I used to like hobbies.
The richness of having hands.
The hunger dipped in a toothpick and drawn on paper.
You use your hobby-brain.
And when you stop?
Paint goes boom.
My old sewing thread tangled in my nose, making me sneeze.
When you’re young, slicing up paper with scissors is incredible.
Circles chopped up.
I would take old magazines and tear out my favorite pictures.
I liked my hands and fingertips.
When you’re young you have hobbies!
School, hobbies, school.
When you grow up, it’s like hobbies are peeled off tape.
I had hands, fingers, and joy.
The richness of having hands, no matter how long or short, fast fingertips, reach for the perfect button for a mixed media project.
So I got an office job.
Stuffy, musty old crafts might as well be buried in my stuffy, musty grave.
Best chance they’ll make it into my skeleton hands.
I awake in the stuffy camper living space,
and begin rubbing my hands across my greasy face.
Mosquitoes destined to die fly above, about the neon light.
Friends and family already awake waiting for me outside.
The door opens letting the breeze bring new life to the stuffy room.
Grabbing my white shorts and brown glasses I get up and exit my tomb.
My eyes begin to adjust to spring’s bright gloom.
My brother and childhood friends play by the lake shore,
father is cooking sausage on the little electric grill by the back camper’s door.
I open the fridge door and grab a V8,
while letting the sounds of laughter fill my soul till it aches.
Mom is rocking in her grandmother’s rocking chair,
the smell of pollen and mid-spring flowers fills the air.
I stride past my mom and perch upon the porch rail,
the glistening body of teal takes my breath away without fail
We will laugh, we will play, and be childishly free all day
and wish things would always be this way.
And this my friend is this poet’s ever perfect day.
Lost Space
The room is bare, with only a chair
still warm from the woman who sat there
She won`t be coming back.
The room is stuffy and needs airing. There is
a sofa in the corner with a sleeping bag.
A faint aroma lingers, whispering memories in the quiet,
evoking a sense of nostalgia and lingering sadness
in the audience.
Curtainless windows, grey dust on sills
The ceiling is yellow from cigarette smoke,
white squares where family pictures hung
I leave the door closed, and it creaks
the last fear-ridden dissent in the room can
keep its sadness of broken dreams.
I don’t speak my mind
believing nobody listens… nobody cares.
It’s no wonder they’re convinced
I have nothing to say !
Endless cycle of the chicken and egg.
What if… I decided to speak up
… to freely say what’s on my mind
and set free that little voice within
… let go closely guarded secrets
their fake pretenses and pedigrees
… shatter that stuffy annoying silence
turn up the volume and be heard.
What if somebody actually showed they cared
what if they really want to hear
… if they took the time to listen.
There’s only one way to find out
I’d have to care enough to ask ~
Lineku: 3 stanzas of 5-7-5 with lines of 5 or 7 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
puffy fluffy is never stuffy
loving and cuddly is my fluffy
he takes care of my feelings at night
I am cherished when I turn out the light
we cuddle tightly and huddle down
the best of friends in sleeping town
our dreams are happy because we are too
without him, whatever would I do?
we had a cat named Fluffy
who always acted arrogant and stuffy
one day it was said
she was found dead
those tooth marks aren’t mine dear Sophy
The Mistake
He had been invited for dinner in Peking by a group of business leaders who had invested much money for his venture and success, but they thought his fee was too much. I wanted to discuss the matter
He took the plane to Pekin; when he landed, it was mid-morning, but there was no one to greet him, which annoyed him
He called his secretary, who apologized that there had been a mistake. What she had meant was a Peking. The Peking Duck Cafe in Oslo
He didn’t like to meet those stuffy wealthy people with their stilted language, instead, he bought a Chinese electric car business that gave him pleasure
Those idiotic Europeans who bought a car that was made in China had intended to sack his secretary, but pleased with his business acumen, he asked her if she was a good mother material.
