Painful Process
Can’t write
I’m blank
Last typed
It stank
Sitting here
Fingers quiet
Cursor blinks
Creative diet
Tapping keyboard
Marking time
Can’t make
Deadline
Fingers stiff
Head full
Imagination
Set to lull
Beers swilled, shots tossed
Slouching now
Completely lost
Laptop
Slammed closed
Deadline missed
I’m hosed
Grab pen
Ink to page
No sense
Growing rage
Rip it up
Start fresh
Stanzas done
Still a mess
Note to self
Bury head
Give it up
Go to bed.
***
Ode![dnews-files-2013-02-gold-nugget-660-jpg[1]](https://karenrsanderson.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/dnews-files-2013-02-gold-nugget-660-jpg11.jpg?w=184&h=300)
What is an ode?
Just a part of something else.
It’s unearthed in a mother lode,
And buried in a secret code.
Shaped inside a fashion model,
Sung amongst a mountain yodel.
***
Rollercoaster
Topsy-turvy
Stomach rumbles, a little erp
Should have waited on the buttery popcorn.
Topsy-turvy
Mouth opens, roiling burp
Wish I’d passed up that Tex-Mex chili dog, y’all.
Topsy-turvy
My clenching stomach is swilling greasy
Shoulda said no gracias on the empanadas.
Topsy-turvy
Makes me green and sickly queasy
A little nein on the brats and kraut would have been a good idea.
Topsy-turvy
Stop this mechanized lightning bolt
Why didn’t I say no grazie on the porchetta panini?
Topsy-turvy
Screeching wheels jar me to a halt
I couldn’t think of kekkou desu, no thank you, before I ate the sushi.
Topsy-turvy
Let me off, find a bucket
The international buffet is making a come-back.
***
Fishes
I worry about the tasty fishes,
Swimming with the sharks.
I’m sure the sharks look upon those little fishes,
As tasty, miniature, lunch-time dishes.
***
Karen S. Elliott was raised by a mother who wanted to be an English teacher and who worked for Merriam-Webster as a proofreader and an aunt who could complete the Sunday New York Times crossword in a day. Their favorite expression was, “Look it up!” Karen reads punctuation and grammar manuals for fun. Karen is an editor and proofreader, blogger, and writer. Her short stories have been featured in The Rose & Thorn Journal, Every Child is Entitled to Innocence anthology, Valley Living Magazine, BewilderingStories.com, and WritingRaw.com.
Karen R. Sanderson 
Grinning broadly…great way to start the day. Your “Painful Process” speaks for every writer I know! And your mother and aunt would be proud of “Ode” – it reflects your love and fascination with words, which I know you attribute to them.
Thanks, Elizabeth. Mom and Ang also liked Ogden Nash, and hence, I’ve been influenced by him as well.
I’m going through a “Painful Process” as we speak and can relate well to what you have said. Loved the “Fishes” and I can see myself on that roller coaster. Loved the poems, loved them all.
Thank you, Shirani. I’ll bet all writers go through a painful process at some point. And thanks again for the re-blog!
Reblogged this on Shirani Rajapakse.
I’M LAUGHING AND SMILING AND NODDING MY HEAD YES IN SYMPATHY. May I print out your “Painful Process” poem to share with my creative writing students? This poem will lighten them up, and help them see that we’re all caught in that web of blank dismay once in awhile.
As I suspected, you have a wicked sense of humor, drawn creatively in your poems here. Fabulous.
Hey Wight – sure you can print for your students! And thanks. That’s an endorsement. 🙂
Karne, as roughwighting said, you do have a wicked sense of humor! 😉
Your ‘Painful Process” had me uh-huhing all along!
Thank you, Denise! It’s great for me to find people that can appreciate my humor.