My childhood alarm clock was varied, often ‘twas
Waking to the sound and smell of coffee perking.
Blurp, blurp, goes the old aluminum peculator,
A signal it was five am and mom was awake,
Bustling about the kitchen, making toast with jam.
I snuggle under the fresh smelling sheets and blankets,
Knowing I have another hour before I hear
Dad’s voice calling, “Leona! Time to get up.”
Those sounds, smells and sights are now memories
Of carefree days in my Illinois country home.
Dorothy said it best: “ There’s no place like home”
I just got home from a 4 day visit to the coast, where I had a wonderful time sightseeing, spending time at the ocean beach collecting rocks and shells, meeting new people, eating great food staying at a wonderful Inn and just having a great adventure.
But, arriving home, walking into my cozy living room and relaxing on my comfy couch is the best feeling.
It’s nice to get away but it’s always good to come home.
And I am giving thanks this evening that I have a nice home to come to.
My Dad 1967 standing near what was left of his childhood home in Sisseton, South Dakota
My people are all gone away
Leaving me with memories
That live on and stay
Siblings can no longer play
Under the South Dakota trees
They are all gone away
I alone stand today
With active sensories
That live on and stay
Under the heavy clouds of gray
I see them in reveries
They are all gone away
My pen searches to convey
Words filled with remedies
That live on and stay
Reaching to grasp each past day
I stand yet float feathery
They are all gone away
That live on and stay
Villanelle
(“They are all gone away” line taken from:”The House on the Hill” by Edwin Arlington Robinson—a Villanelle Poem)
(“They are all gone away” and “That live on and stay” are two phrases that oppose each other)
#NaPoWriMo 2019–Day 5-Prompt: today we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that incorporates at least one of the following: (1) the villanelle form, (2) lines taken from an outside text, and/or (3) phrases that oppose each other in some way. If you can use two elements, great – and if you can do all three,
Leonas Lines--Poetry Plus 