Overview and Directions: I would you to compose your own poem. Please explore different poetic forms, rhyme schemes, use of alliteration, assonance, consonance, and think about scansion and diction. NOTE: I want to see your writing process, so drafts are a must. If you compose your work electronically, please save multiple drafts. These will count as journal entries, too. Use that space to explore. Think about themes or poetic situations. I will include some writing prompts and a list of forms to help you begin.
Please post your completed poem to Turnitin.com AND on this blog space (you can share a stanza, if you like) by Monday, March 9th, so we can rehearse in small groups. Final performances will NOT be mandatory. Extra credit only.
If you are pleased with your work, please consider the three poetry reading experiences I shared in the previous blog post. I would love to read with you.
Poetry Writing & Performance Rubric
- Multiple drafts in your journal
- Overall quality and completeness of the final writing product
- Development of theme (i.e. clarity and consistency)
- Appropriate use of literary devises and poetic form
- Final Poem posted in Turnitin.com AND in this blog space
- Performance and reading
- Conduct during writing workshop/SLAM readings
101 Poetry Prompts & Ideas for Writing Poems
from think written
Most of these creative writing ideas are simple and open-ended. This allows you total creative freedom to write from these poetry prompts in your own unique style, tone, and voice.
If one poetry idea doesn’t appeal to you, challenge yourself to find parallels between the prompt and things that you do enjoy writing about.
1.The Untouchable: Something that will always be out of reach
2. 7 Days, 7 Lines: Write a poem where each line/sentence is about each day of last week
3. Grandma’s Kitchen: Focus on a single memory, or describe what you might imagine the typical grandmother’s kitchen to be like
4. Taste the Rainbow: What does your favorite color taste like?
5. Misfits: How it feels when you don’t belong in a group of others.
6. Stranger Conversations: Start the first line of your poem with a word or phrase from a recent passing conversation between you and someone you don’t know.
7. On the Field: Write from the perspective of a sports ball {Baseball, Soccer, American Football, Lacrosse, etc.} – think about what the sports ball might feel, see, hear, think, and experience with this poetry idea!
8. Street Signs: Take note of the words on signs and street names you pass while driving, walking, or riding the bus. Write a poem starting with one of these words you notice.
9. Cold water: What feelings do you associate with cold water? Maybe it’s a refreshing cold glass of water on a hot day, or maybe you imagine the feelings associated with being plunged into the icy river in the winter.
10. Ghostwriter: Imagine an invisible ghost picks up a pen and starts writing to you.
11. Lessons From Math Class: Write about a math concept, such as “you cannot divide by zero” or never-ending irrational numbers.
12. Instagram Wall: Open up either your own Instagram account or one of a friend/celebrity and write poetry based on the first picture you see.
13. Radio: Tune in to a radio station you don’t normally listen to, and write a poem inspired by the the first song or message you hear.
14. How To: Write a poem on how to do something mundane most people take for granted, such as how to tie your shoes, how to turn on a lamp, how to pour a cup of coffee.
15. Under 25 Words: Challenge yourself to write a poem that is no more than 25 words long.
16. Out of Order: Write about your feelings when there is an out of order sign on a vending machine.
17. Home Planet: Imagine you are from another planet, stuck on earth and longing for home.
18. Uncertainty: Think about a time in your life when you couldn’t make a decision, and write based on this.
19. Complete: Be inspired by a project or task be completed – whether it’s crossing something off the never-ending to-do list, or a project you have worked on for a long time.
20. Compare and Contrast Personality: What are some key differences and similarities between two people you know?
21. Goodbyes: Write about a time in your life you said goodbye to someone – this could be as simple as ending a mundane phone conversation, or harder goodbyes to close friends, family members, or former partners.
22. Imagine Weather Indoors: Perhaps a thunderstorm in the attic? A tornado in the kitchen?
23. Would You Rather? Write about something you don’t want to do, and what you would rather do instead.
24. Sound of Silence: Take some inspiration from the classic Simon & Garfunkel song and describe what silence sounds like.
