The Poetry Marathon

We are all from dust and from dust we will return. Therefore the land recognizes us as its children.

We will never be completely lost,
Maybe only briefly misguided by our own accord, only to find our way again.

We take our own path as if to tell Mother Nature we can do this.
Sometimes we find a loop that takes us around again and again and when we tire of the circles, we rest and gain our inward mapping abilities to put us back on track.

Other times we may think we know what’s best, and have to roll down a few hills before we can stand again and finish our journey.

We have the ability to read our path in life if we will only sit down and gather all of the information when we begin each journey.

She never smiles, she never laughs
It’s sad to seriously choose life paths.

A joke was told, her face was bold and never cracked a grin. Your face will crack and break my back if happiness sets in.

When all her friends were gailey laughing at a story Erich told,
Not her they said, she never laughs, her face is looking old.

So my dear friends, don’t be so crass, and laugh and smile once in a while, or just be an agelast.

Experience southern adventures and fun.
Educational journey? Enduring heritage educates ages.
Kick it up a notch? Famous waves, sandstone perspective, hike trails, go flying through,
And walk on feet.

Dearest 9 year old self,

When you meet your future best friend for the first time
Don’t beat up her brother!

Dear 12 year old self,

Climbing trees is ok, but don’t jump out, crutches are not your friend!
Poetry can bring you peace,
Stay with it, this IS your friend!

Dear high school girl,

Yep it’s me again, continue to do the things you love, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, track. But once it’s over, it’s hard to bring back.

Whomever i am writing to now, whatever your age is of this i will vow-
Just be yourself, and be fair to the masses, if they start a fight, then kick their asses.
Don’t ever let life get you down, you are a queen so wear your crown.
Do unto others as you would want done,
And remember this always, just always have fun!!
Love, your future self

It was a stormy, fog-filled night
The sudden hush outside
Gave me a fright.
I grabbed my coffee cup from the shelf
When the wind blew so hard
I peed myself!
The canteen closed early as the fir tree got surley
On my way home
I felt quite alone.
When a light from the moonbeam
Gave me hope it did seem.
I crossed over the river at eleven o’clock, tripped on the lip
Of the concrete dock.
Damn!

The name makes me think of a place where everything is green and grows larger than life.
But it’s a wondrous place, with magical, mysterious, miracles.
The fish breathe the air while they hunt on land. Human-kind is not immune from being hunted and are no longer the apex predators.
Life as we know it takes on a new and mystical meaning, of unheard of regeneration and flesh eating plants that seem to have a brain and think individually.
Will you go there? Will you go alone? Only you can make that decision.

She’s all about lying in bed with me, following me everywhere and feeling safe.

To be honest she loves chasing squirrels, swimming in dirty water, and fetching the fish on my line.

She’s my protector and best friend.

A cool breeze
Guitar in the distance
and friends gathered round
Softly talking and laughing
About high school.

Sitting on the old wooden porch
Looking out at the tobacco fields
A dog in the distance sounding off in the heat of a chase,
He just might conquer.

Memories new and old, old love and new,
A peaceful feeling comes over me as i look back on my life
And i have to smile.

I can only say
My life would end
If i was underground
With dirt tamped all around me
To the point i couldn’t move my arms
And my nose itched
But i couldn’t scratch it
And i needed to cough but the closeness of everything around me made breathing so difficult
I could not take a full breath
So panic would set in
And i would just die out of fear that i might live and remember those feelings everytime i close my eyes.

The sun shone brightly,
we, children of our parents
playing effortlessly, laughing, running, not a care in the world.

Soldiers marching in the street
people lifelessly falling to the earth, rat-a-tat-tat,rat-a-tat,
distant scared-to-death-screaming, scrambling to get under-cover.

Please, God, let me hide, in the closet, a soldier screams loudly to the little girl in German.

As i close my eyes, the vision of pooling red blood is all i can see as i lay quietly praying not to be noticed.

Walking, walking, walking, alone.
I see a hill in the distance,
people weary, hungry, scared,
carrying weeping babies, ushering the elderly up higher with each labored breath.

Where is my brother? I can’t see my parents as I search the crowds that are gathering at the top.

There are sheep, goats, cows, ducks, dogs! Where is my dog, is she here? I frantically call her name, then stop abruptly when i see a tall, humble looking younger man leading those who are gone astray to an Ark!

Tho’it’s on a hill in the form of a building, i slowly enter and see my brother and my dog!

What a joyous occasion! We are all safe for now, far away from the fighting and chaos. But where
are my parents?