The Poetry Marathon

Fabrication

Construction begins tomorrow
at 9am sharp, not weather dependent,
not whether I’m ready or not, not
a question of it not happening,
God willing.

Before 9am, I will say my rosary
and my daily prayers, shower,
slather in some mega-moisture
conditioner and leave it in; I will
not be going anywhere tomorrow.
I will pick a pretty bathing suit and
that will be my construction outfit
for the day; I will not be swimming,
cleaning, doing laundry or cooking,
I won’t even be digging in the garden.

I will be excavating the ponderous pile
of pending poems that are strewn
in random order in my head. My muse,
Harry, and I will sort and write, edit and
polish, one poem an hour for 24 hours.
As a team, we will tap into lines jotted
on scraps of paper, old envelopes, and
lining journals that line every bookshelf,
prompts hanging from curtain rods, hiding
in dust bunny fashion, and those right
before my eyes. The Poetry Marathon
welcomes us in unabashed embrace
and we can hardly wait.

There will not be enough time in one day
for us to deconstruct my writhing darlings,
to undam all those recalcitrant snippets
that litter the byways of my brain canals
but we will pickaxe them like rich veins
of pure gold, mine them into versed lines,
titled, kissed, and cataloged, and then
move on to the next and the next
until two dozen fledglings breathe.

9am Saturday sleepless through 9am
Sunday. A few miles on the exercise bike,
berries in blue, black, and red to snack on,
and the holy grail of decadent rewards –
one piece of dark chocolate for every poem
birthed, scrubbed, and baptized. I hid the bag,
will abracadabra it to my desk in the morning,
along with hot caffeine until noon, then cold,
then maybe a splash of gin that goes so well
with Dove chocolates, and those inspirations
inside the foil wrappers will become magical
poems when the sky is sparkled with stars
and my Harry is napping.

A day away, construction begins tomorrow,
a tool belt full of metaphors, no hard hat,
no work boots – I’ll be barefoot; no way
I’m going to miss this distraction-empty time
writing writing writing. Join me if you dare.

~ J R Turek
June 25, 2021

Hi,

I’m Jarrod. I primarily write fiction, but I’ve also dabbled in poetry. It’s always been present in my writing, in some form or another. I find that sentences themselves sound much better with a little poetic inspiration (after all who doesn’t love alliteration?).

In 2017, I graduated with a BFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. While there, I was part of a poetry club. We called this little club ‘Poets with Passion’ and though poets came and went it was mostly the club president and I (an amazing writer we’ll just call IJ) attempting really poor and very loud slam poetry at various venues in Atlanta. Looking back, I realize the looks of surprise were more from people being shocked at the volume and affectation than the effectiveness of my prose.

I signed up for the Poetry Marathon because, to be honest, I’ve kind of abandoned poetry. I miss writing/performing it, and while I don’t miss the open-mic yelling, I do miss the emotion.

I’m looking for a car-battery-hooked-to-nipples type of jump start, so I think this will be perfect. I hope to get a lot of writing done and to run across a word or sentence, some bit of writing that reminds me of why I cared about poetry in the first place.

See you on the other side, ever-enduring word cadets.

Hi! I live in Los Angeles, CA and am currently working on my first novel. While prose has always been my focus, I love the creativity and whimsy of poetry. I haven’t written any since college so I am excited to see what new passions this marathon can unleash.

It’s been seven years since I first introduced myself to this incredible group. And I’m still writing poetry, still putting it out there, still finding (sometimes!) homes for what crystallises from my inner chaos. I love my annual participation in the Half Marathon: I’ve made so many friends! Not to mention that each year, at least a couple of the pieces I draft (in the 12 hours I suspend my disbelief that I can do this) are published.

I live in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We moved here 4+ years ago, to be w/ my son, DIL, and 2 grandsons. I’ve never been happier. I find myself writing about this new landscape, the foggy mountainscape, the different birds & chipmunks & voles… I’m very lucky we moved before last year’s madness.

Here’s hoping that this year is brighter than last, and that we all complete our work!

Hey y’all, I’m Allison. I’m a 37-year old writer based in Chicago, where it’s supposed to thunderstorm all weekend. Bad for people who want to enjoy vaccinated life at the beach, but great for me! This is my first marathon, and I’m hoping it’ll help me warm up the poem-writing muscles I haven’t used much since I started working as a film and TV critic. I’m also trying to raise money for the Chicago Black Drag Council, which gives out microgrants to Black nightlife gig workers across the country.

Sadly, I don’t use Facebook, but if anyone out there wants to connect over Twitter or Insta, hit me up. And if you need a cheerleader, I am terrible at cartwheels but great at Leslie Knope-style inspirational speeches. Let me know.

Hi guys,

I’m Jade and this is my 4 or 5th marathon. I’m writing from Chicago. I’m excited and really hope everyone has a great time.

Hello Fellow Marathoners!

I hail from Cleveland, Ohio and I’m a middle school teacher. This will be my third 1/2 marathon, and I can’t wait to write again with you.  I have a commitment in the morning I couldn’t reschedule, so I may be playing a bit of catch up throughout the day but I’m ready to go with all my provisions: coffee, coffee and more coffee!  Happy Writing Everyone!!!

Oliver made me do it! Well, he suggested it, then Carol, Heidi and I recognized a good thing and joined. I appreciate being part of a worldwide search for new and wonderful poems. Here in the Seattle area the marathon starts at 6 am (earlier than my usual wake-up time) so I’ve set my alarm and plan an early bedtime. I have a pile of beautifully blank lined paper and pens set out. The idea of writing a one line poem is both a relief and a challenge, for I know that sometime during the day I have to go to my daughter’s house and feed her cats. I know that has to fit in sometime. Welcome, friends, to this joint quest!

Hello Every one, my name is Brian and I’m really looking forward to doing my first half marathon tomorrow.

See you all soon

Brian