The Poetry Marathon

He takes my ores
Smelts them within
The blast furnace of my core
The rod reddened from
The heat of fever dreams
Quenching the tip
In the expanse of my waters
Enclosed within his earth.
Boiling over to subside to warmth.
How love changes
From soft to hard
From fervent to calm
And from there to gone
Hammering away at my own
Failed attempts
At metallurgy
Yet somehow he found a way
To turn my iron gall heart
To gold
And write away with the soft metal
Poetry to line my heart.
I find myself grinding away at stone
To sharpen my iron edges
But he has plans to mold me
Within his soft alchemist hands
molding his love between them
And thus I wake still in the ground
Waiting for the pick to mine my iron core
To take me in pieces
smelt them together
And fashion himself a heart of gold-
to match his own.
Until the day the gilded sunlight
Strikes and polishes my surface, he finds me
And I know the truth in time
someday
“He is coming, and I am here.”*

*The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

Heart clambers flights of steps
Touring empty hallways
Between each chamber in
The enigmatic maze that is you.
Within, I had once lost sense of direction,
Curling around the flitting green foliage
Only to happen upon another stalemate
My stride to pursue trips
On overturned cobbles
Your road not traveled, overgrown
Rich in your different hues
Though in times past
Only visited by the blind-
Left untended and underappreciated
By those who understood too little of growth
And it is here I became hopelessly lost
And I welcomed it.
You quiet my mind and quicken my soul
Containing my waves like a break wall
Allowing only peace to spill over.
Your keen ear shifts
And I wonder how is it you hear me?
The sounds of my weary gusts
Tearing holes in dry earth
From my anxious torrents.
You silence my thunder and
Disperse the thick clouds of my storms.
I’ve learned from you how to appreciate
Simplicity when I forget to count the tears
With the kaleidoscopic raindrops
That once darkened the veils
Obscuring my sunflower eyes…
…and oh, how you make them bloom.
How I wish to chase your sunsets
And linger within the shadows of your twilight.
My reason to smile-your
Unparalleled character
And the blessed grace of your patience
As you tend to my garden
Sowing clarity as I touch ground
And when I feel the pressure of the winds
It’s a gentle reminder of how
I used to hold the breath
Of twisting thoughts of doubt
Until one day your stillness held it for me.

* Sensual poem warning 18 or older*

Fierce thrills, I close my eyes
Feeling the rush consume me
Sight returns fluttering lids
To an empty bed
Where I wait for you
To come for me.

Heart outstretched like open arms
A fantasy of breath
Skin upon skin with fingers laced
Within my heartstrings
Undulating rhythm of my floor
waiting for you, to come for me.

My breath escapes parted lips
As the rushing waves unfurl me
Tiptoeing fingers down your
Xylophone spine
Relishing the echo of your sound
Urging you to come for me

Lingering caresses as hearts undress
The twilight dawns to evening
Legs braided, writhing
Neither distance nor time
Could silence my cries
breathily, I beg you to come for me.

I haven’t strength to let go
Even now, even though
I wait for three words to rule me
Never before had I wanted more
Than your heart, soul, mind, to your bones
Imagining your smile when you come for me.

Wandering eyes with meandering mind
Eat away at symbols
Clutched within the web of thought
Struggling, attempting to decipher
Yet every thought brings on more
Questions than answers.
I bring myself back
Pulling myself down
Out of the clouds
And try and stay in the moment
I see my reflection
The tell-tale signs of age
And wisdom, scurrying about the lines
Drawn out by Father Time
I smell the scent of freshly cut grass
Billowing through the open window
I taste the last drops of coffee
Spilling down my chin-
Caffeinated liquid gold
I touch the hem of a shawl
Wrapping around my fingers
In a lover’s embrace
Protection from the cold, harsh world
I listen to the silence
The sound of alone
The melody of my heartbeat
I sink again into thought
As it yet still beats for you.
The daydreams clamber
Up the mountains of sense
And finds that it makes none,
But does it matter?
I lose myself again in altitudes
Only to force myself to ground
Plummeting like my heart
Spiraling in a cacophony
Of windswept imagination
And damnable overthinking.
Matching sequence to truth
Archeological digs brushing
Away thought as I brush aside
Yet another far-fetched dream-
Trying to make sense of
Ambiguity
My restlessness enjoying the ride
In disorienting travels from heaven
To earth
And oft I wonder if I am
Here or there,
But in truth, I realize despite all
That I am both and everywhere.

