rough days

Rough days. They happen. Today was one of them. It feels like the world is smaller. Its gravity is stronger. The consequences more severe. The pain more real. A quick cry in the car. Go lie on the floor of my friend’s new apartment and wait for more friends to arrive. I ramble cryptically. Offer one of the people around me half of my life. We negotiate down to one third. My partner takes me home. I step away, be alone. When I resurface, he’s at the bottom of the stairs awkwardly holding a very full, hot cup of tea.

tea

tea finds its way into our writing our poetry our drabbles liquid capable of conquering empires raising dynasties giving birth to war that inspired the child to invent a language and pursue love that stains an old pot by the kettle by the sink waiting to be filled and poured out into perfect cups poured out over perfect conversations like the poet leaning over the back of a lounge yearning to find the words for the magic that no one has yet to put together just the right way that stirs the heart like milk in a cup of tea

journey

That evening she sat staring at the incredible, abundant, extravagant beauty her friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances had delivered to her. Still unsure of why and wondering what to do with so many flowers and plants, she wept. Tears that overwhelmed her. What love was this? What motivation did so many people have to visit and wish her well. What journey they spoke of… and slowly her heart swelled. It takes time for the spirit of a human to understand. To comprehend. The journey she was taking was one she would never be able to share with them. The living.

mysterious

All day friends stopped by her home. The first arrived at 7:26 am on her way to work. With flowers. Each of them who could come themselves dropped off a small bouquet or potted plant. Three different flower delivery vans came by that day, each dropping off multiple gifts. The day went on and on. Visitor after visitor coming by, saying hello, sharing love and well wishes, then vanishing, leaving flowers in their wake. It wasn’t her birthday, it wasn’t a holiday, she wasn’t grieving or celebrating anything that she knew of. But someone had planned this. A mysterious day.

drabblers' condition

drabblers' condition is a minor ailment derived from the self-imposed rule that one must compose and post one new drabble every day in the month of may. the condition lies dormant until the drabbler becomes either lazy, overwhelmed, or uninspired; thereby missing one day of continuous composition and posting. drabblers afflicted with this condition have two courses of action in which to alleviate the condition. one, one can simply carry on, pretending no days have gone missed. or two, compose an extra drabble the next day and pretend no days of gone missed. this condition only occurs in may.

form

when composing a drabble one might consider form. however, the limitation of composing something consisting of exactly 100 words is in itself a form. one may argue that the limitation directs or informs the form of the composition.

however, again, a drabbler may chose any form or layout that they chose.

one may present their 100 words in a standard paragraph form.

and yet another
may present a series

of couplets. and so
it is agreed upon

that the form of a drabble is fluid and defined outside of the word count parameters. one may and should use any form.

contents

contents may vary from drabble to drabble.

some drabbles may be sweet ruminations on the budding spring time while others may be bemoaning mini tirades on one's swollen sinuses and watery eyes.

some drabbles may be quirky and allusive while others are direct and poignant.

some drabbles may contain references to revolutions fought, fighting, or to be fought while others are mere meandering flights of fancy like fantastic tiny journeys on the backs of bumble bees.

still yet other drabbles may reveal themselves to be nothing more than instructions on fixing the perfect snack.

but they all stir the heart.

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.