A brilliant mind is a terrible

sight as it slowly fades away.

This man who once knew it all,

who taught me ev’rything

about love and life,

can no longer

remember

his name…

DAD.

(A nonet is composed of nine lines. The first line has nine syllables, the next eight, and so on. The final line consists of a single syllable. This gives the overall appearance that the poem is disappearing as it progresses. This one is very close to my heart, and while I started writing it with my late Uncle David in mind, it became a lot closer to home than I intended, as my father has been struggling with memory loss issues the past year or so as well.)

pulse pounding, face flush

trembling hands dance anxiously

longing for The Rush

bloodshot eyes stare aimlessly

waiting for words to appear

(A tanka is a five line poem where the syllable count for each line is as follows: 5/7/5/7/7.)

Mr. Fix It

If it’s broken, he’ll

repair it, make it better

than brand new. He’ll

put the pieces back together,

unless you’re what fell apart.

(A tanka is a five line poem with the syllable count 5/7/5/7/7.)

Hips Don’t Lie But Your Eyes Do

I saw the

flickering flame

of

desire

burning brightly

in your eyes,

heard your heartbeat

pick up

the

pace

every time

she walked by.

You once looked

at me

that

way,

with stars

in your eyes.

Time has taken

its toll

upon

my

broken body,

but I’m still

the same inside.

Let love

reignite

ashes

of passion,

long since dead.

(A hay(na)ku is a three line poem where the only rule is that the first line is made up of one word, the second line of two words, and the third line of three words. A reverse hay(na)ku is a three line poem composed in the opposite manner, so line one would be three words, line two is two words, and line three would be just one word. During the 2019 Poetry Marathon, I combined these two styles to create what I called the “mirror hay(na)ku”. This time, I have taken things a step further with the “Hall of Mirrors Hay(na)ku”, which is composed of five separate mirror hay(na)ku stanzas.)

Keep Going, Granny

Lightning flashed and thunder cracked as the skies split open up above us, leaving our last line of defense (the weathered windshield wipers) rendered useless against the raging of the rain.

My sister sat in the shotgun seat beside me, believing the back seat by far the safest space for my gorgeous granddaughter, the six-year-old sweetheart, while we drove on down the highway in a hurry to get home.

“Next exit, I’ll pull over and find a service station or someplace safe where we can wait out these stupid storms unless….you can see to drive and wanna tempt fate and take the wheel?” I practically pleaded with her.

Opening her eyes wider in incredulity, she refocused her attention on the world outside the windshield, where blackened asphalt blended with the darkness of the skies, growing ever deeper.

Without one ounce of hesitation, completely confident as only a child could be, came the tiny voice from the back seat, saying, “Don’t pull over, Granny, just keep on going — I can still see.”

(An ABC poem is made up of a single stanza of five lines and can cover any subject. The first letter of each of the first four lines follows alphabetical order – you can start with any letter you like. The first letter of the fifth and final line can begin with any letter.)

Mixed Signals

We wander this world with phones in hand

forever looking down, getting

lost inside the screen, afraid

to miss one message, we

never lift our eyes

to drink in the

scenery

drawn for

us.

(A nonet is composed of nine lines, where the first line has 9 syllables, the second line has 8 syllables, and so forth until the final line is only one syllable, so the poem appears to be slowly vanishing.)

SeNtEnCeD

black and blue

bloody nose

busted lip

broken arm

concussion

two less teeth

that’s the price

she had paid

to be free

(A tricube is a poem made up of three stanzas. Each stanza has three lines, and each line has three syllables.)

The Birth of a Rhythm Nation

warrior of words

harmony

making melodies

(A lune is an Americanized version of traditional Japanese haiku which consists of three lines with syllabic count of 5/3/5).

The Comfort Zone

I’ve never been the kind of gal

who freely gives her hugs away.

But when I can sense someone is

struggling, heart heavy with sorrow,

my instincts trump anxieties

and antisocial tendencies.

Without words of explanation,

hindered not by hesitation,

I step beyond my comfort zone,

hoping to bring back the broken,

letting love lead us to the light.

Human touch heals the hopelessness

of mourners lamenting the loss

of a loved one, lessening the

loneliness of those left behind.

In that brief but bless-ed moment,

compassion connects us, building

bridges across distances the

Devil designed to divide us.

By God’s grace, we stand united

through that most meaningful moment

when one soul reached for another,

sharing strength and hope and comfort,

showing a Love like no other.

(A stop sign is a format I created on a whim as I wrote this. I called it a stop sign because there are eight lines in each stanza, and eight syllables per line. As I added stanzas, I decided each stanza should represent a stop from a different direction. Therefore, since this poem has three stanzas, it has been crowned a three way stop sign.)

The Power of Fifty

I

thought fifty was a

lot until they told

me that was all who could mourn Mother.

(A four line poem is made up of four lines with a syllable count of 1/5/5/9).