I Finally Get It.
I'm Incredibly Slow.
It's What You Remember!
No Time But The Past!
Distorted, Melting Into
Puddles, Soon:
Well, Personally... Right?
Not The Way I
Remember.
And Some Of Them Are:
Spiky, Shameless, The
Emporium Unashamed...
Primal Ambition For
Future Attendance...
But NOT!!!
How We See It
Anymore.
I Think.
-Gray Squirrel
07-29-2026
Written: July 22, 2026 for a contest sponsored by Brian Strand
************
We sit at this emporium
on the outskirts of the oasis;
I watch you
while your eyes inhabit the moon.
Tell me—what forgotten tide
is tugging at your silence?
mine,
or the phantom
wearing your heartbeat,
as cedar smoke cleaves to your coat?
The night offers
no reply.
Every moonrise
it buttons brief memories, tight as cold stone,
as dew phosphoresces on iron rails
meanwhile,
your discarded book drinks darkness...
Only the window holds our
two reflections, never touching.
So—
I am living on your borrowed light,
gathering myself from evanishing warmth
your gaze forgets to retain—
silver by sepulchral slate piece,
salt whitening the shoreline.
I become a constellation
linking stars and tears,
luminous enough to guide the lost.
Yet still, the silver rim
of your cup remains.
It proves even borrowed moons
leave tides behind,
washing over the stagnant coffee left between us.
Jam or custard-centred is a matter of preference.
Under the counter lights, the many delights beg—
Slathered in cream is a bonus to consider.
There’s no greater buzz than entering the emporium.
Doughnuts have always been my emotional crutch
Ever since my college days, when cramming for exams.
Slipping sugary treats into my school satchel;
Soggy, healthy whole-wheat sandwiches were ignored.
Even during pregnancy, my craving intensified.
Recreating my one secret indulgence always flopped.
The small corner bakery still serves the best temptations—
Shedding the pounds on my hips: a lost cause.
Bodybuilding Crave
Fitness at its best
Proportion put to the test
Weights in uplift
Intensity Count
Flex to pose
Artistic suppose
Muscle must have a feed
Nutrition to proceed
Exercise transforming into condition
Shaping in precision
Muscle will not develop alone
Determination full blown
Results to achieve
Muscle to receive
Before to transformation
Theory of Muscle Evolution
n Earnest's evocative Emporium
there's odds ends a whatnot or two
or they can do a brickbat
novelty knick-knack bugaboo
all nice and bright as a button
altho' they're twice as kitsch
odd oddments and sodments
curious curios contained in a niche
as well as folderol and bric-a-brac
brought from across the border
but the house specialty is really
antiques made to order
Q: Who is the current Chief of Staff?
A: The resident President.
Q: What is an old, lame, deaf, half-blind Sherlock Holmes?
A: A defective detective.
Q: Who is the magician who ate all the pasta when no one was looking?
A: The linguini Houdini.
Q: What is a day in the life depiction of the First Family on view in the rotunda of the White House?
A: An Obama diorama.
Q: What is a doctor who operates on a big fish to remove the roe?
A: A sturgeon surgeon.
Q: What disease did the star of "Veep" get from drinking unbottled water when she was in India?
A: Julia Louis-Dreyfus typhus.
Q: What is a debutante dance for snakes, alligators, etc.?
A: A reptilian cotillion.
Q: How do people in third-world countries view America's "open door" policy?
A: As an immigration invitation.
Q: Selfridge's was a fine example of what kind of department store?
A: A Victorian emporium.
Q: Where would you be if you found yourself trapped between this world and another?
A: In dimension suspension.
Written: May 12, 2025, for contest by: Tania Kitchin
*******************
spring arrives shortly
brings emporium of blooms~
earth drapes in bright hues
Ponder the old pestles and mortars
used at times in apothecaries,
older drug emporium quarters.
Some of the porous surface was shared
by grinding both mortar and pestle
ending up in medicines prepared.
Do today's microplastics alarm you?
Minute particles endanger us all;
microwavable repercussions? Whew!
Written: October 23, 2023,
_____________________________________
A staunch surrender in a twilight embrace.
My mind is a hammock, swaying in the space.
Dictated dream and lingering shadow.
Petal radiance with an evanescent shallow.