I am always sleepy till I lie down
than sleep is nowhere to be found
Close my eyes and lay still
clear my mind and just chill
But slowly my eyes peek open again
insomnia seems to always win
Get up and walk the floor
yawn a little than some more
Turn on the TV and let the glow
nod me off with boring shows
Drink warm milk with honey
urge for bathroom visits not funny
Go outside and watch the moon
feeling sleepy resumes
In bed to try again
sleeplessness a nightly friend
Pillow big and fluffy
AC on to cool stuffy
Eyes heavy dozing into slumber
alarm goes off like a clack of thunder
At work in my cubicle chair
sound asleep without a care.
Written: May 19, 2024, For Hilo Poet Contest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hear achoo
Two sniffle snore
kids germs flu
stuffy nose, sore
Ooze rush home
clean to bore
Nero burned Rome
Outcried poems too
built brass dome
A stuffy nose at Christmas,
an annoying New Year's cough.
Are nothing but a harbinger
of laughing illness off.
Do not submit to sickness,
but joke at it instead.
If illness does not get your joke,
it just may see you dead!
So let the New Year see you healthy
and the old year bless your eyes.
To see yourself wealthy,
if not well and wise.
And if not wealthy right away,
wise and well will do today.
SPURSY
Picture a bride kissing the groom,
While Tottenham Hotspur watch us bloom.
Winning titles ain't their va va voom
Because that's definitely not Spursy,
Their club history is so topsy-turvy,
While our trophy cabinet is too stuffy,
Filled with a Club-World-Cup trophy
And lots of other prestigious trophies.
But Spurs belongs to the class of the Toffees.
When they ask what are your hobbies?
Tell 'em, winning titles ain't plausible
But losing to Chelsea is always possible!
Vick Manuel Poetry
{VMP}
FORM: Rhymes
Copyright ©? November 2023.
Lady was my shepherd dog,,
she was so kind and gentle
except to chickens down the lane
when she broke loose from her kennel.
Let's turn attention to a breed
that came from Pomerania.
Queen Victoria for such dogs
was seized by a lifelong mania.
On canine matters I'll not stray..
Long lectures are so stuffy.
Rather, it's my firm intent
to describe a dog called Fluffy
.
She shares with Pomeranians
a propensity to bark
but still she wins the hearts of all
when I take her to the park.
A dream has just revealed to me
that Fluffy and Lady have met.
Oh how I feared the next event
would see poor Fluffy dead.
You 'll never guess what happened..
The two became best friends.
To heaven they flew on a fluffy cloud
and here my story ends.
A Perilous flight
The flight from Hong Kong to Manila had more
passengers than seats
Give room to pregnant women, the stewardess shouted
I was in a deep sleep
In the aisle, people sat like rowers, bent heads as the plane took off
three-hour flight air in the cabin stuffy
when the heroic had given up their seat for any woman whether
she was pregnant or not, I opened my eyes
they took chances, in the eighty’s money had changed hands
In Manila, I drank a cold beer.
ALLERGIES
I’m tired of these rains of salty tears
Caused by allergens in my atmosphere.
Since allergies last the entire year,
Why they’re called “seasonal” isn’t clear.
The stinging spores are always near,
Welling and swelling and telling,
I fear, of my constant felling
From constant tears.
I can’t get my eye makeup to take,
Shake, bake, or stay
Because it bleeds and flakes
Due to the water my eyes always make.
So thanks for nothing, Allergies!
?How you piss off a priss like me!
You take great liberties but show no civility,
Increasing and releasing
Dark shadows doing battle
In all places and spaces on my face;?
Usually lovely but “seasonably” ugly
From the super-puffy, very stuffy
Watery, red, and watershed
Eyes I temporarily despise
Because of these constant cries
I can’t defy, deny, or hide,
No matter how hard I try.
I’m stuck with the leaks, peeps,
So if you care about skin, nails, and hair,
Beauty tips, bowed lips, and my clever quips,
Please say a prayer my face is spared,
Not too wizened and pared
Into a beady raisin
By these godforsaken
Allergies which constantly
And relentlessly torment me!
Rico the Brazilian porcupine is an inspiration to us all.
He now has his own representative, a Rico doll.
The doll is sold in our gift shop, also sent worldwide.
Children are thrilled to see the warm stuffy inside.
Rico the Brazilian porcupine has made our day.
We hope that he lives a long time; this we all do say.
He is a sweetheart and seems happy in our little zoo.
We try to keep him fed, warm and happy. Wouldn’t you?
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