Mrs. Ram's Jams

Category: poems

• A Poem: You’re the Apple of my Eye, Phone

  Posted at 1:50 pm by Jeddarae, on August 24, 2019

  

  you’re the apple of my eye phone the best pal I’ve ever known

  olive you so much that I’ve lost the common touch I’d rather touch my screen than plum give two shoulder shrugs about my hygiene let alone being publicly seen

  yore the apple of my eye phone the best pal I’ve ever known

  when I’m in the driver’s seat I don’t need my eyes on the road because I’m gazing at my lap typing in my passcode and texting eggplant emojis to my bestie sorry about not paying attention at that last red light don’t get testy btw thanks for the courtesy honk I was ordering personalized t’s from etsy

  your the apple of my eye phone the best pal I’ve ever known

  I no longer care about capitalizing letters punctuation or spelling correctly scrolling through facebook is more compelling than peeling pineapples for a crisp confusing sentences are the new who dis and peals of laughter dissolve into the will o’ the wisps

  yore I meant your dammit autocorrect you’re the apple of my iPhone the best pal I’ve ever known
  Posted in poems, poetry, Uncategorized, writing | 3 Comments | Tagged Apple of my eye, blogging, blogs, iPhone, poems, poems about technology, poetry, writing

• A Poem: Timeworn

  Posted at 12:42 pm by Jeddarae, on July 13, 2019

  

  Don’t blink.
  Clichéd lip sync.
  The pitter-patter of little feet.
  Buckle them into their car seats.

  Time flies.
  Hackneyed reprise.
  They grow up too fast.
  Romanticize the past.

  Clichéd lip sync.
  Buckle them into their car seats.

  Let them be little.
  Trite transmittal.
  Time please slow down.
  Stave off nervous breakdowns.

  Clichéd lip sync.
  Buckle them into their car seats.

  Where has the time gone?
  Banal yawns.
  Can’t they stay little forever?
  Attempt to keep it together.

  Mama needs a drink.
  Clichéd lip sync
  because society pretends motherhood is always sweet.
  Buckle them into their car seats.

  Posted in kids, parenting, poems, Uncategorized, writing | 2 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, don't blink, kids, parenting, poems, poetry, time flies, writing

• A Poem: Collecting Dust in the Dungeon

  Posted at 5:34 pm by Jeddarae, on March 23, 2019

  

  I am a day late using this word prompt! My bad! Please forgive me daily word prompt aficionados! Also, it’s a bit of a mess. Like me.

  ---

  a dungeon of

  Birds Killed and Mocked and Thorns

  Letters Scarlett O’Hara-ed in the Wind

  Gatsby’s Expectations unGrateful

  Naked Juliets and suicidal Romeos

  Mice, Lennie, and George Orwell

  451 flames flickering like 5 Slaughterhouses ignited

  Purple Arms will never Color Farewell in a Dark Tower

  because they’re collecting dust in the dungeon

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Posted in books, poems, poetry, reading, Uncategorized, writing | 0 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, books, dungeon, poems, poetry, reading, writing

• A Poem: Her Mom Instead of Her Mommy

  Posted at 11:27 pm by Jeddarae, on March 15, 2019

  

  Have you seen My?
  She’s been lost for a while,
  and I’m in denial
  because I’ll never get to tell her bye.

  Once she’s gone, she’s gone forever,
  and I’m not just yet ready for never
  again to have my My.

  Oh my my!
  Oh how I cried
  and died
  a little inside
  when I realized My was a thing of the past
  because Mommy is gone and Mom is here at long last.

  And My is no longer the end but the beginning, my mom instead of Mommy.
  And oh my my!
  Oh how I cry
  and die a little inside
  because I have to learn to be her mom instead of her mommy.

  Posted in kids, parenting, poems, poetry, Uncategorized, writing | 1 Comment | Tagged blogging, kids, parenting, poems, poems about kids, poetry, writing

• A Poem: Little Thing Gets the Flu Haiku

  Posted at 1:02 am by Jeddarae, on February 16, 2019

  

  On top of a poo-on-a-stick week, we won the flu lottery!  And by we, I mean Little Thing. Poor sweet Little Thing is puny. I hate it. Here’s a synopsis (in haiku fashion nonetheless)  of today’s events.

  ---

  The thermometer
  beeps at one hundred and two.
  No wonder she’s chilled.

  Climbing into bed
  with me, she proclaims, “I’m fine!”
  “Yeah right, tiny one.”

  A petite furnace
  ignites her forehead and limbs,
  aflame with fever.

  Tissues and TV
  flushed cheeks and pillow snuggles
  beneath her blanket.

  Her granny arrives
  to take care of her and bring
  her to the doctor.

  A text says: it’s flu.
  Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
  Poor sick Little Thing.

