The Poetry Marathon – Page 1476 – 24 Poems ~ 24 Hours

Posted By nadinefrisk

Season Of The Prince – Hour 7

The sand shakes beneath his feet
The air hangs heavy in rooms graced by his presence
Power shifts across the region at the flick of his finger
His enemies shudder at the whisper of his name
Make way!
He has arrived
Thobe, sandals, beard and all
Make way for Bin Salman!

It started with an all-encompassing vision
A bright future for all Saudis, maybe even the whole Middle East
With every step he took
The chess pieces fell
One-less obstacle to stand in his way
As many uncles and cousins as he needed to toss aside
For the puzzle-pieces of his master plan to fall into place

There is a beauty in the determination of the young
But there is also a looming danger of recklessness
Did Yemen have to suffer?
Did Qatar have to be blockaded?
Did Loujain and her peers have to be tortured?
Did Khashoggi have to die?

They are not the leaders we chose
But they are the leaders we have
Sitting in their grand palace complexes
Their walls graced with works by the likes of Da Vinci
But we must trust them to look out for the frail man on the street

His presence has been felt by the world
Journalists and academics alike chant his initials like a mantra
His grimmest expressions spattered across Al Jazeera’s reports
Discussions of his legacy has turned friends into foes

Maybe, just maybe the destruction laid in his wake
Will be healed by the changes he intentionally or unwittingly set into motion
Maybe underneath the haughty façade is just a deeply flawed human being with good intentions
Or maybe greed and power trumps all

One thing’s for sure
It’s the Season of the Prince.

Posted By Anwar Suleman

7. UNDER THE STARRY NIGHT

As the sun sets and gives way to the shimmering stars,

the gentle lapping of the water on the bow of the boat,

I search for and entwine my fingers in your warm, soft hands.

As the night sets in,

a sliver of the luminescent moon,

reflects off the still water and kisses your cheek.

Breathtakingly beautiful, you are in this glow,

My heart constricts in this moment,

out of love for you.

I reach out to bring you closer to me,

to embrace you.

The boat rocks gently, as our lips meet,

your fragrance permeates the still air,

all else melts away, just you and I

under the starry, moonlit night.

Posted By pgerber

Season of the Eclipses (Prompt 7)

A fortnight between lunar to solar,

the moon leading the charge, ironically,

since she, stoic, obedient, seemingly lifeless,

bleeds light from her partner’s ebullience.

Rarely do they two-step, lunar, solar, lunar,

except for now, in this epic moment.

Each semester, the six months’ separation of moon

to sun, lunar to solar, a new batch of eager students arrive,

like mouth-bitten peaches and blood oranges, the

sun, moon, and stars, embarrassed by the shady passing,

imperfect spheres of silent angst, expressionless moons,

and blistering gas balls of energetic suns,

and sit in scruffy rows among creaking computer carousels.

But today, as the moon leapfrogs the sun,

sobering the gleeful optimism of a new beginning,

anticipating the new school year, in the season of death,

stars falling from the sky landing in my cyber classroom.

This short summer of pandemic zooms, eclipse all

the twenty years of semesters spent in dusty classrooms,

pacing the moldy carpets in the institutional cement,

encasing the recycled dreams

and air

of generations

of what-if’s

and coughs

and viruses,

now casting

blackness

over us

the cosmos

we are.

Posted By mshk20

4. Dear Nani

Dear Nani,

I hope the days are passing by with peace and prosperity for you.

I hope your days are filled with health and joy as you age.

How are you doing since we last spent time with each other?

I hear good things from mom, but how are you really?

Have the days been passing by faster or slower than normal.

Did you expect anything like this to happen?

I know I didn’t. I was supposed to see you again this summer.

But sometimes things like this happen I guess.

Anyway, although it’s been a couple years since the last time we spoke,

I still think of you fondly and remember the stories you told me,

I still remember the foods you made for me and how we enjoyed each other’s company.

Although there may be people who tried to make me feel a certain way about you,

I understand that sometimes misunderstandings are created on purpose to change the dynamics of a relationship,

Sometimes people begin to feel jealous and begin interfering with the beautiful bond we have.

The forced misunderstandings may have led to some awkward situations, but it hasn’t changed the essence of our love and respect for each other.I will always have an extreme amount of respect for you.

I understand that you have been through a lot of suffering in your lifetime and you still chose to live. I understand that life has brought you down an infinite amount of times but you still chose to rise above them. I understand that you have been hit with struggles that I couldn’t even imagine, nor that you would share with me, but you still chose to live through them instead of letting them drown you.

There are moments that I’ve lived through with your daughter and your other grandchildren that were some of the worst times of our lives, filled with life long traumas that we are still dealing with today.I want you to know that it is because of mom and you that I realized that there is a point to living a long life.I realized that there is a point to moving past the pains of our generational traumas that came from the pasts.

I am writing this to you to say thank you for pushing past your life’s traumas and doing the best you could to make my mom’s life better. She is doing the same for me and it’s inspired me to create a thriving life outside of what was expected of me in our traditional family household’s expectations.

Thank you for staying alive and handing down the resiliency and tenacious characteristics that you developed all those years ago. Thank you for passing down your intellectual curiosity and love of learning to me. Thank you for passing down your nurturing side and all of your love to both my mother and I. Thank you for reminding me that living life through the ups and downs is what makes the story worth living for.

Life, I know understand is not meant to be perfect, but it is meant to help one grow into who they were born to become. This is something that I realized after my visits with you and I want to remind you that you are an inspiration to me. I’m grateful to have the traits that you developed throughout your life and I will not forget them. I will not only survive the pains like you and my mother, but I will thrive off of all of the challenges that I face and continue overcoming them for however long I live.

Nani, you are a powerful woman and I’m lucky to have you as my grandmother.

Lots of love from your U.S but totally Punjabi Granddaughter,

Harmeet

Posted By yibbet

Translation transformation

e.e. cumming’s poem “a clown’s smirk in the skull of a babboon,” sent through every language, alphabetically, on google translate (including English) and then back to English

Every day
Both sides
Let’s go
Try fruits
There are people in this world.
Just a moment
Everything is up to date.
Quick answer
I forgot to see the birds
I love you

He was arrested in June.
Star time
Oops now!
Not at all
Activities of Conservatism
(Possible)
They chose the boat
I like blue

I love you

The leader must fight in front of the people.
Don’t forget
New day)
Is that right?
It is very intelligent
Traditional food
Food for the eyes
Click an item
What are you doing?
I love you

Water (see below)
It’s not bad
How!
I do not remember
I love you

original:

a clown’s smirk in the skull of a baboon

(where once good lips stalked or eyes firmly stirred)

my mirror gives me on this afternoon;

i am a shape that can but eat and turd

ere with the dirt death shall him vastly gird

a coward waiting clumsily to cease

whom every perfect thing meanwhile doth miss;

a hand’s impression in an empty glove

a soon forgotten tune a house for lease.

I have never loved you dear as now i love

behold this fool who in the month of June

having certain stars and planets heard

rose very slowly in a tight balloon

until the smallening world became absurd;

him did an archer spy(whose aim had erred

never)and by that little trick or this

he shot the aeronaut down into the abyss

—and wonderfully i fell through the green groove

of twilight striking into many a piece.

I have never loved you dear as now i love

god’s terrible face brighter than a spoon

collects the image of one fatal word;

so that my life(which liked the sun and the moon)

resembles something that has not occurred:

i am a birdcage without any bird

a collar looking for a dog a kiss

without lips;a prayer lacking any knees

but something beats within my shirt to prove

he is undead who living noone is.

I have never loved you dear as now i love.

Hell(by most humble me which shall increase)

open thy fire!for i have had some bliss

of one small lady upon earth above;

to whom i cry remembering her face

i have never loved you dear as now i love

Posted By sage moondancer

Yellow Submarine

It’s pervasive enough to the point where it’s impossible not to notice.

you were born here and this is where your fight will conclude.

don’t get spun out in the logistics of existentialism.

it will only drag you down. the important thing to remember is

if the sub sinks, we’re all going down with it

so it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep it afloat.

Posted By Blessing Omeiza Ojo

Season of Songs

Darkness has gotten enough from us –
freedom to love, to breathe, and to roam.
The sun rises only to obeisance:

the world has not seen light in a long while.

And you are here, alone, saying to darkness:
I’m open to welcoming any thing, even death.
Mother, I won’t give you away.

Sometimes, violence is the language
grief, no matter the brittleness, understands.
Mother, permit me to be a rebel.

Well, I’ve found a peel for sorrow,
songs about a world free from stenches,
about hope, about us dancing in the rain.

I look at you and see the ugliness of grief.
Whatever has jinxed you shall taste death,
for this time is a season of songs.

Posted By LisaAllenHyde

A letter to my past

You said that you wished we were real

but we were, don’t you see?

If we were not real, why does it hurt so?

I don’t need to pinch myself to feel the pain

to know that we were real.

Two years and I still catch my breath

when I see your face or hear your voice in my mind.

We won’t grow old together

or cruise down the Ocean Road.

You won’t carve our initials in the bench by

the hydrangea but oh

we were real.

Some people are meant to be together but

it obviously wasn’t us.

You are gone, but the hurt it stays

as real as you and me.

Posted By selflovemagic

Season of Friendship- Prompt 7

I remember a time when

We waded in the creek

digging for the smoothest rocks

nestled in the murky sand below

the ones that leaked red and blue and green

We would drag them on our cheeks

and arms to decorate our bodies

with muddy war paint.

We would play in the field

And grab handfuls of dandelions.

I would put them in your hair and

Your’s in mine.

We’d blow the seeds as far as we could.

And summer would last forever

“it only takes one seed

To make at least a hundred more flowers”, I told you once

but you didn’t believe me.

We soaked in the sun and ate popsicles

My legs had hair already and yours were still bare.

Both of our feet looked the same

ruddy with blisters, cuts and mosquito bites.

Years later it was summer again

but your eyes had long frozen over

I held dandelions tall and wispy

Beneath your lips , but you turned away

That stuff is childish, you said

Posted By angelatheresaegicwrites

Prompt Five (5): If I Jump Off Here

If I jump off here…

Will you be there?

If I fly away though this path…

Will you join me on the journey?

If I jump off here…

Will I land beside you?

If I never see you again…

Will you seek me forever?

If I jump off here…

Please forgive me soon.

It was not you I left.

It was them.