Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Poetry Challenge Day 5

Write a poem about a landmark.

Tower of Verse

A landmark? Well, I think he qualifies,
His name resounds through every venue where
The art of poesy is given care
And thought, wherever stellar writing vies
With honest feeling, when in lines of verse
One tries to capture moment, feeling, thought.
The lines of poetry his hand has wrought
Have never been supplanted. Not averse
To trying to aim high, despite my sure
And certain knowledge that he will endure
For centuries beyond my finest line,
I try in this poor effort to make mine
The latest voice to praise him. William, Bard
Of Avon, hoist me now with your petard!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Hoodie Crow

She is screeching down the hollow echoes of your shattered mind,
She is clawing with her talons at the wraith you cannot find
For her power has destroyed it, and it 'ere no more can be
And you bleed, and coil, and crumble, as her power sets it free.

You are powerless to stop her, she is clawing at your eyes
And her own are black obsidian, immune to your disguise,
For despite your craven cringing as you run and try to hide
The crow has marked your path and will destroy you from inside.

Never seek to try evading, never dare to lift your hand
In retaliation, for her strength you never will withstand,
As she swoops in screaming majesty to tear your tattered face
And her wings are swirling whirlwinds to erase you from this place.

You are gone, destroyed, defeated, and the shrieking of her glee
Is the last humiliation of your pride, and sets her free,
Both herself and one she cares for, her beloved, wife, and pet,
And for all your naked suffering, you always will regret

Having meddled in the business of the Witch who lays this curse,
And despite the dread you now must feel, it only will get worse.
For her power is supreme and in its working she's the queen...
And there's nought for you to do but bow, and, broken, flee the scene..

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Poetry Challenge

Prompt...write a poem entitled "The trouble with...."

( Here's the prompt... )

The Problem With Logic...

Is pretty intense.
It's simply that,
By and large,
Things don't "make sense."

Logicians expect
An elegant
Patterning.
While people are

Experts at
Effortless shattering
Of formulas,
Shibboleths,

Trite preconceptions.
And so, mostly,
With only
Tiny exceptions

Due to vicissitudes
Unique and foreign,
"Logical action"
Is an oxymoron.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Prompt: Write an "Outsider" poem.

Looking In

I am never going to understand it...
I watch them,
Laughing, hilarious.
Slapping one another's shoulders
Splashing beer,
Raucous, overblown,

No two faces alike in expression,
Not really,
And yet they all, somehow,
Make one thing...

"One big teeth", in the words
Of some other poet
Whose name I've forgotten.

So I watch.
Outside the wraith
Not part, not wanting to be...

I can't understand it.
NBA Playoffs....who the hell cares?
But I know I am the outsider here
The minority...

Next St. Patrick's Day I will find
A different bar,
Wine, maybe
And Irish dancing.

Fat chance, tonight.
I stand outside and wonder
Then turn and leave.

Think I like it outside.
I will go home
And read a book.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Poetry Challenge

This actually took place in the month of April, National Poetry Month, but as you saw I was in the process of teaching poetry and featuring poets of all kinds and styles. Not my own stuff. So here is the Poetry Challenge, but it's for May.

First prompt...
Write a poem about a first..

Reality

It was a small package,
Unremarkable,
Not obtrusive.

It felt, in the mailbox,
Like one more relic
Of a desultory march through e-bay.

But opened,
It scintillated,
Coruscated.

It belied its humble cloak
Of mailing envelope
By springing full-blown to life,

Denying the staid wrappings
And blaring its insistent trumpet of my name
Into its genuine listing of authors.

Brilliantly my own words resound
On the last four pages,
As something awaited, stayed for...

There I was,
Published anthologically
For the very first time.

I wonder if anything
Will ever feel this much again
Like an ultimate birthday.

An Announcement....

This place has now become my official poetry blog. I need a place to post poetry and nothing else, and since this is a google blog, anyone who wants to can see it, unlike my Live Journal. So, from now on, this is going to be the writing space, and seldom if ever any kind of other posting. Thanks to those who are following. Hope you enjoy the new endeavor.