The Poetry Marathon

Voices

I stress,
I lurch,
I yell,

and finally I’m silent.

This moment has taken advantage of me and
I have lost touch with my own voice.

A voice which preaches empathy,
understanding,
a gentle touch.

This is my aspiration, yet

I am new to this world
and that vulnerability sweeps
me away.

Desperate to appear professional,
in control,
competent,
I embody those traits I despise.

It is only when I slow down
and begin to release the control I have been
grasping so tightly

that I return to myself.

A calm talk,
a release of energy,
a mountain of stress surmounted.

I feel much better.

100 years from now

Prompt 4

A hundred years from now

I’ll be nothing but ash and dust

Ages gone and ages new

Time has gone and go it must

The wrinkles will not snatch away the laughs

Nor the tears wipe away the past

But time as a cycle will keep ticking on

When the sun is set and hope is gone

A hundred years from now

A hundred years before

Will not change the present hour

It’s an unopened door

And if I ever ask for more

Lest the present be a chore

A home is isn’t in decor

But the memories I made before

Which squeezing through time

Or jumping through age

Is ne’er worth a dime

Like a gilded cage

I got ‘nother chance today

I got a fresh new page.

The Personal is Political

Opened the blinds to let the light in for the first time in a long time.
Apartment windows across the parking lot,
background processes, gadgets, holy books, and dust,
three white walls and a fan that hums
forever, burning fuel like a living, temporary thing,
pushing away oppressive heat or cold.
Information overload and understimulation,
sound and failing vision,
everything you are
sinks into a screen that replaces
everything real
as the rest of the world retreats.
Thoughts get dark and fantasy becomes a need.
Deprivation leads to a blind and reckless hunger.

Hour 6: [galloping old time]

galloping old time
accrues memories of past-
vanishing mirage

A Dog’s Day (Poetry Marathon 2022 – Hour 6)

A Dog’s Day (Poetry Marathon 2022 – Hour 6)

Today we celebrate your birthday.
We celebrate you everyday
As we take care of you
And you give us emotional support.
You know how important you are to us
And we know how important we are to you.
Enjoy your day and the extra treats you get
Love you today and love you everyday.

No. 6: Hear

Sounds I love
I love you
Please and thanks

Sounds I enjoy
Birdsong at daybreak
Purring of cats

Sounds that bewilder
Angry, sharp expressions
Lies and fabrications

Sounds that delight
Sizzle of bacon
Brewing of coffee

Lollipop

Greedily. ..his eyes light up at the sight of the mint and strawberry Lollipop
Aye, his eyes literally strain out of their sockets…until he is given it
He sucks greedily his beady eyes dancing with delight
His belly straining within the confines of his shirt increases literally width wise as he sucks
His mouth is badly smeared, his shirt too by the time he is done licking the mint and strawberry lollipop

Coffee Break

Take a coffee break
Make a fresh cup and drink up
You will last longer
Oh how I need more coffee
So better make it stronger

Poem 2: The woods

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
Though not all who roam within them sleep.

In my dreams I am the pretty red fox,
I sniff the night air and lurk behind rocks.

These amber eyes seek any moving shadow,
Perhaps a sleek rabbit entering its burrow.

Tonight, it seems, there will be no luck,
Into their cosy lairs my prey have snuck.

Over roots and mossy stones, I leap again,
Hurrying towards the welcome warmth of my den.

Prompt 2: Poetry Marathon 2022. Sample by Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” from The Poetry of Robert Frost. 

Hour 5 The problems with hand sanitizer

The problems with hand sanitizer is

first the pump it spins and spins before

it pops up to work.

I have ordered a new car easier than opening one.

Not to mention how it dries my skin

lotions are my only salvation.

My nails cry as they chip and crack.

Some smell fruity, some smell  faint,

mine is a margarita mix on a summer day.

Nail salon nightmares

it’ll never replace or reap the benefits

of good ole soap and water,

my forever reliable friends.