Salty like hot dogs (and tears). Sweet like marmalade (and life).
I ran the water
Helped her get into the tub
That was when I knew
She who had bathed me
Could no longer bathe herself
Our roles had reversed
This week’s W3 prompt: Choose one specific object or place from your childhood—a bedroom doorway, a schoolyard swing, a favorite toy, a familiar street—and write about the moment when it began to feel different: when you sensed that childhood was receding and something else had begun.
Does it count if I was in my 50’s when this happened?
Kind dealing
Comes not through whim or feeling
But a choice to act with tact —
Fact
This poem is in response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt: Whim. It’s an Irish form called Deibide Baise Fri Toin which is written in quatrains with the following syllable count per line: 3-7-7-1 . The rhyme scheme is aabb, with the first two lines rhyming on a two syllable word and the last lines rhyming on a one syllable word.
Modular home – not for me
Standardized rooms feel empty
Hobbit house fills me with glee
Better yet – home in a tree
This 3-story treehouse is somewhere near Revelstoke, British Columbia.
This is my second attempt at a Tanaga which is a traditional Filipino poetic form, similar in its brevity and depth to the Japanese haiku. It often uses rich metaphor, or talinghaga, to offer wisdom, advice, or vivid imagery. There is absolutely no wisdom or advice in my Tanaga — just a cool treehouse.
The rules for a tanaga are:
This is also my response to the RDP prompt: Modular
Shadows fall upon us all
Currents carve, water erodes
Creating cliffs strong and tall
Wisdom worn bears heavy loads
For this week’s W3 , we are challenged to write a tanaga inspired by the theme “Life and Wisdom.” Explore the lessons we learn from living, the choices we make, and the experiences that shape us. Even a simple image from nature can become a metaphor for a deeper truth or moral lesson.
The tanaga is a traditional Filipino poetic form, similar in its brevity and depth to the Japanese haiku. It often uses rich metaphor, or talinghaga, to offer wisdom, advice, or vivid imagery.
Your tanaga should follow these guidelines:
created using AI
(For clarity sake — the picture was created using AI. The poem is 100% me.)
Deep inhale
Seventy-eight years travail
For what to wish? A new roof?
[poof]
I’m confused
One candle still lit! Excused
Not extinguished. Did I goof?
[Foof]
Voice speaking
From the flame. Eerie. Creaking.
“ElAinE” – glimpse of frilly rouche
[SWoosh]
If even
I blow harder, believing
It will work, I hear “SHhhHsh“
[WHOosh]
Oh, terror!
Who is this message bearer?
She speaks again — one word — “iF“
[WHIFF]
“iF ToDaY“
TODAY?? Today is my day?
My lungs are squeezing for breath —
Death?
[gasp weakly]
NO! It can’t end so bleakly!
At once — candle smoke, voice spoke
“jOkE!“
This week’s W3 is an interesting prompt:
An old woman blows out 78 candles on her birthday cake, but one refuses to go out, no matter how hard she blows. It burns with a blue flame and whispers a name she hasn’t heard in 40 years. Your poem is her conversation with that candle. What does she decide to do: let it keep burning, or pinch it out?
I found the prompt challenging and didn’t exactly follow it.
The form I used was Deibide Baise Fri Toin, an Irish form. It is written in quatrains with the following syllable count per line: 3-7-7-1 . The rhyme scheme is aabb, with the first two lines rhyming on a two syllable word and the last lines rhyming on a one syllable word.
The last word in the first five stanzas is supposed to be the sound of her attempting to blow out the candles.
[to the tune of “Jingle Bells]
Dashing through the house
In a Monday morning rush
I laid in bed too long
Where my’s favorite brush?!
The forecast is for rain
What I would give for sun
I haven’t time to think or sigh
I’m always on the run!
Oh! Monday morn, Monday morn
Tell me why you’re here?
I am really not a fan
Can I make that part clear?
Monday morn, Monday morn
Can you please go away?
I’d like to rest in my warm bed
Let’s try another day
Sitting at my desk
I try to do my part
I scratch my head and rub my neck,
Pull up another chart
The Excel numbers swim
Won’t do the things I ask
I think I’ll shut the program down
And try another task
Oh! Monday morn, Monday morn
Tell me why you’re here?
I am really not a fan
Can I make that part clear?
Monday morn, Monday morn
Please just go away
My brain won’t shift into work mode
Let’s try another day
This is my contribution to the Monday Wordle (MLMM) where the challenge is to use any or all of the prompt words in a piece of writing. Today’s words are dashing, morning, bed, forecast, sighed, give, neck, head, warmth, laid, and part.
It seems natural, so simple
Impulsively holding
Hands — an honest symbol
Nimble fingers folding
Intertwining; act of sharing
Bearing with a person
Touch that asks, how are you faring?
Caring lest things worsen
Could be a sister or a mother
Hovering and steady
Or a new romantic other
Druther — am I ready?
