Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

her with him July 27, 2012

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:55 am
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It’s not truth,

but danger.

    Not what is real,

    but what’s perceived.

        The excluding

        exclamations

        of laughter

             contrasted by

             bored eye brows

             and sighs.

An amused knife

slicing through

her security.

         © Shawn L. Bird

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Being a free verse, there is no strict rhyme or rhythm pattern in this one, but you’ll see lots of examples here of consonance, assonance, and alliteration.  Notice in particular the pattern of growling of the /r/s, the explosive /ex/s and the sighing /s/s which reflect the narrative persona’s emotional experience.  

There is a circle pattern with the 6 sections (not quite stanzas, not being separated) being strongly consonant /r/, then assonant /e/, then alliterative /ex/, and then reversing: alliterative /b/, assonant /i/, and finally consonant /r/ again.  How does this pattern reflect the persona’s emotional state?

You are welcome to use this poem in your class room, crediting the author.  I’d also be pleased to see a comment indicating where and when you did.  Thanks.

 

she says, he says May 21, 2012

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 2:11 pm
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I’m sad, she says,

her head resting

upon his shoulder.

Words greeted by silence

that hovers

like a malevolent precipice.

Why, he says, are you choosing

to make yourself sad?

I did not choose to be sad, she says.

So then, why did you say, This is sad? he says.

What? she says.

You said, This is sad, he says.

I did not, she says.

I said, I’m sad. She says.

No. You didn’t, he says.

Yes.  I did. She says, sighing.

Silence weaves around them like water

filling between the cracks.

Now,

I’m angry, she says.

 

Arg! April 11, 2012

Filed under: Poetry,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 1:25 am
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Your priorities are

not my priorities.

Your time is

not my time.

Your hopes are

not my hopes.

Your deadlines

are not my deadlines.

But all

of mine,

depend

on yours.

 

toes March 28, 2012

Filed under: Commentary,Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:22 am
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My toes travel,
shifting beneath the sheets,
searching for your warm form,
and encounter emptiness.
Where you were
there lingers
a memory of warmth
that leaves me longing,
lonely,
for your return.

 

Seven Deadly Sins March 5, 2012

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 7:30 pm
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I am the best man you will ever find
Give me everything you have
I’ll wait here on this couch
hating that idiot who is the reason I’m not rich
Come here, baby. You know you want me.
I’m the sexiest man you know.
despite my size 60 jogging pants

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In case you’ve forgotten, they are Pride, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Lust, Vanity, Gluttony

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As shared with the Poetry Garden http://gooseberrygoespoetic.blogspot.com/  If you’re here from the Gooseberry Garden, please leave a link to your own poem in the comments below.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

day December 25, 2011

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 2:01 pm
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It’s a day

Just a day.

The sun rises.

Fog clears to clouds

Or the sky is blue.

Snow falls on empty streets.

Stores are dark.

When you meet someone,

they nod and say,

Merry Christmas.

You smile and repeat it.

It’s just a day,

like every other,

but you have to observe

the niceties.

 

sea sleep December 7, 2011

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 2:08 am
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Sleep is the sea

reaching out to you

embracing you in a wave

You collapse under it like a sand castle

dissolving into the depths.

 

fight November 9, 2011

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:11 am
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I come to bed nursing hurt,

determined to keep to my side.

My crushed heart needs

the solace of loneliness, as I obsess

on the sense of abandonment.

Wishing, “Don’t go.”

I go myself.

A journey of anguish

centered in my soul.

I’ll rest perched on the west side

looking through salt water.

You sleep on the east,

spine set up against the mountains.

Between will be a desert that I will

not

cross.

.

I crawl between the sheets

and my feet haven’t left the floor

before I am entwined within your arms.

Pulled unceremoniously across the divide

wrapped tight in determined embrace.

.

There will be no fight on this landscape.

 

Love song October 2, 2011

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 2:10 pm
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Lying in the afterglow

Replete with loving,

My head dances with flutes and violins.

A happy haunting

of my own song,

a lullaby of love,

a token from then,

lulling me

as I’m full to bursting

with now.

.

Submitted to week 7 Poetry Picnic http://gooseberrygoespoetic.blogspot.com/.  If you are visiting from the picnic, please include a link to your own submission with any comment.  Thank you!

 

the patient September 29, 2011

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:02 am
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He folds into the chair
with deliberate casualness.
He speaks routine phrases,
but his eyes dart.
like a cornered creature,
warily watching.
He throws his words
defensively
he defines his territory,
while we nod
and wonder
when
wellness
will conquer.

 

Submitted for the Gooseberry Patch Poetry sharing on a theme of love and loss.  This one is about loss.  Please leave a link to your own submission, if you leave a comment.  Thanks!