She poured the contents onto the worn surface of the antique oak table which she had inherited from her grandparents. She carefully sorted the pieces, separating the ones with a flat edge and arranging the rest by color and design. The border was assembled first, followed by filling the frame with the puzzled image a serene, snow-covered landscape, until she completed as much as she could. Then she smiled at the memory of what she had forgotten, and this time she remembered to write 'Missing 3 pieces' on the box before putting the puzzle away.

Because he was a little drunk.

Or maybe it was because he

X-rayed my chest before declaring his love?

On our one-year anniversary,

Flowers were dropped off at my door which

Could've come from a cemetery.

However much he meant to impress and charm, it

Occurred to my brain, posthumously,

Conversations we'd had had never

Opened us voluminously –

Leading me to question the universe why

A voracious sweets lover like me

Thought there was a chance that I would be

Entertained extravagantly,

Showered with lots of candy.

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

I know, I know. I didn't follow the instructions.

Inspiration struck around midnight, and the instructions for this challenge

got mangled in my memory. So, I'm disqualified. But it was fun to write anyway,

even though it's about the universal subject of not getting what you want. :)

I found a blue dinosaur

when I went for a walk.

We had nothing to say,

so we didn't talk.

He let me take some pictures,

and I could quickly tell

that when it came to posing

he wasn't a professional.

After our stroll I thanked him,

yet I couldn't tell you why

I sheepishly wished him luck

before I said goodbye.

But I'm pretty sure I heard him

whisper, with a wink,

"Be good, or else you also

might become extinct."

I've no excuse. For weeks we've been warned

to stock up for an impending storm.

Now I'm rushing through the grocery store

to buy the stuff I should've bought before.

Canned food. Cereal. Water. Batteries.

Beef jerky… Crap! Somebody just sneezed!

Down the aisles, everyone races.

I see myself in their worried faces.

I know why we are all so scared;

we were not in the least prepared.

I'm almost done. Then I can go home

and try to avoid this great unknown.

Only one more thing to check off my list.

If it's out of stock, I will be pissed.

Alas. My hope has turned to vapor.

They're completely out of toilet paper.

She stares at her reflection.

She is upset. I hear her sighs.

She complains that she has

dark circles under her eyes.

She is also bothered by

the freckles on her skin.

She covers her "flaws" with make-up

as if she's hiding a sin.

Then she puts on some lipstick;

a shade of crimson that is bold.

I feel sorry for her.

She is only ten years old.

(Can be sung to the tune of

Mele Kalikimaka)

Freezing our little toes off is the thing we say

on a cold, depressing winter day.

That's the exclamation that we boo hoo hoo

in a place that's dark and gray.

Here we know the weather will be such a fright.

The cars won't start by day. The pipes will burst at night.

Freezing our little toes off is another way

to say that wool socks won't do.

Freezing our hands and feet off is the thing we say

at the time a blizzard's come our way.

That's a declaration which should be a clue,

it's a place to visit - not stay.

Here we know extremities will get frostbite.

Then we will feel dismay, and things won't be all right.

Freezing our hands and feet off is another way

to say boots and mittens won't do.

Freezing our crazy heads off is the thing we say

on a cruel and icy winter day.

That's the dire warning that we give to you

'cause the chill's no holiday.

Here we know the firewood had better light.

If power goes away we will be dead by night.

Freezing our crazy heads off is another way

to say twenty blankets won't do.

Freezing our little toes off is the thing we say

on a cold, depressing winter day.

That's the exclamation that we boo hoo hoo

in a place that's dark and gray.

Here we know the weather will be such a fright.

The cars won't start by day. The pipes will burst at night.

Freezing our little toes off is another way

to say that wool socks -

that's really, really thick wool socks -

to say that wool socks won't do.

If somebody writes something online that is rude,

while accusing me of being an ignorant dude,

it's usually because I was misunderstood.

However, in my constant struggle to be good

I've found the perfect way to keep my head, and vent,

without misplacing my temper in an argument.

I stay silent, as if I've been taught by what's been said.

Then, I seek my revenge by doing this instead;

I write my reply in a poem or a story

disguised as a humorous, or sweet, allegory.

I don't share what I have written, for at least a week.

My target doesn't know we're playing hide and seek.

Sure, if he's not looking, my thoughts he might not find;

this is not about giving him a piece of my mind.

Besides, nothing's accomplished in a back-and-forth fight.

I'd rather calmly mention what I feel is right.

Even if he reads it and thinks, 'that's about me!,'

the odds are good that he and I will still disagree.

But when he was pissed off and proud, I was sleeping well

knowing that I'd be telling him to go to hell.

I get up each morning with joy,

because I know that I will see

the children that I love

unconditionally.

I consider myself blessed,

and incredibly lucky.

They're young and naive,

so they still love me.