beans and tomatoes.
He made himself a bundle that year
Having no expenditures.
He saved every last red cent
he lived in a tent because he wanted to
He wanted to rough it
he kept a journal for 88 days,
88 days of 88 ways to make money
He and his buddy Sean
Mark didn't feel like coming along
He decided to go next year when
he saw Brian's "bundle" of cash
over $500 was his take home pay.
The boy said he didn't come along to play!
But I always missed the rest of the kids.
Arlene's was the shortest stay of all
We were all living in a tent that year
and the second night out she wet us down
You can guess it was quite the mess.
She was happy to get the $10 she'd made
and be home again.
ah what great memories. I remember how determined Brian was to hang in there and make some real money of his own. happy times but tough living. very descriptive and visual to the reader.
DeleteDid Lori go? And $500 was a lot of money in those days LOL.
DeleteThe Sort-of Sonnet about my unexpected time out:
ReplyDeletePanic, wishing hours of respite away from meal fumes.
Nothing of it, yet in the alley of life sickness waits.
Like wild animals, friends of fear smell something new blooming.
Gnawing infection, worming through my exhausted weight.
"Something is wrong," my refrain, "something is wrong," and go on.
It's the standing, it's the hiking, roller skating, maybe?
I never miss, for worth is at stake, yet I should be gone.
Stabs through my back, slumping over counter. "I'm just a bit achy."
Flower child next room over, "stay home, Abigail" I don't.
I drive, intent on letting inspiration and sweat flow.
I pull off, blood unsettles me. Will I break in half? Nope.
I drive, half panicking towards the hospital. One person knows.
Good news! I am not dying, yet. But I should have went sooner.
Fever still high, im staying home, writing humor.
The Sort-of Sonnet about my unexpected time out:
ReplyDeletePanic, wishing hours of respite away from meal fumes.
Nothing of it, yet in the alley of life sickness waits.
Like wild animals, friends of fear smell something new blooming.
Gnawing infection, worming through my exhausted weight.
"Something is wrong," my refrain, "something is wrong," and go on.
It's the standing, it's the hiking, roller skating, maybe?
I never miss, for worth is at stake, yet I should be gone.
Stabs through my back, slumping over counter. "I'm just a bit achy."
Flower child next room over, "stay home, Abigail" I don't.
I drive, intent on letting inspiration and sweat flow.
I pull off, blood unsettles me. Will I break in half? Nope.
I drive, half panicking towards the hospital. One person knows.
Good news! I am not dying, yet. But I should have went sooner.
Fever still high, im staying home, writing humor.
Temporary Avoidance Syndrome
ReplyDeleteDecades ago I sang in noisy bars
a couple times a month
four forty-minute sets
songs of my own construction.
Between sets, for
15 minutes, I'd hide
outside in the car
or in the restroom stall
to think or read a book
too shy too introverted
needing to gather
my strength
to navigate the next set
and during each song
break the social contract
take off the daily mask
Time Out
ReplyDelete1.
Sit quietly and think about what you did!
You’re two. All you know is
you want to play
with your mother’s lipstick
It looks so pretty
on the wall
2.
The game is getting wild, teams trade
the ball, point for point
Players exhausted though they won’t admit it
Coach calls time out
sends in the subs
breaks the rhythm
and your team wins
3.
You’ve been in school all you life
as long as you can remember
from preschool to high school
and now you’ve earned a two-year degree
It’s time to take a break
time out before the rest of your life
find a job, a simple job, while you try
to figure out what you really want to do
and who you are, anyway
4.
You breathe in
You breathe out
You sit, still,
empty your mind
Thoughts pass
Let them go
Ten minutes in the morning
Ten minutes at night
You breathe out stress
You breathe in peace
5.
You love your children
even when they squabble
play their music too loud for you
spend too many hours in make-believe mayhem
You give them the gift
they are too young to appreciate –
Time Out!
©Priscilla Anne Tennant Herrington