A misheard song lyric inspired today’s poem. Bonus points if you can identify the song and/or the correct lyric.
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
you can’t bribe the dog on your way to the sky
unless you have beef
jerky in your pocket
he’s otherwise incorruptible
perfect to guard
the ultimately unapproachable
destination
I spent the day not being selected for a jury (the first time ever my number has not been called) so I was more easily able to read than write. I found the following (including the title) on p. 139 of Violent Stars, a novel by Canadian poet Phyllis Gotlieb.
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
The police helicopter swept the sky
The morning was laying
its first deep blue
streak along the limb
of the world as if no blood
had been spilled ever.
Posted in Poetry
Tagged found poetry, Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, Phyllis Gotlieb, poetry practice, Violent Stars
We have magnolias in the front yard, and I love sitting on the front steps to watch evening fall.
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
Not yet summer
the night air drips
sweet bay magnolia and lightning
bugs blink their hunger
in the dark
I’ve been doing a lot of trace poetry lately; it frees me to focus more on words and less on form. This is traced from D.H. Lawrence’s “Aware.” You can view the original at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/54058/54058-h/54058-h.htm#png.029.
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
Alive
Steadily the day is falling through the mottled leaves,
casting shadows within shadows, layers of shade and light
merging green and exquisite; and I beyond numb
feel in the air around me a sweetness I did not expect
I needed, but here it is and its touch soothes my skin;
I welcome it through the grief, choosing still to breathe.
Posted in Poetry
Tagged D.H. Lawrence, Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, poetry exercises, poetry practice, trace poetry
This is another poem that congealed from the list of prompts I made for the month. I can’t decide if it’s creepy or comforting. (Probably depends on what time of day/night you read it.)
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
Presence
just because
they’re dead
doesn’t mean
they’re not
here
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, poetry practice, prompted poetry
June is Lexington Poetry Month, and once again I’ve signed up for the LexPoMo challenge: to write a poem each day and post at least five. As part of my preparation, I compiled a list of prompts from various places, and the list itself took on the shape of a poem in places. So here is a kind of found poem, cobbled together from a bone pile of prompts.
Bone pile
it’s just hard
to know what to do
with her
booze like water
chugs and weeps
a broken faucet
I once knew
how to celebrate
humdrum: cook
with these old men
smother them
with kindness
I understood
this before
we traded places
Posted in Poetry
Tagged found poetry, Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, poetry practice, prompted poetry
For some reason, I completely forgot to post yesterday’s poem. The prompt was “synchronized.”
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
Synchronized
like clockwork, the orange
mackerel tabby leaps on the bed,
walks on my head, and I know
it is six a.m., sure as if she’d been
wound and set the night before
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, poetry practice, prompted poetry, writing practice
The poem inspired by today’s prompt (clock wise) is a rather flippant, but I think there’s something a little dark and sad beneath the surface.
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
Borrowed time comes due
she used to set
the minute hand ahead just enough
to keep her on time when she ran late
now she turns
her face to the wall, covered by both hands
to hide how much time has passed
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, poetry practice, prompted poetry, writing practice
Clearly I’ve been bitten by the silliness bug. The prompt for today’s poem was “glue stick.”
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
Adhesive evolution
after bottles and pots
and paddles and jars
and brushes and guns
and tubes, glue has finally
found the form it was always
meant to take:
stick
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, poetry practice, prompted poetry, writing practice
I went off-prompt today because something silly tickled my fancy instead.
Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.
Unusual beauty
She has vampire toes
pale, slender, and preternaturally agile
with dark red nails, wet and shiny
as fresh-spilled blood
She has vampire palms
smooth, without past or future
to map in lines, only the arches
and loops of an endless now
She has a vampire smile
expressing neither guile nor truth
empty of meaning and free
to carry whatever prey may desire
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Lexington Poetry Month, LexPoMo, poetry practice, prompted poetry, writing practice
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