24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
This is somewhat formal for a PIttsburgh girl--no MFA, just a love of words. By the way, I am doing half marathon. Joan Leotta has been playing with words since childhood. She has won awards in the USA and abroad for her writing and performing. Joan has four novels, a collection of short stories, and a picture book in print. Her poetry and essays are in Gnarled Oak, Red Wolf, A Quiet Courage, Eastern Iowa Review, Hobart Literary Review, Silver Birch, Postcard Poems and Prose and others. She recently completed a second term as a Tupelo 30/30 poet and her second picture book, Summer in a Bowl, comes out in September 2016. Joan also performs folklore and one-woman shows on historic figures and teaches writing and story performance. She lives in Calabash, NC with husband Joe where you can find her walking the beach or sorting travel photos. You can reach her at www.joanleotta.wordpress.com and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joan-Leotta-Author-and-Story-Performer/188479350973
First the girl in shadow
You have become a shadow to the world
yet I still perceive the light in you
it comes from our love
Then a photo of the mountains with the house skeleton in front
Just the house’s eyes and mouth
stand between the moutain cold
and me.
Wind has erased the rest.
Hour two How do we share yearnings when we cannot speak of them?
Times of No speech
by Joan Leotta
When words are not enough
My hand clenches
My mouth goes dry
Words are the essence of my being
If I cannot speak, how do I know
What I feel, let alone share it
With you?
This, I suppose, is when we
Walk to the window,
Watch moon rise in the sky
Ripple in the creek behind the house
And let our kisses speak for us.
I thought i was going to have trouble with this one–my freind callled last night and asked ot be taken to hospital to see her ill husband at 8 instead of nine–so this prompt is safe, but I will have issues with the five o’clock prompt since I have to go and pick her up then. Of course, on a rainy day here by the shore and with my friend’s health issues looming, I answered the prompt with two short poems.
Prompt one 9 am Write a poem in which the four elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water) play an important part.
Today’s sky is full of wind and water.
Forcefully attacking the earth
Happily quenching small fires in
Nearby woods
Quenching also the fires of my ambition
I will stay home and read today
Earth, wind , fire, water
Which element is out of synch
In my friend’s body
As he looks out
Of his hospital window
Watching
Rain attack the ground
Wind move the trees
He feels life’s fires smoldering
Only his hope and will
Left to rekindle life’s spark
From sheltered embers.
So glad the marathon is almost here!
Joan
Hi!
This is my second year as a half marathoner. Looking forward to the challenge
Joanie
whew!!!!!!
The last one. I used six of the words
Glory spills into the lake from the sky
by way of the moon’s spare yet lovely light
A canopy of reeds bends over
hiding the silvery reflection.
No need to panic
A quick glance at the sky
confirms moon still reigns
supreme in the night sky
I am playing with my dog
In
His painting
You think you know me
Because you know him
But
I am indifferent to him
And to you
For me it is the day
The dog
And none of these at my table
Who could know how I feel
My husband ignores me
To talk with a young woman we just met
The painter, he takes it all in
With a quick sketch and a splash of
Color,
Most people will say,
What a lovely dog she has
How many of them will notice
I wonder that only the dog
Has compassion for my broken heart.
So the path continues
So the path beckons
How can I slow
Or stop
When the road continues
Board by board beside a glassine pool
O do not feel this is finished yet but here it is
When I work on the holiday album
I call to mind a ton of laughter and love
Memories of those days a sum
Of days we spent below and above
I call to mind a ton of laughter and love
with photos and stories and tastes
Of days we spent below and above
meals and walks, museums and fetes
with photos and stories and tastes
When I work on the holiday album
meals and walks, museums and fetes
Memories of those days a sum
Thankful for my beloved
Praise him for his love and kindness
Praise him for his coking skill!
Ahhhh, tonight’s sweet steak
I taste it still!