The Grinch

I am ungrateful
in my damp ivory tower.
Loved ones gorge with friends
on marzipan and chocolate
singing new holiday songs.

Mother and Child

Gothic depiction
holy mother and baby
divine unity.

Religious art notes
selfless spiritual love
enduring time’s trial.

Mother and child smile
feasting on a full banquet
of satisfaction.

Pious depiction
divulges social receipt
of bygone era.

Rain Concert--SOLD OUT

Thousands of evening dew congregates at the dead end

of Autumn. They been awarded free tickets to
the rain concert. Cloud, the opening act
threatens to burst on stage ahead of schedule
sending the fans into a moist frenzy.
Umbrellas
Slick posters of the band
and a wet T-shirt contest
flood the aisles and prompt
some LOL reactions from the crowd.
Check back later for
more info on next week’s
frost event.

Ciao Blueline

Buon giorno (Hello) Scusi (Excuse Me)
Per favore (Please)
Tu parli italiano? (Do you speak Italian?)

After I finish this round
I’ll be taking a short break
Grazie-- Alice and Allen

Mi piace leggere (I like to read)
and post my poems on Blueline’s blue space
I plan to continuare (continue) and learn l’italiano in my tempo libero (spare time)
Che cos’e’ in italiano-- to write? (How do say to write in Italian?)

Ciao a blu (Blue)
I’ll be back soon
Io mi chiamo (my name is)
connied
A presto. (See you later).

Passport’s Language Guides--Italian for Beginners

Learning a Language is a lot easier and more fun than you think.

Buon giorno, come ti chiami? (What is your name?)
Connie, e tu? (Connie and you?)

Tonight’s lesson will be
translated
in a gondola on a Venetian canal.

Ionithermie at the Spa on Holland America Line

The forecast says fair weather blue skies.
It’s Friday, another beautiful day at sea.
I’m on the spa phone talking to my husband
and signalling Vittorio, my spa attendant,
to please get me an Evian—
Dear, you should see him leering?
I swear all they do is flirt.
I’m early for my appointment, papers to fill out.
They want to know if I’ve ever had a hot rocks treatment
it is the latest in their line of relaxation treatments.
Yes I know I took the tour!
They also have teeth whitening.

I ask, Cassie, my clinician, about something
I’ve seen in the brochure
I noticed something here
about detoxification and cellulite reduction,
what’s that all about?

Oh it’s non-invasive!
We use electricity
at a low voltage
and we steadily increase it to detox
your cells
thereby breaking down
your fat cells and
reducing the appearance of cellulite.

First you have to take off everything.
we supply you with paper panties.
Then we slather you with mineral treatment
and finally we attach the electrodes.
You feel tiny shocks on the designated areas.
The treatment lasts for about twenty minutes
and requires you come back two more times.

How do you know how many watts to use?
It's as much as you can take.
We guarantee at least a four inch
combined fat reduction
from your hips, stomach and thighs.
Okay sign me up for the works.

Hello dear,
Yes I’ve signed up
for the electric shock treatment,
only they call it something else
Ionithermie.
What’s that?
Oh thanks dear,
he said, Good Luck!

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
A remarkable memoir of
resilience and redemption

A diamond
formed from
the blackest coal.