The daily Inktober prompts are a great low-stakes way to keep the creative juices flowing and a wonderful distraction when one is needed. Here are a few of my recent efforts. (I will apologize in advance for #12 though I had great fun writing it!)
#10 pick
Mystery in the Garden
Yesterday I picked a pumpkin
where I thought I’d planted melon.
I can’t figure how this happened
and the pumpkin isn’t tellin’!
©Molly Hogan
#11 sour
Her words sour the air
transform the moment’s
fleeting sweetness
curdle it
like lemon in milk
into a bitter corruption
so sharp and biting
it lingers on the tongue
©Molly Hogan
#12 stuck
Economics in Action
The teacher droned on endlessly
about wants versus needs.
“Ugh!” Bea thought, “This econ. stuff
is putting me to sleep!
The sun is out and I am stuck
in this most dull of courses.”
So she jammed a finger up her nose
to check her own resources.
Bea didn’t think about it much
just dove into her task,
more invested in her treasure hunt
than in doing well in class.
After intense exploration
she finally withdrew,
content to sit and contemplate
her own gross revenue.
Then casually she licked it off
restoring her good humor
while embodying those econ. terms—
producer and consumer.
©Molly Hogan
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Bridget Magee at her blog, Wee Words for Wee Ones. She, punster extraordinaire, is sharing news of the release of her anthology, 10•10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways. I’m delighted to have a poem included in this anthology and can’t wait to have a copy in my hands. Congratulations, Bridget!
Nix the comfort zone 
Hahaha! I like all of them, but I would really love to know what inspired the second…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I wish there was only one inspiring incident…sigh….but my lips are sealed!
LikeLike
Well written!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Molly, your writing notebook must be so much fun. Someday, I want a peek inside. I love how you find humor in odd places. I’ve been chuckling since the silent melon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not sure “fun” is the word I’d use to describe my notebook, but it does serve its purpose 🙂
LikeLike
Oh my, I know a lot of kids from my past who would have adored “stuck”. You mastered ‘econ’ very well in that one, Molly. And I also love “lingers on the tongue” – exactly! I said last week that I needed to check on the prompts – sigh, maybe this coming one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoy playing around with the prompt words without any commitment to share. I don’t always get to all of them, but I dabble with most. I’d love to see what you do with next week’s!
LikeLike
Wow, Molly! You did a great job on these poems. These are all so great. I love the melon and pumpkin rendezvous and the producer/consumer illustration. (The latter would be a great reading for a high school econ class, I must say.) The lingering curdled conversation is a great reminder of the power of our tongue.
I’m finding the Inktober words not very inspiring, but I see that inspiration has to come from a different source than just that one word. I’m being re-inspired for next week’s poems. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Denise–I can’t believe you said you haven’t been inspired by the Inktober words–your poems were fabulous! I can’t wait to see what you’re up to with next week’s selection.
LikeLike
Molly, congratulations on having a poem in Bridget’s new book. I also can’t wait to read the book. Your Stuck poem takes me back to elementary school where the students, mostly boys, stuck their fingers up their nose but I have an even better story: the teacher (a nun) use to do it too and I had a ringside seat trying to dodge the throws. Loved this poem and I am sure that students will too. In fact, all of your poems are humorous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my, Carol! That is quite a memory! One that sticks with you, I guess! Ew!
LikeLike
Love the pumpkin poem! The last line made me laugh. #12 is equal parts “lol” and “eew’ – any kid that reads that will remember the meanings of producer and consumer, for sure!
Thanks for sharing your poem productions with us this week!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Elisabeth. The pumpkin poem is based on a true garden mystery! I think perhaps the nursery mislabeled a few plants 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I ‘pick’ #12 as one of the most hilarious poems about boogers, Molly! I’ll never think about economics the same way again. Thank you for the belly laugh and for being a part of my anthology! It is an honor to share your words with the world. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Bridget. I love knowing I made you laugh. Booger poems aren’t typically my go-to, but this one just had to come out! lol
LikeLike
I once found a squash in a pumpkin patch. These sort of surprises must be more common than I thought. I like the punch line of your first poem and laughed at the others too. Lot of talk about economics lately!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The kindergarteners at my school used to share a sweet play about a squash that wound up in a pumpkin patch. I think it was called “The Ugly Pumpkin.” I’m sure you can imagine how it went.
LikeLike
Your Econ poem is a riot! Thanks for sharing these; you seem to be having too much fun with these prompts. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed it. My husband looked at me askance when I shared it with him. lol
LikeLike
I love all of your poems! Couldn’t help but laugh at “Stuck” as I also said, “eeeewww!” Lol. I agree with Linda~ I want a peek in your notebook!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was definitely going for “ew”! 🙂
LikeLike
#12 was truly SNORT-worthy! (Or…snot-worthy?!?!) Plus, that title!!! I’m also crushing on your rhyme of melon and yellin’!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The muse must have its way, I suppose! lol It was fun to focus on something totally ridiculous.
LikeLike
Dang, Molly–what Mary Lee said! I got a bunch of laughs here; thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you got some laughs 🙂 I was smiling a lot while writing.
LikeLike
Oh, my! These all are great, Molly! What fun. I laughed out loud at the last one and had to read the sour poem twice….reminds me of a few people I know. Great work on these Inktober poems! And, congratulations on having a poem included in Bridget’s 10 x 10 anthology!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I’ve been writing lots of bleak poetry lately and it’s been a nice change in focus to work on something light-hearted.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These are such fun. Very curious about the second. And I feel what Bea felt in the Econ class (which I was lucky to have never taken)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jone. I’m pretty sure that you would have found some other way to entertain yourself in Econ. class if you had taken it! lol
LikeLike
These three are all so different. #10 is cute and made me chuckle, #11 brought a stab of recognition (don’t we all wish we didn’t recognize such a moment), and #12 made me laugh at its cleverness and then hope I can get the image out of my mind the rest of the day. 😀 Love these, Molly! Inktober is working its magic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think lots of the fun of Inktober is that you can go in such different directions with the prompts. Glad you enjoyed these three.
LikeLike
Looks like your having fun with all here. I really like:
“so sharp and biting
it lingers on the tongue”
Great take on sour and it could have so many layers too… thanks, and for the smiles too Molly!
LikeLike