196. NIGHT WINDS It was the time of year when night winds were more hot than warm and love waited just beyond her trembling heartbeat. *comments welcome A shadorma is a six-line syllabic poetic form (a sestet)  that is typically unrhymed. It has a strict syllable count  per line of 3/5/3/3/7/5, totaling 26 syllables per stanza.

  196. EARLY MORNING STORM Spilling from brimming clouds, rain batters her open window, soaks gauzy bedroom curtains. Hard shatters break the silence, thunder and lightning explode, spewing from every direction. In the yard, a puddle shimmers at the bottom of the garden steps where her mother's mint grows. Heavy with raindrops, a leaf falls across the soggy page of the day. *comments welcome

195. the moon leaves a trail gleaming in the dark night sky sequence on water *comments welcome

194. bowlful of blue sky day blind stars shine above me air fresh and alive *comments welcome

193. AFTERNOON SHADOWS My dad came by today. He found me in the backyard  digging dandelions. I hate the hot sun but Dad loved it and that's where we ended up. I shifted my chair until  I found a corner of late shade. Then we listened to old show tunes, something from South Pacific, on his ancient pocket transistor radio, the air heavy with the rich smell of freshly mowed grass and wayward lavender. A plane soared high above, tiny glittering silver blip. The far-off motor buzzed faintly, a fat robotic summer bee. I offered a glass of iced tea with translucent slices  of glossy yellow lemons but he shook his head no. Memories joined us  as we sat side by side, holding hands, easy and peaceful  like I'd always hoped we'd be. I dozed in the heat and  when I woke up he was gone. It was sweet and sad and I didn't want to let go. *comments welcome

192.  Just after sunset deep indigo fills the sky it's called the Blue Hour *comments welcome deep cool indigo fills the sky after sunset the blue twilight hour *comments welcome Just after sunset a brief window of twilight the Blue Hour arrives the Blue Hour arrives deep indigo fills the sky just after sunset

 191. she peeks at the moon from the narrow hall window then yawns to her bed *comments welcome

 190. a drift of shadow memory shakes itself loose whispers fill the sky *comments welcome

  Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Marianne McNamara S d r s n o o e p t 0 t a 1 8 i a 2 g l 0 8 1 f 3 u h i f 4 f i m 3 M i h 0 2 i 1 3 l   6 3 t h g 9 0 4 c f 4 r 0 1 i 3   · DAY 73 - WITH A SURCINGLE BELT March 30, 2026 73. WITH A SURCINGLE BELT The summer after senior year, no more babysitting! First real job, part-time The Villager, Har Mar Mall. Classic 1960s boutique shop, preppy A-line skirts, Oxford button-down blouses, wool blazers, bermuda shorts. Madras plaid mania, guaranteed to bleed. First paycheck bought me avocado green shirtwaist dress with a woven surcingle belt: heavy cotton webbing, leather tabs...