The Fluff

When I was 12, my very best friend was in high school. We didn't see each other very often, but we wrote each other emails pretty consistently for two years and have stayed in touch off and on ever since. I'd write about school, life in the garden, and random bits of stories. She liked writing stories and poetry too, so sometimes we'd give each other story prompts and come up with really crazy and ridiculous short stories about lost cities, princesses, and maybe a dragon or two. 

Perhaps a year after we met, we were trading story prompts once a month. We'd just finished writing stories about my prompt The Lost City of Atlanta (I'd forgotten it was Atlantis. I was 13. Don't judge.). After laughing at how different our stories were, hers about that random city in Georgia that suddenly went missing, and mine about a city under the sea, she emailed our next prompt--Dr. Seuss. 

I was thrilled. I'd always wanted to make up silly words and write poetry about nothing. (That was my kid perception of anything Dr. Seuss). What I didn't anticipate was writing a poem about something actually deep and important. Oops. 

On the bright side, I think I won "Best Story Award" for this prompt for my rendition of Dr. Seuss level hilarity with a touch of life lesson. 

The Fluff - May 2013

With heavy a heart, I looked down at the fluff.

Oh, what horrible fluff! Oh, the fluff all a-muff.

The fluff was supposed to be wonderafull

With things it would show without even a toll.

How sad it was then that it did not work.

It showed me the things in my life all a-querk.

It refused to show me the things that would be.

It only would show what had happened to me!

I already knew what went on in my life,

I wanted to know of a time without strife!

With the horrible fluff I was all snappy.

With the fluff in my life I was not at all happy.

Not that I had been happy before,

It's only that now I was sadness galore.

Oh my life was a mess and it wasn't quite fair!

All the others had fluff that would share!

Their fluff would show them just what would happen!

All my fluff would show was my life-strings a-flappin'!

Flappin' because there was no purpose for me

But to make sure I filled my quota of plea.

All of my friends were so happy.

None of them was so snappy.

 

Only my fluff was different!

Only my fluff all figgerant!

Only me! Only me who couldn't be happy.

Instead I was forced to stay quite, quite, quite snappy!

It was force, yes it was. I was forced into it!

It wasn't my fault that the fluff threw a fit.

A fit that refused to show me what would be!

A fit only showing what I could already see. 

I could see that my life wasn't all spick-and-span!

I just couldn't conjure up even one little plan.

I didn't want to change the future,

The fluff was supposed to do that by measure.

It should have measured the luck equally,

But my "friends" had all luck, and I didn't have any.

I mean, seriously, my life wasn't that bad!

The fluff only had to change me a small tad!

 

I looked down at my fluff one last time and could see

The things I had thought it refused to show me.

It had shown me my future if I didn't change!

It had shown me what I, myself, would have to arrange!

I just hadn't wanted to realize for me,

That if I didn't change, that was what I would be.