Handing Out Balloons in the Jungle - POEM of the MONTH!

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Handing Out Balloons in the Jungle

On the sun scorched streets of barred windows
A demonstration boasts the bird at the pigs
Drifting in and out of the smoking chaos –
She’s handing out balloons in the jungle
 
Yellow, purple and Sunkist orange
Children lost of any innocence
Laugh at the colorful display
And join in the revelry
 
A shot rings out
Blue falls
 
On the frigid eastern horizon of a proud capital
A stubborn madman clings to old ways of war
Against the will of the oligarchs and allies –
She’s handing out balloons in the jungle
 
Yellow, blue, white and cherry red
Generations of the past century
Dread to relive a new threat
And cry out for a yield
 
A shot rings out
And red rises

On the ancient gates of a nation fighting to be holy
A centuries long rival launches its deadly hate
The seven seas are tossed amongst opinion –
She’s handing out balloons in the jungle
 
Orange and  . . .  fiery yellow and white
Streak across a midnight starless sky
And reflect off the iron dome
But it’s not fireworks
 
A shot rings out
Green envy

 
In the depths of the lush mysterious continent
A mother holds her young among the troop
The eyes of Turaco keep a vigilant watch
She’s handing out balloons in the jungle
 
Spring water blue and trumpet yellow
Buffalo, elephants and leopards
Share in the colorful display
And join in a loud chorus
 
As laughter rings out
And all colors echo

Looking - POEM of the MONTH!

Looking
 
Looking into a weathered face,
looking for heaven on a place
called earth is a journey
not worth the effort,
no one can afford it.
 
Some ask “where?” Even
“When?” But most are
asking for … what can
take the tears away?
Sing me a song to
soothe my soul.
Plug me into the
next binge-worthy, wait!
How about a take-over
worthy of a snow storm? 

Give me more, but –

my sanity is worth more 

than the monetary.
Someone click Pause!
Can you spare a match?
Or a dime? Well, that’s
how much connection
with another human
was once worth. I need
a cigarette! Who are you?

"Man smoking cigarette" by Toronto History
 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

I’m just looking for the
next … Are you her?
Don’t lie to me again,
“Lie to me again,”
she mocked. Will
someone just
lie next to me?
That would be
just heaven.
Gotta match?

I need light...

Space Scoundrel Love Song - POEM of the MONTH! (Special Edition)

 

"Star Field" by Jon Pumpkin is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Quotation Credit:
Lucas, George (Director). (1977) Star Wars: A New Hope [Film] Lucasfilm Ltd., The Walt Disney Company
Kershner, Irvin (Director). (1980) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back [Film] Lucasfilm Ltd., The Walt Disney Company

Unlike Superman - a short story

Unlike Superman™ (Fiction 101 Series)

There was no point in striking the wall with my fist. The sheetrock had suffered a few hundred dollars, but no cash was found behind the wall for the repairman who’d been called by my wife. My wife. She wasn’t the focus of my target. Her cancer was. But how can one hit a disease? The supporting beam, fixed like Superman™ to my fist. Crack! And unlike the Man of Steel™, the beam displayed zero concern over a broken hand. My broken hand confirmed I was not a superhero™. I wasn’t the one who’d save her. And not with brute force. 

~

"Superman" and "Man of Steel" are registered trademarks of DC Comics. Both these terms are referenced as a simile and not as a character. The word "superhero" is a shared trademark among DC Comics and Marvel Comics. This term is referenced as a metaphor and not as a character. 

~

The 101-word short story is inspired by the annual Fiction 101 Contest hosted by the Boise Weekly (Idaho Press), which takes place every January. Click here to read the entries for 2025, including "Unlike Superman." (The views, opinions, subject matter and themes through the art of some of the entries do not represent or reflect the views, opinions subject matter and themes of the author of this blog.)

Useless - POEM of the MONTH!

Useless

 

You selected me

Even though I’m useless

You could walk without me

But you ask me nonetheless

 

You guide me

Even when I don’t listen

You carry me

But I struggle to hold on

 

You never leave me

But I sometimes quit

You alway love me

Though I don’t deserve it

 

You don’t need me

But you asked me nonetheless

You somehow work through me

Even though I’m useless

~

John 15:5 (ESV)

A Classic Conversation (haiku) Special Edition

 

POEM of the MONTH! - Solving Puzzles

 Solving Puzzles
 
Looking for an end piece of a round
jigsaw without the box
Trying to place an hour of tomorrow

into a minute of today
 
My rook is pinned against my king
by an opposing bishop
Instructions to go left while others
say to go right
 
What’s an eleven letter word that can
only describe where I am?
How can I use all my letters when
my tray is filled with profanity?
 
Letters from numbers in need
of a skilled decipher
From one person to another in need
of being understood
 
Aligning the colors of a Pagoda
while being colorblind
Is like arranging ducks that want
to swim and fly away
 
Somedays, it seems like it would be
easier to solve the Rubik’s cube
Than what lies before me from one
overfilled hour to the next
 
I suppose some puzzles go unsolved
or just take longer than others
Now, it’s a new morning to try again –
and try again with you

~

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