The Poetry Marathon

4 STUBBORN AS CAN BE

After seeing the flicks Bugs’ Life and Antz

I came to see you in a different light

I revered your solidity, oneness

I admired your orderliness

I regarded you as a force to reckon with

But

You’ve been pestering me for quite sometime now

I see your horde in my little eden

Mystified at what you’re at

Lining up and attacking my little plants

Why?

Much against my inner turmoil

I have to choose your bunch or my dear plants

And arrived at, my plants I’ve got to save

Gone was the reverence, admiration accorded to your species

You are killing my plants! Why?

By your mere presence? What?

I concluded  and considered you now one or many of those pests

So there!

I sprayed and sprayed water to break your rank,

To dismantle built-up soil you made on my flower pots

And wreaking havoc to my plants.

With a heavy heart, no let up on the spraying

Until the last of your soldiers cascaded down

with the water, dizzy (perhaps), dead or whatever

No regrets tho that I killed a platoon.

My oh my

Poem 4: Confession

She told him that she loved him
one heated sunny afternoon
in the middle of the summer months
when the sunflowers were in full bloom.

Autumn arrived with falling leaves
coating the sidewalk with sunset red
and she told him she loved him
beneath aged trees that bowed their heads.

Frost visited in the morning
when she told him that she loved him
as the days grew short and the nights grew long
and flakes of white drifted from the heavens.

Snow melted away from soil
to let tulips open with their petals curling in
giving a fresh breath of new spring air
with which she told him that she loved him.

Hour 4- repeating line sequence

a senryu/ haiku and tanka sequence with a repeating line

a mongrel
leaps over the wall
tail wagging
my calloused hand
over its mangy back

a mongrel
cocks its leg at the park sign
pets not allowed

a mongrel
lies down and shows
its belly—
I trace the scar
of broken trust

a mongrel
drags her teats along
to the hobo’s whistle

 

 

When I Stole Your Thunder

When I stole your thunder
I didn’t know
it would matter to you
since we always shared ideas

When I stole your thunder
I didn’t think
the gathering clouds of doubt
would come between us

When I stole your thunder,
I didn’t want
to wait to see
if you could tell the story right

When I stole your thunder,
I didn’t hear
your gasp over
the roar of laughter

Waiting

Waiting

Everything happens for a reason.
Everything happens in its time.
But how long should I wait
Before life showers me my dues?
Is there such a thing as dreams coming true?
Or perhaps it’s a wishful thinking
To prevent us from sinking
Into the depths of despair.

How long should I wait?
How long will it take?
What more should I do?
To skip to the front of the queue?
To meet the love of my life
And spend all of eternity in his embrace.

Maybe it’s just a fantasy,
A mere figment of someone’s imagination.
Perhaps it’s a conspiracy to file hope
And keep us from falling.
Still,it doesn’t reduce the mindless waiting.

Favorite

I didn’t know you were my favorite —
I whispered it in your ear, just in time
Before you left me with all the rest.

I didn’t know you were my favorite –
That might have made it awkward,
Here amongst the living.

I whispered it in your ear, just in time.
And I’m sure you heard me,
And I think you smiled.

Before you left me with all the rest,
You did the lifetime of things
That made you my favorite.

Four Sustained Stanzas

the categorical imperative of our time

kindness, compassion, simplicity

defiance of consumptive norms

local crafting

leaving the global economy adrift

 

defiance of consumptive norms

one cup, one bowl, one spoon

a cushion, a time, a space

to breath

 

leaving the global economy adrift

bartering or purchasing local goods and services

making do with what’s within 200 miles

taking staycations

spreading the wealth as far as

cottonwoods scatter seeds

 

kindness, compassion, simplicity

tis a gift to be present

to leave temptation to the advertisers

to eat neighborhood blackberry pie

the categorical imperative of our time.

Introductions

Please introduce yourself
Among the poets here
Among the new friends
We have yet to meet.

Please introduce yourself
Tell us who
Tell us where
And especially tell us why.

Please introduce yourself
Give us a tiny glimpse
Of you, as a poet
You, as yourself.

Please introduce yourself
Let us welcome you
Read your poems
And, above all, understand.

Yearn

(more…)

Eternity Now

 

A life time of surging blood ceases as gasping breath sputters to a stop.

Simultaneously spiking carbon dioxide sends a dying brain into over drive.

Out-of-the-body now? That’s depleted oxygen levels, which rapidly drop.

A life review and seeing loved ones too on your final magic carpet ride,

Bright lights, inner peace, and harmony—these feelings can’t be denied.

Eternity in an instance, at one with a universe viewed by unseeing eyes,

No one knows, but as for myself, I’m counting on a crucified Christ.