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- 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- Walking the plank on a sinking ship September 26, 2022
Step. Pause.
Step. Pause.
Step. Pause.
I hear the wedding march.
Step. Pause.
Step. Pause.
This isn’t going to go well.
Step. Pause.
Step. Pause.
Step. Splash.
Nope.
Not well at all.
Blub.
Blub.
Blub.
poem- What wind brings September 20, 2022
What wind brings
Don’t wrap this silence in your memory
Gather the fallen
leaves
Your departure: a beginning.
Going means coming to understand
Summer wildfires
Sometimes ashes fall
Sometimes rains wash everything
away
Sometimes snow rises to the eaves
Don’t wrap this silence in your memory.
There’s something new on the breeze.
poem-double words April 21, 2021
NaPoWriMo prompt for Day 21 was to use repetition modelled after http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2008/11/there_was_a_man_of_double_deed.html.
There was a girl who spoke the words
That wrapped the world, but went unheard
When the girl began to dream
T’was like the universal scheme
When the scheming came to naught
T’was like a void that time forgot
When the void it opened wide
T’was like a cave with home inside
When home called loudly, she went in
T’was like relief flooding within.
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.
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(ignore ads following)
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poem-Extra! Extra! April 13, 2021
Read all about it!
Societal shut down has brought species recovery!
Extra! Extra!
Covid virus no longer mutating!
Read all about it!
Oceans recovering!
Extra! Extra!
No gun deaths in the USA for tenth year in a row!
Read all about it!
Universal health care keeping people healthy world-wide!
Extra! Extra!
World-wide living wage improves productivity and eliminates poverty!
Read all about it!
Addiction recovery at all time high!
Extra! Extra!
No billionaires! Fair wages and prices for all!
Read all about it!
Earth voted happiest planet!
.
.
.
A bit of a twist on the NaPoWriMo Day 13 prompt to write a poem on a news article you wished to see. Couldn’t narrow it down, so I just took all the headlines I wish were true!
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poem-i don’t want to write a poem January 13, 2021
Another demo pantoum poem written with my Creative Writing students today. This one demonstrates the power of this form, as small shifts can alter or intensify meaning. The kids weren’t in the mood to write at the beginning, but by the second stanza they were laughing and engaged as we looked for rhymes that worked.
I don’t want to write a poem today
I’m too tired to use my brain
The thought fills me with dismay
Poems make me insane
I’m too tired to use my brain
My mind is feeling foggy
Poems make me insane
My eyes are getting soggy
My mind is feeling foggy
Can I just return to bed?
My eyes are getting soggy
My heart is filled with dread
I’ll just return to bed
I’m much too tired to think
My heart is filled with dread
My life is on the brink
I’m much too tired to think
If my feelings are uncaged
My life is on the brink
The words won’t fill the page
When my feelings are uncaged
all the thoughts bring me dismay
Words will over-fill the page
I can’t write a poem today
poem-digging a trench December 9, 2020
This is not the year
for adventurous rambling
for party-down fun
for braving new experiences
for exploring new ideas
This is the year
for settling in
for warming up
for holding close
for safe hidey holes from which
to weather the barrage.
poem- winter evening October 26, 2020
A pantoum for a winter evening
Soft snow falling
Mysteries in hidden faces
Lost memories calling
Eyes whisper with brief gazes
Mysteries, hidden faces
Warm glances, tender touches
Eyes whisper with brief gazes
Sweet comfort, hesitant rushes
Warm glances, tender touches
Fire crackles, hearth heat
Sweet comfort, hesitant rushes
In the silence, our hearts beat
Fire crackles, hearth heat
Lost memories calling
In the silence, our hearts beat
Soft snow falling.
Poem-growing August 28, 2020
One small change today
One gift of time
One contribution to a cause
One life-lesson contemplated
One old idea reconsidered
One step toward wisdom
won each day.
Shawn L. Bird 