Ask Us About Our Ninja Disguise

[Andrea345]

love love LOVE "reading persimmon seeds, " and the rest of that image.

I also love the "mandrake's fruit before it was fully ripe"... And the end of "Wild Harvest" is just lovely.

[Claire]

Wow, I had no idea that I could tell the weather from persimmon seeds. Thanks for sending me on a rabbit trail. I had to see the forks knives and spoons to believe it!
I love the botanical details in Wild Harvest, which made me feel at home.

You guys are playing a crazy game! At the end do we find out who wrote what?

[W.G.McLeod]

Again with the opposition. It's interesting like reading diaries entries of two polar sisters after they've grown. Where one sister absorbs elements of the wives' tales, the other rejects.

[Donner]

Thanks, Andrea, Claire and Wendy. This is turning out to be a fun and enlightening exercise, even more so than I had thought it might. And, yes, Claire, we'll reveal who wrote what at the end of the month.

[Donner]

April 3 Prompt - What I was saying with that last kiss

* * * * *

What I was saying with that last kiss

I watched Match Point this afternoon,
figured this had to end better for me
than it did for Scarlett Johansson.

I wanted to surprise you and have sex
on a Wednesday for a change.

I thought of you over the dishes this morning
and suddenly missed you
like a girlfriend, not a wife.

I've arrived at that peak in a woman's life
you men are told is out there, lurking.
It's true.

I trusted that you could take a hint;
the now-flat beer left on the counter testifies, Amen.

Take it as a warning: it won't be the last one like that.

Please, kiss me back the same way.
Please, don't let it be the last one.

* * * * *

After His Retirement

Before, my days were a soft rain of sound,
a sesame seed muffin, water and tea.

Now my days are fried potatoes,
a belch of beer, and a loud tv.

I softened my lips to his forehead
and said, I love you, still.

Then, I pushed my mouth to his
cheek and said, you’re the only man
I’ll ever know.

And what I was saying with that last kiss,
twist, clamp, and grip was,
get your ass up and off my couch.

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

I like the idea, and what I've read so far is ninjtastic!

I'll need to read a bit more to make some guesses.

BrianIs AtYou

[kristalynn]

I like the wild idea of sex on a Wednesday for a change in the first, and the last stanza of "After His Retirement," the twist, clamp and grip.

[Andrea345]

Both last lines were stunners. Wonderful lead ups. This NaPo is GOOD FOR you guys. Dang.

"get your ass up and off of my couch" HA!

and "Please don't let that be the last one" just stabbed...

[Dunc]

Donna, Melanie

Description (Melanie?) is a nice painting of a bad guy; I thought S3 in particular had the touch.

Small Town Transit (Donna?) is an effective and engaging snap of smalltownia.

Where Fairies Live (Melanie?) is a recollection tale told with a certain rollick to it, good narrative, good energy.

Wild Harvest (Donna?) is a moral tale with a nice set-up, good use of detail, and a punchline well done.

What I was saying (Melanie?) has quite a sharp confessional tone, and well narrated.

After his Retirement (Donna?) is a well-drawn scene and the punchline's both funny and cross.

Great reading, guys!

Regards / Dunc

[5th column]

I thought of you over the dishes this morning
and suddenly missed you
like a girlfriend, not a wife.

Yes!

And what I was saying with that last kiss,
twist, clamp, and grip was,
get your ass up and off my couch.

Yes AGIN!

April is the cruellest month. It cruels me with envitude…..

[Scarlett]

I have no idea who's writing what, but so far, all great stuff! I really liked Where Fairies Live. And I love the ending of After His Retirement-- And what I was saying with that last kiss,/twist, clamp, and grip was,/get your ass up and off my couch.

[Janet]

Riveting and great fun. Killer last lines. Love the way there are no loose ends and everything ties in so well to the grand finale.

[Donner]

Thanks, Brian, kristalynn, Andrea, Dunc (only the Shadow knows), Neil, Scarlet and Janet, for stopping by and commenting and fluffing. The encouragement is what keeps us going.

* * * * *

April 4 Prompt - I noticed an eyeball spying / through a knothole in the fence

* * * * *

Glory Days

We'd do it on purpose each spring,
go up to the dorm roof,
unstring our tops and doze
before afternoon classes. We'd do it
on purpose, we knew the guys
from the dorm just up the hill
had a bird's eye view of us
rubbing lotion on each other's
backs - a straight shot
even without the aid of binoculars,
but knew from the red that crept up necks
and eyes that carefully studied salads
when we strutted through the cafeteria
that they knew which of us had moles
and where they were. Those sungoddess days
are long past, now reserved for blending in
at the beach or for the cloister
of my backyard where only the dog sees all
except for an eyeball I've noticed spying
through a knothole in the fence.
A cotton ball and duct tape, the dog sicced
or a stick poked through would discourage
his peeping, but old men are still young
boys when it comes to copping a glimpse
and middle-aged women are still coeds
when the days begin to warm up.

* * * * *

Freedoms

I shy easily, like the squirrel
holed up in my oak. I let him watch me
water phlox and petunias boxed in
around his tree. He gnaws corn
I keep supplied to defend the tulip bulbs.

People speak loudly about me. They don’t approve
that I only smile or nod hellos, and hide behind the fence
where they can’t see as they pass. They wonder
what really goes on behind the gate of the stranger
who nevers chats. What does she do in there?

I’ve seen them before raise their necks, peek
through cracks to gain an exciting grain
of gossip to pass from neighbor to enemy
to friend. And, as I water impatiens
roses and glads, I notice an eyeball spying
through a knothole in the fence. I turn
the spray on full blast, lay down
the hose, stand in its splash,
and dance hard.

[5th column]

Glory days is a delicious memory of the arrogance of youth told from just far enough away to make N see themselves a stranger they are fond of despite the failings of teenage years. I liked the close and was surprised to see the word copping which, like the view of N in the poem, seems strange coming from a foreign mouth.


Freedoms could almost have been written by the same person just a few years later when the eye at the knothole has become an unwelcome intrusion.

I enjoyed both for the contrast.

[Donner]

Neil - Thanks for the comments. I swear we're not swapping notes or reading each other's poem before we've written our own.

* * * * *

April 5 Prompt - It was fortunate she knew the words by heart

* * * * *

Memorial Service

They moved the wreathe
further off to the left
for the congregational song,
blocking her view
of the screen.
Fortunately she knew
the words to "Cornerstone"
by heart, the same way
she'd known her friend.

* * * * *

Unstalked

You wanted her to be your animal –
Not a loyal shepherd, not a lap cat.
Not something trained, nor something feral.
Something teachable, still untaught.

You wanted to groom her, feed her from your hand
fatten her need, and thin her spine. But, she discovered
you. Then, you returned with promises
of change and you tasted her mouth and stroked her
head, and she said,

If the real thing don't do the trick
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn,
burn it out to the wick
Barracuda

How fortunate she remembered
those words by Heart.