25. Numbness: What’s it like to feel nothing at all?
26. Fabric Textures: Use different fiber textures, such as wool, silk, and cotton as a poetry writing prompt.
27. Anticipation: Write about the feelings you experience or things you notice while waiting for something.
28. Poison: Describe something toxic and its effects on a person.
29. Circus Performers: Write your poetry inspired by a circus performer – a trapeze artist, the clowns, the ringmaster, the animal trainers, etc.
30. Riding on the Bus: Write a poem based on a time you’ve traveled by bus – whether a school bus, around town, or a long distance trip to visit a certain destination.
31. Time Freeze: Imagine wherever you are right now that the clock stops and all the people in the world are frozen in place. What are they doing?
32. The Spice of Life: Choose a spice from your kitchen cabinet, and relate its flavor to an event that has happened recently in your daily life.
33. Parallel Universe: Imagine you, but in a completely different life based on making a different decision that impacted everything else.
34. Mad Scientist: Create a piece based on a science experiment going terribly, terribly wrong.
35. People You Have Known: Make each line about different people you have met but lost contact with over the years. These could be old friends, passed on family, etc.
36. Last Words: Use the last sentence from the nearest book as the inspiration for the first line of your poem.
37. Fix This: Think about something you own that is broken, and write about possible ways to fix it. Duct tape? A hammer and nails? Use this hammer as inspiration for a poetry prompt idea!
38. Suspicion: Pretend you are a detective and you have to narrow down the suspects.
39. Political News: Many famous poets found inspiration from the current politics in their time. Open up a newspaper or news website, and create inspired by the first news article you find.
40. The Letter D: Make a list of 5 words that start with all with the same letter, and then use these items throughout the lines of your verse. {This can be any letter, but for example sake: Daisy, Dishes, Desk, Darkness, Doubt}
41. Quite the Collection: Go to a museum, or look at museum galleries online. Draw your inspiration from collections of objects and artifacts from your favorite display. Examples: Pre-historic days, Egyptians, Art Galleries, etc.
42. Standing in Line: Think of a time you had to stand in line for something. Maybe you were waiting in a check-out line at the store, or you had to stand in line to enter a concert or event.
43. Junk Mail Prose: Take some inspiration from your latest junk mail. Maybe it’s a grocery store flyer announcing a sale on grapes, or an offer for a credit card.
44. Recipe: Write your poem in the form of a recipe. This can be for something tangible, such as a cake, or it can be a more abstract concept such as love or happiness. List ingredients and directions for mixing and tips for cooking up your concept to perfection.
45. Do you like sweaters? Some people love their coziness, others find them scratchy and too hot. Use your feelings about sweaters in a poem.
46. After Party: What is it like after all party guests go home?
47. Overgrown: Use Little Shop of Horrors for inspiration, or let your imagination run wild on what might happen if a plant or flower came to life or started spreading rapidly to take over the world.
48. Interference: Write a poem that is about someone or something coming in between you and your goals.
49. On Shaky Ground: Use an earthquake reference or metaphor in your poem.
50. Trust Issues: Can you trust someone you have doubted in the past?
51. Locked in a Jar: Imagine you are a tiny person, who has been captured and put into a jar for display or science.
52. Weirder Than Fiction: Think of the most unbelievable moment in your life, and write a poem about the experience.
53. Fast Food: Write a poem about fast food restaurants and experiences. Do you like fast food? Write about a recent fast food experience in a poem – good or bad!
54. Unemployed: Write a poem about quitting or being fired from a job you depended on.
55. Boxes: What kinds of family secrets or stories might be hiding in that untouched box in the attic?
56. No One Understands: Write about what it feels like when no one understands or agrees with your opinion.
57. Criminal Minds: Write a poem from the perspective of a high-profile criminal who is always on the run from law enforcement.
58. Marathon Runner: Write a poem about what training you might be doing to accomplish a difficult challenge in your life.
