The Poetry Marathon

Zero to Sixty (12)

I was a rocket ship
always at Cape Canaveral
waiting for a punch to my ignition
that would launch
me into the stratosphere.

Over the years I taught myself
to maintain a very even 30MPH.
Less stress to the chassis
easier on the engine, keeping
me on the road forward.

Now, with you, I am back
inside my tender psyche
trying to maintain life on
the straight and narrow but
my emotions are funny like this.

So I am high and I am low,
I move left then quickly to the right
thoroughly enjoying the ranges
speeding along past my window with
me moving zero – sixty.

Moving and dancing into the great unknown (hour 12 of the half marathon)

 

When I think I know what I’m calling into being–

when I believe I know my heart’s call–

when I feel I’m ready to move–

And, I’m stymied,

What is really happening?

How can I deeply listen?

How do I find peace in not knowing right timing for this move?

and How do I move and dance with the Great Unknown?

Hour 10

leaving home four hours
the middle of marathon
was bad idea

Poem#11 LIFE’S “ION”

Anticipation … assumption … premonition …

Words that promise something … yet exhaustion;

In all life’s “ion” … it goes back to a question.

What is life all about? … Is there any OPTION?

Anticipating the things that are yet to … but might not come …

Worrying about the unrelenting outcome …

Excited, yet uneasy … will it turn out to be?

Anticipation … assumption … premonition …

… exhaustion … life’s “ion” …

Across the Horizon

The highway rises up to greet me and my car;

Stuffed to its limits with the essentials-books, books and more books;

Things like a bed and utensils will come later;

Because;

I’m on the road for a new beginning;

Today;

Only my most precious mental furniture will accompany me as

I

enter

The Golden State

-30-

 

 

The 10th hour – Autobiography of A Face

Life was so different when I arrived on the scene

Air and light were all new to me

The sensitivity of the elements affected me at times

But the careful hand of my caregiver would handle just fine

Skin so soft, the tempter of every touch

Every kiss, every caress that I treasured so much

Years go by and life takes it toll

Streaming tears, stress and harsh rays all play their role

Anti-age creams, masks and make-up offer temporary solace

I have enjoyed watching you in the mirror day in and day out

The countless expressions from laughter to pout

You are uniquely mine, no other can compare

Whether chestnut brown or skin that’s fair

This face knew no boundaries, we had a good run

If I’m remembered well, the prize has been won

 

(#6/12): “Sitting On The Tarmac At JFK”

 

A journey yet to commence,

This riotous cacophony,

Of sound and fury,

Buzzes all around me.

 

Jotting down half-thoughts,

Humming long forgotten songs,

My excitement is hardly contained,

For in my mind, I am already home.

 

© 2015 Silvester Phua

 

Hi-Ho

Hi-ho we ride along the trail

To find the horse to

Make a voyage, sail

Along the veil of reefs and coves

which the tourist loves to

discover and pretend they

are what the horse’s rider intended

but riddled with anxiety

the voyage is cut short

adjourned so health may be restored

to horses, pigs, livestock

unwell humans, too, ahoy

Hi-ho let’s fire the gun and drop the

revolver that killed the one

who planned the event to hell.

(#5/12): “Facing It”

Limbs that once were limber,

Mind that once was nimble,

With youthful insouciance,

Inexhaustible energy,

And boundless enthusiasm,

I stormed through time.

 

Now I look in the mirror,

And it stares piteously back at me.

The lines time has sanded across,

Furrowed with decades of thoughtless concentration,

A traverse of inconsequential tracks,

My tapestry of life.

 

The truth can be hard to bear.

 

© 2015 Silvester Phua

 

Progression

Thoughtless health, casual happiness:
Fade to black, aching emptiness:
Bleak despair, lonely hopelessness:
Moving on.

Finding hope, future brightening
Treatment plans, self-enlightening,
Falling back, darkness tightening:
Moving on.

Pitch and yaw, hope to bleak despair
Back and forth, experts everywhere
Callous disregard, no-one seems to care:
Moving on.

Seeking balance, self-reliance
Over-reaching in defiance
Self-defeating non-compliance:
Moving on.

Making progress, staying ready,
Little set-backs, just an eddy,
In the river, flowing steady:
Moving on.

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Prompt: Moving
Form: 8/8/8/4, aaaR.