A Vacation in Alaska

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 30

Its midnight,
Time to close those eyes,
But the light, oh the light!
The sun still shines!

I've lived a week
It feels like two,
The sun never sets
In this wackeradoo!

Four hours of sleep,
Three are twilight
The one remaining
Is my soul's delight!

The solstice is near
I'm not ready, I fear
I may be exhausted
From this day all year!

A vacation in Alaska?
A preposterous idea!
I'd rather be cruising
My way to Jamaica!

Flying in the 21st Century

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 29

Its all too surreal.

Flying 20,000 miles with no leg room
Feet problems as bad as if we'd walked them all.

Resting tubes at airports
"Sleep the wait away!", they claim.

Moving walkways that cover miles in minutes
Thoughts speeding a mile a minute.

Erupting volcanoes delaying flights
Who would've made that connection?

The jet takes off into the stratosphere
Sun drops hanging like chandeliers
Amidst clear clouds

But who's looking anyway?
Flashing images at the flick of a button
Are far more fascinating.

Sleep embraces some, eludes others
A minor jolt startles some, others remain undisturbed

Seat belts, life jackets, oxygen masks tucked safely away
As the tracker glides forward on the map.

Flying over the Pyramids, the Alps, the Baltic Sea
Still, no one's watching.

The spiced chicken, coconut-flavored rice and free drinks
Are all too consuming.

Finally its time to land.
Tired eyes watch tired hands
Lift bags from cabinets.

Home, sweet home.
But some
Are going to miss those few moments of escapism
As they land themselves into reality.

My Personal Angel

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 28

I love your yellow, red and blue
Wacky Sesame Street pajamas
I love your squeals, loud and piercing
Their simply music to my ears!

Jumping on beds!
Hopping on boxes!
That's all you need
To be ecstatic!

And when your blue
Your face is pink
Your tear drops glisten
On your cheeks.

It makes me want to hug you tight
And steal the moon and stars from the night
And offer them to you as toys
That sparkling wonder in your baby blue eyes!

I wish that everyone I knew
Was as much fun and sweet as you
I would give up all my nights and days,
To be by your side in every way.

Bollywood Romance

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 27 (acrostic poem)

Bubbling with life
Over the top emotions
Long lost looks of love and flowing saris
Lusty, short breaths of wonderment

You ask, why?
Why are people dancing jolly
On top of mountains, flying
Over fields of daffodils,
Dreaming sweet songs of distant love?

Rendezvouses in deserts,
Oceans of tears,
Miraculous meetings at railway stations,
Airports, always a happy prelude to The End.

Nothing or no one is off limits in this
Crazy kaleidoscope of reel life, and you willingly
Escape into the short-lived stream of celluloid.

Happenstance

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 26

A missed appointment,
An eavesdropped conversation,
A spontaneous drive,
An unasked question.

A slip of paper lost & found ,
A chance encounter with a friend,
A small etched logo on a pen,
A Post-It lying underneath the bed.

The twists and turns of fate are many
That one chance meeting, object or endeavor
A happenstance
That altered its course forever.

Vertigo

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 25

That was devious
A delightfully devious little scheme
She loved it

The vertigo would
take him to the edge of reason
Drive him to the point of
succumbing fully
Moving through time and space
at lightening speed
Like a roller coaster through hell
Like strobe lights flashing silver
every one tenth of a second

And then they would do it
Force him to change his will
The old sod had left them out
'No pills until we get every penny out of you'
They would say

But nothing much was in their destiny
The old man had an attack that night
Crossing the street
Blinded by the lights of a New York Cabbie
Hit and killed.

The White Elephant

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 24

In the herd of grey
Stood an aryan
A king amongst kings
Worshipped and revered
The White Elephant.

Eight servants
A ceremonious cloth of gold-red
No one else but princes and priests
Could sit on it,
Such was its stature
As it marched toward the temple
To be fed, anointed and praised.

It is ironic that
The same trait in man
Would make him a leper
With a begging bowl
Outside the temple gates.

The Model Maid

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 23

She poses.
Dusting the chandelier
Head slightly tilted
Shoulders strong
Her dainty hands
Go about their business.

She moves gracefully
Yet with purpose
Just like she had
All those years on the ramp.
Firm lines
Strong face
Mouth a silenced 'O'
Her signature walk.
The Wrought-Iron Beauty, they called her
Ebony skin, stoic eyes
Her look - hard and grey.

To the envy of the rest of the staff
She is a diamond in the rough
They know.

She knows.
Nothing goes past her -
Stolen glances
Whispering
Gossip
About her age
Her lovers
Her addictions
And her downfall.
It all stands out

Against the backdrop of
luxury she cleans
Parchment lamps, bohemian vases,
Raw silk curtains
As raw as her wounds.
She scrubs hard and fast,
with mustered vigour,
Spots vanish, stains disappear,
But shame remains.

Like that one scratch on a plate
she can never get rid off,
One slip that
Obliterates the exquisite vase
Into a thousand pieces
Of guilt
Of anguish
Of fear
Telling her to flee from the scene of crime!

But she stays.
And cointues to dust.
The storm inside her has calmed.
The chandelier needs to sparkle.
And my oh my, if she can't make it.

The Turvy-Topsy Emporium

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 22

The sign in the window says
"The Turvy-Topsy Emporium"

I entered in, then stood amazed
The Walking Stairs just had me dazed
Curios hung ceiling to floor
Mid air, there hung another door

I jumped for it, but fell right through
Clinks and clanks as curios flew
Such things as I had never seen
Such things that I just never knew!

White pepper, black snow
Sweating hot, an Eskimo
A freakish fish, nor tail nor fins
A dismal cherub with countless sins

A crooning crow, a cawing conebill
Serenading the nightingale
Herself, a most precocious thing,
She stood as tall as Mount Basin

A paradox as straight as A
A meter's just a mile away
A smell I see is greenish blue
A sight I smell is cheese fondue

Half-heartedly
I fall to the floor
For as I come around I know
The Topsy Turvy is no more!

Imperfect Lives

30 poems in 30 days challenge! Day 21

She didn't know his language
He spoke very little
She was bald, lost her hair in chemo
He was almost broke
She didn't care too much for late night TV
He was nocturnal
She painted like a dream
He sang hoarse
She shop lifted
He gambled

They met under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve
At the Bounce-O-Rama Singles Holiday Mixer
Two strangers
With straggling lives
Just about getting by each day
The crowd cheered on
They were forced to kiss
He gestured dinner, she agreed
They conversed in signs and laughter
Laughing and signing their sorry lives away
Something unexplainable happened that night

She sold three paintings the next week
He won the lottery
A gallery agreed to feature her work
He smartly invested his win
Her mother asked, what happened?
His friends couldn't believe it
In five years she became a local celebrity
In three he became a millionaire
She moved to Paris
He stayed in New York

But they never forgot that magical night
When unbeknown to them
Each imperfect life
Wove the other's into perfection.