drabble day 31: powers

people have super powers, they just don't recognize the power as, well, a power. for example, ana-maria always finds four, five, and sometimes seven leaf clovers. I've literally never found a four leaf clover ever. or take nathan. no one knows where nathan lives. it's a mystery. even his best best friends can't tell you his address. there's a man on the internet who posts videos of him playing piano for cats and they seem to always fall asleep on his lap. you can't tell me that's not magic. our real struggle is recognizing powers as powers at all.

drabble day 30: magic

mailboxes have magic. at least the ones around here, where i live, in new england, in what we refer to as suburbs, "thickly settled" villages. the kind of free standing mailboxes that reside at the end of drive ways. the kind with little red flags that, when stood at attention, lets the mail carrier know that something waits inside to be picked up and delivered. the kind of mailboxes that sometimes look like tiny houses or big fish. they all contain magic. they hold inside them wonder, wealth, bills, and acceptance letters. and sometimes they become homes to disguised princes.

drabble day 29: office plants

i water the plants in the office once a week. usually on monday. i keep my headphones in, work with the lights off, and ease my way into the work week. depending on the size of the planet, . i have an old bleach bottle and a big bowl to fill with water from the bathroom sink. from a desk orchid that I've gotten to bloom again, to palm trees that are twice my height, all the plants get a hello, a good morning, and a big gulp of water. very rarely do i move them around the office at all.

drabble day 28: guest

a good guest says please and thank you. ideally in the host's native language. a good guest takes their shoes off if the hosts takes their shoes off. a good guests offers to help clean up, and is gracious when the host refuses the help. a good guest brings dessert, even if the hosts says they don't need to bring anything. a good guest tastes the food before adding salt. a good guest askes where the bathroom is, even if they think they already know. i am trying to be a good guest on this beautiful spinning orb in space.

drabble day 27: alli

alli had a name change at about 10 months old. she'd been called alley. but anyone who knows alli knows that she is refined. fancy. she's no street cat. so when she moved in with us, we adjusted her name to better suite her style. her crossed paws. her big eyes. he disdain for grass and dirt. she likes to sleep on several blankets and watch television with her favorite human boy. she's regularly called princess. and she likes it. she also likes soft treats  and using all the steps to go both up and down. she is so alli.

drabble day 26: trees

trees that grow in sand have certain qualities that other trees don't. there is the size for starters. they just don't get as big. the sort or insects maybe have something to do with the buds that bloom and when and how many all at once. trees that grow in sand grow slow. the water rushes through the sand when it rains, so the trees drink less, they don't soak. the live a sand life. harder, but slower. they crack. under the weight of winds. they hang on to each other. trees that grow in sand remind me of home.

drabble day 25: ad

the ad on the app i use to count my words up to one hundred is for Facebook. does facebook need to advertise? there is a picture of pusheen eating pizza with a smaller, fuzzier kitty whose name I don't know and don't feel motivated to look up. the little kitty is also eating pizza. the ad reads "Stay up to date with friends and family!" then the facebook logo and a green button that says "log in". i really don't think facebook need to advertise, although i enjoy seeing pusheen. he's so cute. but now i really want pizza.

drabble day 24: hanuted

oh, so you think it's haunted? why?

a rattling noise? when?

oh... the middle of the night?

oh no, four am? that's um...

yeah...

have you checked for possums?

yeah, i guess they could be living...

oh you did? you checked?

oh, you hired someone...

an exterminator? how much did that cost?

yikes!!

what about woodpeckers? they can make a lot of noise.

oh no, you're right. wrong time of day.

haunted though?

she what??

she died in the house? your house?

why the rattling noise though?

pregnant!? that's so sad!!

are you going to sell?

wait, why not?

... oh...

drabble day 23: fixed

there. i fixed it. the loose chain in the downstairs toilet. i fixed the tilt in the lampshade. i fixed the pull in the rug. i fixed the loose shingle. i fixed that patch to your jacket, that project you've been putting off. i fixed the lawn mower. i then used it to "fix" the lawn. i fixed the scuff on your new sneakers. i fixed the pillows on the sofa so they are all perfectly positioned. i fixed the math error in the checkbook. i fixed every little thing i could find. but i could not fix my heart.

drabble day 22: message

the message in the bottle was in a foreign alphabet. korean or Russian maybe. but some water got in and symbols have sort of melted. green and blue ink dripped down smelly brown paper with fuzy white mold sprouting from one of the four corners. the smell was more like urine than ocean. i took a picture and stuffed the paper back in the bottle, but the cork broke and i had nothing to stop the smell, so i left it behind on the beach i still don't know what the note says. but I'll never forget that rotten smell.

