The Age of Open Doors

May 1, 2026 SallyLeave a comment

I reached the age of open doors
It was the time to choose
After years of thoughtful mentors
Whose advice should I use?

Door one revealed a scene sublime
Flowery, peaceful, green
The sun had just begun its climb
O’er this idyllic scene

Enticing sunrise pink and blue
The dawn of a brand new day
I stopped myself from stepping through
And looked the other way

A smell came from the second door
Putrid, foul, rank
I looked and saw things I abhor
My heart within me shrank

I knew at once where I must go —
Stepped past the lintel post
And entered not where flowers grow
But where I was needed most.

This is my response to this week’s W3 challenge where Poet of the Week Yvette M. Calleiro prompts us to create a poem that explores a fictional world—utopian or dystopian, your choice. This world must be wholly imagined and not reflect the current reality we live in. Let your imagination run freely.

Use 20 lines or fewer.
Write about a fictional utopian or dystopian world.
Do not portray the current state of our world in your poem.

Z is for Zig-Zag

April 30, 2026 Sally3 Comments

There once was a life full of twists
Opportunities taken (some missed)
Zig-zagging around
Fulfillment was found
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

Arial view of the switchbacks in Ethiopia

I was startled awake in the midst of a dream last night.

In my dream, I was at an event, a concert of some sort. I was distracted by some severely handicapped people there — not in a bad way, just wondering where they would sit and how the music would affect them. I was seated near the front so I had close-up view of the performers. I watched them usher three of the handicapped people down to the front and seat them — one at a grand piano, one at a keyboard, and the third at a drum set. A handler placed the man’s hands on the keys of the piano and he began to play. It was beautiful, until he lost his place on the keys. The keyboardist began playing. The drummer began playing. The pianist was growing more and more discordant as he banged his hands on the keys; he had lost his way. I couldn’t tell what triggered it, I feel like it was the pianist listening to the others, because suddenly the music of the three musicians blended into something beautiful.

Then I woke up.

I had been thinking about this post — my zig-zaggy road post– but couldn’t come up with a focus. I think the dream helped me.

Sometimes we lose our way, and life becomes discordant. The switchbacks on the roads cause us to lose our sense of direction.

But then we arrive somewhere — it may be the destination we started off for, or it may be someplace totally different.

Regardless, life is beautiful if we look for the beauty.

A to Z Blogging Challenge · family

Y is for Young

April 29, 2026 Sally13 Comments

There once was a couple quite young
Who together their fortunes they flung
Handsome husband, lovely wife
They had a great life
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

I did not imagine that I would get emotional writing this post about my parents. I went back and found a post I had written in 2011, They were young, and started to tear up.

My mom had dementia. I started this blog while I was trying to unravel that knot. The name of the blog is based on something she had done — put marmalade on my dad’s hot dog for lunch. She went through a whole marmalade phase, putting marmalade on everything.

Gosh, I’m so emotional looking at those photos, remembering.

She died in 2015. He died in 2019. There’s a huge lump in my throat.

A to Z Blogging Challenge · family

X is for X-mas (and other holidays)

April 28, 2026 Sally9 Comments

There once was a family who posed
Each year in their holiday clothes
Christmas, Easter, and such
It was never too much
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

My family faithfully took posed family pictures. We suffered through them as kids.

Then those group photos morphed into pictures of birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and family reunions.

I know X-mas was a stretch for this A-to-Z Challenge. I’m not sure exactly when many of those photos were taken, but here’s a posed family picture that was clearly Christmas:

My mother painted this picture of our family on plywood and it stood outside our house in Fort Devens at Christmas time. I marvel that she did that.

A to Z Blogging Challenge · family

W is for Washington

April 27, 2026April 26, 2026 Sally4 Comments

There once was a trip to Dee Cee
With an unplanned meet-up with fam-lee
We toured all the sites
’bout freedom and rights
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

I would be guessing at the dates. 1970? 1971? 1972?

In any event, I remember the trip my family took to Washington DC during which we ran into my cousins. We were visting, I think, the Air & Space Museum. It doesn’t really matter — we spent the rest of the day together.

