Poetry Playground
Surprises
In phases…
Poetry Playground prompt #35 — Surprise
Surprise! A chorus caught me unawares as I was fumbling with my own thoughts…
“Not again!” such displays, I disdained…
a smile curved on my face
the bare minimum courtesy I could fake
for the candles, gifts & cake
need the same for our birthdays — a message left unsaid
the kind gesture, must be repaid
do it all over again to prove you’re a friend!
Getting you all the “pleasant surprises”
& in turn expecting the same
carried on even when a spouse replaced the mates
But precious is the time when it’s not all forced!
flowy, real, pure— surprises do beckon…
when I ran for the camera to capture the first word
amazed at the li’l wonders of that world
but much like their raspberry bubbles
this bubble lasted short…
the wobbly walk gave way to the swag in the gait
the undeleted search history that popped up on the iPad
the lingo in the phone chats couldn’t be your “baby’s”
all so grown up in style, I don’t mind
Been there, done that —I take it all in stride
Too thick-skinned now to be taken aback by anything!
now I’m only stunned by me — outdoing myself
like getting to a full vinyasa flow
from opting for a yoga that’s really slow
when I keep my calm when things go too low
filling the keg of life with hope, when it looks hollow
& the new rules that I follow
Hearing myself yell where I squirmed
I know I have come a long way,
when I surprise myself by being me 2.0!!
We’re always in for surprises that come in many packages, the pleasant ones or the googlies life throws at us! We can’t control either, making them more interesting :)
Thanks for reading & special thanks to Jonny Masters for a wonderful prompt that got me going.
You can check out the prompt here —
Loved this beautiful poetry by Denée King based on the same prompt —
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