The finest samite, for royals to adorn
My hands interweave the golden lace
I’m adorned to lesser degree
An accessory for her highness
Julia Coburn
ginger
This is my second poetry marathon. I’m writing to challenge myself as a fun creative exercise. This year I thought I’d write a poem inspired by various portraits. I have two small children, so will try my best to write in between splash pads and such ;)
Suffocated
Twenty…nineteen…eighteen…seventeen
Crunch
Gasp
Don’t think about it
Don’t think about it
Don’t you dare think about the pain
Hold the pose
There.
Just a little bit…
Longer
But the discomfort
The discomfort!
Get me out of here…someone…anyone?
Disdainfully waiting
How much longer will this take
My lips are strained
My tummy aches
I have more important things to do
Than sitting here with you
Haughty taughty
Tis wonder if there’s ham over there, perhaps a quail,
I’ll gobble it down tooth and nail,
This gown is weighing me down,
Turning my glorious smile into a frown
How I wish for a servant or two or three,
to place themselves under thy knee
Francesca
My auntie Francesca,
Grammy carried you, 9 months,
You were born,
They wouldn’t let her see you,
Hours later you were gone,
Was it Thalidomide? A 1960s child,
A hole in our family we never speak of,
Shaping our lives in ways we don’t fully understand,
Years of depression,
Stiff upper lip,
A good friend let us know, after she had past,
My grandmother never let you out of her mind
Nandy
I heard you would sneak candies to my mom when my grandmother wasn’t looking,
Gentle and kind,
You were in your 40s when you had my Poppa, so we thought,
It was you two against the world for so long, once your husband past,
My poppa only 14,
Your only child,
He was your everything,
Thank you for being his mom, helping him become the man he was
Great Grammy G
Met you once, but I can’t remember,
Though your legacy lives on,
Switching tickets that would have taken us to Australia,
Leaving the war to visit your family,
Lying about your age to get a job,
I often think of you when I’m scared,
If they don’t like you, they can “pee up a rope”, you would say,
Sometimes to hell with the rules, you need to create your own path
Edith
We only found out about you a few years back,
A family we didn’t know we had,
How painful it must have been to let him go,
Your sweet, clever, handsome little boy,
So many questions we’ll never have the answers to,
So close, yet so far,
Were you there that day when his adopted mother past?
You can find peace,
Your boy was so loved, he had a family, he had a good life
Sister
Boundless creativity coming from you,
Always onto the next thing,
ADHD personified,
A helicopter pilot, I think not,
But I love your
Lieutenant Dan Three is Company sketches,
Weird little mice you created from felt,
Doodles of your pug,
The mask you learned how to sew,
Whatever it is, you can do,
The ultimate creator
Daughter
Genes formed in a combination, creating you,
A time capsule of our ancestors,
Your grandmother’s chin,
Your mother’s eyes,
Curious like your great Poppa,
Determined like your great Grammy,
Silly like your Auntie,
You hold your breath just like your father, grandma and great nana when you’re mad,
Your joyful laughter fills the room just like your great Grandmother’s used to,
A piece of all of us, but together uniquely you