So I started out the month of April participating in the Writer’s Digest Poem-A-Day writing competition. I did this not because I wanted to express my poetic prowess. Hardly. I’m actually not a poet in any sence of the word. I thought this would be a good challenge to think creatively, writing in a way I don’t normally write.
Well, tonight marks the end of the competition and my last poem submission. I saved the best (by that I mean the hardest) for last. Not on purpose. It’s just that it was a specific peom structure that took some getting my head around (you can read about the rules of a sestinas poem here) . And in my book, it’s always easier to put off today what you can do at the last minute, right? But now it’s done, though maybe not correctly, and I’ve posted it for all to enjoy or criticise or ignore, whatever’s easier.
The Promise
She couldn’t wait until tonight.
In her closet hung the dress,
a gift from her mother,
a reminder of a promise.
She gazed at the stars
above, dreaming of the dance.
Everything around her seemed to dance,
The trees, the wind, even the night
sky was full of twirling stars.
She slipped into the dress,
full of hope and promise.
She went downstairs to show her mother.
She thought of her mother
as she strolled to the dance,
determined to keep her promise.
A promise to enjoy the night
wearing her mother’s dress,
the one that has never seen the stars.
Her walk was lit by the stars.
If only her mother
could have worn this dress,
the dress her mother was meant to dance
in. But she wasn’t going to be sad tonight.
She was going to keep her promise.
She thought of her promise
all the while staring at the stars.
Her mother would love this night.
She thought about her mother
and how beautiful she use to dance,
twirling in this very dress.
She danced like an angel in that dress,
feeling full of love and promise.
She continued to dance
until the sky absorbed the stars.
She thought of her mother,
wishing this was instead her night.
She walked home that night in the dress
that was her mother’s. She made a new promise;
that under the stars that someday her mother would again dance.
We don’t watch a lot of TV in our house so it doesn’t make much sense to pay for cable or satellite. But we do enjoy a good movie and living in a big city leaves us in no short supply of movie rental places, one of which is located down the street. Even with a location so close, it never seems to occur to me to drop in and rent something. I had heard about this online movie rental service called 
).
Trying to balance life at home with my 3 kids (all under 7), while building my business and developing my writing. Oh and throw a load of laundry in and a dinner that isn't burnt. Wasn't working from home suppose to be easier?
