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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Hospitality (02/07/05)
True Confessions of an Inhospitable Soul

Hospitality?!? Whew! Not my gift!
Not by a mile, if you get my drift…
Spontaneous! Whoa there!
I’m breaking out in hives!
Just showing up at my door
Is not a good surprise.
I don’t do “inconvenience”
And I like to plan ahead.
Oh, by the way, God help you
If you get me out of bed.

I like to keep a schedule;
I pencil in my friends.
I have a pristine kitchen,
It’s not the kind that lends
Itself to feeding strangers
Or crumbs upon the floor.
I run to hide the vacuum
Before opening my door.

Oh, look outside! It’s just too bad…
All those travelers stranded!
Do I have a spare bed?” you ask.
Oh, dear, can I be candid?
My house is not set up for kids.
And I can’t handle the mess,
Or the sticky, little fingerprints
Of uninvited guests.

I’ve tried to be hospitable,
To work at having fun.
But halfway through the evening
I can’t wait till it’s all done.
I have such pretty dishes,
On display, inside my hutch.
I’d like to post a sign on them
That says, “Just look, don’t touch.”

I have a friend whom I admire.
She takes in every stray.
It’s funny, when I visit her
I want to stay all day.
She makes me feel so welcome.
Hospitality is her art.
I wish I could be more like her,
Giving freely from the heart.

Her house is cluttered with signs of life.
And nothing seems to match.
While you’re sitting in her kitchen,
She whipping up a batch
Of something that is sure to please
The folks that will drop in.
And while you’re there, she’ll fill you up
And bless you once again.

My friend’s filled with such devotion,
Like Mary, for her Lord.
While I am more like Martha,
Fleeing from the hungry hoards!
I am a work in progress.
And selfish I may be,
But, I’m learning from a good friend
About . . . H O S P I T A L I T Y.







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Member Comments
Member
Date
Lynda Lee Schab 
02/14/05
I loved this! Very clever and entertaining! And your honesty is very refreshing - and something I can definitely relate to since I am much the same!
Well done!
Blessings, Lynda
Karen Deikun
02/16/05
Great little poem. A lot to think about here.
donna robinson
02/20/05
Great rhythm going through this poem. Poetic speaking, it had a great "feeling" to the read. In terms of thought provoking, I just had to smile throughout the poem. It had that feel of writing from "experience" and yet I have a feeling you were the friend she visited...Just awesome!