The Poetry Marathon

They beat drums with a purpose

A circle welcomes all to come play

In the middle free spirits twirl and dance

With loose clothes and hippie garlands gay

Hands pound out a passionate beat

Time to forget the past and live a sound

Passed down generations to now

Bring your own style and smile

And play a little love for awhile

She’s on my mind sometimes when I glance at a map

A teacher who taught me about history and geography

I imagined flying over ancient empires across the globe

Being a spy listening to the lives of emperors and queens

Or being on the ground as rampaging armies attacked

A childhood crush, her lessons made me swoon

But I moved away and she moved onto another career

Today I can only wonder what happened to my history muse

When I look a map I still remember a cozy classroom

And simpler days when a big world seemed smaller

At long last, Sarika and Sandeep’s lips touched

Sandeep, from a lower caste and Sarika a rich one

They met on a stormy-swept Mumbai night

When Sandeep saved Sarika from a band of pickpockets

Smitten, Sandeep begged for her number and she gave it

Their families were furious when they learned the truth

Such a scandal would rock the town

Sandeep’s father swore and deleted the son’s emails

Sarika’s mother sent her sons to watch her

And she became a prisoner in her own home

Forbidden love only grew that much stronger

Both snuck out of their bedrooms in the sultry nights

Through alleys to meet at their favorite tea shop

Once Sandeep ventured a kiss, but Sarika swatted

She’d kiss him only when they could love in public

Sandeep vowed to earn enough to start a life

Working three jobs to save for brighter days

Sarika secretly helped admit him to a business school

They shared daily stores over tea

One day they confronted their families

Dress in their finest, they declared their love

Their love must be accepted, or they’d run away

The families reluctantly agreed, forced to see the truth

That nothing would separate their love and passion

Resting in a cottage in the countryside, together at last

A new life sealed with a kiss

Come, tell me a new joke

Rescue me from these humorless doldrums

And share a warm feeling I’ve forgotten to feel

Let me forget those daily self-important screams

I want to feel that joy, let me sound it out loud

And let it all gush out, spread it like a love virus

Tell me how the chicken crossed the road

Because a guffaw is a peal of heavenly thunder

With a thump the wooden gong rings true

Mindful melody summoning all to the zendo

Morning and evening bleed into one

Time to honor the present in deep breaths

The past and the future matter not

Birth and death but one cosmic cycle

Forever’s an imaginary ephemeral thing

Today challenges us to find a vigorous victory

To walk it with determined, slow steps

Into the arms of beautiful oblivion

I can’t get enough candy love

Scarfing down those juicy jelly bears

Crunching on Boston baked beans

Sucking down red Twizzlers

Chewing on sour Skittles to a bitter face

Breaking open candy Easter eggs

Smearing milk chocolate everywhere

Sad face when I’ve run through it all

Another midnight run to the store

In the frozen north there lives a man

Who never said no to a challenge.

He once lived in the South then saw

A commercial proclaiming a simple life

In the arctic wilderness where moose roam

And Alaska natives speak forgotten tongues

So smitten, he gave up his life to move there

His friends said he was crazy, that he’d die

But he bought cold weather gear, and made calls

And snapped up some land no one wanted

Money changed hands to help build a dream

A wooden cottage nestled in no man’s land

Just stop by today and ask to stay

An Bob will smile and welcome you in

And tell you the wonders he has seen

Window to the world out of reach

Captive to my limits I only can stare

Wondering why I breathe stale air

I imagine walking on wispy clouds

Stopping to steal a leprechaun’s gold

And ride a rainbow down to a fantastic place

Filled with towering spires and grand halls

Lit inside by dragon fire and wizard spells

Presiding over green lands with virgin woods

Fed with rivers flowing with pure silver

Where nymphs bathe, slyly tempting mortals

And rubies and emeralds grow in grasses

Picked by gnomes to deliver to their king

Where a great feast celebrates the final eventide

When dusky comets will foretell the arrival

Of a ghost prince on his great white steed

Carrying news of a world of saints

Waiting to receive them with a joyous embrace

Rubble, rubble, times of trouble

Ruined cities span as far as the eye can see

But few eyes remain,  peering  from steel caves

Shabby bodies huddle, clad in leather and rags

Only hunger sends them to hunt with bows

To seek meat from hideous mutated beasts

A few old souls tell stories of brighter times

When metal chariots coasted through the land

And people stared into shiny devices

Food so plentiful people threw it in the trash

But anger and prejudice sent fire raining down

Blasting bodies into ash and sickening millions more

The past swept away, now only the strong survive

Eeking out primitive lives where the proud once stood

Redfern on a hill, whistling in dulcimer breeze

Elven maid strumming to a forgotten tune

She remembers only from a grandmother’s lullaby

Before Men came to ignorantly burn and chop

Fairies played tag between golden towering trees

Exotic birds belted song to bring in sunny days

And great beasts drank in clear waters at the edge

Now there’s only a single tree swaying in sad silence

But Elves have long memories and the bard plays on

Remembering days when magic and heroism won