24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Let us go then, you and I
To the mountain castle
Over the east horizon.
To the mountain castle
Which is explicit outside
But inside is dark and dingy.
Over the east horizon
Which was always calling on
As if I have some association.
Let us go then, you and I
To explore what know not I
But my soul always cry.
Tales of tea and tarot decks
Voodoo priestesses and lords
Precious gems and stones cut raw
Oils and scents and trunks galore
Witches brew and boiling potions
Magic spells cast on wild shores
Ouija boards that channeled spirits
Cuban cigars, dark rum, folklore
Genies waiting inside shiny lamps
Granting wishes in days of yore
Conjured candles, smudges and incense
Covens, caves and secret doors
Full moons at sacred sand dunes
In desert lands with wild boars
Mayan calendars atop pyramids
Mystical beasts with goat-like horns
Gods that ruled the elements
Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, too
Medieval contraptions for pain and suffering
That only anarchists knew
A Shepherd boy named Santiago
Braved it all around the world
In search of treasures long and far away
Leaving behind only a girl
When the sandstorms started swirling
All around him, then he knew
The crystal glasses he’d sipped tea in
Told him exactly what to do
He trekked without his flock
And continued focused as he roamed
Like Dorothy who grew up in Kansas
He learned there’s no place quite like home
My family was never really religious.
We were a mixed family, Catholic and Assembly of God.
Both had strict dogmas that prevented them
from marrying outside their faiths, so, of course,
that is what Mom and Dad wanted to do.
They succeeded. The Catholics won, though. My dad
attended catechism classes so he could marry my mother.
I only learned that recently. They were married at the church,
not in the church. They married in the priest’s rectory,
and only my mother’s brother and his wife attended to witness.
I used to say I was raised miscellaneous protestant. Going to church
was a big effort for my parents. They wanted us to go, yet neither
of them was particularly religious. What is it about the Catholic
church that makes so many young people turn away?
They wouldn’t let us go to Catholic church, but they let us go
to every protestant church any of our friends invited us to.
Vacation Bible School, summer camp, all holidays were spent
going to church with someone else. Until I hit thirteen.
A minister at a non-denominational chapel I had attended
wanted to baptize me. I was afraid to tell my parents until the morning
of the event. They refused to let me go. That cut it for me and churches.
Even when my mother had bouts of going to the Methodist Church or
the Presbyterian Church, I refused. I discovered I had opinions of my own.
Too many of the pastors I talked to couldn’t answer my questions, they
simply said, “You have to accept it on faith.” That is when I knew
those people were no smarter than me, and didn’t have all the answers.
It jaded me. I decided to study everything from anybody.
Later when I married, I converted to Catholicism and had a Catholic
wedding. Years later, I studied Sufism. When I married again, I converted to
Judaism. My husbands felt it was important for me to be like them,
so I played along. I always saw the truth behind all religions, and I studied
every one of them deeply, from their own scriptures. It never bothered me
to convert. I saw the unity behind all the forms. The same truth
illuminates them all. I studied Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism.
There are isms for so-called non-believers, too, like Agnosticism.
Pantheism. Scientology. Rosicrucianism. Universalism.
Today I am happy to let people be what they want to be, believe what they
choose to believe. I accept the annoying southern behavior or assuming
that everyone is a Christian. Every doctor’s nurse I see, every grocery clerk,
even in fast food drive-throughs or bank lines they smile and nod and say
“have a blessed day.” They see my white skin and friendly smile, and assume
I am like them. It used to baffle me why they would do that.
Then I gave up worrying about it. Today I am happy to hear someone say
“I’ll pray for you” or “Praise Jesus”. I don’t actually care, but I always thank them
and say “I need all the prayers I can get.” That usually satisfies them, and
it doesn’t commit me. I say it sincerely. It makes my life simpler, and in truth,
don’t we all need all the blessings we can get? And so it is. Amen.
in great rushing waters, thick
with mud and dying things
which is the light of irony
that after the plague settles
the world will bloom
and the breath held
through the winter
will flow
until the frost hardens the ground once more
morning has broken
should i stay or should i go
fly like an eagle
i want to break free
boulevard of broken dreams
with or without you
killing me softly
another one bites the dust
how deep is your love
the final countdown
we didn’t start the fire
with a rebel yell
I look for you.
A status on a timeline.
I look for you and your stories.
