"An Old Acquaintance", a poem and "An Old Flame" another poem

I adore this horse next door.  Such spirit and energy!  The left eye is blue, just like my pony when I was a kid.  It is often referred to as a "glass" eye.  It works perfectly well and I love a horse with one.  Some people hate them.  This is my submission for the "Sunday Creative"; the prompt word for this week is "glass".

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"Photo courtesy of India Hobson for One Stop Poetry"

The Sunday Photography Interview over at "One Stop Poetry" is with India Hobson.   The above photograph with it's beautiful coloring is the poetry-prompt challenge.  The following poem is for "One Shoot Sunday".  Stop over to see the other entries.

An Old Acquaintance

An old acquaintance I can not shake,

always peering over my shoulder;

creating self-doubt and insecurity.

Ignore her at times, I do,

but rather persistent is she.

There are times she has a point,

making me rethink my strategy.

But mostly, this self-doubt of mine

is better ignored and replaced

with another muse, Ms. Creativity.

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens, 4-3-11

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The poetry challenge today for Kells' New Daily Poetry Prompts ("button" on my side bar) is:  Write a poem that is really a love letter to an old flame.  To make sure it doesn't slip into sappy, make sure one or more of these words is in the poem:  dung beetle, politician, nuclear, exoskeleton, oceanography, pompadour, toilet. ... (this is getting hard!)

An Old Flame

The "love of my life", I did meet today

I, with no makeup and hair in disarray!

Caught in the grocery store's ice cream aisle.

A flash of recognition, and a faint smile..

(His grand pompadour; a comb-over! Here's

the real tragedy of sixty years!)

Recalling passionate promises whispered

earnestly.  "Soul mates forever" we declared

off to college we went; to speak no more...

until today, standing by the freezer door.

Gallantly he bowed, offered me the last 

"double fudge" ice cream. "Are you sure?" I asked.

Tentatively he inquired of me, "My sweet,

are you possibly free to share this fine treat?"

So, here I am all atwitter; the same

butterflies of years ago for this "old flame!"

A lifetime of happiness and joy to share

of memories, timeworn.  And now a new affair

perhaps to pick up and once again pursue;

It does seem I have a "thing" for eyes of light blue.

By Margaret Bednar, Art Happens, 4-3-11

Too bad comb-overs aren't as adorable as this:

Image courtesy of Google Images

Day 2 Poem Challenge

Courtesy of Google Images

OK, today the challenge is to write about a superhero coming to my house and I have to state what my superpower is too!  A bit silly of an idea and it really had me going crazy...  This poem is not my usual topic nor is rhyming something I do well, but this month is about trying new ways to THINK and attempt things I am not necessarily comfortable with.  If you click on the b&w Poetry Month button on my sidebar, you will see this month's poetry prompts.

A Long-Suffering Super Hero

The day I banned "Mr. Super Clean",
my kids cried and said, "You are mean."
He swooped in, that hero of theirs
to clean the four bedrooms upstairs.
A modern-day "Cat in the Hat";
even cleaned the dirty bath mat!
Sang while he got the hard work done.
Making it seem easy and fun.
Happily asked "What else is there?
I can do more, I swear!"
Away from here, I had to send
that indulgent superhero.
Responsibility taught: ZERO
My children must learn to take pride
in their own diligence applied.
A different kind of hero, I.
Super Mom?  Well, not to their eye,
but I believe I'm guiding the way
for them to make a difference one day.
And that means responsibilities
must be done to their best abilities.
Today, no popularity contest won
but I think my odds are good in the long run.

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens, 4-2-11