The Poetry Marathon

Truth and the Chinese Lantern, Hour Fifteen

Truth and the Chinese Lantern

Come closer, grandson, and I’ll tell you a tale,
the allegory of the Chinese Lantern.

Once there was a plant, lovely and mysterious,
her fruits enticingly veiled in lacy shadow.

The Chinese Lantern thrived in nearly any climate,
though given rich soil she spread beyond control
and killed off other plants in her exuberance, therefore:
in all things, moderation.

The Chinese Lantern tidily grew in poor soil,
lending her beauty to an otherwise arid landscape, thus:
where there is no struggle, there is no strength.

The Chinese Lantern seed pods dried to ethereal perfection,
their seeming fragility lasted long after the rest of her died away, and so:
death is the greatest illusion of all.

Chinese Lantern seeds were found in small, round, sweet fruits,
both medicinal and nutritious, but remained cloaked
in a paper shroud that had to be stripped away, so as the Buddha says:
three things cannot be long hidden, the sun, the moon, and the truth.

Admire the Chinese Lantern, dear grandson,
and remember the truths she teaches.

3: A most peculiar dog

Her name is Moitzy

A most peculiar dog.

Sweet, scared, brave and tough.

Joe’s Sports Bar

Might live in my brain forever,
despite the building being
demolished. As it should have been.
The walks. The pool tables. The men
that wanted to put my tips
down my shirt, the sticky sticky
dance floor. The one middle aged
couple grinding it out every night.
Lemon pepper wings at 10 cents each.
My spare time spent with Louis
and Lestat. 17 and no concern for me.
Concern for Hana, for Kristen, even
when the men were the same.

I want someone who wants
to protect me but knows
I don’t need it.

Hour 15 /traded for hour 2/ “Raw”

Raw

You brought to my life the most raw sexual energy and experience I’ve ever had.
You found me while I was in hiding. A white woman living on the reservation. I had not entertained the idea of a much younger man. It did begin with lust.

The first time I let you in the house it was a frenzy. We never made it to the bed. But we were all over the rest of the furniture. You told me recently that you came to me when you were stressed – when you needed to get away from the rest of it.

You have allowed me to explore my sexuality and feel comfortable with my body suggesting new ways to find pleasure and bringing in toys. It took me over four decades to allow myself to have the experience without guilt or shame.

Despite the fact that I suspected it was based on lust, I was still with you alone for the period that I have known you.

I know it’s over now because you’ve moved on to someone more appropriate for you. I do grieve the loss. The main solace I have is that we were never in one another’s real day-to-day lives so never actually knew one another.

It began in the realm of lust and and it never really left that place. Yet I grieve that too. In some ways I feel as if I let society dictate how involved I could be in your life both because of our ages and whether we would really fit into one another’s cultures.

You admitted that you never told your family about me and the only person in my family that you ever met was my adult son because he was the one person who would not judge. But we feared being judged didn’t we – so we kept it in the realm of lust. That was an active decision we both made. It has made it easier to part.

Yet why do I feel as if I’ve lost out on something? I fantasize that I have a lot of money and I can hide you away somewhere so I don’t have to worry about what society thinks. Would you then be my secret – my dirty little secret – Forever?

Hour 15- Catalyst

The sound is what caught her attention,

Pleasant, stark in the silence,

A cat’s contented purr.

She felt the cold breeze hit her,

The sharp sweet smell filled her nose,

Could almost taste it on her tongue.

The cats calmly eating pieces of their owner.

---

Note: The poem is a sevenling (Lines 1-3: Connected/ contrasting statements, or a list of three details, names or possibilities; 4-6: three elements; 7: Narrative summary/ punchline)

Other Note: The title is a play on the word ‘cat’ and the fact that the cat accelerated the decay process

2: The best kind of dog.

Barks loud at strangers

Adoration for a friend.

The best kind of dog.

I want to count your teeth (prompt 10)

I always wanted to believe that love was blind
but now I find myself scared that if it were
I would never be truly seen

I want love with eyes open with the brightness set to high
I want love that sees the peach fuzz hairs
the tattoo behind the cover-up

I want illuminated love with every light turned on and window wide
I want sun bleached love unfiltered
I want a fine lined love

sharp detailed love
a love that doesn’t hide

Prompt for Hour Sixteen

Text Prompt

“Write a poem with the last line being a question and the answer being the title.” – Contributed by Megan Ameel Dobson.

Image Prompt

.

Contributed by Jana-Alisha O’Dell

Blah

I’m waiting for

the second wind

to kick in!

there are no

coffee shops open

its just me,

on my own!

a constant in

my life.
And Sunday in London,

my coffee shop is closed.

emoji: sad face!

the lack of coffee

makes me feel,

blah!

Hour 15 Prompt 15

Text Prompt

“Write a poem about someone or something you have lust for.” by Daryl Cole Curnow.

I want you,
I desire your lust,
I want to get lost
in a forest of thoughts.

I want you to take me
I am willing to burn
just for a moment
all eternity – only for you.

 

I want you to make me scream,
Excite my passion,
wreck my nerves,
Leave me hanging
for more.

 

This spell that you have me under
is my reason for hope.
I am holding onto every last word,
that comes out of your forbidden lips.

 

Ruin me, baby.
C’mon darling, the pleasure is worth the pain.
I want a taste of imtimacy with you.
I don’t want your feelings, I just want your sex.