Form Challenges #21
RICTAMETER

Dragons Lair

kitchen,
a vast, loft-like
space where my daughter &
i are cleaning up. she displays
a large rack, the size of a dragon's wing
span; we ponder this thing & I
look 'round, for big ovens,
signs of dragon-
sized pies.

logic
known only to
weavers of dreams, compels
us to think on how we can break
two dinner plates. I move to a door that
opens to reveal not much more
than a shortcut to the
thin air of a
long drop.

oh, but
mom! Try again,
my dream child says and I
step out on to a black metal
stairwell, the soon - to - be - executed
dishware in hand. as they hit dirt,
each breaking in two, one
changes, becomes
opaque

like a
platter, the kind
you place, dead-centre on
the dining room table, under
its matching fruit bowl. I wake with the scent
of warm bread, cheese, and other things
in mind - things you might find
in the dreamer's
kitchen.

-----

First Garden

Without
referring to
the obvious, I think
about how somebody, somewhere
was out gathering for the first mammoth
feed of the season - yes, it had
to be a she - only
a woman would
do such

Under
cover of skin
- something tanned and sewn,
she hid the roots of some veggie
and took it home to ponder. While
the others were masticating,
she went outside the cave
and dug a hole for it.
Next spring? Voila!
Garden.

Fooled 'em,
those men - while they
slaved all day to catch some
sorry thing, wilder than themselves,
the women of the tribe stayed home, gathered
from the newly started garden.
It took the men many
years to catch on.
Clever.

That was,
of course, before
the days when we hammered
the keys of typewriters, sat prim
and proper on our steno chairs while some
man who assured everybody
he knew just what he was
doing, dictated
letters.

Those were
the days when we
women dreamed of how we
would someday run our own places,
send the boys out to fetch coffee, complete
with croissants - latte was a bit
much. Of course, that was back
when coffee was
coffee.

Years on,
we came to dream
of a time when we could
stay home to tend to our gardens,
experiment with roots and cuttings, think
up new ways to work from the home.
Some sold cuttings from their
gardens.

Later
we tired of this;
had a yen to get back
into the workplace - take the men's
jobs. Thought about future scenarios,
wondered if there might come a day
when the men stayed home and we went
out to work. Now we wonder
if we shouldn't have stuck
to our backyard
gardens.

-----

Daybreaks

Daybreaks
With more heartaches
For those who are alone
Sadly like nomads they do roam
Searching to meet the right person to love
Hear their prayers soar beside white doves
Their silhouettes in flight
As I awake
Daybreaks


-----

Good Times----Acrostic Rictameter

Good times
Out on the town
Once in a while is fun
Dressed up for a night of pleasure
Together we keep the rhythm going
In time to the music dancing
Moving and feeling grand
Enhanced by these
Good times

-----

I've Had Enough Mr. Green

Screw you
Again screw you
You pompous righteous prick
Each day for twenty four hours
You ostentatious feathered vertebrate
Embarrassing me when you speak
Who do you think you are
Old parakeet
Screw you

-----

Rains Fair---Acrostic Rictameter

Rains fair
All over town
Inside hallways wet shoes
Nestled on rubber mats laid out
Signatures left from swollen puddles tears
Follow behind in your footprints
Annoying little guys
Impartial drops
Rains fair

-----

Vanity

Mirrors
Are reflections
Of hidden desires
That capture life without a sound
Suspended expressions and emotions
Stare back at you the director
Upon the glass
Mirrors