The layers
speak of neglect
and distraction,
of time passing.
Traces of us
settle on ledges
and I am loath
to find a cloth
and wipe us off.
poem-mother January 27, 2015
Grade eight.
Horror.
Mother is her substitute teacher today.
“Do not
acknowledge
that you know me!” she hissed.
But when her name was called for
attendance, and teacher-mother
looked around for
whichever student would raise her hand,
she glowered,
unhappy
with anonymity.
poem-voyageur January 26, 2015
So you packed your canoe,
left a good man,
gave away that puppy,
you’d given to
those good boys,
those sweet little boys,
and rowed off to find yourself
on a river of their tears.
I hope the discovery
proves worth it
in the end.
poem- found Jan25 January 25, 2015
Pattern stitches
on demand
bordered diamonds
needles
hooks
open sesame
mind
body
spirit
try
.
.
.
This one was ‘found’ using words that I could see from where I was sitting on books, labels, and TV.
poem- weight January 24, 2015
Grey weight
drags me down
velcro-ed to cement
hobbled like a donkey
held together
by hope.
poem-flipped January 23, 2015
You need a silent rest
and I need recumbency.
I find a peaceful place,
I recline and read and write
throughout the night,
come to bed at dawn
to greet you as you rise.
But office workers
call at nine, nine thirty, ten
and so with blurry eyes I
pretend lucidity,
then fall back to sleep
until you return at two.
My head and ankle
have schedules
out of sync with offices,
though I’m in tuneful counterpoint
with you.
poem- itch January 22, 2015
I twitch and twitch
and still these stitches itch.
Beneath the cast are plainly massed
all itches of the world
I can not scratch beneath the cast
and so must twitch
and dream of when the itch is fixed.
poem- Jabba January 21, 2015
Belly and breasts cascade
over ample hips.
The glass reflects
Jabba the Hutt lying in state
in my living room.
That is unexpected.
poem- bigger January 20, 2015
It was to be a small thing
a little something,
a useful token,
a stylish bibelot,
but it is a large thing
engendering greater
gratitude.
poem- ladybug January 19, 2015
Outside the snow is deep.
Inside, a ladybug crawls up my computer cord
All eighteen spots out of place,
It launches off my computer
having delivered a moment of grace.
Shawn L. Bird 