The Poetry Marathon

Are You Ok?

Big parking lots make me feel so lonely.

So far from the street, so far from the sidewalk,
so far from the bus stop.

Tethered to nothing but the errand,
I walk to my destination,
certain of the possibility of being apprehended
for breaking an unknown law.

Quaint 1950s America wouldn’t make me
walk the expanse of a football field
to buy milk, bread and razors.

I remember the walks
from my grandmother’s house
to the Safeway.

Armed with my grandmother’s
shakily written list, with prices in the margin,
I soldiered down the street
and through a lot
behind a bar
called the Pyle In.

On one trip,
I walked half a block before I encountered
a man lying on the sidewalk in my path.
He stirred.

“Are you ok,” I asked.

Rubbing his eyes, he said, “What’s ok?”

We both knew here was nothing else to say.
I continued to the store,
saying nothing to my grandmother
when I returned.

To this day, I can think of a dozen responses
in answer to a child’s “Are you ok?”

But, the parking lots are so big,
why would there ever be a need?

Hour 16 – Prompt 16 – Cinderella

Persona Poem

I remember my mother’s kind eyes, her voice
And that keeps me going, when my bones hurt
after a day’s work. I am up when the sun peeks
out and I work till the darkness covers the Earth

My step-sisters are off to the lovely ball,
dressed in their best. Tears slip down my cheek,
as I look at my worn-out, shabby dress

And then, I hear a call. A fairy Godmother,
she works her magic, and transforms me into
a princess. I enjoy myself in the ball, an eye

at the clock. I rush home, to the life I know,
with dreams in my eyes, that include the Prince
and a life together. This repeats for a few more

balls till I lose my glass slipper. When the prince
comes looking, my sisters try the slipper, I await
my chance. The slippers fit. My hands slip into the
hands of the Prince, and I realize that, dreams come true

11. The Pig’s Tail

Short and curly cute and cuddly
Oh piggy oh piggy
Must you also taste so good

I Hear You (Hour 12)

I HEAR YOU

Don’t speak, precious one.
I hear your cry a thousand miles away,
the silent tears strangling your throat, burning your eyes.

Come, young or old, and lay your head in my arms.
My lips against your cheek, as I have so often done in the past.
I’ll hum a lullaby of sleep, my arms protecting you,
and comfort will embrace you.

I’ll ease your sorrows with love as Yahweh would want.
I may not be seen, but I see you.
I may not be heard, but I hear you.
And I will slay the demons haunting you.

— Saskia Lynge / Hour 12

Hour 15: The Fairies’ Origin Story

The Fairies’ Origin Story

God created Lucifer to be an angel bright
To stand at his right hand and serve him day and night
But Lucifer sought power; glory, worship, fame
To be a god himself was this fiend’s only aim
He gathered angels to himself to worship him alone
And, for a time, it worked; seeds of dissent were sown
But God called on Michael, Archangel of renown
To battle Lucifer and bring the scoundrel down
They fought for seven days and seven undying nights
But Michael, he was able to put things all to rights
He dragged Lucifer to the gates and threw him out the door
And Lucifer was never seen in heaven anymore
But Michael, he neglected to shut and bolt the gate
By the time he noticed his mistake, for some it was too late
For the angels turned by Lucifer, began to follow him
Angels by the thousands, even tiny cherubim
Tumbled through the pearly gates, to earth were falling fast
Michael had to shut the gates before all were lost at last
And when the big gates clanged the echoes did resound
All angels falling were halted midflight on their way down
They could not return to heaven, for God they had rejected
Had followed evil Lucifer and heaven had defected
So each stayed where each had ended up on his descent to hell
In the sky or on the earth, or under it to dwell
Those beneath the surface became the goblins and trolls
And elves and gnomes and brownies were in forests and on knolls
Dryads were the ones in trees, Naiads in the pools
Mermaids were beneath the waves, in oceans dark and cool
And in the air, both here and there, flitted spirits bright
The nixies and the pixies, the fairies in their flight
Thus the world was filled with the entire wee folk kingdom
And now you know, my darling child, from whence the fairies come

Siren song

one flick
with one tail
whisp of white
whipping past
battering the bow
drowning a dream
that drove him
for decades

prompt 16

The Doctor

I have done this for a million years
And have seen you live
I have watched a planet die
And another born.
I have loved a woman in reverse
Our timelines running to the other ends
And through it all,
I am here.

Trust me, I am The Doctor
And trust me you must
If you refuse, my stories are meaningless
For a leap of faith
A decree of absolutism
A requiem on imperatives –
Moral or otherwise.

How do you see me, I wonder?
Always trying to slow down,
To not speed ahead of you.
To explain things
Without giving away
Event changing secrets
To fixed points in time.

Now I am the 13
Lucky for some
Closed minded be damned.
For they are unlike the TARDIS
They are even smaller than they appear to be.
Mostly they cannot see
Although I help them nonetheless

I do
I can
I am the Doctor.

10. Colours of the Rainbow

Red – blood fresh out of a cut finger
Orange – juice oozing out of a fruit
Yellow – rays from the sun glaring down
Green – stains from freshly cut grass
Blue – as above so it is below
Indigo – the special child from the mother’s womb
Violet – all is not lost when we have you
Together the colours of the rainbow make me blue

Poem no. 13 Embrace the Chaos

I reach across the table towards the cup and saucer;
prepare to nudge it gently off the edge.
I brace myself for impact (and the sound of a resounding smash)
but nothing happens.
Now I pause within the unaccustomed silence – look around me.
And in this final moment before the great freeze begins, I understand.
Our universe has finally reached its equilibrium.
There is no entropy – no random motion.
My crockery can no longer fall.

Prompt #12 100 words and less

in a 100words and less

I could tell a story

that contained grit

but more gory

how swords were pulled

skulls were culled

in rhyming fashion

an industry was dulled

overhauling the corporation

wasnt a good idea

it led to much grouse

it broke many a house

why this sudden innovation

to invent and renovate

when products are refurbished

do old ones get a new phase

employee and employer

count none on each other

they look over each other’s shoulder

for the one ready to burst in

plotting a back-breaking

fall mid-riff

that hurts one and all

pink-slip or purple-dopple