Better dead than living,
Better terminated than throbbing,
Better left than held,
Better abandoned than acquired.
Better understand than love,
Better pouncing than dancing,
Better challenged than agitated,
Better hungry than satiated.
Better feline than canine,
Better violence than romance,
Better cunning than running,
Better punched than bunched.
Better sorry than safe,
Better thrown than bowed,
Better disturbed than serene,
Better abused than adored.
Better soiled than vowed,
Better cuffed than chatted,
Better rough than soft,
Better fire than freeze.
Better statued than tattooed,
Better chaos than calm,
Better broken than forgotten,
Better strange than ordinary.
Better… always better.
I rarely eat my breakfast out
But, as a special treat,
We took our guests to Effy’s,*
Hoping that we’d get a seat.
It’s half a block from where we live
And breakfast gets a crowd.
We took a chance, though, and lucked out.
(Reserving’s not allowed.)
Surprisingly, the outdoor spots
Were filled, despite the heat,
But in the room inside, we found
A cool and calm retreat.
A varied menu let us choose
From middle eastern meals
To pancakes, wraps and sandwiches,
All with their own appeals.
We ate, we drank, we chatted
In a pleasant atmosphere,
The buzz of fellow diners
Adding to the Sunday cheer.
A break from a routine
Can often bring about a smile
And a state of satisfaction,
Even if once in a while.
*Effy’s Café on the upper east side of Manhattan
The lightning flashed, the thunder crashed.
Back then in struck fear in me.
I was petrified, where could I hide,
Apart from that old oak tree?
And, knowing my luck, the tree could be struck
And I knew that I could too.
But, come what may, I could not walk away,
For under the tree stood you.
And, there in the rain, though I couldn’t explain,
I knew we were meant to meet.
We chatted a while and oh that smile
Somehow made my day complete.
A break in the weather; we left together.
That brief storm had changed my life.
Now we celebrate that chance first date.
Ten years we’ve been man and wife.
When lightning flashes and thunder crashes,
I’m not afraid anymore
Together we stand outside hand-in-hand
And give thanks to great god Thor.
In shadows deep, where silence grew,
I fought a battle, none ever knew,
The weight I bare, a heavy chain,
While smiles hid deep, the hidden pain,
They laughed and chatted, lost in the day,
oblivious to the demons in my way,
I wore a mask, crafted so bright,
yet the tears fell, softly into the night,
I cried for help in whispers faint,
But their backs turned, as if by fate,
A gentle plea, a grasping hand,
Yet they missed the signs, the need to understand,
Now the echos linger a haunting sound,
Of moments lost, of love untold
They stand in sorrow, crying when it's late
Wishing they had noticed,
Before it was fate.
You meet lots of people up there,
The Mater Hospital,
Bobby told me.
Bobby is my friend,
His hospital companion said
As he , Alan,
Left before him, Bobby,
Returning home
I'll pray for you,
He said too,
A Christian,
Bobby
Reported,
You meet all kinds of people up there
And he meant of course,
Boys and girls,
Men and women,
Doctors and nurses,
But he meant also
Rangers fans,
And protestants,
And Alan
Was
One of them,
A Christian too, to boot.
And over time,
Weeks of illness,
They chatted Wendy
And
I ndiaiadh an omlan,
Became friends
Bobby is my friend,
Alan said,
And Bobby was pleased.
Bobby, you see Alan,
Prays for you too
Not in a
Kneel -down -and -pray -before -God
Kinda thing
He plays much better Alan
He tells people
How
You promised
To pray for him
That
Is Bobby's prayer
And
Its a fantastic way to pray,
Isn't it just.
Get out of the rain.
It’s been so long since we chatted.
Let’s slow down and reconnect.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 3rd place 2026
We’re at my son’s house for the weekend.
The doorbell rings - who could it be?
The son of the previous owners,
In the neighborhood, hoping to see
And show off to his wife and her mother
The home he grew up in and missed.
“Could we see the backyard” he inquired.
“Please come in,” said my son. “I insist.”
So we showed them around and he noticed
All the changes, plus things still the same,
While we chatted and somehow they mentioned
Where they currently live, which became
Such a strange bit of chance to discover
That the place they reside’s half a mile
From the home where my son spent his childhood
And where we live (and have all this while).
Unexpected events sometimes happen
And although this is up for debate,
When a circumstance comes up like this one,
I believe it’s connected to fate.
I remember in days long gone
our neighborhood boys
scooping large fallen branches
from the backwoods’ trees
and fitting them together with rope,
finishing off their crudely constructed creations
with old used blankets atop
and anchored down with rocks.
