Love of the Dance

My body aches:

sore feet, tired legs and a sunburn

I hadn’t danced in 6 months...

I am completely exhausted

but completely happy

Soon I will drift off to sleep

with a smile

This is a Sunday 160 for Monkey Man

Make Believe

She’d been playing this game of pretend for so long, she almost believed it was real.  Except she knew deep down, if this life she was living was real, she’d be happy and it wouldn’t take so much effort.  Plus, there was that one thing she could never fake, because everyone knows Faeries can fly…

This is a story told in 55 words for G-man.

Ladies in Waiting

Tears sit idly

Waiting to fall

Lovely ladies

Waiting to call

Waiting for an act – or word

That, when these ears have duly heard

Will unleash a torrent seldom felt

by those whom Fate has fairly dealt

His hand.  And knowing mine is the other kind

That always turns within my mind

And leads to darkness, in which I dwell

Alone, with nothing but the tears that fell.

Dragonflies in the Rain

“It’s raining,” he said.

“I like the rain,” she replied.  It was true: the rain reminded her of her childhood and of places she had traveled.  The rain brought many pleasant memories with it.

“I like you,” he said, with that crooked smile of his that belied his age, revealing a youthful innocence, which, he knew, made him irresistible to her.

“Did you know,” she started, trying to keep her composure if only for a moment longer as he stepped closer to her, “that dragonflies swarm before it rains?”

“No,” he mumbled from behind her, his lips skimming the tender softness of her shoulder.

“I learned that when I lived in China,” she volunteered, wondering if perhaps this flippant fact would interest him more than her skin, her smell, her shallow breath, her anticipation.

But it was exactly these facts about her past, her travels and adventures that she offered up so trivially, that made her so fascinating to him - and so desirable.

In one quick motion he pulled her to him with one hand, while the other hand brushed back her long, dark hair, allowing him to kiss that sweet spot on the back of her neck where she had the dragonfly tattoo.

She closed her eyes and sighed, losing herself in the moment and the tenderness of his lips, forgetting all about dragonflies and the rain.

 

May 11, 2010

Lessons

Learning guitar was a fun way to bond with my daughter and finish what I started 30 years ago.  8 months later she’s lost interest but I’m just getting started.

This is a Sunday 160 for Monkey Man

Can I Help You?

I stood on the platform, waiting for the train to pull in to the station.  The shrieks of hysteria in my native language jarred me out of my complacency.  “Oh my God, it’s all in German!  We’ll never find the right train!”  I offered to help, and thus began an adventure and an enduring friendship.

OK, so it's not fiction...  It's still a 55 for G-man

Observations on a Tuesday Afternoon

I was sitting there in plain sight.  The parking lot was empty but for a few abandoned vehicles.  It was spring and I could hear birds chirping merrily though the open sunroof above me.  The sunshine was slowly thickening the air in the car, making it difficult to breathe.  Cars passed by on the road above, their drivers failing to notice that the hillside leading from the pavement to the parking lot was covered in lush green grass and a colourful mixture of purple and yellow weeds.  Soon the gardener will come to mow the lawn, shearing off the coloured heads of the flowers and returning the hillside to an appropriate state of monotony.

The young man didn’t see me as he passed.  He crossed the parking lot with a bounce in his step.  He wore brown dress pants, just the right length, and a black button-down shirt.  He looked dressy but in a casual sort of way befitting his years and, most likely, his station in life.  He must like his job here at the art gallery the way he walked up the hill toward the front doors of the building.  Not trudging up the hill, but walking effortlessly, as if the ground was level.

Then he stopped, bent over, reached to the ground and with his left hand picked something from the grass.  I didn’t recognize what it was until he turned and brought it to his lips.  He blew gently, and with a faint smile, watched the dandelion seeds carry through the air on the breeze.

April 20, 2010

You and Me

You are
Up and down
On and off
Black and white
Digital

I am
High and low
Power surges
Brights and darks
Analog

We are
(In)compatible
(Ir)reconcilable
(Dis)agreeable
Opposites

This is a Sunday 160 for Monkey Man

First Impressions

We hadn’t been dating long, but we’d been friends for years so after the party I spent the night.  Next morning, while he cooked breakfast, I got the marmite and ketchup.  I dropped the bottle and there was an explosion of red just as the door opened.  It wasn’t how I’d pictured meeting his parents.

OK, so it's not fiction...  It's still a 55 for G-man.

Haiku

Crickets chirp loudly

Air of anticipation

Of the rains to come

Breeze blows steadily

Temperature slowly lowers

Stars hide behind clouds

Skies open above

Pitter-patter quietly

Darkness settles in

Sunshine Kisses

She called to him and he hurried to her.  Her eyes were closed against the sunlight, peeking through the half-closed shutters on the window.  He crawled into bed beside her, brushing aside her hair that fanned across the pillow.  He wrapped his arms around her, whispering sweetness to her, as she took her last breath.

This is a story told in 55 words for G-man.