Blooming or Assuming?

Blooming or Assuming?

Lines Adorned Where Care’s Been Scorned

Her blouse hides a tiny tattoo

Of pansies in yellow and blue –

But under the ink,

The heart, it may shrink,

As green overtakes every hue.

Each warm ray that on her is shed

Brings withering rancor instead.

Her petals may streak

To answer her pique,

As bloom turns to gloom freely said.

Still simpler gardens may call,

Whose blossoms stand regal and tall.

Though petals may wilt,

They transfer no guilt,

But share their glad glory with all.

c2012 by Linda Ann Nickerson

Image/s:

Vintage Pansies

Antique Clip-Art

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Stop, Drop and Stroll

Stop, Drop and Stroll -

Limericked Selections on Coming Elections

A frolicking frenzy endures but awhile,

‘Mid feigning false fabulist’s sneakiest smile.

They sashay and stroll,

Surrounding the poll,

Where frustrated judges the ballots compile.

Do fondness or frigidness greet outstretched hand?

Can coaches groom greatness, if honor’s unmanned?

A fresh polished face

Assumes rightful place,

Although frequent frost leaves its frown ‘cross the land.

c2012 by Linda Ann Nickerson

NOTE: This original and copyrighted poem was posted in response to prompts from Mr. KnowItAll’s Flash-55, Meme Express and Simply Snickers.

 

Image/s:

Ballot Box

WP Clip Art

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Let Freedom Ring

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the United States, a national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968), a most memorable civil rights leader and spiritual statesman.

To mark this occasion, instead of posting a poem, I'm including the full video of Dr. King's often-cited "I Have a Dream" speech, which he delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963.

This landmark lesson for humanity of every hue was far more than a rhetorical exercise or a fiery display of forensics. The words of Dr. King, amplified across the Reflecting Pool towards the Washington Monument in our nation's Capitol.

And the world remembers.
 .

  .

Take a listen to the familiar words, and catch the famous dream:

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 .

"'My country 'tis of thee,

sweet land of liberty,

of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died,

land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside,

let freedom ring!’

And if America is to be 

a great nation, 

this must become true."

Photo/s:

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I Have a Dream" speech

Washington, DC

August 28, 1963

Flesh-colored crayons 

Fair use photo

What color is human flesh, anyway?

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What's in a Name?

What’s in a Name?

Here in Wisconsin, a certain group of folks are trying to gather as many signatures as they can to recall the state Governor. The deadline for petitions is coming up in just under two weeks.

Petition-wielding Badger State denizens are standing outside their parked cars in public places in the balmiest Wisconsin weather for January, holding up placards and urging motorists to stop and sign in.

Intriguingly, this petitioning process has become something of a sticky widget. The Governor’s people have even filed court complaints.  It seems some of the signatories have names that bear more resemblance to famous folks, past and present (or even pretend) than to real state residents.

How did Wisconsin’s petition circulators get folks like Adolf Hitler, Mickey Mouse, Donald Trump, Walt Disney, Mary Poppins and John Wayne to sign?

Taking Names

With clipboards in hand, they patrol.

Outside on the sidewalks, they troll.

“Please sign on the line.

No need to decline.

Just pick any name for the roll.”

Petitions fill up overnight,

As fictional characters write.

Celebrities pen

Again and again,

But never on our turf alight.

The deadline approaches to file,

With turmoil both sides of the aisle.

Political games

Include taking names

Along every country mile.

c2012 by Linda Ann Nickerson

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Image/s:

Petition Gathering

Creative Commons Licensing Photo

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Merry Christmas from Nickers and Ink

 Merry Christmas from Nickers and Ink!

You won't find a plethora of poetic posts on Nickers and Ink this month, because I'm blogging my little heart out at Heart of a Ready Writer - doing my own Advent A to Z Challenge. I invite you to check it out! And have a very merry Christmas!

Dodging the Panda

Dodging the Panda

 (for all my AC/YCN friends)

We’re moving to a new domain.

The reasoning is fairly plain.

Since Panda left us in the dust,

No longer do we page views trust.

Since February, we have mourned,

As Google has our readers scorned.

The Panda buried titles deep

With writers crying, “Bleepity-bleep!”

