The Poetry Marathon

Other worlds #2023poetrymarathon #prompthour23

The sun rises mainly to the north and sets again after 40 hours in the east.

There are delicious little green berries that we pick with sticky fingers

and cram into our mouths like there is no tomorrow. The moons are bloody orbs

of delight, we celebrate when they come together and align in a straight line.

There are fine musicians and there are no human travellers. All of us wander

and none of us are lost. We live in peace not fighting over caste or Gods

because we do not have any. Everyone speaks in song, not the lilting voice of women

but the soft woofs of dogs and wolves.  Or what you call dogs anyway.

the oceans are clear and the skies are full of stars, we have no need for phones

and computers for we live in peace to each its own. Let me return home?

 

Hour 23–Don’t Get Me Started

I want to live in a world

free of Karens

who might get their panties in a bunch

thinking about what toppings other folks

put on their pizza

Free of trendsetters

and influencers

Free of consumers

masquerading as citizens

I want to live in a world

free of programming

Again with the dirty sink water?

i’m losing connection

i’ve been unplugged

to keep my eyes aware

i need to watch something

my brain won’t absorb

a single thing anymore

not because i’m full

because floating in the sink

i’m just treading the water of knowledge

ever bit of soap and scum together

 

Another night5am

Another night
So much on my mind
God please take it away.
Please don’t make me think
about it once again

You win God
I’ll think about it
once more
and pray again
it touches someone’s life

I reflect on the things
that I’ve done
Things that I’m not proud of
addictions I’ve faced

Why did I suffer the addiction
that I had
why did I have to fight so hard
just to stay alive
Why was I so ashamed
to talk to you
when it was bad

You took me out of myself
made me step away from it
all
just so I could see what it was
doing to me

Thank you Jesus
For showing me
for teaching me
guiding me
caring for me

Thank you
that I’m not the same
person that I was
that I’m still alive
still here
still hoping
that my story reaches
someone in need

Sometimes I wonder
does my story ever reach
anyone, touch anyone
I guess it’s something I
may never know

I pray that my story
touches someone
that needs to hear the
message imbedded in
the story of my life

I may have stopped
the addiction that consumed
my life
my thoughts
my words and actions
myself
But I didn’t do it alone

Too often we say to ourselves
‘look, I’ve pulled myself away from
this addiction’
or this behavior
but did we really do it on our own?
or is that what we like to say to
make ourselves feel better
when we know we didn’t

Or was there someone who had a
purpose for the suffering that we
went through to get to where we are
at this moment in time

I believe that jesus has a reason
for the sufferings we go through
there is a purpose in the suffering
that I faced
that we all faced at one time or another

I don’t know what it is
neither do you or anyone else
But isn’t that part of the mystery
of life’s ride.
Going on a journey where you don’t
know where you’ll end up

Again I say
Thank you Jesus
for loving me
for rescuing me
for showing me
the way to get clean
so I’m no longer dirty
and in danger of dying in hell
for the sins I’ve committed
against you

Take my life and use it
all for your purpose
anything you want I’ll do it
just to know that you are
in the drivers seat of my life

2023 Poem Twelve

An Incomplete & Out of Order List of Songs That Have A Hold On Me

– Just A Kiss by Lady A

– The Shake by Neal McCoy

– Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

– Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Off Her Clothes by Panic! At The Disco

– Fireflies by Owl City

– Why Don’t You Kiss Her by Jesse McCartney

– Fantasy Baseball at the End of the World by John K Samson

23. Twenty Minute Mark

It all starts

in 20 minutes;

watching the clock

my breath, electric,

waiting for the spark,

the signal.

What will I write?

What will I discover

of myself,

heart-felt,

jagged,

soul-rending,

flat-lined,

whispering–

or screaming like a banshee.

I’ll know soon enough,

the clock taps cadence;

I march in step

for 24 miles

the finish draws near;

only one third an hour

to spill the words out,

over the dam

into the flow,

the great river

of thought,

ideas,

concepts,

misconceptions.

exhaustion tracks beside me,

sprinting ahead at times,

leaving me dusted,

road-worn,,

alone with my pillow.

But I’m making a comeback;

Barely time remains,

Sprint for 20 minutes more.

–until next year.

Prompt Twenty-two – Contrast

Prompt Twenty-Two – Visual Prompt – Silencio

 Contrast

The Hush hits you when you walk in through the door

after a month in India. Or Thailand. Or Spain.

It cradles the racing, travel weary, jet lagged pain.

You can hear the neighbour’s grass being cut.

Two doors down. Through double glazed windows.

You can even hear your own heart beat

And the buzz in your ears.

But what of the buzz you left behind?

Cackling kids, constant doorbells, honking cars.

Constant chitter chatter and yelps of laughter

Merging with the yelps of stray dogs.

You cant hear the birds there, so they caw louder

To be heard. Everyone needs to be heard.

And here, its Silencio.

Poem for Hour Twenty-Three (23/24)

Birds are SO PICKY!!!!

How could they be so fickle in creating their nests?

I’ve seen them hem and haw and throw out individual hairs,

Seemingly saying

“Well, obviously that doesn’t go there!”

I just don’t get it,

Not one little bit,

But do me a favor, and please grab this chair,

I don’t like it right here,

and this pillow’s overstuffed,

and the lights are too bright,

and could you help me move the printer,

because that location is not right.

I need the bed closer to the wall,

I think that would look best…

Oh, my…

Maybe I get being picky about nests.

Rachnoc Haiku 23 Hour 23

Mariner with sight,
Trawls the net for lighthouse waste,
Draws up the broken.

No salvage to come,
From the barnacled zombie,
Stories told on deck.

Deceptive calm waves,
Hide Rachnoc’s wrath, penance due,
Penance to be paid.

Tentacles shudder,
In cthulhu’s great, deep lair,
Rachnoc readies, rises.

Arms flay out, grasping,
Mother and son, drowning slow,
Collects sinful wood.

You came here alone,
He has blood on his dead hands,
Vengeance, life for life.

Ex fell on his knife,
Fugitive escaping guilt,
He came here alone.

Tentacles tighten,
Around the helm, over deck,
He came here alone.

Prompt 20

Sun

greets me prematurely

as I stubbornly lie awake

just a few minutes more

I wish I could watch the day

from the sidelines

and not participate

In the mornings I

am far too tired