The Poetry Marathon

Clan Cats

(or The Menagerie, part 1)

Esme

• white & black long-fur, markings look like a hat and cape
• aka ‘Fancy Nasty,’ cat matriarch
• pees wherever she wants just for funsies
• will screech if off schedule
• simply cannot

Thor

• orange tabby long-fur, too many toes
• does not live up to his name
• spends most of his time dissociated
• nauseous lump of anxiety
• mistrusts men

Astrid (deceased)

• black & white short-fur, almost named her Moo
• a true NYC bastard who thrived on chaos
• endured my trauma across two coasts
• adventured in public like a champ
• zero chill

Willa

• stout brown tabby short-hair, part bear
• equal parts bashful and bold
• once broke through the window screen to meet a bird
• uses baby voice for questionable means
• wrestling champion

Fenrir Pan

• black short-hair, TNR-docked ear and a cloudy eye
• tucks himself into the covers even for naps
• sweetest little boy who can do no harm
• just kidding, he throws paws hard
• mama’s boy

(Hour 4)

At this moment

At this moment,
I wish for us
a celebration
of peace and joy.

Let us walk this labyrinth
together with hope and laughter and
a shared commitment to a common
tomorrow.

Let us start anew,
inspired by the music of birdsong
and the cool fragrance
of mountain snows.

Let us embrace sunrises and moonsets
and walk in the morning rains and
let us catch snowflakes as they fall and
dance under the stars.

Let us now at this moment,
at this one enchanted moment,
begin again,
and again, and again,
in the spirit of love.

11 AM – Lost Identity

When I couldn’t find my driver’s license the last time,

I felt nothing but relief.

The BMV photograph and listed information showed a stranger that wasn’t even me.

 

Corrected it, but now my newfound privilege leaves me reeling.

Sense of lost identity and negated experiences.

 

I just don’t want to lose this one.

Hour 4–Raven Whispers

I come to tell you

not to worry

Pink clouds carry on as they should

Winds carry seeds

Ice melts

Fire burns

The Earth cares for herself

Human, you are no less mysterious than

the salmon

You both work so hard

only to reach death

The chain is unbroken

You see yourself as separate from Nature

This is a fallacy

You are Nature as are we

Each is consumed in the end

only to live on

as nourishment for some other beast

If this be cause to furrow your brow

please know that your suffering is not mandatory

Choose it if you wish

or consider for a moment the glory

 

Mr. Exhaustion

Mr. Exhaustion

                        Arrives home after another softball weekend –

Sunburned, hungry, and hating that Monday’s coming –

                      Ponders dinner options

Deciding on peanut butter bread

                      Eating over the sink

In order to avoid washing dishes

                      Wiping the butter knife off with a napkin

Disposing said napkin in the trash

                      Slipping the “clean” butter knife back in the drawer

Leaving the open peanut butter jar and loaf of bread out

                      Stumbling up the stairs to bed

Stepping on his daughter’s dirty uniform

                        Leaving the laundry for another day

Sprawling onto said bed

                        Without even getting under the covers

Mrs. Exhaustion is already asleep

                        Tomorrow waits for him, them

Always

Marriage Wishes – Hour 4

Anger. Rage. All around people training to fight or defend.

Awkward martial arts. Beautiful faces, roiling with ego and fear.

Beautiful bodies with angular limbs, exposing uncertainty

in proportion to the size of their weapons.

Brandishing arms of war with snarls of terror

to frighten away their insecurity.

 

What they really want is to dance.

To be held by love and to love.

Ironically showing a face to scare away dreams and wishes.

they long to disarm and float on the soft bed of hope.

To be cracked open, raised in the light that heals wounds,

and wrapped in the arms of truth. Secure and at peace.

 

To understand that they are enough, and accepted.

To know the love that melts hearts, and to rise like a bird

trilling its pure and sincere song to the welcoming universe.

 

Stirring up the soul (Hour 4)

Just like a soup,
we keep stirring a loop,
our lives also follow,
the same patterns.

Hearts ache for an escape,
and we find ourselves late,
in the hands of our fate,
we keep passing the dates.

One fine day,
when all our chores are done,
expectations met,
duties fulfilled,
sitting in the sun,
our hearts still ache,
we still want to escape,
find a fresh loop,
before we burn our soup.

Prompt 4 – Text : Marriage

It always seems to be the ruin of people
When it ends
One seems to find another
To spend the days with

When I was younger, I was told a lie
That coming together was necessary to survive
And although I know it is not always true
I still believe that lie today

Perhaps in a few I will walk down that path
My father accompanying me
And if not
Well, regardless I will be happy
Happy with what I have got

Knowing Him

Hour 4 Prompt

Write about marriage without using the word marriage, husband or wife

 

KNOWING HIM

I fell for him the day we met.

He was familiar and comfortable, but better!

What would I find if I really got to know him,  if I took a chance?

Chances with others were awkward, brief, frustrating at best.

Would it be worth finding out he was just like the others but

Veiled in an alluring package?

Still, I wanted to know. I mean what did I have to lose?

38 years of knowing him, loving him, cherishing this amazing gift in my life.

Each day is different and new. Challenges and victories shared.

Emotions and fears explored,enjoyed, conquered, together!

Familiar and comfortable, but better!

Knowing him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unity

Unity of two people

lovers.

Likes and hobbies

intertwine.

A newness is born

each day.

Emotional connections

grow stronger as time passes.

A togetherness is created

in the unity of two people.