The Poetry Marathon

Poem #11

city in the sky

somewhere beyond the stars
there is a place
way up beyond our sky
nothing but blank space
you know the space when you fly in between the clouds?
it’s a lot like that
i once thought i saw a whole city there
it wasn’t a flashing glance
i stared at it fully from end to end
it was absolutely amazing
and i wondered if i was the only one
who had seen it
if i was the only one who saw the bridge
that led to the gate
and it was beyond breathtaking
i wondered if they saw us go flying by
the way we watch airplanes from the ground
i wondered if they waved
and wondered why i didn’t even say hi

How Long, Exactly, Is Eternity?

“I’ve never been to heaven, but I’ve been to Oklahoma.”
–Hoyt Axton

No one I know
has made the trip to heaven
and come back to tell about it.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
landed on the moon,
and brought back photographs.

Marco Polo came back from China
with noodles and other treasures.

Heaven, though, if it exists,
we can only imagine.
If someone tells you they know for sure,
pretty good chance, they’re lying,
or taking some other liar’s word for it.

Here’s what I’d like it to be:

Nice weather, but not the same every day.
Work to do, but not so much
that there’s no time for play.

Healthy children
with fields and forests to explore,
Dogs, cats, goats, and llamas,
Elephants, tigers, rhinos.
They’re all vegan now.

Everyone has a home,
and if they want one, a garden.
No one is shunned.
There is no such thing as cruelty.
Or boredom.
Politicians are not required.

You’re there with me, love,
as young as when we first met,
when we were in our prime,
but knowing what we know now,
how precious time is.

Message For The Wooks, Hour 11

Acidic state of mind like it’s 1967
Damn Trustafarians
Boho fashion victims stuck in drum circle repatitions
Totally blissed out

Peace and love and DMT vape pen hits
Masquerading as insight
Up all night candyflipping to the rhythm
Of a drug-induced spiritual blackout
What’s that about?

Smoke pounds of pot
Listen to Allen Watts over drum and bass ambience
Whoever’s wokest is the champion
Virtue signalling ego-driven ignorant little snots
Quit posturing

Love’s what I got
But in case we forgot
Dude died from an overdose of ‘medicine’
Quote McKenna and claim culture ain’t your friend
But what the fuck do you call what you’re embedded in?

-written immediately after listening to ‘Up All Night’ by El-P

Letter to A Friend

Your huge incredible life adventure brought you to us.
We have been so blessed by your presence here. You have brought insight, comfort, and laughter.
You have taught us to see the joy in the smallest moments, because joy does exist there.
You have encouraged us to see the lessons in our struggles differently, as learning experiences and opportunities rather than obstacles and failures.

The day-to-day grind haunts all of us but chafes your tender skin even more.
Your sadness is heartbreaking for those of us who love you.
You are an amazing light for so many of us
We can’t imagine that you ever sit in darkness.

There was a time when I was visiting a little festival on the beach.
As the sun dropped in the sky, the band on stage grew quieter.
Then they stopped playing and turned to watch the sky.
As the sun melted into the ocean, the entire beach erupted in applause.
As if sunsets didn’t happen every day.

I wish you renewed hop and restored joy.
That you tread water less and swim more.
That your heart heals and you are filled with the love of your tribe.
That you are overwhelmed by the most beautiful ordinary you’ve ever experienced.

It Waits For Me – 11th hour prompt – kjkidder

Somewhere on a mountaintop in a Holy Land

There is a spot that waits for me to stand

Wrapped in grace, white robes, barefoot in the sand

The air is sweet-tasting and pure and soft on my skin

Yes, soft like a kiss.

It is a place where we cannot see the color of skin

It is translucent and flawless, fluid and yet solid

I could hold you if you were there

and you would feel only love,

my love

And while I’d love to hold you there,

It’s only about His love that I ultimately care.

There are those who’ve loved Him here and said

They wanted to drink His cup and go with Him, ultimately some did.

Brave and dearly beloved, they followed Him faithfully.

No matter how I might, it is only by His grace for me.

I see them in the distance, highly favored

now, with the many crowns they lay at His feet.

So many crowns, the jewels light up the day

There is no night, no one is tired, no one is too hot

Or too cold. There are none who are sick or weak

Strength and joy are everywhere. People I know

Laughing and singing and welcoming newcomers.

There is a feeling of tenderness and peace and knowing all

It seems I’ve been here once before, but I don’t remember how.

I only know that place waits for me one day.

Delirious

As my Zoom meeting rambled into its ninth hour,

lethargy zapped me of any remaining power.

 

Sitting on my deck didn’t help the matter,

as the sun’s heat beat down like John Henry’s hammer.

 

The strange stench of my own clothes

wandered up and grabbed my nose.

 

I had just the thing to mask the smell,

and I applied a bottle of Firefly Chanel.

 

Before the meeting reached hour number ten,

I saw a grizzly bear wander out of the glen.

 

He mumbled something about a girl eating his porridge

then asked, “Who owns this cottage? I need a place with more storage.”

 

At this point, I toppled right out of my chair

and warned my boss about the bear.

 

The last thing I saw before I passed out

was that the top of the tree line had begun to sprout.

Stay Away From The USA

I want to stay away from the USA

I know not all of it is fundamental religiosity

But I have no burning curiosity to see

A land happy in origin of its rejection of me

Its symbols are crashing and being torn

Down beneath banners

The souls of the undead govern and rally cries

of white supremacists are heard

 

It scares me. A country

Whose main difference is that

It operates blatantly

Where mine remains bound

By the pleasantries of political play.

It’s like a game to some I’m sure

But they’re dying by their thousands

It fills me with fear

The rhetoric of the USA

 

I’ve passed through its gates

A conduit for home or adventure

But it’s not pulled me in to Vegas or Washington

And I’ve got plenty of good friends

And people I know who remain

Trapped state by state  but this game

Of legal organisation is wearing thin

Even for them and I wish I had a chain

I could throw out to them to escape

 

Cowards wear running shoes and

Patriots wear caps. Red ones

Police have cuffs, tasers and guns

And the inalienable right to take down

Or disable a suspect, warrant or none

And right in your living room, for no money to pay

You can see police killing, people dying

Fragments of a society that’s

been on the collapse for several lifetimes

I want to stay away from the USA

2020 – 11

I want to believe
that there’s a place
where when we leave
we’ll see a face
of someone else
who we hold dear
that was there first,
maybe last year.

I need some faith
(we can’t be sure)
that in that place
there’s joys galore.
When I get there
I hope I’ll see
all those who were
so dear to me.

KINDNESS CORNER

Hour 11 (Marathon Prompt – write about a place, real or fictional, that you have never been. I am using the acrostic poem style)

 

KINDNESS CORNER

 

K    Kindness found here day and night

I      Individuals see no need to fight

N    Never a disparaging word is spoken

D    Dreams are real here, no hearts broken

N     Nice and neighborly together we

E     Erase the hate and let peace be

S     Second nature for one, for all

S     Seize each day and heed its call

 

C   Cause when we act for the better good

O    Our lives seem happier as they should

R    Rewarded for our better ways

N    Nurtured in us every day

E    Equality reigns and love’s no foreigner

R    Replenish your soul at Kindness Corner

 

Skay Hour 11

 

On my garden’s calls

 

She’s a siren, that Garden
Calling forever to preen
All her troops in unison.

Clematis, roses, fuscias, peppers
Beans and penstemons nod in unison
Herbs and cucumber sing a chorus

Nurture us
Talk to us
Sing to us

We’re your children too