transient lovers

transient lovers
passed slowly in the night
drawn by body's warmth
like moths to a light

weaving word coquettish
graceful was thine dance
static smiles; minus passion's lust
just hollow eyes to fill stilled glance

whither did I stay there?
why the draw so strong?
-a slave to electric urges
held captivated too long

aching arms akimbo
mine heart mumbles out a beat
with lips drawn thin I relinquish and know
that for romance I must call defeat.

gilded wings might come to call
and beg for fun from me.
Aye, tomorrow may,
these dreams I admit to pray,
but for now my passion is me
   and thee

I am late to the table, but my friends at One Shot put out a wonderful gathering of talented poets to pool their creativity amongst. If you have ever wanted to put pen to paper  and spruce some words up into a poem you will love this supportive network. Don't take my word for it though; go enjoy yourself!

Tuesday Torrents

I have been having a bit of a mental block recently. I have opened my blog up, looked at it blankly and moved onto checking emails, FB, work, etc. Creativity = nada. zilch, nil, nothing. Last night I did some laps in blogland, hoping that perhaps inspiration would hit me, but around about eleven I gave up and shut the computer down. Done like dinner.

You see my brain has been swarming all over the kid's school and the issues that ensued there last week. I have had well-meaning advice from many parties and have been trying to figure out what direction I should proceed in. I don't think that anything will happen again, but I also think that something should be noted on file somewhere. Of course I also worry about stirring the pot and having myself and my children blacklisted as "problems" in our first week of school at the start of a potentially long stretch of learning there. It makes me antsy, itchy, irritated and stressed. Not where I wanted to be; AT ALL. Too bad though, I have to deal with it or let it go unfettered to the wind. 

sigh...

grumble, grumble, grumble

Maybe I should just go and read my book again tonight. The story "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is not quite uplifting, but it is first up for book club this year. It is an interesting novel about the Mother of a teenager that opens fire at his high school killing several people. She is writing letters to the boys Father and recounting their life leading up to the "incident". Good fodder for anyone feeling bad about not wanting to have children and also makes you feel better about any of your own bad parenting days, but I am not sure if I am going to get a feel-good ending out of it. I will keep you posted.

Oh, and I got my bathroom re-painted and it looks FAB-u-Lous! Still working on ironing my shower curtain (Yeah, you should really know by now that I am not that much of a freak - it is cotton [ie. wrinkly] and there is a vinyl shower curtain between it and the water hence an iron IS necessary. No worries; I do have one & even know how to use it despite my Mother's lack of training in that department. For shame, for shame!). Now the rest of the house is absolutely embarrassing beyond belief with the lack of attention it has received since bath renos began. After I re-attach my banister that T ripped out of the wall on the weekend I promise to see if I can find the vacuum. Maybe I will find the floor or even a cat or two? Who know? For now, my book is calling and I bid you adieu. Be well my minions. Go well.

A Little Piece of Heaven

My story resumes with a taste of home. A whiskey in hand, I reflected on days past from the warmth and security of Heaven Lodge in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Yes, truly a piece of Heaven after some of the domiciles we had been residing in recently. Mozambique lay behind us now though. It surely was not a dream, but so many of its qualities were too surreal to be believed. The poverty, landmines, potholes and pristine beaches all mixed together with extremely overt begging and acts of remarkable friendliness. Mozambique had been a lesson in living a larger life. Our final journey, ending  in a joyous dance of celebration upon reaching a petrol station, could not be squashed by a closed border for the night a few miles down the road. We still rode the high of triumph and another night in Mozambique could not disperse our success over the road from Hell. The morning sun offered us another example of the people’s warmth, with a man pointing out a nearby hostel where we could rest our head. Gratitude aside, we pushed on to a new country.

Zimbabwe held the promise of many things. My first brush with it, in Victoria Falls months earlier on the overland tour, had captivated me and I had been anticipating my return ever since.  First though, was a stop at Ann Bruce’s (Backpacker) House. Glory be, there was HOT, running water. Almost a distant memory, I reveled in this luxury. We also took in some game viewing, espying rhinoceros, giraffes, eland and ostrich, plus a magnificent sunset to round out the day. With Brett in our mind’s eye, we pushed on though. We assumed that we had time enough for a quick detour, before heading back up to Harare to meet up with him. This detour brought us to Chimanimani and a planned epic hike into the wilds of Zimbabwe. The whiskey warmed me up for the promised trek into Chimanimani National Park. I sat scribbling down my thoughts and adventures in a journal that was thankful for a sturdy table to be laid upon. With creative juices flowing, I was primed for adventure, but the lure of cards stole my resolve. I can never turn aside an invitation to the card table, so tucked my bottle under my arm and became friends with an English bloke and Kiwi couple. This night’s adventure was in runs, pairs and euchres. Modernity lured me in, but the mountains would find their revenge.

Smiles Forever Strong

First day of  new school

time for Momma to ease up

let girls be themselves

life will keep going

love will still flow freely on

smiles forever strong

Day 2

I really shouldn't delve into this again. It will probably just get my feathers all rustled again, but... In blogland people often share tidbits about their day right? Yes, so;


wakeup to child crawling into bed with me
dry pants, so all good
alarm will go off in ten minutes
sigh...
awake now.

Breakfast
coffee, coffee
upper bathroom not clean yet, so still heading to basement to get clean
get clean
NO!! Don't run the water!!! You will scald Mommy! AhHHHHhhheeee
towel dry
brush teeth to prevent bad words from falling out of my lips
get dressed in my finest painting garb,
now turned to pants with the instantaneous change in seasons since Labour Day

Look at children
Look at clock
with 45 minutes before we have to leave to walk to bus
they have on rubber boots and coats
ready to go
waiting for tardy ole me
with 43 minutes before we have to leave
sigh...
a little excited they are indeed.

drag out hair drying, shoe finding, my lunch packing
leave 20 minutes early
offer home-made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to the handy neighbour (yes, very yummy!)
slowly amble towards bus stop with 17 minutes to spare
wait, wait, wait
see bus approaching and mist up a bit
watch 60 some-odd kids push and shove onto bus, with the littlest ones inching on last
my two
seperate seats
driving away

I stay strong
go to work
leave work to pick up children

between my house and the bus stop my cell phone rings
"Are you R. L.'s Mom?"
my baby
"yes"
"She's not on the bus"
heart racing "WHAT?"
at the school, but daughter number 1 shall be arriving momentarily via the bus
"WHAT!!"
"A slight mix up"
"WHAT!!!!!"

Frantic Mother Bear flies into rage
collects eldest in vise-like grip sprinting home to the van
races to school mindful of other little feet on the road
finds evidence of daughter
eventually finds daughter with help of Vice Principal
NOT Happy Mommy
They can tell
I make sure

after the shaking subsides
I make dinner
safe in our bastion of care
meal not eaten to spite
yet again
nothing exciting or new for them
except gym class

phone lines were burned up with my venting
to safe spaces
to figure out what went wrong with today
and how I can make tomorrow a better day
a better new day