{"id":372,"date":"2026-02-03T14:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=372"},"modified":"2026-02-04T21:10:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T21:10:32","slug":"stimuliiiiii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=372","title":{"rendered":"Stimuliiiiii"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Shy of seven thirty weekday morning and already
infinite sources of noise penetrate my skull 
vying and jostling to be decoded and 
ingested as information: 

Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s GUTS<\/em> album blasts through the house
pouring down the stairs from a bedroom above
occupied by a teen who stomps as they
 \u2014 allegedly \u2014 ready for school

Down below, from a smart speaker floats dialogue
as radio commentator and interview subject banter
and spin, slice and back-serve dancing around stories
\u201cYes, yes but Senator; returning to the question, can you expand?\u201d

Do I smell burning? 
Is that a brain tumor or \u2014 
Toaster beeps<\/em>
Nope, it\u2019s scorched carbs
I need to get that\u2014

But I\u2019m already in the laundry room
following a plaintive bleat: 
UL! UL! UL!<\/em> The washer blinks from LED
Uneven Load<\/em> \u2014 Save our Sheets.<\/em>
Open washer, see bedsheets twisted into sudsy,
incorrigible Celtic knots, petulantly declaring war:
How dare you leave me unsupervised?<\/em>
Heave up thick soaked sections to unwind them
Plunged up to my forearms in slick icy wet 
I shudder as skin saturates with cold and ick\u2014

Go wash my hands and forearms
in closest powder room to scrub
surfactants and chelates and enzymes
and perfumes and polymers 
and grit off and away
from my reddening flesh.

Microwave reminder signal dings
beep beep! <\/em>
What was I heating again?

Return to kitchen to assess the scene
No evidence of school prep, 
no helpful little human about
hustling and bustling.
\u201cIt\u2019s time to come down!\u201d I summon.

Turn to fruit stand to retrieve a Cavendish; 
alas the hook is empty\u2014
\u201cHey Siri, add \u2018Bananas\u2019 to \u2018Shopping List\u2019\u201d
I instruct to the air, with careful em-pha-sis.
But Siri mocks me, playing goalie: 
Who is Speaking?
Who is Speaking?<\/em>
Am I invisible and inaudible? 
Forget it! <\/em>I huff\u2014 

Electric kettle thrums
nearing a rolling boil
Oh right, tea\u2014  

Phone chirps with endless notifications
from one of any eighty apps

Headline: partial government shutdown still in force with not end in sight...<\/em>

Apple Fitness: Great job closing your rings yesterday! Can you do it again?<\/em>

Breaking News alert: Disney CEO named<\/em>...

iMessage: W-2 should be in the mail today...<\/em>

Peloton app: Get ready! Your scheduled meditation begins in fifteen minutes!<\/em>

Email: Don't forget! Masterclass meets tonight! <\/em>

County push notification: Important: TWO HOUR DELAY TOMORROW!<\/em>

Clench teeth
\u2014but then stop myself, release\u2014
can\u2019t mess up all that pricey dentistry and orthodontic work\u2014

Feel wrist pulsing, my Apple Watch
emits haptic vibration, look down 
Incoming Call<\/em>
Husband, likely to game-plan our day\u2014
Oops too late on my reaction time
will need to call him back\u2014

Chalk caterwauls on blackboard as 
I scrawl an after-school checklist.
Pink powder coats my finger pads
ugh<\/em> go to kitchen sink to wash off\u2014
more hand soap; 
find faucet stuck on Spray mode
waterfall in miniature pounding 
against steel basin 
obliterating my ears in spatial audio.

Super-auto German coffee machine squawks from the corner:
Cleaning Mode Initiated<\/em>\u2014

\u2014more toweling, more drying of limbs 
and distal appendages\u2014my skin is going to be so dry\u2014

Child appears; thrusts a warm laptop three inches from my eyes:
What do you think of this top? Can I buy three? Will you pick them up? Or should I pay for express shipping? I am thinking I will buy \u2014 <\/em>

I cut in: 
Did you pack your backpack?
Grab your coat? Get your socks? Find your shoes?
Pack your lunch? Fill your water bottle?

The answer to all: 
Mom YES obviously!<\/em>
She plods off in a plume of discontent
although I hear her resume humming as she turns the corner\u2014

In-door fridge dispenser churns
out ice: 
Thump clunk thwack <\/em>it ricochets
off Yeti bottle rim
Water swishes out in a tight
high-pitched stream\u2014

The air fills with the Look-at-Me screech 
of water hitting 212 degrees Fahrenheit 
Click! Goes the button as it hits temp;
Beep-beep-beep! <\/em>Blares the kettle
Tea will have to wait\u2014

Back to fledging this offspring:
If you want a ride you need to be fully ready! 
I AM!<\/em>
We\u2019re leaving in thirty seconds!
OK whatever! Gosh I\u2019m ready!<\/em>
Where is your coat?
It\u2019s in my bag! <\/em>
Are you sure?
Mom YEAH!<\/em>

Ignored kettle re-boils, beeps again
\u201cI will be back!\u201d 
I half promise, part scold it.

I grab keys which scrape
metallic screams against the hook
Purse hits the frame of the door, 
handle catches on knob - ow! <\/em>

I am yanked back with oppositional force
I grunt as I rub my pulled shoulder\u2014
Click garage door \u2014 mechanism whirls
and it grunts, too.

Everything envelopes me
I feel hear smell touch taste experience 
s t i m u l i i i i.<\/strong><\/em>

Swing car door shut 
Sit on arctic leather seat \u2014oooph!<\/em>
Clutch frigid wheel
Shiver and wait; birds warble.

Where is this child? Seriously! 
I drum my fingertips on the dash 
bidding her presence
Then, when I can\u2019t wait any longer 
I rap steering wheel horn lightly -ever just so- 
and an anemic honk emits
Can\u2019t be too loud, of course, 
can\u2019t be That Neighbor.

Stare at garage, gaping open, 
willing her to appear as tensions mount
Blood tingles through my face
I know how the kettle feels<\/em>\u2014

See motion at front door
kid emerges from there
What? Why the switch-up?<\/em>

Close now irrelevant garage remotely
it clunks close
Mom I\u2019m gonna be late!<\/em>
She brays, laying fault on me.

Deep breath \u2014 
air whooshes<\/em> by my ears\u2014

We wend our way through the perils 
twists and turns 
of winter streets narrowed by
snowcrete embankments\u2014

And we hear
Shovels on icy driveways
Dogs barking
Crows cawing
Cars squeals on cold tires
Irritated parents honking 
as four-way stops 
become risky roulette:
Who is more important?
Their perceived value of time
Or my rightful position?
Not the law, clearly\u2014<\/em>

Finally at school:
I love you honey, have a great day!
Yah bye.<\/em>
Door thwacks close.

A visual enters my mind \u2014her coat was in the mud room by the garage, I saw it.
It couldn't have been in her backpack, she fibbed to me\u2014I shake it off.

Silence<\/strong><\/em>

Exhale deeply
cast silent prayer that
I just might 
get through today\u2014

Low Fuel! <\/em>
The dash announces
interrupting peace.
I guess I'll meditate in motion.














<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Stimuliiiiii,” written February 3rd, poem 034 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. Photo: “Slightly Maniacal Human on Cobblestones,” Paris, France, by Diana Ludwick (c) 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[57,62,40,56,61,58,10,60,59,43],"class_list":["post-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-poetry-challenge","category-poems","tag-february","tag-information","tag-kids","tag-mother-daughter-dynamics","tag-noise","tag-overstimulated","tag-parenting","tag-routine","tag-stimuli","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":394,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions\/394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}