Diane, Delores and I spend part of our free time writing poetry for Poetry Monday! You can, too, or you can just read along. If you wish, you may post your poem in the comments on any of our blogs, or if you post on your own blog, please leave a comment so we can come along and cheer you on. Use the theme, or don't: it's your choice! Have fun, and here's just one hint, try not to get yourself into a position where you need to rhyme the words "orange" or "silver" . . .
How do I spend my free time? Mostly, I go for the tried and true, the thing I already know I enjoy: reading.
And what do I read?
Read on :)
****
Put It In Front Of My Eyes, I'll Read It
I read . . .
Fiction and non-fiction, books by the score;
Magazines, cash machines, notes on a door;
Greeting cards, paperbacks, life hacks, and then --
After I'm finished I read them again.
Road signs and felines* and cookbooks galore;
Internet websites and fine blogs and more;
Newspapers, wallpaper, paint cans, and then --
After I'm finished I read them again.
Wristwatches,* pill bottles, food labels, jars;
Cereal boxes and handbooks for cars;
Thesauruses, poetry, clothes tags, and then --
After I'm finished I read them again.
Faces* and posture* and clouds in the sky*;
Advertising slogans and trucks driving by;
Instructions for All Of The Things, and then --
After I'm finished I read them again.
Quick tips on cleaning and how to tie knots;
Which plants need little rain, which ones need lots;
Bank statements, love notes, and comics, and then --
After I'm finished I read them again.
Have I missed any reading material, do you know?
My fingers type fast but my mind works so slow . . .
And what do YOU read, when your reading you do?
And when you are finished, do YOU re-read stuff too?
* Those things can be read too, right?
 | ||||
Sometimes all that reading plumb wears me out. |
Yes.
ReplyDeleteThere is not much I won't read, and I reread happily. There are books I have reread so often I know great slabs by heart. And I will read them again. And again.
You are an appreciator extraordinaire, EC - and I love the expression "great slabs" of books.
DeleteHallo Jenny, I loved your poem and I think you covered just about everything. These days I read crime fiction mostly and being retired can get through a book in a couple of days. I have six waiting to be read, mostly Michael Connolly. I noticed on your sidebar you have read The Old Man and The Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, what did you think of it? I wanted to read it as it's a kind of classic, but I would have liked chapters as I never knew when to have a break, lol.
ReplyDeleteAnyway my poem this week,
Free Time
When I was a younger lass,
With full-time work to amuse me.
I longed for the day when I could be
At home, being housewifey and mumsy.
Fast forward a few more years
When I joyously became a part-timer.
With plenty of time to do everything,
Making use of my precious leisure.
Busy at work and busy at home,
With gardening, baking and crafting.
I knew how to fill free time,
With a different type of grafting.
A few more years did pass us by,
With two house moves under our belt.
Then, news of a new addition,
You can imagine how we felt.
So much leisure and free time,
Were now a thing of the past.
We'd been so busy living our lives,
That we thought our free time would last.
We were busy then in a different way,
With a new bundle to love and nurture.
New friends to make, new places to see,
New experiences for her to capture.
But that is all in the past,
As our busy-ness is over and done.
It's time for our retirement now,
For getting out and having some fun.
But retirement brings too much time,
With endless days to occupy and fill.
I wouldn't mind some busy-ness now,
As a change from being still.
Have a good week and take care.
That is so true, Joan - there doesn't seem to be a happy medium for many people; we are either rushed off our feet or have too little to do. Your life experiences have a familiar ring to me except I haven't reached retirement yet :)
DeleteThanks for another thoughtful and well-written poem.
Sorry, Joan, I just realized I didn't answer your question about The Old Man and The Sea - yes I did enjoy it very much, which surprised me. For a long time I had the impression it was about something different than it turned out to be. It's not a long read and I would recommend it.
DeleteI like the reference to reading people. One I would not have thought of at first!
ReplyDeleteHah - and most of us do it, don't we?!
DeleteI read less because I have vision problems, but, yes,when I do, I often read it again to make sure I did not miss anything. This is especially important when reading instructions. Mistakes can lead to bad outcomes, as I have learned too often.
ReplyDeleteI find that some things take many readings to fully understand. Like you, I have learned that lesson!
DeleteHOW WE SPEND OUR FREE TIME
ReplyDeleteA-wonderin’
A-dreamin’
A-wishin’
A-weepin’
A-hopin’
A-thinkin’
Maybe one day
Wes’ll be outta here
Ah heard dere’s a place
Named Hope
Miles from here
Far far away
We gonna git there
One day…
One day
But now
We gotta sleep
Dawn light’s a-comin’
Wid shoots
To plant
Till
Sundown.
Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation, Georgia - April 1838
Ah, this one is serious and heartrending, YP. Thank you for contributing.
DeleteSo good. And yes I do read things again. I went through a spell where I reread all my childhood favourites. Then I reread my Leslie Cookman mysteries. There's always something that strikes you as fresh and new when you reread. Great poem.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Delores. I'll have to look out for Leslie Cookman's books. And it's funny, I've been thinking of pulling my childhood books down off the top shelf (choking on the dust as I do) and re-reading them. Now your comment makes me want to do it even more.
DeleteI keep an eye on your reading list and sometimes I read it again to pick out another book.
