The Poetry Marathon

2019 Sexy Zebra

Sexy Zebra
Virginia Carraway Stark

Laying like a sexy zebra
I didn’t get no sleep
I was thinking heavy thoughts
About love and sex and death and life
And all those other things
That keep us zebras up at night
I wasn’t able to close my eyes
Without hearing a crashing roar
And waking up with tears on my cheeks
For all the lost and lonely times
I longed for hands around my shoulders
I was thinking in black and white
Did you know that zebras start out black?
And that they only get their white stripes
As they grow up on their way?
In the same way I was thinking dark thoughts
I was wishing for things that could never be
Fragments that make me much more complicated
Than I ever wished I had to be
All I ever wanted was to love
to be loved
I never wanted to cry in the night
But like a little zebra
Growing into my white stripes
I became a little bit less sad
Because I thought
and… I think… about the love I gave
…the love I give
…the love was always there
No matter what others think
About the zebra big or small
And if they think that zebras come conceived
In stripes from the start of them all
I know that I love
That love is all I know
That the fragments that shard and break
And hurt those barefoot who walk around
I am hidden for survival
I am in love with light
Even when I have to hide in the shadows
From the big bad predators
That still stalk and walk
To this day
Sexy zebra
Not enough sleep
But hell; I always look good enough to eat

Mountain Mornings

Mornings are cold

in the mountains.

The sun has yet to raise

its head over

the forested peeks

rising above us.

 

The chickens are awake

squawking for scratch

they know is coming

while the puppies yelp

for the mother

that is running the hills

leaving them hidden

and safe from prying eyes.

 

What’s On Your Mind?

Observations

Its very quiet

In the student lounge now

Just a couple of people

In the study rooms

I am alone in the outer area

But that’s okay

The quiet is my friend

It gives me time

To think and plan

And to get to know

The inner me.

Preparation

I woke up to the scent of dog shit, cleaned three chunky piles off the floor, and a friend told me I was hour behind.

My PC wasn’t hooked to the internet, and there’s no coffee left.

But nevertheless, I’m ready.

Ready, Set, Go!

Here in White Rock, BC and ready to go! Good luck all and have fun!

And So It Begins

Saturday is here
Our play date will soon commence
Poetry's the game

Prompt 1, Hour 1

Good morning! The challenge for hour one is to write a poem that contains the refrain “I am” at least six times. You can start every stanza with it, or be more subtle. You can take make the poem autobiographical or absurd, or best of all a mix of both.

Good luck and happy writing!

Morning

Sunlight streaming through my bedroom window

Rain has been falling all week

Muscles sore, eyes wide open

The potential of the day is more potent than any cup of coffee

For the first time since I can’t remember when

I rise without complaint

Not wishing I could simply go back to bed

I am ready

I will enjoy the day

And I will make the most of whatever is to come

Except going to the laundromat

Nothing could make me look forward to that.

 

Freedom

Freedom I write you

Freedom in sight

Freedom I held you

Peace last night

Numb to the strife

Come to the light

Freedom I know you

Right