24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Enjoy this moment
Without any regret.
It’s your birthday,
You’re a bigger one.
How old You’re?
6 yrs? Oops!
Isn’t that true?
Hmm— may I wrong
Then guess again
It’s your celebration time
Enjoy this time.
You’re seeing 6 yrs
One by one with a new hub.
You’re making this platform.
Great— to see your jolly move.
I so miss the muse.
Words overflow; scanty words.
Let the muse run wild.
Daddy Don’t Forget
Daddy,
don’t forget
me. I’m still
your little girl.
I may
be
older
now, but
you know I’ll
always need you.
You’ve always
known
the
answer, no
matter the question.
Everything is changing.
I see
the
question
in your
eyes and pray
that God gives
me the
right
answer.
Even when
you cannot remember
me, you are
still my
father.
****A hay(na)ku is a three line poem where the first line consists of one word, the second line has two, and the third line is composed of three words. A reverse hay(na)ku is three lines composed in the opposite fashion, of three words, then two, and one word for the final line. In the 2019 Poetry Marathon, I created the “Mirror hay(na)ku” by combining a hay(na)ku with a reverse hay(na)ku. In 2020, I took things a step further by compiling five mirror hay(na)ku stanzas and calling it a Hall of Mirrors Hay(na)ku.****
My Dear, Sweet Sarah,
I remember the day you said goodbye.
With a final pause in the doorway,
you turned to me and smiled.
We both ignored the tears that filled your eyes.
“I’ll see you when I get back from Scotland.”
At this point, we knew it was a lie.
But sometimes lies taste better than
the truth, so we let the sweet promise
of tomorrow fill the room.
Countless times I held my daughter’s hand
while she wept. You boarded planes bound
for places I’d only meet by postcard while
we returned to defrosting peas alone.
But at this last goodbye, she did not weep.
Eventually, tears become too gentle
a language for the blade of grief
that rips your soul in two.
So don’t cry for me; no salt-stained
sheets will cure your hurt.
Instead, whenever you hold a lily,
let the sweet scent remind you
there is always
the promise of tomorrow.
Yours for eternity,
Elle
Dear Emma,
You are special and do not know this. Maybe not knowing is what maintains your speciality.
When I meet people, I subconsciously place them in a mold of your model, to see if I can find another like you even in a faraway land.
I see some, few though, you know everyone is special. Some even remind me of your harmless weakness, your excessive adherence to the golden rule, how you put the world before you hoping you can be the doctor.
I fear you have failed to grasp the poetry of life till now, maybe it matters, maybe it doesn’t, how helplessly honest you can be, basking in the pride of pure intentions.
I will love to see your angel and the beauty of joy she brings to you.
In my life, I never had the words to say
Everything I wanted to say to you
How I loved our runs in the park
Or around the giant table at home
And all the yummy food after – beef burger and spiced chicken
How I loved our mornings together
When I climbed in your bed and you snuggled me
How much I loved you
How much it made me happy when all of us were together as a big happy family
Some memories, maybe not so great
The squirrels and rabbits in the backyard, always ruining Dad’s grass
The noisy annoying neighbor who always broke my afternoon snooze
The times when you would leave and I would be home
Waiting, hoping, you would be back someday
And of course, the last days, of pain, and fear, and the unknown
But I want you to know that despite all that
None of this could ever get rid of
The immense joy and love and care you and everyone else gave me
While here in your world, I said this how I could
A woof. A lick. A roll on my back.
And I want you to know that it’s because you made me feel
Safe.
Joyful.
Loved.
Now on the other side, I miss you a lot
But it’s different – more nostalgia, less anticipation
I am at peace
And while I know that you will probably miss me
Just know that you do not need to worry about me
I’m happy as long as you are happy and loved
It’s all I ever wanted in my life
Just stay that way, and I’ll eternally smile and wag my tail
Watching over you from above
Little girl with long braids, long limbs
Fearless and faithful
Asking questions I could not answer
I am proud of you
Always was, always will be
You are now as old as I was
When we said goodbye
But I still see you
Just as I did then
Fearless and faithful
Grown
Warm and wise
why do distant mountains
fade from forest green to blue?
wandering the woods unafraid
basking in the wildlife abundant
questions of what and who and how
grown into every tree and dirt path
back in time, this place doesn’t change
from the family photo albums
these rural homes invite imagination
the quiet is restless, eager
to be met with stories
read or written, however you feed it
it will be met with approving quiet
and a hunger for more
history is hidden in peeling blue paint
and framed embroidery
nostalgia lives in the spice-sweet smell
of woodsmoke sewn in the quilts
patched in this house
they hold their scent back in the city
just for a moment
and carry their swaddled sleeper
out the chimney
and into a sky of stars
From Holly—Prompt#6
Dear Oliver, how long has it been?
Sixty plus years have grown between us.
We were seven or was it eight years old
but we were madly in love—remember?
I would wear my hair over the shoulders
long and straight, just the way you liked it.
I changed desks just so I could sit next to you.
Our lunches were a heavenly half-hour when we
would discuss our wedding plans.
You were always such a terrible speller-I
always had to help you—remember?
My penmanship was so neat and precise and yours
so sloppy, the teacher would make you rewrite
all of your assignments. I would giggle.
When you would ride bicycle past my house I would
always come look for you. I knew you would ride by
my by my house on purpose. I was looking forward to going
through our school years together. Then,
you moved away.