Featured Poet: Christine Adele
Good morning and welcome to another Feature Friday! Today is the wonderfully talented Christine Adele! I met Christine just a short while ago when she submitted work to October Stories (and later, Rebirth) and have loved reading every piece I’ve seen. She also happens to be an incredibly sweet person. Check out some of her work below!
Cats Get It
The dogs steer clear
The cats lean in
Glass crashing at 3 a.m.
A normal thing
You know how crystal rings
But in the morning, nothing there
To the dogs, it’s rather a scare
Cats see the paranormal
Rather purranormal
Quite comfortable to me
Violet Blue
Never been beige
I’m violet
Violet blue
Never been much of a “team player”
More like a dreamstate seer
I color outside the lines
It’s good to leave the beige
And be who you are
Because being who you are not
Suffocates the soul
And that’s a very high toll
Not Enough Cheese
An alert on nextdoor
Prowler on Pebble Way
Caught a picture of him on ring
He tried to take the porch goose
But it was heavy and he was gangly
And he left it behind
An alert on nextdoor
Mary posted a picture of her Filet O’Fish
Only half a slice of cheese
It didn’t even cover the fish, she laments
Who puts cheese on fish, anyway?
Mary does. And she’s livid.
She names the location
She says not to go there
There are heart emojis for Mary
And the plight of only having half a slice
There were plenty of laugh reacts.
Sue commented “I hope this is the worse thing that happens to you”
I wish I had my red pen
But it wouldn’t matter anyway
Because I can’t use my red correction pen on my computer screen
I think to myself, “worst”, Sue, “worst”
Mary gets angry
She all-caps comments
WELL AT LEAST I AM NOT POSTING ABOUT PETS ABOUT REHOMING THEM OR POSTING JOKES SORRY
George quips “it’s not real cheese”
I am here just for the alerts
Just for the news on prowlers, pets who are lost, serious things
And I too, hope for Mary’s sake
That she suffers nothing more than the indignity of being cheated
Of half a slice of processed cheese product
Stop Talking
I stand in line at the Ice cream stand
I just want to get my turtle sundae and leave
I talk with people all day
I’m the confidante.
Now is my time away
I just want quiet
Along with ice cream of course
Nora is here with her grandparents
I know her name because she is climbing on the tables and chairs
And her grandparents keep saying “Nora, get off the table”, “Nora, get off the chairs”
Nora is very noisy and does what she wants
And she hasn’t even had any ice cream yet
I sigh and wish the line would go faster
And the lady behind me starts talking to me
I scream inside my head nooooooooooo
But she keeps going, as if there is an obligation to strike up a conversation with a stranger
In the ice cream line
So the grandparents are calling out to Nora, “Nora, please stop that”
And Nora does as she pleases
And I take in the breeze
On my face as I wonder why did I come here to hassle myself
The lady behind me tells me she is from Indy
And that she has a niece named Nora
And I think of something so I am not being rude
As she expects a response
Yet I don’t want to encourage the chatter
Sometimes I say things to discourage people,
To make them think I’m a bit off
So they leave me alone
So when the lady says “I have a niece named Nora”
I say “I have a cat named Sasha”
And just like magic, the lady stops talking.
Christine DeHart writes under the names Christine Howser and Christine Adele
She published a book as Christine Howser entitled “A Different Kind of Mother; Surviving the Loss of My Twins”.
She holds 3 degrees, an Associate of Arts from Indiana University, A Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership from University of Indianapolis and a Master of Social Work from Indiana University
She is a private practice psychotherapist licensed in Indiana and Arizona. She works with marginalized populations, seeing clients in her near downtown Indianapolis office as well as offering virtual sessions
She is an energy worker and Reiki Master Teacher, offering attunements and treatments
She is a bellydancer and cat and dog lady
She is an ordained Interfaith minister and officiates handfastingsand legal marriage ceremonies
She likes to write, make art, play with swords and veils and occasionally go to the shooting range
