Inspired by Reena’s Xploration Challenge #373 – Homecoming &
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt
whether at the end of a long day at work
or arriving back from a trip far away
my heart aches to listen
to the familiar sounds this old house makes
springtime adds more levels of comfort
the twittering on the branches
slightly cool, slightly warm breezes rushing in
these are among the things i cherish most
Happy First Day of Spring!
Night’s Blanket
Darkness has settled around the house
the sun pulling up the night sky
to cover his warmth and dim his rays
while taking the morn to others
Mother moon slips in halfway
mercurial in her moods of disclosure
unable to shine bright from within
she steals the sun’s light as he sleeps
Animals all either rise or slumber
nocturnal creatures roam to feed
while diurnal’s find a place to shelter
safe and sound until morning
I pad down the hallway on bare feet
the soft slapping sound reminds me
it is time to sleep my body needing rest
turn the lights out going to bed alone
One Wall
One wall holds trinkets
garnered from vendors,
little tents along alleyways
in valleys and on beaches
of lands far and near.
One wall holds baskets and gadgets
and things mundane to others
yet most dearly loved by me,
colors overlapping into an organized
chaos within my vivid imagination.
One wall holds items necessary
to living, a knife block, a shelf and a tray.
A spice rack resides there
and a hook for fancy towels to dry wet hands
and a pad for lifting hot things.
One wall holds dear photo memories
of the life that was lived. Babies born,
marriages complete, children now
parents themselves and flowers long gone,
but all will live on within me.
Sailing Ship
Interminable darkness
thicker than oil
Smothers the living
no conscious thought
Upon the horizon
a ship tiny is far away
Surrounded by light
buoyed by hope
This sailing ship powered
by the winds of love
One island left behind
swallowed up by the night
A new island ahead
made bright by its light
Vibrant greens and flowers await
opening wide at the ship’s wake
Sun’s warm rays follow it in
surrounding the bow
caressing the stern
A luminous light in the dark night
Docking it rests
for a brief moment in time
Until it’s gone again
leaving the island disappearing behind
Time To Sleep
Mother Nature’s splendor
turns bright yellows and pretty whites
into spots of orange and brown
Vibrant green leaves flutter
to the ground singing a rustling tune
fading into shades of red
Autumnal breezes cool earth’s crust
sending a time-immemorial
to deep rich soil and plowed fields
Migratory birds flock overhead
to warmer climes with temperate blue waters
and ancient nesting grounds
Deer rut and butterflies mate
their young to be born in the
earth’s awakening spring warmth
Bears forage for berries and meat
slipping into their hideaways protected
from winters wrath and man’s gun
Quiet blankets the cooling ground
signaling Mother Earth’s creatures
and foliage that it’s time to sleep
~~~
Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris lives in Southport, NC. Published in Whispers & Echoes, 50 Give or Take, Visual Verse, Spillwords, and Wounds I Healed. She received an Honorable Mention in Tales from the Moonlit Path 2021 in their Abandoned Places Halloween Challenge. She has poems published in both the 24-Hour Poetry Marathon Anthology Publications – 2022 and 2023. Gypsie-Ami has recently completed a chapbook merging her two loves, poetry and flowers, titled Reflections of a Woman’s Life. This is her second feature this year with The Short of It.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
#TheShortofIt – Vol 1 The Sound of Brilliance and Vol 2 Reflections & Revelations on Amazon
my physical realm informs me
earth is my home
no matter where i land
my emotional senses tell me
some people are home
making me feel loved and alive
providing safety
feeling home frees us
yet connections bind us
so why do i feel so disconnected
from this place where i live
i’d like to feel at home with all earth’s inhabitants
Development
A home is razed…
On hitherto tranquil space
A hundred apartments.
Natural Contrast
Outside the window…
Cooing in unison
Pigeons black and white
Troubled
Morning serenity…
Awakened by
An anxious mind.
A Cup of Tea
Cloudy skies
A cup of tea, rusty-red and smelling of the earth
Monsoon flush.
Changing climate
Less rainfall…
All the darkness
On the faces of earthlings.
Meet
Old friends…
Wispy smoke from the teacups
Warms up their chatter.
Darkness
Dazzling city lights….
All the darkness
Inside lonely hearts.
~~~
Goutam is passionate about poetry and writes whenever something or someone touches his heart. His poetry finds space in a number of anthologies, including The Sound of Brilliance. Hues of Life (Notion Press) is another collection of his poetic works. Living in Kolkata, India, he can be reached at gdutta17@gmail.com. Goutam was first featured in 2020 and then again in 2022. You can find his other features and reblog HERE.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
Inspired by Eugenia’s Weekly Prompt – Guiding Light & Reena’s Exploration Challenge #230
in today’s world of text messages and emails
confusion over interpretation mounts
face time, video chats, and zoom meetings
brings us together live
to determine intent and desired goals
our guiding light is honesty, openness, and cooperation
to achieve desired outcomes
well, mostly…
Home is what we all long for, and sometimes a place we think we’ve found only to determine that’s not the case. But we keep searching…
This is a foggy path she treads.
