My functional parents loved us and each other.
I had all the perks of a stay at home mother.
At the age of five there were just two things to dread ~
the cowboy and gator that lived under my bed.
Army brat blues, poetry, song, freedom, love, dance,
guys and wearing denim in every circumstance
were the essence of me at fifteen on display.
Dad paid me ten dollars to wear a dress one day.
At thirty, I longed for down time with no stress tone.
I felt my life was a ‘get it done’ pressure zone.
Mom, executive assistant, homeowner, wife …
Day drowning grew my wishes to end the clock's strife.
Watch what you wish for is advice I did not take.
At fifty I lost the clock with a gained head break
that led to many trials for loved ones and me.
Bonded by faith, we learned all we could do and be.
My age will no longer be of concern to me
when I open the door and in walks seventy.
If I give it attention it might diminish
all that I believe I can both start and finish.
I brought the rent home
after a day of work in the heat.
The homeowner was gone.
His uncle who he took in
was yelling
I went away.
Clothes cluttered
the living room floor.
Sometimes I had to admit
to myself I felt this
was not a home to me.
Last night I searched
my laptop for images
of women once loved
and allowed my mind
to wander.
a wanderer
maybe that was who
I was meant to be
The moon looked in
the window while
the television in the living
room played the same thing.
Another housemate slept on the couch.
A manager asked if I could
come in on a day off.
I told him no to protect
my time and allow myself
to drive around and write.
He called it a hobby—
never read the books I wrote.
My books were kept on a shelf
above the dresser in my bedroom.
In my dreams another was born.
The Beauty Of Baseball Poetry Contest
Matt Caliri
A supposedly wide-open, empty street
A rubber ball, a plastic bat, and a real game.
Kids playing to the baseball beat
The diamond asphalt is just the same.
Lines are drawn, and teams are picked.
The pickup games are for bragging rights
Where emotions are high, and egos are nicked.
Some kids haven't reached their grown heights.
The bigger ones hit the longer ball
The little tots hit short liners that hit parked cars.
Homers hit homers over the wall
A neighbor’s house is seeing stars.
Foul balls find a garden bed
Where a stampede of kids thrashes the roses.
A homeowner is cussing and seeing red.
Today's game comes to an end and forecloses.
Tomorrow’s stars have a dream
To play on the big stage.
Where it all started with the pickup teams
On the streets and to the homeowner’s rage.
Baseball is America’s pastime.
Hot dogs, sunflower seeds, and lemonade fill the plate.
There is a passion and a youthful chime
And these kids arrived early and don’t want to be late.
'Buy land as they don't make it anymore,'
Samuel said, 'and be among the have-gots.
Purchase a plethora of parcels of property,
then you'll have a whole lot of lots.'
Therefore, as nought but an investment,
bought a house in Dickson, Tennessee,
renovated, remodeled and rented it out,
'twas the first time as a homeowner for me.
Over time, paid about twice the price,
for, with the lot of an absentee landlord learned,
when the tenant absconded with every appliance,
and yet, never again would I be burned.
we are vines & a tree
choking each other without meaning to.
we both want to grow towards the sun
but we can't do it without stopping the other.
of course, no one will win. we are both taken down
by a landscaper, or a homeowner, we both die.
when the saw grits, we both get hurt
because what else is there to do
but fall & be fallen onto.
I have just made a startling observation -
with a bit of important information.
My cats really own the house.
(I'm sure you're thinking "How?")
Well, the term "homeowner"
contains the word "meow"!
A woman is burned to death on a NY subway train
Yawn
Murderer Mangione raises $200k on Go-Fund-Me
Yawn
Homeowner is jailed for ousting a squatter
Yawn
POTUS commutes 37 of 40 death row executions
Yawn
Night settles in ~
No sightings of dawn
Sump pump is broken
Constant water run
Plumbers cost money
Homeowner is sad
Waits a bit too long
The basement floods
Ruins couches
Bedding thrown out
Salvage nothing
Expensive
Life lesson
Plumber comes
Nasty
Stump pump
Flood
The designer loved watermelon more than the homeowner ever had.
I am not going to pay for it the homeowner told her builder dad.
But the designer is your mother, and she thought you would love it.
She took an axe to it and told her overbearing mother to “shove it”.
Someone who proudly displays their greatest material accomplishment in life
Do you see many snacks on the counter?
Perhaps the homeowner eats many,
and the snacks you see were set out yesterday
to be gone tomorrow.
Perhaps the homeowner does not eat them at all,
and the snacks you see were a gift,
or an ill-considered purchase.
We will always judge,
but let us not be too hasty in our conclusions.
13 July 2023
P.S. How many weeks will it take for me to get through the pretzel sticks and tortilla chips on my counter? I have no idea, but I imagine some of them will still be around in September :)
A spider can scare a lady
A mouse can scare one too
A snake can scare a homeowner
who finds one in his shoe
Some kids are scared of dogs
others fear a skunk
even more than rats or possums ~
All this is what I've thunk
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
You’ve a startled face that laughs as you scratch your belly
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
There’s nothing to salvage here, only rubbish I throw
It’s my property which you invade, you’re in my alley
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
You're an eyesore to behold, I told you long ago
But words mean nothing, man of rubbish so smelly
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
My hands shake, I pray that you don’t come by tomorrow
I’ve seen you eat out of the can, this isn’t a deli
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
A penny a dime a quarter, it's chump change you borrow
What can these empties buy what is your tally?
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
Haunting dreams in which you appear, it irks me so
I’ll set a trap for you, a poisoned biscuit and jelly
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
When did grass become a religion?
The perfect green, weed-free lawn
The goal of every homeowner?
Whole companies now exist solely
To maintain this suburban vision
With “lawn control” fertilizers and
A multitude of weed killer sprays,
In the process destroying habitat
And poisoning butterflies and the bees
We need for pollination of fruits,
Vegetables and a host of flowering plants.
Constant watering depletes reserves
And wastes our precious resource.
Hail to those who have dandelions
And chickweed growing in their lawn
Or those who plant native grasses
And hardy local plants and flowers.
Hurrah for those who opt for vegetable
Gardens in the place of lawns and who
Plant shrubs and flowers that attract
and nurture the elements of nature.
A seasoned cat burglar
climbs through
the kitchen window;
his eyes scanning
left, right, front, and back...
"Good, no one's home,"
or so he fought.
He tiptoes through the house,
going from room to room,
rummaging through drawers
and stuffing knick knacks
into an open backpack
he's wearing
in front.
Before long, he sees a shadow
appear on the wall;
someone's behind him.
As soon as he turns his head
for a look see...
"POW!"...knocked out, cold.
He came to...
a hulking blurry figure
standing over him....
"You came to the wrong house, and the cops are on their way!,"
the homeowner shouted.
Date written: 06/13/2021
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