What do you see...

unkempt beds
filled with weeds
cruel and obtrusive,
ghastly eyesores
in need of upkeep

or

flowerbeds over-
flowing with dandelions
as hearts to pick
and make a wish
for Valentine's Day?


**

Poetry Jam~ Dandelion
PU Midweek Motif~ Heart
3WW~ cruel, ghastly, unkempt

Backwards Time

Mother's Day 2013

Through my years of rogue-like wandering
a circuitous path, the ins and outs and ups and downs
at times defiant as a two-year-old,
you remained passive with undying love.

And now you're dying.

I wonder if you know    I know
you stood beside me, a whisper in my heart?
That as a mother you excelled?

I'd like to accelerate backwards time, go back 
and send daily praises to your side, thank you
for mothering me, for instilling family values--

blood a thread of life forever tied to piano keys,
your tender melody woven in my mind.

Today I'll sing your lively tune.

~

Today's Inspiration:
Poetry Jam~ Tribute
3WW~ accelerate, passive, rogue
PU Mid-Week Motif~ Love (in 14 lines)

Withdrawal

Refrigerate 

your anxious need

to sugarcoat the situation;

 I'm devoted to helping you
through this phase of life.

I sleep on ice

while you sweat,

watch your weakened body

melt away as scrawny legs

freeze up, refuse to move

without assistance.

I'm here.

 

*

 

Prompt Inspiration:

Poetry Jam~ Refrigerator

Poetic Asides- Stress

3WW~ anxious, devoted, scrawny

A New Attitude & An Announcement

quell the hellish fire within,

burning ire laced with sin

 

scrutinize the lies

you tell yourself,

like
that
you're
nothing

 

don't isolate

or scathe your need

for others

 

instead, be faithful--

burn evil thoughts,
turn toward the light

let it wave
tranquility
throughout your body

 

 

*

 

Prompt Inspiration:

Poetry Jam~ Fire

PU Mid-Week Motif~ Newness

3WW~ faithful, isolate, scrutinize

 

 

*

Good News Announcement:

The cover of my first poetry collection, Upon the Blue Couch, has just been revealed. For more information, please visit my author page at Winter Goose Publishing.

Always Right

Manipulate
the sheets,
tuck them in
just right.

Not a wrinkle
to be seen--
feet covered,
blanket tight.

A bitter
(sweet) ritual
you go over
each night

          (again and again and again)

that I know
to follow,
or lightning
might strike.


*

Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: Lightning
3WW: bitter, manipulate, tight
Poetic Asides PAD, Day 20: Always ___ (as title)

The Syrofoam Cup

limited: caffeine intake
from this Styrofoam cup
where the last gulp is my second
and the first a wake-up

call, aggressive
when you're down all night
trying to get comfortable
in that cold bed of white

noise, I'm a fetus
trying to stay warm
with heightened awareness
each move an alarm

clock, sleep's a dream
weak coffee, last hope
as sterile as this room
a Styrofoam cup



**
Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam- The Last
PU Verse First- The Ordinary
3WW- aggressive, heighten, limited

The Nurse

Desert of Backs by Carl Warner

amplify your moan,

a sigh

you criticize

how I

make you sit up in bed

and try to stand,

demand

you push your limits

while you can

(I know you can)

move back

to where you were

 

*

 

Poetic Inspiration~

 

Poetry Jam- What Do You Know For Sure?

Poetic Asides PAD, Day 6- Perspective

3WW- amplify, criticize, moan

PU Verse First- The Body Becomes the Landscape

The Pink Cape(R)

Intensify the early-morning moment a garbage
truck barrels down your street. Lift your arms
and wave fastidious, as if the city worker might

notice. A daunting task, rolling the trash can
behind the incinerator and trying to dump it in,
only to find your wife's pink robe collecting grins.

"Whatever works," you say, even though
it was an accident, your last-minute grab
of cover flying open like a cape.

**

Poetic Inspiration:
Poetry Jam~ It's All in the Trash
PU Verse First~ Half & Half (3 stanzas, 3 lines each)
3WW~ daunting, fastidious, intensify

Writers are Lovers

of mystery

as you can see

from the words of a poet.

Take, for instance, Robert Frost,

who in early adulthood stepped away

from poetry attempting to appease his family

with completion of higher academics, brief stints

in teaching, and reporting news slanted with a poetic view--

 

he once went on to describe a flagpole in front of the post office

as beauty with a majestic eagle who, in a mighty gust of wind,  

perched atop a pole by a stately white building,
adorned the heavens until a dreadful hunter
came along and shot it dead, that fool,
when merely the wind
knocked it down--

 

does a reporter write like that? No, only poets such as Robert Frost,

whose steps away from writing only led him back to feather pen,

can sustain wedding nights where hasty visitors knock

at cabin doors, when all around the deserted woods

no other light shines, and one is left wondering

if perhaps the stranger was the bride's true

love left with missing clues.

**

Poetic inspiration:

Poetry Jam~ Steps

PU Verse First- Writers are Lovers

3WW~ dreadful, hasty, sustain

October Orange

Photo by Drew Loker

**

 

Prompt inspiration:

Poetry Jam- OCTOBER

Let's Talk About It

Silence like a cancer grows*
a weed within the mind's confines
that weaves obsession in the throes
of overtaking thoughts benign.

Too distraught to regulate
or yank habitual response,
this cancer of a sealing fate
soon consumes the s(u)n's blossoms.


