Poem 14: A Tribute to Carl Sandburg “Pendulum”
The snow comes
White
Like little pearly paws
It becomes a blanket
For a cat
The cat 9-lives
Snow, less
Returning
July 1, 2020
I put Shasta down
Well, the vet did, but
I was there in a blue
plastic chair whispering
good girl mama’s good girl
Her chest was full of fluid
She couldn’t breathe
That evening I took a walk
at the same time we always
took a walk and when I
came up the slope just past
the ditch with the big rocks
the sunrise was orange
The same orange as Shasta
I began to sob and I was glad
no one else was around
The more orange the sky
became, the more I cried
I tried to tell myself the sky
was a sign from Shasta and
I tried to let her go, but it
has been 360 days since then
and my heart still aches
STRENGTH
Strength is not always loud
The fortitude of one’s
Body or how long
You can
E
N
D
U
R
E
Sometimes
Strength is in the
B
R
E
A
K
I
N
G
The Choosing to concede
A war
Too long waged
To abandon
The battle field and
S
E
E
K
A new PURPOSE…
Veg@$$
Sometimes I want
To threaten someone
With an,
“I’ll go Vegas on your ass!”
It’s not a threat,
But it isn’t a promise.
Growing up in Vegas,
You knew parking lots
And movie theatres.
You knew mesa’s
And hot leather seats.
You knew
Jumping off roofs of
Tiled rooftops
And climbing back
Up
Into windows.
You knew pools,
And kissing,
And missing,
And wanting
Enough
To create
The world
Where we lived.
Dancing between
Slot Machines.
And riding
Casino elevators.
Caution (Hour 13)
Caution
By: LuvMiFreely
(Hour 13)
Shallow breathing
Whenever they come around
Clutching your chest
Panic setting in
You feel like the end is coming soon
They smile
As they watch the color draining from your face
You’re fighting for your life
Praying to God for more time
They know your time is near
They wait until you’re completely defeated
As you lay waiting for your life to end
They thank you for allowing them to bring death to your spirit…
…be careful who you call your friend
“NO MERCY!”
“NO MERCY!”
Defeated.
Reorganize.
New plan.
Action.
Results.
Progress.
One step at a time.
We’ll get through this.
Tales
I grew up listening vast, varied, and fascinating tales,
Tales of lifelong struggles,
Tales of bloody battles,
Tales of desires and of great warriors,
Of heartbreaks and achievement,
Joy and doubt, destruction and construction,
All the times I listen, I question,
Is it life,
Or a place of illusions…
(Source : Remix poem from the acknowledge part of the book ‘the palace of illusions’)
Prompts Hour Fourteen
Text Prompt
Even if you have children, write poems about imaginary ones. They can be your own imaginary children, or the imaginary children of people you love.
Image Prompt
Fox On the Playground (2021)
Snow covered wood chips
Chill in the air
Beneath the structure
A gray fox
Children and teachers
Observe from a distance
Filled with awe and caution
Of the gray fox