The Poetry Marathon

The Mean Old Cowboy

An old cowboy stood alone in the muddy street

Gun at his hip and boots on his feet

And he called out loud so that all could hear

“I may be old but I don’t have any fear.”

“Send out the best and fastest gun around.”

“I’ll beat him on the draw and drop him to the ground”

The people in the town could hear his shout

But no man that heard bothered to step out

So the old cowboy walked to the saloon

And with the toe of his boot he kicked a spitoon

“I’ll fight any man in this place.”

Came the words from his grizzled face.

But the room full of men paid him no mind

There was no fistfight for the old timer to find

So the old cowboy just ambled on home

And when his old wife asked where he did roam

He just shook his head and smiled

No man is fool enough to face me whenever I get riled

Mermaids are my friends

The first paragraph comes from T.S. Eliot’s Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Tell human voices wake us, and we drown.

The sea is my comfort of present and past
the sea creatures, the mermaids come sing to me at last

The tell tales of old fisherman
tell tales of lost sons
trying not to fall in love because humans are forbidden
forever out of reach why can’t they learn this
what secrets they keep

Vengeance of The Goat Kind, Hour 21

There’s goat on the hill

He does what he will

He’s a bit of a pill

But it’s chill

He’s a grumpy old bugger

Kinda mean motherfucker,

But for a goat, that’s kinda run of the mill

He’s a great mountaineer,

Has a long billy beard,

His eyes a wise yellow,

Pupils square

He eats near whatever

From tin cans to cheddar

Because he, as a goat, doesn’t care

Behind a fence made of wire

Tied up to tire

The old goat spent most of his days

But on a hot summer morning

A terrible fire

Engulfed the whole farm in a blaze

So he chewed through the rope

And ran from the flames

Climbed up in the old gnarled oak tree

He nimbly climbed out on one of the branches

Hopped over the fence, and was free

The silly old goat,

Running free through the woods

Stumbled over the the old whiskey still

He drank all the whiskey

So, feeling quite frisky,

He returned to the farm on the hill

The farmer was glad for the old goat’s return

But saw in his eyes murderous glee

With a snort, the billy goat lowered his head and butted him right in the knee

The farmer fell down on grass half burnt and brown

And the old goat ran away free

Hospital Time (Hour 19)

A three-year-old shivers unbeknownst
to what is causing his body to spasm involuntarily.
The horrors of the sad, clown-faced parents
exhausted, humorless, their internalized torture
exudes an aura that suffocates the pale, tremored
waters of the hospital room.

Sitting alone in shadowed corners
feeling the weight of a marriage dissolve
as worry for our small child lingers over
the dull cadence of a heart monitor’s finite calculations.
Waiting to hear but nothing is ever promised.
The sway of information, up and down,
we cling to any bit of hope offered.
Bargaining the entire world away to save one life
to see you safe…
our child.

Apologies

Sorry for the pain
Accept my apology
Emotions blinded me
Didn’t see the destruction
Didn’t see your tears
or heard your voice
Ignored the signs

There is still time
I will make it up to you
This won’t happen again
I am sorry for treating you like garbage
My body
We will become BFFs now…

Peacock

 

Prompt 26 – Hour 21

The sky darkens, the wind blows

The peacock feathers bloom like a rose…

Droplets pitterpatter on the window pane

The peacock dances gracefully in the rain…

Worshipped by Roman, Hindu, Greek, Christian forefathers

The peacock flaunts its vibrant feathers…

Symbol of royalty, immortality, luck and gain

The peacock beautifully prances in vain…

 

 

 

 

Knowing It

If I correct anything for

my autobiography written

by the Gods

(and soon to be

forgotten regardless)

Let it be this:

That despite all my faults

executive disfunction and

demotivation

I really did try

Unicorn’s Pride

Unicorn’s pride

The white unicorn waits, suppressing its breath

For its gladiator to rise

Snorting in between to nudge him

Together had they won many a battle

Over plains and valleys, over kings and allies

It knows how strong a heart master has

And this was surely not the end to rattle

It circled around a few times with master on its back

And a fiery look dazzled as they charged for their prey

Yet, one more time their power flashed at the bend

 

Hour 21

@varenyas

Tall Cats Are Terrible Hunters (2019 Poem 21)

We’ve been together
For a while now
It’s time we talked

I’ve nursed you
Back to health
And bathed you

Gave you cuddles
Rubbed your tummy
When you’re sad

Lucky you’re adorable
You’re absolutely helpless
Frightened of a moth

As for spiders?
Don’t even get me started
So I brought you supper

It’s more nutritious
Than that disgusting stuff
You call crunchy num nums

17. The Messenger XVII

I travel, travel, travel again

This year is a big travel

Around the World

And beyond, way beyond

The bird always go back to the nest

They say, but I am not even sure

Only thing I know is

I come from another planet

I am here on Earth to discover

What is love and how

To get it back to my planet

I am on a very long mission

That Quest has only

Got started

I travel a big travel again

What language do you dance?