The exercise:
Write about a: decision.
We took Maja to the Osoyoos Desert Centre this morning for one last touristy experience before we say farewell tomorrow. She seemed to enjoy it, and the sun was kind enough to hide behind the clouds for most of our time there.
Max enjoyed pushing his stroller around the boardwalk.
Earlier this morning my parents headed out to continue their trek across Canada. They'll be stopping in again on their way back home in just over a month, hopefully for a longer visit.
I need to wake up early to drive Maja to the bus station tomorrow, so I should get to this writing business.
Mine:
This should be easy,
Simple as pie!
The right choice is clear,
I can't deny.
And yet I delay,
Listen to doubts;
I need some silence,
But my mind shouts.
Please give me advice,
I want your thoughts.
Won't you please help me
Connect the dots?
No, that is nonsense!
Why suggest that?
I'll stand on my own...
Or just fall flat.
4 comments:
The Desert centre looks nice, but I worry about that 1.5km-elevated boardwalk; that's a long way to fall. In fact, at that height, I wouldn't think you'd worry about it being wheelchair accessible... ;-)
Considering you were ready for bed that poem is all the more impressive! I think I like the second stanza best, but they're all pretty good, and I really like the jauntiness of the rhythm contrasting with the final line.
Decision
The raspberries were ripe. They formed red jewels against the green of the canes, nestling amongst leaves as though they were trying to hide. She deftly pushed the leaves aside with practised fingers, catching each fuzzy little gem and plucking it, dropping each into the basket slung from her wrist.
The raspberries reminded her of Marietta's eyes; always red-rimmed with weeping, or tobacco smoke, or whatever drugs she'd decided to do while out clubbing. It seemed that Marietta was never happy now, and Jaditha was sure that underlying it all was the new house. She picked another raspberry and let it fall into the basket. How could anyone not love a house that had a garden as large and plentiful as this?
Somewhere behind her a bird burst briefly into song, and a moment later another bird responded in kind. Jaditha smiled, feeling uplifted, happy to be part of nature, happy to be here and now. Then she heard the slamming of a door in the distance, and guessed immediately that Marietta had ventured outdoors again.
"There are so many bugs!" Marietta's voice was a screech like nails down a chalkboard, and in that instant a decision was taken.
"You're not happy here," said Jaditha, amazed that her voice was steady. "You want to leave."
"Well, yes! I thought you'd never notice and we'd have to stay here forever!"
"Oh, I will," said Jaditha, smiling slightly. "But I think you ought to go."
There was silence, and Marietta was, for once, dumbstruck. Finally, haltingly, she started to speak.
"But we're --"
"Lovers? Not for four months," said Jaditha. "You keep sleeping on the couch or over at June's, or with other people." She didn't know she'd decided to level that accusation either, and the pain from the slap that Marietta gave her only confirmed it.
Deciding, deciding
Ever so difficult
Cannot
Intelligently, simply
Decide on my
Entree!
“So have we reached a decision?”
Jason looked around the table at the other eleven people and noted the nods of eight. They varied in their degree of enthusiasm, ranging from solemn acquiescence to vigorous acceptance, but at least they were nods.
He suppressed a sigh and focussed on the slightly-overweight business owner that still wore a scowl. “Carl, it has to be unanimous. Do you agree?”
There was a pause, and then a terse nod. Carl was always thoughtful in his decisions, forthright in his opinions, but also willing to change his views if he were proven wrong.
Jason turned next to the woman who was sobbing quietly and carefully wiping her eyes to avoid smearing her mascara. Before he could speak, she nodded at him with a stricken look. He glanced away to minimize any embarrassment she might have for showing her emotions so openly.
Finally, he looked at the tattooed twenty-something sitting with one leg draped over the arm of an adjoining chair. There was a tension in the room, until finally the young man spoke, “Yeah, whatever. Let’s just get it over with.”
With a nod of his own, Jason picked up a pen. “The decision is unanimous,” he said as he signed the form before him with a flourish. “Today’s lunch will be fish and chips with horseradish tartar sauce.”
Greg - hah, that would be quite the boardwalk. Hurray for poorly constructed sentences allowing for fantastical mental images!
I feel like you've captured the art of raspberry picking pretty much perfectly here. Except for maybe the scratches from the thorns, but then the slap at the end kind of makes up for that...
Morganna - why must ordering off a menu be so hard? I feel like this poem should be attached to all entree pages.
Aholiab - haha, that was not the ending I was expecting. Nice use of misdirection :D
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