A Message

 

  A message to her World

For K, who is her anchor

For P, her kindred spirit

For H, her brother

For T & J, her love children

For P, her lost one

For H, J, & O, her grandchildren

For S, O & F, their precious propagation 

For L, who understands

For some left out

Dear world

She loves you

She accepts you as you are

in all of your disguises 

in all your broken places

(as you in hers)

She will never leave you

voluntarily

or angrily

She needs you 

Your fidelity

Your shelter

Your council

Your energy 

Your gravity

Your wonder

Your joy

You are her multi faceted planet

Her home

Ellecee

Inspiration from:

Good Universe Next Door

30. Reverse engineer
What message would you like 

to send the world. Write it down 

and set it aside. Next, list the people 

you’d like to receive it. Now, write 

a poem that opens with the catalog 

of recipients and brings your message

 back in at the end. 

Firsts

As a tweenie

she was in love

with William Holden

The epitome of the

gentleman cowboy.

He tipped his hat,

spoke softly, and

smiled so handsomely

when he shook a lady’s hand.

He was her first kiss,

first touch

In her dreams he came

to her, real as the day,

They walked together

hip to hip 

(cowboys don’t hold hands “

He hid their faces with

his hat as he leaned in to

kiss her

In her dreams she was not

too young

to find love

Ellecee

Inspiration from

Good Universe Next Door

11. Betty White died again 
For today’s draft, let’s write a 

poem about what a celebrity 

meant to you before they passed 

(or what they continue to mean 

now that they’re gone). 

Celebration

 

Her son-in-law is

singing “Over The Rainbow”

He sings it the old fashioned

way

She has always loved his voice

singing the old songs

So soft and mellow 

It’s not his usual style but once

in awhile, like today,

 it is

Sometimes tears come to her eyes

Like now

Freedom to grieve for herself,

during this, 

her celebration of life

She wanted it in this club-like atmosphere

Small tables with lit candles and

incense burning

Low light

Spritzers and nibbles,

Soon spoken words by her niece,

her own, chosen for now,  

Her granddaughter 

will lead a singalong to 

“Side by Side”

She thinks some of those

 present know it

There are song sheets on

the tables if some don’t 

There will be smiles,

perhaps clapping

Eulogies 

A send off prayer from

her Pastor daughter

Another song by him,

“Bridge Over Troubled Waters”,

Mingling after.

The tears are starting, 

in anticipation,

Will she make it to the end?

Do they even know she’s here?

No matter

Love is

Ellecee

Inspiration from

Good Universe Next Door

10. It’s your funeral
Imagine the day or season of 

your death and write a poem 

about how your loved ones carry 

on, how you imagine your demise 

or what you’ll miss when you’re gone. 

Knots

She sat on the floor

in front of

her mother’s

rocking chair

She was five years old

learning to tie shoes

Her mother was gently 

rocking and knitting

The strands of bright wool

 smelled of lanolin

her mother of chamomile 

The heel of a sock was

taking shape

Her mother wore boots that laced

up the front

As she untied the laces she

could feel her Mother’s warmth

She was learning to lace and tie

the boots

Over and over

the laces crossed

from hole to hole,

the two string cross overs 

to make a knot,

the twisting and pulling

to make a bow at the top, 

doubled so as to stay

done up

Lacing and knots were easy

Bows were hard

Ellecee

Inspiration from

Good Universe Next Door

7. When the student is ready
For this prompt, write a poem about

 learning to do something. It can be a 

skill you learned as a kid (like tying

 your shoes, crossing the street, eating 

your vegetables, etc.) Bring as much detail

 as possible into your “scenes.