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3d · 151
Rainbow
colors
a spectrum of colors

reds
yellows

violets
and greens

succeeding
lightening rain

and gray clouds
beauty

along with the calm
after the storm
A straight up word painting.
Apr 13 · 57
Apropos
Whit Howland Apr 13
Blue sky
crisscrossed

with
chemtrails

the first butterfly
of the season

and a lawnmower
gasping

for that last
bit of gas

point

you ask

point is something
usually lead

and almost always
on the end of a pencil
An absurdist word painting
Apr 12 · 24
Miles Davis Trumpet
Whit Howland Apr 12
Yes

I found your journal
deep

in the attic
the black one

with a gold lock
I pried open

but
what I wonder

is

do I dare
try and decipher

your hen scratches

I guess the bigger question
do I dare

disturb the universe
An  abstract word painting
Apr 11 · 24
Jazz Notes
Whit Howland Apr 11
Gleaming
white it shines in the cold sun

of this early Spring day
with the corrugated door

rolled up
the uniformed driver

dollying packages
down the silver ramp

a Fed Ex truck
parked outside my window
An imagistic word painting.
Apr 9 · 47
Blue Bottle#2
Whit Howland Apr 9
I'm staring

at a blue bottle
with bubbles

in the wavy glass
that is as thick as

thick

the world ends
when we have no more

metaphors
and similes

to describe it
An abstract word painting
Apr 7 · 102
Thank you, Elliot
Whit Howland Apr 7
Some say the TeCh#
is not what it should be -

and they might be right

                                    but w/o

hELL0      pOEtry

weLL (I don't want to speculate)

All I want T@ saY is that
this sight and all my friendS on iT!

MEAN more
                                     to ME

Than you WIll EvER

Know!!!!!!
Some abstRact browniE POINTs in the style of E.E. Cummings
Apr 7 · 170
Box of Tissues
Whit Howland Apr 7
In his              
plaid sport coat

pulling tissues
from his paper sack head

flinging them

slinging
bathroom jokes

cackling
jigging

a comedic
unknown soldier

known only
to God
Another whimsical  poetic riff.
Apr 6 · 98
The Night Club Years
Whit Howland Apr 6
Mood swings
no

see saws
maybe

but definitely
not monkey bars

and what does it matter
anyway

you don't write
or call

I get it though

you're too busy
but aren't we all
A moody abstract riff
Apr 6 · 139
Roadside Attraction
Whit Howland Apr 6
Or trap
for tourists

but not travelers
and searchers

who'd find gold
and platinum

in the two headed
yak

or snake
with a spooned tongue

and they would
bank on it
A whimsical word painting
Apr 5 · 131
Puppet
Whit Howland Apr 5
you say you
love me

and immediately
I look for strings

and a hand
up your back
An absurdist word painting
Apr 3 · 155
Solar Eclipse
Whit Howland Apr 3
wool
we sit in a park

on the grass
as the day turns

dark

we fail to see
but most of all

we  struggle
An abstract word painting
Mar 31 · 37
Easter Sunday
Whit Howland Mar 31
A hardboiled egg
on the counter

dyed blue

staring at me
at six am

he is risen
and unfortunately

so did I
Abstract impressionism
Mar 24 · 227
A fence in the dunes
Whit Howland Mar 24
Slats
planted in the sand

lashed together
with rusty wire

while scraggly reeds peak in out
And up around them

I am there and yet

I never was
More Imagism
Whit Howland Mar 23
Cotton whites

sock shirts
and drawers

still fresh with the scent
of laundry soap

flapping

in a crisp March wind
on a gray weathered rope

they say pictures
last forever

but not this one

fading fast between
the plastic and acidic pages
An imagist word painting.
Mar 22 · 60
Woody Allen
Whit Howland Mar 22
A silver nicrophone
blares

rapid fire punchlines
in one long sentence

that snakes its way
to your funny bone
Mar 21 · 241
Burlesque Theatre
Whit Howland Mar 21
Warbling pigeons
in the park crazy

