24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Some will call it disposable
Garbage
Rubbish
Something that should be discarded
Au contraire
If you know what it really is
It’s power,
It’s essence
It’s ability to bring forth life
To other plants
To the soil
Nutrients and vitality
Strength and vigor
The tomato tree grows
Banana peel
See the life it brings
Extraordinary in the Ordinary
It’s just a teacup
until it’s filled with steamy hot PG Tips and
lifted to the lips for that first sip
and then it becomes the elixer of the Titans.
Drink it and grow in strength.
Grow in size. Grow in
daring and intellect and beauty.
Grow in wisdom and compassion…
Is it the tea? Is it the cup?
No. It’s when the two are together and the
sound barrier is broken, and
my day starts.
How sad is it
With us, best friends
That only one of us
Can win
How shattering
How deeply dark
That one of us
Must play a part
One of us may smile
And one of us pretend
One of us, be happy
The other, be condemned
One of us may have our peace
The other, be in pieces
As one of us becomes a shell
The other’s joy increases
One may think that this is toxic
And one be none the wiser
Both just chasing what we want
Peace: the great divisor
And reading this, I’m sure it seems
We’re not best friends at all
For why would one of us find joy
In the other’s fall?
And why am I the one
Who’s chosen you for us, for years?
And when will it be your turn
To shed a couple tears?
And will there ever be a time
When we can both be happy?
Or will one of us always smile
The other in Uncanny Valley
They’re mutually exclusive
The things we want, my friend
You find your peace when I’m alive
And mine is when I’m dead
There is an escape through the leaves
A calm place that will greatly appease
It is just past the rushes
Where the sun sets and blushes
While watchful willows put you at ease
The trees have dreams
the earth drowns in memories
while blossoms never learn
the secrets of earth.
Sun emboldens the crops
to fight for survival
despite lack of rain and fertilizer.
A new moon brings joy
a brightness shining
night and day– a cycle,
a dream, a rapture.
Plants grow with patience and blessings
bringing forth new life stacked on the old.
God paints the world in technicolor
magical and sensual to see.
But when man comes in,
shrapnel and mines lay deep in the earth
hidden for eons, buried heap upon heap–
with broken dreams of sharing this earth.
Dread and disaster, fear and helplessness
corrode our foundations
leaving body and soul
adrift for all time.
Acceptance of the “other”
(unlike orphans in an empty schoolyard)
will bring peace and tranquility,
keeping us from isolation.
Hidden in our prayers flows love,
hopes forever bound in life itself.
Inspired by music from prompt hour 8
HOUR ELEVEN – Dawn’s Kiss
The first rays of dawn
tip-toe
across the dew-dropped grass
and leap
into my window,
flit across the polished floor,
slink over silken sheets,
and kiss
my face.
I relish such mornings,
like fresh bread and honey,
soft to chew and sweet on the tongue.
Light delights me as it plays through the day,
changing the mood of each place it touches.
No 10
Go to the Bay of Bengal
There is so much charm
To have a holiday in the tropics
For one thing the sea is always warm
To swim, to paddle and dip your toes in.
Once I went to the Bay of Bengal
In a quaint ancient place
Called Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu
In had so many ancient rock carvings
And Temples – so much to see
There used to be seven ancient temples
The sea swallowed six and one is left
Full of carvings, Mahavishnu having
A rest at the feet of his beloved has slept
For many centuries.
The food is excellent in small cafes.
With a synthesis of music playing.
We should all go to Mahabalipuram
Once to see what we are missing.
—
HOUR 11
(My own prompt, a haiku)
LIFE AFTER 65 – PART 2
Retirement soon
4 months will fly by quickly
Options are plenty!
Walking into green light
Wondering where I’m going.
Nothing looks the same
and there are no maps
no compass nothing
to help with bearings.
In the end, it’s just trees
that frame a path leading
into the unknown.
Much like my life after.
I am a giant square eyeball.
I show you what you want to see.
Sometimes what you don’t.
I see you.
There are nights you stay up too late,
the night owl in you never quite going away-
other times you fall asleep in your chair.
Your cats cuddle with you a lot, my favorite part.
They like to run around and sleep in random places and play.
You always have Christmas lights plugged in.
Your Christmas trees are never taken down.
I scold myself for judging.
I’m here for your comfort, your distraction from your busy mind.
And yet, is there more for me?
Could I be moved into a new house with a new family to watch over?
Maybe they would have a dog?
How about to a movie theater where I would see different people all at once and fullfill their purpose every time?
I can only dream.
Meanwhile, please clean my stand.