The Poetry Marathon

Hope is…

something I always write about.

In fact, in a quick search, I used hope in

three poems in the last 24 hours: here and here and here

(And seven times the last time I did a Poetry Marathon.

And, on my blog, don’t get me counting. I seem to include

Hope more than anything else.) Hope is here,

the perfect little handful of a word.

A perfect world-full remedy to heal our brokenness.

If we lose hope, we’ll fall out of the sky,

plucked like Emily’s thing without feathers.

Let’s keep hope.

(And we made it, we’ve Poetry Marathoned to the end!)

Prompt for Hour Twenty-Four

A World Away

The soldiers rally on, working to defeat the intruders.

After a late night invasion, the attack is doubled.
The forces surround the invaders, like skin covering a sphere

The captured are conquered, divided, dismembered
They are sent out to do the bidding of King Acid.
In the world in my stomach, battles fire up, then cool.

Prompt for Hour Twenty-Three

A Cherita poem

Appian Way Pizza

Not to be confused with the road in Italy,

this Appian Way came in a box.

Not a pizza box, but a box right on the pantry shelf.

“Make your own for only 55¢” was one of their slogans.

It was always a special night

if our parents were going out

and we got to make our own pizza.

Prompt for Hour Twenty-Two

Running

for cover,

into the ground,

around in circles,

running a temp, a foul,

a tab, hot and cold,

on empty, wild,

out the clock

Running

Prompt for Hour Twenty-One

Going to bed every night is such a treat

I lotion up my body, floss and brushes

Then jump in bed, nestle up to sleep

But today, every hour or so my alarm rushes

Prompt for Hour Twenty

It’s an eerie chromatic primary land

where trees are red and yellow is sand

They arrived at dusk.

It was light

enough to see them gather

and crowd in along

the electrical wiring

above the ancient

Road house.

When the little old woman

fell, they swooped in on her doing

what carrion crows do, even

though

she’d yet to die

and begin the rotting process.

Beautiful form watcher

or as the Greeks would say

Kalos – eidos – scopos

I know you love my

reflective symmetry,

but stop grinding my wheel!

Poetry Marathon

Definitions:

verb 

1. to create confidence
2. to whisper creativity
3. to meet and bless a worldwide poetry community
4. to climb expectations

as in We’ve been Poetry Marathoning for 15 hours so far.

noun

1. a chapbook full of admirable achievements
Bring on the Poetry Marathon! 

2. a day of hope in the life of a poet
It’s been a Poetry Marathon day.

3. a gift of love from Caitlin and Jacob
Thank you for that Poetry Marathon.

Prompt for Hour Sixteen

The Unhoused Woman Notices the Housed Woman

Maybe I should make a new
sign for tomorrow. Today
I got enough dog food
and water to last awhile.

(Actually, how am I going to carry this bag of dogfood
when the store closes and I have to go “home”?)

She looked at me
and saw my sign,
“Need dog food and water”
and the dogfood and water
that someone bought me earlier.
She kept walking. I
do need another sign,
but what if she stopped and talked to me?

It’s pretty hot out here, I know.
She just got out of her A/Ced
car and she went into Von’s–
they have A/C too.

It’s hot out here.

Prompt for Hour Fifteen