Tag: blue wave

Haiku & Other Poetry, Random Rants, tutto e niente

The (Crushed) Orange

Tina Stewart Brakebill

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange—

By dinner it had begun to stink

Rotting from the inside out–

I tossed it in the kitchen sink 

 

Out of sight out of mind

I went to bed, perchance to dream

But nightmares rose from noxious fumes

And woke me with a desperate scream 

 

Now I know to clear the stink

and find the joy in simple things

The orange must be crushed 

By the constant wave of beating azure wings 

Photo by maycon rodrigues on Pexels.com

Thanks to the W3 challenge for the chance to share.

https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/11/04/w3-prompt-236-weave-written-weekly/

This not so subtle verse was inspired by the opening line of Wendy Cope’s The Orange. I tried to keep the same sense of style / whimsy  / gratitude while also flipping it a bit.

The Orange


Random Rants, tutto e niente

Sharing a Bit of My World

Tina Stewart Brakebill


1.  Do you drive, and can you remember your first car? I’m from a midsize midwestern city in the US so driving was a given. Once I got my license (at 16) I shared a car with my dad. It was a red 5-speed (manuel) Toyota Corolla. He got it during the day to drive to work (so I still had to take the bus to school) but I had it at night and on weekends. Loved that car!!

2.  Have you ever ice skated? Like driving, ice skating is a given in a midwest town. I had my own white leather figure-skating style ice skates. We skated at the city park ice rink but also on the lake. Learning to do a halfway decent spin was my crowning achievement.

3.  What was your favourite sport at school? Ice skating and bike riding were not school sports, so the answer would be NONE. I have horrible memories of kickball and dodgeball and softball and basketball and ….

4.  What was the last movie you saw at the cinema? I’ve seen two movies in a theater in the last five-ish years: Project Hail Mary and Barbie. Fist my bump!

Gratitude: Check back with me tomorrow. I’m too fearful about the elections to channel much gratitude this morning.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Share Your World : 2nd November 2026
Haiku & Other Poetry, Random Rants, tutto e niente

Tanka Tuesday – Synonyms Only

Tina Stewart Brakebill

time crawls and I vow

rye to sooth my looming dread

‘til the day dawns blue  

promise-and-comfort-1

Welcome to Tanka Tuesday. This week is Synonyms Only. That means you will be using synonyms for the given prompt words.

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge: Synonyms Only – 11/5/2024

Today, I wrote a senryu that sums up the state of my current “human condition.” 

What is a senrue?

A form with 3 or more lines following the short-long-short, 3-5-3, 2-3-2, (5-7-5 traditional) approximately twelve syllables. Senryu do not rhyme, nor do they contain metaphors and similes.

A senryu is written about love, human foibles relating to a personal event, and should have an element of irony present somewhere in the form. Humor and sarcasm are two of the most favorable elements in a senryu. But not always… think in tone. What is the tone of your senryu? 

Senryu focus on the awkward moments in life making the human, not the world around them, the subject of their creative endeavor. Senryu poetry deals with the human condition. The most important distinction between haiku and senryu is the tone of your poem.

Think of it this way: Haiku wants to create a feeling, while senryu wants to make a point.
Focus on sexual matters, family relations, religion, politics, and anything that touches on the pain we experience through sorrow, prejudice, oppression, anger, and frustration. Humor and sarcasm are two of the most favorable elements in a senryu. No title.

Haiku & Other Poetry, Random Rants, tutto e niente

Ballad of an Early Voter

Tina Stewart Brakebill

nervous, feeling fear

touch the screen, colour the box

still the noise bangs on    

“I don’t care, do you”? “Trust me!”

comfort your fear, use your spark   

photography of barrel wave
Photo by Emiliano Arano on Pexels.com

 

For this week’s Wordle Challenge, I managed to create a clumsy tanka that touched on my fear and use all the words: fear, noise, bang, colour, spark, use, touch, care, comfort, trust, feeling, nervous.

MLMM Monday Wordle #397