The Poetry Marathon

Keep trying
Keep pushing
You got this
You can do this
I know, I know
You are tired
I know, I know
This work is hard
We have to fight
We have to push through this
We have to suffer through this
I’m here with you
right here with you
I’m suffering with you, but
but I am your cheerleader, cheering for you
Pushing you
You are going to make it
No, No you will not come through this unscathed
Yes, yes you will be bruised and battle-scarred
But each wounding marks a well-fought battle
each wounding is a tell-tale sign of what you’ve overcome
Yes, it hard but you can’t give up now
Don’t give up
Don’t give up
Don’t give…
Don’t…

Traveling down a black-topped road
to anywhere
Towering evergreens line this road
Flashing across my windshield as I speed to
somewhere, anywhere but nowhere
The moon is my guide
I am drawn to her like a moth
on dusty fragile wings, I travel
weightless as the wind,
I’m leaving
leaving behind where I’ve been
Moving toward…
Towards what? Something new? Something
good? Somewhere good?
Who will care anyway? I’m leaving
Heading to who knows what in who knows where
The moon leads me
anywhere is better than here

Good morning fellow marathoners!! Let’s have some fun creating these poems!!

My brain creaks like an old rusted wheel
On a red Radio flyer
Spewing out nonsensical
Poetry, my muse left
Over an hour
Ago, thrashing,
Fighting for
One more
Poem

Blocked by the skyscraper
A sunset spreads its waning light
upon periwinkle clouds
as the heartbeat of the city slows

Is it
a forest fire flickering flames of blue
the hottest fire searching for air
flames licking skyward, carried up and away on the wind
black smoke covering its presence as it
stalks the darkness?
Or is it
water flowing upward from the sea floor
waves moving to the ocean’s surface
mysterious bioluminescent bacteria showing the way
in this sea of black?
Or is it
a dark, dark wood
the trees covered by the night’s shadow
their trunks, illuminated by blue moonlight
surrounded by the dancing of fireflies
looking for love?

My ancestors
leaned on faith
Carried it in their bones
Believed with their whole hearts
they turned the other cheek
when massa beat them down with the bullwhip
when police beat them in the street
or shot them or locked them up

My ancestors endured
the sale of their children, husbands, wives
the deaths of their sons, brothers, fathers
the rapes of their daughters, sisters, mothers
Holding their faces toward the sky
they prayed, they cried, they fell to their knees
Believing, believing, always believing
This too shall pass

The pain will pass
The tears will cease
We can bear the weight of our suffering

My ancestors
whose blood flowed down the rivers
or was sucked up by the soils of Oklahoma, Mississippi
whose bodies swung from the trees,
in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama
a strange fruit, faces distorted in agony or deathly defiance
dressed in Spanish moss, and yet

My ancestors
never lost their faith
Believed in the story of Job
believed God would not, could not
put more on their backs, in their hearts
than they could handle
They believed as blacks today still believe
This too shall pass

Alone was once a thing I used to fear
It was a thing I hated
Alone
was a place I’d rather not
Be
Now I savor those moments
Those days when I am
Alone
Days where I am free to think
Free from the crowding of
Others
Others’ energy, others’ demands, others’ thoughts
I find solace when I’m
Alone
A space where I’m allowed to just
Be

Books were my friend
when I was a little girl
They taught me things
and kept my loneliness at bay
Books never bullied me
nor did they call me names
Books never said I didn’t belong
or I was too young to play
Instead, they held my hands and
took me to lands so far away
They shared with me their secrets
and made me laugh as well
They showed me the world was scary
but I was safe with them
They spoke to me of tragedy
but said hope still lives
They taught me different customs,
cultures and histories galore
When I was with Books
I could never say I was bored
This is my ode to Books
my friend that stayed true
That soothes me when I’m feeling frazzled
And grounds me when I’m sad
To this day I can’t imagine
my life without Books

Vibrant and melodic
A pleasure to hear
A song bursting with color
Pastel pink, blue and lavender
the music, a voice
speaking eloquently
carries me away
on a wave of melody
The rhythm to much
to write a poem to
But good enough to hear
while cleaning up a room
Vibrant and melodic
it flows like the sea
an ocean of sounds
a pleasant experience for me