24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
It’s 6 p.m. on a Friday night. Instead of being in my pjs at home, I’m sitting around in a room filled with friends with a wine glass in my hand. There is good food and even better conversation – though we only spent 20 minutes talking about the book. The fact that most of us have not even finished the book is not important. It’s all about the wine.
Female ritual
Here we vent our frustrations
Wine makes life better.
I think I got too ambitious with this one in the time frame, to the point of it reading pretty badly. Note to self- political commentary in a short time frame is a bad idea. But rules are rules, so here goes! Sincere apologies if any of this comes across as ignorant or offensive.
I think of Aristotle as I pass through the Cotswolds
High up somewhere in these rolling hills
Oliver Cromwell fought the royalists to establish the English Commonwealth
More recently, a little further down
A bunch of “travellers” raided the local corn farms
Establishing trailers and declaring it their property
Two events separated in time and stature
Yet also similar
Both revolutions against establishment
Led by people firm in their beliefs
But I think of how they end[ed]
And my mind goes back to Aristotle
Politics, revolution, democracy or mobocracy?
Which one are they?
Who is right?
And who is wrong?
Alas
I guess it is not as black and white as the Tudor townhouses
Large cavernous room.
High, vaulted ceilings.
Wood floor.
Metal and plastic.
Tables and people strategically squished.
Maximum efficiency and profit.
Loud music with exciting beats.
Wha_ ___ you o_der?
What?
What did you order?
An individual free range, organic, gluten free pan pizza.
I’ve ___rd those ___ rea___ _ood.
What?
I’ve heard those are really good. I ordered
The grass fed, low fat special chef’s salad.
Lunch rush pace quickens.
Tables fill with gourmand patrons.
Kitchen yells and sizzles.
Dishes clank and glasses ping.
Voices rise in volume
To be heard above the din of diners,
The cacophony of customers.
Above the noise and frenzy
A lone voice cries out.
Let’s get out of here!
Fork in hand, he leads the procession
Of trembling, overstimulated followers
To a quiet park.
Silence broken only by the twittering of birds
And the chewing of food.
By Sue Storts
08/13/2016
The August heat is upon us, covering us with sweat, a dewy sweat that doesn’t cleanse us. Tensions rise and I want to hide. Your past has caught up with you, a change in you I thought I could avoid. Where is the autumn and it’s refreshing, crisp reconciliation?
Leaves falling on us
A cool breeze, cleansing air
Rejuvenation.
*prompt 6
My little baby, you must sleep now,
Your Mommy tries to complete a challenge, wow!
But you only cry when I look to the paper, that’s fine,
You want my pen to be in your hands, not in mine. 😊
I spend my days wandering
I spend my nights in fear
Wondering and pondering
How it is that I got here
Living without shelter
Is more than no roof overhead
It’s the loss of safety and security
And sometimes wishing I were dead
Every day a struggle
Hungry, tired, feeling unseen
Being treated as less than human
Just because my clothes aren’t clean
Not only is my belly empty
My heart feels hollow too
You should see the way people look at me
I wish they only knew
You don’t know my story
How I was once like you
I had it all together
And then it all fell through
So have a little compassion
And some kindness in your eyes
Remember when you look at me
That I am God in disguise
When I’m not reflected in mirrored glass
To myself I have to ask
Do I think it’s right
Perhaps I should be a bit concerned
The moment that my back is turned
I forget what I look like
Is my nose thin or is it pug
Are my eyebrows thick enough
To raise them high
Do I have have a widened smile
Are the wrinkles on my forehead filled with doubt
Am I an ugly guy
Is there a mustache on my upper lip
To explain away this lisp
That’s so hard to hide
Are my cheeks rosey red
Matching the color on my head
Both the left and right
When I’m not reflected in mirrored glass
To myself I have to ask
Excatly what it is I look like
I am the amazing woman
Life challenged me to be,
The beauty walking past
For ambitious, classy men to see,
Embraced with the love
Mom and dad gave me,
Filled with respect,
Ambitions, and stability,
I long to be the greatest
Of the greatness I show,
I am friendship, I am love,
I am a heart-sized rainbow.
more than this.
luscious words rolling out between the crackle and pop on a night where everything seemed hard. frozen. brittle. and sudden.
is this okay.
it is more than okay.
it is soul thawing.