Catching Up

Well, NaPoWriMo got away from me. Or, maybe I got away from it. That seems more likely. My life is so full and bustling right now that I'm afraid blogging has taken a backseat. I'm still doodling--producing mostly inscrutable little scribbles--but I have made it my goal to put something on my poor little blog at least twice per month. (I had to pause there because I really wanted to promise once per week, but who am I kidding? My little potato, who is wild when awake, only naps with his paws resting on me and lets me sleep just enough during the night that I don't actually fall into a recognized psychosis. I'm lucky to get four uninterrupted minutes of thought per day, and sometimes those have to be devoted to grocery lists and trying to remember where I put my phone. I'm also getting my garden in and remembering to shower every few days.) I missed the Visual Dare from last week, but I really wanted to contribute because I had an idea brewing about the photo. I plan on completing this idea and perhaps another slice of flash fiction this week. 

Thanks for reading. What's going on with you this spring? Leave me a comment, a link to your blog, or an ASCII picture of a platypus. Follow @gardenofedits on Twitter or find Garden of Edits on Facebook. In addition to posting tidbits about reading, writing, and editing, I love to chat and make terrible puns. 

NaPoWriMo 27

Fourteen Pounds

eight pounds 
obvious in cheeks
fold of thigh and dimples
bigger voice
discerning eyes
the ounces sneak in, in seconds

NaPoWriMo 26

As the month comes to an end, I have to admit that I'm glad I took part in NaPoWriMo again this year. Blogging these rough pieces is probably the only way I could have forced myself to get any creative writing done this month--if only a haiku some days.

Spring Shoes

Puddles on the ground
Which footwear, a tough call for
Chilly or damp toes?

NaPoWriMo 25

Did I

the Did I game
we play every night
what was left on, unlocked, open or shut inappropriately
what will burn down the house tonight
or accrue an overdue fine
what must I have said and what did they mean
and will I have to call again in the morning
or did they understand
reaching over forty times to poke the baby
Asking if I spilled Cheerios on him during his 4am feeding
and if I did, did one maybe perhaps get in his mouth
I keep racking up points
but I never seem to win
though I come up with the most questions

NaPoWriMo 24

Homozygous

Not a cell, something
not yet known
too tiny to be a mote on a mote
the beacon adheres like a pushpin
to a shoulder
a mole
someplace benign
makes strange
isolates
and broadcasts.
The unlikely animals find it
track it,
hover, then embrace.
Encompassing
like big infected blankets
made from wet asbestos

NaPoWriMo 23

The man with the dog and the hat
(who walks by every day around 11)

I've invented a backstory
for both of them
a romance gone wrong,
an inheritance
of nothing 
except the hat
black leather, brimmed,
that he wears every day
He likes to make models out of matchsticks
He hates millipedes

The dog, a broad, strong, mutt
 was set to be retired from the military
the hard way
but rescued one last person--himself
He likes turkey
and steamed broccoli
and understands commands in Latin
sleeps with his head on a pillow

If I don't see these two
while snooping from my kitchen window just before lunch
I worry
and write them more adventures
as I spread jelly on peanut butter
One day I could greet them
on the pretense of digging in the garden
the one I'm going to start out there by the sidewalk

But no. They're so perfect right now.

NaPoWriMo 22

I just don't trust blogging from mobile, so I got behind in posting. I'm in for a strong NaPoWriMo finish, though!

For the Ride

Swiftly caught by the sleeve
dragged along the evergreens
face kept down but ears get scathed
I know we're going west
into the sun
I know that eventually the integrity of the cheap stitching
and the cheap fabric
or maybe my arm
will give way
and I'll sail slightly backward
land like garbage
uncrumple
and walk
--the way I wanted to go anyway