Leaves and pine cones were decorations
for these tiny fortresses
behind which they hid with toy guns
to play out their cowboy fantasies.
Little girls preferred the cute private chambers
of their best friends,
where they chatted and sipped tea
from tiny tea cups
while munching on mom’s cookies.
There they could imagine the day
when little boys gave up forts
to make them queens of castles.
First,
I thought of you as the guy
I had always searched for.
We chatted daily,
and it felt like home to me.
You would write such easy,
great things for me.
And I –
I liked you, really.
And then it happened:
Our first talk.
I had to call you;
we talked about gaming together,
and yes,
we did that too.
The moment I heard your voice,
I came to the realisation
which I feel now all the time:
I want to hear your voice
now, every time.
Which is weird,
because I hate calling people.
It’s awkward if I don’t know
what to say.
The silence is awkward.
But not with you,
I have to say.
With you, silence is scary.
The quiet moments are haunting me;
they show me
how it will be when we hang up,
how it would be
without you.
And that makes me think:
I never want to lose you.
Your name was spoken,
overheard on a phone call.
I came to see you,
my friend from primary school;
clicked, chatted, like yesterday.
Sheba knew she was the cat’s meow
a tabby with a shapely bow
she twisted down the alley that night
knowing tom was hiding out of sight
tom was intrigued, she was a looker
her swishy tail was the final hooker
he followed her into the kitty bar
chatted her up; it was good so far
Sheba batted her eyelashes at this handsome Tom
She had been studying him; he was the bomb
Tried to act coy but did not do a very good job.
Suddenly ruining everything was her husband, Bob.
Tulips
The last time we chatted, it was tense
But nothing without you makes sense.
Its been a fall, since you set the standard high.
still remember when we met ,you still make me shy.
Oh my sweet darling you smelled of tulips.
Should I click the send button, tempting
But you seem happy ,not that I’m complaining.
I wont lie no one gets me like you
I would try to find another but who ?
Oh my sweet darling you smelled of tulips .
Truth is I think of you more than I should,
collision between our worlds, but your smile
you shop for roses now, not your style
Oh my sweet darling you smelled of tulips
Had lunch with a friend
And we sat in the shade
In a sidewalk arrangement
The restaurant made.
I live on the east side
And she on the west.
We meet to catch up
At each other’s request.
The corner was busy
And traffic zipped by.
With sirens and buses,
I’m not gonna lie,
The noisiness level
Was blaring and loud,
Plus bulldozers rolled
As pedestrians cowed.
Construction just added
More rat-a-tat-tats,
With shouts from the workers
In safety-type hats.
My friend and I chatted,
Our voices both raised,
Delighted to be there,
New Yorkers unfazed.
2025.04.08
Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive
Special treatments, at the RMIT building 51,
Where not only I have had so much fun.
But also having the bodily remedial therapy done.
I chatted and laughed with these young students.
What they did was part of their courses' curriculum.
They came up with a win-win situation,
Which they would provide massages at minimum cost,
To those who were willing to offer.
To be a live model, so the students could practice,
What they learned from their theories,
What they studied in their classes,
Into a real life performance.
I also being fortunate to have had
These two young and blubby personalities, Mary-Anne K and Indah D.
Giving me the massages,
To relieve all my aches, and loosen up my joints and muscles.
As many other students, they have heart of gold,
Helping people who have acute or chronic muscle pain.
They both installed beautiful long eyelashes,
Surround their eyes on the upper lids.
I found these amazing curve eyelashes,
Not only enhance their beauty,
But also to fan me if needed.
We were worlds apart, yet when words were selected
Something special happened, and we became elected
We chatted about our families, us in generalisation
Our works, our likes, our wants, to familiarisation
Next thing we knew, I, flight booked, nigh on 8000 miles
Upon landing at 'Ninoy' to be met with hundreds of smiles
McBlimey, I said to myself, is Eloisa amidst those faces
Even my eyes focusing in, struggling their radar traces
On the exiting from arrivals, I heard a sweet voice say
"James" as I turned around, my focus in smiling stay
Taxi pickup, hotel bound, with chitter chatter, we're sound
Week to week passing we're sweet, on Philippine ground
Intramuros, Batangas, Santa Rosa, and onto Lake Taal
Me loving Volcano's, we Tagaytay, looking down in thrall
Having seeing the aforementioned, to Manila we'd head back
So, so hard to leave this lush, and so hope there's no wrack
I'm now standing in the middle of the road, waving goodbye
She never turned, turnaround, we two, too emotional in cry
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