Here we are with this week’s assortment.
5773.
I wasn’t fond of Mr. Baker
even less so since his somewhat messy demise.
Good-bye and good riddance, little goldfish.
5774.
Please come home I say
the family heirlooms
won’t wait much longer for you
5775.
slender graceful delicate in looks
has so far survived twenty years of winters
and summers
this redbud tree now blooming
5776.
An icing circle of irregular shapes in acid yellow
crowns a listing cake tasting of soap.
You beam in pride.
We love you. We ask for big slices, please.
5777.
I’ll never forget the unconvincing triumph
of having few dollars in my pocket
and then telling you how I got them
5778.
the needle at the end of the syringe
in that mere slice of time where it touches
but has not yet pierced
your skin
5779.
there is this one open book
your fingers no matter how you try
can’t seem to turn its pages
5780.
the hermit alone with thoughts that
vanish in the world’s air
leaving behind them the vast stillness of peace
5781.
Take for example tedious gravestone talk:
Rest in Peace?
That’s the best the afterlife has to offer?
5782.
The arguments erupt.
The masquerades harden.
The tears shed today. The tears to come.
5783.
Tra la, this melodious green cupcake
punctuated by a pimiento
drowned in sugar!
5784.
a turmoil a toxin a two-faced toady
the trouble that leaks from a torn paper bag
straight into a clumsy decomposition
Yes, that is the plot of my new book. Like it?
5785.
The pianos in the school practice rooms
pedal-weary at the end of a long day
key-hammered out of tune
5786.
in the ringing wintertime
ghosts in frost overcoats
tracing thin fingers across windowpanes
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
#5779 is my life right now – I’m working on a book that Sparky brought home. I read the first chapter. The second chapter is so boring that I am having great difficulty turning the pages! Every time I start reading I fall asleep!!
I think the book is telling you that either its purpose in life is a sleep aid, or…it is not the book for you! It is funny how that happens. I used to force my self to read the whole book once I started but now, it doesn’t grab me by about page 40-50, well, I am done.
Rest in Peace actually sounds good to me. (K)
I feel like I need it to be at least, Rest in Peace with a good book.
What you describe in #5779 used to be an area of challenge for me. I felt compelled to read and finish reading any book I had given shelf space to. The process of purging so many books during the immigration process helped me to let go of that feeling. Now, if I don’t engage with a book after giving it a proper try, I am completely at peace with letting it go. As someone who likes to wander around cemeteries, I found myself laughing at #5781. I have had similar thoughts over the years.
As for the books, I also read every book straight through to the end no matter what. I have learned that not every book deserves this attention and my book reading life has become more focused as a result – you don’t get me by page 50 or so, well, I will take you back to the library no regrets. And yes, rest in peace. I do not like resting that much. I hope for pleasant activities of my choosing.
Eternal sleep is the other gravestone phrase that I have had similar thoughts about. Who wants to do nothing but sleep in the afterlife? What a waste of time.
Yes, my thought, too. I hope to be able to fly like a bird, instead of resting. The idea of gliding on air currents, that would be a great afterlife activity to me.