Eleven

Place des Vosges, Paris

A perfect park
In the middle of a beautiful neighborhood
Surrounded by an old palace

The green grass is perfectly manicured
As are the artistic hedges
The birds chirp
The children play
People sit and eat and read
And watch

The spring days are beautiful
The sun shines so brightly
The window for wearing sunglasses has arrived
I love to sit and watch

The families who picnic
The high schoolers who lunch
The models who pose

People living amongst the perfection
The city is so beautiful
The park, a hidden gem

I wish I could go back
To tell myself to observe every blade of grass
Watch every dripping ice cream cone
Sit and read on every green bench

The perfect park won’t always be a block away
I long for the park and the city
And the me I was there

Seven

To Elizabeth who taught me courage
To Sylvia whose beautiful words can haunt
To Hattie who taught me heartache and loss
To Meg who taught me love and curiosity
To the poetry of Mary and Elizabeth and Anne
that taught me beautiful words don’t have to come from Shakespeare alone
To Amy and her cool-girl rebellion
To Hermione and her pride in her intellect
To Rachel for discovering the truth and confronting him
To Liane for the twisted and shocking and yet loving stories
To the women who have changed me
Thank you

Eight

The New York Times Learning Network, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/learning/lesson-plans/a-year-of-picture-prompts-over-160-images-to-inspire-writing.html 

Bright blue door
Ornate entry
Red flowers

Where does this door lead?
To a mosque where people go to worship and restore
To a castle where wealth kings and queens once roamed
To a garden where people can find beauty

Red flowers in bloom
Gives a sign of spring or summer
The sun shines brightly making the door shimmer like ocean water

The sand brick archway is inviting
But a long shadow casts a slight cloud over the door
Is it a tree or a building nearby?

Where does this blue door lead?

Nine #verselove 2019

Large long suitcase, stuffed with clothes, zipped
Small roller suitcase, stuffed with more clothes, zipped
Room, empty
Passport, ready
She, uncertain, anxious, excited

Parents, sad
Brother, sad underneath the surface
Car, packed

Flight, Paris
In flight, anxiety
Landing, smooth
Her mind, racing

Apartment, upstairs
Eight flights, tired
Open, door
Open, windows
Open, mind

Cafe, awaits

Parking Lot

This isn’t real life

This isn’t happening to me 

You’d never betray me 

I stare at the screen

The message  memorized 

But I can’t believe it 

The bee that stings me doesn’t hurt 

But the message tears me apart 

We plan to meet 

It’s a misunderstanding 

You will tell me it’s not true

Everything will be fine

My mind races 

Unfocused 

Unappreciative of the sunshine and summer warmth  

A cloud has rolled in
A storm rumbling inside my mind 

Driving to meet you

Mind still racing

Heart aching 

Wondering, what if it is true?

You pull up next to me in the lot of my apartment 

I confront you angry and confused

You tell me it’s true

My heart breaks
into
a million
pieces 

I end it right then and there

Never more sure 

Aching but knowing this is what I have to do 

You drive away 

I’m left with the shattered pieces to pick up

Frozen 

All we had is gone

What do I do now?

This I Know To Be True

Friends
The first person you meet in any situation is unlikely to last
The "freshman friend" you may see on Instagram years later
You may think back to meeting and thinking "this is my friend"
Then you think back and realize you don't remember when you stopped talking to each other

Heartbreak
You get out on the other side and you are better for it
You ache and grieve and shut out your roommates and your friends
You lie to them for a week, maybe two, not revealing what happened
Until one night you finally break down
You have a lot of ups and downs
You think you are done
But then you meet the person and you realize
You made it out, stronger, better

Adults
Adults don't have it all figured out
People get into their careers sometimes by choice, often by chance
People haven't grown up
They play politics and high school cliques
They lie and they deceive and they cheat
They laugh at your passion and diminish your efforts
Don't let them bring you down