The Poetry Marathon

times like these

dear M———

at times like these : my thoughts turn : once again

would i have been happier : if i remained here : if i never met : never loved : never lost : you : if i stayed : where i grew up : like so many of my friends : & married a girl : i went to school with : & did some kind of work : farm work : or in a vineyard : i suppose : i don’t really know : had my quota of kids : my house : my mortgage : coached a local sports team : lived : my share : of the Australian dream

if those five years : with you : never happened : if my heart : didn’t ache — every day for what i lost

for that madness : that glory : that intoxication : that honey : that sunshine : that bird wing : that waterfall : that beehive buzz : that cigarette burn : that sea salt : that sugar rush : that open door : that glimpse of white ; that spark rising from the fire = that leaf in the stream = that droplet that prisms a rainbow = that unique flake of snow = that light in the sky = that helicopter seed = that dandelion ball = the morning dew

fable of a fairy tale

One of Aesop’s foxes ; Ted, Goldilocks’ Papa Bear ;
& Little Red stirring it through Soviet 60’s suburbia
in the strident bright sunshine.

Cinderella has run away to the city (again)
& they want to bring her home (again)
even though they know, she won’t want to go

they’re not sure what the moral here is
or what archetype they each need to portray
but they know it will all resolve itself

in the end it usually does : these three
characters on a mission in the suburban sun

Pardon me: or 11 things you’ll never hear Presidential Candidate Drumpf say.

““An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that Barack Obama’’s birth certificate is a fraud.”
Pardon me, I’m making this shit up as I go along.

“I am being proven right about massive vaccinations. The doctors lied. Save our children and their future.”
Pardon me, I’m not really an anti-vaxxer.

“I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me –& I’’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, & I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.””
Pardon me, for all the many many funny things about this.

My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.”
Pardon me, I’m very insecure.

“My IQ is one of the highest— and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.”
Pardon me, I’m very insecure AND practising my standup comedy routine.

“President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are founder and co-founder of ISIS.”
Pardon me, I now want you to know I was being sarcastic.“

“The beauty of me is that I’’m very rich.””
Pardon me, I’m obviously aware in this context, beauty is skin deep.

“26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military. Only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?”
Pardon me, I didn’t mean to imply rape is inevitable between men & women.

“You know, it really doesn’’t matter what the media write as long as you’’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.””
Pardon me, I’m being a pervy old white guy.

““I’’ve said if Ivanka weren’’t my daughter, perhaps I’’d be dating her.””
Pardon me, I’m being the most pervy old white guy anyone could possibly be.

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Oops. Pardon me. He’s never going to say that.

Hmmm this was tough…

the not-so-scary chezzy bear

he isn’t a big scary bear : he’s my sweet chezzybear : dread bearded
beautiful boy poochybear

wins the heart : of all who meet or greet him : even the hearts
of those utterly heartless humans : who like cats

plays like a puppy : then acts embarrassed when caught

lickytongued : nose sniffing : curious to everything
wants to be involved : to learn new stuff
but not smart enough : to realise
two tennis balls : will never fit in his mouth : at once

big deep eyes guilt trips gullible folk : into sharing tasty human food

hates being left behind : follows me everywhere bear : loyalist of the loyal : chezzy bear
every day lifts me out of the pit chezzybear : wouldn’t know happiness : without my chezzybear

can sleep anywhere chezzy bear : spread-eagled on his back
snoring like the roaring forties : his only flaw : his god-awful farting

maxwell

only together   a few weeks
found fluffball   treeblown
stormshaken   unable to fly
fed you mince  so you grew
cheeky & raucous   clutched
my finger   sat  on my shoulder
beaktangled  my hair
till the devastating day
i didn’t shut   the door
& you flew   straight
passed me   into blue

first time   i recall my heart
emptying of blood   just
for a heartbeat   yet you
never went   too far off
grew up   around the house
around me   raised numerous
broods   countless chicks
& i know you always
had a soft spot for me
just as i   always recalled
your language  of wings

