Dessert

The aroma of freshly baked sweets

Penetrates my nostrils

Reeling me in as if I’m a fish

Hooked by the sea of

Sweet sugar-crystal air

That chocolate fudge brownie

Towering mountain of melting ice cream

Like a waterfall of sugar-white froth

Sticky chocolaty syrup

Oozing down porous sides

Topped with real whipped cream

That melts in mouths

And forms the peak

Where I start to eat

That piece of ecstasy

After the first bite

Chocolate and vanilla

Swirling and swishing

Churning

In my mouth

That place where the soul

Ascends to the heavens

And returns to Earth

When only crumbs remain.

Katy Thompson

Block: 3

May 28, 2012

Vancouver on a Rainy Day

Shards of iridescent raindrops

Pelt, hammer, strike

Slide off steep rooftops

Shatter on my head

And scatter on the cold pavement

Leaving behind neon puddles

Reflections of towering edifices

That shoot down from the grey-stained sky

Like lightening bolts from sinister storm clouds

I splash my way through sidewalk puddles

Letting my old rubber boots get wet

They make a squish, slosh, squish

As water churns between my toes

After every step

Not afraid of the damp

As can be said of all true Vancouverites

I twirl my yellow umbrella

Between my hands

Above my head

And watch as water cascades down

On all sides

Katy Thompson
Block: 3
May 21, 2012

A Pastoral Painting

The white siding is peeling with age

Like a blister does with time

And the jade shutters swing

With the wild western wind

A creaky staircase

Leads up to a wrap-around porch

Woven baskets of carnations and tulips

Hang from the high ceiling

A dog-eared book rests on a cushioned chair

In the cobweb corner

A tall brick fireplace

Consumes the crackling logs

By the bay window

In the living room

And the kitchen has been swallowed up

By the yellow sun

An old grandfather clock ticks away

And its hour chimes find their way

To my bedroom

Where I sit amongst feather pillows

And floral wallpaper

On my window seat

Gazing out at the golden hew

Of rolling meadows

As the sun dips below

The distant hilltop.

Katy Thompson

Block: 3

May 14, 2012

Navigating the Namib Desert

I am walking on salmon-pink waves

No end in sight

To the sea of sand

A body as endless

As my thoughts

And most dazzling dreams

The pinnacle of a nearby dune

Collides into the teal sky

A steep slope

And an ambitious hope

To reach its summit tonight

Time for water and rest

To wipe the prolific beads of sweat

From my ripening face

The torrid climate

Barren landscape

And seething sand

An unforgiving terrain

I’ll make it to the crest by sundown

When the sun floats on the horizon

Engulfing me in a tidal wave

Of crimson and apricot

The last step was the longest

And then I collapsed

Under the dense blanket of stars

My pillow the soft sand

And the chirps of nearby birds

My soothing lullaby

Lizards slither and ostriches gather

On one of the darkest nights

In the oldest desert in the world

My unforgettable African adventure

Katy Thompson
Block: 3
May 7, 2012