my anomaly

she skipped right past

the princess phase

and went straight on
to queen

less like a figure-headed type
more like a figurine

uncanny, just how elegant
this girl has always been
her eyes intense
her common sense
her skin like
porcelain
her class just doesn’t
dissipate
somehow she never lets it
such perfection is my girl…

i don’t know where
she gets it

                       °°°♥°°°

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

© 2016 kStan(ly) Lanning
Daily prompt – elegant
if you liked this one you might like this, which further explains,
or for that matter, any of these from the “my two” category

as evening wandered in

two teenage lepidopterists,

roy and brother rudy

went looking for their long-lost mom
in faraway djibouti
they brought doc jellyby along,
a friend and an advisor —

rudy wasn’t fond of him,

he always seemed to stink of gin–

roy thought no one was wiser.
°

these two were not the outdoor type
but mom was an explorer
she’d be mad that they skipped school
but they missed and adored her.
while following a trail that she
had mentioned in a letter
rudy set his suitcase down
and roy removed his sweater.
°°
doc jellyby suggested they
resume the search another day
as evening wandered in
blurring bits of sunshine
and diminishing his gin,
but when the bros agreed to go
they crossed paths with a feline

in spots and beige, who reeked of rage…
the large, meat-eating kind.

°°°
rudy caught the leopard’s eye,
implored him not to jeopardize
their chances for survival…
his brother fainted dead as day
the doctor upped and ran away,
which hindered roy’s revival.
°°°°
the leopard sized the brothers up
but, being full from having supped,
he told them “go, be hasty,
i’ve no desire for you because
you’re half the men your mother was
and doubtless half as tasty”.
so off thy ran the two of them,
abandoning their property.
back home again these two half-men
now study leopard-optery.
°°°°°

~~~~~
© 2016 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by frauke feind, courtesy pixabay.com
created for the Daily prompt – jeopardize
hunting the Daily prompt – shine, while i work on something new
and the Daily prompt – blur, because it wants to be recognized

the ghost in the window

inside her darkened mansion

the music has moved on
the floorboards groan now
when she roams
the empty grand salon
they used to entertain in here

the infamous elite

now she gently brushes

a dusty tapestry

she rings a bell for service
no servant will appear
she forgets
she let them go
when things went south last year
she used to be a VIP,

returned a quick riposte,

she lost her child to tragedy

but she became the ghost

      ……….Ω……….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2016 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by jelly ng , courtesy pixabay.com
created for the daily prompt – ghost
and haunting the daily prompt – year – while
i work on something new

in confused exhilaration

the caterpillar hustled

in confused exhilaration

momma said to

pack the bags

we’re going
on vacation

her voice was
floating on a breeze

from high
above his head
he packed his
socks and underwear
and even made his bed
so proud of his
accomplishments
he heard his momma say
my boy keep this behavior up
you’ll be a king one day

         …….Ω…….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
©2016 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by alain wong , courtesy unsplash.com
made for the Daily prompt – confused
and it echoes in the Daily prompt – heard
if you liked this one, check out flora & fauna & whatnot

now that wooper drives

now that wooper drives
it’s nice to be a passenger
take a break like greyhound said
and leave the driving to her
breathe in the air,
take in the views,
appreciate what we’re passing,
read the funny road signs,
see other people laughing
ooooh at pretty houses,
fancy pools and patios,
make faces at the kids in cars
so they know we’re simpatico

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2016 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by caleb whiting , courtesy unsplash.com
this verse is here thanks to the Daily prompt – drive,
and also thanks to another lovely day with the wooper at the wheel

be careful what you wish for

the enterprising bug’ll
push and pull
and struggle

she’ll persevere

