Potholes
Some hit and complain
Others will drive around
A few will fill them
***
Same is true of life…
Which one are you?
Month: May 2022
Gray Fox
Gray Fox
Eyes burning in the twilight
Sense of smell overrides fear
Looking for that porkchop bone
tossed out earlier
Constant cravings
push instinct aside
Hunger becomes the driver
while slinking in the shadows
***
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
I was surprised to see this fox in the back yard, when I went to close the curtain on my sliding door. He stayed around long enough for me to get my camera. But, when I slid the door open for a better shot he turned and headed back into the woods.
This is a shaky shot:
Sunburn
Sky panted bright orange
Twilight chases evening sun.
Burn turns to a tan
Cool lotion soothes stinging pain
Stayed on the beach way too long
***
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse, Lillian wants us to play with compound words. She gave us a list of compound words to choose from and asked us to choose one and use it in a poem, but we must separate into the two root words in sequence on two different lines. I choose sunburn in the Tanka format.
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Sweet Baby Boy
Sweet Baby Boy close your eyes
Sleep in a world of wonder
Go off to dreamland with a sigh
Don’t worry about the thunder
Sweet Baby Boy just close your eyes
For if it wakes you makes you cry
These covers you’ll be under
Today is Quadrille Monday at d’Verse. Our prompt is any form of the word sleep. I took my inspiration from a lullaby I wrote several years ago for my adopted grandson who had a hard time adjusting.
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Original Lullaby post: https://rothpoetry.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/sweet-baby-boy/
We are of One Blood
When self-preservation
at all cost
overrides our understanding
of humanity,
Ideologies arise
blinding us to the truth
that we are all of
One Blood
that pumps
through our veins
interchangeable
with you or me
regardless of color
race or ethnicity,
Life-saving blood
revealing
that we are all one
in the midst of
our diversity,
but not exclusive
in value
or superior in
entitlement.
We are humanity
created in the image
of our creator
Spiritual channels
of light
in the darkness
We are hope and comfort…
not death and destruction.
*
My sad condolences to the people of Buffalo whose family members were attacked and killed yesterday by a raving lunatic who thought his humanity was greater in value than the lives of others who were different from him.
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Experiment in Bug Control
The past few years I have been trying to keep my garden pests away without using toxic chemical sprays or dust. I used neem oil and dish soap, which helped some, but did not quite do what I hoped. This year I am seeing a lot of holes in the leaves of my Salvia and green beans, so I thought I would do some experimenting and see if I could make my own bug spray.
Since cedar has such a strong distinct smell, I clipped some green ends along with some mint tea and a few leaves from my geranium plant. In the tea bed I found some long-stemmed weeds that have a strong odor as well. I cut them up and put them in an old blender and filled it half full of water. By blending it for about a minute it all turned into a green smoothy. The gook floated to the top and the liquid stayed below. I dumped off the liquid and added more water to the thick gook and blended it all again. By the second round I had about a half-gallon of liquid. It was very strong smelling of cedar which I hope will make the little critters think twice before nibbling on my veggies and flowers.
Now I have to figure out how much I have to dilute it to make it work without harming my plants. I took the thick gook and spread it around the base of my Salvia. No use wasting anything! Hopefully it will work!
Green smoothie’s foul smell
Keeping bugs and mites away
Organic bug spray
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Finding Success
Success comes from within
Not from what we have
or the car we drive
or the house we live in
or the trophies we have won
Success is getting up when you fall
Believing you can continue on
Knowing who you are
And what you can do
Success is loving and being loved
Knowing the value of family
The importance of friends
And that children are an extension of you
Success is giving $15 worth of work
On a job that pays only $10 an hour
Success is treating others with respect
even when you are mistreated
Success is standing up for justice
For those who are being oppressed
Success comes from within
From the core of your being
Success is who you believe you are
Success is loving God and those around you
being willing to serve others for the good of all
*
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Posting on d’Verse Open Link night: https://dversepoets.com
Knock-out
Knock-out roses bloom
Bleeding over green foliage
Beauty everywhere
Photo taken this morning: Dwight L. Roth
Heart Attack Desert
Cream Cheese and Cherries
All sweetness and tart
Melts in my mouth
A delectable work of art
*
Each year she asks
When my birthday rolls around
What shall I make you
A chocolate or a pound
*
No cake
No candles
Just Cherry Delight
It’s all I ever want
I’ll eat it every night
*
Although she makes it
She’s reminded of fat
Filling my veins with
Cholesterol and plaque
Seems all the good stuff
Wants to hang around
I’ll take my chances
Though it makes me rotund
*
A Cherry Delight birthday
I never get enough
The best dessert for me
Until I am stuffed
***
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse, Misky asked us to write a poem about food. Since my birthday just passed, and my wife made me my favorite desert, I decided to share a poem I wrote a few years ago.
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Here is the recipe by request:
Cherry Delight
1 9oz grand cracker crust
1 pk 8 oz Cream Cheese
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 can of Cherry Pie filling
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Blend in the condensed milk. Add the lemon juice and Vanilla. Pour into the pie crust and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Top with chilled cherries.
The Call
Carrie woke to her cell phone lit up and vibrating on the nightstand. It was a text that simply said,
” It’s ready!”
“Please call ASAP.”
She had been waiting anxiously for the past two months for this call. Three times a week, as Carrie sat hooked up to the dialysis machine, she dreamed of this day.
This was an experiment she volunteered for over a year ago. Researchers at Wake Forest University finally perfected a way to take tissue from her bad kidney, isolate the good cells, and grow a new healthy kidney. It would eliminate the rejection factor.
But would it work?
Many anxious thoughts raced through her mind as she stared at the phone. “For how can I be sure I shall see again the world on the first of May?” she wondered.
There were no guarantees, she would be the first.
***
Today at d’Verse, Merril gave us this prosery prompt:
“For how can I be sure
I shall see again
The world on the first of May”
–From “May Day” by Sara Teasdale
We are to take this line from the poem and include it in a flash fiction piece of 144 words. My story inspiration came form a PBS show where are Wake Forest Research doctor talked about this kind of thing being studied. In time they will be able to grow new organs from your own body tissue. How amazing is that!
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Roth Poetry 