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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Disasters, Delights and Other Detours - 55. Dirty Laundry and Weather

There aren't exactly metric, syllable count or rhyme errors to be found in these free verse poems. But if you detect any problems, know that I'm the cause of them.

Dirty Laundry

 

I feel as if I carry life

balanced precariously,

like unruly armloads of laundry

too long neglected and too much to bear

through long corridors and

descending steep steel staircases;

far too frequently,

a stray sock or battered buttondown,

a torn tee-shirt, or, god forbid, underwear,

fall as frayed fragments of my existence,

marking the downward journey of my days

to my neighbors.

 

 

Facing Morning

 

I hate him,

the man I know too well,

that one who meets me in the mirror

every single morning,

with that stupid, hopeful expression on his face,

as if a good night’s sleep

and strong coffee

can change his life

and my world.

 

 

Weather Pattern

 

The wind shifted overnight

waking me to a bank of grey clouds

scurrying away southeast,

taking sorrowed rain and worry’s oppressive humidity with them,

leaving clear crystal-blue laughter overhead,

and radiant hope shining

through uplifted branches,

glinting on scattered beads of sadness

left on leaves yellow with autumn’s first color,

while mint blossoms and Michaelmas daisies nod

with the cheerful gossip of busy bumblebees,

until the wind shifts again.

Leave a comment or a reflection if you like. I welcome everyone's thoughts. Thanks for reading.
Copyright © 2017 Parker Owens; All Rights Reserved.
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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

Headstall

Hi, Parker. I loved them all... Weather Pattern has beautiful metaphors. You are so right that weather gives our emotions their cues.  Dirty Laundry... wonderful, and sadly apt as youth recedes. I've lost more than a few articles throughout my life. But Facing Morning... WOW ... what a gut punch. I'm sorry you feel that way, but unfortunately, I relate. :hug: 

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dughlas

Wow. I just finished dumping one load of laundry into the washer after hanging the previous load in the sun to dry. Never occurred to me how much of my life might be drowning in that agitated water ...

I still believe in the powers of a cup of strong coffee ... you just need to add a lot of cream and sugar.

Sometimes the sun shining on flower petals is enough.

:hug:

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Parker Owens
4 hours ago, Headstall said:

Hi, Parker. I loved them all... Weather Pattern has beautiful metaphors. You are so right that weather gives our emotions their cues.  Dirty Laundry... wonderful, and sadly apt as youth recedes. I've lost more than a few articles throughout my life. But Facing Morning... WOW ... what a gut punch. I'm sorry you feel that way, but unfortunately, I relate. :hug: 

A cranky dryer was inspiration for this one. It takes only a few tussles with the laundry line to propel the mind to poetry. Too many worries and too little sleep is never a good combination. The mirror cannot look it’s best under those circumstances. But the northwest wind blowing down from Canada pushed away the clouds and heat, and with it, the oppression I’ve been feeling. Thank you for your kind thoughts, and for reading these. 

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Parker Owens
2 hours ago, dughlas said:

Wow. I just finished dumping one load of laundry into the washer after hanging the previous load in the sun to dry. Never occurred to me how much of my life might be drowning in that agitated water ...

I still believe in the powers of a cup of strong coffee ... you just need to add a lot of cream and sugar.

Sometimes the sun shining on flower petals is enough.

:hug:

I think you’re right about the power of sunlight for change. Hope and love are powerful lights indeed. Coffee, too, is an elixir, though I have had to wean myself from sugar. I’m happy Dirty Laundry provoked your thoughts. Thank you so very much for reading this, and for your kind responses. 

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Parker Owens
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1 hour ago, northie said:

I'm glad that Facing morning is in the middle of these three. It means the stab of 'I hate him' has time to fade a little by the time I finish reading. Nature so often gives hope and solace, and I know you find it so.  As for Dirty laundry, I think you describe all our lives as we get older. :heart:

loading hug GIF

Your hugs arrived, warm and much appreciated. The middle poem in this set helped deal with a fearsomely bad day or two. The laundry image was too good to pass up, and my thanks go to @AC Benus for his encouraging me to flesh the idea out. Autumn weather brings its own challenges, but it is welcome, nonetheless. Thanks very much for reading these, and for your very kind comments. 

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Parker Owens
3 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

Don't hate yourself or your life ... we only have what we do. You should love the guy in the mirror because he is a lovely and hopeful person.  All wonderful poems. 

Thanks for reading these. Michaelmas Daisies made me think of you, particularly. You’re right about the mirror, I know it. Some mornings it’s just harder to believe; I know many of us go through that, too. I will be okay. xo P

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Parker Owens
2 hours ago, Geron Kees said:

I liked all three of them. But you really should be patient with the guy in the mirror. What we see with our eyes is not always the truth, and reflections are a poor substitute for a second opinion. :)

Thanks so much for reading these; still more for your response. You’re probably right that a second opinion can stop the reverberations in my internal echo chamber. 

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Cole Matthews

I think I like Facing Morning the best.  It’s raw and bitter like an arugula salad.  Leaves you feeling refreshed after consuming.  

I identify with Dirty Laundry because it’s my usual state of being, but it’s also a great analogy because you can wash those clothes each time and become refreshed.  The other side of worry is relief and atonement.  Very powerful stuff.  Great job!

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Parker Owens
On 9/28/2019 at 11:48 PM, Cole Matthews said:

I think I like Facing Morning the best.  It’s raw and bitter like an arugula salad.  Leaves you feeling refreshed after consuming.  

I identify with Dirty Laundry because it’s my usual state of being, but it’s also a great analogy because you can wash those clothes each time and become refreshed.  The other side of worry is relief and atonement.  Very powerful stuff.  Great job!

Thank you for your comment on Facing Morning. That’s the best face anyone put on those lines. As for Dirty Laundry, it’s indeed a state of being. I’m glad Im not the only one who can be tracked by the trail of odd socks left behind. I’m very grateful for your comments, and especially that you read these. 

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