The Poetry Marathon

They Have Written Songs About You

(2nd attempt at Half Marathon)

It was Elton who said you were back,
Not quite with the same polished,
Eight letters that might confuse some
Into thinking you had class.

Bill S. came much closer,
But Bill was always classy
In that we think we understand
What he was talking about.

At first, we spoke pejoratively
But behind your every slanted glance
Hid perhaps an attempt at courage
That another had robbed you of.

Cheers to you then, you shrewd,
Manipulative excuse for a role model.
We saw your filtered Insta story
And we think we’d rather admire from here.

Out of the Wasteland- for RLH

I stand upon a barren ground.
It’s time to start anew.
I’ve never walked this path alone.
I’m not sure what to do.

The past is gone, and it’s unknown
just what the future holds.
With courage I must carry on.
I must be strong and bold.

I see scorched earth
at every turn.
As tears run down my cheeks.
But I can’t let myself give up
or give in to feeling week.

I’m thirsty for a drop of grace
and hungry for some sweet.
But I steady myself and forge ahead
upon my own two feet.

I know that I can survive this.
I’ve survived so much before.
And though this is the worst so far,
there are better days in store.

I walk through the wasteland of my past
and gaze up at blue sky.
I feel the hope within me grow
and hold my head up high.

Middle West

The world’s largest open-air factory
The cornfields that sent us to space
The ethanol that is virtually useless
The prairie grass that choked out the trees
The vast grand stretches of nothing
The towns that pepper the waste
The green and the blue in the summer
The grey in the winter and dawn
The clouds that inch towards the earth
The horizon precisely defined
The vortex the Ancients called gods
The storm cells and the splendor of rain
The cities that mimic the mountains
The drawl that unites all the tribes
The dust stirred up during harvest
The endless expanse of the sky
The little green leaves of the soybeans
The liquor that passes the time
The old stone shops of downtown
The farmhouses that sprout between crops
The machines that keep it all running
The floodlights that blot out the stars
The fires that burn up the stalks
The silos that sparkle with rust
The flat that slowly creeps skyward
and grows to knee-high by July

Life and Land

The land knows you, even when you are lost.
Ignorance of the land comes at much too high a cost.
When your feet leave the trodden path
Follow the signs, or face its wrath.
The wind blows with a slurry of tempo
Through the trees, dropping leaves below
Like meeting people who breeze into your life
Who, in leaving, cut your soul like a knife.
The birds bring song that floats in the air
Flying so high with nary a care.
Life can bring music that touches your soul
Raising you up to reach your goals.
Tiny animals scurry and scamper about
Finding nourishment, for which they scout.
Friends bring sustenance for your body and mind
You return the gift in a similar kind.
Nature and life have two comparable trials
If you follow the path, it can take you miles.

Found Is Creation [Prompt 17]

The land knows you,

even when you are lost.

For lost is only in your mind,

you are here …

never to fear …

The spirit within is you,

it is never lost.

For truth is, you are God,

creating from thought,

the truth you sought.

When Lost

The land knows –

You -were born of it

womb from loin

 

fire burns, ashes lay

blackened darkness

Even- when you are lost

 

stop to listen

the land – knows you

 

seeds buried deep

sow, what you intend to reap

 

tears- like water flow

tis not the only way, to grow

 

know, you. Are not alone.

Even – when you

are lost.

 

Amanda Potter©: 2019 Poetry Marathon

Dislodged

“The land knows you,
even when you are lost”

The soft imprint of your foot
in the malleable ground, shows
exactly where you’ve been.

The weathered trail shows hints
of each person who has passed over it,
a faint trace of unhampered moments
spent connecting with the self and the world

Rays of sun or flakes of snow,
each reminds your body of a day
a feeling, a person

the walk just outside home
bears marks of your footprints,
knows you,
expects you.

The natural world embraces you
in a way people never could
and even if you think you are
dislodged or out of place,
when you are with nature you are more
at home than you’ve ever been.

Long Distance

Lock in the dates,
Count down the time,
And prepare to see your love
Once again.

Map out the route,
Plan all your stops,
And drive until you
Reach them.

Longing and
Road trips,
Flights and
Plans,
Just get to love
As quick as
You can.

Absence,
Makes us fond
But it causes wandering hearts
To move on.
And we break, each time
Because we grew tired
And lonely
In a relationship that
Spanned the globe.

The screen grew cold.
And the phone stops ringing,
When you give in.
So, rush, to your love
As fast as you can.

a place well known

Ink flows on the paper
  as the pen knows what to write
each stroke a new character
  the broken lines filling with tight
script that tells stories
  hip tales of heroes, their actions
throes of pain and glories
  I have no need for names or thought
for the pen knows all
  about their battles fought
My hand is but the vessel
  giving voice to the caper

The Cinderella Hour

It is normally midnight

When everything shuts down

If you’re in the club, this doesn’t happen til damn near two.

But not tonight.

That isn’t what happened at all.

I got all gussied up,

Over my face, I made an extreme fuss.

I put on these heels- the kind that demand sex in the bedroom

Whew. I’m telling you…

I looked like I had been hand dipped in sin.

And that’s when the police came in-

Silly me, I thought them a part of the show-

Imagined some Magic Mike type of action.

But that isn’t how this story was to go.

With very little discussion and thankfully no guns drawn-

Though of them, they had plenty-

They shut the place down and escorted everyone out.

And that is why, tonight-

The hour of which I must call it quits

Came at ten-

Where not a drop, not even one had entered my system.