The mountains are a
ghostly presence,
faint phantoms
looming above the lake,
wisps over white paint palette
there
not there
Winter hovers
over misty memories
of summer storms.
poem- summer spectre November 15, 2022
poem- This is just to say November 13, 2022
(with apologies to William Carlos Williams)
.
This is just to say
I have eaten
The last
of the tortilla chips
I know you
Were saving them
For a bedtime snack
But like you
they were salty
And so delicious.
How could I resist?
poem- When I met his eyes November 4, 2022
(Sometimes the breakdown of a relationship is not a surprise to folks watching from the outside).
.
When I met his eyes
.
I saw into the depths
saw his emptiness
unfaithfulness.
He knew I knew
His fake jokes couldn’t mask
the pain he’d cause.
He looked away,
alarms his charms didn’t sway me.
I could see.
They believed
his false smile
piled on adoration
while he crafted
mutual ruination.
She
has strength beyond
will rebuild,
move along.
poem-to the bantam rooster October 28, 2022
I can see your end, tough kid. Oh so, glib.
You’ll pick a fight, thump your mighty tiny chest,
find yourself arrested. That mouth will get you
an ankle bracelet in your house, or maybe
a solid punch from some drunk’s big fist
or a slice from a knife that puts you on a slab.
So sad. Too bad.
Hamartia, dude. That fatal flaw hot temper, you know?
Choices you make now could change how it goes.
Being tough is rough.
Choose a more mellow groove!
poem-He probably drives a sports car, too October 19, 2022
Envy and bitterness
leaching through messages
Attacking success,
perseverence, achievement.
Pick them apart.
Minimize them to maximize you?
Hey dude,
Are you compensating?
Facing ‘if such unremarkable folk
can do it,
why can’t you?’
Is wondering why they’ve won
making you feel useless?
Um.
Maybe the difference is
they quit making excuses
and just got it done?
.
poem-youth words October 10, 2022
Puppy love’s
young life’s
sweet dream.
.
A Wordy thirty poem. 6 five letter words.
poem-self-medicating October 7, 2022
Let’s write a poem.
Let’s open up and spill our guts.
Let’s write a poem.
Let’s grab the words, create a tome.
Let’s reveal all of what is what.
Let’s stitch together all the cuts.
Let’s write a poem.
.
This is a RONDELET. The poem form has 7 lines. The refrain on lines 1, 3, and 7 is 4 syllables; the rest of the lines are 8 syllables. Rhyme scheme is ABAaBBA (where ‘a’ rhymes with the refrain).
poem-all goes old October 3, 2022
The weather’s turned and now it’s fall
We’re buying school things at the mall
Weather reports show storms and squalls
And that is all. And that is all.
The summer stories have been told
The hills transformed are oh so bold
The trees have turned to red and gold.
The year is old. The year is old.
Too soon we’ll see blankets of snow.
The temperatures will drop quite low.
We’ll need a fire to thaw our toes.
So a year goes. So a year goes.
.
.
This is a MONOTETRA poem. (1-4. mono= one for the rhyme, tetra=for the four lines)
8 syllable quatrains in AAAA rhyme scheme, with the fourth line in each stanza repeating 4 syllables.
poem-seasonal shift October 2, 2022
Yesterday
Leaping into leaves.
Today: snow
.
.
This is a Kelly lune, a triplet poem with syllable count 3,5,3.
poem- Hope September 30, 2022
A poem for Truth and Reconciliation Day.
.
Broken generations,
We hear yesterday’s lost children weeping,
Embrace today’s children,
Reach to tomorrow’s children
With our torn hearts.
.
I gratefully acknowledge that I live and work in the unceded, traditional territory of the Secwepemc people.
Shawn L. Bird 