The Poetry Marathon

Reclaiming the Land

Reclaiming the land, stone by stone
Raising a path into the waves
Where travellers may walk to shore
And bring their wares from far away

A weary process, to the sure
Reclaiming the land, stone by stone
Yet now that it’s done, it will stand
For many generations more.

There are grander things built daily
But we are still proud of our work
Reclaiming the land, stone by stone
Was a long and difficult task

A passion project for the town
Temperating nature with nature
Artists and builders and dreamers
Reclaiming the land, stone by stone

Form: Quatern

Prompt:

18 – Dear Dreamer

Dear Dreamer,

Hi come in, its okay l’m not crazy, I’m a poet, welcome to my imagination,

it is full of odd socks, a collection of bones, not a full skeleton, but close, the memory of

my first kiss wrapped in nostelgia, my parents divorce, grandpa’s hugs, the bully who

made me fierce, the sound of the ocean tangled in a storm, kookaburras laugh, tall grasses

the bsmellof eucalypts after the rain, words half written, forgotten and lost, come in

and explore me, the last great unkown,

 

 

 

Dear Future Me

If, by some twist of fate you’re happy,

Don’t read on.

I’ve dreamed of long solitary cafe nights

Blued by neons and rain, bitter coffee in hand,

Letting shallow sorrow in and forgetting regret.

I’ve dreamed of future love and future pain,

And those ghosts aren’t born yet,

But they linger around already.

I hope you’ve met your man. That you have

Left behind that shoebox of old sorrow

And started dancing in the kitchen again.

I’ve dreamed of a family, a life, a home,

And life is a battlefield, but I hope you’ve

Never had to fight it alone.

Dear future me, read this,

Know you’ve already won.

Hour 18 – Goldilocks

Goldilocks

Three members of the family Ursidae
Mater, Pater, and their little son
The porridge hot, decide not to stay
Went for a walk, having eaten none

A little lass with hair a golden hue
Vagrant, she infiltrated their small house
Ate up their food, broke chairs, and then she strew
Bedclothes and other items thereabouts

The bears, arriving home, beheld the scene
A house in ruins, such a shock to find
The neat abode, so tidy and so clean
Wrecked by one child, unmannered and unkind

When talking bears and human children meet
Trouble follows, and that not incomplete

Dear Sock, Hour 18

You miserable thing,
Full of holes and stinking

Why can’t I throw you away?

Your partner is gone
Lost in dryer’s abyss
But still you persist
Why?
What is the reason for your existence?

Why must you lie there on the floor,
Smugly stinking, totally useless

You piece of shit

Dear Ken, My Older Brother

I have to say, “I’m sorry” for the bratty things I did

When we were so much younger, living under the same lid.

I hated you for being the one with all the answers,

I even hated you when you had a date for dances.

I didn’t want to go to your high school graduation;

It wasn’t my idea of an event for celebration.

But as I’ve gotten older, and hopefully matured,

My love for you has changed from those earlier, sad years.

Now, I see the value of having siblings, older

To pave the way ahead, so I could face them bolder.

You were my example of so many things you did,

I didn’t think I could compete–you were way too big.

But as the years have added, I see you in a light

I never saw before, and I wish that we were tight.

I wish we lived much closer than a two-hour drive,

So we could see each other more often, and confide.

I feel that we have missed an opportunity

To experience a closeness in others, that I see.

But hopefully, we can make the best of what is left–

So when we leave this life, we leave with no regret.

To My Dear Poetry Marathon

 

Prompt 22, Hour 18

 

23 June 2019,

Pune, India.

Dear Poetry Marathon,

Since past 18 hours, Creativity is full-on,

You have Ignited our Poetic Minds,

Released us from boring daily grinds,

You have taken us on a thrilling ride,

Through Dreams, Aspirations, Perspectives deep and wide,

Thank you Poetry Marathon,

For this Beautiful Innovative-Dawn !

Yours Rhymingly,

Poetesssss.

 

Dear Future Lover

Dear future lover,

I am something you may have met before
But I am not certain

I am a bag of anxiety and uncertainty
They are specific and general
Sometimes they can be soothed
Sometimes they can’t
I need you to believe me
When I tell you what I need

I have baggage
It is clearly sorted and labeled
I can give you a guided tour
There are some dusty hat boxes in the back
That rarely need to be inventoried
There are trunks near the front
Battered and often opened
That should be reviewed first

I have people in my life who are non-negotiable
I have my limits
I have my boundaries
I have them with you too
I expect you to have them too

I do not respond well
To passive aggressive bullshit
Ask me
Tell me
Compromise with me
You will find me infinitely more agreeable

There are nights you won’t be able to touch me
There nights I will rock your world
I expect the same will be true of you
Please tell me
And let me tell you

My brain is my very own enemy
And I live with it every day
If you find me difficult
I find myself even worse

I will give my opinion
I will argue my reasoning
And I will tell you what I think
I expect the same of you

We won’t always agree
I don’t expect us to
Relationships are far more sticky and complex
And far more simple and easy
Than people seem to think

But I love you

Dear Sakhi

Dear Sakhi

Dear Sakhi,

There’s no one like you,

And I feel as if

I’m born to touch

Your feelings too;

I saw you standing aside

With a sweet curly smile,

I can’t live without you,

Firmly did I swore;

I bestowed upon you

The tiny red rose

Stolen from my heart’s depth,

And did say I love you.

Your loving Sakha

 

Hour 18

@varenyas

Dear former lover

Dear you,

years ago I unraveled

you slowly crushed my soul

I dreaded time away from you

you stenciled yourself into my life

and erased yourself when I became more than a easy decision

heartbreak made me weigh seven pounds less

I lived for years in the thick of it

i never saw myself as strong

but you did

i was too small in my existence with you

you rolled me like a monster

blowing kisses to others behind my back

until one day your lies could no longer corrode my organs

you made me bleed my insecurities away

you called me ugly attempting to make me small again

I was no longer starving myself

The absence of you allowed me to fully taste the flavor of what learning self felt like

i had to tend to myself with care

cusping small victories

without fading into the background

Ive always been the underdog

searching for moments worth savoring

You are not one…

 

Thankfully,

I am whole again.