Bad Poetry Corner

On the event of being otherwise occupied

The sun is out and the wind is blowing
one of those weird days where you can see the city from 30 miles away.
It's not too hot and it's not too cold. The humidity is low so its' easy to feel energetic.
As I drive down the street, I see Mr. Jones's dogs got out again. Frisky from the cool weather, they jump and bite each other's tails as they run down the street.
I drive past Chinatown and watch as the grocery trucks pull into the shopping centers. Their windows are open and they wave and wink as I go by.
Children are playing at the bus stops, their mothers making weak attempts to stop them from running too close to the streets.
I get on the expressway and I see the fields below me, waving in the breeze, shimmering in the sunlight.
Carload of teenagers in convertibles and jeeps speed past me, on their way to the beach, where they will, no doubt, spend the day in the sun.
The roads leading out of town are packed with holiday travelers. North to Dallas, South to Mexico, West to the Hill Country and East to the coast.
Everyone seems to be on their way to somewhere more exciting than here.

Exhaustion

weary
feet drag across the floor
yawning
I look inside the refrigerator
too tired to eat
I rub my eyes
too tired to sleep
I turn on the tv
and fall asleep in the chair

The passionate kiss between Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt

It was a crisp autumn day, and there was the smell of leaves burning in the air. Charlie Brown lay on the ground, staring at the sky. He was thinking about football and about kites. Lucy was standing nearby, watching him mockingly, holding a football in her hand.

"You're such a blockhead, Charlie Brown" Lucy said, turning to walk away. "Everyone knows that football season doesn't start until NEXT week. Anything promised now is by default, null and void."

Something clicked in Charlie Brown's head. He had had enough of Lucy's mocking. He had had enough of the little red-headed girl's rejection. He had had enough of Violet, inuslting him at every possible moment.

Charlie Brown stood up. He felt the cool breeze blow across his bald head. It gave him courage. He watched Lucy walk across the field. He thought about all the times he tried to kick the football, only to have Lucy pull it out from under him. He thought about Lucy's mocking brown eyes filled with laughter as she watched him fall.

Charlie Brown began to run toward Lucy, fired up by sudden anger and passion.

Lucy was startled when Charlie Brown caught up with her and, grabbing her by the arm, turned her to face him. She was not prepared for the look on Charlie Brown's face.

After it was over, Lucy looked at Charlie Brown in amazement. The amazement quickly turned to anger, and Charlie Brown found himself flipping in the air three times (a new record for Lucy) before falling in a nearby pile of leaves; a victim of Lucy's left hook.

Charlie Brown lay on the ground, watching an airplane fly by. He was thinking about football, kites and the look of amazement on Lucy's face.

Tomorrow he would find Violet.

Obsession

I snuck onto the Internet at work today
and looked up his name on a search engine.
I looked his name up in the phone book
and rubbed my finger back and forth over his address.
I wrote his name on a big white pad of paper
his named entwined with mine.
I looked at a catalog and every beautiful dress,
I imagined myself wearing at our wedding.

Marigolds

My father leaves marigolds on top of my car.
He tucks them between the antenna and roof.
I walk out to my car every morning and see them.

As I drive down the street, on my way to work
the marigolds blow off my car.

But I think about them, later in the day, at odd times.
I walk from office to office, and suddenly
the image of the marigolds tucked into the roof of my car
comes into my mind.