in like a lion
march is a murderer
masquerading softly
like a lamb
offering dreams
and whispers of dreams
its maw filled with teeth
a thousand mouths
ten thousand tongues
bleating soft poisonous lies
——
Tag: napowrimo
Poem 20160403
i was your biggest fan
i followed your every move
every performance
every public utterance
all your social media accounts
when we met i froze
my hands wouldn’t work
and my mouth wouldn’t work
i swear it was like
i had been chewing on bees
you didn’t wait for me
to snap out of it
offered no reassuring smile
just a quick look at your watch
and you were gone
your flunky pressing a poster
into my hands
i have your poster still
i signed it for you
“to my biggest fan”
——
Poem 20160402
a family of magicians
wear tuxedos
–even the baby–
have squirting flowers
in their coat lapels
and rabbits for pets
mom is the one to get sawn
in two by dad
night after night
though when he is out of town
his understudy puts his hands
to the blade
grampa goes in the woven basket
while gramma drives in swords
one after another
always asking about the salad
was it all right
and where did he put her
social security check
i do the rope trick
climb it every night
and wait for the disassembly
that is bound to repeat
——
Poem 20160401
you give me a smile
your warmth spreads
wish i could wear it
Post 20160328
Hey, can you believe it? National Poetry Month IS IN 4 DAYS NOW! I’ve already started stalking the NaPoWriMo web site. And I am ready to tackle the prompts. In addition, I’ve just submitted my first pamphlet/chap book to a contest and I’d like to do something special for everyone who comes to my site, whose poetry I read, and who takes the time to read my poems (sometimes through their fingers, I’m sure).
Open Mic
Yes, inspired by Rose at https://poetrummager.wordpress.com/ (but not officially endorsed by her), I’d like to do some audio recordings of my poems. And I’d like you to join in. During the month of April, record yourself reading one of your own poems (it has to be yours so I don’t go to jail). Post it to your site, and add the link in the comments below, do a pingback, both.
And before any of you say you can’t, or you don’t like how you sound, let me just say that I am pledging to do at least two poems, and I hate the sound of my own voice so much that when I hear myself recorded, I turn into The Hulk and beat myself senseless.
So let’s all push boundaries, read and listen to each, and embarrass the hell out of ourselves. And if you can’t be embarrassed, great–I’ll get some rye and Swiss to go with all the ham.
OPEN MIC
Simple steps.
- Record yourself reading one of your own works.
- Post it on your site.
- Include a link to this post in your post.
- Comment below or send me a message using the contact form (I might see the pingback from your post).
- I will post a link with your name and poem title RIGHT HERE.
- You’ve got all month.
- It’s an open mic invitation. NOT a challenge.
Remember, just pop your link in the comments or email it to me using the contact form and I’ll add it to the post.
Ok, as the host, I am going first. If you didn’t see it already, here is the link:
Crow Reading 20160406
https://wordsandfeathers.com/2016/04/06/reading-20160406/
******
Poet Rummager Celestial Stars
https://poetrummager.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/celestial-stars/
******
Elusive Trope Zeitgeist
https://elusivetrope.com/2016/04/12/zeitgeist/
******
Crow let us go 20160428
https://wordsandfeathers.com/2016/04/28/let-us-go-reading-20160428/
Poem 20150430
Today is the last day of #NaPoWrimo. I have to say, this was a lot of fun, and some of the challenges were outside of my zone of, if not comfort, than at least what I was used to. Thanks #NaPoWrimo. I will see you next you, I am sure.
And now, the challenge.
And now for our final prompt (still optional!). For the last day of NaPoWriMo, I’d like you to try an odd little exercise that I have had good results with. Today, I challenge you to write a poem backwards. Start with the last line and work your way up the page to the beginning. Another way to go about this might be to take a poem you’ve already written, and flip the order of the lines and from there, edit it so the poem now works with its new order. This will probably feel a bit strange (and really, it is a bit strange), but it just may help you see the formal “opening” and “closing” strategies of your poems in a new way!
—–
here’s the composition order–
leaving everything exposed, laid bare
twisting sinew and removing sorrow
striving against one another
like jacob and the angel
muscles straining
tearing me away in layers
your skin against my skin
and we come together
like sandpaper
our exposed skin like grit
from opposite sides of the same ring
as we approach each other
not a competition
this is not a contest
and the final version–
this is no contest
no competition
we approach
from opposite sides
of a ring that binds us
our exposed skin chafes
like grit
like sandpaper
like the desert we wander
when we come together
your skin presses against my skin
tearing me away in layers
peeling me piece by piece
our muscles strain, ache, scream
like jacob wrestling with his angel
striving against one another before dawn
one seeking a blessing
one seeking domination
twisting sinew, removing sorrow
leaving everything exposed, laid bare
Poem 20150429
Tomorrow is the last day of #NaPoWriMo, but today’s prompt is ready for some reflection:
And now, for our prompt (optional, as always): today, I challenge you to write a poem in the form of a review. You can review either animate or inanimate things, real places or imaginary places. You can write in the style of an online review (think Yelp) or something more formal that you might find in a newspaper or magazine. (I imagine that bad reviews of past boyfriends/girlfriends might be an easy way to get into this prompt, though really, you can “review” anything in your poem, from summer reading lists for third graders to the idea of the fourth dimension).
