Sunday Afternoon Optimism - Day 1 (NOVPAD)

Sunday afternoon

The week ahead all planned out.

With optimism

And a smile, I look forward.

Going to get so much done!

Monday morning comes;

Radio alarm sings out

Time to start the day!

However, motivation,

Sadly...has left the building.

Caren E. Salas

I have decided to accept the challenge of Robert Lee Brewer's "Poem a Day" for the month of November. Yes, I'm a little behind in posting, but I have been doing the writing. So this is the first day's prompt which was: a "game over" poem. It's in Tanka form.

Inside

 

Inside,

Screaming demons cry;

Pain and fear

Suddenly grasping.

Hope derailed.

Me...knowing

Why?

Knowing me

Derailed hope?

Grasping suddenly,

"Fear and pain!"

Cry demons...

Screaming inside.

Caren E. Salas

Graphic Art by Christian Salas (Wndrlandinc)
https://www.facebook.com/WndrlandInc/timeline

All Wrong

My father sighed as he pushed
My wheelchair, "It's not supposed
To be like this. You should be
Pushing me." We both chuckled,
Still feeling inside that this
Was all wrong, all upside down.


Caren E. Salas


Inspired by Robert Lee Brewer's "Poetic Asides" - prompt: an upside-down poem

Good Night Moon

 
  

The moon is trying to blow me a kiss

But the midnight fog jealously blind-folds

The earth, still he peeks through and winks at me

And I smile at the secret we're sharing.

Good night moon; good night lover. Fill the night

With golden slumbers, and peaceful dreams.

The ocean tides ebb and flow in response

To you, like deep breathing in a restful sleep.

Good night moon; good night lover. Let me go.

I hate to leave you, but we'll meet again.

 

Caren E. Salas

Just Somewhere

No place in particular

Just somewhere to rest awhile

To be with friends, talk and swim

Meet new people, enjoy life

Nothing that you have to do

But to try and make it last.

Caren E. Salas

photo by William Salas

Away

Nothing to do

Nowhere to go

No one that needs me

To take them

To give them

To listen, to see

No real time

Just day time

And night

Hungry or not

Cooler or hot

Peace for a while

For a moment

Or two

Nowhere to go

Nothing to do.

Caren E. Salas

I'm Already There

Sometimes I'm sure that I'm already there
In some sort of hell, though I'm unsure of where.
And I'm forced to endure my life over again
In events and experiences that I never win.
And just when I figure, this time I can't fail
There's a glitch in the system, a tear in the sail.
Back to the starting gate, scratched off the list,
I aimed straight for the target, but fumbled and missed.
But for some unknown reason, I keep playing the game
Though I know that the outcome is always the same.
Sometimes I'm sure that I'm already gone
To some sort of hell, still compelled to go on.

Caren E. Salas

Photo by William Salas

Somewhere

Sometimes

Life sucks

A dream dies

A child cries

A heart breaks

And there's no place

To run away and hide

Sometimes...

Some days

All's lost

Hope fades

The game's played

The rain pours

And there's no more

Wishes to be made

Some days...

But somewhere

I know

The sky is blue

The day is new

We'll get the chance

To get up and dance

Like we don't care

Somewhere...

Sometime

Some day

Somewhere.

Caren E. Salas

Lost Me

I'm lost

Not because I wandered off

Pretty sure

I was misplaced

Set aside

Somewhere safe

Only no one thought

To remember

Exactly where

I'm out of sight

Out of mind

The dust collects

So does the time but I

Just wait

For a sign

For a sound

For someone

To find me

And clear the dust off me

Maybe even

The someone

Who lost me.

Caren E. Salas

Rescue Me

Rescue me from every days

From same old things

And bad clichés.

Let's go some place no one knows

Where nothing matters 

And nothing shows.

Forget the norm, we'll just go mad

And live a life

We never had.

Rescue me and make me smile

And I'll know peace

At least a while.

Caren E. Salas

A Lovely Kind of Day

It was a lovely kind of happy

     Joyous melancholy day;
Friends and family gathered all
     From near and far away.

We hugged and smiled, laughed and cried
     Raised glasses for a toast;
Remembering sweet moments past
     And people we loved most.

We talked for hours, ate good food
     And mourned how fast time flies;
Excited we could be together,
     Knowing soon there'd be good-byes.

And as the night came to a close
     We lingered by the door;
This precious time was ending,
     Though our hearts still yearned for more.

