24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
One thing that poetry
Has taught me outright
Is you can’t beat the word
When it’s put into rhyme
Where things may start out dull
Changing with time
Before you know
They sparkle and shine
As they weave in and out
Of poetic word play
Silver in tongue
With the gold they create
Nothing astounds
Or even comes close
As poetry sounds
In the rhyming word
“On Fridays, we eat fish,”
She told me as we’d walked up, chatting, from the Waterside.
The train track, routed by the river bend,
Arched underneath the city’s second bridge.
A towering form (or so we thought so then);
Two mighty levels for the traffic that roared by.
Mindful of warnings, kept alert by news,
We exited the station: took the lower level of the bridge.
To navigate the upper storey, then,
Was foolhardy and just not worth the risk.
We knew the news reports – civilians shot;
A soldier ambushed on his way back from patrol.
We walked the rattling, fume-soaked lower deck
Then up the hill and down into the Bog*.
Newly friends, we’d learned each other’s rituals;
But lecture halls and theatres were neutral and benign.
Walking on home turf was different when the soil was new;
Signs and signals were foreign – caught us unawares –
But we were young enough to want to learn.
We’d walked the rough-edged pavement to the house
When suddenly she stopped – and all too casually inquired –
‘My mother was worried you might be insulted…I mean…
(She struggled here) She thought you might prefer
If she took down the Sacred Heart while you were here?
I could not answer for the grief that swamped me then;
I had no right to ask it – and made clear to tell her so.
Her friendship and her family were what had drawn me in;
The rules of her house would be mine while I was there.
And so it was I found my second home –
A tiny terrace in a torn city with a generous, beating heart.
I’ve visited often in the years since then,
And on Fridays, we eat fish.
© Anne McMaster 2016
*The Bogside.
The bitter cold nipped at me
I pull my torn sheet close
The smell of food reached me
My stomach turns in hungered pain
Revolt screams in my head
As I peer into the garbage bin
A torn garbage bag lay on top
Grabbing a bagel, I run
Nibbling I look for a warm place
Upon finding shelter
I curl up to fall asleep
Praying I wake in the morning
Sorry this is late, had a power outage for the last few hours.
The heart pumps my blood;
Yet causes me an ache when
It’s your face I see.
Life brings with it freedom
Freedom to be who we want
Go where we want
And discover anything that we choose
There are plans to be made
There are surprises to be had
There is another to love
And there are future generations
We must soak it all up
Immerse ourselves in it
Live it to the fullest
And take nothing for granted
Loving
Every second I
Spend spreading
Pixie dust
Around
Giving true words
Throughout the land
Smiling because
I’m follow the way of
Life
the apple tree
crisp fragrance
before molten fall
an epic harvest
to savor
yet,
you took one heart shaped bite
then spit it out
for the crows
Pearls are shiny and nice.
Some are round, others not so much.
Most come from Earth,
But not all.
I have heard tell of a pearl
That can swordfight.
This pearl is tall and slender.
This pearl has hot pink hair.
This pearl loves deeply
And does ballet.
This pearl has saved the world
More times than you can count.
This pearl has been defending the world,
Since before humans could count.
I read the newspaper today
The stories were filled with grief and despair
Each one made my heart hurt worse
Saddened for the world today
So much death and destruction
Too much heartache and loss
I knew I needed to do something
Something to change the cycle
I walked to the convenience store
I saw a handicapped lady there
So I bought her a beverage
A relief on a hot day
Then, I played with the neighbor’s deaf grandson
As she told me about how people made fun of him
I packed my love’s lunch for work
Then made sure he had everything he needed
Suddenly I realized, it’s the little steps we take
That add up in numbers over time
You don’t have to be Bill Gates to make a difference
Just someone with compassion for others
And this realization only hit me
Because I chose to help others
After I read the newspaper today
