As
Soon as I
Finish
Washing this pan
So
I can stir fry these vegetables
That
I bought while grocery shopping
And
Take those socks out of the dryer
So
I can put on my tennis shoes
And
Walk the dogs
And
Then do 20 minutes on the Elliptical
So
I stay healthy
And
Can go to work
So
That the electric bill gets paid
And
My laptop has power
So
I can write this poem
This is offered for the "Battle" prompt from Peggy at Poetry Jam poetryjaam.blogspot.com and for Joe at OLN where he asked us about (snort, guffaw, choke) "balance" at dVersePoets.com. It's an every day battle for me, finding time to write. The happy news (for me) is that I have been able to manage at least one day a week. :-)
That's me there in your words, very closely...except I have only one dog and work at home...but with 4 kids and all the stuff of life, time is a precious commodity! Enjoyed this Sara :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer! Yes, time is precious--i cannot imagine 4 kids, 2 about did me in! My hat is off to you:-)
DeleteI do understand this, Sara. There are always things that are crying out to be done when one really just wants to sit and write poetry!!! Battle on....your poems are worth it! Smiles.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary!! Thank you so much for your encouraging words, they mean more than you know. :-)
DeleteYou put a huge smile on my face this morning!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Helen! Happy Birthday :-) Makes my day to know that I gave you a big smile on your birthday! Here's to many more-Cheers!
DeleteI know this battle well! Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteHi Peggy! It was a great prompt, thank you:-)
Deleteha. somedays it is def a battle to get everything done...and there always seems to be more to do...a never ending list...smiles.
ReplyDeleteHi Brian! Definitely, I am in complete awe of all that you accomplish in a day:-)
Deletethe battle is won and you are the victor. Well done.
ReplyDeleteHi Alan! Thank you for the smiles, a great comment:-)
DeleteOk, hook the electrical generator to the elliptical and have the dog walk on that. Forget about the socks..... the dryer is going to eat half of them anyway. Barefoot is the new "sock." (Retro is in. This year we're going back to caveman... with elephant bell bottoms for some God-forsaken reason) Food is - (and should always be) - your highest time consuming activity. To cut time from that area of your life: stop cooking and stop doing dishes. While you are in the grocery just eat a whole package of Oreo's while you are walking up and down the aisles acting as though you are a regular person. Trust me, people fall for that all the time. When you are done in the grocery you will have consumed an entire week's supply of sugar and fat, no checkout, no hassle, in and out in five minutes. Just one piece of advice though. Try to work it out so when you are about finished with the package of cookies you find yourself somewhere near the milk aisle. You'll see what I mean when you reach that point.
ReplyDeleteYou could save 6 minutes and 37 seconds if you employ all of these tactics, though you will never need it because your poetry is already perfectly fine..... So stop complaining and vacuum the living room please....
John, thank you for the scalding sensation of coffee squirting out my nose, while I tried not to spit it on my husband--because in trying to save time, I was sipping coffee while reading comments--never again! You truly have a talent here--or maybe I just have a singular affinity for this type of humor. At any rate, I really appreciate you taking the time to write such an eloquent solution to my time issues--and now that you mention it, the living room does need to be vacuumed, dog hair does not rest...
DeleteI can assure you most heartily, young poet, that it is your singular affinity and not I that is to blame here. Most people employ common decency and skip over my posts without ever reading them, leaving me in my humble little anonymous world. But oh no, you had to be different and read the things that I say. That is so astronomically uncommon that I am only left with those immortal words uttered by Patrick Swayze's character in the movie "Ghost." "Wait. Do you mean....... you can hear me?"
DeleteSeriously and admittedly mine is a particularly straining sense of humor and I applaud your ability to weather it with nothing more than a scaulded nose and an unscathed husband. Most burn themselves on the torches or impale themselves with the pitchforks as they gather outside my home in the midnight hour chanting "Kill the monster! Kill the monster!" It is certainly gratifying to find another who can look behind that monster's borrowed-eyes-from-a-corpse and find something of value in the pit of his sad yet endearing little world of insanity.... So "thank you" kind little girl who throws daisies into the river.... (Frankenstein, Universal Pictures, 1931)
Well, I can't just leave that hanging--plus I thought you were referring to "Young Frankenstein" which is one of my very favorite movies--and I won't throw daisies, they're one of my favorite flowers--lilies, I'll gladly pitch them--bantering here with this humor was so much fun it made me think of starting a "snarky side of me" blog; but never mind--do not have the time (really) But thank you for giving her a chance to play
DeleteThe world is your oyster.... Now serious advice from an old man: Get a blanket, a copy of the 1931 movie, wait until midnight on a cool early winter's eve, possibly foggy and or drizzling outside, snuggle up with hubby and then watch this movie. "Young Frankenstein" is certainly a wonderful (love? comedy?) story, But this 1931 version will not only bring to life the enormous kindness and emotion of tossing flowers into the river, but will give you the keenest insight to Mary Shelley's frightful imagination employed when she wrote the book. And if you really want to get scared then discover the story surrounding Mary Shelley, her famous poet husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their indelible friend in debauchery, the poet Lord Byron.... Hint, Percy's first wife was found dead in a river - and pregnant - after Percy had started to shack up with his new plaything, Mary....... hhhmmmmm, is there more?
DeleteHa....I loved this poem.Smiles. Can relate to the electricity bill. Just got my winter one and went into shock mode...next year am going to rub sticks together to make a fire for heat.
ReplyDeleteHi Rallenda! It is ridiculous how much energy costs--for us the summer is the crazy time, I guess we could sit on ice...:-) thank you for the visit and the wit!
DeleteOh, I love this! I feel like I know your routine and am thankful you found the time to write this poem.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel! That is my routine--without the sleeping and other things...there's an interview on Poets United website if you're interested ;-)
DeleteIt is challenging but so worth it.
ReplyDeleteHi Laurie! Yes, it is. I saw your comment at dverse, you have my empathy <3. Children at home and all the rest of life, I'm amazed at all that you do :-)
DeleteI think I may have just said the same thing in different words...I now have my 94 year old mom living with me and....time is now a daily "battle" the kids are grown but this is now a different care giving position
ReplyDeleteHi Rae! I empathize, that is our where we are now, we are also caring for aging parents, not in our home, because we can't be there 24x7, but evenings and weekends we are there. It's pretty amazing to have a 94 year old mother. Life is is always throwing things my way that I never quite expected. :-)
DeleteAdd work to the mix and I can so relate ~ Writing is a daily struggle for me too ~ Good to see you at D'verse ~ Continue writing, smiles ~
ReplyDeleteHi Grace! Work is definitely in the mix. I think it's a probably a daily struggle for all of us, and worthwhile :-) Thank you for the encouraging words
DeleteI love this...it perfectly describes what life is like for a writer who is juggling many roles. Keep writing and keep carving out that bit of time for yourself....you are worth it!
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara! Thank you for the kind and encouraging words. I should have included the joy in life too :-)
DeleteThe battle of the daily grind. Simple but very effective.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzy! Welcome and thank you for your kind words, I really enjoiyyed your poems:-)
DeleteSara, thanks for your encouraging words during my recent depression... About this poem, I'm laughing because that's what it's like for me, too. One day at a time... one poem at a time... one synapse at a time... and sometimes I can't even manage that, ha ha. Love, Amy
ReplyDeletehaha....smiles...this sounds so very familiar... sometimes it's a long way we go until we can finally type those poems into being...smiles
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Loved it, so real. so much humour, too. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
you're joining us for some book spine poetry...? would be cool...smiles
ReplyDeleteThe daily grind:)
ReplyDelete