"I'm so tired." "You've been busy." "Floors vacuumed and mopped. Surfaces dusted. Trash taken out. What else?" "Rest." "But things should be tidy." "Have a cookie." "But, the crumbs!" "Trust in treats; they are worth a bit of #chaos." #vss365 #amwriting

Polishing an apple, nature's candy. #Rubbing the #fruit's flesh with a clean microfiber rag until it gleams. Set it back in the bowl with its companions. Wanted a candy bar all along. Doesn't need to be polished. Easy sweet. #vss365 #BookishTues #amwriting

They call me a bartender, and I suppose that's right. Keep the stock filled, taps flowing, and glasses clean (although here, only the shot glasses see regular rotation). But in this kind of place, mainly it's the patrons need seeing to. If they aren't #tended, people may die. #vss365 #amwriting

He sat in the darkness, surrounded by cool grass, damp with dew and waited. Waited for the day. For the sun to #arrive and drive away the night, the sadness, the dark. The sun to heal, soothed by the birdsong symphony and nature's hopeful embrace. Waited for hope. #vss365 #amwriting

"Relationships are hard." "They can be." "I wish they had something like a #brake pedal. If things go a bit fast, just tap it and the lights let them know you want to slow down." "Ah. A luxury line of passive-aggressive-fear-of-commitment automobiles." #vss365 #amwriting

Workplace uproar. Staff demanding wages matching the work they provide. The bosses try to find a middle ground and buy them pizzas. Negotiation reached, bellies full, and from now on, they'll #coast instead of excel. #vss365 #amwriting

"Why are you smiling?" "Why aren't you?" "Because, you know, our current situation?" "Everything is better if you see the positive in it." "We are #descending into hell." "And we might as well do so with a #spring in our step!" "Scratch that, I'm already in hell." #vss365 #BookishTues #amwriting

He used to be somebody. Excelled at everything he did. Then he lost it all. A great plummet from the #summit of society. Now he held court caked in grime and broken promises. The king of losers, his crown gleaming with bad decisions. #vss365 #amwriting

"Storm's comin'." "Think so." "The winds are feelin' frisky. After a steady dance, they gave a light, teaseful pause before #shifting directions. Now the leaves shimmer in anticipation." "I noticed the toilet water also shrank real low." "Well, so much for poetry." #vss365 #amwriting

"Life is like a #road. While it can have many twists and turns, it can also be wide open." "Nice." "Be careful, though. Even minor mistakes can lead to skinned knees." "Ok, but the simile is wavering at this point." "Sometimes you can stop for a donut." "You started off so well." #vss365 #amwriting

a tailwind of hope propels many to just try sometimes that's the win (inspired by @robertcmadison.bsky.social) #vss365 #Tailwind #Senryu #Haiku #Poetry #Micropoetry #JustWrite #WritingCommunity #BlueskyPoets

Folks arrived in the city on a #tailwind of hope, eyes alight by so many lights they might as well have been stars. Some people made it, but the city chewed up most, like some ruthless monster from the days of yore. It didn't breathe fire, but you wouldn't know that by the smell. #vss365 #amwriting

"It's quite an accomplishment, to #turn #fifty." "Sure." "Not everyone makes it to enjoy." "Not sure what I enjoy more, the muscle pains, the new reading glasses, or not understanding what the kids are saying now days." "Ah, 'now days.' Yes, yes, embrace your inner geezer." #vss360 #amwriting

He lived by a strict code of equilibrium. For example, he wouldn't eat just one slice of pizza, nor three. What an absurd asymmetry! No. To commune with nature's #balance, he'd eat the whole pizza. #vss365 #amwriting

A sickly guy, he always looked like the sun avoided him while gravity pushed harder on his shoulders than most. I'd never known him to not be fighting an illness. He caught colds faster than a ship caught #headwinds in a squall. #vss360 #amwriting

"Godspeed." "Ok. See ya." "May you tarry for a spell?" "What?" "I wanted to tell you I hate to see you #depart, but love to watch you flee." "Yeah, now you see the problem with overusing a thesaurus, right?" "Forsooth." #vss365 #amwriting

Trapped in a dead-end job where putting in the least effort got him paycheck-to-paycheck, he didn't even have work friends. No family, a one-bedroom apartment reeking of other people's dinners. Still, he wasn't altogether a loser. He once #conquered a pizza challenge. Glory days. #vss365 #amwriting

After he passed, I went through his #projects. Unfinished canvasses stacked along walls like so many discarded dreams. He had been so #patient with the brush, the paint created new worlds, but his patience couldn't hold to finish the works before leaping to a new muse's call. #vss365 #BookishTues

At dusk, fireflies flicker across the field. A warm breeze shivers a tree nearby, and the first stars appear against the sky's dark blue curtain. A summer evening's #unabashed beauty. #vss360 #amwriting

The room flickered with the glow of dozens of candles. A chocolate fountain flowed silently on the nightstand. Thousands of red #rose petals covered every surface of the room. Pretty, but who the hell was going to clean up this romantic detritus? #vss365 #amwriting

The tick, tick, snap of the gas burner incites anticipation. Soon after comes the #frolic of garlic in impatient olive oil. Aromatics' shameless flirtation. Cooking's the recipe for happiness. #vss365 #amwriting

As the foliage burst like fireworks across rolling hillsides, I gazed at one tree standing in #defiance, refusing to change, holding true to it's magnificent verdant truth. Sure, it was a pine, but I truly admired its stubbornness among its trendy deciduous neighbors. #vss365 #amwriting

"That outfit is rather #revealing, don't you think?" "What ever do you mean?" "Why it's quite obvious." "Not to me, it isn't. This outfit is quite modest." "I can tell you had pie for dessert." "By my outfit?" "There's a chunk of #apple pie revealed upon your collar" #vss365 #BookishTues #amwriting

Going #tenderly into the night by the hum of a V-8, rubber kissing a desert road as it shoots towards a forever horizon under a big blue moon. #vss365 #amwriting

Beleaguered mind weary from #apprehensive afternoons. #vss365 #amwriting

"Officer, I saw the whole thing." "Can you #describe the suspect?" "A gaunt, lanky man with pallid skin, not unlike a visage of death but with one exception: He bore a #florid style. Such bright clothing and an elegant air." "Man, I hate when writers are witnesses." #vss365 #BookishTues #amwriting

Went for a walk to see the desert's beauty. Sand and scrub as far as the eye dares see. Peaceful walk turns treacherous. Lost by afternoon as birds start to circle. Hadn't planned on being the #carrion special of the day. Should have brought a phone and maybe some water. #vss365 #amwriting

"You want another drink?" "Maybe I should call it." "You ok?" "Maybe I've gone from regular to barfly." "I think you're in your own head too much." "Funny. I was thinking how the #grain of the bar top is as homey to me as a normal person's favorite rug." "I'll get your check." #vss365 #amwriting

Stubbed his toe. Broke a coffee cup. Bit his tongue. Stuck at a train crossing. Printer out of paper. Reboot computer. Printer out of ink. Only 9:30 a.m. Definitely a push on a door that says #pull kind of day. #vss365 #amwriting

Online shopping slowly killing brick and mortar. Spewing cash from the comfort of the couch instead of #lurching among fellow shoppers for things we've been told we need. Too bad there is no food court in my living room. #vss365 #amwriting