I’ve been listening to a lot of They Might Be Giants.
—–
we really need to talk
about the gnome that’s in the yard
he was funny when you brought him home
but now he kind of scares me
it’s not my imagination
that his stare has become so hard
i think that you should take him back
and i don’t care if he was free
one star, one star,
one star out of five
it’s all down to me and him
which one will survive
yesterday i caught him
messing with my brakes
he said he was inspecting them
i know that was lie
watching him make coffee
has started giving me the shakes
he wants you all to his gnomey self
and you won’t even cry
one star, one star,
one star out of five
the way the little creep looks at you
is giving me the hives
it’s all right, no it’s okay
i can see where this is going
i’ll just pack up all my stuff
and i’ll be on my way
you think that you’ll be happy
with his wise old face, so knowing
and he’s so witty and urbane
i’m sure he’ll host a great party
one star for the little elf
too, for you, one star
one star for me when i hit the road
but i sure won’t take the car
Poem 20150427
Today the prompt calls for a variation on the haiku. From #NaPoWriMo:
And today’s prompt – optional, as always — comes to us from Vince Gotera. It’s the hay(na)ku). Created by the poet Eileen Tabios and named by Vince, the hay(na)ku is a variant on the haiku. A hay(na)ku consists of a three-line stanza, where the first line has one word, the second line has two words, and the third line has three words. You can write just one, or chain several together into a longer poem. For example, you could write a hay(na)ku sonnet, like the one that Vince himself wrote back during NaPoWriMo 2012!
—–
a
pair of
soft white thighs
glistening
with sweat
summer’s soft exertions
or
something else–
who will say?
Poem 20150426
#NaPoWriMo‘s prompt today will me putting words in someone else’s mouth.
And now, for our prompt (optional, as always). Our last two prompts have been squarely in the silly zone – this one should give some scope to both the serious-minded and the silly among you. Today, I challenge you to write a persona poem – a poem in the voice of someone else. Your persona could be a mythological or fictional character, a historical figure, or even an inanimate object. Need some examples? Check out this persona-poem-themed issue of Poemeleon from a few years back.
—–
i never should have helped zeus, you know
but we’re both immortal and i felt sorry for him
and helped plan and carry a out war against
my own relatives
and i didn’t want to hear him complain forever
and i was supposed to be the smart one
i saw the future in people
and invested heavily
even though i knew he wouldn’t care for that
i suppose, in the end, i got what was coming to me
tied to a rock, my liver torn out day after day
hey, no problem.
i’m immortal, right?
i can take it
but those poor bastards running around on the ground
like ants; my brother and i did what we could for them
at the beginning
but, epimetheus is kind of an idiot
and after i got
them the secret of fire,
well, zeus, the piss-ant,
he sent them pandora
i don’t think it was fair
that the first woman he sent
he sent to my brother
or that she would have so much baggage
and man did she do a number
on the mortals
the poor bastards
well, anyway
let me tell you a secret
my name means forethought
and i’ve done more thinking
chained to this rock
than you can imagine,
and i’ve figured out the whole mess,
how it’s all going to go down
it ain’t pretty
and i could leave if i want,
anytime.
i mean, i’m
a titan, and these are just chains
what’s an eagle to me?
a handful of feathers
hiding a bucket of chicken
but i like it here on this mountain
and zeus is in for a rude awakening
he thinks he’s going to be worshipped forever
but he’s not
and when the sacrifices dry up,
so will his power
his authority
his big, sexy lightning bolts
and he and i are going to have a long talk then
because we’re both immortal
and i’m the smart one
oh, look
the eagle
Poem 20150425
Today, the prompt is all about name dropping. Or, as #NaPoWriMo puts it:
And now for our prompt (optional, as always)! It’s the weekend, so I’d thought we might go with something short and just a bit (or a lot) silly – the Clerihew. These are rhymed, humorous quatrains involving a specific person’s name. You can write about celebrities, famous people from history, even your mom (hopefully she’s got a good name for rhyming with).
—–
There’s something about Nathan Fillion
A guy who is one in a million
From cowboy to castle
He sure loves to wrassle.
Words and Feathers 