The Poetry Marathon

Hour 2 – Road to Paradise

Long is the road to paradise
Climbing higher than my mother,
And her mother before her,
So that she may grasp clouds in her little hands

My hands have blistered
Growing tired of carrying these curses
But these burdens are not for her to shoulder Her body will not know my pain

I am weary in the morning, anxious at night
Are these legs strong enough,
Arms long enough,
Soul determined enough,
To create her escape

Long is the road to paradise
But I have promises to keep*

*Taken from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Dark Deep Woods (2022 Poem 2)

The Dark Deep Woods

Near a faerie ring of glowing rocks
Gleaming eyes of a woodland fox
Amongst those woods, dark, and deep
I think back to our many walks

My campfire crackles, spitting hot sap
Sticks of wood bundled on my lap
Draped on branches, steaming socks
Deep in the woods, a repeating tap

Between the woods and frozen lake
My white-cold fingers begin to shake
What could it hurt to take a nap
When the sun arrives I shall wake

Inspired by the lines “The woods are lovely, dark and deep,” AND “Between the woods and frozen lake” from the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost

(Prompt: Read Robert Frost’s poem Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, chose one line or phrase, and with credit, write a poem with that line or phrase in it.)

this land was made for you and me

land of freedom

land of opportunity

land of democracy

land of violence

land of oppression

land of authority

Light of Recognition (Hour Two, A Shadorma)

Light of Recognition

 

“Tell me more,”

She said with a smile.

I watched my

mother’s eyes

alight with recognition.

Today was a good day.

 

****A shadorma is a six line poem with a syllable count of 3/5/3/3/7/5.****

Starlight Stroll, hour three

I love this city.

Every time I walk the streets, there is a sound, a smell,

like a distant beast, purring, roaring, thrumming

wrapping me in its warmth, its slumbering

and as I stride, long-legged and though it’s an illusion

in this luminous moment, I am safe, warm, and free.

The Woods – Hour Two

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But how many secrets can they keep? 

 

They are filled to the brim with a

Dark magic, ethereal beauty mixed

With fear of the unknown.

 

I walk the path between giants,

Escaping to this other world,

A world away from all the 

Pressure.

 

Find a meadow surrounded by friends

And lay staring to the sky,

Clouds slipping by into this 

Framed wooded window.

 

Breathe.

 

Still.

 

Quiet. 

 

Peace.

 

First line inspired by Robert Frost’s Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

2022 Hour 3, prompt ©️

Magenta hue,

hope springs anew,

in fields of reverie

that blossom in glowing memory

of a love so true;

 

The promise of Hope,

and Healing

sweeps through.

 

Upon our Summer of Love,

and this meadow

for Two.

Hour 3: [bountiful grace and]

bountiful grace and
cornucopia of love-
harvest of mankind

Interruption

To ask if there is some mistake
If someone objects, it blames them
and points their ego nature,
It creates some worry
bury your doubts
Until you clean your hands

Reality is a sharp edge sin
Errors and faults
Shot cut ways of life

Don’t raise your hand
With a serious demand
Praise aloud with grand

He commands you
He cries aloud on top of you

Bend your head silently
You are servant to him
He’s the ring master of your life
He’s a piercing knife.

Some faces are blank
Some faces are frank

Crooked Promises

The crooks and curves of Chicago concrete streets are set deep deep deep

BAH BAH BAH
We rise and lay flattened prostrate whenever the pistol rooster speaks
Singing confirmation

Whooah Whooah Whooah
Sirens scream closely behind the scene
With no mountain-top dreams or affirmation

WE EW WE EW WE EW
A sluggish struggling symphony the ambulance hums and cries

Lead us not into temptation
Deliver us from evil lies

Grab my words babies and prayers to attention feet

Lord I long to be with you
But I got promises to keep

I borrowed that last line from Robert Frost
He was familiar with dark gloomy days
I wonder when he wasn’t writing poems did he speak to you this way

He had miles yet to go before he went to sleep

His sentiment comforts my pains in a way

The curses and crafts of Chicago streets are constitutional and cut deep

Child 4 shot in crossfire dies
16 injured 32 fatalities
Most weekends what we face

NRA WINS NEW CASE

NOBODY RUNNING
WE HAVE BEEN TRAINED NOT TONRUN FROM GUNS
ITS NOT ABOUT RUNNING ITS ABOUT THE RACE

BAH BAH BAH
we roll diwn the sides of the beds lay flat and pray

Whooah Whooah Whooah
ITS GONE OKAY
STAY DOWN BE THERE IN A MINUTE
CHECKING WINDOWS NO SPRAY

WE EW WE EW WE EW
WE CAN STAND
BREATHE
HAVE A GOOD DAY

hug my babies in my prayers every day we keep

Lord I long for you
But I got promises to keep