poetry

Driver’s License Remix

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld
blue volkswagen beetle
Photo by Fredrik Rubensson on Pexels.com

Remix of Driver’s License Poem (April 19)

Original:

I was late in life
to get a driver’s license
21, I believe
When we were teenagers
we could not drive the car
as Daddy put it
“it’s my livelihood”
made sense to me
Jealous, a little bit
of others who drove the family car
I was in a world of tractor drivers
farm kids
they had to drive to work the farms
long before their legal age
Daddy was not a farmer
he was an office man
after he was a NCO
and even some then
Maybe I was just as well off
if I had worked the farm
all the crops would have died
No green thumb here
and I have my driver’s license
So it all worked out
And I learned the value of walking
which has served me well
Win:Win

Remix of Driver’s License

twenty-one
not yet setting the sun
ready to have some fun
got my right to drive
wheels to spin
how it felt great back then
I would do it again
to capture the youthfulness
cast the car
into the further afar
take a leap at the stars
in my mind
stop and say
it’s been a wonderful day
there’s not a better way
to live my life
sixty-four
heading out the old side door
feet aching on the floor
reached back my prime
grab the keys
ready to feel the breeze
maybe catch a sneeze
could be a lot worse
oh to say
it’s just another day
if you do what you may
it’s not a loss
yes,  am older
but I am much bolder
maybe not quite the sporter
but I make do
twenty-one one
join up with sixty-four one
let’s go and have some fun
let the wheels spin
…..

There you have it! Day #28 of the National Poetry Month challenge.
Thanks to Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides Prompt:

“For today’s prompt, write a remix poem. That is, remix one of your poems from earlier in the month. There are many ways to do this. Turn a free verse poem into a traditional form (using lines from the original poem). Or use erasure to cut down a long poem into a short one. Or expand a short poem into a longer version. Get creative with it.”

poetry

Mom and The Roads of Life

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld
top view of asphalt road
Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels.com

Mom and The Roads of Life

Roads of life
take you many directions
When a younger woman
I like to take Mom for a drive
She’d see a side road and say,
“I wonder what’s down that road.”
She knew
I would turn around and go down that road
Mom was my co-explorer
loving the adventure
Sometimes we would see pretty trees and flowers
Sometimes we would see interesting houses and people
Whenever we saw an empty house
Mom would say, “It makes me sad to see an empty house.”
I learned many things about my Mom through these adventures
What I learned most of all is
how much I love my Mom

—–
Day #27 of National Poetry Month is here! And I am still at it…

Thanks to Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides Prompt: “For today’s prompt, pick a direction, make that the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. There are so many directions: north, south, up, down, left, right, over, under, etc. But there are also more specific directions like “Across the Way,” “Through the Woods,” and “Beyond the Clearing.” Or give directions like “Clean Your Room,” “Tie Your Shoes,” or “Get Over Here.”

TTOT

Ten Things of Thankful – April 26

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

My Post (20)

Ten Things of Thankful

It’s that time again to ponder on all the gratitudes for the week! This is possibly one of my favorite things to do as it affects my whole week. You start looking at the silver lining of each cloud and start seeing the goodness. So, without much more ado, awaaay we go!! If you don’t know where that came from, then I think I will be nostalgic and start with that one!

1. Jackie Gleason was one of the best comics from my age. I have many fond memories of watching his show and our father saying “Away We Go!”

2. National Poetry Month has gotten my poetry flow going. Today is day 26 and I am still in the running! Here’s probably my favorite so far. Check it out HERE

3. Earth Day – we need this day 365 days a year, if we are going to make a difference. I did a little poem for the earth.
My Post - 2019-04-22T172900.951.jpg

4. Triangle Association of Freelancers Conference is tomorrow and I am over the moon at being able to be in North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton-Green’s class!! She was just given an amazing honor. Read about it HERE I hope to learn about her documentary style poetry and more.

5. Joy Prom is provided annually in Raleigh and dear daughter will be attending this year. She last attended several years ago and decided she wanted to go again. I think she will have a great time.

6. Six Sentence Story is still going strong, for me. This week I wrote something that cuts close to my heart. It is likely going to be developed more, as it came to me with more information than I shared. It’s about The Last Haircut I gave my father.

