My Amber Girl - #W3 #FFFC #XplorationChallenge #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

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. 

(image courtesy of Getty Images on Unsplash)

My Amber Girl

I remember when I first met you

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:

Reena's Xploration Challenge #384

Wea've Written Weekly (W3)

Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge