Phantasmagoric

It had a phantasmagoric feel,
an atmospheric aura so unreal

this pain reeling from within
a less than fantastic outward whim

to put a hammer to my tooth
and slam impulsiveness uncouth.

Instead I had to sit and wait,
only in fantasy did my ache abate. 

*


Inspiration~ Real Toads: A Word with Laurie

Traffic Jams

I thought it all nonsense,
this ethereal scene
unfolding before my eyes:
a holiday bottleneck
wrapped in stiff burlap,
those behind the wheel
acting like turgid miscreants
with dementia, demarcation
a necessary counterattack.

Must we go back
to kindergarten,
review boundaries?
Or direct traffic to
the nearest park,
offer free meditation guides
with effervescent appeal,
discuss change of perspective
from hustle/bustle to Zen?

*

Prompt inspiration: Imaginary Gardens~ A Word with Laurie

Regifted

*

 

Burlap wrapped,

burlapped-

your regifted gift

slapped me

to my senses,

and course defenses

like downed fences

drifted away.

 

*

Prompt inspiration- Imaginary Gardens' A Word with Laurie: Burlap

***To read more about using texture in poetry, click Here.***

Focus

 

~~

Capture the white light inside you.

Focus on its brilliance.

Snap the moment in time.

Store it in a peaceful memory.

~~~

Prompt inspiration: Imaginary Gardens A Word with Laurie

*

 

Bottlenecked Hope

Southern-Style Bottle Trees
photo by L. Kolp

 

Blue

bottled

blooms

brush the

heavenly

skies, clank

rhythms  as  a

bottomed - out

drunk  on   the

dusty   streets

of hell exhales

exhaust - like

sighs.  Y o u

think his only

escape from

bottlenecked

hope  is  to

shatter glass

into the air.

Prompt inspiration- Imaginary Garden's A Word with Laurie: Bottleneck

Eye Contact

A battered bike leans
against the wall. Inside
Nobody clanks coins
on the drugstore counter,
a cold unopened beer in hand.

I clamor for blue
Gatorade with not much
time before my son’s
Taekwondo class ends.

Nobody
can't talk straight,
and the teenage boy
rings her up,
rank with fear.
I see it in his eyes-
an uncertainty his lack of contact
with the customer reveals.

Just today I reminded my son
to look adults in the eyes
when speaking, out of respect.
We wouldn't want them to mis-
construe the truth, think him miscreant.

When I leave the store, Nobody’s
bike waits beside my van. She
scrounges through Something
for What?
I freeze, wonder
what’s in that bag she has.

Is this the end?

I avoid her eyes, walk with
purpose, hop inside
faster than a blink.

It kills me
we must live
this way, but I
survive. This time.

*

Prompt inspiration: Imaginary Gardens- A Word with Laurie (miscreant)

What's That Called?

Sometimes I feel fragmented
even quite demented
at a loss for…
words
names of things, I call absurd.

Like instead of eye and needle,
I spit the word “eedle.”

My dogs, Snowy and Jake-
I’ll combine and call them “Snake.”

Even my own children
think I’ve gone delir(ious)-en
when I slither through the chicken
looking for some kitchen.

What about ewe? Does this happen, 2?

©laurie kolp

Prompt inspiration: IGWRT- A Lurd with Wauwie…A Word with Laurie: Dementia

A Path of Cherry Pits

Why is it we find ourselves
victims of tumultuous times

where peace is privileged,
laced with turgid truths
as thick as throbbing tongue?

An amaroidal aftertaste
these nauseating lies
promises forsaken

spit like cherry pits
leaving a path that treads
on troubled tactics.

When will this relay end?

~~~

©laurie kolp

Prompt inspiration: IGWRT- A Word with Laurie: turgid

Your Wake

The trail you leave
weighs heavy
in my mind-
an anchor
falling
to the bottom
of the sea.
I reach for you
try to stop you
so close
and yet so far-
your touch
a mirage.

©laurie kolp

~~

Prompt inspiration:

IGWRT, A Word with Laurie- Effervescence
NaPoWriMo- Day 13

No Looking Back



Sketch by P. Kolp

A deserted street, warm wind blowing
dust into the breathless air
ancient buildings with chipped
paint and broken windows long
vacated, and I
walking in the alley’s
middle, take note 
of this once thriving
city; a barber shop, a used-book
store, post office, such and such
attorneys, school number
whatever; all signs of life now
forgotten, yet on the other
side a railroad track, a whistle
blows, I jump so high I almost fall
down a manhole, the conductor
waves, says the only way it
goes is out of here I
look ahead and hop on board.

@laurie kolp


Prompt inspiration: IGWRT’s A Word with Laurie- Perspective

Ethereal Aftermath

Photo by L. Kolp

*

Ike's invasion wiped us away

like a wolf huffing and puffing

it blew all the houses down

leaving nothing but vacant lots

and now I see a second shot

at happiness has begun with

plain white campers, no

vain colors- hot pink, lemon

lime or neon green- just

little homes with wheels

to escape; this vision, ethereal. 

*

@laurie kolp

**

Prompt inspiration: IGWRT's A Word with Laurie

***

Please join me Sunday at Flashy Fiction

A Day at the Sun

Suzy invited me to the sun one day

We swam through Cool Whip as we played

Leap frog with peaches and mango

Jumping hoops of pear mandiango

Until the heat was too much to bare

So we stripped down to our underwear

And lo and behold I did discover

Fruit salad in secret places uncovered

@laurie kolp

**

My son's edible sun

Please join me at Imaginary Garden with Real Toads where the topic is NONSENSE

Hearts of Gold

My children (ages 2, 6 mos and 4) Christmas 2003

It's in the eyes of children everywhere
the ecstasy a rainbow to their soul
filled with awe and wonder on this eve
when miracles give birth to hearts of gold.

@laurie kolp

Thanks to all of you for the gift of joy you've given me this year. I hope you have a golden weekend full of miracles and ecstasy!

Prompt inspiration: A Word with Laurie at Imaginary Gardens (use ecstasy in 5 minutes or less)

Happy Thanksgiving

God’s love
Radiates when
Attitudes of gratitude
Take over all thoughts
Instantly replacing
Tense nonsense;
Underlying worries
Disappear and
Eternal peace reigns

@laurie kolp

Read more poems on gratitude at Imaginary Garden with Real Toads' A Word with Laurie

Twisting into Rain

Every Saturday at noon we sat in front of the RCA
watching American Bandstand. At times we joined
in the fun, doing the twist and jitterbug until
gasping for breath we dropped to the orange shag.

That day was no different, except for the rain
pouring down on the roof like a bathtub faucet.
Mom and Dad sipped on Mimosas while playing
honeymoon bridge at the kitchen table. Sausage

sizzled on the gas stove like Jiffy popcorn,
twisted cigarette smoke into hot grease signals
while we danced along with Dick Clark, oblivious
to the spark that would soon chase us into the rain.

@laurie kolp

Prompt inspirations:
Imaginary Garden with Real Toads A Word with Laurie
Poets United Thursday Think Tank

In the City

Allegro walked the pompous jerk
twisting and turning through hordes of people;
a Nascar driver on Manhattan’s business track.

@laurie kolp

Prompt inspiration: Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads (A Word with Laurie)