coyote pauses
waiting for headlights to pass
–slips into darkness
Poem 20160121
i am full
i contain multitudes
does it matter if what i say
contradicts
what i said before
i didn’t say that
very well
do i contradict myself
it’s one of the multitudes
at fault
a singular wit
mouthing off
i’m sure
one word out of line
and the train jumps the track
o captain!
these contradictions
are hard to take
harder still
to reconcile
with the crowd in my mouth
and you thought
keeping my wisdom teeth
would put my incisors
out of alignment
what about all those souls
—–
By a weird coincidence, my Zen a Day calendar had this quote by Walt Whitman today, which is what I thought of when I saw Jane’s Challenge:
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
–Walt Whitman
Jane Dougherty Writes
Poetry challenge #14: Take a favourite line
Poem 20160120
i can’t hear the wind
above the sound of your voice
as you speak
the words in my stomach
fight to be free
but inch like slugs
too slowly to make
a difference
too slowly to start
a sentence before
the sound of the wind
engulfs us
Poem 20160119
uncounted
uncountable wheeling mass
of black birds
so much more
than a murder
more a massacre, really
a huge dark wheel
spinning over the axis
of a bare tree
fortuna, imperatrix mundi
she rises
she falls
her spokes
these black messengers
against a grey sky
Poem 20160118b
the fresh-turned earth smell
rosemary, sun, and water
–a new pot, new style
RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 80, Style & Fresh
Poem 20160118
i looked back
at a year’s worth of words
and found
my words had all
been used up
i didn’t know i had
a quota
but there they were
every last one
written out
trying to call up more
felt like coughing up dust
like trying to cast a shadow
in a darkened room
or playing tag with ghosts
luckily
the wind punched
a heart-shaped hole
in the clouds
and i was momentarily
saved
Poem 20160117b
don’t spend your money
this sunset muted by clouds
–worth little, worth all
Poem 20160117
sacked out
at my feet
the dog looks tired
tongue hanging out
where he is missing teeth
on the walk
he seemed lively
and we took a route
we rarely take
so we could hear the frogs
in the creek
whenever the cars weren’t
whooshing past us
and we had
a moment of stillness
he snores
i smell the scent
of wood smoke from chimneys
see the blanket of low clouds
not quite fog
listening again
to the throaty calls
of frogs
Poem 20160116
she wrapped the scarf
around his neck
and then around her own
the red scarf
was long enough
and the weather
cool enough
to warrant such a thing
no need to bundle up
under the full weight
no need to bear it
all on her own
so much better to
share the warmth
to create a short
woolen bridge
between them
as they sat and watched
the sun go down
Poem 20160115
The Friday Haiku
—–
coffee on her breath
sun rising real in her eyes
two morning kisses
Words and Feathers 