Category: Poetry

~Writing Poetry

On By Jerry BrothertonIn Haibun, Poetry1 Comment 
I have my dictionary, a thesaurus and a laptop filled with billions of pieces of information at my fingertips. There’s a staggering number of words, and combinations of words, hidden in my keyboard. Like scrabble pieces spread out on the table, all I need to do is lay them down in the right order, at the right time, and with the right flow to create the right image. Aah, this should be easy.
writing is easy
getting your words to make sense 
is the hardest part

Longing

On By Jerry BrothertonIn Poetry, Rhyming2 Comments 










Just a little rhyme I wrote last week when we received 12 inches of snow the day after it was 71 degrees. Talk about dashed hopes. At least it looks like we are headed back into a warming trend for the next two weeks.




			
					

	




			
				


			

		

			
~The Particulars of the Privy

						

				On  By Jerry BrothertonIn Haibun, Poetry1 Comment			

					


		

			

The family outhouse wasn't just thrown together willy-nilly. Oh, no. It was an object of pride. A showcase of engineering and ingenuity and a symbol of prosperity. There was a true science used in the construction of 'the throne'. 
It had to be built using only the best quality lumber. Generally, with 2" x 6" floor joist, cedar walls if possible but most likely just good white pine. Usually, the roof was just wood, but a fancy privy could have shingles and the la-ti-da privy might have had a tin roof. The roof slanted away from the side with the door towards the back to allow maximum rain roll-off. Also, you needed less height to sit on the crapper bench than you needed to drop your long-johns.
A standard structure was about 6 feet wide x 5 feet deep with the roof measuring approximately 8 feet tall at the highest point. Of course, those measurements would depend on whether it was your simple one-holer design or the more elaborate two-seater. A good coat of white paint would definitely set yours off from the neighbors and become the envy of the whole county. Don't make the door fit too tightly and remember to cut a crescent moon shape in it for proper ventilation and the only source of light.
A good supply of Montgomery Ward or Sears catalogs and a fly swatter were luxuries fit for the queen.





the important things 
will often go unnoticed—
until you need them 







			
					

	




			
				


			

		

			
Now That I’ve Reached a Certain Age (Part Four)

						

				On  By Jerry BrothertonIn Haibun, Poetry5 Comments			

					


		

			



I'm getting a better understanding of what life is like at 1:30 AM— 3:30 AM— 5 AM. At least what it's like between the warmth of the bed covers and the shriveling cold of porcelain. Between those stumbling adventures, comes a lot of time spent staring into the darkness of what if, what was and what might be. Wrestling with those decisions made, the paths taken, and wondering where the paths not taken might have led. Now that I've reached a certain age, I've become aware of each breath and the sigh of relief that comes in knowing that the last one was not—the last one. It seems that each minute slides by just a bit faster than the one before it. I know that I can't afford to waste a single one.





seconds steal away
til they become a lifetime—
how quick they escape







			
					

	




			
				


			

		

			
Now That I’ve Reached a Certain Age (part three)

						

				On  By Jerry BrothertonIn Poetry, Free Verse3 Comments			

					


		

			

the topic of conversation
always ends up the same
it seems we’ve become 
the experts on
ailments, aches and pains

which type of treatment
works for what 
which drugs work best
for this or that
which ones leaves
us constipated
which ones will make 
us splat

the when, where and what
of pooping
some say it’s a science
some say an art
which foods
give us gas
and how bad
it makes us fart

the one subject 
that is guaranteed 
of this there is no doubt
the person 
not at the gathering
is the one the gossip
will be about