I am participating in the November: 5/5-Day Monthly Writing Challenge. The challenge is to write a poem every day for five days. This is my first poem on the what is the last day, but never too late to write! The poem below is a Nonet. It has nine lines. The first line has nine syllables with each subsequent line decreasing by one syllable. How will were you kind today? What about tomorrow?
Memory… is the diary we all carry about with us. ~ Oscar Wilde
The car was packed and ready to go. All the essentials were in place: crab traps, bait, weighted lines, net, lunch, four sleepy kids, and two tired parents. We set off before the rising sun was even beginning to think about peeking through the night sky. By dawn we exchanged our station wagon for a weather-worn rowboat and carefully set out on the Chesapeake Bay.
It seemed like an eternity before Dad had the wire basket crab traps set – each one carefully tied to a bobbing gallon milk jug. Then he’d rev the engine, and we’d glide over the water like an airboat in the Florida Everglades. He would find the perfect spot and quiet the motor.
Each of us had our own space at the side of the boat. In turn we would cast our lines overboard hoping for a bite. The whole family sat quiet and still (which was VERY unusual for us) and waited and waited and waited – baking under the noonday sun. At last someone had a nibbler on their line. Slowly, very, very slowly they’d pull up the line. Mom or Dad would stand poised with the net ready to capture the prize. Everyone stopped, holding their breath until the crab was safe inside the bushel basket.
On occasion the net keeper would have poor aim and miss the basket sending the crab scampering around the boat’s bottom. This caused some of us to scream and rock the boat. We’d eventually fall into giggles when the catch finally reach its intended destination.
All too soon it was time to collect our loot and return to dry land. Once on terra firma the car was pack with the essentials: crab traps, weighted lines, net, and dinner. Four sleepy kids and two tired parents headed home with another memory traced on their hearts.
I am looking back with love not sadness.
I am moving forward with hope not fear.
I respect the traditions that have come before
while remaining open to the coming new year.
I have no regrets; they serve me no purpose.
I made decisions the best I knew how.
To fret and worry over what has been
prevents me from enjoying the now.
I will look ahead and not behind
at the start of each new day.
I will be thankful for the experiences
and people I meet along the way.
Baseball was, is, and always will be to me the best game in the world. ~ Babe Ruth
Today is one of my favorite days of the year. Opening day brings me back to growing up in Philadelphia at a time when home games were only broadcast on the radio. We would listen to Richie Ashburn, By Saam, and then Harry Kalas on transistor radios sitting outside on humid summer nights. From Veterans Stadium to Citizens Bank Park, from Mike Schmidt and Tug McGraw to Darren Daulton and John Kruk to Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, and now Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins, I have loved them all. This is my ode to Opening Day.
Grapefruit League
Bullpen
Diamond
Dugout
Field
Homeplate
Mound Boys of Summer
Bat
Ball
Cap
Glove
Helmet
Spikes Heart of the Lineup
Bunt
Catch
Pitch
Slide
Steal
Throw Ducks on the Pond
Curve ball
Change-up
Fastball
Knuckleball
Off-speed
Slider Pennant Race
Fly ball
Grand slam
Homerun
Line drive
Pop fly
Strikeout Play Ball!
If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you. ~YoAlfaaz.com
What to write, I just don’t know
One more day then to break I go.
You’d think I’d be happy, excited and glad.
but actually I’m feeling just a little bad.
My head is hurting, my bones feel pain
I wonder if it’s because of the predicted rain?
I’m tired and moody, a bit of a crank.
I guess that’s why I’m drawing this annoying brain blank!
Rita DiCarne 