Ascending Acrostics

Ascending Acrostics

Posted in response to prompts from Acrostic Only (July 11th prompt). (Nickers and Ink has been honored with a handful of First Place awards and several Honorable Mentions from Acrostic Only. You can find these awards in the sidebar at Nickers and Ink.)

Kissing

Kindness from above

Is ideal and
Sweetly sparkling, as
Sunshine simply
Inspires
New brightness and
Glow on my cheeks.

Humanity

How is it possible that
Understand evades us?
Mankind is
Always seeming to
Need more
Information, but
Totally missing
Your point?

Noodles (and Noggins)

Noodles may seem
Only wiggly and
Obviously fragile -
Delightfully delectable.
Look, however.
Every man who uses his own is
Smarter than he who does not.

"Chasing Rainbows" also responds to a prompt at

Simply Snickers (“fair,” “field” and “fragile”).

Chasing Rainbows

Calling from a field of blue,
Heaven’s ribbons
Align above.
Shining fairly
In a fragile light,
Naming a promise of storm’s end.
Glimpses of glory are revealed.

Reigning unquestioned,
Almighty paints His wonders
In the firmament.
Now we know
Benevolence exists
Over all.
What beauty
Still remains.

Inhaling the Sea

Into the surf we splash,

Never noticing

How strong the undertow may be.

All of a sudden,

Licentious lore

Is uplifted beneath our toes.

Now we are tossed,

Gulping briny breaths.

Time stops.

Hungry for air, we

Emerge at last.

Stronger than we knew,

Every wave now inspires

Awe and new respect.

Hogwash

Hollow hogwash,
Only prattle,
Gibberish and giddiness -
Why do we bother?
Absurdity amuses,
So we scrawl scribbles of
Hooey and hot air – capturing clarity.

Weeping Willows

Weighing in,

Every ramification

Expresses emotion.

Perhaps postulating on

Inspiration, but

Never

Giving all to gravity.

Weeping willows

Initiate introspection.

Look how we long for

Lighter loads,

Only we never see

Why weighty works

Seem to grow us.

One Foot in the Grave

Outstanding orders

Never negate

Eternity’s call.

Final footsteps

Only lead

Outwards

To the unseen.

Individuals

Never know.

Temporality triumphs.

Holiness hollers for

Eternity’s entrance.

Go for glory.

Resurrection is reserved,

As Almighty addresses with

Vicarious virtue,

Enlisting those who attend.

Meditation

Meekness is might,

Empowered by purpose.

Daily deliverance

Is found in

Time spent in solace.

Attention is restored, and

Tranquility returned.

Inspiration is enlightened

Only in moments with

No interruptions.

Unforgettable

Umbrellas unseen

Never cast shadows,

Folding freely and

Open over

Reminiscences and reveries.

Glorious gifts,

Every one.

Times treasured and

Troves of truth

Always are illuminated

Because their brightness

Leaves vestiges of value

Everywhere.

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Tipping the Kale in Our Favor

Tipping the Kale in Our Favor

The Gardener - Old Peasant with Cabbage

By Camille Pissarro

c1890

A Head of Truth

As cabbage leaves, curled ‘gainst the night,

Our blessings may seem locked up tight.

They may look lush,

But out of touch,

Until we set our sights aright.

For, thinking we may toe the line,

We stage a scene of wrong design.

Indulgence pleas

For lives of ease

With lucky leaves and carefree time.

A Gardener tenders every frill,

But first the soil He must till.

What joys be found

In welcome ground

That readies to accept His will.

What flowered kale may us instruct,

If we our doubtings may deduct?

To persevere

And flourish here

Before the cabbage has been plucked.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Blog Your Blessings Sunday (blessings)

Easy Street Prompts (“locked up tight”)

Meme Express (Sunday invitation to Simply Snickers)

One Single Impression (“thinking”)

Simply Snickers (“line,” “look” and “lush”)

Sunday Scribblings (“indulgence”)

Theme Thursday (“stage”)

Weekend Wordsmith (“lucky”)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

SlySpace

SlySpace -

An Ambitious Introvert Goes Online

The E-Male

A crotchety fellow named Rich

Attempted the old bait and switch –

His profile shot

Looked just like him – not,

Along with his online sales pitch.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Easy Street Prompts (“ambitious introvert”)

Mad Kane (Limerick: “A crotchety fellow named Rich”)

Read Write Poem (“little man”)

Fireworks and Acrostics

Fireworks and Acrostics

Happy Birthday, U.S.A.

How about some fun with acrostics? (Most of these acrostic poems are posted in response to prompts from Acrostic Only.)

Thanks to Acrostic Only for awarding Nickers and Ink four First Place awards and four Honorable Mentions for this collection of acrostic poems. (See blog sidebar for awards.)

