Ginger. Cardamom. Black Pepper. Cinnamon.

A perfect infusion of spices, simmered with tea and milk creating a delightful concoction for your tongue, a firework of flavor taking you on a sensuous journey.

Close your eyes.

Be still. Take a sip and be prepared to be transported away with the perfect cup of chai.

Have you ever been the companion to a long haired cat?

If so, you more than likely have experienced dingle butt.

What is dingle butt, you ask? What do you think might dingle from the behind of a very fluffy and floofy feline?

Oh so occasionally, the fine gossamer fur of my Ragdoll becomes the weft of other particulates – bits of cardboard from the cat scratcher, a nub of kitty litter. These are a nuisance but straight forward enough to deal with.

Then there is the oh so dreaded dingle butt: a piece of soft poo enrobed by the velvety white of her fur. If it is a small drab, I can moisten a piece of toilet paper and work it’s way out of the fur. But, if it is a larger portion, it will jingle and jangle much like a Christmas ornament swaying on a tree. However the cat is not enamored with this decoration. Quite the contrary, she is perplexed and proceeds to dash about attempting to dislodge it. This is my cue to fetch scissors, wrangle an unwilling participant and proceed clip her fur, along with the offending dingle.

I presently have a miffed cat. She did not appreciated this evening’s dingle butt derby.

Slice – a small portion, a snippet, a whisper of a song, a tasty treat, a morsel

I tell myself I can write a slice, every day for a month, if I keep one of the above visuals in mind, otherwise I become frozen, burdened with existential dread, a void echoing in loneliness, a vacuum of words.

A slice, it can be raggedy, buoyant or dull.

It is a start – a promise of something more.

On a play of Spine Poetry, I curated a selection of titles from my slices this month to create this poem.

It’s 4 a.m.

Bone Tired

Another Slice of Insomnia

Sleep

Liminal

Not Quite as Advertised

.

Slice of Nothing

Wired and Tired

Angst

.

Walk

Reading

Comfort Food

Self Care

Sunshine for the Soul

.

Just Today

Another day

Not knowing what it will bring

Going forward

Seems

Tenuous

I never thought I’d hear myself say this

But

I am looking forward to my dentist appointment tomorrow

(Assuming it does go ahead – my appointment two weeks ago was rescheduled)

I never thought I’d look forward to taking a drive to the other side of town for said appointment

Dealing with start and stop traffic is not my thing

But

With hardly any traffic on the road

It’ll be smooth sailing

However

I am looking forward to visiting a grocer on the other side of town

A nice selection of house baked bread, a quality deli

Organic products galore

Maybe even some seeds to purchase for my garden plot!

I never thought

I’d be in this place

Did you?

This morning, via Zoom, I participated in a community yoga class with Arkaya yoga, a mindfulness based yoga practice. It was a wonderful way to de stress and connect with others. I even had some in house company . . .

All over jitters

Not a comfortable feeling

X – it as if your normal self is crossed out with a huge X

I need to remind myself to take deep breaths, not shallow ones.

Edgy

Twitchy

You feel revved up

Pre Spring Break I had my students create title acrostics for a book they read during silent reading. So acrostics are a writing form they are already familiar with. I’d like to revisit the form but apply an SEL lens. When we commence on line learning I plan to find a graphic of emotions, send it to my students, ask them to choose one emotion, and then write an acrostic about it. I’ll be sharing the above exemplar with my students.

Novels and memoirs read for fun.

Walks along river to ground me.

Daily cuddles with my sweet cats.

Spring Break is almost over – oi!

Panic ensues. How will I teach?

Feeling uncertain, frustrated, concerned, and worried.

Did you get outside today? I did and was rewarded with a rainbow.

I just had to go through a few patches of rain . . .