The Freedom Song of the Jigsaw Girl

So I have managed to write two shorter poems the past few weeks. "Patched" was actually written first, but I put it second here because it flows thematically from the first.

( Worn )

( Patched )

This poem is for gramina who won poetree challenge #23. Zie requested a poem on the theme of grief/loss/change. The title was inspired by listening to the absolutely haunting Skyfall by Adele.

Skyfall

I always think about you
this time of year
sky heavy and gray, the weight of it
ready to fall around our shoulders

the still cold quiet
death on the wind
aches through to my soul

these are the days your loss
echos painfully
through the chambers of my heart
I long to have one more
minute, hug, touch, smile
one more sliver of forever

frozen fingers of wind tug
tendrils of hair uncovered
a playful howling ghost

gloved hands tucked deep
huddled here waiting
for the sky to fall
I think of you

I wrap the memory of your smile
around my heart like a coat
You laugh shivers through my veins
hot chocolate for my heart
I can hear your whisper
let the sky fall


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This poem was written for ashestosnow who poetree Climbing the Poet's Tree Challenges #13 over the summer. Zie was very patient in waiting for hir prize. Zie requested a poem on spiritual encounters with fire or trial by fire. Thank you for your patience!

Kiss the Flame

Fire
burn through
my troubled
soul. Cauterize
these old wounds, destroy
those pockets of poison
that have lingered for so long.
I stare across the burning coals
and envision the lies of my past
and the lost child I once was. Kiss the flame.
( Read more... )

This is one that's been germinating in the back of my mind for a while. It might take a few rewrites yet to get it right where I want it, but I thought I'd go ahead and post it. Thoughts and constructive criticism welcome.

The War Within

Long term disease, chronic illness, isn't a *fight*,
isn't a boxing match where you see who won this round.
It is entrenched guerrilla warfare within your own body.
( Read more... )

Not sure quite yet what I think of this one. It may get some more tweaking later. As always concrit is welcome and appreciated.

Tag

meta-tagging seems so new
but we've been doing it for millennia
objects around us collecting
associations, walls absorbing memories
( Read more... )

This poem was spurred into being yesterday evening when I got home from dinner. My water had gone out (again, and is now fixed, again, hopefully will stay that way), so I went into the village for dinner at the local tavern. I've been eating there pretty regularly since I started Lyme treatment and most of them are used to my meat and veggie only orders. My waitress wasn't one I'd had that often (though she was very sweet and as attentive as she could be considering they were slammed and only had one server working). She kindly asked if I wanted desert (which is her job after all), and I said "No thank, I'm not allowed sweets." Her response was "well at least it will save your teeth." I made the non-committal, "yeah, I suppose" sort of nod and headed home. This then insisted on being written. It came out much longer than I expected. Not entirely sure if I like it or not, it's a bit more poetry slam style than I tend to write (or at least feels that way to me). Constructive criticism is welcome.

( trigger warning: dental issues abound, might want to skip this if you are dentist phobic )

Some weeks back zirconium won the Climbing the Poet's Tree Challenge for Challenge #7. She selected a poem written by me as her prize. When I asked her what topic she wanted a poem on, she asked for a poem in response to one of her poems. She has many lovely poems and I highly recommend you go read them. Ultimately this is the one I chose as it spoke quite loudly to my muse. The resulting poem was also heavily influenced by the Southern US flavor of some of zirconium's poems.

zirconium has kindly given me permission to post her prize here. And so I present:

Cheshire Magic

That silver sliver of moon hangs low over the horizon
Venus bright and shining nearby;
the rainsong thrum of cicadas dense in the air.

Beads of sweat drip down her face,
she wipes her brow with a soft old cloth,
and sways with the warm light breeze.

Lightning bugs wink in warm summer air;
children's laughter dances through the night.
A smile plays across her upturned face.

She hums as she dances in the moonlight,
the frogs keeping time with their croaks.
The mosquitos buzz, but she pays them no mind.

She dances the weight of the week off her shoulders
each step a hopeful wish for the coming days.
Some spells need no words; some prayers are silent.

Waltzing with the wind on a Saturday night
she knows one thing for sure.
Mischief and magic are both likely under this Cheshire moon.

In response to this prompt at napowrimo.

Obsession

a dog with a bone
hide it, bury it, protect it
lose it, find it, show it off
gnaw it, grind it, worry it
until there is nothing left
a dog with a bone

One of the recent napowrimo prompts was silence. This prompt managed to inspire two short poems. Interestingly enough they went in opposite directions. The first is a blank verse format, and the second a etheree (which I have found an addictive and fun form to use). As always, concrit is appreciated.

On Silence

We are not built for silence
not anymore
We have become used to noise
to distractions
Silence makes us uncomfortable
jittery, uneasy
We fidget, chatter, turn up the radio
turn on the tv
Our thoughts grind against each other
loud in our heads


A Meditation

Breathe
inhale
the silence
calm the waters
let thoughts sink or drift
like seeds left to take root
where they wish to grow in time
exhale worries strife tension stress
feel the pull of time's currents but be
not rushed along breathe and live the moments