*Simon & Garfunkel

**

Edited to elevate for Verse First:

watching weeds
thread through your mind
you find cancer

**

Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: The Sound of Silence
PU VerseFirst: Edit to Elevate- See Below
3WW: distraught, habitual, regulate

I Hope Not

When the lights go out, I hope

you're not drunk. I hope

it's not night and you're not

living in a new apartment

in a new area that's not

safe because you ran

away from an ex, yet

wanted him to worry

about you. I hope

 

you don't go berserk

and call a coworker,

quibble back and forth

about why it's dark

in your apartment

and no one else's

because you're drunk.

 

I hope she doesn't

have to duplicate

her words ten times,

get frustrated and put 

her friend-of-your-ex's

husband on the phone

to calm you down. 

 

**

 

Prompt inspiration~

Poetry Jam: When the Lights Go Out

PU Verse First: Difficulty

3WW: quibble, duplicate, berserk

Meditation, continued

 

It is imperative to take action

when you feel distraction.

 

Find an oasis, a place to chill;

mindful thoughts felicitous fill.

 

Replace garbage, negativity

with harmonious images of the sea.

 

Think of the waves as lullabies,

salty air absorbing the lies.

 

Reward yourself when you're done;

an ice cream cone under the sun.

 

 

~~

 

 

Poetic Inspiration:

Poetry Jam- Knickerbocker Glory- What do you delight in?

3WW- garbage, imperative, action

PU Verse First- Omniscience

Copious Flow

Sunrise behind rock buttes in southwestern US. Photo by Peggy Goetz

Resurrected:

a phantom inside of me

longing for flexibility,

 

agile mind, body, spirit.

 

A tangible difference

felt in ten weeks-

acuity and energy.

 

Flaccid?

Poetic fluidity,

my everlasting rock.

 

 

 

~~

 

Poetic inspiration:

Poetry Jam- Rock On!

3WW- agile, flaccid, phantom

PUVerseFirst- (short & sweet)

Beauty in Despair

Foreclosed, the ramshackle house
with moving van curbside.

Yet, azaleas and holly bushes
line the front flower bed--

thick glossy leaves
with serrated edges
a dare
to reach in and pick
not the evil red berries

but the blossoms
like tissue paper--
deep pink, dainty buds

a chuckle or a tease,
depending on
perspective.


~~

Prompt inspirations:
Poetry Jam- It's All About Flowers
PU Verse First- Move (no more than 20 lines)
3WW- chuckle, evil, serrated

Insecurities

I remember a college trip
to the beach one Spring Break.

Your ego went unnoticed
with each swallow of beer
damaging my tolerance
for sunburned feet,

each legitimate kiss drowned
in a body surf sweep of fear

that you might find
someone else
more attractive.

 ~

Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam- It's Vacation Time
3WW- damaging, ego, legitimate
PU Verse First- I Remember

***

Exciting news! I have signed a contract with Winter Goose Publishing for the publication of my first book of poetry. Click here to learn more.

***

When "Just Thinking About" Becomes "Real"

My lanky body a pretzel
as I wait for school's end,
windows rolled down, doors open
enough to feel the subtle breeze.

On my mind, this poem and bees-

the time I attracted them

during field day, my perfume

I thought strong enough

to cover up sweaty skin

a mere allure;

from peace to chaos,

destruction.

A silly scene unfolded

as my students watched

their teacher

FrEaK oUt.

Fast forward: now.
A wasp inside the car;
dare I grab my camera,
a fleeting thought
as I stiffen up, jump out,
an ultimatum on my mind-
the wasp or me?

I won.

~~

Prompt Inspirations:
Poetry Jam- The Buzz on Bees
3WW- destruction, lanky, ultimatum

My Mantra

Soak in God's sun, believe in the power of prayer,
pay tribute to each new day, find out why you're here.

A mantra that I live by now; it's not all about me.
I don't run the show, a path of pain made me see

if I live right, seek God's will daily,
I need not feel penitent or worry constantly.

Instead, a life of faith~ God will work things out.
As long as I soak in his love, I'll never live in doubt.

~~~
Poetry Inspirations-
Poetry Jam- Soak
PU Verse First: Authentic Life
3WW- believe, penitent, tribute

,,,Orphaned Commas,,,

A (captain?) crunch of numb-

ness, not numbers, silly; don't you

know I'm a poet? No, numb

 

words dilute this page, lame

words, so terse, like, ugh, "it"

rains orphaned commas ,,,,,

that won't cooperate, no,,,,,

 

They jump around like love-

less passion, horny college

coeds, bed-to-bed, hmm,

want some humble pie?

 

Ask an English teacher

about commas; less drama

will occur when you concur,

the numbness on the screen

will dissipate when those

crappy commas find their place.

 

 

~~

 

Poetry inspirations~

Poetry Jam: Usual/Unusual

3WW: cooperate, lame, terse

PU Verse First: Passion

 

Country Dancing

How many pairs of Ropers did she wear out?

Wrangler jeans and stylish shirts

the city girl stepped into for wild nights

of country dancing and beer,

two-stepping 'round and 'round

the floor, a slide there, a dip and twirl (careful!)

sometimes jitterbug, if she was lucky

enough to find a willing partner, a hug.

 

Waltzing, one, two, three; next, polka,

working up a sweat, a need to drink

more beer while Top-40 played

its turn a break in stride, back

in time for line dancing to begin,

then two-step, waltz and polka

jitterbug, if she was lucky, a flip.

Over and over, the cycle continued

up to 2 a.m.- - closing time.

 Again and again,

a buzzing whirl;
no mistake, 

a downward

spin.

 

*

 

Prompt inspiration: Poetry Jam~ Dance
3WW- careful, hug, mistake