26 A to Z Unalphabetized Ways To __ Fake / Take / Make / Bake __ Five

by Jen Schneider

just when it seems there is nothing more to do/say/fear/be, a random drop/lyric/note rings. it’s the door. perhaps a delivery. no. only the television. or was it the phone. either/or. neither/nor. a distraction all the same. just when it seems there is nothing more to want/need/form/see, a random distraction/attraction/refraction shine. it’s the light. perhaps a bird in flight. a knitting needle – size eight / perhaps ten - in rotation. purl. purr. a kitty. no. only the fly. or was it a flea. either/or. neither/nor. a daily special all the same. inhale/exhale. breathe/relieve. tip. tap. nails on keys. soles on souls. quarter notes stream. time takes no cautions. days take no dare. just when it seems there is nothing more to ___, there remain many reasons ways to __take/make/bake__ five.

26 A to Z Unalphabetized Ways To __ Fake / Take / Make / Bake __ Five

1.     knit numbers of wool and cotton

2.     untangle quilts of letters and lyrics

3.     broadcast blessings over broken whole grain bread

4.     chop, dice, and simmer syllables on ice

5.     notify no one

6.     hail a taxi with moxie or by proxy (pay no regard to its unorthodoxy)

7.     dig for basement bands and five of a kind hands

8.     scrap hokey chatter & scrape cookie dough batter

9.     treasure sweet & sour tastings

10.  absorb aromatic offerings of lilac and honey

11.  quiet quickening beats beats beats / replace with retreats

12.  order spice racks from annatto to zedoary

13.  fuse recollections of photos past

14.  yank stray fibers from head and hand

15.  gaze with hesitation. graze without reservation

16.  recite / repeat / reimagine -- just take five

17.  multiply memorabilia manufactured of moments past

18.  veil shadows that loom and sounds that linger

19.  eyeball mannequins of heels and hose

20.  journal figures of sticks, prime time flicks, and evening candle wicks

21.  inhale. inhale. inhale.

22.  eXclaim not / eXhale / eXclaim not / eXhale

23.  whistle tunes of quartets & quarter time

24.  listen for lyrics that linger as basic trios transform time, space, & place

25.  pause ponderings. pause longings. pause meanderings.

26.  yield to oncoming traffic of mind and motor

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Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. She is a Best of the Net nominee, with stories, poems, and essays published in a wide variety of literary and scholarly journals. She is the author of Invisible Ink (Toho Pub), On Daily Puzzles: (Un)locking Invisibility (forthcoming, Moonstone Press), and Blindfolds, Bruises, and Breakups (forthcoming Atmosphere Press).