March #SOL22 Day 18 and Poetry Friday – A Perverse Amusement Park

Day 18 of March #SOL22
Today’s Poetry Friday

Keith prayed for us yesterday morning before we started painting–he prayed for a good and safe day, that we would be productive and live in the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.)

He came back from Home Depot saying, “Are you ready for some fun? I got a 3M Hand-Masker, so you can tape up the windows, and I’ll spray.”

After we both tried the tape dispenser a few times, I threw it down and said, “This is a piece of garbage. How much did you pay for this stupid contraption? Why are you being so patient with it. It’s obviously broken or defective. It deserves no patience. Some things in life call for the fruit of the flesh–like a fit of anger over this worthless piece of s*%^!”

Painting a house
is a perverse amusement park,
which is to say there is occasional fun–
like waving around a squirt gun with paint in it
and eating Snickers bars my husband brought home–
but I fear the evil lurking around
all the bone-headed mistakes,
overspray, wasted paint,
and harsh words.
I fear I will never be able to exit.
Yesterday I cried,
fell off a step stool,
cursed my husband,
prayed for mercy,
and lay on the cold tile floor.
Not necessarily in that order.
And we aren’t even
finished with the priming.
There is no departure,
no way to get out.
Every morning, we get up
for another rollicking day
at the amusement park from hell.

On another note, my husband has been trying to help us keep perspective and awareness of our privilege in having a house to paint. While we were having trouble figuring out the sprayer, he said, “I was just thinking about all the people in Ukraine who don’t even have a house left to go to.”

Those are just a few snippets of yesterday’s painting. Today we took the day off–not a drop of paint involved–we went into Palm Springs for lunch and shopping.

Taylor Mali, creator of metaphor dice, is hosting a contest. He’ll also be collecting poems for an anthology containing poems that have been written using his metaphor dice by adults and students. Have you written a metaphor dice poem before? The one above is my second try. The deadline for submission is April 30. Click to see the simple submission guidelines.

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Ruth Hersey at There is No Such Thing as a God-forsaken Town with a sweet bird-watching moment captured in a haibun. Today is Day 18 of the March #SOL22 challenge.

8 thoughts on “March #SOL22 Day 18 and Poetry Friday – A Perverse Amusement Park

  1. Dear Denise, I’m so sorry your painting is not going as planned by glad you found humor and got a day off for lunch and shopping. I love metaphor five. I’ll have to submit a poem. Thanks for alerting me to the contest. I wish we could be there to help w/ the painting. ken is really a whiz w/ tools, but he’s likely cuss, too.

    1. Thank you, Glenda. I’m so glad I could tell you about the poem contest. There is a $1000 prize for the first place poem too! Thanks so much for your sweet encouragement.

  2. So sorry about the painting! But thanks for participating!

  3. Oh, Denise. What a story–and a poem. I snorted when I got to, “And we aren’t even
    finished with the priming.” It’s all about perspective, isn’t it? Which is valid and helpful! But someone who lost their child said to me, when I bumbled on about something a year or so later, saying my own loss (which I don’t even remember what I was grieving over then) was so tiny compared to theirs, she said, “My loss doesn’t negate the feeling of your loss. We all feel grief deeply over different things.” Or something to that effect. So very gracious. So this week, I have cried over the situation in Ukraine, donated money, and also cursed the fact of our car needing new tires. This is life. Thanks for sharing both your story and poem :>)

  4. Sounds like you and your husband balance each other nicely. Brilliant idea to take a day off, too!! 🙂

  5. I know it was unpleasant to live, but your poem did make me laugh 🙂 Good luck as you keep moving forward. Sending a hug!

  6. Denise, I truly understand how frustration relentlessly pounds the mind and causes outbursts. Your poem speaks so well of how frustration gets in the way of peace. Rollicking days is an interesting thought to explain the ups and downs of life. Your husband is wise in bringing up the fact that you have a house. I know too well the issue of moving. One year later and I am still sorting out my boxes. Hang in there!

Comments are closed.