The Poetry Marathon

Prompt from 2016 Marathon: Write a poem that contains one or more of the following common phrases but uses them in a different context than they are usually used. Ideally you would use more than one of the phrases, or repeatedly use the same phrase.

“Welcome home”
“Thank you”
“Excuse me”
“Have a nice day”
“Pardon me”
“How are you?”

Sometimes the thoughts crowding into the surprisingly limited space of my mind at night mill about, brushing against one another, pushing through the narrow aisles and seeking space to stand and breathe.
Pardon me.
Wherever or whatever keeps those thoughts carefully hidden during the bright and open hours of the day cannot hold them back when the darkness falls and the barriers fade to wisps of transparent smoke.
Excuse me.
Like the entirety of a bat colony taking flight from their cave of upside-down docility, these thoughts wing about, lacking precision, disdaining focus, calling out for chaotic collaboration.
Pardon me.
While a single entity calls for quiet, for the cacophony to subside in favor of the welcoming cavern of empty space that cradles sleep, the crowd laughs and jeers, sobs and stomps, cries out for the attention each one craves.
Excuse me.
The party lingers through the early morning hours, every uninvited guest promising to take their leave before lapsing into yet another telling of the story everyone else already knows by heart.
Pardon me.
And finally, as dawn’s massaging fingers creep above the horizon, those raucous, self-serving thoughts begin to stretch, and yawn, and slip away into their private, unreachable realm.
Welcome home.

Prompt: Humorous account of workplace

I am settling into a new role in life,
Taking on the mantle of reading tutor.
Sharing my passion for words and stories,
With lovely, eager boys and girls
Wearing big bright smiles
And wanting so much to please.

I sit with every child
For their allotted time each day,
And we explore letters and sounds,
Digraphs, blends and magic e’s,
And practice reading with the smooth fluidity
Of everyday, every-person speech.

I sit with them, and yet far from them,
Because they are in front of their laptop,
And I in front of mine.
And when the vital internet connection
Struggles and glitches and lags,
One sweet little boy in Arkansas
Frantically taps his screen and calls,
“Ma’am! Ma’am! Are you OK?
You’re frozen.”

My name is Angie, and I am absolutely ready to write! I am camping, however, so my internet connection is very weak and unreliable. My poems will be written each hour, but they may get posted in bunches as I drive somewhere for better online access.

I can’t wait to see what you all write!!! (And, go Tessa!)

one species, classified
homo sapiens for centuries,
longer.
no longer.
species broken, fractured.
irreversibly, irreparably split.

the only reasonable explanation.
how else to understand
the great divide
among the peoples of the earth?

the crack’s jagged edge
cuts not along color or race,
language or nations.
this division runs deeper.
deep through the hearts, the very souls
of humankind.

compassion versus criticism,
empathy against blame,
respect for knowledge wars with willful ignorance.

collective responsibility
personal responsibility
culpability?

love for others, love for earth, love of self, love of the almighty dollar.
greed and selfishness take on generosity.
altruism. narcissism. oblivion.

love. hate.
me. you.
no longer one.
no longer us.
the one becomes two.

(Hour 7, Poetry Marathon 2020. Prompt: Title a poem “Season of the ____________.”)

I am taking on the challenge of the full marathon for the first time this year. As I get older, sleep becomes a more precious commodity, so I’m a bit nervous … not about making it through the marathon, but about making it through YMCA camp with 25 kids the following week after the sleep disruption! Writing is important to me, though, and the last time I participated in the half-marathon, it launched me into a more disciplined routine for writing for the following few months. Here’s hoping I can keep it going longer this time!

Although I have earned a living through writing for more than 20 years, this is the first time I have participated in a group writing venture like this one. The prospect excites me!

Most of my written work has been for newspapers, magazines and curriculum; I haven’t written poetry consistently since my college years. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of creative energy I have now, and to improving my creative writing skills for the future.

My 16-year-old daughter plans to join me in the half-marathon, too. I encouraged my older daughter, a creative writing major entering her sophomore year in college, to sign up, but she is particularly stubborn about not doing anything that comes with a recommendation from her mother. (Sigh.) Maybe next year!

As soon as I finish writing a Little League baseball story for the newspaper and editing the August newsletter for my church tomorrow, I plan to devote myself to exercising my poetry muscles and preparing for the half-marathon.

The newspaper I work for has recently been bought by a large media company, and the stress levels have been high as everyone waits to see who will keep their jobs and what our new working conditions will look like. This half-marathon represents a welcome respite from those concerns and an opportunity to just “put pen to paper,” or fingers to keys, more likely.

Happy writing, everyone!