twin tornadoes

no two tornadoes are alike
not even twins
these two are spinning in opposite directions
big tornadoes can have child tornadoes around them
with grandchild tornadoes around them
all we know for certain it that for some reason, they all like trailer parks

Image: AP Photo/Stormchasingvideo.com/Assoiciated Press
for Putting My Feet in the Dirt September Writing Prompts

poem

a broken promise
shared in a broken whisper
followed by a broken heart

for The Twiglets

poem

ice melted away
water continued to warm
until it was steam

for Daily Addictions

poem

nature’s clemency
isn’t about mercy or luck
it’s about choices

for Fandango’s One-word Challenge

tenses

“The past blends perfect and imperfect, the future is tense.”

I was born in the past. Doesn’t get any better than that. You were born then too. Jury’s still out on that one.

I’ll die in the future. Tense.

Humans evolved in the past. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Other primates are not so happy about it; they should have evolved faster.

Humanity’s future? Don’t look now, but it’s not going to be 10% growth per year all the way down. I’m bearish on the future. So are the bears.

Having said that, note that there are 12 verb tenses in English:

1. present simple
2. past simple
3. future simple
4. present perfect
5. past perfect
6. future perfect
7. present continuous
8. past continuous
9. future continuous
10. present perfect continuous
11. past perfect continuous
12. future perfect continuous

Anything could have happened, is happening, or might happen.

Yay!

for Fandango’s Provocative Question

library

the library seems most important to, in order:
– the homeless
– seniorer senoirs
– toddlers at storytime
– selected teens after school, including the tutored
– everybody else

the items that seem most important, in order:
– heat in the winter, coolness in the summer
– laptop, tablet, or smartphone that the patron brings in or finds there
– periodicals
– table and chairs for the tutors and tutored
– dvds
– books

for Ragtag Daily Prompt

haiku

birds peck at ripe fruit
in our world this makes them pests
ripe fruit is fresh fruit

for The Daily Spur

haiku

cubs watching their mom
garner the knowledge to live
my kids watching me

for Your Daily Word Prompt

haiku

black bear defends mate
antagonistic to threats
my wife avoids bars

for Word of the Day Challenge

Free

https://morguefile.com/creative/GaborfromHungary/47/all _DSC7913

Until recently, my father and I would climb into our pickup each morning and drive our route for the day. Between Sunday and the following Saturday, we covered every one of the better neighborhoods in the area, street by street, block by block.

Every day as we motored slowly along, we came upon objects put out along the road with a Free sign attached to them. We would pick up those item that we deemed salable at one or another of the metropolitan flea markets.

It was a living. We were essentially hauling stuff away that folks didn’t want anymore, for whatever price we could get for it.

Unfortunately, folks started putting out more and more free stuff. Too much for scavengers like us to handle. Finally, instead of leaving things on the curb, folks began abandoning it in a variety of public spots, near Goodwill or wherever. Then other folks from the neighborhoods would come, browse, and take the best stuff home with them.

Whatever happened to the American Dream?

for Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practioner