The Poetry Marathon

A Mother’s Love

I am the mother of four babies.

I wonder how it happened, as I’ve never known a boy.

I hear my babies squealing, seeking sustenance and safety.

I see their empty eyes peering out from lifeless faces.

I want to feel their tiny heartbeats vibrate through my sore and swollen body as they suckle from my chest.

I am somehow broken; my babies all reject me.

I pretend there’s not a problem.

I feel my heart shatter into pieces.

I touch their teeny tiny baby bodies, nudge them with my nose.

I worry I have failed them. I fear all hope is lost.

I cry out in despair, trying desperately to breathe life back into my babies.

I am now a mother of none.

I understand now I was never a mother, but my body believed I was.

I say these squishy, squealing squeak toys have always been my babies.

I dream of fuzzy faces, of furry-footed foursomes that will one day call me MOTHER.

I try to listen closely as my master tells me we weren’t all made to be mothers.

I hope she’s majorly mistaken. Perhaps she’s confused and crazy like I was.

I am a childless Chiweenie, desperate to be a doggy mama.

****An I Am poem is composed of three stanzas of six lines each. The beginning of each line is provided (highlighted here by bold print), but where the journey leads is entirely up to the author. The inspiration for “A Mother’s Love” came from the true tale of Twinkie, our not quite six year old Chiweenie who actually does go through false pregnancies about twice a year. For roughly a week, she will whine and cry and make nests from bunches of blankets, contorting her little body in hopes her “pups” (various animal squeak toys which she carries everywhere with her) will finally feed. Eventually, she realizes her time to mother has ended again, at which point she will typically tear the faces off of her babies and leave them laying around for us to find.****

DOG

loyal, friendly

petting, fetching, snuggling

compadre, companion, servant, lackey

clawing, scratching, creeping

finicky, aloof

CAT

****A diamante is composed of seven lines, where

Iines 1 and 7 have opposite meanings, and are typically one word nouns, although concepts or phrases are sometimes used. Lines 2 and 6 consist of two adjectives which clearly describe Lines 1 and 7, respectively. Lines 3 and 5 are made up of three -ing verbs that refer to Lines 1 and 7 again. Line 4 is the focal point of the poem, uniting Lines 1 and 7 by juxtaposing two nouns describing Line 1, followed by two nouns describing Line 7.****

Precious Princess Paisley

P erfect little princess,

A lready

I adore you, and though you do not know me, I

S till can’t wait to meet you.

L ittle girls are precious, and so

E asy to love.

Y our tiny hands have

G ripped my heart tightly,

R eminding me how blessed I

A m to have you

C all me your granddad…

E ven though at 51, I’m still too young to be a PawPaw!

****An acrostic is a poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word or phrase when reading downward. In this example, I separated the first letter of each line and highlighted it in bold type to make it easier to read. Paisley Grace is my boyfriend Lonnie’s first grandbaby, born earlier this month. I tried to write from his perspective and capture his joy and excitement at becoming a grandfather and hope I was able to come close to what he is feeling!****

Ring of Fire

Sitting on my throne,

contemplating Life, I can’t

help but wonder, how

did I wind up here? And then,

it hits me: jalapeños!

****A tanka is a five line poem with the syllable count of 5/7/5/7/7.****

Daddy Don’t Forget

Daddy,

don’t forget

me. I’m still

your little girl.

I may

be

older

now, but

you know I’ll

always need you.

You’ve always

known

the

answer, no

matter the question.

Everything is changing.

I see

the

question

in your

eyes and pray

that God gives

me the

right

answer.

Even when

you cannot remember

me, you are

still my

father.

****A hay(na)ku is a three line poem where the first line consists of one word, the second line has two, and the third line is composed of three words. A reverse hay(na)ku is three lines composed in the opposite fashion, of three words, then two, and one word for the final line. In the 2019 Poetry Marathon, I created the “Mirror hay(na)ku” by combining a hay(na)ku with a reverse hay(na)ku. In 2020, I took things a step further by compiling five mirror hay(na)ku stanzas and calling it a Hall of Mirrors Hay(na)ku.****

Friends Furever

Thwack thwack thwack! My tail

wags fast and furiously.

I lick your face, rest

my head on your chest, listen

to you breathe. You are my person!

I can’t help but smile

when I walk through the door and

find you waiting there.

You jump in my arms, we plop

on the couch. You’re my best friend!

****A somanka is a poem composed of two tankas written in two different voices, focused on a central theme of love. A tanka is a five line poem consisting of a syllable count of 5/7/5/7/7. I wrote this poem about the beauty of the bond between both of my dogs and me, even though I only spoke through one “rough” voice to symbolize both my furbabies.****

Light of Recognition

“Tell me more,”

She said with a smile.

I watched my

mother’s eyes

alight with recognition.

Today was a good day.

****A shadorma is a six line poem with a syllable count of 3/5/3/3/7/5.****

Reflections

I feel her eyes upon me, her gaze

so intense it invades my soul,

searching darkest corners for

skeletons forgotten,

secrets left untold

lies to expose.

She seeks to

destroy

me.

****A nonet poem is made up of nine lines, where the first line is composed of nine syllables, the second line of eight syllables, and so on to the final line, which consists of only one syllable. This gives the appearance the poem is slowly vanishing.****

Writing our way to victory, we left

Everything behind, each piece of our sordid stories splattered

All across the page.

Readers, ride along with us!

Everyone is invited

To share in the

Happiness and heck,

Even the heartaches, should you

Choose to cheer us on.

Hey, y’all, we

Actually did it — we

Made it through all 24 hours of

Poetry Marathon 2021!

I think this calls for a celebration!

Oh, wait…

No, on second thought, I believe I’ll just

Settle for a lengthy victory NAP!

(An acrostic poem is one where the first letter of every line, when reading downward, spells out a word, a message,  or even the entire alphabet. I have highlighted the “hidden” message in blue so it is more evident.)

I am shrouded in the shadows.

I wonder how long it’s been.

I hear a familiar voice calling my name.

I see your mother moving my way, arms outstretched in an embrace.

I want so much to ease her sorrow, soothe the pain that fills her face.

I am lost for words, so I simply squeeze her tightly.

I pretend that I’m okay because I don’t deserve to grieve your loss.

I feel overcome with guilt and burdened by regret,

I touch your picture in my pocket.

I worry about Mikah living life without you.

I cry until my body collapses to the floor; my eyes can weep no more.

I am a failure as your forever friend.

I understand Life happens when we’re making other plans.

I say it’s one of those things that’s beyond my control.

I dream of one more chance to say our last goodbyes.

I try to forgive myself.

I hope that you’ve forgiven me as well.

I am forever haunted, for I discovered in the end, I was the one who was the “flaky friend.”

In Loving Memory of Kimberly, my friend for over thirty years. May she finally rest in His peace.

(An “I Am” poem is composed of three stanzas of six lines apiece. The words highlighted in red above are given as the beginnings of every line, but where they lead is entirely up to the author.)