The Poetry Marathon

Plato said,

Once we were whole

four arms, four legs, and two heads

We had long conversations with ourselves

and assisted each other in daily life

We were never alone

But then Zeus

(the actual reason for 90% of drama in Greek mythology)

threw down thunderbolts

and split us in half

His reasoning being

we would gain too much power

Thus leaving us doomed

to wander the earth forever

in search of our other half

so that we could be whole again

Zeus just had to be a jerk, didn’t he?

1 Cracks in the cup crawl through my brain

   setting off sparks

   electrical overloads

   I never can get this glued back together enough

   to stop the sparks

2 Cups hold all of the universe

   cradled galaxies

   moons in orbit bumping the rim

   stars spill over

3 wrapping my hands around the warm cup

   gentle scent of honey and chamomile

   my tongue is burnt

   by the amber liquid

   humming to myself in my cozy corner

4 I can see the sculptor’s hands

   when I touch the cup

   fingerprints remain

   from long lines held steady

   as the vessel took shape

5 I walked into the Cannon Brew Pub

   with the need for whiskey

   Tyson Anthony held up the bottle

   my personal cup in hand

   I raised my thumb

   he poured

   my cup now filled with the required drink

   by the time I sat at the bar

6 Cups hold nothing

   not even air to breathe with

   not even space to live in

   not even sound

   everything leaks out

   spills out

   trips out

   and slips away

7 Except

   cups do hold my love

   when nothing else will

8 The cups are lined up on the window

   that has never seen a defenestration

   Probably for best as

   we are on the ground floor

   Does yeeting cups out a window though

   count as a defenestration?

9 I have cups and therefore I am sick

   I have cups with which to have tea

   I often only have tea when sick

   If I didn’t have cups

   maybe I wouldn’t get sick

   as there would be no need for tea

   Can you tell I’m sick right now?

10 Autistics have hyperfixations

    They make them happy

    They are their special subjects

    Upon finding another with the same special subject

    it is less like a competition

    and more like the last geek on earth finding the only other last geek

    Who knew anyone else would have a hyperfixation around cups???

11 The blue cup of memory

    slides along the counter to me

    My dad’s coffee cup

    is full of hot coffee

    that I poured from the pot

    and balanced all the way down

    the hallway

    without spilling a drop

    for the first time

    at age 9

12 Shards of porcelain litter the floor

    I smile

    years of stained porcelain

    now useless

    scattered on the linoleum

    looks so very pretty

13 I grabbed the blue coffee cups

    I was going to wrap them in newspaper

    but I threw them to the ground

    listened to their cracking and splitting

    each blast more satisfying than the last

14 Kiel watched like he often does

    sipping on a glass of whiskey and coke

    He looks like he should be sitting at the Cannon

    laughing with Tyson across the bar

    like he often used to do

    Now he’s just staring at the constellations of porcelain shards on the floor

15 “You know it’s not right now,” he says

    I nod

    “But it will be soon.  And I don’t want them.”

    “I doubt he will care about coffee cups when he’s gone

    but mother will, and we must think of her.”

    I drop my head

    This satisfying collection of coffee cup shards

    will only live in my head

16 Tiny shards twinkle in the dust pan

     catching the light

     then losing it again

     slide into the trash

17 The shards of the cups of

     the memories of the house of

     the wizard of the woods of

     the enchantress of the books of

     the story never told of

     the past that still holds of

     the curse that follows us all

18 Schissa

19 The vibrations from the people in the house

     make the little cups click together

     Their tiny reverberations

     sing of emptiness

20 Stars spill out of the cracks

     in the coffee cup

     as it sings of lost days

     when it wished to be held

10 years ago… where even was I 10 years ago?

Oh.

I remember now

Finally crawling out of my ghost form

that I had taken on to keep myself safe

and free of any attachments

lest I had to flee again

Not like the reason I fled three years prior was about to happen again

Children change everything

no matter if they stay with you

or don’t

and I was still getting used to

my heart living in another city

I thought if I never get attached

to anyone again

I would never be in a predicament

to have to give up my heart again

and watch it leave

But of course, I was wrong

The kids who work for me

have become my kids

and I will counsel, protect, and defend them

teach and hopefully guide them

before I watch them walk away

It’s easier now though

My son is now 13 instead of 3

my kids keep in touch and sometimes return to me

my friends keep me from being a ghost

this town has come a home to me

and I am happier now

-after Diana Khoi Nguyen

“…hands separating peach halves from a core”

the crack that it makes

white flesh peaches crack and snap

they crunch in my mouth

textures like soft sand and

mild sweetness

launches me back to marching fields

summer heat

when my ears were drenched in sound

and my body rhythm flowed in time

with the drum beats around me

the boys I called brothers

and the shenanigans we got up to

are all in the past

but still live in the taste of peaches

Stardust is what we are made of
and we shall return to that
I will not be tied to the earth
The wind will pick me up
Throw me out into the stratosphere
and I will slip between the spaces
in our magnetic shield
to become stardust

Perfect matzo ball soup
Is one thing you will find here

Musicians who have played together
For many years

Their homes are long gone
Lost two hundred years ago

Kept safe in the walls
Of the restaurant they run

Many don’t stray far
Or you might get left behind

I am gentle with most
I am firm with those who need it

To myself, I am savage
Every mistake is a marr, a sin

Sometimes I wish
I could show myself half the tenderness
That I give to others

I can always find you
By your red umbrella
That you like to carry
On very grim days
Because you say
It makes things a little brighter
And in the midst of a downpour
You make me smile

I went to work
They had delayed work
They said the roads were icy
The ones I had just driven on
Two hours before
We were supposed to be open
I was already there

I compromised
I locked the door and got second breakfast

The city went quiet
Everyone shut themselves away
Fearing the virus
That could possibly kill us

For three weeks I didn’t budge
Sitting in my chair
Working from home
Doing all the my employers asked

Finally, I had to get out
If for no other reason than to feel the breeze
I drove my car onto the streets
And put my windows down

It felt like an alien world
So many places closed
Hardly anyone on once busy streets
My radio was the loudest thing

But I felt better
The city, while sleeping, did still exist
Her citizens locked away for now
Would return when the time was right