through winds
and rain

to make her way
back home again

and why,
she never asks,

this is her only chore

she once had
other tasks

she doesn’t anymore

just bring us food

the kids protest

she wishes for
an empty nest
or that she wasn’t
half-so-blessed

so she can have
a little rest

be careful what you wish for

© 2016 kStan(ly) Lanning
picture by OpenClipartVectors, courtesy pixabay.com
this verse owes its existence to the Daily prompt – struggle
but it also holds a place in the Daily prompt – careful, while i work on something new

cutlery in the days of rage

wooper had a pretty fork
we took it when we ran
there’s so few ways to
retain sane
like a pretty fork can
her pretty fork and her Mi-mou
the only things that mattered
whenever we escaped his rage
and peaceful life got shattered
and then along came akj,
our 3rd, our musketeer,
and ak had a fancy spoon
that he held near and dear

cutlery defined us then
it helped us cope with life
his the spoon
hers the fork
mine the bloody knife

photo by Humusak, courtesy pixabay.com

© 2015 kStan(ly) Lanning

Discover Challenge – fork

“Be a brick”

“Be a brick,” my ma would say
when she wanted something from me,
but a brick, I’d think, does not do much,
it’s kind of just a dummy.
It needs propulsion from an arm
to travel any distance;
it surely never fetches things,
not without assistance.
It surely never fixes drinks
without the needed fingers —
two was the rule for my dear ma,
the memory still lingers

by itself it isn’t violent
by itself it’s mostly silent

by itself it’s barely active
and that’s hard truth,
that’s just a fact of life for bricks…

Of course I get that if in tandem
with other bricks, in some non-random,
mostly matching symmetry,
and if they’re laid out skillfully,
bricks can be a lot of things —
bridges, chimneys, tall buildings —
but she didn’t pluralize,
so why, ma,
why, ma,
why, ma,
why?

thick as a brick, ok that’s thick
slick as a brick, so not so slick
not quick, no tricks,
but solid, yes, and hard as rocks
and something you can build on
and in a pinch, if your butt is small,
something you can chill on
or use to mark a hidden key
or stop a swatch of weeds
and if the wind is blowing things
a brick might suit your needs…

the brick sailed smoothly through the sky,
whither to, I pondered,
and then it hit me in the eye
and now I am a goner…
or anyway I’m halfway blind,
but it’s okay
and I don’t mind
‘cuz I’m among the lucky few
who now know what one brick can do.

© 2016 kStan(ly) Lanning
Daily post – brick
and in case you missed it there, Daily post – wind

he handles his pen with aplomb

the poet had nothing,
nothing but words,
in a well-spoken cursive, delightful.
his words hit on themes
sometimes too obscene,
sometimes too intensely insightful.

he had no other talents
to give him that balance
of steady and bankable income
because most of the time
he was speaking in rhyme,
but isn’t that poetry’s symptom?

with no will to live
and too little to give
he left home with a weight on his shoulders
leaving behind
what was left of his mind
and a shelf full of tiny tin soldiers.

his sisters spent years
with some kind volunteers
his momma just wanted him near her…
or someone named Keith,
with her losing her teeth
it was getting much harder to hear her.

his rescuers claimed that
his hands were inflamed
when they found him downtown in the Bowery.
they went out on a limb
and confirmed it was him
when his sentences tended to flowery.

“he may be malnourished
but he writes with a flourish
he handles his pen with aplomb”
so they cleaned up his wounds,
brought him back to his room,
where he penned one last poem for his mom.

© 2016 kStan(ly) Lanning

created for the Daily prompt – flourish
but playing in the Daily prompt – volunteer – while i work on something new
and because i love it so much, Daily prompt – clean

luckier than

I have been lucky,
luckier than
and I’m grateful for
but it wasn’t the plan
it should have been harder
I should have been smarter
there should have been chaos
there should have been sweat
it should have been brutal
if I’m being truthful
and that’s the part
that I don’t get
there should have been
struggle, a challenge,
a climb
that brought me
to my knees
but that sweet girl
& boy of mine
made motherhood
a breeze

© 2015 kStan(ly) Lanning
Daily prompt – chaos
Reverie Prompt – mother