The Poetry Marathon

I walk alone.

No matter who is beside me,

behind me,

or in front of me.

I walk alone. 

When I pause

to rest,

or recuperate…

I am alone. 

Even among friends

who covet me,

Or hate me.

I walk alone.

Once I had a companion

until the pace was too fast…

So we drifted apart~

~and I walked alone. 

My traveler has since wandered back…

Aimlessly perhaps,

to rest his tired feet

upon my weak and weary back.

I am alone.

As I always will be.

1. Spent most of my twenties wrapped around another person like overgrown ivy that no one thought to manage. Unmanageable in every imaginable way, so naturally, I had to be removed.
2. What people don’t understand is the strength of an unmaintained vine – how it can grow through houses and split the walls, disrupt foundation, tear a building apart from the inside. A strong vine and an indestructible structure, rock meets hard place, extraction while necessary is easier said than done.
3. Never had much of a green thumb, couldn’t keep anything alive. The structure always wanted orchids, but the ivy seemed to only destroy everything in its path. A friend bought me plants, I told him that they wouldn’t survive.
4. The plants given were unique in a way. Extracting a weed, a deeply rooted tree, a long growing vine, is difficult because of its attachment. Almost like a codependency.
5. Okay, fuck off. Yes, it was codependency.
6. Small and green and ready to surely meet their demise, rested my eyes on these potted plants and was told that they thrive on darkness, and neglect. Specifically, “if you pay attention to them, they will die.”
7. I thought the most toxic thing is life was living a life feeling unseen, not cared for, or attended to. The plants began to grow. They proved me wrong. They kept growing, and so did I. I learned to survive, and thrive, without needing much from anyone else.
8. In short: I learned more from hyper-independent, anti-social, and avoidant plants, than I did from my therapist at the time.
9. Plants are cheaper. If your therapist doesn’t cut it, talk to your plants.

Grackle Gang

Iridescent grackle gang

Always in croaky conversation.

Strutting about eating bugs in the front field,

Causing an immediate ruckus at the neighbors’ cat,

Nesting together deep in the cedars

Quick to rise up and swarm a passing hawk-

Dive bombing all aerial predators

Mobbing the threat with a clamorous chorus.

Our flocks’ Early Warning System.

Bette Low  2020

From the feeder corn that made this all possible
The crops worth much less than the land
The beating heart of the nation
pumping syrup
through the veins of the tribes
Out of many one- you die with no heart
But life’s hard when you don’t got a brain.
Still, having no mind is a boon to your courage.

They fight for peace
They scream for silence
There’s a wall to be destroyed
Leave, they don’t want to see you again
Stories of hate, I’ve chronicled them all
They’re written in books, stacked to the roofs
A game of rhetoric, history and pain
A gamble played with lives of many at stake

But in the violence, the fire and smoke
Don’t forget who you are, don’t give up
Can we care for ourselves enough
To consider oneself worthy of love
To reach out and take a stranger’s hand
While the fires rise to the heavens and the rains come down

Tell me how you are going to save the world
When you can’t save yourself
Tell me how you will live with yourself
Once this war ends.

Prompt 22 : Poem inspired by the photo

Shine, flow, grow, breathe

if only greed were not our creed

light, water, earth, air

we always had all we ever need

We move with the waves
We are many we are one
Unity means strength

town of ghosts & oils of snakes

now we have Rueben,
Stella wants to leave yesterday
get to her grandparents
& bunker down till tomorrow never

while i too am keen to disappear
i need to find petrol possibly
a spark plug, battery, new tires
& much more for the cruiser

the capital is the best place
to find what we need fast
despite the drones criss-crossing
the skies between the scrapers

an old man all in black
drags his shadow toward us
starts filling our heads with hope
rumours of things too flawless for truth

pockets of resistance
possibilities of protection
bee propolis & alpaca antibodies
& a safe haven in Tassie

crystal radio set network
across the country
there are more survivors
than we’d imagined

all of which sounds too crazy for words
suddenly i am the one  spruiking flight

Emoji Poetry

I pray for respect love and freedom

While the world celebrates victory, I hold my forehead in shame.

The UK is banning the US.

Parties are no longer condoned.

It is as if we look at the milky way with sunglasses on still in awe of just how curious and foolish we humans truly are.