ReplyDeleteHaha - reading and re-reading the reading list!
DeleteI like to see what other folks are reading, too.
Hilarious! And totally accurate . . .
ReplyDeleteI don't think I can not read - if there's a printed word, it's like a magnet.
DeleteExcellent! Bravo! You got good rhyming and rhythm in this one. I don't know about reading felines, but I agree with everything else. :) I used to read cereal boxes as a kid, but now I never do -- and I suspect kids don't either. They're probably on their phones!
ReplyDeleteHah! Probably! But they're still reading!
DeleteI should have worked "canines" in there somewhere; I bet you can read Olga. And cat people can read felines, too :)
I do reread stuff. When I was without internet in late 2015 and early 2016, I had a few spare coins so I bought brand-new copies of Jenny Lawson's books, which I hadn't yet read, and Daniel Quinn's, which I had.
ReplyDeleteThen I read them all twice.
I've probably read the first hundred pages of "My Ishmael" a dozen times.
These days most of my reading is on this here computer, and as there seems to be a lot to keep up with in the world just now, I do a lot of it.
I wish I could say that I spent most of my free time playing my guitar(s) and creating music on my computer, but the truth is that I haven't pulled my Les Paul out of its case in more than a month, and most of my music software is still on my old computer that I don't even have a monitor for any more.
Dr. Nelson, when I saw him a couple of weeks ago, as he always does, asked me if I had been playing my guitar much. When I said no, he asked me why, and I told him that I didn't really know. Then he said "Yeah, I hardly ever play any more and I don't really know why either."
I love Dr. Nelson even more now that I know he's a guitar player...
I like your poem. It reminds me of when I was a child and taught myself to read (mostly by pestering my mother) at age four and set to reading all of the things, but mainly the little bookcase of Nancy Drew mysteries my sister had gotten from my aunt for her birthday that I was insanely jealous of once I realized that I couldn't yet read them.
-Doug in Oakland
I hear you. I need to be doing more with my free time than reading. I do have other hobbies, which I enjoy once I get going on them, but I think reading is such a passive activity (oxymoron?) that it's easier to do when I'm tired, which seems to be most of the time these days.
ReplyDeleteYou were an early reader! And it's nice that your doctor and you have guitar playing in common. Maybe the conversation will motivate both of you to get back to it.
I love your poem, and I'm definitely a re-reader! I've read some of my old favourite books more times than I can remember... but I'm always eager to read something new, too. MOAR... BOOKS... :-)
ReplyDelete"MOAR... BOOKS..." - LOL and yes!
DeleteThis was great! So hilarious. So much fun. Makes me think of Dr. Seuss :)
ReplyDeleteI read a lot, too. Not a day goes by that I don't. I've been that way since I was a child. But I rarely reread anything; only if it's something amazing. Since I only have so much time on this planet, I want to squeeze in as much (unread) reading as possible!
Happy week to you!
I understand that; in fact that was my feeling, too, until lately. After shopping at the (cheap) book fair the last two years, and therefore having more books to read, I feel I've been gulping them down without really digesting them, and I'm okay with reading them again. When I was a kid, I re-read everything because I didn't own that many, although I borrowed from the library every week.
DeleteDo you use an e-reader? I would think that might make it easier to access new material, which would be nice . . .
That is utterly brilliant. I tend to leave novels a couple of years and then read them again if I haven't passed the mon to someone else. My friends and I pass them around one another before sending them to the local charity shop
ReplyDeleteThat makes so much sense, to share books around and then pass them along. I've been trying to keep the books going out as well as coming in also.
DeleteBooklets and brochures and magazine pages
ReplyDeletePaper backed novels that simply take ages
Of time from the housework that I should be doing
Or Knitting or crafting and sticking and glueing
Cookery books with beautiful pictures
Home style books with fittings and fixtures
Cheap little novels to read while in bed
Encyclopedias to fill up my head
With knowledge and all kinds of strange information
Or free newspapers to read to the station
While waiting for trains in all kinds of weather
But best of all books that are bound up in leather
Well done, Cherie! I know what you mean about reading taking time from other things we should be doing :)
DeleteThanks for joining us!
Neat poem! Yes, I reread things also. All my childhood favs. and some of the classics. I really liked Dickens and Sherlock Holmes. Like your blog. Hugs, LJ
ReplyDeleteAnother re-reader! Thanks for dropping in, Lady Jane. I've had a look at your blog - you have many talents!
DeleteExcellent poem. I'll read anything that falls in front of my eyes.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
It feels uncontrollable, really, doesn't it?
DeleteI like your thoughts here! I read compulsively although not often books: blogs, news, cereal boxes, websites and yes, body language too. That was a clever addition!
ReplyDeleteMy free time is often used online so lots of reading, or watching movies (sometimes with subtitles) or just hanging out.
Industry is not my middle name, for sure!
excellent job my dear Jenny !
ReplyDeletereading is such a great time pas if one has "free time" for which i starve often :)
just like you while traveling in vehicles i also read signboards and interesting stuff written behind trucks or other vehicles and often find it ocean filled in a tiny pan :)
Hugs and blessings to you my friend!
"Ocean filled in a tiny pan" - how I love that expression, baili! I hope you have more "free time" as your children get older and you have fewer responsibilities. There were many years that I had no time to read and I am really making up for it now :)
Delete