Ghostly Eviction Prediction

~ setwiggs ~ 1 Comment

The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words, children here defined as 12 and under), using the words spider, ghost, and moon. Your story can be scary, funny […] sponsored by Susanna Hill.

Here is my entry:

Violet, Ishmael, and Petunia are ghosts.

They work only on Halloween.

Ishmael’s beard touches his knees.

Violet and Petunia are cousins.

CRASH! The farmhouse shook.

“It’s an earthquake!” Petunia cried.

Ishmael shrugged. “No problem.”

Violet looked. “The bulldozer is humungous!”

Petunia designed a plan. “We’ll scare them.”

Violet practiced shrieking.

Ishmael practiced howling.

Petunia fed her spiders.

“Follow me,” whispered Petunia.

On a moonless evening, they crept.

Ishmael howled, “Yahooo!”

Violet shrieked, “EEEEEE”.

“Attack, spiders!” commanded Petunia. The workers ran.

Later, a loud knock. “Move, Ghosts!” a gruff voice commanded.

They laughed. Tonight was Halloween; they had work to do.

Poem published in Weekly Avocet Nature Journal

~ setwiggs ~ 1 Comment

Late Winter Lament

IMG_1270

PHOTO FROM BOULDERS, SCOTTSDALE, AZ

Late Winter Lament

Dingy
salt-filled
dirt-lined
crystal mountains
melt in mall parking lots.
Mounds on street corners
block my view,
covering the green grass.
It’s time for spring—
snowdrops, crocus, narcissus,
warm breezes.
Instead
I pull out my scraper,
chip away the frost,
an opaque windshield.
I balance on tiptoe
careful not to slip
on the ice
beneath my feet.
Sue Twiggs
Marshfield, WI
setwiggs@gmail.com

Blue Sky in Phoenix and Valentiny Story

~ setwiggs ~ Leave a comment

Hi all.

My last post is an entry to the Valentiny story contest. Read it and see what you think. I am quite in love with giant panda bears.

We are getting settled in in Scottsdale.Today we attended Chair Yoga and then took all that great positive energy to Costco, a big treat as the nearest store is a hundred plus miles from Marshfield in WI.

We’ve been enjoying time with Brock and Katy Plumb our college friends and also saw Carmen with them. Al Jarreau gave a great concert as well. WIMG_1260e definitely appreciate this wonderful culture.

I wish you all a Happy Valentines Day. Compassionate love begins with taking care and loving yourself so you can spread that love all around.

The sunsets are especially beautiful.

Take care and keep cozy,

Karuna Ma Sue

 

 

Wait For Me

~ setwiggs ~ 13 Comments

Wait for Me

 

“Ouch!”, Mei Mei said. She grimaces and walks as fast as she can. She grumbles and groans. Bak Choy won’t wait. He’s too busy looking for bamboo.

Mei Mei wishes she could trot as fast as other giant pandas, but she can’t. Her back paws are weak. They ache if she moves quickly. Mei Mei and Bak Choy look for bamboo because that is all they eat. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Mei Mei loves eating bamboo flowers as pale as the morning sky. Now the bamboo trees are yellow and dying. All the pandas are moving higher up the mountain to find leafy green bamboo stalks.

All except Mei Mei. Bak Choy is so far ahead of her she can no longer see him. She can barely hear the sound of his paws on the forest floor. There’ s the faintest scent of her mate.

Suddenly Mei Mei knows she’s completely alone. Bak Choy is gone. She collapses and cries giant panda tears. Then she sniffles and smells his scent. She hears his quiet footsteps. Bak Choy is back!

He leads her up, up, up, the steep snowy mountain until they are surrounded by tall shoots of arrow bamboo, their favorite kind. Mei Mei sits down at last, a smile on her face.