Hand in hand, step by step,
inhale, deep breath . . .
Not a word said.
He smiles – tries to reassure.
She smiles – worries even more.
This is nothing like before.
A hundred happy endings gone wrong.
A thousand thank-yous sit on her tongue,
But the past’s misery won’t leave her alone.
Please tell me I have finally found home.
She’s Still Alive by JeanneMarie
I looked in the mirror this morning
and the woman who once loved you
looked back at me.
I thought she died.
I tried to kill her literally, emotionally
and in every way possible because
I don’t want love that hurts.
I looked in the mirror this morning
and the woman who once loved you
looked back at me.
She’s still alive.
home sweet home
you feel so far away
on this sad and lonely journey
traversing these difficult roads
trying to take care
as i find my way back
to your comfort and protection
#Whatdoyousee
Image credit: Dan Grinwis- Unsplash
Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #134
A happy home – the Feng shui of space and people.
Susi Bocks
with joy merged
in the space
we call home
tranquility
well-being
a refuge
a place we learn
a place we grow
a place we love
the happy home
Getting off the train in Chicago,
the strong wind,
urgent like me.
Each waft carrying my steps
in the direction of home. It’s as if
nature knew it was time for us. I’m so ready
to capture what sustains me. I’ve missed you,
your silhouette, and your substance.
Being close to you is a memory I pull from.
It keeps me sane while I’m away. This couple
defining what a day needs is everything to me.
Longing to share of myself, my legs
hasten their pace. I want to be
wrapped in the space we create.
I’ve missed your light touch
caressing my face, and
the sweetness of your kisses
has haunted me for weeks.
The questions of workdays take
a backseat while we rediscover
the single-best thing of the us we are.
The focus in your gaze tells me I
was right to hurry. It keeps me coming back,
again and again.
A peaceful and quiet place, all noise removed, has been my retreat for not only my writing but my sanity as well. The feeling of being in a calm, safe space translates into a much happier me. This human-made structure (my home), devoid of people with only the bare minimum house noises, is where I also feel the most productive. I would imagine this rings true for many of us here on WordPress.
Once intruded upon, my surroundings become less appealing. There goes my peace of mind as well. It’s as if the boundaries weren’t respected, and chaos ensues. I always wonder how others react to or cope with intrusions. For me, my space becomes a complicated atmosphere, and I become tense and charged. Does that sound about right for you too?
Even music was considered an intrusion. Never before have I been able to write with music playing until I started listening to LP. It’s like she’s a friend holding me through the process. It’s an escape to warmth and caring. I happened to discover this when I wasn’t in my usual quiet space and still needed to get some work done. The distractions around me needed to be drowned out. It was not sufficient only putting the earbuds in, so I also turned on her music. Yay, no more external noises pushing against my boundaries, but then I realized I could also write with her streaming in my ear. Wow!
Her music takes me to a zone I can lean into comfortably. It’s a rhythm like none other. My being and my body begin to move and sway with it. I feel like I’m in my bubble again, but it’s enhanced. LP does this to me every time. Her voice, along with the music, makes me want to glide and fluidly command the space. She taps into a part of my nervous system that responds with relaxation every time, without fail. It’s like it all becomes one with the core of who I am. She becomes a part of me, living inside of me. And I can write because she doesn’t feel like an interloper. LP helps the process.
But I digress with this tribute to my all-time favorite artist. I do highly recommend you search her out, though. She’s phenomenal. Shutting up now. I’ll get back on track as this piece started about the peace and harmony I find in my little world.
After a 50+ year existence, I’ve had a lot of trials and errors to determine what does happen to work for me. Right here, right now – having a feeling of peace and experiencing a quietness like this has done wonders for my life. Not saying that life doesn’t still throw curveballs, it does! But even those are mitigated as I feel so much more rational than I’ve ever felt. That must be part of what the aging process does to a person, or? The mind knows what it wants and grasps it. Or is that just me?
The kids have moved on to the lives of their choosing. I sit at my computer and type to my heart’s content – books all around me whose words I get to devour whenever I want to. My head allowed to roam freely, contemplating everything and nothing. Because of all this, I’m experiencing freedom in a way I’d not previously experienced. I’m exquisitely fortunate to have this space called home to express my thoughts, and for that, I’m grateful.
May it last until I close my eyes for the last time.
I Write Her 