Yahoo! Let’s take another chance

And maybe do our happy dance.

May hyperlinks uplift our hearts

And raise the numbers on our charts.

We welcome browsers, one and all,

To overlook the Panda’s call.

This ursine carnivore is cute,

Unless he steals our page view fruit.

Today the change may make us frown,

And readership may slip way down.

But by tomorrow, all retooled,

May publications be refueled.

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast:

Man never is, but always to be blest.”
Alexander Pope

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 .

NOTE: In February 2011, Google implemented Panda, an algorithm alteration that automatically deranked many informative websites in user search results. Those affected most by the change included user-generated news and features sites, social networking communities and websites containing significant levels of advertising.

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Image/s:

Giant Panda

By Matthew Field

Creative Commons Licensing Photo

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Frantic, or Pedantic?

Frantic, or Pedantic?

Congratulations all around! We survived another Black Friday, just in time for Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

My Christmas tree is up. The Advent calendar hangs in the kitchen, eagerly awaiting the first day of December. But my to-do list continues to grow, almost as if it had a mind of its own.

Shop Amazon's Christmas Corner - Holiday decor, tableware, and entertainment

The holiday gift shopping is underway. Santa’s naughty-and-nice list is open. Baking ingredients are collecting in the cupboard. The festive holiday attire hangs in the closet. The family calendar is filling up. And Christmas preparations are beginning to pile up.

Something’s gotta give.

Just yesterday, weathering the Black Friday crowds for a not-so-quick stop at Target, my teen and I left the store one shopping bag short.

Shop Amazon's New Kindle Fire

Guess what! The store staffers found our missing parcel. All we have to do is return to the store, find a parking spot, run the gauntlet of hurrying humanity and retrieve our errant items.

I was relieved and grateful to find (by phone) that our absent purchases were located and saved for us. Still, did I really need another errand on this busy weekend?

Christmas spirit or chaos?

It’s easy to grow more muddled than merry during the holiday season. Maybe you know the feeling.

Frantic, or Pedantic?

A Triolet to Do Today

I just don't get it.
Perhaps I am delayed.
I just don't get it.
A five-chore list I've made.
I just don't get it.
The edges, they are frayed.
I just don't get it.
My focus, it has strayed.

I just don't get it . . . done.

Note:

The triolet is a popular poetic form with a well-defined structure. This traditional eight-line poem, penned in iambic pentameter, contains four couplets and follows this rhyme scheme: ABaAabAB. Usually, the 1^st, 4^th and 7^th lines match – as do the 2^nd and 8^th lines.

My triolet departs from this pattern somewhat. Hey, call it poetic license.

Shop Amazon's Holiday Toy List

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Image/s:

Tuckered-Out Santa

Creative Commons Licensing photo

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Ring Around the Cozy: Poetic Spin on Next of Kin

Ring Around the Cozy:

Poetic Spin on Next of Kin

 

A lively link that’s sure to shrink

To cast the others out,

The circle dances on the brink

And tosses blame about.

The starter of the game may fear

Inclusion casts a spell.

And so he plants himself premier

With ever-shriller yell.

The merrymaking song he sings

Its melody has lost.

For she who still may wear his rings

Outside the arc is tossed.

No longer does she press the edge

To join the whirling fray.

For he forgot his long-time pledge

When he began to play.

The circle game for children’s fun

Is fast becoming vague.

Have folks forgotten or respun

It started with a plague?

 

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Image/s:

Circle Gamephoto by Inferis

Creative Commons Licensing

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Hurry Up, Healing

Hurry Up, Healing

A Senryu for Mending Past Due

Have you ever broken a bone or two? One of my favorite horses tossed me in the dirt about six weeks ago.This practically perfect pony went from plum tuckered out to a boisterous buck-fest in a heartbeat, as a hornet stung him. And I went flying.

In fact, we had to toss my equestrian safety helmet, which was cracked.

Stumbling to my feet and staggering into the emergency room, I found out I had sustained at least 10 fractures. You might say I’ve been sidelined awhile, and I’m growing a bit more antsy each day.

If you’ve experienced a fairly significant injury in your lifetime, you probably know the feeling, when you just want to hurry up the healing.

