The Poetry Marathon

What The Hens Taught Me

My husband didn’t like me drinking, or watching tv while he was gone.

He would feel the tv to see if it was warm and then check the garbage for beer cans when he got home.

As a result, I took to sitting in the birdcage to drink my beer.

The birdcage was small, and we had nine hens and one cock, so I had to sit under the roosting bar.

Our one cock was pathetic and the hens picked on him cuz he couldn’t roost.

He lost his toes while sitting outside during that terrible blizzard we had a couple years ago.

He was too stupid to just come inside when his feet got cold.

He did not believe that he couldn’t roost anymore because he didn’t have any toes

Well the hens tolerated him at times so their eggs could get fertilized.

So I’d be down under there drinking my beer and watching this bird fall at a180 degree angle straight down onto his head.

His ego would get so bent that he would just keep on trying to roost.

I didn’t care though, I was drinking beer and watching the show just like the hens.

Flathead

The mountains surround me

I look to the East

Blue sky

Blue mountains

Blue water

I am here in this moment

Right where I am supposed to be

I step to the edge

I look down at the water

Waving me in

My knees bend

In goes my breath

The push off is thrilling

My heart skips a beat

My body flies through the air

But only shortly

In I go

It’s so cold

It’s so refreshing

My body sinks

My feet touch mud

I push up

Up I go

I hit the surface

In goes my breath

12:40 – Roomies

When the energy clicks right

There’s less of a reason to leave your door closed in the morning

There’s more of a reason to fraternize in the common area

There’s a stronger link to the world

4/24 Snacktime

Eating to live

or living to eat.

Which one should I be?

Eating to live keeps me grumpy and lean

but living to eat is a dream….

Hour Four

Take my hand, take my hand

dance me ’round and turn me,

cross the floor for ten turns more

shiver me down and burn me.

 

Lead me up, lead me on

throw me down and take me

dance me hard in the primrose yard

plant me deep, unmake me.

 

Fade away, fade away

gone now from my sight

So madly met in darkness yet

vanished in the light.

4

Note: I followed the prompt and decided to post all three stages, because there’s just too much love in every word I wrote. It’s very close to me.

Step 1

Once upon a time a little kitty was noticed by a human
while crawling to reach the end of its play pen
across her brothers and sisters, relentlessly.
The human left, without the kitty knowing it was there.
The kitty grew, and the human came again. The kitty felt
that it was her human, her eyes were asking where it’s been.
The human put a ribbon on the kitty, and left again.
And kitty worried, but he knew. The human must be back!
More humans came, put ribbons on her siblings, left again.
But when the kitty was a few months old, her human came, and took her home.

Step 2

Once upon a time a little kitty was noticed by a human
while crawling to reach the end of its play pen
across her brothers and sisters, relentlessly.
The human loved her style,
such strength and such determination.
It felt that they were kindred souls.
The human left, without the kitty knowing it was there.
She reached the edge, the goal complete.
She fell asleep, as kitties do so often at that age.
The kitty grew, and the human came again. The kitty felt
that was her human, her eyes were asking where it’s been.
Her siblings paid no mind, just stumbling all around
the play pen or the litter box. But kitty sat alert,
maintaining gaze on her human-to-be (she was sure).
The human put a ribbon on the kitty, and left again.
And kitty worried, but he knew. The human must be back!
She’s marked, she’s his. The little string around her neck.
So thin and pink, left there by her human.
More humans came, put ribbons on her siblings, left again.
The days went by, both fast and slow, but when the kitty was
a few months old, her human came, and took her home.

Step 3

Once upon a time a little kitty was noticed by a human
while crawling to reach the end of its play pen.
The human loved her style,
such strength and such determination.
The human left, without the kitty knowing it was there.
The kitty grew, and the human came again. The kitty felt
that was her human, her eyes were asking where it’s been.
Her siblings paid no mind, just stumbling all around
the play pen or the litter box. But kitty sat alert.
The human put a ribbon on the kitty, and left again.
She’s marked, she’s his. The little string around her neck.
The days went by, both fast and slow, but when the kitty was
a few months old, her human came, and took her home.

Blessings

So tiny she breathed in her first breath, crying and squirming about,

Days and months turned into years, they quickly came and went.

First, puppy loves, Fairy tales, some came true

How could she have known all her roads would lead to you?

Then in her twenties, life loomed large, Some days marked with happiness and some with tears.

The joys of bearing children came about, challenging she did admit.

Crazy times in between the lines

Carry on everyday but don’t be afraid to pause.

Dance in the building breeze and then in the rain,

Keep a smile on your face, even amidst the pain!

Every Dawn, each new sunset, so blessed with many hues,

The biggest blessing of all has been, Being loved by you!

 

Before Darkness

Before darkness came,
I thought I understood
what the sun was saying.

Up every shiny morning,
not hearing what the moon
whispered while it waited.

Darkness has light that
knows a different language
that only your soul can hear.

Rembrandt in the Clinic

I often get unexpected visitors in the clinic.

Ozu bows and shows segments from Tokyo Story.

Poets of various stripes read theirs poems as offerings of empathy.

Writers will relate their novels to stories of migration.

 

I was doing a physical on a 13 yo boy entering drug rehab

as his mother watched.

He was an artist but what could I say,

an old man having heard too many stories of bad choices.

 

Then, Rembrandt showed up

with a bag of clothes from Mad Hatter Clothing Shop.

He took over and shapeshifted himself from

a young wide eyed, open mouth youth with tousled hair

to a bareheaded wide nose, smiling prodigal son

and, finally,

to a old man in a velvet cloak  with a sense of self knowledge.

 

We were dazzled by this gallery of self-portraits

as Rembrandt gave the young artist a written prescription

to draw during his 45 day program

a self-portrait everyday

and see what happens.

Forecast

Maybe tomorrow

birds will sing

and flowers dance

to the words of a god

speaking light and truth,

but today it’s dark

–and raining.