It sits,
black
tarnished
taunting
Five sides and a lid…
one would think it
would be less intimidating
But what it holds
well…
that is the problem
It moves
rattles
shakes
quivers
Reminding me that
while it’s locked
what’s inside remains alive
Glowing
toxic
seeping
locked but not sealed
It’s ugly…
and no amount of polishing
will ever make it shine
I keep it tucked away…
Pandora’s box holds
fewer issues than
this battered square.
I heard your story on the radio
while driving to work
on a beautiful spring morning
blue crisp skies hearkening the day
They told me about you,
adopted at age 5
by a childless family
who you lost years ago
How you had no wife, no children
no one close to take the flag that draped your coffin
folded so reverently by your fellow soldiers
and handed to your adopted cousin
She told us about you
how you dedicated your life to serving your country
how you felt that you were making a difference
in a foreign desert land, because someone needed to
She told us how she spoke to you
told you that you were family to her
and that you were loved, that you had someone
to worry, and wonder, and weep for you
And I was caught by this story
of a man I would have never known
who sacrificed himself for what he believed in
who answered duty’s call, wherever it took him
I will remember you, Major Alan Greg Rogers
a stranger to me, buried at Arlington
one of many who have died for our country
and how I wept in sorrow for someone I never knew.
I sit at my desk
the hum of the a/c in my ear.
I long to be free
to go to the beach for a year.
I want to walk across
a rustic collection of boards
nailed in such a way
as to carry me to the shore
I want to kick off my shoes
feel the burn of the earth
through the hot soft sand
as I run for all I’m worth
I want to feel the sideways slide
as the sand gives way
hearing the gulls laughing
as I stumble, fumble and sway
I want to pick my spot
up on that beach
stake my territory with a towel
just out of the water’s reach
I’ll shed my clothes
to lay on the sand
feel the breeze over my skin
like a lover’s hand
and when the sun’s blaze
becomes to much
I’ll head to the water
for it’s chilly touch
it will cool my skin
and toss me about
only to rock me gently
as I work my way out
in the water’s depths
I will float and dream
of mermaids and Neptune
and scary aquatic things
I will go back to that towel
on the sandy shore
pack up my bags
’til I can come back for more
There are things I must do
before I can return to the shore
Cause life’s not a beach
unless you finish your chores.
I once walked in shadows
Not lost, but aimless
Not lonely, but alone
Not broken, but bruised
Now I walk in the sun
Warmth and love surrounds me
Its light allows me to see
Where I once was aimless,
there is a path
Where I once was alone,
I am no longer
Where there once were bruises,
are signs of healing
and Hope has replaced complacency.
Catching the poet
At work and at play
As they put pen to page
Their frozen words on fire
Silent roads they build
Endless places they go
With bleeding pens and
Retractable hearts
Their strokes
Painting life with words
All those things they say
To give your heart wings
To capture the moments we miss
creating photographs with words
Like stealing glances of life
In a virtual coffee shop
Of all the glittery little things
A self portrait
Of a species living together
These crazy dreams we dream
So that new stars may shine,
That secret place we keep apart
Because deep are these solaces we hide
Where words are left to play alone
Echoing endlessly
They let the pipers play on paper
They capture the marching
of our individual beats
The best of every
season of our Lives
That we carve into
the woodwork of our hearts
So what are you waiting for?
I find myself right now
wanting to join them
For you to say “and what
Is this? Whatever in the world?”
Well, Don’t just stand there!
Good grief already, join us
Put your pen to paper
And come dance with words
This piece was written in response to a poetry writing exercise. I don’t have the original list of words, but the usual was to select 5 or 10 from the list, and use them for inspiration. I always like to use the entire list, as it challenges you to really see how all these random words can be tied together. =)
Down a tricky pernicious path
I traveled, elusive slithering
Desires luring me to become
Something other than I am,
Sewn by alteration’s clever hand
Power emitted from words spoken
Simmered beneath the surface of my thoughts
Underhanded insinuations came crashing
Down around me, their meandering menace
Tainting his beyond here-and-now allure
Thoughts of life transformed from
Some vast expansive uniformity into
Dreams, like dust, their inherent brilliance
Scattered in the wind, craving more relevancy
Seeking freedom to experience anything, everything
Saddened by uncertainty
Inside the cave I discovered
Where the screams of my heart
Echo against the shadowed
Shackled visage of my soul
Without warning the grand
Scheme of it all transcended
The confines of time, silently
Awaited the choice I had to make
When conscience touched the sky
If only I had considered
Digression’s denigration, how
It would color my perceptions
How long I would feel the weight
Of the shackles of my story
Words From a Curvy Girl 