I search for you among
The masses,
Hoping to find you are well.
I think of you when a picture comes up.
I laugh and reminisce
About when we were in love.
I look for you to find what could have been
And what was are for the best.
Your heart did better with another.
I look for you in a sea of what is a web
To verify,
I made the right choices.
I look for you,
In love.
A Certain Blue
Virginia Carraway Stark
It all started with the Empress Napoleon
She wore a dress of a particular hue
Of a very particular blue
And it made a splash
No one remembers the dress
But if you know a thing or two
And you saw that hue of blue
You would know exactly what I meant
No one remembers the empress
Or the dress
Or, sadly, even the painter,
But you would remember in a flash
The bag or box
That were branded after her forever
That’s the sort of world we live in
Our brands last long after our paintings
Our images
Our lifetimes
Or our names
If we’re lucky, our namesake is a color
That no one remembers
We wore first
Or why it was chosen to be so damn cool.
You did it! Congratulations! I am very impressed! You wrote 24 poems in 24 hours. This is an achievement that few poets ever accomplish. Although if you are a returning marathoner, some of you might be accomplishing it for the second or third time or fourth or even fifth time!
Now you should probably go get some sleep.
After every marathon I have participated in I, have been filled with exhaustion but also a tremendous sense of achievement. I hope you have that too.
In the past I have personally verified that everyone who applied for a certificate was eligible and then I would make a certificate. That is not possible this year and so we will be operating on the honor system.
If you completed the full 24 hour Poetry Marathon please consider the following certificate yours, to update with your name, to print if you choose to do so. We will be taking feedback into consideration, so if you really feel strongly about this new state of affairs please email me at poets@thepoetrymarathon.com to explain your position.
Only use the link below to access the certificate if you have completed the Full Marathon. Congratulations again on your completion of The Poetry Marathon. The version that you will download should be easy to edit and add your name to.
The link to download the editable version is here.
The visual example of what the certificate will look like is right below this text.
Also remember that this year we will be putting together a 2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology.
Submissions will open July 2nd and stay open till the 16th.
All submissions must include two poems, no more, no less. The subject line of all emails must be Poetry Submission. Poems must be included in the body of the email. The email address is poetrymarathonsubmissions@
All poems submitted must be written during the 2019 Poetry marathon. All poems should be completely edited and contain no major grammatical errors.
The first word of every line should not have a capitalization unless it is intentional! Word has an auto caps feature that you can turn off by following the instructions below.
To turn off automatic capitalization, follow these steps:
- Go to Tools. | AutoCorrect Options.
- On the AutoCorrect tab, deselect the Capitalize First Letter Of Sentences check box, and click OK.
You must indicate which hour each poem was written in. Only poets who completed the whole or half marathon will be eligible to submit.
There is no guarantee that by submitting your poem will be selected although the goal is to include one poem by everyone who submits.
Digital copies will be made available for free to any contributor. Print copies will be available for a reasonable price and any money that is made from them will go towards covering the cost of the marathon.
Want to know what the 2017 Poetry Marathon Anthology was like? Pick up your copy here.
Helen Reddy song
for women to claim their voice
poets have songs too
First things first: I completed the poetry marathon for the first time! Woot!
If I want to do this again, I need to look at how I managed it – and I think a big part of it was because I gave myself an added challenge. On top of writing one poem every hour, I titled my poems in alphabetical order, and gave myself a very small pool of forms to choose from each time.
ShadowPoetry.com has a list of poetic forms on their site. Once I’d eliminated the ones that would be too long (such as the epic), I was left with 120 – that’s just five for each hour. By limiting my options, I avoided wasting time and energy on wading through a sea of endless possibilities. I picked my form and title in minutes, leaving me the rest of the hour to create the poem, comment, and rest.
I also wrote this victory post before the event started, to motivate myself to (a) finish, and (b) stick to the plan. || It mostly worked. This part here is being written on Sunday, minutes after uploading my final poem, and I can report that it was an almost-complete success. I dozed off a couple of times, and missed the odd deadline, but I made it to the finish line with 24 poems and time to spare. Other marathoners were very supportive, and encouraged me not to give up just because some of my poems were technically late.
Massive thank you to everyone – all the wonderful poets taking part, and especially the organisers. You are all seriously awesome, and I look forward to reading your work carefully over the next few weeks.