The Poetry Marathon

#11, Aaron

1

Heart like a grenade

Around you I’m liable to explode

Boom

There I go

Smashed into pieces

2

Your spirit animal should be a bulldog

Stubborn.

Pigheaded.

But lovable and sweet.

Like hugging a brick wall wrapped in cotton

3)

Strong. You are so strong.

Yet there is this tender soul under it all.

You let me in.

I let you in.

We are have intertwined. There will be no separating us now.

4)

You saved my life.

There was no point before there was you.

There would be no point after you.

5)

Your eyes burn golden in the afterglow

I love to watch them burn

Like I light you on fire from the inside out.

I wonder if my eyes burn blue at you.

I’m burning inside too.

6)

Gear everywhere

Gear and trash

Helmets and boots

Flashlights and scanners.

3am firecalls.

You steal my damn flip flops again

Smoke and sweat smell in my car for days.

7)

You have no idea that your worth is more than your father taught you.

You are digging your own hole of your insecurities under a blanket of his neglect and lies.

We could all drown in those lies.

8)

You love to be obnoxious and drive me crazy.

I put up a fight.

But I really love it because you only do it cause you love my reactions to things.

9)

You make me feel safe.

Like no one else.

Home.

10)

We walk hand in hand together.

There is no where else I would rather be than with you.

Love has taken me to you.

Forever.

 

 

She

One

She is Southern, in the style of Gone With The Wind.
But she is not not Scarlett, whose charm is greater than her beauty.
She is Melanie, concerned and sweet,
With all the graces and genuine beauty that Scarlett only pretends to have.

Two

She plays concert piano by ear
And drives an MG.
She is hopelessly in love,
With a young man whom even his friends
Call a stodgy old man.

They are both 18.
And then they are 20.

Three

An expected marriage
Two families join
And within four years
There are three more.

Four

The heartbreak
Takes her and her three
To a land far away
From the life they had known.

Five

The MG and the piano
Have been replaced by a sedan and typewriter
Her happiness has become
The happiness of her children

Six

A sailor a pirate
Takes them on an adventure
To a magical land of mountians and wet, green forests
But just for awhile.

Seven

She returns to the South
Her children in tow
Back to her roots
And back to her family.

Eight

One by one, the birds leave the nest
But still she worries over them
and cries for their tragedies
And laughs for their triumphs

Nine

In the twilight come more
Two girls and four boys
And lots of dogs and one cat
All of them her grandchildren
All are celebrations of her life.

Ten

All of the children of her life
Are who they are because of her.
And for her, this is her life’s fulfillment
The joy she feels for the sacrifices she she made,
For her, it has been worth it.

She is my mother, and her name is Angie.

© 2014 D. Edward Croy

phases

to eat

bullets

pills

or nothing at all

to end

something that was

“just a

phase.”

 

__ar.

(short one. I don’t have power)

she’s come undone

they say she’s sick

cuz she leaves her windows open

when it’s cold outside-

curtains blowing in the wind;

lost her husband and kids all grown-

they pat my head and say leave her ‘lone

but she fascinates me with

her silver blue hair always tied in a bun.

she told me once she’s come undone

and she has to nap from one to three just to put her shoes on her feet,

i have no idea what she means but i smile

and go back to my house.

II

they say she’s crazy

cuz she piles up trash in cardboard boxes on her porch

while she swats at flies with a dingy hankie-

small hands and wrinkled skin,

she looks so sad so i try to make conversation with her.

she tells me she’s come undone

that her whole world is gone and she doesn’t know why

they left her here.

i have no idea what she means and i walk back to my house

wondering if she was happy i even stopped.

III

They say she’s lonely

cuz she talks out loud when no one’s there

and she rocks for hours as if that is her day’s work.

in raggedy slippers and her housecoat,

with arms folded-

in the middle of winter she sits there with her windows open

curtains blowing in the wind

trash piled up in cardboard boxes-

swatting flies;

i don’t know why they left me here she yells

over and over again;

but now i understand,

she really has come undone.

 

 

Conversation with a Child

No matter what they say,
No matter what they do,
Always keep in mind,
They’ll never define you.

Words can often hurt,
As can actions too,
People can be mean,
Throwing all this dirt.

Keep your head held high,
Don’t be mean in turn,
Always take the high road,
A lesson to be learned.

And most of all,
My dear sweet one,
As you go through life..

The ones who know,
And love you most,
Will help you with this strife.

‘Teamwork’ or, ‘John Starks was my favorite sixth man’

Point guard (#1)

Playmaker of the team

Excellent ball handler

Makes great passes

Think Magic Johnson, tallest point guard in history

 

 
Shooting guard (#2)

The marksman, usually scores the most

Hangs in the backcourt with the point guard

Is M.J. or Kobe better?

 

 

 

Small forward (#3)

Most versatile

Long-range shooter

Primary defender

Larry Bird, Dr. J or LeBron

 

 

 

Power Forward (#4)

Rebounder

Big guy who blocks

Doesn’t mind playing dirty

Bill Russell, tho Dennis “the Worm” Rodman is probably better known

 

 

Center (#5)

Patrols the paint

Strong aggressive rebounder

Imposing presence, like Shaquille “Shaq Attaq” O’Neal

 

 

 

PICK ME PICK ME

Was it by dreaming or

Writing

That I could find out what I

Thought

Nightmares or strokes of a pen

Fairy dust or ink

Screams or words

Not find of either

Does it matter

They both sired

Me

~,%

Specifically

You say you’re nothing special,
But I reject that that is true,
For if you want some solid proof,
Than I can give you one or two.

1. You can’t pronounce “specifically”,
   Without it getting slurred,
2. But to this day it still remains,
   Your favourite slippery word,
3. You never eat the sandwich crust,
   Like bones upon your plate,
4. You’ll always be ten minutes early,
   But you’re never a second late,
5. You don’t know how to whistle,
   But you try it all the same,
6. And every day you choose,
   To answer to a different name,
7. You’ve never learnt to cook,
   But claim you make fantastic toast,
8. You’re the first to own mistakes,
   And you’re the very last to boast,
9. You can’t receive a compliment,
   Without giving one back,
10. And everything you are,
    Makes up for everything I lack.

Where I Lived Once

I drove by a house where I lived once
A dog named Mike is still buried there
Many years have passed with the vision
Of a hawk with expansive wings and a hunter’s glare
Sitting in the backyard

It looks like a dollhouse to me
Way too small
With a tiny mailbox

I want to relax once again as I did
On a velvet green sofa in the living room
Counting pennies
Admiring fresh hand picked daisies

I want to ride bikes
With my sisters again
And buy ten cent candy
From the neighborhood store

I want to be one big happy family again. Mom,Dad,and sisters and laugh until I cry.

Eleventh Hour

The heat of the day has peaked.
The house smells of mint and lavender
And new mown grass in the twilight.
Soon the frogs will raise their chorus
And the day will melt soft into shadow,
Calling the thousand memories
To yield their stories.