Nicole Tasker Woods

Flawless pools of lotion with a proof twenty-three,

Make no impact when applied on skin that’s exposed:

It invites freckled stains on face, belly, and knees;

And bleaches the peach fuzz that tickles arms and toes.

A sparkling-new tee-shirt, colorless and clever

When hit with a shaft of light, is most likely bound

To define hints of dirt and unclean whatevers,

That compliment sticky secrets lurking around.

Like an exploding sneeze from distant clouds above,

Fate creates disasters out of chocolate-box plans;

Until there’s no more polished moments to dream of,

Nothing left worth saving in the palm of your hand.

Stars will have no purpose, your hopes will have no point.

And every rhymed verse will disappointedly break.

Copyright © 2009 N.E. Tasker

She’s gone and I will never see her again
Does he say that…?

Sitting in his chair
In the house they used to share

Getting picked up by one of his sons
Joining their family for dinner

Lying alone in bed
Feeling empty space beside his body

Over loud screams of television
Can’t make out, can’t understand

His mind is empty of emotion
He cried that day—was that it?

Where his heart resides, it is void of love, of anger
Filled with relief
That I do not feel today

I don’t want to share his absence of sadness
Just want today to be over
To hide, to avoid

No alcohol, no sweets
No bubble bath, no movies

Maybe a feather pillow
One-thousand thread-count sheets

The funk that surrounds me
My cheeks, My aching eyes
Has me out of sorts

Hands cover face
Breathe deep
Step away

Copyright © 2009 N.E. Tasker

The air is bland today
I get sleepy, eyes are droopy
Turn the radio up

 
Tuuuuuesday…
Aaaaaafternoon

 
I love that commercial
The announcer asks
As the music fades into the chorus

When was the last time you took your daughter
To the aquarium
On a Tuesday afternoon?

The little girl’s eyes are so big and bright
As she stares dreamily at the fish
A large turtle swims towards them and waves

The blues and greens of the aquatic life
So serene, peaceful…sleepy
Let’s change the station, shall we?
And try to stay awake ALL the way home

I find a song that I can scream the lyrics to
This will do…

And truth be told I miss you
And truth be told I’m lying
When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell

 
Before I know it
I’m pulling up to our complex
Getting the mail
Still screaming along with the music
My neighbors think I’m nuts
But it is OK because now I have my second wind

 
Copyright © 2009 N.E. Tasker

What is happening?

What is happening to me?

What is happening to me this time?

What is happening

To me

This time

Is a chance to open up

The prospect of trying something new

And totally off-the-wall-crazy.

It is one of those moments

When Microsoft Word

Does not automatically correct your spelling errors…

It is all up to you to remember “i” before “e”

Avoid, using too many, commas,

I used to be a victim of the comma

Instead of a pause, they were

A breath, a blink

The chomp of your teeth down on the trident

You’ve been chewing for 40 minutes.

Well, the smell of garlic is gone

The taste no longer lingers;

Slap on Aphrodite’s Pink Nightie

Slip into Chinese Laundry

And off you go

Copyright © 2009 N.E. Tasker

You’re broken
And it’s pressing down on me
I’ve got nowhere else to go
So I turn to you and smile
Taking in all your fanatical logic
Listening to you rant and rave
I wonder if anyone has ever
Looked at me
The way I’m looking at you now
I stop the negative thoughts
To mirror my outward appearance inside
So my true feelings do not emanate
Out of my telling eyes and mistakenly reveal
How broken you really are

Copyright © 2009 N.E. Tasker

Her house was an after school special…

Whenever I wanted to sit with her in the living room
I was welcomed by her lay-z-boy

Whenever I had a bad day and needed to vent
She was willing to lend an ear

Whenever I wanted time to stand still
We watched her birdfeeders get ransacked by squirrels

Whether we talked or watched Bonanza
A smile, an appreciative response, a significant laugh

All of her was always within reach
Yet she was more than a part of my life

She was an unwavering cornerstone in my childhood
She is someone I think of often

Someone I choose to remember in a very particular way
A way that makes me smile when I reminisce about

A blue sweater:

Baby soft with a white zipper and floppy hood
To fit the long, thick pony tail I frequently wore

She let me choose the style, she picked the color
And then she went to work with her knitting needles

When it was finished, the silky yarn wrapped around my arms
I zipped it up and flipped the hood over my head, a perfect fit

She watched me from her window that night as I rode my bike
Up and down the driveway wearing my favorite blue sweater

you swim
you swim
you flutter your fin

 i smile
i smile
i wait for a while

floating
floating
silently boating

back and
forth and
back again

you swim
you swim
you flutter your fin

Copyright © 2008 N.E. Tasker

it is cold
temperate
retreating sun
warmth is gone

it is cozy
bundled
bedtime takes time
dreams descend

it is hot
erase the sleep
lather rinse repeat
foggy reflections

it is warm
quiet ride
sun lifts its head
smells like christmas

Copyright © 2008 N.E. Tasker

Cobble stone streets in town
Dirt roads to home
Rickety mail boxes
Country breezes
Briskly pushing on fields of grain
Last day of school
First day of summer
Meet up at the diner
For a slice of pie

Copyright © 2008 N.E. Tasker

Maybe you’re the same as me
You’ll see things I’ll never see
Broken up and spread around
Things you lose aren’t ever found

Maybe I just want to fly
Live forever feeling high
Sounds declining, almost crashing
Inferno fears, reds are flashing

To the sea—cerebral sailing
Float away and never failing
Bounding on the crash of waves
Lose your sight in mental daze

Learning how to falsely worry
Dancing into thankless blurry
Senses shut out faceless dreams
Where everything is as it seems

Copyright © 2008 N.E. Tasker

Two
more days
then a two day
release
from stress
tight shoulders
weary bones

Middle
of a long week
took too long
to get here

Anticipation
fills for quick relief
a break for coffee
a break for lunch
a break for pen shopping
in the supply closet

Middle
of a long week
took too long
to get here

Exhausting
sitting here
pretending
I don’t want to be
strolling
on beach shores
toes buried in sand

Middle
of a long week
took too long
to get here

Five
Five thousand
Five thousand pencils
Five thousand pencils sharpened

Years
Years pile
Years pile on creamy
Years pile on creamy vanity

Swept
Swept itself
Swept itself into
Swept itself into bins

Over
Over edges
Over edges slide
Over edges slide again

Many
Many reasons
Many reasons to
Many reasons to reflect

Mirrors
Mirrors bend
Mirrors bend we
Mirrors bend we smile

Copyright © 2008 N.E. Tasker