Feeling again perhaps tingles
Mingles with fear sincere
[oh dear!] back among the singles
Fingers, hands — meet, cohere
The week’s W3 prompt is to use the word “again” in a very specific context: Write a poem about experiencing something familiar as though it were happening for the first time again.
I thought about the act of taking or holding a hand, the simple spontaneous touch between two people who care for each other.
The dechnad mor is an Irish poetic form that employs quatrains with these guidelines:
Once, twice, thrice
Three strikes! Yer out!
The words sound angry
But they’re just fact
Final judgment on a lone at-bat
The team bench is no haven
Brings no peace
Thoughts of why and if
Dreams of a hero home-run
Realization — none
Game over
Dejection
Until
Kind words from dad
Your swing looked great
Next time
Hope given
Love felt
This is my response to MLMM Wordle where writers are invited to weave the prompt words provided into a piece of prose or poetry. Here are the prompt words: once, three, haven, peace, thoughts, why, angry, if, final, love, none, dream
At 80 Mom “rested” her eyes
As did Joe Biden — no surprise
Trump “rests” his in many places
Meetings1, funerals2 — sans disguise
Trump weaves a lot (not string or laces)
Mixes lands for US bases3
Iceland? Greenland? Does it matter?
Pinky? PeeWee?4 Meh – same faces
Tic Tac, Tik Tok5 — chitter, chatter
Covfefe6 served on a platter
Would you drive down The Hormuz Street7?
Hormuz Strait all bombs and splatter8
Dumb has a “b”.9 Who knew? How neat!
Dumocrat10 — such a silly tweet
Islamic Republic — Japan11?!?
Defeat him? No! Obvious cheat!
Shithole countries12 we ought to ban
Not Norway, places African
Discuss terms telephonically13
Big nuclear button14. Oh man.
So rest your eyes; the world can see
We’ve become a hostile country
You’re all about making money
This is not who I want to be
Feel free to fact-check me —
1 – One example: at a cabinet meeting on December 2, 2025, Trump was photographed with his eyes closed while various cabinet members spoke. The cabinet members said that he just blinked.
2 – Trump was caught on camera with his eyes closed at Lindsey Graham’s funeral on July 28, 2026
3 – Trump confused Iceland and Greenland at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 2026
4 – At a rally in Marietta, GA on July 24, 2026, Trump compared Jon Osoff to Pinky Herman.
5 – On July 28, 2026, Trump declared himself Number 1 on Tic Tac. I think that’s a pretty small platform. He might have meant Tik Tok.
6 – What exactly is covfefe? He has never told us since he coined the word May 31, 2017.
7 – On July 22, 2026, while addressing students in metro Atlanta, Trump refered to the Hormuz Street.
8 – On February 28, 2026 the Strait of Hormuz was closed by Iran after they were attacked by the USA
9 – On July 16, 2026 (and multiple other times), Trump explained, “Dumb. You take the the B out. Most people don’t know that dumb has a B.” I feel like this is a case of pots, kettles, and the color black.
10 — Trump first used this term in May 2026 at a speech in New York.
11 – Yes, on July 8, 2026, at a NATO summit, Trump refered to Japan in this way. He probably meant Iran.
12- January 11, 2018 in the Oval Office, thus spake the president, who is strongly backed by conservative evangelical Christians, in the beautiful language of noble world leaders.
13 – On April 30, 2026, Trump stated that negotiations regarding Iran were being conducted “telephonically,” noting that this approach eliminated the need for lengthy 18-hour flights for in-person meetings.
14 – On January 3, 2018, Trump tweeted that his “Nuclear Button” was “much bigger & more powerful” than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s.
This week, the W3 challenge is to write a funny roast or a strong complaint about a government leader or another person who has power. I don’t know how funny this is. I mostly feel angry.
The poem should use a form called an interlocking rubaiyat.
Here is how the form works:
The rhyme pattern looks like this:
AABA / BBCB / CCDC / DDED
Whatever became of Sir Swellimpedeedoo?
Though his fingers were swollen, he needed something to do —
So he crocheted a chicken
And his thumbs ceased to thicken
Soon the rest of his hands slimmed down too
He didn’t change his diet
Nor did he sit quiet
This much is true!
Idle hands lead to riots
While creativity is so good for you
This is my response to this week’s W3 challenge.
POW, Matt Snyder, challenged us to write a nonsense poem with a specific structure:
The poem must have two stanzas of five lines each.
Stanza 1 (Limerick)
Whatever became of Sir Swellimpedeedoo? (A)
____________________________ (A)
__________________ (B)
__________________ (B)
____________________________ (A)
Stanza 2
He didn’t ______________________
Nor did he _____________________
This much is true! (C)
____________________________
____________________________ (C)
The italicized words must appear exactly as they are written. The picture is to serve as inspiration.
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 