5 AM

Another Saturday has rolled around, and Mrs. Jenny at "…off on my tangent…" has offered the prompt, "Hush little baby, don't you cry…" for this week's Saturday Centus. If you don't know about this fabulous blog, to learn the rules and all that, please click on the Saturday Centus button on my sidebar.

And, if you have time, please go back to last Saturday's meme and read my granddaughter's first serious poem at "New Poet @ Small stories and Stuff." It wasn't posted until yesterday because of issues with Blogger.

So what shall I do with this week's prompt? Here goes.

Jane’s head wobbled as she peddled her grandmother's cradle with one foot, then the other. Exhausted and sleep deprived, she had resorted to lying Joseph in the cradle and rocking it from her precarious perch on the edge her chair.

Every time she stopped the rhythmic motion of the cradle, Joseph tuned his windpipes and blared out like a trumpet. Her response was to croon “Hush little baby, don’t you cry,” over and over. She leaned back in the chair, fell into a light sleep. When the cradle wound down, there was quiet in the nursery.

Until, from down the hall, “Mama, I’m hungry.”

The baby bellowed.


© cj Schlottman

Untitled

This poem was writen by my grandaughter, Addie Duck. She is 16 years old and this is her first serious attempt at writing poetry. I think it is wonderful, naturally, but she and I would both appreciate any comments you have. She used the Saturday Centus prompt, “I’d like to teach the world to sing.........” And she stuck to the 100 words rule!



Ocean waves crashing
Autumn leaves crunching
Fierce winds blowing
Tall grass swaying
I wish I could teach the world to sing
 
Rain drops splashing
Weeping Willows hunching
Entangling vines sewing
Bright moons waning
I wish I could teach the world to sing
 
Nature’s orchestra without a director
Each contributing different tones
Lyric-less music effortlessly fills the air
Randomly concocted art
I wish I could teach the world to sing
 
In unison, in sync, together
Conducive to the masterpiece
No longer separated
Simultaneously beautiful
I wish someone could teach the world to sing

Diversity

Each week, our Schoolmarm with a Heart, Jenny Matlock, hosts a meme called Saturday Centus. To learn all the rules and get a feel for the entries, please click the Saturday Centus button on my sidebar. You will not be disappointed. Oh, and please visit Jenny's blog, ...off on my tangent...

This week's prompt is I'd like to teach the world to sing.... And here is my contribution - late, as usual.


Jane felt a bit dorky. Her friends were making fun of the new Coke jingle, “I’d like to teach the world to sing...” but she kind of liked it. The thought of the whole world singing together was appealing.

Could it happen? What language would they sing in? There were thousands of languages and dialects to choose from. Wouldn’t it just be an awful cacophony if everyone sang at once?

Thinking some more, she realized that it was impossible for the world to sing as one, that our planet is peopled with diverse cultures and languages, and that was a good thing.

But she still liked the song.

We Are One year Old Today

Happy First Birthday, Saturday Centus! And thanks to Jenny for thinking it up and making it happen. It has accomplished exactly what she wished - brought out the writing skills of all of us who participate. We are a diverse group spanning several generations, but each of us has found a place here, a safe place to be creative, share our truths and (sometimes) vent. Today we celertate our first anniversary.

So, it is only fitting that this week’s prompt is "Although the traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper..."

Here is my gift on this special day.

We Are One Year Old Today

Keyboards hum on Saturdays as Centusians tap out words meant to be posted along with the others on Jenny’s acclaimed world-class blog. Not a competition, no. Jenny’s classroom is a place to stretch and grow, learn from others’ posts, maybe stick out our necks a little. Points of view are amazingly varying, from the most modest post to the most (shall I say)? daring. Lovers of words, we take this meme to heart, give it our all, or sometimes all we’ve got.

Happy Anniversary to Jenny and all Centusians!

"Although the traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper..," Paper we’ve got, I’m throwing in some scissors and a rock!


© cj Schlottman

Skye

Each week, Melissa, over at “Making Things Up” hosts a meme entitled "six word fridays." She gives the participants a prompt with which to write a six word sentence, a poem with six-word lines, a poem of six lines.....you can get the idea. You can read all about it and join in the fun by clicking on the "six word fridays" button on my sidebar. Surprisingly, I am posting on time this week!

This week’s prompt is “last.” Where shall I go with it? I think it fits in nicely with today’s post on “The Red Sweater,” so here’s my contribution.



She sighs as she exhales
tugs in another breath
lets it go haltingly.
Moving slowly away
slipping past us as she
steers toward the other side
a halo rims her head,
scalded and discolored
victim of x-rays aimed
at tumors in her brain.
Brown skin aglow against
ecru colored bedclothes
she seems to sleep soundly
in the grip of coma
protected against pain
taking in her last breaths
dreaming perhaps of her
sixteenth birthday party.


© cj Schlottman

I'll Have a Blue Easter

I have nothing to add to the comments my fellow Centusians have posted about this week’s prompt. I wish I could say Jenny had laid an egg with this one, but it actually isn’t all that bad. The posts have been hilarious.

Now, my attempt to measure up................





Roses are red, bunnies blue.
This photo a prompt? What shall I do?
His hirsute chest and Playboy pendant
Make him appear somewhat resplendent.
Don’t be fooled by appearances, dear.
This bunny ain’t real, that much is clear.
A figment of Jenny’s sick fancy, he.
Harvey’s long lost brother? Maybe, we’ll see.
His ‘tude is haughty, his neckwear is bawdy.
If you ask me, he’s totally naughty.
No eggs, no basket, not a lily in sight.
I see him when I try to sleep at night.
Scary, hairy, a strange color blue.
I’m out of words. Happy Easter to you!


© cj Schlottman

Blessings @ Small Stories and Stuff

Six Word Fridays

Each week, Melissa, over at Making Things Up hosts a meme entitled "six word fridays." She gives the participants a prompt with which to write a six word sentence, a poem with six-word lines, a poem of six lines.....you can get the idea. You can read all about it and join in the fun by clicking on the "six word fridays" button on my sidebar. I am late to the party - again - posting on Saturday

This week’s prompt is “Counting our Blessings.”



Remembering the glint
in Clint’s eye when we touched
glasses of Chardonnay
sparkling yellow, oaky
this wine, we have been told.

Addie, my gift from God
sleeping in the next bed
honeyed hair splayed around
her pillow, a halo
a rainbow, glints of gold
shining in dawn’s soft light.

Parrish at three, feeding
redbirds in our back yard
tossing bread in the air
his tiny hands waving
inviting them to eat,
his hair a golden mass
of curls, so normal he
no hint of what would come.

Paul, my ever stalwart
rock, my only brother
like me, a survivor
of unspeakable loss
in whose hands I would
place my very being
certain he would save me.

My three devoted dogs
who never hold a grudge
give freely of their love
lie by my side, snoring
softly, sleeping soundly
warming me at my core.

Blessings, rememberings
these and so many more
decorate my living
stain it with hues of spring.


© cj Schlottman