The Poetry Marathon

ABOVE THE CLOUDS

Hour 12 (Marathon Prompt – Pick a random book from the shelf.  Read the first line and the last line.  Pick one and use every word of that line somewhere in your poem.)

The Book:  A Million Little Pieces

First Line:  I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and the feeling of something warm dripping down my chin.

 

ABOVE THE CLOUDS

 

Airplane engine sputters, starts

Adrenaline rush soon fills our hearts.

Accelerated upward climb

Above the clouds in record time

 

Final instructions drone on and on

We’ll soon jump out and then be gone

I’m at the edge and looking down

It’s just white fluff, can’t see the ground

 

And the feeling of something going wrong

Which once was not, but now seems strong

I closed my eyes and felt a push

Plummeting down I felt a swoosh

 

My eyes now open staring up

To discover my chute was not hooked up

Desperately I tried to yell

I’m ‘bout to die…oh my what hell

 

Something warm came dripping down

As I came closer to the ground

I wake to find myself a fool

My chin was wet from sleeping drool

 

Just a dream, a nightmare really

Man oh man do I feel silly

 

 

 

Prompt 12, Hour 12 – Cold Nights

Sentence picked from The Essex Serpant, by Sarah Perry: “A young man walks down by the banks of the Blackwater under the full cold moon.”

 

Dark green waters take on nightly shades, and now,

Blackwater Bay, would make a fine name for such a scene.

Cold weather, river banks and a full moon strain the senses –

Is this repose calm?

Or is the night eerie in design?

A night for walks, is one for the imagination –

Yet alone with thoughts is full company.

Young is the night by and large,

But the spirit feels aged under the moon’s weight.

 

Down the road, a man, young, strolls along

With light steps, and placid shoulders.

For him, the shadows dance.

 

Claim the Power It Brings

Claim the power it brings

and you will do great things.

Love your neighbor as yourself

And no one will be without wealth.

Trust in a power greater than you

and  spiritual gifts will come due.

 

Such are the minds of sisters

Sixth sense, powerhouse,

she’ll tell it to you straight

“You are beautiful.”

“You are smart.”

“You’re not told.”

“It’s never too late to start.”

Extra Kleenex, extra gloss,

extra whatever it is that you need

She’s got your back, 

whether blood or you picked her

Thick and thin, through and through,

such are the minds of sisters,

Hour 11: The Masks We Wear

Inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar “We Wear the Mask”

The Masks We Wear

 

A veil obscures me from the eyes of others,

false confidence under strained smiles masks my desires for belonging,

a pretense of confidence, swathed in fine thread

is ardent desire to end what unravels inside me, and to stop

what — shifting sand, which keeps me from discovering solid ground

where I can stand

we are not “we”, I am only “one” 

and I wear a mask because I must

Poem #11: Greenland exists, doesn’t it?

So many places to visit…in my mind’s imagination. Yet…
Before Lockdown, there were excuses: expenses, time, obligations and the list goes on. And on.
Or, you just book a ticket and travel. That was me.

Now, I sit quietly and imagine …
that I am in Greenland.
Is it green?
I don’t speak their language.
How do I manage?
Kindness and graciousness, just like everyday life.
Clean air, healthy living.

When must I go home?
Fire up your imagination and please join me.

12 – Books & Sentences (2020)

Following the Prompt for Hour 12 (2020 – Half) using Deborah Duffield’s memoir: “Imprisoned in a Body with a Life Sentence” (abuse survival). {TRIGGER WARNING!!}

 

Life began at age 3 –
but only with 1/2 of the glee;
It began with a pain,
I could not foresee.

Now I know,
where I shouldn’t be –
Pain teaches the most
to me;

And I learn all the ways,
That I cannot be myself.

Can I help myself?
Only lifetimes later;
Because ONE person,

Noticed the most,
And,
finally listened to me.

“My life began at age 3 1/2.”
“I know now most of the ways to help myself.”

——————————————————-
Support links (Canada, USA, Australia):
1. https://crcvc.ca/for-victims/services/ 🇨🇦
2. https://www.removingchains.org/resources/usa-hotlines 🇺🇸
3. https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/topics/child-abuse-and-neglect/resources 🇦🇺

🖤 BLM:
+ http://blackchildlegacy.org/resources/child-abuse-and-neglect/

* 🌎 Global crisis line: https://yourlifecounts.org/find-help/
* National Resources: https://www.thehotline.org/resources/
* https://isurvive.org/helpful-resources/abuse-survivor-resources-usa-canada/

🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ: https://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-abuse/abusive-lgbtq-relationships/

🙅🏻🙅🏾‍♂️ Men (male victims):
+ https://aasas.ca/support-and-information/men-and-sexual-assault/

~ This list is not exhaustive. Keep safe, reach out. You and your future are worth the recovery.

Ballad 2

I miss thee terribly:

You can ne’er be farther from touch;

I wish thou I can see,

Let me within thy arms to be.

 

8:00 PM Poem

Elizabeth Wingert

This is my final poem for the marathon. It’s been so much fun doing it all! Thank you to those who commented on some of my poems and for those who have allowed me to participate. Good luck to all who are continuing!!

 

 

12 Taking Steps Into the Edda

Hearing I ask from all the tribes, greater and lesser, the offspring of Heimdall; Father of the Slain, you wish me well to declare living beings’ancient stories those I remember from furthest back.

~First line of The Poetic Edd; Seeress’s Prophecy.~

Taking steps into the Edda.

~willjxn

Listen to the Seeress’s words.

Hearing voices from the past.

I ask from her, please tell;

All the stories of  the Tribes,

Every story, be they greater or lesser.

I am the offspring of Heimdall by my Mother.

Tell me how He became, Father of the Slain.

Declare the ancient stories.

That others may someday wish me well in

my own telling of living beings.

If you will remember:

Tell me those from Furthest back.

 

.

Hour 10-moonshadow

The moon casts a shadow over the sun

In the dark times you think evil has won

But you also take a moment to see what you’ve got

which is greater than most you have quite a lot.

So you start to ponder what life would be like

without your possessions and lifestyle so lav.

The darkness has actually allowed you to see

The stars in the heavens twinkling to me.