angel of the night

she makes her rounds

to the sounds

of many murmurations

people pained in misery
the beeping nurse’s station
she checks my vitals graciously
always with a smile
a pleasant chat
and loving pat
that helps me through my trial
i don’t know how she does it
how she maintains her cheer
i don’t know where
she gets her strength
but i thank God she’s here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture courtesy picgifs.com
created for the Daily prompt – murmuration
as a special thank you to emily, jillian, alex, shareek and all the other nurse angels who helped me through the nights

dapper dan

daniel lives a patterned life

pin stripes and polka dots

oxfords with a matching belt

a fancy windsor knot
a pocket square
a walking cane

topped off with a fedora
a band of leather
a peacock feather
completes his classy aura

somebody should tell him that

he’s looking sharp today
but, dazzled by dan’s dappery,
they’ve fainted dead away
…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture courtesy bing.com/images
created for the Daily prompt – pattern

missing pieces

these days
i’m a
picasso

an abstract
pulled apart

i’d rather be
a hopper or
some solid
form of art

these days i’m
missing pieces

a hip a job a lung

to look at me
klandinsky, klee

might pass
across
your tongue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
Daily prompt – abstract

the woo is the glue

the woo is the glue
that holds us together
if it weren’t for her
we’d be strapped in
with leather
criss-crossed arms
and a muzzle no doubt
to keep the crazy
from seeping out
the woo is the paste
that keeps us in place
she’s the marilyn
to our munsters
if i am grampa
and he is herman,
that tall disarming gruntster

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 1998 and 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
Daily prompt – doubt

at the other end

i have to be alone
she said
he turned to go
he didn’t though
he only stared ahead

don’t hesitate to call
he said
if you should be in need
of someone to squash spiders
or stomp on centipedes
don’t stop your hand
if you should reach
to phone to find a friend
i’ll be always waiting
at the other end

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
©  2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by tookapic, courtesy pixabay.com
 created for the Daily prompt – hesitate

culinarily challenged

 

chef guy gives his flan a jiggle
he gives his lime a twist
he underplays his mastery
he says it’s in the wrist
well my poor wrist don’t have it
unless it’s sara lee
my brain refrains from learning
culinarily
….

as my custard
starts to thicken
i feel my pulse
begin to quicken
my heart goes
thump-a-thump

i see a shadow
pass my window

when i look down
my flan’s a lump
i guess i’ll never get it
i guess it’s no big deal
we’ll drop in on my sister
when we crave a homemade meal

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
©  2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture courtesy bing.com/images
 created for the Daily prompt – jiggle and the Daily prompt – quicken

you are the center

the company
you keep
can make
your day
and make
your heart
and if i had
my way
then we would
never be apart
because
you are the party
you are the center
of the world
my man
my girl
the center of
my world

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2003 & 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
 Daily prompt – center

no wind blows here

her mind’s become a wasteland

an arid desert town

abandoned by its residents

all that’s left is brown
nothing grows here

no wind blows here
do not ask
‘cuz no one knows here

she can’t think now
she can’t focus

today she got her diagnosis

+++

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by _marion, courtesy pexels.com
created for the Daily prompt – arid

you know what you’ve got

you know what you’ve got
i can tell by the way
that you use it
i stay up late and
cogitate it, babe,
you know how much
i’d hate to see you bruise it

you’ve got the moves
like a cat in control
of a mouse in his hole
you are the news
my heart is dancing in my shoes
i can’t refuse you
don’t want to lose you….

lady, maybe stay, be
my forever baby….
lady, maybe stay, be
my forever baby….

you’ve got a lot of nerve the way
you play with all that curvature….
you’ve gotta stop that shakin’
‘cuz you’re breakin’ all my furniture…

you know what you’ve got
i want what you’ve got…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 1991 & 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture courtesy pexels.com
original lyric created for one of my nightclub acts, “Sybil, the Musical”
Daily prompt – baby

his triumph’s temporary

he tosses out a racial slur

like it’s o.k. to say

believing, with his man in charge,

that things have gone his way

that now he has his rights back

to hate and pass it on

not seeing that no matter what

the future marches on

that those who know
and those who’ve learned

that everyone is equal

that those survivors

of the years

will not accept a sequel

his triumph’s temporary

good people will prevail

and he’ll be sent
back to his rock

his legs around his tail

◊

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2017 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by darran sims, courtesy bing.com/images
created for the Daily prompt – slur