59. Trapped: Write about an experience that made you feel trapped.
60. Passing the Church: Write a poem about noticing something interesting while passing by a church near your home.
61. Backseat Driver: Write about what it’s like to be doing something in your life and constantly being criticized while trying to move ahead.
62. Luster: Create a descriptive poem about something that has a soft glow or sheen to it.
63. Clipboard: Write a poem about someone who is all business like and set in their ways of following a system.
64. Doctor: Write a poem about receiving advice from a doctor.
65. First Car: Write an ode to your first car
66. Life Didn’t Go As a Planned: Write about a recent or memorable experience when nothing went according to plan.
67. Architect: Imagine you are hired to design a building for a humanitarian cause you are passionate about.
68. The Crazy Cat Hoarder: Write about someone who owns far too many cats.
69. Queen: Write a poem from the perspective of a queen.
70. Movie Character: Think of a recent movie you watched, and create a poem about one character specifically, or an interaction between two characters that was memorable.
71. Potential Energy: Write about an experience where you had a lot of potential for success, but failed.
72. Moonlight: Write about an experience in the moonlight.
73. Perfection: Write about trying to always keep everything perfect.
74. You Are Wrong: Write a poem where you tell someone they are wrong and why.
75. Sarcasm: Write a poem using sarcasm as a form of illustrating your point.
76. Don’t Cry: Write a poem about how not to cry when it’s hard to hold back the tears.
77. Listen Up: Write a poem telling someone they are better than they think they are.
78. Flipside: Find the good in something terrible.
79. Maybe They Had a Reason: Write a poem about someone doing something you don’t understand, and try to explain what reasons they might have had.
80. How to Drive: Write a poem that explains how to drive to a teenager.
81. Up & Down the Steps: Write a poem that includes the motion of going up or down a staircase
82. Basket Case: Has there ever been a time when you thought you might lose your mind? Jot your feelings and thoughts down in verse form.
83. Lucky Guess: Many times in our life we have to make a good guess for what is the best decision. Use this poetry idea to write about feelings related to guessing something right – or wrong.
84. Dear Reader: What audience enjoys reading the type of poetry you like to write? Craft a note to your potential audience that addresses their biggest fears, hopes, and dreams.
85. All or Nothing: Share your thoughts on absolutist thinking: when one’s beliefs are so set in stone there are exceptions.
86. Ladders in the Sky: Imagine there are ladders that take you up to the clouds. What could be up there? What feelings do you have about climbing the ladders, or is their a mystery as to how they got there in the first place? Where might this ladder to the sky lead? Write about it!
87. Always On My Mind: Compose a poem about what it’s like to always be thinking about someone or something.
88. Paranoia: What would it be like if you felt like someone was watching you but no one believed you?
89. Liar, Liar: How would you react to someone who lied to you?
90. Secret Word: What’s the magic word to unlock someone’s access to something?
91. For What It’s Worth: Use a valuable object in your home as inspiration as a poetry prompt idea.
92. Coming Home to Secrets: Imagine a person who puts on a good act to cover up a secret they deal with at home.
93. Productivity: Talk about your greatest struggles with time management and organization.
94. Defying Gravity: Use words that relate to being weightless and floating.
95. Signs of the Times: How has a place you are familiar with changed over the past 10 years?
96. Sleepless Nights: What ideas and feelings keep you up at night? What’s it like when you have to wake up in the morning on a night you can’t sleep?
97. You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit: Use one of the worst job related memories you can think of as a creative writing prompt.
98. By George: You can choose any name, but think of 3-5 notable figures or celebrities who share a common first name, and combine their personalities and physical characteristics into one piece of poetry. For example: George Washington, George Clooney, George Harrison.
99. Shelter: Write a poem about a time you were thankful for shelter from a storm.
100. Cafeteria: Create a poem inspired by the people who might be eating lunch in a cafeteria at school or at a hospital.
101. Dusty Musical Instruments: Base your poem around the plight of a musician who hasn’t picked up the guitar or touched a piano in years.
