The Poetry Marathon

Simplicity

Is it wrong to not want more
To not have the energy to go out and get

To get up and go
To push harder
And be more

The world sets a frenetic pace
I feel I should be striving for something

Anything
Everything

To be seen to succeed
Is it wrong to not want more

The world sets a frenetic pace
To work relentlessly
To become the élite

But I don’t want any of that
I just want simplicity

[Prompt: The Gigan – must be 16 lines in length with seven stanzas (each stanza is separated by a line break). It goes couplet (two lines), tercet (three lines), couplet, couplet, couplet, tercet, couplet.

The first line is also the eleventh line, line six is repeated as line 12 as well.]

The Park Bench

You stole a kiss and won my heart
You held me tight
Pledging never to part
You went down on one knee
And proposed to me
I cried and said I do
You cried too
Then you held my hands
As we made our plans
For better or for worse
Together forever come what may
And here we still sit to this very day

Memories

Came across your photograph today
Wasn’t expecting to
Had tucked it inside my jacket when I arrived
And forgotten all about it

The date threw me
Has it really been twenty years since I left

It was the last time we were together
The final hoorah before time called time
Life is so fickle
We should have made a pact
But that would have been unfair on you

I love what you have become
How much you have achieved
The person you are now is not the one in my photo
But that’s alright
You know I am waiting for you
A bottle of white wine in the cooler
And frozen cherries to keep it cold

The sun shines all the time here
And the nights are balmy and romantic
I can’t wait to share them all with you
I tried to have a quick peek in the big book
Tried to find your number
But it’s not allowed
So we will have to keep on waiting

But one day
It will be our turn to dance again
To the rhythms of our eternity
Reliving all our dreams

[Prompt: Write a letter to yourself from the perspective of someone who is no longer in your life.]

Hope

Look beyond the window
Behind the dirt and the decay
She is still there
Watching
Waiting for your return
All has turned to dust
Her vibrant life
Now banished to another realm
Exiled to purgatory
Not knowing if you even remember
Unaware of where your life has taken you
Without her

Look beyond the reality
She is still there
Still waiting

Out of Tune

Play it again
Just one more time
We’re all a bit past it
But that’s just fine
Close your eyes
Travel back down the line
If you listen for our music
You’ll hear it just fine

Light the Way

Wait for me in the stars
Between Venus
And the war lord of Mars
Wait for me in the light
Between the dark
And the dazzling bright
Wait for me until I am near
Shining out
So my path back to you is clear

Prompt – Music – City of Stars (From “La La Land”) Arr. for two cellos

Merry Meet

Between the woods and frozen lake
All forsake what all should know
Of why they’re there
And where they go

Between the sky and the fallen snow
In hues of blue and shades of dust
The air’s adrift
With fairy imps and wanton lust

Between the dark and the break of day
Magic grasps morality’s reigns
Sexual arousal
Surging through their veins

Between the twigs and beds of leaves
Safe within the law of three
Ancient rituals now fulfilled
All is well … so blessed be

Line – Between the woods and frozen lake   

Taken from Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” from The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright 1923, © 1969 by Henry Holt and Company, Inc., renewed 1951, by Robert Frost. Reprinted with the permission of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Source: Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays (Library of America, 1995)

Words Prompt 1 

Write a poem about being in water. It can be about swimming, the shower, a bath, the rain, etc.
[edit 10.7.2022]

The Call of the Sea

When shall I go down to the sea again
To the salty sea and the waves
When will my desire be fulfilled
To taste the air I crave

When will I answer the questions
Waves ask lapping at my feet
What is the draw of the ocean
And why does my heart miss a beat
When I hear the cry
Of the gulls on high
As I watch the water play
And wonder at the tall ships passing by

Will I ever go down to the sea again
Taste the salt and smell the breeze
When will my life-long desire be fulfilled
And my soul once again be at ease

Image Prompt 1

WHY

They came
From where we know not
For who … we have no clue
But they came
With no warning

They wait
From the depths of the forest
They give no clue
They simply wait
Do they want us

All is silent
No indication of life
How did they get here
What do they want
Why are they here

WHY …

This is my second year 🙂

If you fancy finding out a little ore about me … check out my website

Lee Montgomery-Hughes – Home (weebly.com)

I feel at home with …

Those that get excited about
The changes of the seasons
The sound of the ocean
The smell of a sudden shower
And watching the heavens

I feel at home with …

Those that choose to be happy right now
Not waiting until things get easier
Not caught-up in the strife of the day
Not swayed by how difficult things are
But go out and dance in the rain

I feel at home with …

Those that choose to see joy
To banish sorrow
To note the good in everything
To strive to find their own contentment
No matter what life throws in their path