24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
cohen’s flowers
It’s right there,
those flowers in the concrete
on corners
choking on dust and exhaust
but surviving.
They always remind me of Cohen,
from Anthem,
y’know, the line about the cracks letting light in?
Those miracle flowers growing in the city
on streets where nothing is left alive,
in body or soul.
But it’s hope
for us to harvest later.
R. L. Elke
© Aug 5/17 prompt 20
Would you abandon the inner city lights
And experience with me the beauty of this night?
Could you leave the safety of these streets
And experience this world with me?
I saw a fly go buzzing by
It landed on a plaque.
I could not understand the fly
Why he kept coming back.
I looked a little closer
The plaque was covered in braille
Maybe the fly, using his many eyes
Wanted to read a silent tale.
He walked around the plaque some more
He reverberated all a twitter
The fly flew off and I laughed
He had grown a little bigger.
To the factory or sign on,
I chose boxes over tick boxes
bubble-wrap instead of hoops.
Through the drop down concertina
to shop-floor beyond
where sat a corner office man
in headphones so tight
they split his cork-screw perm
like a butterfly cake,
Fender copy on knee,
picking notes with
blue Elastoplast fingertips,
ignored my cv and instead
let Hey Joe recognition
win him over,
offering £33/wk
& all the vinyl
we could purloin.
But he didn’t warn me that
Radio 1 dumbed down 9-5
& Janis never kicked the boss’ Mercedes,
but we got to clean it.
No reason for me
to mask my faith in you
with hues of contempt
of green or red
Just because
someone else
has smeared my belief
in them.
Copyright © Snigdha
I awake to find I’m weightless.
Unsure of where I am, I panic.
Then am gently self-reminded,
I live deep in outer space.
No cause for alarm or worry,
at my standard, floating state.
What isn’t typical, is that I’ve
drifted, so far from base.
Hold on, kid, we’ve got you,
a stiff voice says in my ear.
Mars to Houston, snagged her
and putting her back to bed.
A table for two,
Is something quite new –
No longer the lone diner,
Mistaken for a mystery shopper
Or some kind of food blogger,
No – I have company –
Something quite new to me –
And you know, I could make a meal out of you,
Drinking in all that you say and do
You make it seem like the right thing
To move on to duets when dining
I want to hear your stories and theories
Over dinner
And I ought to make it clear for ease –
You’re a winner
I’ll happily end my solitude –
To have you intrude
To pass the salt
And end my revolt
Against love.
.When a journey begins, all it takes is a single step.
. Just one. A blind leap of faith if you will. Close your eyes.
. Don’t hesitate, because hesitation is the enemy. You’ll be fine.
. Shut your eyes tightly and welcome your destiny with open arms.
. Or stay home, hide under your sheets. Either way you’re seen a fool.
I don’t recall
VCS
You don’t come to mind much anymore
I don’t recall your face
Your voice
That world has been exorcised
Excised
I am at peace with the clarity of my heart
And with how you vanished along with my own
Resurection
You tried to steal everything from me
You didn’t leave me even scraps
I was never angry about that
But I was confused and hurt
Now I have found gratitude
Because I don’t have to thank you
You have nothing to do with the good places
I’ve been at
This is a farewell
And it isn’t to only one
There are many of you
Living and dead who tried to take my life
With many justifications
Objectifications
Gratifications of yourselves
But now
I’ve forgotten your faces
And your voices
And even the feel of your skin
I don’t remember the way you smelled
Or the exact color of your hair
Or your eyes
I am happy to let those things
Like the rest of my pain
Float away
One the river of life
Turn my face into the new dawn
And feel only love once more
For the prompt this hour I want you to write a nature poem with a twist. I want you to write a poem about nature interacting with man made things. It could be about watching a beautiful eagle while standing in a strip mall parking lot, it could be about planting trees in a small city park, it could be about anything as long as it involves both the natural world and the un-natural one.
By Patricia Harris
Twenty roses twined
Through the garden gate,
Shading the toolshed elegantly.
Flowers riotously growing
Uncontrolled,
Even the lawn
Needs mowed.
Nature’s miracle is best
When it is overgrown.