Hello, beautiful readers! School's out for summer! (yes, I sung that...lol) I am officially on summer vacation. My alarms are turned off (an absolute delight for me), and I am ready for a summer of relaxation and rejuvenation. Renovations are still taking place in my home and probably will be for a few more weeks. I have plenty of outings planned with friends, including this weekend. And next week, my sister and I are going camping for four days. So, I will be off the grid next week. I will be disconnecting from technology and absorbing all the wonderful energy nature shares with me.
It's been a busy week, so I'm a bit behind in some of my prompts. I'm going to try to combine three different prompts today. The first one comes from Reena's Xploration Challenge #384. This week, Reena encourages us to use a question or an exclamation in our piece, not necessarily the symbols for the spirit of them. I've italicized my questions.
In this week's Wea've Written Weekly (W3), Bob asks us to write a poem inspired by his poem, "Mama's Voice in the Kitchen." In it, he explores grief, memory, and how everyday spaces hold strong emotions. Within our poem, we must use the word "still" at least twice and we must deliberately repeat a word, phrase, or sentence at least three times. I've bolded my repetitive phrase and the "still" words.
Finally, in Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge, she shares with us the image below and encourages us to let it inspire us as we write.
I chose to write a freestyle poem for this challenge. I didn't expect to get emotional while I wrote it, but it really took me back to my Amber girl's journey. Amber was a brown, American chihuahua, not as tiny as a Mexican chihuahua, and she had none of the attitude. She was my first and only dog that I have owned on my own. She was an incredible companion.
apart from your brothers and sisters
the runt of the litter
giving off shy vibes
but your eyes asked me to
pick you, love you
and I did
I remember your calm nature
as if you knew I needed
something to balance the anxiety
bombarding me
you always were my calm through my storms
your tail always wagging
your licks always loving
your cuddles always comforting
I remember when you got sick
when diabetes grabbed hold of you
and wouldn't let go
was it the many times you stole
from my chocolate stash
or just the unlucky spin of fate
that made your body
betray your sweet spirit
I remember how you slowly deteriorated
even with the medicines
and my love
how you spent more and more time
lying in my lap
your favorite place
how you never left my side
as if knowing I needed
every minute I could get with you
And I remember that last day
when you lay still in my arms
licking my tears off my face
were you aware I was
choosing to put you out of your misery
while gutting my heart
I held you as you took your last breath
and poured my love into you
until I had to let go
I hold my memories of you
in secure, compartmentalized boxes
I open the happy ones frequently
sometimes I look down at my lap
and imagine you lying there
sleeping soundly
sweetly dreaming
it's been seventeen years
since your passing
and I love you still
and always will
my sweet, Amber girl
Would you like to write a poem for any of these prompts? Click the links below:
