Hour 12, Prompt 15: The Beautiful Moon
When we had got ready, the Moon met
us and commanded us to
allies;
she
benefits you all, openly.
for the moonlight
is beautiful.
Prompt #12 Blackout Poetry
You alone
in sheer screaming
have become darkness
as you fall.
Hour 12: erasure
Despite warnings
We all believe
In a vacuum
That surrounds
And
Brings art
Into the party
Before
Inevitably
Every super group
Individually
Combining
As if they were an
Endlessly drab
Theme park ride
In His Image
Twelfth Hour
Prompt
In His Image
Called to serve Him and glorify His name,
I have been made in His continence,
and I am not ashamed;
to bare the marks of the risen Christ
is an honor and privilege I will
uphold with all my life.
To be Christ-like
is power given only to the called,
I will stand and be counted
and endure the fall.
For Christ in me – the hope of glory,
I am proud to be alive to exhort
His name and tell His story.
Time was, when I’d shrink from the charge,
but I must muster the courage.
The enemy is still at large!
He’s trying to deny me my birthright and
disenfranchise my legacy.
Oh how I am grateful,
His blood has covered
my history and my ancestry!
I stand with the belt of Truth tightly wrapped,
with the Helmet of Salvation, a gift of mercy – unmatched.
I have the Sword of the Spirit, a consuming fire,
and I carry the Shield of Faith,
never do I tire
of wearing His face upon me,
so all the world will see;
I walk like Him, talk like Him,
do Like Him!
And one day I will Know,
and then…
even as I am also known
I will look just like the Master,
perfect and entire
purified by fire,
a joint-heir
in His Holy Family.
Compton, CA 90222
June 22, 2019@20:31
Short on Time, Hour 12
Can we lift the veil before it’s too late?
Methane buildup
Microplastics
Mass extractions
Tragic…
Humanity to profit
Is like rigid beliefs to a ten strip
We claim we’re living green but we’re all slipping
Temperatures rise with the tides
And instead of moving inland, we just build higher seawalls
Gaia cries
We deny
More species die off
But we’re too fixated on screens to look up at darkening skies
The veil enchants
Intricate distraction
Clouding society’s eyes
Try to look beyond the narrative of lies
We’re way too short on time
Erasure
You can’t erase our history or fabricate reality. You can’t just close the door on us and think I won’t put up a fuss. The past we shared is sacred still. No matter that our future's killed. You can't erase all that we meant. Some love stories are permanent.
Congratulations Poetry 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 in this madness.
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 Poetry Half 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.
Click on the link below and download the edit ready certificate if you completed The Half Marathon. Congratulations again on your completion of The Half Marathon.
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 email address is poetrymarathonsubmissions@
The subject line of all emails must be Poetry Submission. Poems must be included in the body of the email.
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, and whether you participate in the full or the half marathon. 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.
2019 – Twelve – “Still Angry About Major Tom” A Sonnet. With Apologies to David Bowie.
Major Tom’s not coming home. He’s out there
watching with a crystal eye as all his
world grows darker in its lusts for light and
grids for power, to sell songs about him.
Perhaps someday, when they are marking where
the best billboards go where they won’t block this
moon, they’ll find him floating by his tin can,
and call his wife, whose memory’s grown dim.
“Mrs. Tom, the Major has been found. Just,
listen for a moment, dear, and don’t, please,
be upset that we’ve not called before.
He asked us to, but prudence, well, you must . . ”
“Please, understand yourself,” the Missus’d wheeze
“You left him there to die, and that’s the score.”
(I always felt they could done more to save him.)
Escape
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
jj2019 2019 Poetry Marathon
Hour 12 YOU KNOW JOE
you know Joe
a wise old hermit
a sharp cookie
crazy
nuts
homespun
the trouble with living like Joe
is it’s easy
Joe’s beans decided to tromp
tromped up into the hills
thinking
you know Joe
the first thing that went through
Joe’s mind was I bet this
is gonna look really cool
Joe was alone in all the wrong ways
he stood there a minute
then he stuck his arm up in the air
you know Joe
a wise old hermit
a sharp cookie
crazy
nuts
homespun
it’s just too damn easy