The Poetry Marathon

A pressed blue flower
Forever preserved summer
Generational glory

Periwinkle sky,
A backdrop
that supports the clouds
that spread like sourdough bread
Stretched out
A bread to brake and share with friends
My mind drifts like the roaming clouds
Curious about the storefront
A store located, the one I want,
A Carrier of needles and stitch
A method of repairing regretful words from the past
Regrets sticking to me like stale cigarette smoke encircling
my space
An intrusion of memory
Coughing in the damp air
Am I able to repair
The past words lingering
And stalled in
The twilight fog
Once words tumbled from mouth
No longer a moment to retrieve and pull back
The carpet aisle
A regret throughout me
Like Swiss Cheese on the Ruebans
You used to make
with sourdough bread

December sixth I believe
Is Saint Nicholas Day
He brings oranges for good children
And coal for bad children
In their shoes lined up by the door
Who knew there was a Saint Nicholas day?
When I first found out in my
German town I was confused
The kids from families generations back
Told each other what goods they got
I was unaware and I became sad that
Saint Nicholas forgot about me

They say the grass is greener on the other side
What if the other side has no grass?
What if the grass were blue?
Green doesn’t always grow the grass
And grass is sometimes not welcome
Is the grass unruly and wild?
Is the grass neatly trimmed?
Is the grass choked by dandelions?
Are there patches of dirt throughout?
Seems too much trouble and to many unknowns
Even though the grass is supposedly greener
I’ll stay on my side and tend my little corner in the Universe

Balloons above nature
Firing flames lifts to the sky
Birds fly by unnoticed

Twilight has exited
Partnered with the shy moonlight
Release to the Night

Taking mindful steps
Avoiding the yoke from eggshells
Balanced Footing Achieved

Popular things for 1975 time capsules
Bell bottoms
Leisure Suits
A pet rock named Fran
A cracked mood ring
A Jaws movie poster
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Glen Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy on eight track
A Course in Miracles
Judy Bloom’s Forever
And King’s Salem’s Lot
Magazines with half liquor ads
And Virginia Slims cigarettes
And a stash of Pez

The line,”For I see myself with His grace.”
Credit:Thomas Merton

For so long I didn’t know who I was or if the Universe even cared
Years of folly, mistakes racked up
Lost in sin
Either searching for I was
Or escaping from who I am
Only the mistakes glaring
Built a cage of shame
Lost and impoverished conversation with Divine Creator
Only summoned when in crisis
Occasionally shout outs of gratitudes
Blinded for years to Grace
Now with clarity and presence
Looking back and even today
Not only knowing that
God works in mysterious ways,
For I see myself through His Grace

Watching the pond bank
Frogs leap above a Lotus
Mud reveals beauty