It was a lovely kind of happy
      Joyous melancholy day;
And if the day could last forever,
      Forever's where we'd stay.


Caren E. Salas


   

On This Side

Like the rug being pulled out

From under my feet, it feels

Wrong, unfair, ridiculous

Something better is out there

But I have to endure more

Pain before I am allowed

To try or even dream it

Sure feels like I've done my time

Already, but clearly not

To those deciding what's "best"

If they just knew how things felt

On this side of the needle....

I think things would be different.

 

 

Caren E. Salas

Disillusion

Sometimes it feels like the darkness is closing in
On this world, where gain is elevated above compassion;
Where truth has become an option of convenience
And not an ethical imperative;
Where generosity is measured not in the rewards
Of the heart, but by the tax deduction;
Where Art and Music are fleeting and expendable
And common sense is not so common;
Where inflicting pain through acts of violence,
Real or imagined, is considered entertainment;
Where making that deadline or appointment
Justifies reckless disregard for human life;
Where children are losing the ability to communicate
Face to face, and courtesy is obsolete;
Where a love that lasts forever is
For all intents and purposes...extinct,
And has been replaced by instant and temporary gratification.
Is this the dark before the dawn?
Or just the beginning...of the end?


Caren E. Salas


(I know, what a way to start off a new year, right? I guess there were a few things I had to get off my chest...)

The Creature

Bits and pieces of flesh and bone

Sewn together in the dead of night

Head in his hands, a mad man alone

Why did the spark of life fail to ignite?

 

Sewn together in the dead of night

A monster of enormous proportions lies still

Why did the spark of life fail to ignite?

Then the man hears a groan that gives him a chill.

 

A monster of enormous proportions lies still

As if from a nightmare its eyes open wide

Then the man hears a groan that gives him a chill

Heaven and hell have begun to collide.

 

As if from a nightmare its eyes open wide

It pulls at restraints feeling anger and fear

Heaven and hell have begun to collide,

With its borrowed brain wondering, How am I here?

 

It pulls at restraints feeling anger and fear

With a crazed look the man shouts out "It's alive!"

With its borrowed brain wondering, How am I here?

Thoughts and emotions spinning in overdrive.

 

With a crazed look the man shouts out "It's alive!"

He loosens the chains so the monster can stand

Thoughts and emotions spinning in overdrive

He thought that the creature would obey his command.

 

He loosens the chains so the monster can stand

One step at a time it crosses the floor

He thought that the creature would obey his command

But the monster decided it wanted much more.

 

One step at a time it crosses the floor

Like a child, was expected to do as was told

But the monster decided it wanted much more

It broke down the door and ran out in the cold

 

Like a child, was expected to do as was told

Unclear of its strength, its speech or its thoughts

It broke down the door and ran out in the cold

Not quite understanding what was right and was not

 

Unclear of its strength, its speech or its thoughts

It wanders about, causing fear and outrage

Not quite understanding what was right and was not

It's captured and tortured and put in a cage.

 

It wanders about, causing fear and outrage

This creature with no choice in how it became

It's captured and tortured and put in a cage

Sadly, it's not the one who should be given the blame

 

This creature with no choice in how it became

Called demon, devil, abomination and worse

Sadly, it's not the one who should be given the blame

Paid another man's debt, lived another man's curse.

 

Called demon, devil abomination and worse

The pathetic thing's life ends in fire and pain

Paid another man's debt, lived another man's curse

And by dawn's light, just ashes and nightmares remain.

 

Caren E. Salas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death by Solitaire

It started innocently enough. One

Suit Spider Solitaire downloaded on

My little "Kindle Fire". I was thinking

It would help me pass the time while waiting

For my doctor appointments and other

Otherwise wasted moments in my life.

But Spider Solitaire, like a spider,

Crept into the dark of my sub-conscious

Urging me to play morning, noon and night

And effectively dying to all else.

 

Its web glistened, tempting me with the hope

Of beating the machine. It could be done!

I won...but then I'd lose, and lose again.

I did it once, I can do it once more!

I'd say to myself as it knit new webs.

Little did I know it was wrapping me

In its threads, but so focused on the game

I didn't notice, and now I'm afraid

It's too late for me. The Spider has sucked

Those last few brain cells I had left inside.

 

 

Caren E. Salas

 

 

*Game and logo by MobilityWare