I Hate Bugs

I HATE bugs.
HATE THEM from their tiny tails to their tiny little mugs.
I know, I know they're good for the planet
But why must they invade my apartment?  DAMN IT!!??
They're squishy and icky and slimy and gross
They're creepy and crawly and crispy (shudder) and too close!
Seeing them is cool out in their natural habitat
Seeing them inside makes me wanna make 'em go SPLAT.
The violence they engender within me is great
Yet I don't have the heart to completely exterminate
Can't we come to an agreement? My white flag is unfurled
Little bugs leave my home - you have the rest of the world!

Sigh.  There's no reasoning with the little shits
Time to let them know... I.... HAVE... HAD.... IT!

Oh look.  Bug spray's on sale.
Stay tuned for the rest of the gruesome... "Donna vs Bugs" tale. 

A Poem With No Rhyme

My challenge today is a poem with no rhyme
A difficult task for a clown with no time... OUT!
Ack! That was close.  WOW! This is hard
Now, where was I? Right. Time out in the yard... NO!

Oh dear, sorry.  It's a sickness you see
I can't seem to help it.  Rhyme is part of me....eaning
In my soul.  It helps shape my goal....ies
Are brave guys don't you think?
Out on the ice, in the net, at the rink...ky

Rinky dink dink, la dee dah, siss boom bah.... ARRGGHHH!!!

Damn!  I'm failing at this self-imposed task
Maybe there's a non-rhyming guru I can as....accidentally
Run into and learn how to...

Write meaning on a page
With no support or structure
With no wall at my back shaping my thoughts
My words struggle in their freedom
As I urge them to exist
Outside of my comfort zone
Without plan
Without pattern
Without rhyme.

Wolfville Moments

Moment #1
The siren jars the air with it's weeewoooo weeeewoooo sound
The big red truck goes whizzing by with wheel's whirling round
The children laugh and point and shout at yet another wonder found
While adults share a knowing look and worry for the downed.

Moment #2
The big dog laps the water up then sits and wags his tail
The little dog prances around the other and sniffing does entail
The third, so happy with the water dish - as if she'd found her grail
Shows her complete and utter joy by kissing all the males. 


Moment #3
The cars crawl by at a snail's pace, putt putt putt putt zoom
The traffic has been heavy and slow all day - all speedsters meet their doom
The drivers glance at our big open window into this cozy coffee room
Bumper to bumper slows them further, both cars and drivers fume.

Moment #4
Two ladies try to cross the street during the traffic rush
They are only 10 feet from the crosswalk - they deserve to be mush
That's mean I know and I don't mean it, it's just a personal peeve
So use the friggin crosswalk! Push the button! Please!!

Moment #5
Sitting in the window and sipping at my tea
And taking the time to wave at the sea
Of people who pass both known and new
Thanks for sweetening the moments that I am sharing with you.

- Donna Holmes. May 20, 2012.   
 

My Poem

A lot of words have been occurring to me lately.  Here is yet ANOTHER new entry.  I actually wrote this and put music to it a couple of weeks ago. As noted to friends earlier, sometimes they come out sounding worse than I actually feel.... as long as I just keep writing them down right?  ;O)

MY POEM

The reason I'm here for
Is not very clear nor
Can I see where I'm going to.
The life that I cheered for
Is no longer here for
Me to choose it over you.

The one that I yearn for
Was never at my door
I'm not even sure he exists
But if ever I hear the
Voice that I steer for
My song will have gotten its wish


CHORUS
And then maybe my life will make sense.
And then maybe I'll find my way home.
So that I can give up the pretence
That all is still well, all is still well, all is still well
With my poem.


My story keeps changing.
The facts rearranging
Themselves into some kind of dance.
Each step has been aging
Me less than engagingly.
I feel I've lost any chance

To stop all the raging
The fear and the caging
Of creative ideas that were bold.
I find that I'm gazing
At stars, each amazing.
Yet can't face how my story's told


CHORUS
Cuz I thought that my life would make sense
And I thought that I'd find my way home
That would let me give up the pretence
That all is still well, all is still well, all is still well
With my poem.

- Donna Holmes, April 15, 2012.

I am a Dragon

I am a dragon who loves rainbows
My flame is a burnt orange sunset
My wings help me soar above the shadows
Through the water-coloured day - not done yet

I am an archer shooting arrows
They're not poisoned but they are sharp
My aim is to poke holes in the shadows
My hope is to reach someone's heart

I am a clown who juggles memories
I'm not good at catching them all
My foolish head suffers brain-freeze
If there's a point, I can't recall

I am a poet who is lost for words
An actor who has lost the play
A singer who is lost in music
And a woman who has lost her way.

Gone the words
Gone the memories
Gone the arrows
Gone the flame.

- Donna Holmes, April 29, 2012.

Big Fat Moments

Big fat droplets of rain drench the street outside the cafe
And my umbrella's at the office.
Pre-teens waiting in the movie line yell "hooray!"
And I sit waiting for something to happen.

Why just wait you ask?
Sometimes, I don't.
Often I make my world move and shake
But sometimes you can only wait.

Big fat moments of potential continue passing by
I'm staying dry sipping tea at my table
The crowd has left the lobby making room for the music
And I sit waiting for something to happen

I'm waiting to happen
Sometimes, I don't
But the world will continue to move and shake
And sometimes you can only wait

Big fat lies in the newspaper make me angry
I'm staying sane by reading the comics
After the cryptoquote spree, I need more tea
While I keep waiting for something to happen.

Why do I wait?
Maybe I won't
Maybe I'll make my world start its move and its shake
Or maybe just sit here and continue to wait.

The Routine Kindness of Strangers

This is something of mine the Grapevine (a little Wolfville publication) printed a couple of Chrismtases ago (out of season I know... oh well.)  I just ran across it again today and thought I'd share it here.  I'd also like to reiterate here that the world is NOT falling apart.  The media only shows us the crappy stuff going on...but good people do great things every day.   WE make this world what it is - are you so bad?  I don't think so.  And I'd just like to say thanks for being pretty great and thanks to all those strangers who have helped me over the years including the following examples...

My (very old and used) car has broken down three Christmases in a row now.  Three years ago the exhaust rusted off.  A nearby garage opened up on Boxing Day - just for me - to wire it up temporarily and then wouldn’t take any money for their work.  Two years ago, on Christmas morning, I was almost run off the highway by a passing car heading in my direction! I avoided the oncoming car, but popped the clutch in the process.  I stood there by my car, about to cry, when a sweet British couple stopped to help.  They’d just moved to Nova Scotia.  One of them let me use the cell phone (that she’d just received that morning) and they drove an hour out of their way to take me to my sister’s house.   Last year,  it was pouring rain on Christmas morning – remember that?    Well, it turns out that old cars like mine, with questionable spark plugs, don’t like the rain.  The car stalled in Kentville just as I turned up Chester Ave - on my annual trek to the South Shore.  I DID cry this time.  Another very nice man actually stopped and tapped on my window to see if I was ok.  He helped me move the car off the road and drove me to a friend’s place where I could use the phone.   Then the friend actually lent me her car for that entire holiday so I could get to my family for Christmas.  In my experience, people are....well they’re just fabulous.  I have been helped by so many strangers over the years – including the time I ran out of gas in Coldbrook and that man drove me to & from the gas station, and the time I locked my keys in the car and that delivery guy used a curtain rod to open my door, and the time that sweet little couple helped me out when I ran out of gas on Belcher street, and the time that nice old man changed my tire in Bridgetown, and...  well, you get the picture.   I am so thankful I live in such an incredible area – a place where many of us have come to rely on the, almost routine, kindness of strangers.    :o)