The dirty dishes at the sink
are piled up high, near at the brink.
A reckoning is looming large:
a Staten Island garbage barge of smells, I think.
I’ve carried out the garbage pail;
I’ve twitched my nose to no avail,
but still that reek, that awful smell.
I tried a Jeannie blink as well, but it too failed.
Staring at what’s in front of me,
I’m faced with grim reality:
it’s time to replace every dish.
Will Amazon fulfill my wish in time for tea?
————-
A fun one called a Florette, done as quatrains (there's a quintain option as well):
Syllabic: 8/8/8/12
Rhyme: aaba, with line 4 matching the ‘b’ rhyme at syllable 8
Night roses dipped in purkinje, tendencies of blue
lost inside this dream I urge the winds to carry me
onto the hammocks of the night where antic roses lie,
moonlit soaked and mulched aside a big blue moon ;
Festoons of flowers strung across the midnight sky
scented florette boutonnieres of Saints and Gods
Angel wraps and gauzy shawls caressing softly stars
lost in a shimmer high above the sea , I am nigh
In exploration I am closing in, onto sweet allay
loosening the strings of yearn for my turtle dove
here in home sweet heaven, timeless as a rune
soaked in purkinje, eternally making room.
He was a bitter aging man
He’d never married
Had lost the love of his life
And never recovered
She had died before his return from war
Her parents’ home still stood there like a castle
He often gazed at it from his window
After their final family funeral
He became incensed when he heard
Some city slicker was moving into her house
And when that day did come, he took to spying on him
Cursing him, venomous and vicious
Vindictive and spiteful, inflamed with jealousy
Maliciously sinning by mischief and omission
Finally the bitter aging man did win
And the village prepared for another funeral
All his conniving had paid off
It was shortly after
That the tragedy was discovered
The two lovers had been separated by a letter
Lost and never delivered
Florette announcing her condition
Did not receive a reply
Had moved away in shame
And died on her own giving birth
AP: 1st place 2025
Submitted on January 8, 2023 for contest 2022 MARATHON MILE 24 sponsored by MARK TONEY
and October 27, 2017 for contest STANDARD No.45 sponsored by BRIAN STRAND
Another year will end with cheer
one more shall soon arrive, no fear
But how they make such a fine din
as one falls out and t’other in
while I will wince, holding my head and festive beer
Not soft and gentle their approach
I’ve asked them both, but they won’t broach
to ease the change that they must make
Instead they choose to make me quake
and tremble at their shouts and bells of self-reproach
There’s drink and food and auld lang syne,
pine trees, balloons all do combine;
conspire with cards to set a trend
that truly drives me round the bend
I roll my eyes and wait, in vain, for some lifeline
They’ll bang, they’ll stomp, they’ll yell and scream
Meanwhile, I’ll try to plan and scheme -
for resolutions must be set
to make next year the greatest yet
At twelve, one goes, I’ve no regrets; I can now dream
Form. Florette 2. Wrote for contest but didnt submit. (I chickened out)
Mirrors reveal what you can't hide
The rolls of fat your large backside
The legs once slim now plump and veined
The face once smooth now lines remain.
Yet dimples showing that you are smiling inside.
she flutters amidst heaven’s sky
to wink on boughs, a lullaby---
her glass-like wings adorn a night
imaging love's sway to delight
the fancy of kisses woven by queen firefly
Contest on Florette of Nette Onclaud
Franco Gonza 8 Sept 14
Vulnerability, thy calm.
Mirror! you are my soothing balm.
You soak my umpteen drops of tears,
my craziness, delights and fears.
Like freckled waters, you watch my reflection dream.
Contest:-Reflections Of A Florette
Theme:- Mirror
Date:-September 8,2014
Sponsored by:- Nette Onclaud
By Zoe
A writer’s two-way mirror
Unseen, I watched the live actor.
My eyes followed every gesture.
Speckled realities captured
My senses re-manufactured.
Next time I will remain a mere spectator.
hija de la luna
reflections of a florette
9/8/14
Mirrors
Desolate eyes have lost their sheen,
Broken hearts, once his darling queen,
Emotions will clearly reflect,
Why can't the mirrors introspect ?
His passion in her own eyes is true to be seen!
Written September 6th, 2014
By Dr. Upma A. Sharma
For contest ' Reflections of a Florette' by Nette Onclaud
The mirror in the other room
has recently filled me with gloom.
One early morn I looked in it
and got freaked out; I looked like S@%#T!
Light so dim revealed the reflection of my doom.
(It was truly freaky that one day. I really hate the mirror in that room!
Gotta get me a prescription of Retin-A right away!)
9/5/14 by Andrea Dietrich
for nette onclaud's Reflection of a Florette Poetry Contest
Mirror, mirror on bathroom wall
bring back the face that I recall
when I was young, full of vigor
and was happy with my figure,
before all of me needed a big overhaul.
By: Joyce Johnson
For contest: Reflections of a Florette 9/5/14
I hold your hands as face to face
We dare to look but not embrace
With mirrored thoughts we come to grips
The eyes make up for silent lips
They are reflecting both our hearts as pulses race
----------------------------------------
Paul Callus ~ 5 th September 2014
Contest: Reflections of a Florette
Sponsor: Nette Onclaud
Placing: 3rd
Across the sky, like arrowheads,
from silhouettes against the red,
the call of wild geese swiftly fades
into the sun. And then sun bades
a sad farewell to one last strand of summer's thread
~~ ~~
For Nette's Contest: "Reflections of a Florette"
By Carrie Richards 9/4/14
like the objects in the mirror
did you only appear nearer
now broken and seven years cursed
i feel foolish my heart coerced
and still nothing about us is any clearer
MAURICE YVONNE
SEPTEMBER 4 2014
Mirror
Beauty that an eye can collect,
Corporeal it will select,
As I sit in front of mirror,
Can never see the mind stirrer,
Fragrance of florets of heart won't ever reflect !
Written September 4th, 2014
By Dr. Upma A. Sharma
For contest 'Reflections of a florette' by Nette Onclaud
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