Melissa is hosting Tuesday’s d’Verse prompt: Where do we go from here? You can read more about it here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/08/19/where-do-we-go-from-here/

Our Home

Walking through my house

the original farmhouse for this area

purported to be haunted

by the ghosts of outlaws

shot by the authorities

in the early 1930s

I’ve not seen, or felt, any signs

of these vicious murderers

This is the home

TC and I have built together

during our 25-year marriage

each room is a tribute

to our collective and individual

passions and interests

Our lounge is filled

with African artwork

paintings and beadwork

from our local travels

My African doll collection

has expanded to include

a collection of stone animals

reminders of visits to Kenya

a wooden crocodile from Botswana

and clay animals from the Drakensberg

The dining room is the foreign quarter

packed with dolls from all over the world

India, Japan, Hungary, Vienna, Korea,

China, Netherlands, Poland, and Norway

Antique dolls, vintage dolls, cloth dolls,

leather bodied dolls, wooden dolls,

china dolls, a Judy without a Punch,

and, of course, Peter Rabbit

from my Christening,

and a collection of bears

Lastly, the corridor

it’s long and lit with downlighters

to illuminate my paintings

mostly animals, mostly acrylics

some watercolours

a jacaranda tree,

a visual celebration

of my latest obsession

As I walk, I wonder

What will come next?

I mentioned to TC

that I’d like to try sculpture

and he just smiled

Ange’s prompt for W3 this week is to write a poem for a painting. I chose this one:

You can join in W3 here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2025/08/20/w3-prompt-173-weave-written-weekly/

Womanly Chaos

The beauty of the female form

soft and nurturning

reaching its peak during pregnancy

when one life creates another

it’s hard to imagine

the chaos that lies

in the wake of a woman

as she sheds her young girl skin

explosing her more mature self

the physical often

not matching the mental state

adult thoughts and desires

warring with a young girl’s

dreams and emotions

As time passes

the older woman again

shed her skin

new identity emerging

sandwiched between

older teen and young adult kids

trying to detach and spread their wings

and elderly parents with health issues

Hormones transitioning

she slithers into the fresh territory

of a middle aged woman

surrounded by choas

as she balances life changes

with life circumstances

preparing herself for one last makeover

the move into retirement

and perhaps a grandmother

Thursday Doors

You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2025/08/21/moynihan-train-hall/

This week I am featuring St Thomas Eglin General Hospital in London and the Florence Nightingale Museum which is around the corner from the hospital. Florence Nightingale is considered to be the founder of nursing.