There are unlimited possibilities for ways you can use these poem ideas to write poetry. Using a list like this can greatly help you with getting into the habit of writing daily – even when you don’t feel inspired to write. While not every poem you write will be an award-winning masterpiece, using these poem starters as a regular exercise can help you better your craft as a writer.
Here's the poem I wrote, called "2:37AM, 2009".
ReplyDeleteNight collapses on a city outside Boston
Sirens wail down clustered streets
Past dainty houses with scratched walls and crumbling rooftops
With nothing to call home besides sparse patches of grass
Police cars screeching through the minds of quiet people
In an already broken city
Attempting to disrupt
Words suspended in short breaths
Illegal anywhere but in small rooms
They move into the parking lots of public schools
Into abandoned buildings
Or above it all,
In the dog park upon rocks concealed by smoke and twigs
From a little girl sleeping in bed
Now afraid of more than just
Whatever was in the only tree
She could ever see
I used to not imagine you as a monster,
ReplyDeleteWhen we would take walks through neighborhood swamps searching for snakes,
Slithering serpent scoundrels whose scaly shedded hides lay camouflaged in the weeds,
And draw whimsical,
Wordless yet wondrous doodles while basking in the sun’s warm rays,
Fanning ourselves with 18 inch flapping photos next to the forsythias,
To taunt the evergreens whose bark birthed our birch-based masterpieces.
When we would order Salvatore’s pizza after you returned home from work,
Smell the San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella sprinkled with basil,
And run happily through Boston’s greenway to crack jokes and watch the jellyfish,
Who looked like dozens of lunar reflections spread across the surface of the water.
When I was young,
When my eyes burned their brightest blue as you walked across our stone patio,
Unlike the moments I sat in solitude,
Eyes dilated in fear fighting back tears,
And was still ignorant about the irreconcilable and beyond frustrating nature of your marriage.
It was hard to think I had to be alone with you.
Despite the fun we shared,
I didn’t know you.
I knew you liked bikes.
That you were a writer.
That your favorite color was orange because it is the color of sunsets,
The color of the horizon when we played frisbee at dusk,
Or the clementines you bought me each visit,
Seven years every single day,
Sitting in a blue bowl,
Waiting for my growing hands to peel back their skin and indulge in their citrus juices,
To free their insides from their outsides.
My insides would tense like ice,
As you spat insults suddenly,
Severing the strings that attached us,
Stabbing into me like fingernails that rip away the flesh of fruit,
Of the orange sweets you bought me,
Which sat and observed silently.
My insides never opened up,
After you drank yourself silly,
Drowning in a pool of your own unfulfilled promises and pride,
The promise you made to protect me from the dark,
Which your actions so often enveloped me in.
My insides desperately wanted to be free,
“Mom, I’m okay, it’s okay, we’re okay” but we’re not,
You’re dying and I’m hiding,
How I feel,
So I won’t be called an asshole again.
How did you feel?
It was okay to call your cautious and constantly coping ten year-old child,
Names that would stick like sap on pine needles,
That would sting like hornets and shape my mind,
That made me want to be kind,
To avoid stinging others.
I know you now,
I know you like bikes because they make your urges bearable.
I know you were a writer before losing your job,
And you still call yourself one to avoid damaging your reputation.
I know your favorite color is orange because it is the color of sunsets,
The color of the horizon when we played frisbee at dusk,
Or the clementines you still buy me each visit,
That sit in a blue bowl,
Reminding me of the power I have,
To free insides from outsides.
This poem is called "Orange" (whoops!)
DeleteFoul Ball
ReplyDeleteA breath of fresh air as I awake from a long night's sleep
The Sun beating down on me during this warm summer evening
My red is like fire while being as white as snow
Flying through the air as my hair whips back and forth
Thud
A warm leathery substance swaddles me in tight
I fight and to get loose
I'm suffocating the blackness is getting closer and closer
Gasping for air
A giant reaches down and clenches my head
The sprinklers go off
I'm lathered in the wet sticky swamp water
Wooosh
Mud all over my body
Black and brown cover my face
A kind young soul cleaning me off
Thank you!
