Sleepless Nights

The minutes tick by

in unparalleled lines of confusion

as I lie in the dark and

count breaths,

count calls of the barred owlet,

count beats of my heart.

I envy your snores in oblivion.

It takes so much longer for reentry these days

and I see the confusion in your eyes

as you wonder

who the hell is this alien in your airspace?

I want to apologise,

to reach out and stroke those ruffled feathers,

but I don’t recognise these fingers

or trust this foreign tongue.

So I keep quiet

in the still darkness,

waiting for my heart’s beat

to slow to the rhythm

of yours.

Dry Spell

The rain comes in tantrum spurts —
blowing up a fury
then lying still.
The clouds tease,
spattering the hard earth
with a dusting of spit
before roaring with laughter.

My pen is hollow,
my well is parched.
Time to let the field lie fallow.

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April has come and gone, and with it the crazy splashing of words across a page.
“If April showers bring May flowers” then perhaps the poems will continue to bloom.
Hmmm . . . watch this space. (LOL)

Cyparissus

The words
(supposedly for me)
which fly incessantly out of their mouths
comfort
only them.
Time heals nothing.
It changes things —
sometimes beyond recognition.

We played the odds.
I knew
but not this way —
always someone else,
not us.

And here we are —
I am —
one pair of eyes
gazing at the rising sun
over the ocean,
your voice
fading
under the waves,
my tears carried away
by the wind.

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GloPoWriMo Day Thirty Prompt: Write a poem in which the speaker is identified with, or compared to, a character from myth or legend.

Cardigan

Cerulean.
Charity shop wool.
Discarded needles.
Gramma
(under the advice of her rheumatologist)
learned to knit at seventy.
The product of her labours
sported holes and snags
and masses of two-inch hanging ends
(cleverly hidden on the inside).

Today
I hold it
in my knobby knuckles
remembering Gramma:
knit one, purl one.
I put it on
one sleeve at a time,
then pick up a new set of needles
and a skein
of Cerulean blue.

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GloPoWriMo Day Twenty-Nine Prompt: Merriam-Webster put together a list of ten words from Taylor Swift songs. Select one these words, and write a poem that uses the word as its title.

The ten words are: clandestine, Machiavellian, incandescent, altruism, self-effacing, albatross, antithetical, mercurial, elegy, cardigan.

달

그 서리가 내린 외관 아래에는 맹렬한 행진이 있습니다.
열정적으로 담배를 피우는 호랑이로 떠오르고,
그는 구름을 치며 몸을 돌리며 가르랑거리는 소리를 내며 누웠다.

The Moon

Beneath that frosty exterior lies a tempestuous streak
which rises as an impassioned smouldering tiger,
circling as he kneads the clouds to settle with a purr.

_{(With apologies to those who read/write Korean, as this is a Google translate.)}

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GloPoWriMo Day Twenty-Eight Prompt: Write a sijo.
This is traditional Korean three-line verse form poetry.
The three lines average 14–16 syllables, for a total of 42–48:
1) theme (3, 4,4,4);
2) elaboration (3,4,4,4);
3) counter-theme (3,5) and completion (4,3)

Here is an example:

동지달 기나긴 밤을 한 허리를 버혀 내여 춘풍 이불 아래 서리허리 넣었다가 어른 님 오신 날 밤이여드란 구부구비 펴리라

I will break the back of this long, midwinter night, Folding it double, cold beneath my spring quilt, That I may draw out the night, should my love return.

—Hwang Jin-i (1522–1565)
A famous female Korean sijo poet who was also a kisaeng, a professional entertainer.

Kindness

Feathers are kindness to each of the birds.
Words have affection for books.
Leaves are a kindness to the trees.
Water, a kindness to brooks.
African sky blue is kind to the veld
with its canopy raised so high.
Showers are kindness to the earth
when the soil is crispy dry.
Letting her go is a kindness,
Spending the me for the you.
Dying to self; change -ish into -less
Perhaps nails in flesh when you’re through.

Kindness can be a tremendous start:
Let love open the door to your heart.

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GloPoWriMo Day Twenty-Seven Prompt: Write an “American sonnet.”  If you’d like more specific instructions for how to get started, Write 253 has a great “formula” prompt for an American sonnet, which you can find here. (I started with the “formula” before tweaking it.)

Epistles

In our thirteen-month courtship
I conveyed
over three hundred
pieces of correspondence
to you.
Every day
my missives moved
more than ten thousand miles
(that’s 16 000 km in local lingo)
to arrive at your door.

Thirty-five years later
I gaze at you each day
across the breakfast table
and smile.
My love letter today
is the cinnamon-apple muffin
on your plate.

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GloPoWriMo Day Twenty-Six Prompt: Write a poem that involves alliteration, consonance, and/or assonance.

All the Answers

Shalom.  
Walking.
Peace within and without. 
Play the cello.
Wholeness and fulfilment. 
Play the cello.
Perfect love.  
God.
Realised hope. 
My knees.
Falling from a great height.
Snails as food.
Not knowing God.
Impatience.
Witty.
Got a million of ‘em!
Lying.
Really?
Mistreating others.
I dunno.
No virtue is overrated.
Right here, right now.
Play the cello.
Loyalty.
Where I am.
I dunno?
Teaching. 
Reading.
Writing.
Nope.  Only me.
Pippin.
Sincere bear hugs are the best comfort.
Play the cello.
Shalom.

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GloPoWriMo Day Twenty-Five Prompt: Write a poem based on the “Proust Questionnaire.”

Another silly poem. I answered a questionnaire and then shuffled the order of the answers and made this hodge-podge.

Supper with the Stars

All the stars have wings
and the moon is in love with my pizza.
I am bound more to my sentences
than I am to my food
so I yell “Catch!”
and toss Neapolitan pie to the heavens.
A supernova swoops down
and munches the delight
before Luna can even open her mouth.
In the morning
the moon will complain to the sun
about his brothers.
The sun will just laugh,
tuck the satellite into a stratus
and give me a wink.

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GloPoWriMo Day Twenty-Four Prompt: Write a poem that begins with a line from another poem.

This is sheer nonsense. I used two lines from two different poems by two different poets.
See if you can identify the lines that I borrowed. Extra points if you can name the poets.

Performative Altruism

You gave all your food to the hungry,
Your home to house the poor.
You brought medicines to the dying
And fought to end the wars.

You cleaned the world’s oceans,
Freed a thousand broken slaves.
You gave all you had for others —
But even superman needs to be saved.

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GloPoWriMo Day Twenty-Three Prompt: Write a poem about, or involving, a superhero.