Tag Archives: mental health

Taking Pictures of Flowers

(Poem 279 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/NCPaCE

She fell in love near dusk
walking a gravel path that crunched
beneath their feet as they wandered
in search of flowers to photograph.

She had been gifted a new old camera
that made her feel nostalgic for a past
life, and he was looking for any excuse
to be alone with her to confess his feelings.

She bent to frame a delicate Magnolia
and his breath caught at her beauty.
He told her his heart would only continue
to beat if she accepted his love as her own.

She turned to him with a serious expression
and snapped a photo of his pained look.
“I accept,” she said, then took another
photo of his transformed elated visage.

She has both faces framed on her desk
and looks at them when she grows weary
of darkness and difficulties, to remember
that she was once someone’s next heartbeat.

@Home Studio – 279th poem of the year

Runner ups for the Camera photos to accompany my poem:

If This Was My Room

(Poem 278 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/nd5OI4

If this
was my room,
I would never
do
anything
but nap
and watch
the weather
change her mind
and write silly
poems about
dappled light
and dancing clouds,
and daydream
after reading
old love letters
while listening
to “Bésame Mucho”
on Spanish guitar.

@Home Studio – 278th poem of the year

Hole in the Ceiling

(Poem 276 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/ue2v8M

There’s a hole
in the ceiling
that needs
to be fixed.

The leak
that caused the need
for the hole
has been repaired,
but the hole
remains.

I ponder that space
when the house
is quiet
and nothing else needs
my attention.

The naming of things
fascinates me,
and the fact that we have a word for the absence of something where another thing should be
gives me comfort.

It means
others have discovered
something missing
that needs to be there
and filled it with a name.

@Home Studio – 276th poem of the year

Runner ups for the Hole in the Ceiling photos to accompany my poem:

Anniversary

(Poem 275 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

(10/1/15 Mema, David, Rebekah, Grandad)

9 years ago,
I promised to
continue writing
a love story
with you
for the span
of the rest
of our lives.

I walked
down a grass aisle
to a tree canopy
and exchanged vows
in the presence
of our people
while the sun
set.

It was a Thursday,
and white
lights were strung
in the tree
so we
could celebrate
falling in love
after dark.

@Home Studio – 275th poem of the year

The Pick-up Line

(Poem 274 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Inbound air vehicles
are pulling into the plane
parking lot, unloading people
like children off a school bus
and I’m sitting in the pick-up line,
waiting to scoop
you and your backpack
into the car and whisk
you home where you belong
after a long field trip.

@Home Studio – 274th poem of the year

Olive Green Yarn

(Poem 273 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

(Hair stick art display)

I needed a way
to display
my hair sticks
decoratively,
so I measured
and sketched
a design Grandad
could build
with his hands
and his tools
and his can-do
attitude that turns
ideas into art,
like a barn
or a staircase,
a balance beam
or doll furniture,
or a simple
wooden frame
with olive green yarn
stretched taut
between raised metal tacks
and a shiny gold hook
holding fast at the top
to hang my idea
for all the world to see.

@Home Studio – 273rd poem of the year

How to be a Good Mother-in-Law

(Poem 271 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Boaz and Ariel

Respect boundaries
Mind my business
Remember birthdays
Be supportive
Don’t give unwanted advice
Stay connected
Don’t be nosy
Be patient
Set an example
Ask for forgiveness
Set expectations
Hold myself accountable
Accept change
Grant grace

@Home Studio – 271st poem of the year

Ways I’ve Thrown Out My Back In My 50s

(Poem 270 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/K6aM9w

Washing dishes (scrubbing a cookie sheet too hard.)
Rolling over in bed.
Holding up my cell phone to show my daughter a video.
Sitting up straight in my chair.
Bending over to pet Cotton Eyed Joe (my granddaughter’s cat.)
Typing.
Opening a Splenda packet; shaking it too vigorously.
Brushing my teeth.
Scooping a cup of dog food into the dog’s bowl.
Waving my Harry Potter wand.

@Home Studio – 270th poem of the year