American (Dreams)

All created equal,
Men stake their claims,
Ever chasing
Relentless hope.
Individualism is
Champion in
American

Dreams.

Vacation

Verge of panic –

Assembling the family,

Car fully loaded.

Arriving at last,

Toting luggage

Into new surroundings.

Only one week –

Need much longer.

Oozing

Only for a moment,

Outwardly appealing,

Zealously alluring.

Inside, however,

Neurons fire falsely.

God only knows.

Survivor

Staying power,

Undergirded by

Resolve.

Vigor lasts.

Integrity endures.

Viable values

Outrun mere

Reputation.

Breaking Up

Bypassing

Respect,

Esteem is

Absolutely

Knotted

Into

Ninety little lies –

Gone.

Unstung?

Perhaps.

It’s Only Words

Indeed,

Terminology

Stings.

Obviously,

No one

Likes

Yacking and attacking.

We

Only

Ridicule and

Destroy with

Semantics.

Juxtapose

Jumping

Under

eXtremes of

Truth,

Always

Pretending,

Opposites may

Seem

Equal.

Tropical Depression

Thunder calls,

Raining blues

Onto all weaker

Promises below.

Inside their souls,

Characters

Await the

Light of hope.

Dousing cheer,

Every drop dips,

Pouring weight

Right to the core of

Each hardened heart.

Stop the downfall!

Save the sodden ones

In time for

Overtures of bright

New days.

Walking on Eggshells

Weak-kneed worry,

Always anticipating

Leers and sneers.

Knowing not

If this time

No one can

Guarantee safety.

On the outside,

Nothing seems wrong.

Eggshells crack,

Giving way to

Ghastly

Scenes.

Havens turn to

Enmity.

Love is

Lost,

Sadly surrendered.

Supernatural

Surely, an

Unseen

Person

Eternal

Reigns.

Natural

Appearances

Undermine

Truth, but

Right relationship

Always

Lasts.

Purple Robe and Anemones

By Henri Matisse

1937

The Color Purple

Tints and

Hues may

Exchange.

Cast an

Outward

Look

Over the

Rainbow.

Purple is

Understood as

Royalty,

Properly

Left to

Elegance.

Just My Imagination

Just

Under

Sight, is

Triumph.

Mark it

Yours.

In my own

Mind, I

Always

Gather

Insights and

Notions,

Appraising and approving

Totally of any

Initiative

Outpacing mere

Normalcy.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Acrostic Only (“vacation,” “oozing,” “survivor,” “breaking up,” “it’s only words,” “juxtapose,” “maya angelou,” “tropical depression,” “walking on eggshells,” “supernatural,” “the color purple,” “the twilight zone: and “just my imagination”)

Easy Street Prompts (“ninety little lies”)

Meme Express (“fireworks”)

One Single Impression (“blue rain”)

Then Sings My Soul Saturday (“4^th of July”)

Totally Optional Prompts (“weather”)

Weekend Wordsmith (“sting”)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Underpaid Daredevil

Underpaid Daredevil

and other Limericks

Dot on the Spot

An underpaid daredevil, Dot,

From cannons afire, she was shot.

Her helmet, she’d clip

For aerial trip,

Until she forgot on the spot.

She climbed in the barrel that night,

Prepared for her regular flight.

The fuse, it was lit,

She cared not a whit,

Not knowing the end was in sight.

The crowds were amazed at the show,

Amused to see angels below.

On heavenly wing,

Dear Dot still may swing.

The ringleader claims it is so.

On the Bluff

There once was an agent quite tough,

Till this writer called his big bluff.

She turned on her heel

To catch a new deal –

And turned him to marshmallow fluff.

Plea-Mail

Dear spammers, I wish you’d take heed,

My mailbox, it bulges indeed.

Your offers and spiels

And uncanny deals

Reveal never value, but greed.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Easy Street Prompts (“underpaid daredevil”)

Mad Kane (“There once was an agent, quite tough” or “Dear spammers, I wish you’d take heed”)

Simply Snickers (“amazed,” “amused” and “angel/angle”)

Facing the Flood – A Summertime Memory

Facing the Flood – A Summertime Memory

“Most men pursue pleasure

with such breathless haste

that they hurry past it.”

Soren Kierkegaard

Danish Philosopher

(1813 - 1855)

Photo c2009 by Nickers and Ink

All rights reserved

Soggy Stuff and Sure Enough –

Limericked Lines for Rain or Shine

Our heirlooms dear twirling the drain,

As clouds may defy weathervane,

We survey the skies,

And still scrutinize.

Oh, when will the rain ever wane?

Our vision is blinded, behold,

As power lines dangle, out cold.