And we part ways
Crack
Soaring through the air like a plane
My minions watch my every location
I go further and further away
AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa
No so close
Crack, Blub
The water is rising every second
My arms and legs cease to work
Suffocating for dear life
The center of attention
To be forgotten in an instance
And Just like that
I was Gone forever
This is an excerpt from my poem called "wilmar":
ReplyDeletei’ve only met him once
but he’s practically my little brother.
my seven-year-old, guate boy.
february 16, 2020
matochos, guatemala
his golden brown skin glowed like the sun
his sweet, sweet eyes met mine for the first time
and he cracked a nervous smile in response
to my elated one.
2:29pm
out of his backpack
my dad pulled out gifts that we brought from
america -
the america that every guatemalan dreams of escaping to -
boston red sox cap, nike socks, bag of lollipops,
the kim family photo.
and he was happy
but it was almost as if he didn’t know how to react
how to react to getting a gift.
as he sucked on a green lollipop,
i tightened the back of his cap
a lot
until it no longer covered his smiling eyes.
with a translator by our side,
my dad said,
“this is the best baseball team in the world.”
it’s important to teach them young.
2:51pm
This is my poem "COVID-19". For those wondering, I chose prompt 12, which was "write about the first thing you see on Instagram." For me, that was a story by Paul Yannalfo comparing Coronavirus to Influenza. So, I decided to write my poem on Coronavirus.
ReplyDeleteCOVID-19
I can’t go anywhere without seeing its name;
News reports, websites, they’re all the same.
Coronavirus: the gift that keeps on giving.
3,000 of its victims are no longer living.
40,000 more pray they can avoid the same fate;
Locked up in quarantines, they can only pray and wait.
International sports? Not worth the risks.
At this point we won’t have the Olympics!
For some 300 million, there’s no school today.
Did I mention 19 have died in the USA?
13 cases in Mass., four in Middlesex;
All we can do is pray we aren’t next.
So WASH your hands, STAY inside, COVER WHEN YOU SNEEZE!
A teeny tiny microbe has brought the planet to its knees.
Parts of "The New American Dream"
ReplyDeleteWe live in a world,
where money is prioritized over happiness.
where everyday is a struggle.
Unless you belong to the upper class.
So we all compete to be in the tier,
doing things that our hearts don’t belong to,
making our first love, second.
This,
is the new American Dream.
Trigueña
ReplyDeleteI am from tropical trees and screaming children,
barefoot walks and bicycle rides that have left
unwanted scars on my stubby legs.
I am from ven aqui y con Dios delante
From Julio Iglesias and memories from the
unwanted past.
I'm from fried cheese, mangu, limoncillos,
and guava’s that laid perched at the top
of the highest branch of the family tree.
I am from gunshots and 6 story buildings
From a city of bright lights and metrocards.
I am from heartbreak, daddy issues, and
unwanted siblings
From forgiveness and prolonged regret.
Under the vintage photograph of
my dead grandparents
layed a tarnished bag, swarming
with Barbies that would make me
question my worth
I am these moments that will be passed
to Luna who will be raised from hair products,
broken tiles, and February Lechones.
The Next Chapter
ReplyDeleteBecause he has a disability
Really does not mean he is less than us
Even though he has trouble reading and writing
Nothing can stop him, for he is
Determined
And
Not afraid
My brother is himself,
Brendan
He has come so far
From hardly being able to walk or talk
To suddenly being such a chatterbox
When I look at him all I see is strength and resilience
And cannot help but smile when I picture him walking across that stage
Now if only the colleges’ could see
His heart is set on a school that is 114 miles away from me
1 hour and 56 minutes away,
On a good day
Bridgewater and Westfield
Two itter bitter rivals
And yet we are two loving siblings
The twin bond runs so deep that not even my future husband or his future wife can get between
And yet next year he’ll be alone
By himself
But I know that he will be
Brave
Resilient
Energetic
Nurturing
Dedicated
Awe inspiring
Noteworthy
While I will simply be
Nervous
Ill
Concerned
Overanxious
Looking for a way to help
Empathetic
This is college
Where there are no parents
No sisters
No rules
And with that there will be drugs
There will be alcohol
I am not naive
But rather anxious for how he will react
He has never been introduced to anything like that so how will he act?
