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Betty H Sep 2019
Dawn
sun peeks above the horizon
billowy white clouds dangle high
mist hovers low to the ground
rainbow colors stretch
as the gasses flow
into the swelling round balloon
a straw basket lay
on damp long grass
in wait for our journey
we board, listen, smell the fumes
to our surprise
bottles of champagne
black caviar

We lift off
as the engines roar
we greet the sun
but only for moments
we can almost touch the cotton clouds
we climb as they dance around us
dive, skip around tree tops
then swiftly surge upwards
like a gymnast's cartwheels

The gasses ease
as we gently drift toward earth
we look below
at a field of bright yellow flowers
as we put down on this soft cloth
greeted by French school children
all giggles, they stare at us
and our rainbow balloon
but what would this journey be
without an ending of champagne and caviar
Betty H Sep 2019
I ring the bell
my step-mother greets me
she slaps me in the face
shock, dismay, anger, fear
“Your father died and you should have known.”
who is she to treat me like this?
I glare at her for seconds, she returns the same

Silence for a moment
“Where have you been these past years”?
far from the turmoil, I say
we hate each other
I retreated from my dad’s life
his insidious stare
his menacing mind
his crafty presence
“you have caused his death;
you drove him mad with your ***** tricks.”

I move closer to her face
to clarify
she shuts me up
no slap this time

I go to the morgue
heart attack
touch him
the last
she can’t accuse me
she has no one
I have a life
Betty H Sep 2019
The boat lurches and sways
as the white caps surge
we sit and hold tight
a sudden turn in the sky
alarms us, pulses pound
takes us by surprise
dark clouds advance
a bolt of lightening crackles
before our eyes
booming sounds follow
wind slaps us in the face
beads of rain strike

Waves swoosh
water gushes into our boat
we grab a tarp for shelter
ease the fright
we bail with plastic buckets
but the furious sea has got us beat
salt water soars
it bobbles like a toy
In the great ocean

We capsize in the frigid water
hold with one hand on the boat
other arm to arm
we gulp water, cough and spit
breaths labored
no strength to swim
my lover gulp, screams

His grip is not in mine
I watch him slowly submerge
bubbles streaming to the surface
I think I’m about to drown
My last thought
we WILL have our wedding day
Betty H Sep 2019
I slowed my old truck
a dead deer was in the road
Hmmm, or so I thought
Haiku
Betty H Sep 2019
Mysterious rain forest
limbs swathed in green velvet
scattered abstractly
fall from old age
or wind, rain, earth rumble
leaves shroud the damp, crusty ground
like a lace-covered table cloth
the angel of death
paints them brown
crunch under foot
sounds of crackled pop

Thin stalks stand ****
patient, wait to open
angel of life
awakens
seasons shift
soft cotton moss
enriches limbs of the rain forest
time to smell sweet earth flowers
Betty H Sep 2019
Three jobs
home to my musty hovel
little sleep, weary, red eyes
three mouth to feed
husband took off
no time to complain
barely time to breath
government stinks
selfish, heartless
we live or die
no work, no pay

Heart pains me
seen rich people
think about them
I dream wealthy
sit on my lounger
by the cool saltwater pool
sip my margarita, indulge
but awaken to my reality
some day my dream comes true
rich people detached about us poor
need more money to survive
no hope in my lifetime
just wish my kids win the lottery

— The End —