“June on the River”

prompt: water   


Old tennis shoes
Scruff up dust on a
Country road and matte
Back inner tubes float
Along a lazy river,
Hovering over hopeful
Fishing hooks.

As the sun sets, and the
World’s lit up only by
Starlight, fireflies, and
Campfires, laughter
Floats through the
Darkness and soothing
Breezes carry a whiff of
Burnt marshmallows.

And in the night, the
Crickets croon and
Rain tings and chinks on the
Old tin roof. And it’s
Summer.

"Karma"

prompt: "on the other hand"



She’s the kind of person

Who doesn’t think
Twice about dropping

All the coins in her
Pockets into the jingling
Cups of the homeless,
Takes in strays and
Gives them silly names, and
Never forgets her grandmother’s
Birthday. At the checkout,

She offers to pay for the
Items the family with the sad-
Eyed little girl can’t afford,
Lets people out in traffic, and
Sends notebooks, pens, and
Crayons to the troops in the
Hope that they can help spread

Kindness before the children are
Taught to hate. She mails
Big Red soda to the troops from
Texas, because she knows
What its like to be far away and
Crave the comforts of home.
She doesn’t expect a reward



And yet



Shouldn’t the Universe
Protect her from the her
Opposite? Shouldn’t their
Natures would be so
Disparate that they wouldn’t
Even be aware of the other’s
Existence?

There are only so many
Cheeks to turn, so

She shakes her head and
Writes a poem and dreams of
Surrounding herself with
Only with the kind ones.

SEED

See the way the world still turns
Even though you’d thought it’d stop?
Every day the holes in your pockets
Drop the seeds that grow into tomorrow.


Poetic Bloomings - "seed"

"Up to Somewhere"

prompt: "after leaving here"


She still had half a mind that the
World was really flat and
Feared coming to a corner and
Spilling down the other side.

So she busted up the
Foundation, bought every
Balloon in town and
Tied them to the roof.

She fixed the blue and red, and
Yellow ones to each shingle,
Lined the gutters with the shiny
Silver ones that remarked upon
New babies, birthdays, and weddings,
Because it was more feng shui.

She said she couldn’t stay here
Any more, but still owed too
Much on the house, so
She’d just float it
Someplace else, letting the
Helium out bit by bit
Until she touched down
Someplace she could be herself.

"Traditional English Ode to Verse"

prompt: "ode"




Consider the potential of poetry
To free men’s probing minds,
To spill their hearts so totally.
The power of the verse reminds
That the stringing of mere syllables
Can transform lowly language
Into something greater than itself.
I equate it to a miracle
That despite time’s passage
Poetry can give such a true sense of self.

“Backyard Ode”

prompt: "ode"




A fenced in
Paradise full of
Flower beds
And shade trees,
Grills, swimming pools, tricycles,
Tree houses, Soccer
Balls, swing sets, hammocks.

Memories.

“Missing Keyholes”

prompt: "a world without something"




Some doors forever locked,
Some forever open.

Keys pile up in
Dejected mountains
Inadequate, bleak.
There’s nothing for the
Nosy to listen at now and the
Landfills won’t take any more,

So the people hang them from
Windchimes or toss them in the
Ocean, the water rising
Key by key until
Only the mountains remain,
Serenaded by the clinking of
Keys in the wind.

“Starless Shadorma”

prompt: "a world without something"




Nothing to
Wish on or compare
Lover’s eyes.
World without
Constellations, direction.
Just a lonely moon.

"In the Heart of a Have"

prompt: "in the ____ of _____"




She circles the
Block looking to
Find the dusty
Man with the cardboard
Sign,

“I’m hungry.”

The bag of fast food
Grows colder til at
Last she just drives
Home, slowing at
Each intersection,
Hoping to see the
Dusty back of the
Have-not.

“A Discourse in Waltz”

prompt: "leader/follower"




Leather soles whisper
On polished wooden floors.
Light bounces from sequin
To sequin speckling crisp
Shirts with colored flecks.

A firm hand at the
Small of the back,
Pushing,
Pulling,
Pressure.

A silent language
All its own.