7. The weather has been amazing!!! We did have a storm and today we are expecting another one, but it’s just nature doing what it does. It’s been nice to be able to start wearing shorts. If the pool was open I would have jumped in!

8. The library is something I am super thankful for. We walked to the library last night and picked up three books I had on hold. It’s nice we live so close and I love how they can get the books I want, pretty much. I also request that they buy certain books and many times they have followed though. The librarians are super nice and it’s cool how they are so eager to assist.

9. Art has infiltrated my brain! I am an artist, but I go in spells with creativity. I started doing some mindfulness art with a free class and now I am slowly going through another series for your sketchbook. It can be challenging to try new things, but it’s also fun. Here’s one item I made.
staying on task 041219

10. Accomplishment. I worked on a special project of which was a new challenge and it is complete and I feel a little bit more experienced and that’s all can say about it. It’s a secret…shhh

10.1 BONUS!! I lost 4# since my last report and I forgot to report last week.

So, there you have it! One more week of yahoos!! How about you? Do you feel yahooistic? Go for it and share. The more, the merrier!!

Join us by going to this LINK

poetry

Evenings

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld
art artwork beautiful beauty
Photo by Fancycrave.com on Pexels.com

Evenings

Every day must come to a conclusion
Very important is to find some sweet seclusion
Evening comes to allow for needed rest
Needing to reboot and settle down the stress
If we take some time to have a snooze
Needless things from the day past we’ll lose
Go ahead and lay your head to rest
Sleep may come and you will feel your best

…..
So, there you have it, it’s day #26 of National Poetry Month
I tried an acrostic style today, something I don’t do enough. It was fun and just the right amount of challenge.

I got the prompt thanks to Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides:

“For today’s prompt, write an evening poem. A poem about or during the night. Or take evening a completely different direction and think of evening the score or making things more even (or fair or whatever).”

short story

The Last Haircut

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The Last Haircut
Photograph of the roots of a tree and rocks-taken by Lisa Tomey

Mounted on the back of the toilet seat, I intensely watched and listened as the gritty sounds of the razor cut through his whiskers and shaving cream, knowing not to speak while this most delicate operation took place, once completed, I was allowed to run my fingers through his damp mostly salty hair before he generously applied the tonic, magically turning more to pepper toned locks, combing his hair in place, to utter perfection, slapping on his spicy aftershave, his head was complete, intact with precision and thoughtful with words of wisdom, which I took in with every living breath.

Emotions ran high when I got the call that Daddy would be on his final days, having moved away, I was at a loss, but I knew that it was in my path to get to him, no matter what, with the company of my sister, we traveled to him, with no regrets.

My eyes saw him in the hospital bed and as I wondered if he would know who I was he smiled, you see Alzheimer’s had stolen some of his memory, but he gleefully told the nurse, when he saw us that “these are my daughters,” which conjured up my happy.

Our brother came in with clippers and asked me to give Daddy a haircut and it was an honor to be asked to do this final task, as Daddy always liked to keep his hair cut, as long as I remember, as I always fussed about how his wavy locks would be gone, but he always left some at the top, for his little girl, I liked to think, you know, just because it made me feel good.

Running my fingers through his thick mane, I closed my eyes in memory of all the times I did this as a child, going back in time before I was known, to the times when sand and salt were his life, an old Navy soul before he chose the blue sky of the Air Force, as I felt the dampness of his locks, I knew that no memories were clipped away as the roots of life run deep and even in the afterlife, who knows how much deeper than those roots run, so memory does not have an end or maybe even a beginning.

Youth was not lost when there is a man such as my father in your life, we had the chance to learn about cherishing life, having a sense of humor, running through adventures, taking risks, valuing the essence of less, and so much more; Giving Daddy his last haircut grounded me in the roots of that life and the awareness that while it may be a simple haircut to some, it was an acceptance that no matter who would even see this haircut, that he left this world in honor, knowing he had the look of a respectable man, as he should.

….

So, there you have it, my six sentence story for this week. I took the challenge of Denise and tried something  a little different, using an acrostic style, only I did it for a story vs poetry. How’d I do Denise?

Are you itching to tried your hand at Six Sentence Story? Go to this LINK and join us.

This weeks prompt: MEMORY