Memories of an earlier sisters' trip

COUCHWOOD - early spring 2012

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

          Previous to our taking off again for the Cumberland Plateau in mid-Tennessee, here is a sequence from the 2005 trip to Table Rock Lake/Ozark Mountain Resort (southern Missouri) in early July.

this state's clouds

different from the ones we left

~Fourth of July eve

5:00 check in

four sisters converge

at 5:01

catching up

on each one's life~

later, the presents

too tired

too excited

to sleep

many trips

from parking lot to condo

four sets of sore muscles

third cup of coffee

on the mountain cabin deck

still, my sisters sleep

on vacation

to relax ... why so tense

this second morning?

oaks surround the deck~

thinking of my ex-house

among the dogwoods

finally finding

a break in the trees

to view the fireworks

hiccoughing

during the entire

fireworks extravaganza

late on the Fourth

still intermittent fireworks

throughout the city

even the birds

late with their singing

day after the Fourth

a yellow jacket

hanging around

the resort trash can

I read poetry

on the condo/cabin deck~

a large red ant

##

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press 



A story told in Etherees*

"Anticipation"

I
bought new
sheets for my
bed in case you
suggest we might be
more than correspondents
when you drive across three states
to attend that farm convention.
Alas, you bring another woman,
so my virginal bedding remains so.

After your tongued goodbye kiss last year,
you seem surprised at my light lip peck
tonight. No one but Dilly sees,
Mary having already
entered the meeting room.
Later, you warm up.
Platonically,
we visit
over
drinks.
~~~~


"Losing Mary"

 A
year's worth
of letters
sent back and forth
via the P. O.
should entitle us to
at least a modicum of
easy familiarity:
sitting together at meetings, meals--
Who cares if folks  think we are an item?
~~~~

"Serendipity?"

A
colleague
sat between
us--gathered once
more to drink a toast
and say goodbye. What force
caused you and me to sit back,
stretch an arm behind this person
at precisely the same moment? Our
fingers touched, then eagerly entwined.
~~~~

"AfterThe Dance"

I
wonder:
sparkling eyes
made so by male
attention, red wine,
and the last occasion
to hold someone and be held,
unfettered, like Cinderella's
ball, the prince, the possibilities--
But in the reasoned light of day, all ends.
#

c 2012 by Pat Laster

* The Etheree syllabic poetry pattern was created by the Malvern, Arkansas, poetess, Etheree Armstrong. By the end of the post, you have figured the syllabic pattern, which can be reversed, as in the second poem. Since Karen Hesse writes stories in free verse, why not a story in Etherees?

June is a good month for haiku

    Birds, bees, flowers, gardens, water fun, occasional cool mornings--all perfect fodder for haiku and cinquain.

the neighbor's garden--
a spot of yellow
in the squash row
~~~

freshly-filled birdbath--
a dove on the ground nearby
and here comes the cat
~~~

Bright white
is the current
color in the flower
bed--gardenias, tansy and now,
daisies.
~~~

Cascades
of water, like
a lacy ice sculpture
rise behind the vested, intense
skier.
~~~

bumblebee--
the blooms it sips from
bending, bending
~~~

the mid-June rain--
in the porch swing
making my own breeze
~~~

a gardenia bloom
inside. . . its fragrance stronger
than even hyacinths

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

Before and during a writers' retreat in Piggott AR

After a respite of fourteen months during which I miss three such meetings, I finally get back to the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum Educational Center's June 2012 writers' retreat. A new mentor, Dr. Rick Lott, from ASU, was recommended by Dr. Rob Lamm, a previous mentor, who is teaching in China. Dr. Lott was a great choice. Here are cinquains written the first few days of June, then some written after arriving at the Downtown Inn on Sunday evening, June 3.

IN HOUSTON
Waiter's
auto totaled
in flood. He found a tip
of five grand from his regular
patrons.
~~~

THE LAST STRAW
She knew
when she empied
a bully's watergun
in his surprised face, "it's time to
retire."
~~~

MORNING'S COOLNESS
Despite
a short window
before an afternoon
activity, I sit out and
just "be."
~~~

NO MORE EMERGENCY LAW
Drinking
water from a
traditional clay jar,
the Egyptian man celebrates
freedom.
~~~

THE NEXT MORNING
Peeking
out from between
the slats of the white blinds,
one could not tell that it rained hard
last night.
~~~

GHOST BAKER
Beyond
my bedroom wall
the luscious aroma
of brownies baking at midnight--
 no dream.
~~~

TWO DAYS INTO THE RETREAT
Too tired
to write or read
yet I toss and turn all
evening. At midnight, I arise
and work.