Will he say yes?
Will he say no?
I don’t know
Will he be accepted?
Will he make friends?
I don’t know,
I hope so,
But I don’t know
The fear of him being taken advantage of fills me with terror
We are months away from graduation
And yet
I can’t eat
Can’t sleep
Can’t even write this poem without being eaten up by these horrors
Maybe it is because there is no definite plan
For all I know he could be 62 miles away
1 hour and 10 minutes on a good day
With the protection of my parents
Or 0 miles away
In a different dorm on campus
With the same bear on the front entrance
With the protection of me
And yet it is still all unknown
Because the letters haven’t come
And the future is unclear
All there is to know is that right now he is 5 paces down the hall
And that gives me the comfort of a teddy bear
But most importantly he is
Brave
Resilient
Energetic
Nurturing
Dedicated
Awe inspiring
Noteworthy
And ready for his next chapter
With or without me
Blue
ReplyDeleteSplit in two,
We fall into blue.
Doused in cerulean skies,
Raging torrents of cyan
The the epicenter of her wrath
Is a final fish spinning into a vengeful surf
Seething foam is scattered
With jagged blue jay feathers,
Washed and beaten,
That fell from the atmosphere.
The Earth is piebald.
Boiling white clouds
A blush of calm on a mess of blue.
Here
There’s no land to stand on,
No way to prop yourself up
and gaze out upon
Swaths of blue
Strangled by ribbons of white.
You don’t even know white
With feathery-soft angel wings
Crowning turbulent oceans,
Migrating limply to broad beaches.
Letting loose air
Trapped in smothered lungs
Escape.
A stiff sheet of white cardstock
Bends.
Sticks of chalk scratch on jumbled paving stones.
Vast cement plains
Towering cliffs
Of slate.
Winking blue eyes shifting below
Crooked towers of cinderblocks threaded with live wires slouch into the distance
Pigeons peck on concrete blocks
Stores and malls and dwellings
Worn sidewalks and old shoes and plastic bags
Of gray.
Prompt #25
ReplyDeleteNumb
Waking up,
But not getting up.
Laying down,
And not walking around.
Staying in bed on a Saturday,
Much to my parents dismay.
Thinking about nothing,
Staring at the floor.
I’m breathing,
But not much more.
Feeling nothing,
These days is rare,
It’s strangely beautiful,
But i’m unaware.
I simultaneously feel pathetic,
And apathetic.
It’s hard to compare,
To how little I care.
It may be scary to some,
To feel completely numb.
I think it’s great,
Having to carry no weight.
It feels like nothing,
To feel nothing at all,
Yet somehow it is the greatest feeling of all.
Kookaburras
ReplyDeleteI walk in and am greeted by luxury and opulence,
Like statues facing the Gods and pillars made of ivory and chandeliers galore and ornamented ceilings.
My check was ensured unlike his uninsured cars that he could toss away as his boredom demanded
I continue walking and what do I see?
Black beady eyes that beckoned me from afar,
They said "come here brethren" and bested my bizarre beating heart
Just my luck to get hired by liar.
Kookaburras, but "not as gay as they can be"
They spoke with verbosity and ferocity
Their sad eyes could only be quenched by the presence of someone new, amiability long overdue.
They say that master doesn't play with them, that master hated them, that master degraded them, that master evaded them, that master's afraid of them, that master has faded away from them... and that master's a bane to them.
