What is a Parlor

Prompt: Parlor

a parlor is a room
a room where the furniture is nice
the wall paper is unsmudged
the ceiling without finger prints
and the floor is polished and unscuffed
a room that yells look, but don't touch.
relax, but don't make yourself comfortable.
and if , by chance, a door leading further is left open a crack
you quickly close it
before your guest can get a good look at what lies beyond.
before they can see what your home is really like
a parlor is like a paper, an essay, a conversation or an opinion,
kept clean and neat, separate from the rest of your mind
revealing only a ghost or shadow of your thoughts
a poem is a door left open, and a guest allowed to stand and look,
a door closed,
closed, but not slammed

Halved

Prompt: Leaving (in Slam style)

You know the thing that I hate the most about "leaving"

is that it has a vee in it.

And that vee reminds me of a you

and then here I am back to thinking about leaving again.

"Commencement".

That thing at the end of an era.

That thing that tells you it's time for the beginning

of something new.

A new chapter, a new seed (to plant).

But what's. so. wrong with endings

that we can't just look them in the face

and see them for what they are?

The end.

Tear aside silly preconceived notions about sunrises

after a long day.

Sunrise and sunset are similar, but not identical.

And If I'm planting a new seed,

at least let me the freedom and the time

to swing on the branches

that took so long to grow.

Let me the reflection everyone else sees

so that when I finally leave this place,

I'll know what kind of seed to plant.

Brendan's Boots

Prompt: Somebody in the room’s shoes

Chunky and grimy rubber soles

complement the rips.

Ravaged. Ragged. Worn away.

Fading but sturdy.

Still robust.

Twenty shining, golden eyes.

How did they get so worn?

What so deeply penetrated

the thick hide,

exposing just a sliver of

the solid, silver bone?