Category: Poems

Day 2/30 of the Tupelo 30/30 Project (20170802)

crow13 Comments

your lips turn a lovely shade of blue
as we struggle along these mountain trails….

——

Want to read more? You can. My poem sailboats on a mountain is available to read at the Tupelo 30/30 project page.

The prompt I received for this was from Stephanie Harper. You can find her wonderful work at SLHARPERPOETRY. You definitely need to check out her wonderful work.

You too can sponsor a poem or just donate to Tupelo Press to ensure that poets’ voices can be heard through the vehicle of indie presses. Go here for more details.

Day 1/30 of the Tupelo 30/30 Project (20170801)

crow14 Comments

i can’t decide
if he is happy to see me
with his arms open wide
or if he has fully embraced his martyrdom
crucified in this field
pointing….

——

Want to read more? You can. My poem crow counsels scarecrow is available to read at the Tupelo 30/30 project page.

The prompt I received for this was from Ken at RIVVLOGR and is a reference (at least, it was in my head) to Robert Okaji’s series of poems about Scarecrow.

You can sponsor a poem or just donate to Tupelo Press to ensure that poets’ voices can be heard through the vehicle of indie presses. Go here for more details.

what are you afraid of? (20170731)

crow29 Comments

we are all monkeys screaming in trees
look out for the eagles
look out for the snakes
all fears are now equal
life, death, children, resources,
sex, power, violence,
not being able to sleep
without the tv on
and sleeping with the tv on

——

for
dVerse ~ Poets Pub
Quadrille #37–Be Not Afraid

habit [save me, sally field] (20170730)

crow14 Comments

my thumb
when pressed against
my index finger
rises up only
to the first joint
the tip is also the width
of the second joint
and the third joint
wraps down

and i think

–that looks like
a nun’s habit
my thumb is a nun
and i could use a sharpie
to draw a face
on the thumbnail

i wonder
after a moment
of uncomfortable
inner silence,
what the hell am i doing?

passing (20170729)

crow6 Comments

sweat sticking to my neck
like some kind of glue
the only thing
adhering is

the waning heat of
this summer evening

as with the night
so too the season

but there will
be flames ahead
we creep slowly into
fall like we’ve
forgotten to let go
of summer’s hand
while autumn waits
on the doorstep
checking her watch

Tupelo 30/30 Challenge Reminder

crow5 Comments

Hey!

Just a reminder that I am participating in the Tupelo 30/30 project for August, now less than a handful of days away.

I write 30 poems in 30 days in an attempt to draw attention to the important work Tupelo Press (an independent press) is doing in promoting poets and their work.

Of course, I don’t ask you to do something for nothing. In return for your support, I am offering these fine rewards:

  • Pick the Title—For $15, you provide me with a title and I will write a poem about it. Yes, the poem will in some way relate to the title, unlike many of my usual poems. Yes, your title can be whatever you pick.
  • Pick the Words—Also for $15, three words of your choosing will somehow be magically incorporated into a poem.
  • Collab—Another measly $15 will give you the option of writing the first half of a poem, up to five lines, and I will complete you endeavor in my stylish… style.
  • Listen to My Words—For only $25, pick one of the first three options and I will throw in, for a nominal surcharge, a recording of my voice reading that same poem. Two out of three listeners can’t tell the difference between my voice and a burlap sack full of rabid badgers.
  • Put it in Writing—Also for $25, you can pick any one of the first three options and I will send you a physically typed on actual paper copy (including smudges and typos) of the poem you have selected.
  • Kitchen Sink—For $30 you can pick any of the first three options and receive Listen to My Words and Put it in Writing benefits AND save $5. I feel like a KickStarter.
  • Strings Free Donation—Just feel like sponsoring me, donating a random amount, but don’t feel the need to get anything back but some warm fuzzy feelings? I appreciate that too. It’s like when I had to sell candy or run laps as a kid. No one expected the chocolate to be any good, but the sponsorship made it taste better.

To donate, please go this page for further instructions. I won’t try to guilt you by saying something like, Won’t you please think of the children? Because if you were thinking of the children, you’d be sending me money directly to never record my voice again.

limbs (20170727)

crow4 Comments

really went out
on a limb there
metaphorically speaking

there were no actual trees involved

but there were trees
the ones in the park
as we circled the lake
delighting in ducks
and geese in this man-made
paradise
finally surprised by a pair of swans
because who thought
we would find
swans in our own
backyard

but that limb i went out on
it thinned so much
it became razor wire
a good way to lose a hand
or at least fingers
advancing with my considerable
weight tugging at me
like so many sandbags
hand over hand
like in a training montage
about an army platoon

the swans
they say
mate for life
——

for
Jilly’s
28 DAYS OF UNREASON, POETRY: Day 11
“I’m unsure if all of me returned” ~ Jim Harrison

https://jillys2016.wordpress.com/2017/07/27/day-eleven-he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not/

shoulders squared, back curved (20170726)

crow8 Comments

never meant to be atlas

never willingly carried the world
on my shoulders

never wished
to be weighed down
by anything

but that candy you liked
–pecans wrapped around
caramel and brown sugar fudge–
weighs on me

wrigley’s double mint gum
always always in your jaw
even while you smoked

your favorite cigarettes
stain my fingers
linger in my hair
and my shirt

even your horrible taste
in music
your delight in department
store nachos with plastic
looking cheese
your willingness to
eat anything
and then diet for weeks

your utter obsession with
keeping secrets
so many
that you emptied out
and filled the house
with things and piles
of things

some days
the world seems like
a lighter weight to bear