Author: Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris

  • Can You Fly?

    Can You Fly?

    Response to Monday morning poetry word prompt

    aerodynamics

    Aerodynamically speaking humans can not fly

    Not like a bird on the wing uses perfectly constructed wings

    to fly

    Speaking of aerodynamically speaking

    that is to say

    of a bird on the wing

    a peregrine falcon is the fastest

    flyer by far

    Below the deepest blue of the sea

    where nothing can fly

    the many legged crustacean one

    cooked oft in a pot is more aerodynamic

    than a car

    A car proposed to travel man around

    could never fly

    it’s aerodynamic’s designed by man

    not yet

    can not get it off the ground

    But if a falcon can soar as a bird

    on a wing

    and a lobster can fly through the watery abyss

    since a car is fashioned from all of these

    then why oh why can’t I fly?

  • Time to Write

    Time to Write

    Ami (Gypsie) Offenbacher-Ferris

    My daily schedule wound so tight.

    Dinner’s served, the dishes are done,

    Not one little thing’s been left undone.

    Beginning to write, I cannot wait.

    Fingers lift in reverent repose,

    My eyes drift down and see ten tiny

    toes.

    “I cannot sleep, a monster’s under my

    bed! Mommy I need you, to chop off

    their heads.”

    I lift the trembling bundle with hands

    all set to type.

    Turn off the computer

    Maybe tomorrow I’ll get to write!

    Tomorrow has come and gone by the

    wayside

    Another day filled with snacks and

    lunches and carpools

    Wondering where can I write? Where

    can I hide?

    Then it’s time to fill that washer with Tide

    The library stacked with

    confectionery tomes,

    Calling me bribing me hooking me

    tempting me

    Just one I tell myself now adult,

    Only one I swear I won’t get hooked

    Then the hungry kids and even the

    dog wonder why I haven’t cooked!

    I bid farewell to my one true love

    That of a book and those vexing

    written words

    My downfall it is to not have

    discovered ’til now

    I’ll be unable to write once more

    Until probably next Fall!

  • Silly Word Prompt Poem

    – Response to Monday Word Prompt Arctic, Destroy, Experiment

    The first word of the day is arctic,

    to think, to ponder, to write

    is cathartic.

    Then the second word jumps

    up from the page,

    it’s letters destroy the first

    in a haze.

    The last word describes this poem

    to a tee,

    definitely an experiment

    from you on to me.

    Oh wait! I see I must now pause

    he’s inserted a picture

    of old Santa clause.

    Santa please know it’s

    with warm hands and toes

    I lay here and wait

    completely reposed.

    He’ll come here tonight

    from his great Arctic home

    man’s experiment failed

    he’s bringing my tomes!

  • Ramshackle – Response to #227 Word Prompt 97 Words Only

    It sits at the end

    of a street

    made of dirt

    Once somebody’s dream

    a sweet home

    and warm hearth

    The windows all paneled

    in bright colors galore

    desiccated pieces upon the floor

    Ghosts gather round

    in ethereal shrouds

    up and down the shabby old stairs

    Patient as they wait so close

    ramshackle hosts bound

    to a ramshackle home

    No where to go unable to roam

    invisible chains hold their invisible forms

    unheard cries from those so old and forlorn

    In the far distance the dogs

    barking their ancient songs

    of families now lost and forever gone

  • Ruffian Am Not!Response to Monday poetry prompt

    A puffin is not a ruffian at heart

    Neither is a penguin

    and definitely not a startled

    starlings start

    A puppy can be one

    unable to know

    the difference between

    a playful pat or a ruffians blow

    Polar bear cubs

    love to play rough in the snow

    Bouncing and trouncing

    but of course we all know

    The one to watch

    for out in that cold tundra

    is Mama’s Bears ire

    she’ll put you six feet under

    A rabbit, a deer,

    an old one eared fox

    even the meanest of mean

    great antlered ox

    Know nothing of man

    of his needs and his wants

    until that big shotgun

    tears out their guts

    Then when they run

    across mountains and more

    each docile sweet beast

    All ruffians galore

  • “Weekend Writing Prompt #226 – Yard”

    Yard

    By Ami (Gypsie) Offenbacher-Ferris

    A man’s greatest challenge
    is to bring life to a bare yard
    A fathers greatest joy
    to see his children playing there 

    Against the odds of nature
    into sand and soil
    He plants the fertile seeds
    pressing deep into the ground

    No matter sand or desert
    without shade or rain
    Tiny shoots of tender green
    delicately open to the sun

    Finally reaching toward the sky
    higher and higher do they climb
    Only to start all over again
    Mowed down by Dad’s loving hand

  • Portmanteau

    Response to Writer’s Digest prompt 50 words

    If two halves make a whole, then shouldn’t it be

         twalves or twole?

    As I pondered this twisted riddle we shall now call a

         Tiddle, 

    I came upon these there and those and wondered aloud 

    If said out loud, why couldn’t they just be throse? 

  • Toes

    Please don’t stick your cold nose in my toes
    Around my toes I wear nice warm
    clothes
    Not a furry little doggy nose
    Trying to sniff and lick my pinky toes

    My socks are to stay on my chilly feet
    Not as chew toys for those sharp little
    teeth
    Socks are made to remain discreet
    They are not treats I wear on my feet

    That hat you have hidden under Dad’s
    chair
    Is Grandpa’s hat that covers his hair
    It’s not your round chewy toy hiding
    there
    Go get that hat from beneath that chair

    Mother’s scarf from India it came
    She doubts she’ll ever go back again
    Tearing it up is such a foolish game
    Still you grabbed it and after you she
    came

    Come here my little rapscallion puppy
    This blanket displaying a bright orange guppy
    Is yours now from me all warm and
    lumpy
    I will always be happiest with my new puppy

  • Why Can’t You Hear Me?

    Ami (Gypsie) Offenbacher-Ferris

    You can’t hear me

    I am speaking beneath your voice

    droning on and on

    a muddle of senseless prattle

    You know I am speaking

    You know I can hear you

    You do not have to shout

    and stomp about like a circus clown

    I am listening to you

    I can understand you

    I remain stoically silent

    after so many years

    you notice my muteness

    Your hands on my shoulders

    wanting me to speak to you

    I can not speak to you

    speechlessness arrests my voice

    invisible words of loneliness and despair

    spill from my throat but you can not hear

    My utterances remain without form

    See my words drowning in sorrow

    Hear my words ravaged by pain

    Feel my words buried in heartache

    Heed words mired in rhetorical anger

    Why can’t you hear me?