waiting for life to give me a break to catch up
Jennifer Brea had encephalomyelitis
She was examined by the best and brightest
She was told that anxiety was the cause
These kinds of mistake should give us pause.
Heide Ferrer got tremors and vibrations
Told it was depression, imagine her frustrations.
She took her own life, long covid is now supposed
Another disease dismissed, not diagnosed.
Alison McCabe was in severe pain
She was told it was the flu, so why complain
But it was the side effect of iron infusion
It was the doctor, not her, who had the delusion
There are other cases, if you search you will find
There's a catch all basin of "all in your mind"
some patients even accused of seeking attention.
If docs don't know, maybe best course is abstention.
The process of elimination can be a dead end
If you assume its mental, patient may not mend.
But don't make the mind the dumping ground
For every mystery not yet found.
Wiggling worm
on my hook,
ready to catch
the big fish.
I cast my line
and bide my time
on the riverbank
so quiet and still.
I feel a tug,
my line grows taut.
I think I’ve snagged
the big one.
I pull and reel
with all my might.
I know it’s huge—
the biggest fish
I’ve ever caught!
I start to struggle,
begging,
“Please don’t get away!”
I pull and tug,
then yank the pole.
I pray my line
won’t break.
With one last tug,
the battle is done.
I pull in my catch—
only to find
a smelly old boot
dangling from my hook!
fishing
drop a line
use proper bait
drag set rod flexed line taut
tree limb
trash collector
old hat becomes catch all
bird nests and ribbons
I rented a child's inflatable watercraft
(in other words, a rubber raft)
and ran 'cross rocks broken by God's hand
(in other words, the sand)
to catch the moon's ocean tidal slave
(in other words, a wave).
That's the end of my metaphorical allegory
(in other words, my story).
A paradox is an entryway~
one that disappears the moment you walk through it;
somehow, though, you still end up
on the other side.
It is a question answering itself
by refusing to answer~
a mirror that reflects
only the act of looking.
Call it truth wearing its coat inside out,
logic tying its own shoelaces together,
hiding meaning in the very place
it claims cannot exist.
And the strangest part:
the more you try to solve a paradox,
the more it solves you.
We need to talk => We're doing great
This can't wait => This is not the time
Please do the dishes => Rest, your weary soul
The roof is leaking => Go back to bed
Let's leave at seven => It's half-past nine
Time to go, right now => Let's stay a little longer
Don't eat the last one => I just took a nibble
That shirt is awful => It's bold and beautiful
Act your age => Which one, yours or mine?
You've told that joke before => Yeah, but you missed the punchline
You should know better => Yet here we are
Don't push your luck => I dice with reality
Enough is enough => Just one more chance
Perhaps you're wrong => I'm mostly right, aren't I
We must be careful => We'll be alright
Are we there yet => All in good time
We're lost, aren't we => We're exploring alternatives
You missed the point => I found a better one
That's impossible => That's never stopped me
Don't make a scene => Then, why is everyone pretending?
The glass is half empty => Great, there's room for more
I'm leaving => Please, not now, surely
Are you listening => Just perfectly fine
I hear you loud and clear => I'm sorry, what was that?
Yes, exactly => It's selective my dear
a quick leap, a pounce,
her paws catch a gentle bird
my eyes with tears flounce.
call me at four o’clock she said
I have depression
I will not answer until four
but I am eager to hear from you
We need to catch up!
Sure, I think.
That is only seven hours from now.
I eat breakfast, lunch, take a nap.
Set the timer for 3:55.
Bathroom quickie.
At precisely four o’clock I dial.
4:01 dial
4:02 dial
4:03 dial.
in my phone it says call cancelled under each call
I am wondering if she is still eager to catch up?
Beware the catch 22
You're damned if you don't, and damned if you do.
Take a drug so cancer won't restart
Side effects give you a congestive heart
Thin the blood so a stroke won't begin,
Internal bleeding and you just can't win.
I got a wolf by the ears
Can't bite me yet, but I'm shedding tears.
When I let go, he'll take a bite
I'm losing my grip, I'm turning white.
You're sorry for those single Mothers
Didn't have husbands, just "significant others"
So you subsidize them with taxpayer billions:
Now more on welfare, about six millions.
You need the cops to pursue a story, to prove you're not mad
But the story is extreme, so no investigation will be had.
Between a rock and a hard place, you're stuck in a bind
I don't blame you for going out of your mind.
You need experience to get a job, but there's a Catch22
Without a job, can't get experience, so what can you do?
Life writes riddles that are hard to circumvent
The path you thought was straight was crooked and bent.
Turn to the left and the trouble grows,
Turn to the right and the same wind blows.
So you laugh a little, though you really feel blue:
That's the strange world of Catch-22.
To catch up with you in time
That would be a lovely bonus
Not just for my tiny mind
But for both of us
Living over times again
It’s my secret combination
Riding on the midday train
To the Aylesbury station
Then approach a taxi stand
Weston Turville I shall say
To Wendover road ahead
Then to 16 Marroway
And the road’s as long as never
It was prior to this ride
You would be surprised how clever
I can travel back in time…
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
I’m the moth to your flame, I can’t stay away
Whenever you’re not here, the world turns gray
I’m hopelessly devoted and now it’s time to pray
Your smile radiates like a diamond in the sun
Your gaze makes me feel like I’ve already won
You shot through my heart with an unloaded gun
You’ve got me on my knees like an old sinning nun
If heaven was a place, I’d be there with you
My halo may be crooked but my heart is true
I’m tragically tethered to the thought of us two
You’re my favorite confession, my sweetest taboo
I feel like a ghost that’s lost in your garden
Yet I’m haunted by you so grant me a pardon
Just promise me that when the sun goes down
You’ll still catch me before I hit the ground..
“You want the moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.”
~ the character George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life,
"Over the earth's eternal ages,
youths endeavor to catch the moon,
not heeding the words of sages
(it's best that they don't learn too soon) -
no one catches the wind or moon."
~ quote by the poet
Once, I promised you I would lasso the moon,
when love's pure magic could make anything true,
and easy as a smiling string-tied balloon,
but when my old heart floats and I think of you,
how we never knew 'twould be over so soon,
and after life's journey and all we've been through,
can you still remember the sweet, buoyant feel
when we were sixteen and all dreams were real?
Writing special love you note
Setting out milk and Santa’s favourite cookies
Plan staying up till midnight
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
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