Ripples
In the midnight pool
A moth on wings of moonlight
Sets silver dancing.
Hour 12 image prompt – Spires and webs
The eye of Sclera sees all
The webs of Sclera reach
And enchanted students learn
From Sclera who does teach
All who are willing
And some who are not
Who is the ruler
Occutavius, non-vacuous
Lord of the spire
With an all seeing Scleric eye
Sighs in Tears 6 – Hour 13
A dream not seen.
A sensation unknown.
A belief on the wings of a whisper.
Unheard certainty of what was.
A love that will be.
Everything we seem is but a dream.
A thought manifesting into reality.
Transcending with every whisper.
Drifting. Drifting against the stream.
Hour 12
My dream is to have
A walk in closet, a safe
Space where I can be
anyone I want
Whenever I want. Without
Fear of the real world
Crashing down around
Me. Where I am protected,
Surround by all
All the things that bring
Me joy and making my life
Much more beautiful.
9 PM – On Letting Go
Weeds fester,
there’s no comfort in swallowing one whole.
The seeds infiltrate the body,
take up root in your best soil.
Pluck each one,
by one,
by one,
by one.
Trauma subsides and we bloom on.
Prompt for Hour Thirteen
Text Prompt
Describe your profession through a funny/humourous poem.
Contributed by Bhasha Dwivedi.
Image Prompt
Photo by Brandon Wong
Congratulations Half Marathoners
Congratulations Half Marathoners! I am so happy that you have completed 12 poems in 12 hours! That is wonderful. Thank you for joining us for this intense events.
In the past I have personally verified that everyone who applied for a certificate was eligible and then I would make a certificate. Due to how big the marathon has grown, this is no longer possible. Now we operate on the honor system.
If you completed the Poetry Half Marathon please consider the following certificate yours, to update with your name, to print if you choose to do so. If you need any help altering the certificate please email me at poets@thepoetrymarathon.com.
You are welcome to use this tool to get the certificate with your name on it.
Congratulations again on your completion of The Half Marathon.
The visual example of what the certificate will look like is right below this text.
Also this year we will be putting together two anthologies.
The print anthology will be edited by Blessing Omeiza Ojo, a terrific poet (you can read one of his poems here) and a long time participant in the marathon. For the first time ever there will be rejections for the print edition. He will pick between 80-100 poems to publish in the anthology. This is the last time that the co-founders of the poetry marathon, are paying for the print anthology, and the last time we will formally be “in charge” of any anthology. You can learn more about why, here.
That being said the wonderful poetry marathon community is already stepping up, and Erin Lorandos, another long time marathoner and compelling poet (you can read one of her poems here), is putting together an electronic anthology that includes everyone’s work
Submissions for the print anthology will be open from the 18th through the 30th of September. Submissions for the electronic anthology will be open between the 7th and 21st of October. More details about both anthologies will be forthcoming soon.
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 2022 Poetry Marathon Anthology was like? Pick up your copy here.
Prompt 10 “What is Love?”
A secret escape
we never heard of
to a little town
dressed in layers of
harvest moons
and throw blankets
warm tea and cocktails
bonfires with flavors of our favorite music
plunging into saucy cooking
roasting next to pounding moments
leading us closer than we could ever think
Things we take for Granted
So many things we take for granted
here I will name a few. These are three
of my favorite things about life and living and love.
The first of the three are the stars that bring us light at night
when earths lights have gone out. And the brightest star
the sun of course thats very important to all of us
the sun brings the day light that separates the night.
It also brings the warmth on spring days and hot days
of summer.
My next favorite thing is my love the trees and trees
are an especially favorite. They work to keep us cool
during summer by giving us plenty of shade. They keep
the pavement cool, and the sidewalks and streets too
and the same for parking lots. Those trees are earths
natural climate controls.
Last but not least of three of my favorite things is
water my favorite beverage. Water is good for
hydration of our bodies as well as helping to
rid our bodies of waste. Water is a lubricant
for our joints that help to give us movement. Something
else about water it’s great for swimming and even other
sports. So there you have it the importance of three
things that some may take for granted. Think of
trees, and stars, and water more often and know
they are important to this earth.
Hour 12 – My ghost lives
My ghost lives
in my diaphragm.
Waiting for the good days
when I meditate in the morning
and journal afterward
when I read Tarot for myself
and listen to the universe
when I listen to birds
and care about the sound of waves
enough to draw the headphones from my ears.
My ghost lives
in my diaphragm.
Waiting for one more breath to join us.