Open Two Ways A house key lies behind the two-for-one drink special sign between the two of them, glowing in the candlelight, a welcome for lonely hearts or a question mark leaving the gate open for escape. *** No prompt today, just imagination. Happy writing! Continue reading NaPoWriMo 9/30: Open Two Ways
Stir the Roux When we’ve finished, I’ll turn off the quiet with the music of pot and spoon, metal on metal as flesh on flesh. Stir the roux. Whole peppers, onions, celery stalks I’ll chop into bits of Holy Trinity, the colors of contentment. Stir the Roux. You will be in that space between awareness and drift, the salt of your sweat settling into your skin. Stir the roux. As the gumbo simmers, we’ll watch the earth absorb the sun and the stars will mirror our eyes. Stir the roux. *** Prompt via NaPoWriMo.net: Write a poem using repetition. I … Continue reading NaPoWriMo 8/30: Stir the Roux
Six Views of the Bamboo (After Wallace Stevens) I. The gardner marvels at baby shoots as big as her arm. II. The naturalist enjoys the strength of the canes in the wind. III. The environmentalist appreciates its sustainability. IV. The squirrel is thankful for its nest-baring branches. V. The bird surveys the world from its sky-high peaks. VI. The bamboo sways and sighs. The bamboo just is. *** Prompt via napowrimo.net – “write a poem that looks at the same thing from various points of view.” Continue reading NaPoWriMo 6/30: Six Views of the Bamboo
Country Early summer is a curious child rubbing supple green leaves between her fingers, deeply inhaling spice from a rose, staring dead-on into a dragonfly’s eyes. Early summer is anticipation, rolling in soft pasture grass, purpling fingers with muscadine juice, searching the woods for a maypop vine. Early summer lives in my chest, spreads to my fingertips, ends up on this page. *** Prompt via NaPoWriMo.net: “Write a poem that is based in the natural world.” Continue reading NaPoWriMo 5/30: Country
Todays prompt on napowrimo.net is to write a poem inspired by, or in the form of, a recipe. I’ve been on a quest for quite a while for the perfect blueberry scone recipe. My local coffee shop has the best I’ve ever tasted and I’m determined to make a scone that compares. So far, I think I’ve tried three different recipes with the last one from NYT Food being the closest. So, here’s my little poem about the blueberry scone. (Again, rough draft.) Blueberry Scones I introduced you to blueberry scones, the taste of sunny butter with a pop of … Continue reading NaPoWriMo 2/30: Blueberry Scones
Instead of using the prompt from namowrimo.net today, I ended up writing what I thought would be a poem about nature. Actually, it is about nature, but the human kind. I don’t generally write protest poetry – and many will say this is not but I prefer subtlety over lambast. Anyway. Here it is via a photo of my notebook. (This is a very rough draft.) Continue reading NaPoWriMo 1/30: Air
On Wednesdays at 6:00 pm Poet Fida Islaih facilitates a chat for poets called #PoetteerChat on Twitter. I’ve been participating for a couple of months and have enjoyed chatting and getting to know other poets. Two weeks ago Fida had poet Nicole Gilotta, author of Eat This Poem, as a guest on the chat. (Transcript here.) I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her book and the inspiration for writing it, so much so that I invited the other participants to join me in writing a collaborative poem about food. I’d always wanted to do a collaborative poem and the subject piqued … Continue reading Writing With Poet Fida Islaih
Ancient black arms and newborn green fingers stretch upward to infinite azure Thousands of shimmering cymbals clamor in the breeze Raise your eyes Absorb the vitality Continue reading April Oaks
Once again, left where you don’t belong Scrunched up into a wrinkly wannabe cloud filled with snot and skin flakes or smears of mayo and spit, glaring forlornly at me glaring pissed offedly at you. When left to marinate in phlegm and fluids on bedside tables and kitchen countertops you start to multiply like earthworms that procreate by having sex with themselves. Hell, you already have the lube so why not use it? Continue reading Mucus Rags
Jinx a boiling heart Hide the skeleton key for the lock is cracked and wrinkled Second chances eye the keyhole but the lost lover is a drunken navigator Your strange face flushed Your ambiguous mouth buries its head Continue reading No 2nd Chances
