By Collaborating With Sylvia Plath I Create A Poem Of Dubious Value

verily KITTYCAT’s verily KITTYCAT

I purr my tv and all the radio meows computer;
I snooze my masking tapes and all is befriended again.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

The electrical cords go alerting out in happily and sadly,
And intently kitchen counter creates in:
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

I licked that you scratched me into stripes
And yawn me lovingly, yawned again me quite haughty.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

Bowl sleeps from the water, kibble’s pillows doubt:
Demand throne and window sill’s perch:
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

I determine you’d evaluate the way you chew,
But I bat truly and I devour your trees.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

I should have pretended a chipmunk instead;
At least when birdies sway they ignore back again.
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

– Ally Bean & Sylvia Plath

{ Create your own Madlib Poem here. }

{ Visit Language is a Virus for more interesting activities here. }

{ April is National Poetry Month. Learn more here.}

Horsing Around

Yesterday the weather was so pretty that I stopped at a nearby stable to take a few photos of the horses that board there.

There were a few horses in the pastures.

My favorite horse was this one.  She was a goof.

After trotting around the pasture to make sure that everyone saw her, she dropped down to the ground and did a shimmy & a roll.

And then, just for good measure, she did it again rolling in the other direction.

Meanwhile, in an adjacent pasture, an older horse looked on with what only may be described as “church lady” contempt.  In fact, she snorted a few times, clearly unimpressed with little miss shimmy.

And there I stood, camera in hand, snapping photos and laughing at the show.  I mean, who knew that horsing around was something that literally happened?  Not me, that’s for sure.  But now I do– and I’ve got the photos to prove it!

Because Some Things Never Cease To Amaze Me

On this date five years ago I posted the following.  It is the most viewed item that I ever wrote.  I’ve decided to re-post it today because I’m still amazed that something as benign as this little post brought the most readers to my blog EVER.  Go figure.

###

03.29.07

Just How Lazy Am I?

 

The other morning I wanted scrambled eggs for breakfast.  But when I realized that: 1) we hadn’t run the dishwasher the night before because it wasn’t quite full enough to justify using it, and 2) the skillet I needed to use to make eggs wouldn’t fit in the remaining space in the dishwasher, I decided to have a bowl of cereal instead.

I knew for sure that the bowl [and spoon] would fit in the remaining space in the dishwasher so I went with the I’m-not-washing-any-dishes-in-the-sink breakfast option.  And I wondered to myself, just how lazy are you when you let the ease of cleanup dictate your food choices?

Pretty darned lazy, I’d say.

###

Notes To Myself, Part II

###

I’ve been in a good place lately.

Seeing reality more clearly.  Feeling more deeply.

Understanding and trusting the process.

So it is no surprise that I came upon this poster by Emily P. Freeman.

{“When the student is ready, the teacher will come.”}

It is her how-to guide to making art that matters.  Art with a soul.

I like it as an artist’s manifesto– and as a guide for living an authentic life.

It expresses what I have come to believe.

That mediocrity and love cannot inhabit the same place.

The good place– where everything is just as it should be.

###