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Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

November 18, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Alexander Hall, Baylor University
Alexander Hall, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
 
 
Saturday night. First weekend in
Waco. My room is tiny,
Every bit the size of my closet back home.
Evening spreads over the Brazos River, filtering
Through the Live Oak branches outside my
Dorm room. Above me stars   
Reflect and twinkle, the same Big Dipper over the same 
Earth. Yet everything feels different… The
Allure of laughter draws me into the common room, to a
Mahogany table covered in newspaper.
Situated in the center, a pile of panties? I’m not in
Arkansas anymore… more like the other side of the globe. A
Roomful of girls sit with heads down
Each busy at work.  Days of the week, black satin,
Multi-colored, every style panty imaginable spread
Across the table. They paint names and phone numbers
Down the sides and even on the crotch! My super
Excited roommate, a girl who   
Organizes her Izod shirts by color, squeals it’ll be
Fun! A 100 year old Baylor
Tradition—the first freshman panty raid of the semester.
Hurry! Grabbing my craziest red plaid Christmas bikinis,
I draw a heart and toss my name to the
Sidewalk below. 

Baylor University retro sailor bear
Sic ’em Bears!

 

talya
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

This was written especially for FEARLESS FRIDAY PRACTICE –Think of a song you listened to over and over at a crossroads point in your life. Note to yourself the emotion you felt connected with this song. Do an acrostic off the title of this song. Write about a specific event in the period in your life the song’s associated with, but DON’T use the emotion or a synonym — rather, let the emotion be expressed by the specific telling of the event.


Somewhere in the acrostic, include the following words: newspaper, branch, mate, globe, plaid, Big Dipper.

P.S. If you are reading this post from your phone, the acrostic phrase may not line up correctly…Oh well.
Musical Pairing:

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Eurythmics

 

Mother and Child

November 15, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

They sit together like this every night, his downy head nestling underneath her chin. Moonlight peeps through the window spreading a glow over the tiny room filled with baby things. All is calm, all is quiet other than the rhythmic sound of chair runner against hard wood floor. She considers all the babies soothed in this old rocker, handed down from past generations. He wraps his warm hand around her finger. She breathes him in. Powder, milk, sweetness. She wonders who he will become.
Writing Prompt: Conversation with no words…
photo courtesy of mvictor @ morgueFile

This was written especially for GBE 2: Blog On Week 130 – Prompt:  a conversation with no words…

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Another Halloween

November 4, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Another Halloween - creative writing prompt



I am a scarecrow
Wielding two thousand pieces of candy,
One by one, to make it last.
Really? Yes, really. Two thousand…
Kids queue from curb to porch, an
Exceptional sunflower costume—
Xtra piece for you. Por Favor
Chocolate? Yes,
Everyone’s favorite. The
Line squirms and snakes
Longer, as the sugared-up and
Eager clamor for more, more.
Now wait—haven’t you already been here
Tonight? The hour grows
Late.
You refill my wine glass
Up to the rim. Even scarecrows
Need Pinot. Leftover lentil soup for
Dinner? What dinner? No time to 
Eat. I’ll feast on Milk Duds.
Really it’s allowed tonight,
Practically expected.
Required even. 
Enhanced excitement. Big 
Sister reminding little brother—
Say ‘Trick or Treat’, don’t forget…
Underneath an almost full moon
Reawakened memories mold my thoughts,
Envelop me.
Really? You aren’t wearing a costume…
Even adults scam for sugar
Parading infants, holding them high, a
Lion King offering
Into the air as justification.
Eastward, clouds 
Dance around the black treeline. 
Quietly I creep from my post
Undetected during a lull in the sweet-
Eating throngs. This scarecrow is
Entirely out of goodies, down to one
Nasty, sticky piece lodged
In the bottom of her plastic cauldron. 
Empty.Sorry, no mas.

Another Halloween - creative writing prompt - Munger Place
Munger Place Halloween


talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

This was written especially for FEARLESS FRIDAY PRACTICE –An acrostic off the following phrase… “I work excellently under pressure,” replied Queenie.

Plus, include the following words: restless, lentil, sunflower, glass, overcast, air and mold.
 

P.S. If you are reading this post from your phone, the acrostic phrase may not line up correctly…Oh well.


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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25
  • Maggie and Miss Ladybug: My New Children’s Nature Book
  • Sunday Letter: November 9, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 26, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 5, 2025

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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