Replacing old things for so many’s a snap.
An upgrade, to them, is a breeze;
But I get bogged down in a kind of a trap -
Any change brings me down to my knees.
If it works, I can live with it, though it looks frayed,
Maybe faded or just out of style
And no matter its worth, for whatever I paid,
It’s been looking its age for a while.
Yet at last I’ve decided to spiff up my space
And so little by little, I’ve started,
But saying farewell to what I might replace
Feels a bit like a friend has departed.
Categories:
spiff up, home, how i feel,
Form: Rhyme
In the middle of the night
When I can’t get back to sleep
All these grandiose ideas
In my wired brain do creep.
I will clean out all my closets.
I will rearrange each drawer.
I will freshen up the furniture
And spiff up the décor.
I will organize my poetry
To fit into a book
And the children’s tale I’ve started
Will get more than just a look.
I will sit and read the travel guides
I’ve purchased for a trip.
I will self-impose some discipline
And really crack the whip
In the morning, though, reality
Comes crashing with a thwack.
The enthusiasm 2 a.m.
Inspires won’t come back.
Categories:
spiff up, fantasy,
Form: Rhyme
Their are millions of you
and a lot of them are
a whole lot better
convince me why it is
I love you.
out of many, one!
few more than I planned for.
answer the question
from which direction
tell me again
why I love you.
to have it like I have it
than maybe you'd understand
Not to sound out of the way
see I work hard
play hard
and love hard
just tell me again
why I'm loving you
Categories:
spiff up, love, marriage,
Form: Ballad
Visit a place where you’ve not been before
And the first thing you face is the sturdy front door.
Of fiberglass, oak, tempered glass, even steel,
The entryway should have a certain appeal.
My country home door, though, was streaky with rust.
The paint was all puckered, the cracks filled with dust.
The glass in the windows no longer got clean;
My husband was tired of changing the screen.
So I finally gave in and we got a new door,
A portal to spiff up the entry décor.
It isn’t embellished, just simple and plain
But it’s neat, a condition I hope to maintain.
When visitors come, they may notice or not
For most likely, the old one was one they forgot
But I’ll welcome them all with the door opened wide
And embrace every one that I usher inside.
Categories:
spiff up, home,
Form: Rhyme
I wake in darkness lazily and loll around in bed,
Just sifting through the rhymes that prance around inside my head.
The dawn cracks open like an egg’s prize plop into a bowl;
I scramble up to start my day and now I’m on a roll.
What joy to delve into whatever book I might be reading.
I’m coddled in the covers, all the comfort I am needing.
Two chapters down, my sunny side is ready for the day.
I head to my computer, see which comments came my way.
When that is over, easy – time for juice and getting dressed;
Three minutes later – out the door – an early walk is best.
My breakfast waits when I return and, too, The New York Times;
Hard-boiled reporters nail the news of politics and crimes.
With coffee down, I shower and spiff up, for all is well;
The morning is behind me, like the remnants of a shell.
Ilene Bauer
August 8, 2012
For Francine Roberts' "A Couplet Morning" contest
Categories:
spiff up, life, time,
Form: Couplet