A passion fragrance, an aroma elixir.
A dulcet mellifluous flavor floods flicker
My heart's cynosure, an angelic sanitorium.
With lissome poise, a sublime emporium.
In the depths of my soul, a radiance glows,
Scattering impressions as the wind blows.
Reminisce on the whispers of crumpled stars,
Silently sprinkled across the night's memoirs.
Emollient whispers of a forbidden dance,
Furtive and fleeting, a forbidden glance.
I fear the allure of this elixir spell,
Yet the felicity it brings, I cannot quell.
The flavor of surrender, fraught with desire,
A taste of ecstasy, a blazing fire.
Akin to fugacity, it lingers on my tongue,
A fleeting moment, yet forever young.
The stock of the rifle is hand-selected walnut.
I dust a beautiful porcelain lady.
My Nikon needs to be taken out of its case
like a coal black memory.
I pick up a quartz crystal,
put it to my eye
don't know why.
I drive out at night
with no aim or destination.
I go to the Oriental grocery emporium.
Cooking into the unknown
is my space travel.
These things I do are tramlines,
These things I do are rituals
for the safe-side of my mind.
Stop to shop on my posh Shop
Please make a quick stop
to visit my posh shop.
Walk in ! Be free to shop !
My variety store
containing seven floors.
Welcome ! Choose and explore.
Hunt dress as your treasure
Sale of Top, Skirt and Trouser.
Buy ! To sell : My pleasure.
Get flavour, nice nascent
strong and mild, both descent
Arrived Perfumes and Scent.
Take posy of flowers.
Warm feelings to shower.
Good wishes to embower.
Drink strong wine, or whisky
Go drowsy or tipsy.
though a bit risky.
This is emporium.
Buy aquarium,
also terrarium.
Perfect place to bring
lover, to choose ring
for coming wedding !
Payment never to count !
Fifty percent Discount.
Profit on your account.
THE TERRARIUM
For my tantalizing terrarium
brought pilea, peperomia and palm,
selecting from emporium.
Precious plants are growing faster
inside my bottle of water.
Shining in sheen and lustre.
Exuberant bottle greenery.
Me caring being miminy-piminy.
Dilated time extends shuttle to projectile velocity
Accelerated approach shatters tachometer
Forcecul thrust spurs blob star pulp blur galaxies
Taken to religion's reason, infinity honourer
Surveying never discover wonder, God's audacity
Latent edges beckon an awakened explorer
Unbound compounds cast carbon vast possiblity
Timorous molecules amplify into emporium
Glimmer of pierced distance with quicker impulse
Emptying Earth certainty, pours fervid chaos
Ten-dimensional matrix comprises dots illustrious
Strings' swollen muster brings forth obvious
13th December
- DAFT SLIT GETS -
(immaculate)
I spent my day shopping for rubies
Far East posting covert listing
Mr Patwari’s emporium
Assistants ever so obliging
Hexagonal set quaintly bulbous
does cheapen the overall effect
Disappointedly I turn aside
Mr Patwari, whose tone inflect
Secretly, soft whispers in my ear
Channels my movements in close quarter
Senses piqued my curiosity
Astute, knowledgeable exporter
Silk, flame red curtains wafted aside
Following, expectantly hopeful
Reveals vast interior workshop
He beckons, vocally boastful
Appraising the proffered brilliance
Rubies of every size mesmerised
Now questioningly, my eyes met his
Such rarity I identified
Sipping tea with Mr Patwari
Conviviality established
Revealed my subversive intentions
Slowly the smile on his face vanished
Drugged, stifling heat consumed
in disorientated stupor
Divested of my hat, shoes and purse
I retrieved my pocket computer
Bearings noted, in a concrete cell
Frantically, I connect display
Made contact and communicated
the district with all I could convey
Alerts Financial Action Task Force
Identified illegal rubies
Smuggling network last link confirmed
Rescued, resumes usual duties
Slaphappy monkeys swinging from trees to trees
Cartwheeling giraffes heads nodding in the breeze
Burly sea lions chasing sperm whales in the seas
A menagerie of animals dancing as they please
Bushmen collecting emporium honey bees,
Whistling cardinals chasing pretty chickadees,
Creatures playing pinnacle, cards upon their knees
Greedy gorillas wondering if their life’s carefree.
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