The Poetry Marathon

(Hour 06) 03.30-04.30am. TEXT PROMPT, letter from someone no longer in your life

absences

Beloved brother

i remember 

i.
spending endless hours trying to teach “I love you”
in Russian: Ya lyublyu tebya without success
if only I’d tried Yellow blue tibia I might’ve succeeded

ii.
walking round the cathedral after midnight in mist
looking for the cross you’d dropped earlier in the day
we were unsuccessful in that — but it’s still a favourite memory

iii.
talking to you about the car crash that killed him
& how i’d hit the bottle so fucking hard afterwards
it wasn’t fair to find — then lose — eternity so quickly

now you’re gone, how, how to go on

The cicada nymph slowly climbs – Half Marathon Poem #6

The cicada nymph slowly climbs

along the branch, inch by
laborious inch. It has taken most
of the afternoon, and as the sun
begins to set, it stops

“Is it resting?” I wonder to myself,
then I see it shiver and crack

And slowly, painfully, it
emerges – wings wet and
furled, shell soft and white

Ever so slowly, wings unroll
carapace hardens and
becomes glittering green

Until, as the stars rise above,
it spreads its wings and flies away

“Godspeed, little friend,” I whisper,
as I finish packing the last box
of my past and prepare to rest

Tomorrow, I begin a new life
without you in it

Bonded Ancestor

Prompt 7

(A letter to myself from someone)

 

I see you took your own path

Don’t be startled!

Yes, I am from the grave

 

You have grown up and time has flown

You’ve got spirit, I never did own

Yet, my old weak weary bone

Wishes time would stop, I had a clone

You listened not to fears,

Not bowed before lies

Fought your way through tears

Broken all foolish ties

Son, I’m proud. You weren’t like me

But a wounded fly, fluttering free

 

 

 

 

You Tried

My saviour,

You tried, I know
Don’t cry, for I still feel your pain
Like you felt mine
You tried, I know

You were my saviour
when you picked me from the streets
You were my saviour
when you granted me a better death
You tried, I know

I didn’t understand much of
what was happening to me
but I knew, you would do right by me
Or whatever you did was certainly right to me
You tried, I know!

You cried as you called out my name
and I came to you even in my pain
You put the leash around my neck
for the first and the last time
You tried, I know!

I wasn’t used to the leash
So I fought and it tightened around my neck
Like a noose
And you yelled out in pain, more than me
You tried, I know!

It was time for me to go
You could not see me suffer so
So, I lay as you helped me die
I just went deeper into sleep
You tried, I know!

I will wait for you beyond the rainbow bridge
For now, I’ll pray to be your smile
That’s all I was, that’s all I wanted
I tried, you know!

Yours faithfully,
Puppy

Black Ebony

Black ebony in the red sea loafing off its axis of Paris

Its history were recovered in 1856

Made America confused of black ebony that lost its obscurity structure for ages

A suture that in place chained on up

Continuously there future studies

Scientists of history, of many memories of the crimson trees of black ebony

Arose from a cascade that ended in 1956

A true founder of black Eebony the steers below

Black ebony founders lost its balance, conscious and went deep into a long meditation and hypnotized each one master for days

The beauty of black Ebony that lies opaque and deepen as it drips in a coma of darkness of its final rest

Black ebony clear veneer that covers and lies over its bay

 

jealous

i wish

i was as loved

and joyful

as that dog is

No. 8: Taste

I cannot imagine
Eating without tasting
A delicious meal

To encounter flavors
That dance on
The tongue's tastebuds

To sample textures
Feel the temperatures
Appreciate cooking techniques

To appreciate its
Presentation and skill
Made with love

With Love from Heaven (Hour 6)

Hello my love,

no one smiles like they have a billion stars in their mouth here

no one has eyes that twinkle when they laugh

no one makes me happy like you

and it breaks my heart that I can no longer tell you these things

 

I’m here wondering what would have been if death did not snatch me from the earth

not having you with me shoots at my heart

breaks it into a million pieces

like the bullets that ended my life

 

but I want you to be that woman we always thought you’d be

the picture should be better than all the times we imagined it

 

I want to you love

I want you to know happiness again

I want you to have someone to adorn you with words–

maybe better than I ever did

 

I hear your silent sobs each night

I see you light a candle to honour me every anniversary of my death

I want you to know I miss you too

 

With love from Heaven

Letter to all my exes

Dear All

I know its been a while since we last spoke
Out of all the people, I’m sure that I’m the last bloke
To which you want to speak,
I admit that after our break up
It’d be hard to make up
Even if I apologised all week

I just wanted to say, I was probably to blame
I know, every time, its always the same
I admit I made mistakes
But can I say, in my defence
I swear with no hint of pretence
I’m not the one who cut the line on your brakes

But no matter how hard I try
I can’t figure out why
I couldn’t make these relationships work
Could it be as I feared
That I’m incredibly weird
Or maybe you’re jealous about how good I can twerk?

Genealogical Correction

Dear Kris,

I just wanted to let you know that you
got it all wrong. There
was no 4th child, no twin. Those
were the people down the
street. Nothing to
do with our
family. Hope this
helps

Love, Grampa Jones