3 Short Poems

A Child

Trying to reach

a child.

So far away,

yet so near to me.

Le Mons Delise Chalet

(Lunar, Schnitzel, Monogamous)

Ladies and Gentlemen, please bring your attention to the left side of the rover.”  The tour guide pointed.  “Right there, see it?  That folks, is a Schnit, oh how fortuitous to find one!”  She pointed to a smallish thing like a tube worm only with legs.  “They are a monogamous creature, as far as we can tell they are indigenous to our own moon.  On all the planets we’ve landed on and explored so far, the Schnits have never been seen anywhere but here; they are quite rare.” 

The Christmas Box

As published in “The Valdosta Magazine,”  Winter 2010.

The Christmas Box by Monique Nagel

Early on Christmas morning my family gathered around the tree my stepfather had cut down, decorated with ornaments that we kids had used our entire lives.  Our home was decorated with popcorn garlands, lights, construction paper chains, and cards everywhere.  The entire Holiday Season was spent with Jingle Bells frolicking on the radio and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer flying across the television.  We played UNO at the kitchen table and laughed until we cried.  My mother and stepfather were the glue that held this happy whirlwind together.

Christmas Hopes

This is a “trunk” poem, I wrote it when I was about 14 or 15.

 

The Christmas season has arrived,

I am so happy to share

the giving of my heart to you

because I know you care.

You make the season better

with warmth and such goodwill,

that even the star on the Christmas tree

is shining brighter still.

May your Christmases be merry ones,

may the days bring life anew,

and all the hopes you’ve ever had

~ Are my Christmas wish for you ~

“And They Call It, Puppy Love”

Bojangles, Vineyard, Jackalope

Carl and Martha Dubois were sitting on the porch one summer morning.  Eighty year old Martha was doing a crossword puzzle from the paper, eighty-one year old Carl was reading the sports section.

“Carl.”  She had a distinct northern accent, and sounded a lot like Katharine Hepburn in “On Golden Pond.”
“Hmm?” He absently waved at a fly.

Looking Back

Birds, Waffles, Shenanigans

She sits at the kitchen table, almost nine o’clock at night, listening to her 16 yr. old daughter and her boyfriend giggle while they wrestle in the other room. The bedroom door is open, they are just playing, and she could hear them talking and laughing all the while. No shenanigans are being attempted tonight. Just two kids having fun with each other. The television is off, no music either. Just two kids. It makes her remember what it was like, that young love.

Cannonball Cake

Mistake, Chocolate, Whale

The small bell over the front door jingled merrily.  People had come and gone all morning, ordering cakes with everything from crowns to whales to Barbie dolls on them.

“Hello, welcome to Baking Babes, how are you today?”  The owner, Candy Owens, greeted the newcomers with a smile.  Father and daughter, Candy thought.  They favored one another.

“We would like to order a cake,” said the gentleman.