drabble day 21: space

take me with you when you go to space. I'll sit quietly in the passenger seat. i promise not to get space sick. I won't complain when i get hungry, or giggle too much when anyone has to pee. i promise not to push any buttons or flip any switches. I don't snore. i promise i won't keep asking "are we there yet" or anything like that. you can pick the music, but if it's okay I'll make a few playlists. please take me with you. I can't stand the thought of being on this big dumb rock without you.

drabble day 20: books

my aesthetic is books. big books, short books, kids' books, anthology books. i like the spines all lined up on a shelf, organized by color or size or author, it doesn't matter. i love the look of books. books in a pile on a desk or table or falling over on the edge of  a messy bed. books can clutter a place and it still works for me. open or closed, old or new, big print or little, books all look lovely. books with pictures, books with pen marks, books with cracked spines, i love them all. books are beautiful.

drabble day 19: art

i am grateful for art. for the platforms that help me view it. the artwork of my friends. the work of handsome strangers. to the technology that makes it possible for me to leave a tiny picture comment so the artist can feel a little love.

i am grateful for art. for the free forms provided by networks and made possible by advertising. so i can hear the heart of a favorite chef whose restaurant I've never eaten at, or the three female comedians I'd like to meet some day at one of their shows.

i am grateful for art.

drabble day 18: disappointment

ordered tea with milk and instead got tea with sugar. no milk. just sweet, and too sweet at that. but i didn't check at the shop where i got it. i took it in good faith. i didn't even attempt to open the lid until i got where i was going. it would be too hot anyway. now here i am half an hour away with a big hot cup of minor disappointment and I'm out two dollars that I could have used on a soda if i wanted something sweet.

i just shrug, i think, it could be worse.

drabble day 17: listen

it doesn't matter how many times i hear them. it doesn't matter what time of day. it doesn't matter what mood I'm in. it doesn't matter if there are others there. it doesn't matter if I'm energetic or tired. it doesn't matter if i haven't heard them in a long time, or they are on repeat. it doesn't matter if it's playing in the background of a tv commercial, or if i am blasting it in my car. it doesn't matter if it has lyrics or not. almost nothing else matters at all. some songs just make me tear up. 

drabble day 16: Thursday

is it Thursday yet? it feels like Thursday. something in the air and in the way people are dressed is screaming Thursday to me. but it's not Thursday? what day is it then? Tuesday? are you sure? no, look at the calendar and the date on your phone, it's Wednesday. but it feels like a Tuesday to you? do you ever fantasize about redesigning the calendar? changing the months around so the start of the school year and the calendar year are the same? or to make a week 10 days instead of seven? are you sure it isn't Thursday?

drabble day 15: kimchi haiku

kimchi is haiku. or is haiku kimchi? both seem simple. 5 syllables, cabbage, 7 syllables, fermentation, 5 syllables, spices. but someone who understands haiku could explain the complicated nuance of the language used in each line. while someone who loves kimchi could describe the complicated nuance of the vegetables used in the recipe. haiku has a natural element. kimchi has a radish element. you become familiar with haiku by reading. seeing and hearing and studying it. you become familiar with kimchi by tasting. smelling and stirring and studying it. so which is which? is kimchi haiku or is haiku kimchi?

drabble day 14: questions

questions asked by someone who really wants to answer it themselves:

what kind of music do you like?

where is your favorite place to visit?

what is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

do you read comic books?

what's the worst job you ever had?

did you see that video about the woman who made friends with a bee?

do you follow boston dynamics on instagram?

what did you study at school?

what is the scariest movie you've ever seen?

does your family have any weird holiday traditions?

what was the last show you binge watched?

do you like me?

drabble 13: mom

my mother is by no means a genius. not even very book smart despite how many books she reads. she tried to teach me the alphabet, but i didn't know that elohmenope wasn't just a stange word in the mide of the song. she encourage me to finish my report on FDR but my tears won her over and we went to the pool. she let me learn to play violin and paid for extra lessons. she taught me how to drive in an empty parking lot, and we both panicked when i had to pass a horse drawn carriage.

drabble day 12: rain

i wandered into a field / i stood / waiting / for the sky to open up and shed / the drops the air was promising / that the flowers yurn for / the dusty dirt will embrace as one does / a long lost brother / with a dry throat from too much heartache

i stood / waiting / arms open / palms up / eyes closed / tongue willing to stretch for a drop / to escape the vacancy / dwelling deep / like a history more than a memory / perhaps / dramatized to paint heroes as perfect men with singing voices

arms open / i accepted the history of the earth / wiating for the rain