I hug one Kookaburra, and then another, and then another, and finally another
Feathers so soft and beaks cold and stone-like
I wish there was something I could do
Kookaburras, I wish there was something I could do for you.
No, baseball is not boring
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather sits in his chair and the game is on in every television in the house
We all stop what we are doing and gather around
My uncle takes off his hat because it is bad luck
The crack of the bat making the ball soar was not my only lullaby
Don and Jerry’s commentary was always there, like they were sitting at our kitchen table with us
I remember the “C” on Jason Variteck’s uniform,
And finally when David Price was traded
No, baseball is not boring
When I dance along with Mookie, Benintendi, and JBJ during their outfield winning dance
I was in the stands for Big Papi’s 4,000th hit
The roar and cheering from the stands was loud enough for the whole city to hear
No other sport provides the sense of family there is at a Red Sox game
And it brings my family together
I learned how to hold a bat before I knew my ABC’s
And although my cousin was scared of Santa, she loved Wally the Green Monster
What is boring about giving the players nicknames like they are our best friends
Or my aunt finishing every email or text with “Go Sox!”
It is not boring that my uncle makes goes outside to untwist the Red Sox flag
So that the team is no longer losing
There is nothing boring when Pedroia started the batting order
Ramirez was third
And David Ortiz was fourth
And hit a homer to send them home
The chanting of Sweet Caroline at Fenway and every family party is the opposite of boring
It beats Don’t Stop Believing every time
So to answer your question...
No, baseball is not boring
Here is my weird poem about cats.
ReplyDeleteAn Observation of Feline Behavior
Selga is such a fancy and fabulous feline. She is the reincarnate Coco Chanel.
One dainty paw elegantly drapes over the other.
She just lays there.
With no real purpose at all but to do as she pleases.
So nonchalant as she soaks up the rays of sun as if she were working on her summer tan.
Her beauty radiates with the effortless fashion in which she carries herself.
She never worries about if her coat coat is too gray compared to the other cats around town or if she’s been munching on too much Fancy Feast.
She simply struts into the living room and announces to all, “MEOOOOW! I’m here!”
With such confidence and grace.
You see, us humans… we value the relaxed confident
And often pompous personalities in which cats carry embody themselves.
We worship their flattering curvy bodies and sleepy heads as they nap all day long.
But what we value in cats, we do not value in ourselves.
Sadly in our human world there is no comfort, slowness and ease.
Our world is always on the go! Too slow! Move it!
But maybe…
At least I hope to someday follow this way of life
Of ease and tranquility
In a fabulous feline fashion
Just as Selga does every day so flawlessly.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLost in the Sea
ReplyDeleteI follow her carefully at a distance
As her footprints follow the changing shoreline
Not knowing
Her shoulders bear the weight of the ocean
She finds herself caught alone in the blinding rays
The fiery sun blazing through her system
The hot sand stretching for miles
Beneath her calloused heels
Wading into the precious pools of blue
She gazes at her reflection swimming beneath her
The salty green water rises to her waist
And finally she dives under the wandering waves
The relentless current
Caresses her in its stubborn hold
It’s wide mouth swallows itself
And once again spits out the misty breath of the sea
Sitting patient and still, I am the sky
Watching the top of her head break the seal of the glassy surface
Finally, I muster enough of my feeble strength
To let drops of apology and rays of appreciation fall down to her
Only to penetrate the surface of the sea
Gracefully pressing upon the perfect, glassy exterior
The atmosphere that surrounds me
Is once again calm and warm
But carefully follow the fragile drops down to the earth
And you can find a sandstorm blowing into the sea
Her identity lost with each grain
Sinking into the crashing waves
She cannot tread for much longer
Yet she still wants to follow its spinning pull
As I watch from above
I wonder, if anyone will jump in after her
ReplyDeleteA Loss for Words
It is hard to put to words
What it's like to be alone on a mountain
My only comfort being the snow under each foot
To only have gravity pulling you down
To be free of all responsibility
It is hard to explain
The feeling of leaving the field
For the very last time
To take off your cleats
To close a door to a part of life
How can one describe
The feeling of uncertainty
That comes with not knowing the future
“What does the rest of my life consist of?”
