(from Writer’s Digest December prompts) 12.3.16 by acfonte
Reset Uno
Nothing is quite right today. It started with the porch
light blinking in the dark—
A response to a feral cat, blustery breeze or errant
footsteps?
Unsettling, my dreams were dotted with
Faces from the ashen past, names from an afternoon movie.
In the morning, my toast burned. I put too much water in the plant pot
And water spilled to the concrete floor.
At the gym, as I bicycled in place,
My muscles trembled and heart fluttered.
Then, at the café,
My sample coffee was too sweet,
The room temperature shifted from heat to ac and back again,
My orange sweater was tight.
Finally, I laughed at the poetry prompt to “reset.”
Okay, so I have.
Can I get off that bicycle now?
Ovillejo: Reset Deux
(a Spanish poetry form)
How can I stop trembling in place?
It takes less space.
I practice my balance with care,
Arms high in air.
Like a cactus of certain age,
Nature’s green sage.
She offers me another stage
Where fear is quiet and hope is high,
So I grab hold as faith flies by—
It takes less space, arms high in air, Nature’s green sage.
