24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
We need to be kind — So many people are hurting
We need to be patient — solutions take time to develop
We need to co-operate — in order to come together
We need to unite — many hands make light work
We need to see the best in our neighbor —
to eliminate fear in our streets
by Nancy Ann Smith
It must be the rutting season
because I haven’t seen you in ages,
and you have that stretched-thin look you get
when running with a new bitch.
I waited.
Hours, sometimes days, I waited,
a broken-heart cliché,
phone in hand, heart in my mouth
turning to rocks and ashes.
Then I stopped.
I remembered who I was, like Rudyard Kipling said:
“The best ones don’t wait for anyone.”
I put down the phone, slipped off my shoes,
and went to howl at the moon.
Adoption
Tail wagging
Face pushed against the bars
Eager to sniff
Eager to lick
Eager to please
Paws out –
Nice to meet you
Ears perk up to hear
” I want this one!”
Cage opens
I can take my new friend home
An accessory for our purses.
A symbol of our wealth.
The actors in our movies.
And soldiers in our wars.
Did you stop being animals,
Or did we just forget?
As I woke up every morning, I see him beside me lying
His eyes staring, wondering, like he is talking
When I get off the bed, he jump over my head
Opening the fridge, his gonna take fruits that were rotten
Smelling, if he don’t feel like eating
His going to kick his plate slowly towards me
He gonna scratch my feet and stare, asking for another
I will show him a fried meat! He jump! And jump! And jump!
And bring his plate back, and eat a lot
He is with me wherever I go, he wear a pad, a cloth and shoe
When we go to the park, he throw his pad
When I’m sad and cry, he stare at me and sigh
His gonna sit beside me, lifting his hand reaching mine
I gonna hug him tightly and smile, and whisper thank you, you’re here for a awhile
A quiet friend, who listens all the time,
no matter if he obeys my commands,
for one to hear my stories and listen,
a furry friend, is for what I demand.
A four-legged friend would love me always.
He would take long walks with me and smile.
A plush little friend would always be there.
He wouldn’t e’er fret if we stayed a while.
A furry friend wouldn’t mind the silence.
He would take a grain of salt and ponder.
Our days would always be blissful and bright,
nor would evenings and mornings be squandered.
I would hold my furry friend tight at night.
My little friend would cherish me alright.
I really should clean,
my house is such a fright,
but I have poems to glean,
so, just push the dust bunny out of sight…
On the boat from Haiti I died –
I died from the letters that drifted into the ocean,
melted into the water.
I died as the ink washed away
page after page of words
I wrote you.
I died at the thought of you –
alone – never knowing, truly
how much I loved you.
The truth is
I died the moment
I caught my last glimpse
of you.
On the boat from Haiti
I was a ghost
lamenting my lost love.
Stop, it’s just the mail,
There’s no need to go so nuts!
Can’t you be a cat?
Smoke in your eyes
Poison through your blood
Out of the cave
Everything you’ve got
Out of your mind, today
Smoke in your eyes
Gets in the way
You feel speechless
Nobody can sway
Upon your slot
Smoke in your eyes
Blurry bloody hell
Where is the fun
Nobody can tell
Stay shrunk now
Smoke in my eyes
You take advantage
To kiss my ears
And swirl my tongue
I am over the board, in tears
Smoke in our eyes
It’s the sweetest cloud
I ‘ve ever touched
When the sun rises
And you fall upon me
Smoke in your eyes
Poison through your blood
Out of the cave
Everything you’ve got
Out of your mind, today