Tag Archives: Texas

Fire Pit

(Poem 365 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Photos taken New Year’s Eve 2024 by Rebekah Marshall.

It is winter in Texas,
though our photos
make us look like
we are on some tropical
island where the weather
is always a balmy 75
degrees and we can wear
shorts and short sleeves
year round.

The fire is to pretend
it is wintertime, so we
can participate in the
festivities of making
smores, roasting hot
dogs, and sitting around
a fire pit for New Year’s.

We are good at pretend.
It is actually one of our
preferred states around
here because pretend
is usually much more
interesting and fun.

Charlotte had a dramatic
argument with the fire
pit lady for shooting sparks
out at her. It was quite
believable.

Julian scared
himself watching a giant
marshmallow transform
into a huge, flaming beast
with fire bursting out from
inside a hollowed out cave,
turning from dinosaur,
to alligator, to terrifying
skull; its ability to both
expand and melt was
nearly too much for his
imagination to handle.

Maybe later this week
we can pretend some
snow into being and make
a snowman to start off the
new year right.

@Home Studio – 365th poem of the year

Runner ups for the Fire Pit photos to accompany my poem:

Car Jenga

(Poem 341 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Boaz and Ariel leaving for Michigan.

Gifts and necessities
fill every inch of the car
blending possessions
one step in the process
that is part and parcel of
two lives becoming one
from Texas to Canada
Michigan in between
mother’s heart rests easy
when she sees her boy
turned man open the car
door for his wife
and drive away
to start his new life

@Home Studio – 341st poem of the year

Runner ups for the Car Jenga photos to accompany my poem:

The Outlaw

(Poem 314 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/8pc7Kj

He’s a quick draw and hard
on cold-blooded cowards
He’s no bushwhacker or hustler
no sidewinder who rattlesnakes
unsuspecting innocents
No, he is simply on the lam
for getting the drop
on a corrupt politician with power
and refusing to back down
Quick to cowboy up and get gaited
Gives any ace-high man a fair shake
Sweet on one lady and made
an honest woman out of her
Admired for telling good yarns
and shooting straight
Never one to raise Cain or drink red eye
to associate with bad eggs
or spend time in brothels or saloons
Salt of the earth and above board
Who cuts a fine figure
as he rides off into the sunset

@Home Studio – 314th poem of the year

Turtle House

(Poem 212 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/BsWO3A https://gencraft.ai/p/FYxwx0

Auspicious stone turtles
stand guard, gargoyles of
destiny, good fortune baked
into their shells, assuring the
dwelling longstanding fortune.
The turtles in the pond
fight for bits of mushy carrot,
stale bread, and greens,
unaware of the larger battle
being fought in the sky pond
by Grummans and Warhawks.
The people swim and love,
dream and hope, serve an
emperor or a president who
demands unwavering loyalty,
and wonder when peace will
fill the turtle house again.

@Home Studio – 212th poem of the year (After reading The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill.)

Churchill, Amanda. The Turtle House. Harper Collins, 2024.

Runner ups for the Turtle House photos to accompany my poem: