The Poetry Marathon

Fish, Enough for You to Fry

For years and years the fisherman had a friend.
It aided him– but, was equally pest.
Sought by the sturgeon, large mouth and small mouth
Hook, line and sinker did the trick every time.

Enough fish to make you happy, fill your
net again and again. The Mayfly is the bait
of which the fish can’t resist. Over rock and
under dock, the swarm is something
grand for all to see. The sky darkened black,
Hell on earth if but only for a brief time.

For the show is over as they lay their on the bed,
one would mistake them for dead but they are molting.
Riverbanks come alive with a million wings

yearning to meet in one final swarm.
Only for a moment, only once this year.
Understand the meaning, understand the plight.

The Mayfly is just as important to the earth as you are I.
Our future is with them and on them we rely.

Forgo the chit chat and let’s get to the point,
Read up on the little guy and then you will know.
You will never look at the Mayfly the same way again.

Hour fourteen, 10pm
Fish, Enough for You to Fry
(form Acrostic/ Blank Verse)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Everyone Wants to Love

Everyone wants to love
very much.
Everyone wants a hug,
reeling from a touch.
You hear what I’m saying?
One thing leads to another,
next time you pass me by
entertain me brother if you chose to bother.

We all want to rule the world,
and one thing leads to another.
Next you will tell me
that there’s a war being waged
so close to our shore.

To brother to brother,
oh, from mother to mother,

love one another now.
Oh, please hear me and how.
Vote with your heart and your head.
End it somehow, before we’re all dead.

Hour thirteen, 9pm
Everyone Wants to Love
(form Acrostic/ Drabble)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Invincible and Ancient

It is true the Mayfly, Shad-fly, Fish-fly or Up-winged fly
named so because the long tail and wings don’t touch the belly.
Victorious, invincible and practically eternal the innocent
invertebrate is quite the insect. They have been around forever.
Note that they serve a very important purpose.
Creating a menu for those in the food chain above them.
Interesting fact; the Mayfly is amazing!
Before man, long before the dinosaurs
legions and legions of these winged short lived beauties
existed. Long ago, even before time.

And they have no time to eat
no time to talk, they have no mouth parts–
don’t speak. There is no time to sleep,

All they want to do, all they need to do…
need to do is reproduce and fill the seat.
Centuries and centuries they’ve been here
in perpetuity. Helping the farmers and the fishermen
earn a buck. If you come in contact with one they will
not harm you. Charlie couldn’t even hurt a fly.
The exquisite Ephemeroptera… or Mayfly to you and I.

Hour twelve, 8pm
Invincible and Ancient
(form Acrostic/ Free Verse)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Licked by a toad

Look around your nest and see if the coast is clear.
I hear a bullfrog croak and that I know for sure.
Cautious if you are alone, I would not go outdoors
Kindly, hang out, wait for my sign and stay here.

Everyone knows they are found here this time of year.
Do have them lick you if you’re wishing for a cure.
But, look around your nest and see if the coast is clear.
You may hear a bullfrog croak and then you’ll know for sure.

Also, Charlie be careful and try to swallow your fear.
To the shadows with others who can not yet soar.
Oh, like a boat to a rudder and a sea to a shore.
Almost made it to half a year, grab the tiller and steer.
Do look around your nest and see if the coast is clear.

Hour eleven, 7pm
Licked by a Toad
(form Acrostic/ Rondel)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Raccoon Comes to Call

Raccoon
along came
chittering, so
close to the fence line.
Out loud chattering on
our front lawn, there blathering
now! Leave us alone here at home.

Come
out you
monitor,
el predator,
Some sharp carnivore.

too close to the new kill
out loud “Do you have the will?”

Call of the wild, it would be mild
all we have left can open the door.
Love your brother and please help your mother,
Lastly, please watch the raccoon in the trash can.

Hour ten, 6pm
A Raccoon Comes to Call
(form Acrostic/ additive syllabics)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Another Failed Attempt

Another failed attempt.
Nature laughs in contempt
or in contemplation.
The other failed attempts
hover like ghosts incensed.
Either ether or intents;
ruinous is the empathy.

Failed again? Don’t look so down
and there really is a new tomorrow.
I’ll take that bet, you will regret
look here, Charlie– he’s a winner.
Every dog has their day but;
don’t pee on my leg and tell me that it’s raining.

At the end of the day
the goal is to get Charlie to a partner.
That is our quest, but I think it fair to warn you.
Each female can breed on their own.
Moreover they don’t need the male,
“Parthenogenesis” or something it’s called.
The adult females only live for a couple of hours.

Hour nine, 5pm
Another Failed Attempt
(form Acrostic/ syllabics)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Hail, Rain and Drought

He moved a bit more than before in hour eight,
and the rain soaked the lawn. Now, sun overhead
it left Charlie with a feeling of dread. Wait,
Listen, I’m not quite done. A feeling of dread;

roughly made bed or one just used for fun.
Another cold night you will never see,
if hope springs eternal the deed will be done.
Never worry Charlie, I’ve just got to be me

And you just got to be you. If the heel
now fits the shoe, follow the bread crumb
dotted trail. What perils remain to test his steel?
Dropped in the poor box but priceless to some.

Rutted. Charlie fights and digs his burrow, a shady
outcrop tract of earth and molted clay.
Under the oak tree leaf roof, Charlie bravely
goes through the motions and gets through the day.

Hold on! Wait! What do I see? What are those things?
The nymph becomes a fly? Have you sprouted wings?

Hour eight, 4pm
Hail, Rain and Drought
(form Acrostic/ Heroic Sonnet)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Cat, Crate and Garden Gate

Charlie watch your back
around you there is a cat
tracking the backyard.

Contained in a crate,
released free into the wild,
audibly adept.

The house cat is free,
everyone knows not to tease,
Anger a cat, no.

Never tease a cat
Do not get them wet. Water
gets them to react.

Artful and playful,
ruthless and vengeful. Hey cat,
don’t you smell a rat?

Even in low light,
near darkness is no problem.
Glowing in the dark.

Anticipate your
trip across the dish. Just don’t
enter in the light.

Hour seven, 3pm
Cat, Crate and Garden Gate.
(form Acrostic/ 7 Senryu)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

The Burrow and the Bore

The molting has begun, my body’s changing,
have to find a home in which to start to grow,
end game without praying, no need to explain things.

Buried deep in the colloquial saying,
used to reap what you did sow,
river molting has begun, my body is changing.

Rapid shedding, why is it raining?
Oh beware, the water table is low.
without praying, no need to explain things.

Alive at last, I don’t need any training.
Never you fear, I continue to grow,
daily molting has begun, my body’s changing.

The time for me to dig and get to the grounding.
Here in my world nothing ever happens slow,
even with praying, no need to explain things.

Broken, earthen, with a pounding
Oh tend to the curtains and bar the front door.
River molting has begun, my body’s changing,
every game begins and ends without ever praying.

Hour six, 2pm
The Burrow and the Bore
(form Acrostic/ Villanelle )
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone

Stuck there for Days Unknown

Stuck there like a sponge.
The viscous walls closing in,
unknown, unaware.

Cracks in the pavement,
krill like creatures come to life,
The fast dance of wings.

Here for a moment
each then gone with a flutter.
Race. Mayfly live on.

Earn your position,
fight for what is right. Alright.
Open doors soon shut.

Relax and unwind.
Days have passed you by and by.
All this time waiting.

Yet, what’s it all for?
Still, you sit and wait and wait
Unfit and alone.

Not wasting your time.
Knowing all too well, too well
now is not the time.

Own up and move on.
Wake up Charlie, move along.
Now, Charlie get born.

Hour Five, 1pm

Stuck there for Days Unknown
(form Acrostic/ 8 haiku series 5 of 24)
Charlie the Mayfly.

v.j.calone