on the head of a pin
Some of the following one-liners are seventeen syllable poems or moments, also known as American Sentences. I’m going to continue the practice here, but I might include longer or shorter tiny moments, the kind that can balance on the head of a pin.
5/29 60. My dog does all the work – leads me on a leash, dusts the pavement for me with her tail, as long as ostrich plumes.
5/29 59. The loneliest girl in the world: she trudges up a hill in the rain, backpack and hair sodden, bottoms of her jeans trailing the sidewalk like snails.
4/21 58. Sweeping caked pollen off the screened in porch, inches of hard-boiled egg yolk.
9/10 57. She will stand forever in the middle distance of a garden path.
9/10 56. As a canopy of trees sways in the wind, rain falls on me from the inside.
9/10 55. Here the sun shines in a salt–blue sky, an eternal noonday of roses.
9/10 54. She will never look at me, never lift the brim of her sun hat.
9/10 53. I drift down the path, smell her clean sweat, then vanish into woods beyond.
4/4 52. A squirrel, white belly to the sky, chin up, lay splayed, pinned to the gutter.
3/24 51. Submerge to see the whale–look up as a hammerhead swims overhead.
3/23 50. My son puffs an orb of dandelion seeds, triggering a clover blossom blizzard.
3/23 49. Racing past crowns of impossibly giant cedars, I fly skyward.
1/12 48. Three-hundred pound nurse in pink scrubs and crocks smokes – no one around to heal.
1/11/ 47. Dachshund drinks and pees a lot, his hind legs splay – he has diabetes.
12/21 46.<strong> Clumsy</strong> me <strong>overlooked</strong> the dog poop in front of the <strong>fire</strong>place. (American Sentence for 3WW)
12/20 45.Telephone wires stripe clouds, weaving a tic-tac-toe board in the sky.
12/19 44.Dachshund wolfs turkey liver, deep bow of thanks to sacrificial bird.
12/18 43.Guatemalan girl raised in Knoxville kicks sneakers at crepe paper leaves.
12/17 42.Young punk in training crowd surfs then scalds insides on habaneros.
12/16 41. Mounds of fleshy poppy seed rolls: my middle under a blouse, sans seeds.
12/15 40.Pot-bellied chef blesses oil, secures his goggles, and fries a bird.
12/7 39. Boys leave cupboard doors open: Dachshund munches on raw sweet potato.
11/27 38. On the news: hordes in down jackets storm mall doors for Black Friday frenzy.
11/27 37. Redhead talks on cell phone in stall all during her pee and hand washing .
11/27 36. Steele vending machine taunts my empty stomach with Funyons and Fritos.
11/27 35. Latino laborers lean on cars in parking lots, hands in pockets.
11/26 34. At forty-seven I show no wrinkles because my smiles hide the lines.
11/26 33. Bull giants: football players sport tattooed biceps wider than my thighs.
11/23 32. Frontiers, chaotic lines where dunes kiss scrub: windswept habitats in flux. (This sentence comes from <a href=”http://www.sillykumquat.blogspot.com/”>Photo Poem Thursday</a>, a new site for…. more writing prompts!)
11/20 31. Big, blond accountant cracks her whip in hallways – stress relief Texas style.
11/19 30. Vermilion, topaz, maize: fall leaves brighter, but I say that every year.
11/18 29. Dung-skinned rats, fat, malignant, flit across the basement, blocking exits.
11/16 28. “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is for wizards,” he said.
11/15 27. Two bowls of turmeric spiced noodle soup – slurped meals on this cold fall day.
11/15 26. Al the bug man gave me a hug then wished me a Happy Thanksgiving.
11/12 25. Down South where there’s no snow I make breaststroke angels swimming to and fro.
11/12 24. My hands peel through pool water, pushing aside rhythmic, blue-jello waves.
10/30. 23. A pilot, hair cropped, shoulders padded wide, shows her gender through her voice.
10/30 22. The airport golf cart blares and beeps, shuttling people across the concourse.
10/30 21. Bearded man, hair spiky, looks like Brad Pitt traveling incognito.
10/30 20. She hunches over a foil-wrapped chicken biscuit just before her flight.
10/30 19. Zimbabwe stone carvings of mothers with babes return my heart to home.
10/28 18. A baby wiggles in my arms while I tote yoga mats and blankets.
10/26 17. Dachshund wakes up sneezing, and waddles to meet the early morning moon.
10/26 16. Five crows feast on discarded McDonald’s at the curb, good as roadkill.
10/26 15. Red-tailed hawk, black talons, onyx hooked beak, enters at night while I sleep.
10/25 14. Holding a boy with tiny shards of crystal encrusted in his back.
10/25 13. On cricket nights owls chant, faucets ping, and car alarms siren in the dark.
10/25 12. At forty-seven she gives birth to poetry and art, not a child.
10/24 11. Dachshund’s drumstick haunches tremble in chilly October wind and rain.10/23 10. My husband gave his mother a fine satin gown the color of flesh.
10/23 10. My husband gave his mother a fine satin gown the color of flesh.
10/23 9. Gang of Four filters from the basement, pounding my heart in an old dance.
10/23 8. Drifting through rooms laden with objects bereft of a home, I’m vexed.
10/22 7. My chubby dachshund licks water from manhole covers after the rains.
10/22 6. A backpacked school girl, head down, trots in the drizzle,a phone to her ear.
10/21 5. Colt bobs his head toward tender green grass under the shade of twisted oaks.
This last one comes from the <a href=”http://poefusion.blogspot.com/2007/10/monday-mural_21.html”>Monday Mural</a> writing prompt on Poefusion.
10/21 4. A spindly hair, sprouting haywire from the side of my foot, provokes stress.
10/21 3. My friend, follow me to the past, where we dance to Allen Ginsberg’s drums.
10/21 2. White pinhead bubbles intrigue the eye while swimming one hundred eight laps.
10/21 1. In puritan psyches float lust, betrayal, incest, and amnesia.
