The Poetry Marathon

I’m One with the Shore – Hour Sixteen

I’m One with the Shore

I am most at peace when
I’m one with the shore
Whether swimming or fishing
Or there
I find great release
When I open the door
To letting nature take the lead
I’m one with the shore
With a chair in the sand and
A pole with a line dangling near
The fun in the sport of catch and release
The chase and the hunt I hold dear
I’m one with the shore
When I walk all alone
The silence clearing out my thoughts
No hassle, no phone, no distractions, no loss
Just the sand that I strive to impress
Life can be unnerving; commitments so daunting
Sometimes it’s best to get away
When I find my voice, yet again, it’s quite certain
It’s best when married to the shore

Hour 16 “What I’ve Done…”

Hour 16

9/2/2023

 

“What I’ve Done…”

 

I’ve wondered the whys,

questioned the hows,

followed the winds,

rode the seas and sailed.

 

Walked my talk,

wandered amongst the clouds,

cried for the innocent,

prayed for the guilty.

 

I’ve touched the face of God,

as I awaited so many ends of me.

 

Chris

(C) Chris Twyford 9/2/2023

Hour 16- I’m a Big Dog

Lazily, I look at you with a look that morphs into a snarl.

I swiftly stand and glare at you, my ears are flattened back.

Taking a step closer, I go to my full height

Testily, I stalk you, circling, causing you fright.

Like a bulldog, I rush towards you

Every intention to do damage

Determined to show you how big I am, I race near and

Over to you and with a leap

Grab hold of your ankle, because that is all that I can reach.

Grape Gloss hour 15

Grape Gloss

I place an order online
from Home Depot for 2 cases
of Grape Gloss spray paint.
Popular color, they never have
enough in the store; I ordered it
shipped to the store one time
and an employee sold all 12 cans
before I could pick them up.
Easy order, ships in a few days.

I go about my life then realize
I never got the paint. Next day,
UPS leaves a sticky note on my door.
Sorry we missed you, be back tomorrow.
Except I wouldn’t be home. I call, get
a runaround, next day, get another note.
A little threatening, sending my order
back if I don’t sign for it. Sign for it?
I call, another waste of time.

Spray paint, do they think I am a child,
a teenager set to paint our neighborhood
gloss grape? I’m anxious, want to paint
porch flower pots, deck tables, things
I want purple. Finally, I get someone
on the phone who promises the driver
will be to me at 8 the next morning.

I set the alarm, go outside to prune roses,
weed gardens until he gets there, except
he doesn’t. Two hours later it is raining.
I give up and go do my errands. A final
threat stuck to my door. I lose my cool,
scream and threaten them. Next day,
I see the driver pull up; I secure the dogs
to open the door and sign and he waves
me off, tells me he’ll sign it for me,
smiles and leaves.

Hmm, why couldn’t the other driver
do that? Still annoyed, next time
I order it, I’ll request FedEx; I think
they will understand. After all,
their logo is part purple.

~ J R Turek Hour 15

Prompt Sixteen – Come, visit me please

Prompt Sixteen – Text Prompt

Write a poem that is pretending to be something else, a set of instructions, a recipe, a letter, a news report, etc.

 

Come, visit me please

 

Dear Dad,

Hope you’re well, but you know,

I have a bone to pick with you, old man

been cross with you for a while.

It’s not enough to sit in a photo frame

smiling your gentle beatific smile.

What’s the use of being my muse

and sending lightbulbs from afar?

Why can’t you visit, pop in some time,

my heartmind door is always ajar.

Almost three years, since you marched away,

can’t you please turn around, and see?

I’m doing so fine with this life of mine

wont you please, please just visit me?

She did the decent thing, you know,

and came to me one night.

Magnificent Ma, in her old housecoat,

just to say she’s doing all right.

I need to know that you’re ok too

even as you’ve gone and crossed the line.

I need to share this cake with you

today, as you turn eighty-nine.

Odd how you’ve managed to stay away,

you and me, we were such a team.

It’s okay you know; I have let you go,

but visit me please,

visit me tonight as I dream.

(Love, from your firstborn)

Affirmation

You! You beautiful soul!

Look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you’re wonderful!

Lift your mood, take a stroll!

The world holds so much that’s colorful!

Wait, no, don’t rhyme

This is a motivational speech, not a poem of marathon time

…

Rewind!

Take control of your life and

Let positive thoughts fill your mind!

…and..don’t change who you are when you’re told to

Because that is not something you should do

Stick to being you

Poem 16

Little choc’late cat

Rests on our first joint purchase

A teal couch, dreaming 

Of lands filled with boxes which

Brim with bobbles and play things

Hour 16 – I Paid $22 For A Burger Or In Which I Guess I Am Not Attractive

I Paid $22 For A Burger Or In Which I Guess I Am Not Attractive
after L. Hart

It is my firm belief
that if you do not think I am beautiful
you should not ask me on a date.

Dates are expensive.

And if you are not
Googly-eye incarnate
we are wasting our time here.

Okay, maybe that’s a lie.

At the very least,
if you are not taken by me
do not let me be the person you call.

Because you planned this.

This over-priced dinner date for two–
that I am collapsing into,
mutating into a fawn once more.

Stuck, or sticking in the molasses of your scorn.

As you smile,
say, “I’ve given up on beautiful women,”
say, “I’m so glad to be here with you.”

A clear line dividing.

As you smile,
say, “pretty women can’t hold a conversation,”
say, “see how easy it is to talk to one another?”

I tell you I am not a woman.

Somehow, it changes nothing.
You spin the word “stunning” in your mouth
and launch it at anything but me.

Reinforcing looks were the baseline you were evaluating.

Thank me for being
more “interesting” than anything else
and look at the women around the room.

Waiting for the next who, with hope, will not respond.

Hour 16-Punishment

Thank you all for coming

Today we will discuss the lack of talent

by some poets,

(specifically this writer.)

She believes, erroneously,

that poetry will change the world.

She never quite gives up,

despite all evidence to the contrary.

As we study this poet’s work,

we can see an unusual amount of triteness,

a lack of form,

a failure to submit to the attributes

long-held by generations

of those we call poets.

Yes audience.

I know, times have changed.

,The conventions of Whitman and Barrett-Browning,

of Frost and Dickenson are long gone.

The parameters of poetry have certainly

modernized.

However, this poet has far overstepped

even that basic framework.

We must fine this poet and those like her,

We must punish the audacity.

How dare anyone

abuse a sacred artform

like poetry.

For shame. For shame people!

 

 

Hour 16: Sorry but not sorry

Dear college counsellor mam
This letter is to inform you that I have failed all my tests yet again
I truly regret and repent
Promise to pass in the next semester
And O! I am sorry I have to beg to state that I am gay
I also beg to stress
That I am together with your son
Our days are rad and nights delicious
Do visit us in our pg sometime…