Looking Back

Once sonnets flowed freely from mind to page
yet now rarely have time to leave my lips
and as I now look back with somber visage
and pondering how it has come to this.

I see the ruins of abandoned blog
no posts have been written for months on end
Yet still! Visits in the visitor log!
Perhaps this is something that I can mend

Myself is the only one I can blame
I have left alone the thing that I love
Without sonneting life is not the same
So much emotion, and nowhere to shove!

I hope to restart upon the new year
I am excited! It is almost here!

A Dud in the Mouth

At the movie theater there is one treat 

That I must confess I cannot resist

Movies are well paired with something to eat

And why not eat the best thing that exists

Milk Duds are the object of my desire

I find that I must always buy a box 

Though they may cost a small bit to acquire

The candy is worth it... It really rocks!

Those small chewy nuggets of caramel

Each one coated with such sweet chocolate

Open the box... What a heavenly smell

A dud in the mouth is sure to elate!

I pop one in to chew and then savor

Oh what a wonderful burst of flavor 

Putting a Sonnet on it

A sonnet is what puts my mind at ease
even amidst all the day's craziness
I've found may other things often please,
but sonnets always bring me happiness

To think one's thoughts is but one simple thing,
to hear them spoken is quite another,
but to hear your thoughts through a sonnet sing
brings on a joy that is like no other

No matter what emotion I may face
to make poetry gives it a beauty
it's a reminder not to be erased
a portrait of my heart painted truly

To see that this art form loans such a smile
makes me think "perhaps I'll do this a while"

Agony by Proxy

He came outside with his arm in a sling
and gave a small wince with each step he took
too look at his face was to feel the sting
that he clearly showed with each painful look

He removed his shirt to apply some heat
and I saw his arm all swollen and bruised
I saw in his face, he was almost beat
by his own body so greatly abused

It gave me such pain to see him this way
the man that I love in great agony
would that I could take it on for a day
to give him the peace to rest and be freed

It's true "grief is the price we pay for love"
but why must this happen to my loved one?

The Ten Stages of Netflix Addiction

First stage: decide which show I want to watch

there are so many shows to choose from!

I scroll and scroll and yet I find no match

Stage two: I finally settle on one 

Stage three: watch an episode... and it's dumb!

then stage four: go back to look once again

I just hope I'll find something that is fun...

repeat stages one through four with no end

Stage five: finally find something that's good

Stage six: "I'll just watch one more episode"

Stage seven: binge watch far more than you should

Stage eight: at last reach the end of the road

Stage nine: realize that your show is all done

Stage ten: ... it's time to go back to stage one

The Indian Food Dilemma

I enter the Indian Restaurant
and I'm hit by the smells of the buffet
the warnings from last time which should still haunt
have with these tasty smells faded away

I don't really know just what I'm getting
but it all just looks so very tasty
but within a few minutes I'm sweating
it would seem that I have been too hasty

My tongue starts to burn but it tastes so good
I take a break for a swig of my drink
I took it, so now I'll finish this food
I know I can do it... at least I think

I finish my meal; I am satisfied
and I'm proud to say that I did not cry.

Shakespeare Sunday: Sonnet Twelve

I think about time which does age all things,
as the dark night does overtake the day,
hear the old songbird, too feeble to sing
a withered up fruit, all moldy and gray.

Melted ice cream on a hot afternoon
a car in a yard, all covered with rust
fallen down, shriveled up, day old balloons
a neglected shelf, enveloped with dust

What is it to your good looks time will do?
will they fade away just to be erased
for of beauty such as yours there is few
and you must ensure that yours is replaced

Nothing can stop time from taking your life
but in leaving kin, his gain is denied


Original:
When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow;
     And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
     Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Inconsistent

English is an inconsistent language
I find myself inconsistent as well
for a whole year I wrote without anguish
so soon into this one it's gone to hell

I thought perhaps I would feel some relief
without the deadline of midnight each night
but then when I think all I feel is grief
and I know that something is just not right

While sometimes to finish it was a strain
I just miss having such a great outlet
a place to write about laughter and pain
It so helped to be able to name it

Perhaps I needed a break, not the end
and it's time for me to begin again

24/6

I like writing sonnets-- really I do!
but often at night, I just want to sleep
so maybe I'll let a night or two go,
but I promise not more than once a week!

I made it a whole year writing each day
and I've found that I can do it no more
for no more poems awake I shall stay
when I'd much rather close my eyes and snore

I wish I were a better timekeeper
so I'd have them done well before bedtime
but now I choose to be a good sleeper
and I really don't think that's such a crime

Perhaps this will be an empty warning
if I can write a sonnet each morning

Training Video

Sitting in a day long training session
it's time for a video after lunch
while I am glad I chose this profession
all are as bored as me-- I have a hunch

This video is droning on and on
and in and out all these new teachers zone
The longest attention span is long gone
as almost all of us stare at our phones

I know that they have some important points
but there also is much repetition
even the trainer has long fled this joint
as he clearly expressed his opinion

If they know that their video's boring,
why do they seek to leave us all snoring?