I look at these photos and find it remarkable how unchanged how much Washington is.

And yet — that skyline will be changed by one man.

One man who is so insecure about his sense of self that he feels that he needs to leave his mark on everything.

Everything. Literally everything.

Without approval of any governing bodies.

e.g. Let’s build an arch that overshadows the Lincoln Memorial.

e.g. Let’s redo the reflecting pool and paint it blue.

e.g. Let’s tear down a wing of the White House and build a ballroom.

Life · poetry

Rhyming Recipe for Ikigai

April 25, 2026 Sally13 Comments

Think of what you love to do
Jot those things down, one or two

Think of skills where you excel
Not half-bad, but really well

Think of things for which you’re paid
Perhaps in money or in trade

Now think of what the world needs most —
Is something there of which you boast?

Where those things meet is ikigai*
Find that thing; your soul will fly

*ee-kee-guy

This is my response to this week’s W3 prompt, which is to:

Write a poem in rhyming couplets (two lines that rhyme) that gives instructions for making something.

Requirements:

Use rhyming couplets throughout
Give clear steps or instructions
Be creative with what the“recipe” is for

Think of it as turning instructions into something memorable and playful through rhyme.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Ikigai this week. I have a version of that graphic posted in my office.

Too often, I feel that we, as a society, shove people into a job that meets only one or two of those criteria. Find something that meets all four and you’ll find fulfillment and happiness.

A to Z Blogging Challenge · family

V is for Vest

April 25, 2026 Sally10 Comments

There once was a man in a vest
Matching tie, matching son — it’s the best!
Or is it? he thought
Matchy-matchy, or not?
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

I went through a matchy-matchy phase with my kids. Here’s proof:

They’re pretty cute, I’ll admit.

But in the end, I think I value individuality more.

A to Z Blogging Challenge

U is for Uncluttered

April 24, 2026April 23, 2026 Sally5 Comments

There once was a young mom and son
For whom life had barely begun
Uncluttered shelf
Just books, photos — no elf!
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

Ah — if only you could see where I live now!

People have asked if my parents were hoarders. I would say, NO!

I don’t believe that I come from a family of hoarders. I think more that I come from a family who recognizes that when things are thrown away, they are gone forever.

We throw away history on a regular basis. I don’t like that.

I looked at this photo, from when my oldest brother was a baby, and I see that my parents held onto what was important to them. Books, photos, some journals, etc.

Now I am faced with throwing away history.

I found a box in the attic the other day that was files from my father’s desk. Some of it is, literally, medical history. I can’t throw it away. I am now on a quest for the person who keeps this part of medical history.

Oh, to be uncluttered. It looks like a dream.

A to Z Blogging Challenge

T is for Tire

April 23, 2026 Sally7 Comments

There once was a poor humble tire
Who longed to go bigger and higher
until one day he spied
this gigantic ride
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

These photographs are from the New York World’s Fair 1964-65. The US Royal Tires ride looks amazing, doesn’t it?

You may not be able to read the sign at the bottom of the second photograph, but it says “Carcupine.” I googled that word, and after wanting to autocorrect to porcupine, I got this AI response:

A “carcupine” is a colloquial term for a car covered in ice spikes, or a humorous nickname for a car improperly loaded with lumber that protrudes from the vehicle like quills. It is also used as a comedic metaphor for a car that looks like it needs a shave.“

Go figure.

A to Z Blogging Challenge · family

S is for SS Atlantic

April 22, 2026 Sally5 Comments

There was a ship: S. S. Atlantic
Young mom on-board, little bit frantic
Active toddler son
Always on the run
[can you finish my limerick for me?]

When my family left Ethiopia, we returned to the States via a ship called the S. S. Atlantic. Interestingly, the ship started off as a freighter called the S. S. Badger Marina, but was rebuilt in 1958 as a passenger liner.

My youngest brother was under two years old when we made that trip and I was only five. I don’t remember it from the voyage but my mother much later told me about how she had a leash for my brother so he wouldn’t get away from her on the ship. She said other people were very critical of that. As a mother of five sons, I totally understand why she did it.