Poetry|Prompt|Reality

Anticipation

A poem in response to Caroline de Braganza’s prompt “anticipation”

Sleep deprived; front door swung wide open fresh air just touching my face, I’m not smiling yet, not listening to the morning news the birds are retelling

Old dreams returned again, like old newspapers the same sad tales, the same old refrains In bold print, eyes squinting, straining to read between the lines.

Coffee’s not done, cat seems different, meowing for reasons unknown; she’s staring like I know something and I’m not saying, I don’t — wish I had the answers

Thinking of not thinking for a while, not sure how that’s going to work. Tired of ideas wiggling inside my brain, looking for restitution — you and me both.

Cat falls on my foot, rubbing her chin, contact needed to alleviate fears, whose feet do I fall on, who do I get to scratch my chin; tell me it’ll be alright.

Anticipation sucks, when change is staggering about like a drunk. Speech impaired by drink and old ideas pin-balling inside the head, looking for a way out.

Coffee is done, breakfast on hold, till the stomach stops doing cartwheels. Staring at the cat now, asking her to cough it up; what does she know that I don’t? What’s on her mind.

Anticipation used to be gorgeous. Slender and curvaceous, like a 40s pin-up. Talented too; dancing across the landscape, into my mind pushing me to believe.

I want to. Sure, why not. I need to. Sure, would make things a lot easier, not lost in isolation, not lost in translation Common Sense raining down, on a parched earth

Oh sigh, oh damn, oh practiced Indifference, fuck you and be damned. Anticipation, give me a hug, Whisper that everything will be alright — and if you lie Hell, just do it right.

The above is what came out after reading Caroline’s poem and prompt. I take no responsibility for the content — it just happened. 😊

Here are the tags Caroline used — just passing things along. Join in as you will. Indifference is my next prompt. Enjoy.

Sylvia Wohlfarth, Amy Marley, Robin Klammer, Sherry McGuinn, Marla Bishop, Kristi Keller, P.G. Barnett, Paul Myers MBA, Harley King, George J. Ziogas, Timothy Key, Gurpreet Dhariwal

Joe Luca is writer and editor for ILLUMINATION and a published author and writer of children’s stories, short fiction, non-fiction articles, screenplays and poetry. Publications include Child’s Life, Children’s Playmate and others. There are some other articles below — have a read. And thank you for stopping by.