Swim #2023poetrymarathon #prompthour20
I swim.
At least thrice a week
sink myself into the pool
and forget why
I exist.
I swim
into and against
the flow. I dive so deep
your hand has to find mine
and pluck me out.
Water Meditation
Each night
between dusk and sundown
I pause to water the garden.
There is nothing more important
in that moment.
I pay attention as I go.
With attention,
I notice and appreciate
the flow of water
growth and change
new buds,
full blossoms,
and scattered petals.
I know I am done
when I have attended to all the plants,
when the white moon rises against
a lavender sky,
and when the bat starts flitting
and dipping in its aerobatic flight.
UNTITLED (hour xviii)
There is nothing seen
that’s not controlled by unseen
Nothing. Everything
*Inspired by a combination of the text and image prompt
Hour 20 image prompt – Lemure
I am like this lemur
A red furred black faced beast
Who’s sensitive to issues
And prefers to feel peace
I hate to be a bother
I lurk with golden eyes
And if you try to trap me
I’m not an ideal prize
I belong in the wild
I need to be free
And I hold my body close
When I’m laying asleep.
Breakfast
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day
A simple time, you eat what you want as you greet morning ray
A sandwich I crave, a sandwich I love
One that I eat almost every sun come above
Cheese and vegetables of my favorite kinds
Walnuts and hot sauce so hot, it makes my parents lose their minds
It’s questioned, a lot, why I eat this sandwich every morning
Just don’t ask again or someone will be in mourning
Hour 17: Dear Bestie
If I ever take the yee-
I mean leap
Then you won’t see it comin
I’ll turn my world around
I mean upside down
That is to say the ground
Will be on top of me
Instead of underneath my feet
But that’s only if I ever get
The strength to take the lea- yeet
I’m sorry in advance
For the shock that it’ll be
There’ll be no 9-1-1 call
No ambulance parked in the street
I’ll find the tallest bridge in Tennessee
Make sure I don’t survive
This will not be a cry for help
It’ll be so I can die
I can’t write you a letter
I’m sorry, I just can’t
Writing it would take a depth of
Courage I don’t have
And I should know, I’ve tried
At least a dozen times
“Hey bestie, please don’t hate me.
I couldn’t live this lie.”
Once I even got to almost 50 lines
The problem is, I’ve been Dear Jane-d
That is to say, I know the pain
Reading in a letter
That you won’t see them again
And at the time, I wished them dead
Ironic, now, I can’t deny
But I’d have thought much differently
If ever they had actually died
I can’t Dear Bestie one more time
You can’t learn in a letter
So I told you to your face
You said it wasn’t news to you
You’ve always known that was the case
And then you said it’d shatter you
Your heart hit with a bomb
And then you said I’d go to hell
Guess we believe in different gods
Chaos real – hour 20
Eternity. The orchestra of an insidious being.
A manifestation born of an insipid creation.
Mortals desperate to match the melody of forever.
Unable to manifest the nature of seeing.
That they could ever grasp a predetermination.
The magnitude of the symphony’s endeavour.
Hold My Hand
Hour Nineteen 3:45 Dizdain Form
Will you hold my hand as time passes on,
or will you let go and lead me to fall?
Will you remain with me in breaking dawn,
or will you balk and lead me to nightfall?
Will you love above others overall,
or will your attention wander away
distracted by wanton flesh-carnal play?
Will you hold my hand in the years to come,
or will you find reason to break away?
Will I be a placeholder in interim?
Hour 20 – The Routine
Waking up before the sun’s first blush
Opening the sand papery eyes
The puppetry morning routine begins
Looking less drowsy than a zombie
Splashing cold water with a lack of expression
That pale inmate face polishing the addiction
Going about the morning chores
Keeps me acceptably sane
Having lunch with my gang of irritations
I am on with another taxing day
Waiting for it to run its course.
©️ Divya Venkateswaran
Hour 20, Poem 26
Iron wall
Strong and sturdy
I can’t see the top
From down here
Iron wall
Between me and my dreams
It won’t even dent
No matter what I do
Iron wall
I will scale you
Sooner than later
I will be there
Iron wall
On the other side of you
It might not be safe
But it’s what I’m meant to do.