  To Tamiflu or
  not to Tamiflu–that
  is the question now.

  Considering she
  gags on liquid Tylenol
  we will pass. No thanks.

  Time to stock up on
  Sprite, pain reliever tablets,
  and so much Lysol.

  ---

  Off topic:  I did have a bright spot today. A student gifted me a temporary tattoo of a llama blowing a bubble. He might have pilfered it from his little sister’s Valentine’s Day gift box, but whatevs. It’s adorable, and it’s lifted my spirits every time I’ve looked at it today.

  

  Posted in kids, parenting, poems, Uncategorized, writing | 1 Comment | Tagged blogging, blogs, haiku, kids, parenting, poems, poetry, writing

• A Poem: A Student Departs

  Posted at 2:23 am by Jeddarae, on February 9, 2019

  

  Because a version of this has happened to me twice in the past two weeks.

  ---

  a stranger approaches
  maturity’s quietude
  candor blurs his angles
  lankiness perpendicular to his broad shoulders
  smooth aplomb, vintage messenger, scoffed loafers

  Miss, do you remember me?

  his smile unleashes
  youth’s echo
  vulnerability shrouded in tomfoolery
  pudginess crowned with a pimply forehead
  asymmetrical slouch, dragon sketches, untied Chucks

  Yes, sweet boy. How could I forget?

  a student departs

  Posted in poems, poetry, teaching, Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, poems, poems about teaching, poetry, teaching, writing

• A Poem: The Lie, Barry

  Posted at 12:58 am by Jeddarae, on January 26, 2019

  

  You don’t want to go
  to the library.
  It’s full
  of lies, Barry.

  All silence, syntax, and story–

  You know the truth, Barry, lies

  in the noise, gibberish, and vainglory–
  of society’s gobbledygook and pocketbook.

  You can’t find truth
  in a book
  because books spread nothing
  but lies, Barry.

  To tell the truth, Barry, nobody goes
  to the library nor reads books anymore.

  Who needs to when they’ve turned all the good ones
  into shows
  on all the streaming services galore?

  Here’s the truth, Barry.
  The library is scary.

  Full
  of syntactic stories warning
  of silence

  Full
  of parables to teach children how to overcome violence

  Here’s the truth, Barry.

  The library is scary
  because it calls out vainglorious gibberish as noisome–
  you’re no longer able to hide
  behind fear and hate–anti-intellectual poison.

  Here’s the lie, Barry:
  the truth is buried at the library.

  But go ahead and continue to lie, Barry,
  while I unbury my truth, Barry, at the library.

  Posted in books, poems, poetry, reading, Uncategorized, writing | 5 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, books, libraries, library, lies, poems, poems about books, poems about libraries, poetry, read, reading

• A Poem: Books Are Babies

  Posted at 4:04 pm by Jeddarae, on January 17, 2019

  

  I tell a version of this to my students the first time I hand out school-owned novels to them to read for class. Because. Middle. Schoolers. Destroy. All. Of. The. Things.

  ---

  Books are babies.
  If you wouldn’t do it to a baby, then you shouldn’t do it to a book.

  Would you
  throw a baby to another person?
  bend a baby backwards?
  leave a baby in the classroom or on the bus by itself for the night?
  step on a baby?
  smack your friend with a baby?
  shove a baby spine side up in the bottom of a backpack and then put books on top of him?
  balance a baby on your head?
  drop a baby?

  Books are babies.
  If you wouldn’t do it to a baby, then you shouldn’t do it to a book.

  You should
  read to your baby.
  talk to your friends about your baby.
  laugh at your baby when it says something funny.
  cry when your baby breaks your heart.
  cheer your baby on.
  learn from your baby.
  love your baby.

  Because books are babies.

  Posted in books, poems, poetry, reading, teaching, Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, books, poems, poetry, reading, students, teaching, writing

• A Poem: I Can Vote to Veto

  Posted at 6:41 pm by Jeddarae, on November 6, 2018

  

  I can vote to veto
  hate and fear-mongering politicos,
  a refusal to aid and abet upper-echelon manifestos.

  You can vote to veto
  whatever tickles your own toes,
  a fair bet to ensure your own democratic say-so.

  But please don’t vote to veto
  empathy,
  it’s absence begets and kowtows to a discordant symphony.

  

  Posted in poems, poetry, Uncategorized, writing | 0 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, poems, poetry, political poems, politics, writing

• A Poem: Lantern

  Posted at 12:15 am by Jeddarae, on October 27, 2018

  

  Thank goodness for daily prompts when you need them.

  ---

   

  languid flame flickering
  its haunted hollow
  turning a pinprick pyre into respite
  resisting the open wound onyx night
  languid, turning
  lantern 

  Posted in poems, poetry, Uncategorized, writing | 2 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, daily prompt, lantern, poems, poetry, writing

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