Write a poem about the feeling of getting lost in a book

Smooth, glossy pages
Slip between fingers
Eager to turn to the next

The soft smell
Of ink...
And press...
And age...
Unique to all libraries,
Book stores, and bookcases

The first sentence
Drags me in
Catching my attention
Pushing the world away

The sounds
Of battle...
Of adventure...
Of romance...
Fill my head
Forcing reality's
Humdrum issues away

Experiencing the
Hopes...
Sadness...
Fears...
Struggles...
Of lives lived only on
These pages

Watching them
breathe and stretch
Becoming more human
Than myself for a time

Write a poem that includes the words -- pea, mirror, bikini

Staring in the mirror
What do I see?
Months of eating nothing
Except salad and some peas.

I have been on a diet
All my life is seems
Hoping to fit into
The bikini of my dreams

But have I really done it?
Am I small enough?
Will others even notice
I look pretty buff?

I pull on my bikini
I'm heading toward the lake
But why, I stop and wonder,
Not first eat a slice of cake?

Write a poem that is only fifteen words long.

Fifteen going on Sixteen

child, daughter
growing up 
in a blur of motion
baby, adolescent,
almost sixteen
My heart swells.

On Facebook

Ingenious
Connections

Friends 
Friends of friends
Acquaintances
Co-Workers
Strangers

Commenting
And liking
Posts and Re-Posts
Memes and rumors
Legends and myths
Lies and facts

Crafted truth
Focus and refocus 
On life -- A gilded reality
Of pictures and pokes
Comments and likes

Do we live these lives
Or is this
merely
performance art?

Back to School

Nerves biting
At my stomach
Monarch Butterflies
Migrating
At the end of summer

Expectations and fears
Gather together
Gaining strength
Until I can't sit still
Ants running up my legs

Ready early
Costume picked out
Ahead of time
Mask and smile
in place

Will they notice
That I am nervous too?
It's like starting a new job
With new
Adolescent bosses

This is my
44th year of school
The last 27 of which
Were spent
In 7th and 8th grade

You'd
Think
I
Wouldn't
Be
Nervous!

Write a poem that is a letter addressed to a stranger.

Dear Foodlion clerk,

Once a week
Sometimes more
We meet at the cash register 
At the Grocery store.

"How are you?"
"Paper? Plastic?"
Is there any way you could
Be less enthusiastic?

I try to start a conversation
"Yes, Ma'am" 
You reply, and I suddenly
Feel older than Birmingham.

You take my coupons
You fill my bags
With soulless, hopeless eyes 
Waving a silent white flag.

"Have a nice day," you say 
But you aren't talking to me
You are on autopilot
Your eyes don't see.

I want to connect
I want to say,
"Your life can't be that bad
There will come a brighter day."

But I say instead,
"You too."
And I fall back into my own life
Until next week when I see you.