I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
Tag Life
Life’s Real Purpose and Adulthood, Five Word Weekly Challenge: #gb5ww, #gmgblog
She’d staked a claim in life; gritted her teeth and determined to see it through -no matter what. Oh; she’d been told it would be hard. She’d been told it might be harrowing, even: love, loss, stress, disease, fatigue…
Trials made her more obstinate.
Potential challenges brought out the strongest of stubborn resolve.
She was bound -BOUND, I tell you!- to succeed where others had failed.
And yet, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling -after adulthood brought more of the grind of monotony than seemingly insurmountable obstacles- that grit had very little to do with life, after all.
Maybe, it was all about surviving tax season.
©2023 Chel Owens
Written in response to Greg’s Five Word Weekly Challenge! Try it out!
“Is just amazing how accumulative every choice is -good and bad… Nothing shows up right away, except maybe constipation…”
–The Real Mom, 1/19/23
Speak to Me Only With Thine Dementia
“Oh. My.” She said it every morning. You would think he’d be accustomed to it, even tired of it.
But she had a way of infusing each word with childlike awe.
That was why he loved it; why her daily exclamation touched him every time. By now, he lived for this. He couldn’t imagine his day starting otherwise.
His wife turned, all smiles, and said the phrase she always followed with: “I think I’ve awakened in paradise.”
He rose and put his arm around her. Staring out their bay windows at the private ocean bay; he, as always, agreed.
©2022 Chel Owens
Written in response to Carrot Ranch‘s prompt:
November 21, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the phrase, “Oh, my.” It can be used in storytelling or dialog. What is the cause for such a response? Have fun with this one! Go where the prompt leads!
A Poem on Living
What is life but a descent to death
punctuated by philosophies
upset by opinion
and only sllooowwwwedddddd by a stubborn child
or the DMV
or that breathless moment before
death
when you wish you’d lived
a little more
©2022 Chel Owens
Onset of Night
The sky wasn’t as bright this evening.
She puttered around, feigning finding things she had forgotten she was looking for.
Ah well; it would all come to rights or she’d do without.
The stars seemed dimmer tonight.
She settled in the rocking chair, having given up on pretense. Only the cat saw, anyway.
No matter; likely, she’d get to it or it would get to her.
The sky outside looked darker.
She turned her head, and rocked to the rhythm of purring.
She’d see; the sun would come out tomorrow.
Night fell on incomplete dreams.
Worlds shifted. She slept.
©2022 Chel Owens
Written in response to Charli Mill’s prompt over at Carrot Ranch:
October 31, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about how the wheels keep turning. Are the wheels tangible or metaphorical? Go where the prompt leads!
- Submit by November 5, 2022. Please use the form if you want to be published in the weekly collection. The Collection publishes on the Wednesday following the next Challenge. Rules & Guidelines. Stories must be 99-words.
- Carrot Ranch only accepts stories through the form… Accepted stories will be published in a weekly collection. Writers retain all copyrights.
- Your blog or social media link will be included in your title when the Collection publishes.
- Please include your byline which is the name or persona you attribute to your writing.
- Please include the hashtag #99WordStories when sharing the Challenge or Collection posts on social media.
#ShareYourDay #TankaTuesday
Thinking on my life –
Its direction; its meaning,
I am stopped midway.
Go! Race down The Road of Life
-Heedless; till heed it you must.
©2022 Chel Owens
Written in response to Colleen Chesebro‘s Tanka Tuesday writing prompt, Share Your Day.
“I always like walking in the rain, so no one can see me crying.”
–Charlie Chaplin, My Autobiography.
All We Ever Get is Calories
I’ve been dieting lately.
I find it no funny coincidence that dieting sounds so much like dying, because I’ve not been able to indulge in my unhealthy eating habits for -eight- -whole- -weeks-.
This dy -eting has been part of a challenge: I, along with several other participants, have solemnly sworn to drink 64 oz. of water, eat 2 fruits and 3 vegetables, not consume sugar, exercise 5/7 days of the week, keep a food journal, contact a teammate daily, and whine about my lack of energy at least 3 times a day.
And that’s why I want to hear about dessert.
No, really. The upside of this diet is one ‘cheat’ day a week where I get to eat sugar. Two weeks ago, I made chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter bars to celebrate. Last week, I opted for an oatmeal fruit bar -because I love oats.
I also love chocolate lava cake, cream puffs, éclairs, fresh fruit pies, pistachio ice cream, Tagalongs, Symphony bars with toffee bits, Costco’s macadamia clusters, rich chocolate, crullers, and …maybe I should go to bed instead of making myself salivate.
In the meantime, what are some of your favorite treats? If you could eat sugar for just one day a week, which dessert would you indulge in?
©2022 Chel Owens
—————-
Here’s what I wrote for the last …weeks:
Wednesday, April 27: We talked about how we want to be remembered.
Thursday, April 28ish: Announced the winner of the Terrible Poetry Contest, Geoff Le Pard!
Sunday, May 1: Shared a quote by Alice Walker.
Thursday, May 5: Announced the latest Terrible Poetry Contest. THERE’S STILL TIME TO ENTER! IT’LL BE FUN!
Friday, May 6: Friday Photo of a funny play on wives words.
Sunday, May 8: Quoted C. S. Lewis for Mother’s Day, then wrote a poem about the dang holiday.
Monday, May 9: Mormon Monday! Families are so so so so so important.
Friday, May 13: It’s Friday Photo day down at the tire shop!
Sunday, May 15: Quote by David O. McKay.
And, a really beautiful knock-off of “Bad Habits.”
Monday, May 16ish: I’m a Mormon, so I’m not inked and holed.
Tuesday, May 17ish: Answered Charli’s prompt to rewrite her story in 99 words.
©2022 Chel Owens
Mother, May I
Mother, may I touch your face
pull your hair
and leave my handprint on your leg
So, when you left the grocery store with
50 lbs from every finger,
you wondered why
-midst Mother’s Day bouquets-
you saw a suppressed chuckle,
a knowing smile, nod –
telling you they knew
that someone very special
loves you.
©2022 Chel Owens
Chel Owens 