Our home modified,

Dismantled, beside,

By forces beyond our control.

A doll in the downpour may smile;

Assimilation is her style.

The rest of us groan

For all that we own,

Possessions we’ve tried to stockpile.

This baptism banal takes shape,

With every discarded drape.

Ablution evades,

As groundwater raids

Our homestead with no near escape.

Insurance adjusters want blood,

Replacing each stick in the mud.

Most items unpaid

Make memories fade,

Along with the force of the flood.

Yet gratitude comes in a flash,

Considering in the backlash –

We all are unhurt,

Despite damp and dirt

And treasure troves tossed in the trash.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Catchwords/In other Words (Kierkegaard quote)

Easy Street Prompts (“baptism – absolution - escape”)

Heads or Tails (“summertime memory”)

Mad Kane (Limerick: “Oh, when will the rain ever wane?”)

Monday Poetry Train (poem/s)

One Single Impression (“assimilation”)

Poetic Asides Wednesday Poetry Prompts (Summer Poems)

Pumping Your Muse Prompts (“the doll”)
Simply Snickers (“blind,” “beside” and “bold”)

Sunday Scribblings (“vision”)

Photo prompts:

Odd Shots (photo/s – odd shots)

Scenic Sunday (photo/s)

Sunday Stills (photo/s)

Weekend Snapshot (photo/s)

Wordless Wednesday (photo/s)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Playing House

Playing House

This weekend, our witty friend Galen will hand off his beloved daughter to her fiance in marriage. In a flash, his child will be setting up house with another.

Recognizing this auspicious occasion, today’s Friday Flash-55 is dedicated to the G-man. Congratulations and best wishes!

The Tailor Made Girl

By C. Jay Taylor

1888

Father of the Bride –

A Limericked Pair for a Papa with Flair

The spiffiest papa this hour,

Beholding his lovely young flower.

Adorned all in white,

This beautiful sight,

He wished he could stash in a tower.

But walls wouldn’t hold hands of time,

Not stave off this moment sublime.

With eyes closed, he gasped.

His child’s grip he grasped

And up to the altar did climb.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Easy Street Prompts (“playing house”)

Fiction Friday (“… closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped.”

Friday Flash-55 (55 words)

Meme Express (Friday Freedom)

Monday Poetry Train (poem/s)

One Single Impression (“walls”)

Theme Thursday (“beautiful”)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

MAD Glibs – Limericks and Fun

MAD Glibs – Limericks and Fun

My friend Mad Kane has issued several calls for limericks lately. Here’s my attempt to catch up, just for laughs. (The lines in red typeface represent the limerick prompts.)

Emancipated Waitress

There once was a guy with no hair.

Each evening, he played solitaire.

The day finally came

When one pretty dame

Discovered him a millionaire.

Total Denial

A hard-working author named Fink

Once penned a “Dear John” to his shrink.

He ranted and railed.

The missive he mailed,

But wrote with invisible ink.

The Party Line

There once was a government clerk,

Disgruntled with his line of work.

Then he had a fling

With sweet silly string

And drove all his colleagues berserk.

Strappy, but Snappy

A woman was feeling depressed.

She needed not double chin rest.

A surgeon with glee

Took her E to B,

And she got it off of her chest.

The Collector

A fictional writer named Frank

Fell victim to publisher prank.

He offered his tale

‘Mid fresh cakes and ale,

And signed for a royalty blank.

The Other Woman

There once was a nag known as Ag,

A stingy and surly old bag.

But each night she danced,

By suitors entranced,

Thus causing the town tongues to wag.

Taxi Time

A dim-witted driver named Ed,

Whose long locks were braided in dredd,

Did smartly refuse

His real name to use,

Because it nine syllables read.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Easy Street Prompts “the collector,” “the party line,” “the other woman,” “emancipated waitress,”)

Mad Kane (Limericks: “A woman was feeling depressed,” “There once was a guy with no hair…” “There once was a government clerk…” “A hard-working author named Fink…” or “There once was a nag known as Ag…” or “A dim-witted driver named Ed”)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Acrostic Only Award - for Praise the Lord

Many thanks to Acrostic Only for the "Best Weekly Acrostic Award" for "Praise the Lord."


Click here to read "The ABCs of Worship - Praise the Lord."

Hues – Pick and Choose

Hues – Pick and Choose

What color is silence?

What shade is solitude? Maybe the moment determines the dye. Perhaps the paint may be altered by attitude. What changes the colors of our moments of quietness? Is it our circumstances, our situations, our attitudes, our distractions or something far greater? Perhaps we need to pause, every once in a while and ponder the question.

What color is silence?

The Hammock

By Gustave Courbet

1844

The Color of Silence

Acrostic in Rhyme on a Rainbow of Mime

The color of silence may vary a lot,

His palette may change in a single sole spot.

