Poetry Monday: Monkeys

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is MONKEYS.

Please feel free to join Delores and me as we tackle this challenge. You can leave your poem in the comments or post on your own blog. If you do the latter, please leave a comment so we know where to find you.

We've had a few more bloggers rising to the challenge the last few weeks (go back and see the comments for the poems and links) -- thank you all! It is so interesting to see all the directions that the topics lead us.

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When I was in about Grade 2, my teacher had a book in our classroom that I loved to read. It was about some monkeys whose roof leaked whenever it rained. They would huddle together, wet and miserable, waiting for the rain to stop and promising themselves they'd fix the hole in the roof as soon as the sun came out. And when the sun came out, they would play instead. Because who wants to work when you can play in the sunshine? And when it rained again, they would promise to fix the roof again. And then they'd play instead.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

They never did get the roof fixed, not that I can remember, anyway.

I marvelled at their inability to learn from their mistakes.

And I felt sorry for them that they kept getting wet.

I still marvel and feel sorry. And also feel a little stupid, because I do the same thing in some areas of my life.

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME.

Ahem.

My poem for this week (and it may or may not follow from my preamble; my lips are sealed) is a Haiku, and here it is . . .

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Hey There Cousin

You'd have to be blind
Not to see the connection
'Twixt monkey and man

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I await Delores' topic for next week with a great deal of trepidation :)

It will be updated here at the earliest possible opportunity.

UPDATE:  Next week's topic is . . . CLOUDS . . .

In the meantime, I wish you a week where you get to monkey around for at least a little while . . .

Poetry Monday: Blessings

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is . . . blessings.

Join Delores and me as we count ours. Or do something else poetic with them. One never knows what words will come from one's head until they're on the screen, I find . . .

You can leave a poem in the comments on either of our blogs, or post on your own blog. If you do the latter, please leave a comment so we know where to find you.

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I was stymied by this week's topic up until the last minute -- again -- but then, as I thought about it in terms of what I wish for other people (rather than what I have myself), it fell into place. The wishes are loosely based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which you can read more about here if you are interested.  The sad thing is that so many people around the world, and close to home, do not have even the most basic of their needs fulfilled.



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Blessings

May you have clean water to drink
And enough food to eat

May you have safety from harm
And a roof to shelter you from weather

May you have good health, and if you do not
Then may you have courage to keep on

May you have people to love, and people who love you
(Both fur-less and furry kinds, as you prefer)

May you have work that is meaningful to you
And beauty in your life
And may you become all that you are capable of being

May someone remember you with fondness
When you are gone

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Next week's mission topic, should you choose to accept it, is . . . MONKEYS . . .


In the meantime, I hope the world treats you well.

Poetry Monday: Music

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is MUSIC.

Why don't you join Delores and me in writing our thoughts on this wide-open topic? You can leave your poem in the comments on either of our blogs, or if you prefer to post on your own blog, please leave a comment to let us know where to find you.

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Well, well, well.

You'd think if a person suggests a topic for a writing challenge, that person would have an inkling of what they wanted to write about, wouldn't you?

I thought music would be an easy thing to put into poetry -- after all, music basically IS poetry -- but guess what?

I got well and truly immersed in my own musical memories but couldn't write a single line about them. Not a rhyme. Not a coherent thought.

It wasn't until I gave up completely that my poetry muse showed up again.


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A Confession

Oh I must have been myopic
To pick music for a topic
I thought things would be just fine
And I'd find the words to shine

Lots of false starts to my name
No one else but me to blame
I cry "Uncle" and submit
I give up, my friends - I quit

Apologies - I've many
To readers of me, Jenny
And to my friend Delores . . .
. . . Next week's topic's yours

(Sorry, Delores!)

photo: icanhascheezburger.com

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Delores has given us the topic for next week:  BLESSINGS . . .

Wishing you all a good week :)

My Banana Buddy

I found this on my banana last week.

I took it as a message from the universe :)

Has your food ever spoken to you?

Poetry Monday: Distance

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is DISTANCE. Thank you, Delores, for a thought-provoking (and teeth-gnashing) topic! ha ha

Join us as we get out our binoculars and zoom in on this topic. You can leave a poem in the comments on either of our blogs, or if you prefer to post on your own blog, please leave a comment to help us find you.

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I was really struggling with this week's topic until I happened to go out shopping for a short time on Sunday. I was enjoying my little shopping trip, and was waiting to pay for my purchases when this happened . . .

To The Person In The Store Lineup Today

Your voice was loud and rough

As you called the cashier stupid and blind

And said he should wear the flowery dress he went off to price for a customer

Since that customer was not you

You were enraged by the wait

Sputtering what you thought were well-deserved and clever insults

But they were neither

They were the words of a sour, self-centred person

No one wanted to challenge you

In case we became the next target

And we all carefully kept our distance

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Sometimes I write serious stuff. 

I actually debated about using this incident or even mentioning it, given that writing about it causes me to remember it more clearly and records it for far longer than it would survive just in my brain.

But I decided to use it because I was desperate. 

Suffering for my art . . . ha ha

To wash away the bad taste in my (and maybe your) mouth, let's have some funnies:

 

 

And that's a wrap for today.

Next week, we'll talk about . . . MUSIC . . . 

Have a good week, and thanks for reading!