Hello everyone! I’m Julie Stanley and this is my second year writing for the Poetry Marathon. This year I’ll be doing the full marathon with a dear friend of mine who has been nothing short of amazing. Its an honor having her a part of this and a part of my life. I’m so excited! I’ve been coming up with titles for poems for the full marathon and although I don’t quite have all 24 titles picked, I figured I’d just write and see where the muse takes me. I’m from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the US and right now is the perfect time to write poetry. Just wanted to jump in and say hi to everyone and wish you all good luck in the marathon today!

-Jewelz

Shooting Stars

Shoot the moon and miss
Then aim for the firmament
Blow infinity.

Good In Bed

Thrilling in the sack
Satisfied under the covers
Want to fucking sleep

Ye Olde Farte

It was like opening a bag of potato chips
clenched between buttcheeks
with a pungent bubble slowly rolling
out from the top of my crack-
a blinding fog of stink.

Shadenfreude

My life is a mess
as one can guess
so humor me if you would
listen to my tale
and try not to pale
Trust this is gonna be good

So I smashed my face
on a couch today
Have the scrapes and cuts to prove
that one shouldn’t chase
the cat in a small space
This poem is not going to improve

I broke my own heart
(really not that smart)
but I thought it would be different somehow
What did I expect?
I was bound to get wrecked
Nothing I can do anyhow…

Then the family went nuts
and I ended up the schmutz
(It’s what usually tends to transpire)
Who cares about deadlines
or your ridiculous confines?
I’d be better off writing in barbed-wire

Then dramatics ensued
as they usually do
and I was thrown under the bus
When two people get pissed
The obvious is missed
Your dramatics I don’t want to discuss

So there was a load of wasted time
and assholes blowing up my line
(You’d think I was smart enough to shut off my phone)
But sadly you’re mistaken
A couple’s rage was awakened
Seriously after all this, my mind is fucking blown.

I threw out my back,
how about that?
Have you even cracked a smile?
What do I have to do?
Seriously…no friggin clue.
Unless you’re ready to hear this pile.

I’m so broke it’s a joke
I’d much rather a stroke
Than deal with anything more
But as my luck would have it
buried beneath all the bullshit
It’s no wonder I’m so fucking poor.

So I’m up all night
doing all this write
so tired my body feels like a vibe
some would find that kinky
but I’d much rather eat a Twinkie
and get some much needed shut-eye

I don’t know about men,
oh where do I begin
can I just skip this and go onto the next?
Let’s face it, I suck
and I have such shit luck
I’m almost postive I’ve been hexed

Speaking of hexed
let’s talk about my ex
(maybe I shouldn’t, he’s kind of a dick)
to give him this much
attention and such
perhaps I should break out the measuring stick?

I haven’t slept in days
and I’m feelin’ my age
Oh the joys of morphing into a fossil
Just don’t go digging me up
Don’t you dare, you schmuck
Thank God I’m not yet menopausal

So now that I’m lagging
on this marathon, (my ass is dragging)
I figured I’d bitch up a storm
In hopes that maybe
I’ll get a little hee hee
Shadenfreude has become an art form.

There is far much more
waiting outside my front door
Oh the fun and the joy that will make
As I finally come unglued
At the next friggin dude
Why? Because I’m still awake.

I let out a breath
because I got nothing left
My grey matter is just about spent
Trepanning or horseshoe scar?
Or perhaps a trusty crowbar
To thwart off anymore argument.

Feel free to laugh
because trust me, I have
(I seriously gave myself a black eye)
It’s time for me to go
perhaps sneak out my window
before anything else can go awry.

Chasing The Sky

Chasing clouds with bottled rain

With hope still rising, it left a stain

From bleeding colors of a bow

With a promise of riches down below.

The brush of clouds, fingerprints in sky

Distinguished the patterns of another goodbye

As wind shuffles the leaves from the lumbering trees

Upon the ground sprawled on hands and knees

Scuffling through the rain-dotted earth

Seeking out some semblance of worth

Search above and only find

Chalk lines of clouds intertwined

Woven together, darkness and light

With grey hairs forming the current plight

As lines are drawn in weathered expressions

Life hadn’t given that many concessions

For when one wastes time in the vault of heaven

Time is a bitch and gives no concession

So chase your rainbows through garden hoses

And ruminate over what the prism imposes

For when you spend time gathering your rain

Falling from eyes red, swollen, and drained

Blurred by fog as thick as skin

Never realized that feelings begin

In dreams, a dare for imagination

Love given freely, my heart’s destination.

As the sun dives down behind the firmament

The seasons change, nothing is permanent.