The Poetry Marathon

#PoemNo1 :D Love letter to the beloved words I once failed… -j.r.m© 2016

Tanka

At the beak of dawn
I can feel the ocean breeze
gently waking me,
and I hear the doves cooing;
I don’t hear my hummingbirds.

Prompt One 2016 – The End

The G.N.I.N.N.I.G.E.B.

Dysfunctional Friendship

How do you know

when it’s truly over?

How do you deal

When the friendship has to end?

Wishing you could go back

And know you can’t move forward.

Dealing or not dealing

when you think it has to end.

When two people meet

And the joy of common interests

Collides into an instant bond

Wanting to know more and more

Maybe too fast, but can’t stop

You ride to extreme highs

They were good times

And then the lows

You wonder if you ever were alike

Until you reach the point

The last straw

The tipping point

The point of no return

How do you know

when it’s truly over?

How do you deal

When the friendship has to end?

Wishing you could go back

And know you can’t move forward.

Dealing or not dealing

when you know it has to end.

The End of the Book

I teach kids to read
I want them to love words
and stories
and books
like I do.

That means I mostly read
kids’ books, appreciate
the subtle sophistication
of children’s lit,
of children.

But…I just slogged through
365 pages
of adult action adventure.

Kids won’t put up with rambling,
with details that don’t matter.

But…I read it.
I liked it enough to finish.
And the last two pages
were fabulous, the best two pages
in the book.
It was about hope.
It was about goodness.
It was worth it.

But…it’s back to kids’ books for me,
at least for a while.

Cutting Onions

I cut an onion

And I nearly cried

 

Not because I was cutting onions, mind you

But I heard the sound echo

Through my new big kitchen

I felt space around me

That I never had in my previous tiny kitchen

And in that moment

When the knife clicked against the cutting board

I heard her

 

That girl I used to be

The girl I was ten years ago

The girl who was happy

The girl I’ve been trying to find for the last five months

 

And I finally found her

In a kitchen

Cutting an onion

And I nearly cried

But not because I was cutting onions

The End

Death creeps amongst us

cloaked in black

hovering over the unsuspecting

whispering to the witch sisters of Greece

the thread of life

held and pulled taunt

long-sheared scissors

opened

prepared to cut

Snip

The End

The End

Young and restless many live their lives.

So negative in daily wants and desires.

Unfulfilled by actual works to acquire.

Lead by erroneous gathering of intellect

Catastrophic decisions the mind makes.

So negative in today’s waits and unfulfilled by promised intakes.

Countless days now dissipate.

 

pin drop silence

radio silence

can’t be the end

the bristles of ur face

can’t be alien speak to me

the curve of your nail bed

can’t be something I dig from imagination

the soft soles of your feet

can’t be a figment of my desires

the mutilation of your lips

can’t be the last time I see you murder

the depth of your ear lobe

can’t be the last time a crevice I explore

radio silence

can’t be the end

Earwig ho!

No more planning, no more waiting,
No more frantic breath-abating,
No more standing in the line,
No more checking off the time,
No more nervous fretting,
No more not-just-yetting,
No more crawling time,
Now the time is flyin’!
Now the racers
Set the pace.
Get set:
GO!