Words and Feathers

the cost of a plane ticket in american dollars no longer based on the gold standard (20161009)

October 9, 2016 crow4 Comments

sew on smiles with
threads of disenchantment
pulling up the corners tight

pin the grin on the donkey
in place
with sickly yellow pushpins
of dread

show your best have a great day
thank you for coming face
fingers trembling over the
cash register buttons
and behind your eyes
the sound of dentist drills
and chalkboard screeches

remember your time in the forest
with hawks big enough to
carry you off
you get to fly
if only for a moment

was it a fair trade

stars and smoke (20161008)

October 8, 2016October 8, 2016 crow8 Comments

screen-shot-2016-10-08-at-8-34-03-pm

the baby lived
and went to
linger with a sister
a velvet ghost of a child
blushing with secret fevers
salty lips, never a smile
no magic kisses to awaken to
bleeding night stars and smoke

——

for
The Elusive Trope
Specks and Fragments
Magnetic Poetry Saturday Challenge

show some restraint (20161007)

October 7, 2016October 7, 2016 crow2 Comments

the hospital room
smelled of urine
and chemicals
disinfectants

just conscious enough to grip
the tubing in his nose
that drained fluid from his gut
he rolled his eyes
staring without seeing
yanking the tube out
inch by inch

until the nurses
restrained him
finally strapping his arms
to the rails

cold hands (20161006)

October 6, 2016October 6, 2016 crow14 Comments

your cold hands
send chills down my neck
after our autumn walk

Yes, that’s right. We have another reading added to the October Open Mic page. Pleasant Street offers us a wonderful poem. Make sure to check out the Open Mic page and check out her site, Are You Thrilled. I am!

entombment (20161005)

October 5, 2016 crow2 Comments

the sun barely up
not even enough to
flood the room with light
not with all those clouds

i pull the covers
over my head
i can hear her in the kitchen
and i feel guilty
about staying here

the sheet is stretchy
manufactured to keep you
cool in the summer
warm in the winter

but i lay here
and breathe my own hot breath
replacing oxygen
with co2
i’ve buried one of us alive

i hear the cup
clink against the counter

New Addition to Open Mic

October 5, 2016 crow2 Comments

Yes, it’s starting to fill up already. Don’t get left behind. Check out the October Open Mic page to find a link to Poet Rummager/Rose’s website to hear her read her latest 50 word story, Thief.

And let her steal your heart. She’ll take good care of it…

Then, you shuffling zombie, get busy and submit your Open Mic entry. It’s easy. Check out the page for details.

clay cups (20161004)

October 4, 2016 crow4 Comments

how easy to alter shape
a little augmentation here
a little amputation there
slick fingers
smoothing rough hills
filling crevices
made uniform

yet

passing
through the fire
it shrinks
it cracks
it weeps
the moisture boils out
like a microwaved potato

if you’re lucky
it’s not trash
you may be left with
a vessel
that can be filled

pencil (20161003)

October 3, 2016October 3, 2016 crow4 Comments

the pencil sharpened
easily turned, leaves its mark
a gray smudge on white

October Open Mic

October 3, 2016November 5, 2016 crow10 Comments

Holy crap,it’s October. Time for the OPEN MIC INVITATION.

You are cordially invited to play along. And since it’s October, spooky readings are encouraged. No, really. Go ahead. I’M ENCOURAGING YOU!

The Skinny:

Record yourself reading one of your own works.
Post it on your site.
Include a link to this site in your post.
OR Comment on that month’s call for entries
OR send me a message using the contact form.
I will post a link with your name and poem title RIGHT HERE.
It’s an open mic invitation. NOT a challenge.

Some tips:

Go simple.
I record using my iPhone, then email/share the file with myself. I very rarely edit it, unless I really waited too long to start talking.
Want better quality?
You can get a relatively inexpensive mic on Amazon that you can hook up to your computer. Some of there come with editing software. If I do edit, I use Audacity on the Mac. It’s free and pretty easy to use. There’s a version for Windows, too.
Hosting.
If you pay WordPress to host your site, you can add your audio by clicking on the Add Media button in the post editor. Have the free WordPress? You have options.All of the sites below will let you upload audio. Some will host for free up to a certain amount of storage. (I think with Youtube, you’ll have to upload a movie, but you use a still image and add your poem.)
Questions?
Ask below or contact me using the contact form (up above). I’ll try to help you out!
And if you have any tips, feel free to share them!