24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
It struck me as the name of
A vessel in distress
Like Titanic, mortally wounded and sinking
It called to mind daring rescues and
War movies and Tom Hanks, for some reason
It was my mother’s favorite
And I knew it was about rabbits
But it bored me and the other imagery took over
And I forgot about it
Until I left home and came back enough times to need something to tether me to her
To myself
To our childhoods
To the ways we are so alike
My name isn’t Sam.
I won’t pester you to eat
Foods that have somehow managed to survive years beyond their shelf life.
I won’t ask you to do silly things like give mice cookies or milk in glasses.
Instead, I’ll invite you to come spend days in the sun
A day with me and you’ll understand the pleasantness of sharing farmer’s tans.
I won’t beg you to go on trips all over,
Instead, I’ll invite you to shovel stalls filled with poo
And I’ll show you the time you ever had-
With a horse under your ass.
Yep, hang with me and you will see-
This is life as it’s meant to be-
And it’s better than any kid’s story could possibly be!
Boys have all the fun
They get play all day and run
They can fall down and get dirty
While I gotta sit back and be purty
Prim and proper is the way of the land
You gotta learn how to act to get a husband
No running, no jumping, no skinned up knees
You gotta be a lady and learn how to please
Boys got it made I swear it’s true
Sometimes I wish I was a boy too
your average american child has no idea about death and sex is taboo
but violence and rape define the culture
add celebrity and you’ve got quite the American dream
Spot’s sex is violent and Jane is addicted to the sound of her own voice
maybe one day we will all figure out how to make sense of the nothing that consumes the minds of the unimpacted.
But we are all impacted even if we can’t feel anything
Sunny days without end
Feeling lost without a friend
Empty house waiting for life and family
Books to entertain every mind
Large glasses full of red wine
Duelling couches ready for napping
Dogs curled up for the afternoon
Hoping that I will meet you soon
Crackling fires on cool nights
Wondering at this fantasy
I ask for you to wait for me
Time to sleep again
Hagalaz
Hail brings devastation
A chaotic nature from birth
Hagalaz will make or break
A test of your self-worth
To defeat, one must show grace
Show courage and defiance,
Looking impossibility in the face
If weak, death is your alliance
The cold will cleanse
The dark will permeate
But Hagalaz is where, alone
You will germinate
As the ice melts into water
The damage becomes undone
You now have a chance
To once again become
Rarely do we get the chance to stand in front of an audience and speak our minds.
I love Dad more than anyone and I’m nervous for when he leaves.
It seems like a long way off and it’ll be here before we know it.
If I could have just one more day with him, it would be enough.
I want to be ready for that moment when I can speak for him. I want to represent him well.
The secret is to just get out of the way.
Drinking one shot to two; I’m not thinking about you. Hello Stranger, plays on the radio I’m laughing with a friend and the world is alright.
That song comes on, I ignored your name. The bar world quiets to you sing, I keep my back turned holding a laugh. An elbow and a joke.
Its all in my head, I turn left I turn right your memory is all I saw. Blink thrice and I’m laughing with a friend. The bar world is back to its chaos
“Check her out!” A woman in red. “Beware the woman in red.” She must have heard; turned with a smile locked eyes and with a wink goodbye she walked out the door.
Rushing and I Can
Virginia Carraway Stark
Sometimes when I’m rushing
I have to wonder why
there are way more missiles
and satellites
than stars
than I can count in the sky
sometimes when I can
I wonder why
I let so many golden chances pass me by
Laughing and running
With flowers in my hair
Should I have been wiser?
Or was that part of the golden afternoon?
When I saw that I was covered in flowers
Did they evaporate into the air?
Sometimes on the pyre
I have to wonder why
the children were ever brought into things
especially myself
I have to wonder when
and who
thought they had the say
that dignity was more important
that childhood anyway
Don’t break the china on my riddle
my words are all in vain
the past has passed
the future’s come
lets enjoy it anyway!
The fire burned low
And a chill found my bones
As in the desolation of the moment I waited
The wind outside howled
And the rain began to pound
But still I sat with my eyes fixed on the door
The candles flickered
And the shutters clapped
But i knew inside he would always be back
My heart raced
As my lungs kept pace
In a delirium I almost succumb
With a loud creak
enough to peep
He beckoned me off this mortal coil