"First Draft"

words     

scratched out   

circled   

jotted to the side   

in the margins   

illusive thoughts   

vanishing   

into mists   

never taking form   

mistakes   

creating   

transforming     

white noise  

into harmony   

Copyright 2011 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

“Crunching Numbers”

All the monthly numbers line up as pretty as can be.   

Adding and subtracting, calculating effortlessly.   

  Projecting into the future, making a studied plan.   

  Predicting misadventures—like when the shit hits the fan.   

  The broken pipe that floods the house, and then the leaking roof   

  join up with the shredded tire, and united stand in proof   

  that budgets act as guidelines, and can’t always be obeyed.   

  The surprising ups and downs of Life just get in the way.   

Copyright 2012 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman