The Poetry Marathon

Return me to the oak trees at sunset
Dance so that I may feel the beat
Sing so that I may hear the melodies
Find the silver lining
Because I know where I’ll be

You’ve got no nerve to walk down this street
at night, but you know someone who did –
and phoned the cops
when he passed a man carrying a machete
on his way to the Avenue.

Why don’t you scream it
that you’ve been waiting on the same bus
that’s not going to take you
anywhere you planned on going.
If my grandmother were alive
during Covid and living off Truman still,
she’d be captive and when you got her going,
you’d know you pissed off the wrong woman.

But there’s nothing really to turn on
except a hydrant on a day so hot
you could fry an egg on the sidewalk,
but the wrong people need all the comforts
and the veneer of pity coats Admiral in
tents and wrinkled green plastic bags approximating the same
when the force shows up to haul away their makeshift village.

Makes it all seem so cruel that
someone – not anyone who could afford to cash it in –
bought the winning Powerball
that was sold at the gas station that serves
as a waystation to the denizens of a part of town
people call home for
its proximity to an intersection to hold a sign.

The closer I got,
the farther I was.
You think you got it,
its deceiving.
The same pattern
over and
over and
over again
beyond dimensions.
On each groove,
there’s infinite more.
Recursion.
A blink of an eye,
and your life ends,
on one of those grooves.

The birds chirping
The horizon clearing
The trees waving
The cars starting
The air clearing
The day cheering
Signal
A brand new dawn

Pirouette, tango
Samba, cha cha and down low,
Turning head just so.

Stumbling in the dark to find you
To soothe your cries
Ease your pain
Caress your cheek
Press my lips to your hair
Shush you with my lullabies
You are safe
You are loved

Stormy clouds fill the sky
I look and run for cover
Rain begins to fall
And I wait….
I wait….
And wait some more.

After the deluge is done
I retreat from my shelter
I glance at the skies
And I stare….
I gasp…..
Then I run.

A rainbow fills the sky
The end is quite near
I make my way towards it
I walk faster….
And faster….
As fast as I can.

In the distance I spy
A shine of brilliant gold
I peer even closer
And take a step….
A step nearer….
And another step.

As I creep closer
I see a flash of green
With a startled breath
I tilt my head….
I widen my eyes….
I shout “A-ha!”

A leprechaun stands before me
His hands holding the pot of gold.
Before I could run to grab him.
(more…)

I crave the texture of crushed ice

the cold

it snuggles me

When I run out

I dream of it at night

I never tire of it

it gives me a welcome kick

calms my neuroticism

Her eyes tease behind her long lashes
A nose scrunched
The inhale and lip curl
Before pure bliss flows from her lips
Like honey

I fly high with the red sky,
Drag by the wind,
I’m an invincible find.

No one can see me from now on,
No on can hear a thing.

I fly high with the red sky,
Often times, I know why,
I’m an invincible find.

No one can Be bothered now,
I’m gone, somehow.
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.
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Writer: M.E. Flores
Hour16, Image Prompt16