This poem is presented in its rough draft form for the PAD 2022 challenge and will be revised.
PAD Prompt: Abundance
Poetic Form: Shadorma
“There’s too much Light”
Orion’s
belt doesn’t look good
in neon.
Cities are
now constellations formed by
sleepless wandering.
Our stars are
red, green, and yellow.
The moon is
a night light
that we have outgrown because
we forgot the night
was meant to
be dark so we may
discover
the beauty
of our wondering found in
what the stars revealed.
The morning session for Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Writers' Conference was titled, "Who's on First? The Persona Poem at Play". The session was parallel to yesterday's session, but had unique aspects that expanded my understanding of the persona poem. Again, these poems were done during the open writing time, so they will probably be revised later.
The first writing prompt was centered on a fictional character. I chose the very hungry caterpillar on Saturday morning.
“In the Park”
Hmmm,
There should be a song about Saturdays and parks
What a lovely day
I almost don’t feel the fear of why
I am so ravished with this hunger
It seems as if my very soul is empty
For days I’ve been searching
Enjoying delicious fruits
Walking in your rays
But each night, I fall into a troubled sleep
Stomach hurting
Feeling myself expanding
Each morning
When I see you
This hunger drives me farther from my home
I need more
Huhhh
What is this red and white thing on the ground?
The second writing prompt was centered on a historical event before we were born or during our lives.We were asked to take the perspective of someone at the event that wasn't a main figure. In the Love Poetry session yesterday we read the first ever recorded love poem, "The Love Song of Shu-Sin". I considered how a servant might have been there.
“The Love Poem”
I remember how much time it took
Sun moving through the sky
I would bring her food and drink
She barely touched them
Her hands working the sharp reeds into the wet clay
The pile growing smaller as the edges became dull
I could see her mouth move
Repeating words
Verbal kisses she transcribed onto the clay
I don’t remember what she wrote
I was assigned to prepare for the wedding feast
Before she was done
The next time I served her
She was queen
The afternoon session was focused on prose poetry, "The Pliable Prose Poem". We had a number of writing activities that helped the attendees understand the form. With one of the exercises, our instructor shared info on the Blue Lake Rhino Cave.
Day 7 Prompt: Villain
Form: Cywydd Llosgyrnog
“Reasons”
Every morning light shines on all
of us. When we rise or we fall.
Nothing calls us to the light
or the darkness except the heart.
Broken pieces is were we start,
falling apart, life’s true rite.
I felt my veins pulse in time with a dark in light
rhythm that called forward a moment sparked in light.
I moved through the day listening to a past song
from an old radio, the dial marked in light.
Words lost in waves of regret pulsed like a headache
that burned at the back of my green eyes stark in light.
The calendar said tomorrow was going to be
available, just cross time, a check mark in light.
Even as the sun revealed blue skies and soft clouds,
the past whispered, “Jamey fall in the dark in light.”
Poetic Form #98: Ghazel
The Ghazal is an Arabic form of independent couplets (5 to 15). Each couplet
is an independent poem, with a refrain of one to three of the last words
in the second line of the first couplet. There is an inline rhyme that
precedes the refrain.The last couplet should refer to the author’s
real or pen name. The rhyming scheme is Aa bA cA dA eA.
Knuckles white, he is driving south on snow
covered roads he hopes brings him home. Light low
causes him to be snow-blind. Center line
lost, the shoulder fades into fields. The signs
covered in ice as the north wind still blows.
Knowing traveling is risky, he slows
the wheels as headlights appear. “Don’t let go,”
he whispers. A truck’s light fills the skyline,
knuckles white.
The rush like spirits burning. His elbows
bent to pour and drink for the afterglow.
The truck’s trailer, so white, makes him snow-blind.
The sound of rumbling, wheels find the decline,
and up is now down, shot glass overflowed,
knuckles white.
Poetic Form #90: Rondeau
The rondeau form is composed of 15 lines in three stanzas with the
first word or phrase from the first line as the refrain (R). All the lines
are 8 or 10 syllables, except the refrain. The rhyme scheme is two
rhymes throughout (A and B). The poem would look like this:
A (R)
A
B
B
A
A
A
B
R
A
A
B
B
A
R
I stand upon a hill
overlooking my city
searching for a peaceful place to write
Even though the sun
has not set
the horizon is dark and moving
like smoke
The darkness billows out
covers the land and sky
moving towards me
I follow the firework display
while darkness covers
the street and buildings
I frown as people scramble
out of buildings
only to be snuffed out
like the street lights
As my city disappears
I feel my hair move
as a breeze grows strength
In seconds the wind howls
I swear I can hear
the violent sound
of teeth gnashing
The wind tears tears from my eyes
my ears ringing
as I bow my head
I set my feet and shoulders
against the approaching darkness
now at the base of the hill
I am afraid
My chest hurts as my heart
tries to break free
to find a safer place
The darkness rushes
over me, I kneel
It sounds like a pack of wolves
but I feel no teeth
The world around me becomes silent
I wait a moment
to open my eyes
Reluctantly, I lift my lids
I see nothing
until my eyes adjust
to the darkness
I can see the faintest outlines
of the world around me
shoes, notebook and pen
On instinct, I find my
notebook, pen and thoughts
I start to write
While the ink saturates the paper
my pen becomes a light
I look up to see
other small flames
The darkness is being punctured
in the city below
stark light against the stillness
the constellation
Ursa Minor
I stand, watching the single flames
start to migrate
to the center of town
The lights move as one
becomes two
becomes three
becomes together
The darkness dissolves
in ragged patches
from the light of talent
With my pen and paper in hand
I start down the hill
to join the others
removing this blanket of darkness