Inspired by an artwork I saw earlier in the day (yes there may have been a Potter connection). Prompt rules: Write down the first line of your poem before reading the rest of this prompt. Write your poem, about any subject you like. Copy and paste the first line so it is also the last line. You can change one word of this line, but only one. (oops, broke this rule, watcha gonna do 😀.)

flying wolf pack

you fling wolves
from your fingertips
to protect you
from harm
even when flat
on your back
& nothing can hurt
still your fingertips
insist on flinging
sharp wolf teeth
straight into my heart
jaws full of blood
crunching tendon
muscle & love
till the day finally comes
when the wolves fling you

AMI

2,775,398,465
2,775,398,466
2,775,398,467
2,775,398,468
2,775,398,469

it was on the two billion
seventy hundred and seventy five million
three hundred and ninety eight thousand
four hundred and sixty ninth beat
that the final piece of fatty material
(possibly from yesterday’s cheeseburger & chips
or the pepperoni pizza from his
weekly wednesday poker night)
narrowed one of his coronary arteries
to the point when blood could no longer
adequately get through to his heart.
a small blood clot blocked the tiny passage
but a larger one quickly rear-ended it
till soon the pile up was a multiple vehicle
collision clogging up the highway for miles
blood stops getting through. his chest exploded
with pain. the muscle started dying.
almost straight away.

2,775,398,471
2,775,398,472
2,775,398,473
2,775,398,474
2,775,398,475
2,775,398,476
2,775,398,477
2,775,398,478
2,775,398,479
2,775,398,480
2,775,398,481

by the two billion
seventy hundred and seventy five million
three hundred and ninety eight thousand
four hundred and eighty second beat
he was almost dead

his final thought was:
fat should be a bigger word
than three letters

This is the first few lines of a famous nature poem, put through the ring cycle of Google Translate (English to Esperanto to Bulgarian to Spanish to Arabic to Urdu to Afrikaans to German to Zulu to Yiddish back to a sort of English to Xhoso to Finnish to English again). Then a few tweaks by me to try & add sense.

Top Tintern fewer line miles of travel, pregnant with their bank.
after William vordsvorth

It took five years. Five summers. In five long winters!
Dance spring water volume, New soft murmur.-
This is another high. Cliffs of sharp web print.
Wild, isolated. I want a better distribution.
And communication with heaven looks calm.
Until one day I came back from holiday
A sycamore dimming the display
This parcel of land, houses, gardens, these stocks;
And the fruit,]cook. He loses the green, I dressed
“The new straw media, see.”
The report includes wires, small lines
planted a sport long wooden Wild
Green Door. Graduates of smoke. How!
I do not understand a bit of information, it seems
Forest residents of refugees and the homeless
Some hermit in a cave, fire

The Hermit sits alone.

Another poem for one of the sequences I’m working on. The missing person theme suits it perfectly. & while I like the poem, I wouldn’t mind trimming it. I just don’t have time today.

dust shower

i. text
she texts me saying
i’m on my way home.
she’s coming back
to collect me. we
are going shopping.
i jump in the shower
to get ready

ii. shower
i only come to, 40 minutes later.
lucky the water still tumbling down
didn’t drown me then & there.
mum is nowhere in the house

iii. sick
i stand up. i throw up.
i sit down. still throw up.
wait. till the queasy passes
more minutes later. stand.
throat muscles contract
but i fight against
the rising bile

iv. phonecalls
i call her mobile. no answer.
i call dad’s mobile. no answer.
& then, call gran & grandad
even though they never answer.
no answer.

v. driving
even though i don’t
have my full license
i jump in my car
& go looking for mum.

vi. tree
find her 4WD 5 k’s
from our gate, on the road
into town. it has crashed
into a gumtree. her door
is shut. the window
wound down. keys still
in the ignition

vii. dust
mum is no where
to be seen. only
a pile of fine orange
dust on her seat
& all

         through

                      the car

I like list prompts/tasks. I’ve used all 8 words. And added a twist of my own. (All of which equals … LONG. BREAK! WAHOO!)

4WD

the moon is a lake of glory
glory silvering the jeep you drive
drive so carelessly over
over the breastbone above
above my heart crushing
crushing the canopy of love
love you once built there
there — where i have no panic
to spare