Poetry & More

A Thousand Lives

I have lived a thousand lives and soon the world will see what my heart has given in order to make me.

The whirlwind in my mind has focused its view. All but one life is blind which makes me very blue.

At night when my mind is asleep bits and pieces through my unconscious mind beam. In they creep, in the form of dreams.

Lives unknown to me, that I may never again see.

When I was in high school, this poem was published in ‘America at the Millennium: The Best Poems and Poets of the 20th Century’ The International Library of Poetry, poetry.com, page 51.

Today ends April and 2025’s poetry awareness month. Tomorrow I started a new story. 🫣

Moan, groan, carry on.

Have you ever been camping?

I’ve been camping, overnight, twice in my life. HATED IT. I was not fully prepared for the experience.

As with most things in life, the people you are with can make or break any trip. so, given the right circumstances, I might try again.

Where do you find the time?

I’d like to thank Ray Whitaker, MasticadoresCanada for publishing my poem, ‘Where do you find the time?’

Thank you 💕

Where do you find the time? by Jolene Rice

Would you explode?

Shh

If I taped your mouth shut, would you explode?

Would you implode?

If you were put in a padded room with no one around, would you keep talking?

Squawk, squawk, squawking.

Why do you talk so much.

It really doesn’t create the personal touch.

I don’t care.

Shut up if you dare.

Hours and hours you drone.

Hours and hours I moan.

Can’t stand it.

Didn’t plan it.

I don’t care if you know Susie Blue.

I don’t care. Please get a clue.

Here’s my vision; you in a padded room, in a straight jacket with tape over your mouth.

Just shut up please, before we all head south.

Steam rolling out your ears.

What? Are those tears?

All because you can’t speak?

Shut up, sound freak!

Listen. Be quiet. Don’t talk.

Stop the squawk.

You are not the most important person in the room.

Shhh, why would you even presume?

Shh

My last weight loss journey; what now!

I’ve been having some issues lately. So I decided to start walking more. Deep sigh. Not enough hours in a day to do all the things I want/need to do.

So yesterday I went walking in my neighborhood. Save gas and time, right? People have dogs but we sure don’t take community mined measures with them. One neighbor had let their dogs out to use the bathroom; no fence, no leash. One of them came running after me. It was a small dog. In the end, no harm. On up the road, this big dog decides that I’m okay, after many sniffs. A random neighbor tells me he’s the neighborhood dog. He roams free. I didn’t go as far as I wanted to go because at the last house on the road, I couldn’t tell if the aggressive dog was tied or not. No fence. So I just turned around. Either go to the park or put a bag of dog treats in my pocket.

Today, I went to the park. It has 2 entrances; one is on the playground side.

The other is on the dog park side.

Your puppies are to be on a leash when they are not in the fenced in area. Only once did I see a park user not have a dog on a leash. When confronted about it got hostile because the dog was old and in their opinion didn’t need to be on a leach. Just follow the rules, 🫣.