And most of all “Will it be ok?”
But I will try
I will try to put to words
What it feels like to completely let go
And yet retain just enough control
To bring myself to a quick stop
How is it that I can move so fast
Yet time moves so slow
I will try to explain
The feeling of leaving the lights for the last time
As you know you may never play again
What it’s like to wonder if you could have played more,
Better, practiced harder
Could I have done better?
I will try to describe
The butterflies in my stomach as I know
My life will be turned upside down soon
I will leave my world behind
Make new friends, find new families
But will it be ok?
Forgot to post this :D
ReplyDeleteLilac
I like lilac
Not the darker kind
But the one….
I stood still
At the edge of a neighborhood
Waiting until
I lose my memories from childhood
Only Quinn’s grip was true
Separation she knew
So as her tears
Reflecting the lilac hue
I like lilac
Not the darker ones
But the one I saw in her eyes
Linger for seconds before sunsets
I leaned on
The pale icy window sill
Suppressing a yawn
Draped in a quilt
Grand city dripped in silence
In mere seconds, it would be torn apart
wrapped in the familiar cool gale
In mere hours, I shall depart
I like lilac
Not the darker ones
But the one I saw in the city
Appearing seconds before sunrise
I shivered
In the powerful icy gust
Deep in my bones I quivered
In this new home I trust
Familiar lilac scattered
Over this foreign city
My comfort shattered
But I still appreciate its beauty
I like lilac
Not the darker ones
But this time I waited
For the gold to shine after the lilac
"I’m sorry"
ReplyDeleteHey.
It’s been a while since we last talked.
But now I’m here again and
I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.
You’re right, I shouldn’t have said that, I shouldn’t have shared. Each time opening, offering exacto knife slivers of my chest. I offered ladles of me, scooping from head and heart with a grapefruit spoon.
I’m sorry.
I wish I was more woman for you but there’s too much body, not enough pink petals and gloss.
I’m sorry.
You’re right.
You told me my mouth was too wide when our lips met, that my teeth got in the way. I think maybe I should have kissed you harder.
I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t have been so sensitive. You swore you didn’t mean to hurt me, I believed you. I’ll tough it out. Please forgive me.
I’m sorry that I took it personally when you told me that you hated my poetry.
I really didn’t mean to confuse you, didn’t mean to plant a tangle of cobwebbed feelings under your tongue that you choked on and pulled away sticky from your teeth and chin.
I’m sorry that I thought I was worthy of this love, his love, her love, yours and our love.
But, it’s been a while
I’ve spent some time alone, have realized my worth, my abilities
Discovered that I’m more deserving of someone like him
Already I can tell I will make a home out of this boy’s eyes
Or in the way the railroads on his palms etch the blueprint of my heart
winding, creasing, wound like soft ribbons between forgiving fingers or perhaps
dressing knuckles in white gauze when lifted to my lips, eyes
wet and full, I pour, open
Fingers soften the wire of my bones where they dip and bend, warm.
Taking it slow, knowing we are both complete on our own but standing by each other, parts of us locking and snapping in like legos, building a base so that we don’t fall.
Despite all this, I’m still sorry.
I’m sorry that I scared you with my wit, my creativity, my confidence.
I’m sorry for the nights that I spent crisscrossed in front of the mirror in my room, pulling and pushing at skin, creating red blossoms that cloud my freckles, wondering what parts of me I could tuck away to make your eyes see me again.
I’m sorry for giving you all the time in my world.
I’m sorry that I let you take those parts of me and that it took so long to rebuild.
I’m sorry that it took me so long to realize that I am woman enough and you are just a young boy wearing a grown up suit.
I’m sorry that I let myself change.
I’m sorry that I stayed so long.
I’m sorry that I said I loved you and meant it, and even more sorry that you said it and didn’t.