The Poetry Marathon

Origin of the Green Man

Prompt 15

The fire consumed the fruit from
my brother’s vineyard. Nothing remained.
My stag, prepared upon my altar
remained untouched, undesired.
God’s glory radiated from his golden hair.
The dragon the drives me swelled within.
You have nothing. For him, the world.
My verdant scales sprouted from
my pores, spread from neck to toe,
my fingers wrapped my spear and
skewered him upon his altar,
burned his flesh as sacrifice.
The scent drew the Lord God to
this grove. He knelt by the altar
to savor the meal I prepared. His
nostrils flared. “Where is your brother?”
“Did you task me to tend him?”
I spit the words like venom.
His finger brushed against my scales.
My scales split open, fell away at my feet.
The Lord turned his back to me.
I collapsed before my brother’s
corpse and wept. In the morning
I walked into the woods,
covered my body in leaves,
took root in the soil and stayed,
frozen in time, a sacrifice to
bring forth his rebirth in the spring.

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Hour sixteen

Write a persona poem from the perspective of a well known fictional character. You can choose any fictional character but here are a few names to get you thinking in the right direction: Dracula, King Arthur, Red Riding Hood, Katniss Everdeen, etc. . .

 

The Shoe Lady

By Patricia Harris

 

How many children

Can you fit in a shoe?

Currently mine holds

Twenty and two.

 

My pantry is bare,

No food any where.

No space for clothing

Just kids playing

Everywhere.

Valley of Bones (Hour 11)

VALLEY OF BONES

I have stood upon the mountain tops.
I have rested upon the wings of soaring eagles,
their feathers of silver and gold a celestial pillow.
I have lain slain in the valley of bones, death more than a shadow – holding my heart in its hands.

Yet I do not fear death.
I fear the end of love, the losses that await me once more.
My heart eternally filled with ‘the missing’ –
there is no escape from that kind of sorrow.
Living what you love, your lifeblood, offers a reprieve
from the sorrows of goodbye, allowing you… us… to move forward.

As each new moon rises into the heavens,
I feel my lifeblood slowly bleeding away.
Surrounded by eyeless trees who offer only the chill of their silence,
the universal clock ticking the seconds away,
as if each second were a single day.
I cannot stop time from moving, though I war against it.

I hear creation’s groan, I feel heaven’s unrest,
I see the blazing roar of hell.
War is coming.
I cannot rage against the inevitable, though I have tried.
There is no victory to be had, despite my relentlessness.

All this said will fall upon too many deaf ears and minds
quick to the assumption rack of humanity.
But for a few, with a heart to understand, perhaps you will remember me,
long after I’ve whispered the one word I vowed to never say again.
A life of too many goodbyes weighs upon a soul in the worst of ways.

I cannot say it again, knowing it will mean forever,
when I do not want my lifeblood to be just a memory.
When I do not want to close my eyes and awake under a different sky, exiled from all those I love, and all that I once dreamt of and fought for.
But heaven has made its ruling, and my tears will not buy a miracle. Yahweh does not destroy, mankind does.

I shall not seek another mountain top, for I do not need its height.
I will not soar with the eagles, for I do not need their feathers.
Instead, I will walk through the valley of bones, my flesh perfectly intact,
and I will watch the valley come back to life.
I will wait until the time is right,
and then I will raze hell with those long forgotten risen souls.
I will destroy all those who tried to destroy me with a single word.
Forever begins soon, and though forgotten, I will never forget.

— Saskia Lynge / Hour 11

Snow Whites’ Reflection

Looking deep at her reflection

“All these men – what will they think?

Eight in total in just one day? 

Your reputation is blown no matter what you say 

Seven dwarfs and a Prince, you should be ashamed

What would make you take an apple from a stranger that way 

Even if you say, “I was drugged”, people will say, “yeah, okay”

All these years living as a virgin, how can Snow White go out this way. 

Hold your head up Snow White, girl

You can get through this with pride

You have beauty, poise, and innocence

And the truth is on your side.”

jj2017

 

Hour 13

Careful now, slowing to a drip in the stream

They tried to turn the power on in other ways

Solar, at first, taking them out to sun with an immediate depletion

Upon return

And then wind, repurposing the gusts that would break bones

But the wear was too great

So a dam, a dam was made

To harness the power of pressure

Or at least, a dam was made

By the old parts of the sun and the wind panels

Recycle, am I right?

But the dam is no longer needed

The pressure building but no longer needing to keep the lights on

Nobody is home who cares to see

To be fair, nobody is home who remembers how to see

Oh the rush after the dam breaks

Not a slow release

A catch up as that water was meant to travel somewhere

Oh the rush after the dam breaks

Surging everything in it’s path

Those caring enough washed down stream

Only the meek remaining

Still refusing to speak

Or make moves to drink

Gosh, the dam breaks

And all of life comes free

Filling the banks with nourishment

Careful now, slowing to a drip in the stream

Box

Time for me to tuck you
Inside your little box
Far from my heart
Forever locked

Your fear has made you a liar
When what I most desire
Was nothing but the truth

Audacious Leader

Virtuous honorable leader
Gallant armory with his esteemed knights
Emulating honor respect and courage
No doubt righteous path lies ahead

Testing always guaranteed sure success
Always test of morals and boundless lives
Encouraging and inspiring one selves
Serenity emulating transforming

Love testament and sound values  committed
Emulating in the traversing boundaries
Gallant wars of the ages engraving
To humanity testament of courage and life transforming

© Roy Mark Azanza Corrales 06082017 12:05 PM PST

Poem no. 11 Walking to the Sea

Stand here beside me – the wild Atlantic gusting in your face –
the people and the land behind.
Something happens as you stand here on the shore;
a distancing not related to either place or time.
You step close to the edge of things
and all else falls away.

Where is the Rose

I opened the door.

On the floor was a rose.

It had petals of deep pink,

which had not yet opened.

I picked up the flower,

It had a strong fragrance,

I put it into a vase.

Where had it come from?

I fell asleep and dreamed,

all I could recall

was an invisible figure.

Putting a rose into a vase,

over and over again

I know who delivered the rose.

 

Prompt 12

I needed you to hear me when I was quiet

I needed you to calm my soul when my heart began to riot.

But most of all I needed you to need me the way I need you.

I needed you to see the worth of all that we have been through.

I know there is always someone prettier than me

Someone a bit smarter and kinder and easier than me.

But I also know she will be less in every way that I am more

You don’t find this kind of love on the shelves of a grocery store.