paradise lost

i built an aquarium, a terrarium, an aviary
interconnected, conjoined, merged
bigger than any other room in my house
where the creatures within could
swim, crawl, walk, fly
their choice
in oxygenated water, on sand and loam and rock, in fresh air

i added too many animals
i didn’t keep it clean
no filters for the water
cheap food
the picky went first
i let it get hot then hotter
the hardy went last

for dVerse Meet the Bar and the subject “metaphors”

haiku

photo by Robert Collins via Unsplash

lion cubs learn to leap
predator gene passed on to
other animals

for Three Line Tales

first love

Big day in our small town. The rodeo had arrived at the county fairgrounds. Rodeo Days. School was out on Friday for the parade that kicked it all off.

Most of the kids in my class were in the parade somewhere. I marched in the high school band with a drum which I rat-a-tatted like the beginner I was.

After the parade, a lot of the band packed into Mary’s Sweets. It was the town’s soda fountain, with a long marble counter. We took up all of the counter seats and a lot of the tables and booths. I was squeezed into a booth with John, Marious, Gwen, Isabel, and Anna.

Anna played the trumpet, which she called her axe. We grew up together. Her family owned the next farm down the state road. This was the year I began to have feelings for her. We were both growing up. There had been a school dance and a church dance and I slow-danced with her at both.

Now in this booth we were pressed side-to-side. Everybody ordered a soda and Eunice was running her legs off and sweating serving everybody. When she brought the sodas and handed out straws, Anne got the last one. We had to share it and at one point in all the hubbub, out lips touched.

for Thimbleful Thursday Writing Prompt

The Neighborhood Magpie Community

magpies will eat songbird eggs and chicks
but songbirds are hard to find in my garden
wide and and wild and brushy as it is
too many cats
my magpies rely on the garden birdbath
and feeder platform
they like suet

for Thurday Photo Prompt