The Poetry Marathon

The Christmas Angel

Quite a few years ago, on a bittersweet Christmas day

My family got together, all of us I must say.

Family came from far and near with one thing on our mind

It was most likely going to be my uncles last Christmas

He was running out of time.

The presents were all given, our tummies had been filled

There was one thing left for us to do, our wish would be fulfilled.

We wanted a Christmas picture to commemorate this day.

How would we manage it? Who would take it and be out of the way?

We thought and long we pondered, and then we thought some more.

And as we were all thinking, a knock came at our door.

In complete surprise we answered it, to find a family friend there

They had never come by on Christmas day, but now, an answer to a prayer.

The friends they took the picture, with Christmas blessings went on their way

They were our Christmas Angels, who saved that Christmas Day.

So now we have the picture, a precious memory to later view

For my uncle passed a few weeks later, it was his last Christmas, too.

The 80’s Tech

I remember as a teenager having my finger at the ready

To push the button on my boombox, I’d have to hold it steady.

I’d wait and wait some more, just waiting for a song

To record at the right time, sometimes I’d have to wait so long.

I’d finally get the song, and in the summers heat

My cassette would frustratingly melt, I would feel defeat.

Other times it would unravel, a pencil I would grab

I would have to wind it carefully, be careful not to stab.

When I finally got my mixtape perfected I would place

It in my Walkman happily, turn it up and hear that bass.

I still have so many cassette tapes, a holdover from my youth

To get rid of them would break my heart, and that is the truth.

Heated passion, joy to share

Devout respect, mutual care

Sweet affection, happy times

Get together, hear the chimes

Of a yearning bell, full of desire

Fondness, yearning, warmth of fire.

Adulation that slowly grows

Infatuation in time it shows.

Appreciate these feelings when

You find them, lest they don’t come again.

A

plane

is a vessel

for adventurers

To take you many places unknown

Other countries to explore and learn

Many sights to see                                    Many things to experience

When I was a child I hoped to see        Cloud people living like you and me

On top of the clouds watching us fly    Shaking their heads as we went on by

Throwing rainbow darts into the air

With thunderclouds within their hair

Many a daydream I dreamed up high

Trying to see with

My little eyes

The sun

The stars

Earth moon mars

Eternity.

Finding yourself can be difficult

In this crazy, hectic world.

Take your troubles into nature

Let all your worries unfurl.

Spend some time nurturing flowers

Smell the soil, water it well

If you focus, you can tell.

The plants will feed your soul

Renew your spirit too

In a reciprocal situation

And you’ll both be like new.

—————————

Inspiration taken from Braiding Sweetgrass, in which Robin Wall Kimmerer writes — ‘In some Native languages the term for plants translates to “those who take care of us.’

Wash Day

Dirty clothes in the hamper

Wet towels on the bathroom door

Mismatched socks hiding here and there

I search for them all over the floor.

I gather all the pieces up

And into the basket I load

Each fetid, smelly item

Down the stairs to the basement I go.

A laundry pod….

Some softener….

Some smellies that I adore…

Then I load up the washer with nasties

And hastily close the door.

I wait until I hear the sound

That the current load is done.

I make my way back down the stairs

Oh this is so much fun!

I stuff the clothes in the dryer

And roll my tired eyes

I start it up and go my way

With a world weary sigh.

At last I hear the buzzer

The clothes at last are through.

I gently remove them from the dryer

And fold them up for me and you.

1. When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke
2. “It came as a great surprise to me.” “I had no objections.”
3. “It came as a great surprise to me.”

Surprise

It came as a great surprise to me

When I saw the flower on the tree.

The tree was normally not one to have

Flowers, what a mystery!

It came as a great surprise to me

When I heard a bird call with glee

From the tree that held the flower, sure

With laughter I began to search some more.

It came as a great surprise to me

When I heard the buzzing of a bee

In the depths of the foliage, loud it cried

I looked even closer and then I spied.

Imagine the great surprise to me

When I spent some time so carefree

Searching the shrub and lo I beheld

A child hiding within, and I yelled!

It came as a great surprise to me

To find the child hidden craftily

He held out a flower, and softly whirred

And then whistled like a bird.

A Red Fantasy

I have been up in the mountains

I have traveled on the sea.

I have been to far off countries

But there’s one place I’d love to be.

I want to visit Mars one day

The red planet, so far away

I want to hike along its red dunes

Take a sail through its dried up bays.

Imagine seeing its fantastical moons

From the surface where I long to roam.

Taking cover while the wild sands blow

Making a crater my new home.

One day I will make that journey

Flying through outer space

I will see the red planet for myself

Have swirling winds whip in my face.

In the Shadow of the Moon

A darkness surrounds me

Lack of sun

End of day.

I look up

All around me

There is little I can say.

I lift my eyes to the sky

See the moon

I smile.

I am grateful

So grateful

To be in this trial.

I turn in the starshine

No moon

In my sight

I look down

A moon shadow

At my feet, feels so right.

A strange lethargy overcomes me

As I sit outside in the heat

I lift up my bottle of water

Staring at the treeline past my feet.

I zoom into the cottage

To eat a bowl of porridge so bland

I mask the lack of flavor with berries

That I picked on my own land.

I watch the sun begin to fall

Below the horizon of trees

A firefly alights on the porch

Bracing itself against the breeze.