Each tinge tainted only by matters of thought.

Consider an unspoken season of red,

Outshone only by a fierce tempered hothead.

Look further to find undercurrents of blue,

Of deepest dark ponderings, dyeing right through.

Reflect on the tints a grief proving true.

Oh, look! A green envious streak takes up haunt.

Forget not the force of an unspoken want.

Still, solace may settle in shadows of fear,

Installing a yellowish shade coming clear.

Look up, and you’ll notice a color alone,

Enticing to solitude, painting in stone.

No mystic salute, as it beckons us swing.

Check off-color comments outside of these walls;

Each hue, though absurd, simply shines as it calls.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Acrostics Only (“the color of silence”)

Meme Express (Sunday invitation to Simply Snickers)

One Single Impression (“walls”)

Simply Snickers (“salute,” “stone” and “swing’)

Sunday Scribblings (“absurd”)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Concrete Images

Concrete Images

Sidewalk Chalk

Public Domain Photo

Chalk It Up to Summer –

A NaiSaiku Poem for Summertime

Concrete images,

Amputated by dog paws,

Scribbled on the walk.

CHALK IT UP TO SUMMER.

Scribbled on the walk,

Amputated by dog paws,

Concrete images.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Easy Street Prompts (“amputated)

Inspire Me Thursday (“child art”)

Naisaiku Challenge (Naisaiku poetry)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Dancing with Charlie

Dancing with Charlie

What happens when online subscriptions are renewed, so a web writer may again enjoy increased readership? Behold the happy dance. (What else?)

Prima Ballerina

Artwork in Public Domain

Cha-Cha Charlie –

A Rumba in Rhyme for a Scriber Sublime

There once was a writer named Charlie,

Who’d mastered the art of the parley.

Then somehow by chance,

She started to dance

And turned all the beer back to barley.

Excitement had filled her with glee,

And readership soared by degree.

So Charlie, she rose

On tips of her toes

And jigged for the rainclouds to flee.

This happy dance caught on like flame,

And Charlie acquired a name.

With shamrocks and plume,

She slid ‘cross the room,

So gleefully prancing to fame.

Want to uncover the dancing background behind this poetic romp? It’s in the comments on this Associated Content article . . . and then this one.

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

Just June

Just June

Sometimes the weather is not just the weather . . .

Broadcasting Degree

Copyright-Free Photo

Immune to Monsoon

There once was a woman named June,

Who married a booming buffoon.

Their tune became flat;

She passed him his hat

And sent him along none too soon.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Heads or Tails (“tune”)

Mad Kane (Limerick: “There once was a woman named June…”)

Monday Poetry Train (poem/s)

Read-Write-Poem (poem/s about opposites)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!

A-Wayne Out West

A-Wayne Out West

Although I already posted to this limerick prompt, it surely does not seem fair to omit these “Waynes.” Thieves and rascals, best be on the lookout for these two!

Horsing Around with Wayne

There once was a fellow named Wayne

Who rode with the rope and the rein.

And it was no fluke

We knew him as Duke.

This cowboy could sure entertain.

Wayne Manners

There once was a fellow named Wayne,

A secret identity swain.

He’d race to the task

With cape and with mask,

For Gotham’s security gain.

Posted for:

Easy Street Prompts (“thieves and rascals)

Mad Kane (“There once was a fellow named Wayne . . .”)

A Wayne on Our Resources

A Wayne on Our Resources

Swearing-Out –

A Limericked Tune on a Bloated Buffoon

There once was a fellow named Wayne,

Who spoke just in words most profane.

He’d drop the big bomb,

With motions aplomb,

And leave us with major migraine.

This small talk did burnish his shine,

As shelter we’d seek from malign.

The shadow he cast

Would leave us aghast

And cause us to make a beeline.

Posted for a variety of prompts:

Easy Street Prompts (“small talk”)

Heads or Tails (“motion”)

Mad Kane (“There once was a fellow named Wayne…”

Meme Express (Pick a Prompt)

One Single Impression (“dropped”)

Simply Snickers (“shadow,” “shelter” and “shine”)

Love poetry? Check out Simply Snickers, a brand-new weekly poetry prompt. Try your hand with weekly prompts! Or, look into The Meme Express for daily blogging prompts.

Click here to visit Linda Ann Nickerson’s poetry and humor blog, Nickers and Ink.

Throughout 2009, please join us at The Heart of a Ready Writer, a Bible reading and devotional blog, as we read through the entire Bible in chronological order.

Click here to subscribe to an RSS feed for this writer's helpful Helium content. If you wish, click here for a free subscription to this author's online AC content, so you won't miss a single post!