THE TASTE OF REGRET
(He overheard)
Girl at Taco Bell:
“I’m having a bad day,
My phone won’t work,
I have brain freeze,
And that drink went down the wrong hole.”
Other girl (he overheard) at Taco Bell:
“You need to slow down.”
So, instead of remembering
To get the special medium taco sauce,
He left as soon
As his order was ready,
Kicking himself when he got home.
He ordered 4 bottles of
Taco Bell sauce from Amazon.
It will be here in 4 days.
©April 26, 2018
by Diane E. Dockum
I sit exhausted
On the couch
My eyes burn
My hearing fades
The television talks to no one
Sleep snatches at me
Quickly and my head
Snaps back
The opening of my eyes
Is so difficult
Such a chore
I have no dream
My fingers poised
Upon the keyboard
There is a high-pitched
Whistle that levels
My breathing
That draws me down
And sucks me into
The valley of
Sleep
Why fight?
Give in!
The cats are gathering
Purring around me
Snuggling down
Fuzzy thoughts
And prickly, blurring eyes
make me choose to let go
Just get me up off this couch
Just steer me up the stairs
Get my nighty on
And slide between the sheets
Let go let go let go
©April 25, 2018
by Diane E. Dockum
Such a beautiful song
The Robin sings
So earnest
So sweet
So true
He sits at the top
Of the tallest tree
And sings to his
Love so true
All the evening
Passes by
Yet still he tweets his song
The warble and trill
I hear from my sill
Till the dark
When he’s up and gone
©April 24, 2018
by Diane E. Dockum
*Note: I just can’t think of a poem tonight. I’ve been struggling for several hours now and … well, I just can’t. So, here is a poem from 2014, I hope it speaks to you.
Sights & Sounds of April
On the morning after
The snow had almost gone,
The birds had quiet conversations,
And the sun was bright
On the squashed grass.
The shadows of bare branches
Reached across the sodden lawn, and
Painted the pavement
With rivers of light and dark.
The far away sound of wind chimes
Blessed the air with mellow tones
And the quiet ticking of the clock
Counted seconds as the last deep drift
By the hedge receded into the earth.
Shriveled blood-red berries on the
Mountain Ash tree waited
For the Jays and Crows, and
For the Starlings’ return, poised there in the sun.
Last autumn’s apricot colored maple leaves
Still shivered on the branches,
Stubbornly holding on as they had all winter.
Shockingly tenacious,
They prevailed through the bitter cold.
They kept hold despite the arctic blasts.
They would not give up to the heavy nor’easter snows,
Though they were dry and fragile even then, they
Held fast, waiting for their reinforcements to appear.
© Diane E. Dockum
April 12, 2014
There was a young girl named Kate
Who skated a fine figure eight
She attempted a nine
But she injured her spine
Though the spectators thought she was great
©April 22, 2018
by Diane E. Dockum
Seagulls
High cries
Crashing waves
Sound of ocean
Falsely promising beaches
Sun
Seagulls
Circle over
Fast food pavements
Puddles of snow melt
On cracked parking lots
Downtown and in
Back yards of
Matted grass
Calling, crying, waiting and watching
For food
Where did they come from
Why are they here and not at the seaside
Finding French fries on the sand
Copyright April 21, 2018
By Diane E. Dockum
Spilling out of a hole in the clouds
Descending like a pillar
Of fire
Igniting the fields
In pink and crimson streams
Of light
Poured out
On a dark and hungry
Earth
A sign of hope
Of things to come
Sun sets on another day
© April 20, 2018
By Diane E. Dockum
Sun like dirty lemon drop
Wind like boy who pulls my hair
Snow like coffee grounds on ice
Throat like peeling lead based paint
Will ever lemon pledge to shine
And make the boy go out and play
Will coffee warm the empty mind
And paint a pretty day
©April 19, 2018
by Diane E. Dockum
I heard that you could buy online
A poet’s starter kit
You can be a poet
If you buy this starter kit
No kidding
This is a thing
It contains a
Permission slip
To write junk
You get a list of 40
Questions
To challenge your mind
And a notebook
With no lines on it
And a pen and pencil set
You answer one question
Per day with honesty
And poof you’re a poet
There are no erasers in the kit
But there is a video
With a guy that constantly
Does “air quotes”
© April 18, 2018
By Diane E. Dockum
Almost midnight
Quiet after a hectic day
I turn down the covers
And turn off the light
But my attention is called
To the window
The sound of walking
The sound of crunching ice
On crusty snow
Someone walking
Their dog
Someone out late
For a quiet stroll to calm the spirit
I go to the window
Curiosity overpowering
I go to see the darkness and the quiet
To live vicariously through the late night pedestrian
What a big dog that guy has
I realize I am not seeing a guy with a dog
I realize I am seeing deer
Two deer walking slowly together
Down the sidewalk
Like two careful shoppers
Lightly bumping each other’s shoulder
Looking left and right
Sniffing at the trash cans that line the street
© April 17, 2018
by Diane E. Dockum
Marble Hill Press 