Hurry Up, Healing

A Senryu for Mending Past Due

Can’t stand sitting still.

Disregarding doctors’ words.

C’mon, fractures! Heal!

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Image/s:

Falling from the Horse

Public Domain Artwork

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Ego Drip - A Limericked Brush with an Unreturned Crush

Ego Drip

A Limericked Brush with an Unreturned Crush

A love-smitten guy was irate

And worked himself into a state.

He strutted and roared,

But still, she ignored –

His ego to under-inflate.

He fancied the belle of the ball,

But she refused for him to fall.

She turned on her heel,

Denied his appeal.

Perhaps ‘twas not love after all.

A mirror may fib to convince

The lustiest lad he’s a prince.

Such looks may deceive,

Or worse, misperceive.

Perhaps he may fetch just a wince.

The moral is clear nonetheless.

A way exists out of this mess.

When handsome hearts shine,

The homeliest find

That beauties may seek them to bless.

(Written in response to a prompt from Mad Kane Humor Blog.)

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Image/s:

Beauty and the Beast illustration by Anne Anderson

Early 20th Century

Public Domain Artwork

Flyer Drill: A Limericked Shove on Rising Above

Flyer Drill

A Limericked Shove on Rising Above

A woman who loved a good thrill

Plunged into the fire until

A true breach of trust

Left “Done” in the dust.

A louder bird shrieked ever shrill.

His crowings ignited a blaze,

Desiring her feathers to faze.

Like phoenix of old,

She’d rise again, bold,

Perhaps even self to amaze.

Her smoldering wings fluttered frail,

And still on the skies she would sail.

Each tumbling bruise

Her longings would loose.

To travel above her travail.

(Written in response to a prompt from Mad Kane.)

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Image/s:

Phoenix, by Barthelemy

15^th Century Artwork

From: Biblioteque Municipale d’Amiens, France

Public Domain Artwork

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Drumming Up Trouble

Drumming Up Trouble

My brain, it explodes with percussion.

No medicine works. I have tried.

It feels like I have a concussion.

I’m mopping up tears I have cried.

The throbbing is downright confounding.

My windows, they rattle beside.

But wait! I’ve discovered what’s pounding.

A drum corps rehearses outside.

Who welcomed these marchers to gather,

To practice formations untried?

I’m working myself to a lather.

Perhaps I’ll just go for a ride.

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Image/s:

Drummer Boy - public domain clip-art

Drum Corps photo copyrighted by Linda Ann Nickerson

Nickers and Ink

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Positively Punchy

Positively Punchy

I’m not gonna bathe in your potions.

Don’t offer your poison fruit punch.

Not sure where you picked up such notions,

Although I have one certain hunch.

Your pontifications amuse not.

You argue on topics agreed.

What happens when you’re out of earshot

And others may freely proceed?

How bitter the brew you have boiled.

The cauldron, it hisses and steams.

And yet the concoction is spoiled,

For something is not as it seems.

A guest may admire aroma,

Perhaps even sampling a sip.

However, for those not in coma,

Your output bars all return trip.

So save me the trouble of asking,

And offer your quaff elsewhere, please.

For some scents are worthy of basking,

While others spread bitter disease.

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• The Trigger  
• Too Far - a Rhymed Alert for One Who's Hurt  

Image/s:

Blowing His (Own) Horn

Painting by Gabriël Metsu

Public Domain – copyright expired

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Dog on the Job Day

Dog on the Job Day

Today was Take Your Dog to Work Day, which falls on the first Friday after Father’s Day every year.

Did you take your pet to your workplace? How did that go over with your employer?

To honor this fine canine celebration with dogged determination, here’s a hired-hound holiday limerick.

Doggedly Downsized

Today I was not overjoyed.

My pooch filled my office chair void.

Till, finally, cross,

I showed him who’s boss,

Because I am still self-employed.

My oversized lapdog gave pause,

Evicted without true just cause.

Then sadly he crept

To sunspot and slept,

Accepting his own escape clause.

For who takes a doggy to work,

Unless pet protection’s a perk?

Still, working at home,

I’m never alone

As my canine colleague may lurk.

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Image/s:

Public Domain Clip Art

Misc. Sources

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