Tiffany Painter

So I’ve been absent for a few weeks. It turns out you can’t always dodge the germs all around. And when one thing takes you down, another is happy to keep you down. When you throw a trip on top of this, your creative brain will strike. At least that’s what happened to me. A bout of stomach flu was followed with two weeks of a respiratory cold. The cold hit on the day I flew out of town which meant having no voice at the airport. Being away from home meant not enough rest. By the time I got home from the trip, I was only fit for long naps and mindless TV. I could only stare at my journal. Seventeen syllables were just too many for me to count. I couldn’t wonder about anything other than where did I leave my cough drops. But today, a friend reached out to me about my lack of posts. She didn’t do it to nag, but she said she missed seeing my weekly haikus and wonderings. This came at the end of an all-day writing conference; my first full day amongst the living. Knowing that somebody missed my writing and creating after being surrounded by fellow artist all day, I knew I owed it to her to get back in the game. I don’t have anything witty or crafty to say, but sometimes the first step back is just turning the computer on. To all my readers, I hope to enlighten you with something great next week.

3/9

little turtle friend
garden company waiting
for summer reading

3/11

loyal office mate
willing to discuss effort
prefers muted aid

3/13

they say storms coming
must prepare for heaps of snow
trees blanketed in

3/14

another March day
when everything has shut down
trapped on the inside

3/16

spring blossoms must wait
Jack Frost holding on ridgidly
branches must defrost