Hooptedoodle

Noisy black birds
fly across the horizon
of my mind

Tiny busy ants
scurry in all directions
inside my head

Tangled kudzu vines
choke out the focus
of creative thought

Stop
Notice

Create a still space
think the thought with intent

Create another still space
before thinking another thought

 

 This poem is about mental hooptedoodle. What is hooptedoodle you may ask?  Here’s what a character in John Steinbeck’s novel, Sweet Tuesday, says about it:

 “Sometimes I want a book to break loose with a bunch of hooptedoodle. . .  Spin up some pretty words maybe or sing a little song with language. That’s nice. But I wish it was set aside so I don’t have to read it. I don’t want hooptedoodle to get mixed up with the story.”

 Photo by Barth Bailey courtesy of Unsplash