The Poetry Marathon

The only one that sees is my basement walls: dirty pours

The only one that sees is my basement walls: dirty pours

 

The canvas, suspended by two wrinkled cups,

stands tall waiting for me to pour the mixed

paint. I watch it fall off the canvas and pool

onto the aluminum guard protecting

my table. It creates shapes unrecognized

by anyone except me, colored clouds

on my own white sky. I burrow in my basement

and squirrel them away once they dry. I name

them with names that I forget, never writing

them down, scared of mistakes, scared of permanence.

Imagine Nation (hour 9, prompt 9)

Skies of glitter majesty
Lakes of crystal light
The wind is music on my skin
And everywhere’s a sight
There’s magick in the very air
A world lit up in rainbow hues
And in a field of fairy dust
The unicorns are dancing, too
It’s a page straight from my dreams
It’s magick determination
If only I could capture it
My Sovereign Imagine Nation.
~Mandy Kocsis©2020~

2020 Marathon Hour 11 – The Right Thing

It can be moral, ethical,
kind, and decent.
Generous and honest.
And it can still suck.

It can be costly, scary,
hard and ugly,
agonizing and vulnerable.
And it can be right.

They warn you that right isn’t always easy.

No good deed goes unpunished, after all.

But how many ways it comes at you:
Lost friends, alienated relatives,
bullying, backlash, bitching,
stress, anxiety, doxxing,
beatings, lynchings, arson,
lost opportunities,
a life measurably more difficult.

Maybe they should emphasize that a little more.

Just finding the right thing can be messy
Minefield messy, with a side of timebomb.
The Law of Shared Space:
With two or more sets of feet, sooner or later
Someone’s toes are getting stepped on.
The Law of Schedules:
With two or more sets of priorities, sooner or later,
Someone’s not going to be where they’re wanted.
The Law of Action:
If you don’t make a choice, you lose.

Good people get hurt no matter what you choose.

Even taking all the pain yourself doesn’t just make it right.
Because you’re probably a good person, too.
If you’re worried about doing the right thing.

The Way In

Before this land

was settled.

I wandered free.

I worked the land.

I spoke the language of trees

and flowers.

 

Before there was greed

there was gratitude.

Before there was judgment

there was grace.

 

Harmony and peace

were twinned constants,

and there was no want–

and therefore no disappointment.

 

I can see this place

clearly, but I

cannot see

the way

in.

Untitled

What is life?? Is it about love or hate, is it about a person’s personality is it the way one chooses to live his life despite all odds

We all have questions we ask ourselves what’s our purpose on earth??                      Why was it my mother that bore me and not someone else’s was it predestined or was it just a mere coincidence

Some live the day one by one without knowing anything they have lost all hope and think their fate is to suffer??

What is your fate i ask thee and where is your faith?

If your fate has been cursed i challenge you to change it do whatever you have to do accomplish the greatness in you don’t quench that insatiable fire burning in you

Even if the world gives up on you, your parents disown and you’re rebuked by everyone and your name has been changed to failure you have no right to give up on yourself

And when searching for success don’t allow the lust push you to making unavoidable mistakes because in the long run you will regret it

Do not be weary of tomorrow when you aren’t done solving today because tomorrow never dies and everyone as a success story as long as he fails to give up

2020 Poetry Marathon, Hour 11

The prompt for hour 11 is to write a poem about a place you’ve never been. I sort of did that. (Sort of.)

(more…)

Sailor

 

I aint unto how to learn swim
Beacuse I’m a sailor,
If my ship wrecks and I stucked in an island
With only two options
Either starve to death or suicide
I would select suicide
I would jump into the sea and drown to death

11 – The Cats In The Yard

The cats in the yard sleep in the sun, stretched out where everyone can see.

The cats in the yard climb on cars and chase bugs across the parking lot, without a second guess.

The cats in the yard move through their world with complete volition. They take up space and they don’t give a damn.

Meanwhile, I can’t even sit down without questioning if I’m even entitled to sit here. I curl myself into corners and hope that no one notices.

The Revolt Poet – StatesEyed

I am an anti-British
Anti-establishment, cocky prick,
Shock and awe poetry,
And vitriol in the words I spit.
I’m not sure how well this anglo-centrism can stick,
Because after all the world world is full of shit.
This is my first international gig.
Take it seriously. Prepare for it.
Why bother? Wing it – it’s more authentic.

An American poem, you’ve never read?
Do it. Better said
Than left in your head.
Both sides of the Atlantic
Hate the wearers of those dumb hats, red,
“Make America Great Again” embroidered

Because America, like its founder, the UK,
Has made one fundamental mistake
Neither place, was ever “Great”
In the first place.

prompt 11 hour 11 places in between

places in between

 

I long to be in between words

where possibility allows me to walk with all beings

illuminated in liminality beyond all imagination…

 

all those Wise Ones tell me to dream into those spaces

in between words

breaths

silences

where all perfection lives in the dream worlds

of all those who dreamed me here,

revealing me to my perfections, too.

 

if I could get there –

into those liminal spaces,

could I dream into them,

revealing your perfections to you?

© r. l. elke