from the heat

a dizzying spin
on a paint-chipped

merry-go round

a greased slide down
hot metal

into a gravel pit

a burning sunset
but don't rub your eyes
Impressionistic absurdism
Feb 29 · 79
Cleaning House
Whit Howland Feb 29
Arm
moves broom

in a sweeping
motion

causing dirt
and dustball

to scurry
across the floor

creating

piles upon piles
of detritus

we become
the things we hover

and focus on
for far too long
Feb 21 · 72
Winter Grass
Whit Howland Feb 21
Shadows
were not seen

therefor
the grass is soon

to be green
and you and I

have toiled scraped
searched

and finally

now

a much needed
break
Feb 18 · 113
Quitting Time
Whit Howland Feb 18
A blast of the whistle
and a slide down the dinosaur

it's quitting time

for life to  begin
again
A childish word painting/poem
Feb 17 · 166
Operation
Whit Howland Feb 17
Tweezers
buzz
"butterfingers"

and bulbous sneezer
that is touched
by a feather

to make it
sneeze
and tickle

the funnybone
Another foray into childrens poetry
Feb 17 · 69
Top Hat From Monopoly
Whit Howland Feb 17
A silver shiny
replica

of a handsome
hat

fashioned
for a little tuxedoed man

with a walrus
mustache

who's bald
stern

and wears pockets
that are fat
My foray into children's poetry.
Whit Howland Feb 16
mishap
maybe
but definately

not and act of God

no warning given
and no discernable
clues

just a hurling big canvas
painted with pastels
nonsensical

at best
A whimsical word painting.
Feb 16 · 42
Baseball
Whit Howland Feb 16
Leather oil
and smell

figures into it


and crack  of the bat
sound

as well as
the other senses

and food
food is for action

not for thought
as we grasp at straws

and other metaphors
we appropriate mix

and call
American
Another abstract impressionistic word painting.
Feb 16 · 141
Beer Cans
Whit Howland Feb 16
It's not that words
have failed

it's just
there are none

all dreams

crushed
like aluminum cans
An abstract impressionistic word painting.
Feb 7 · 69
Painted Flowers
Whit Howland Feb 7
Just some red
slathered

and smeared
on canvas

and
nothing about this

is easy
but then again

life

should
always imitate

art
Abstract Imagisim.
Feb 3 · 71
Love
Whit Howland Feb 3
Sublime
white Orchid


like Ivory

then maybe
some purple splotches

shooting
from the *****
An imagistic Jazz word painting
Jan 21 · 43
A Dozen Roses
Whit Howland Jan 21
It's those long days
spent

with you
that play out

like a 24 hour
solo

on the saxophone
and summon all the cliches

"where have you been
all my life"

is the first one
coming to mind
Jan 21 · 133
the ear
Whit Howland Jan 21
uptown
downtown

double back
backtrack

then midtown

green light
yellow

red
followed by notes

flowing

from a clarinet
or a saxophone

with steam
coming from a sewer grate

winding

yes

but the pavement
is still satiny and smooth
An impressionistic Jazz piece
Jan 20 · 36
Coughing (a Jazz Poem)
Whit Howland Jan 20
It's a deep cough
a wet

or is it a dry
whooping cough

maybe
it's more of a hack

so much tissue
oh so little time

life is such
a struggle

but
would we have it

any
other way
A word painting with straight straightforward message.
Jan 13 · 57
Frosty Morning
Whit Howland Jan 13
Ice
on the trees

like ice crystals
on a bottle  

of vintage
soda

steam rises from a cup
of hot cocoa

and the home
is always warm

when the heat
radiates

from
the heart
An impressionistic word painting.
Jan 12 · 71
Rye, New York
Whit Howland Jan 12
A zip code
stamp

or maybe
metered mail

post office
or going postal

all night the rain
tapped the roof

are we in
distress

should I
or should I not

send
up a flare

or
launch the buoy
An abstract word painting
Dec 2023 · 224
hammer
Whit Howland Dec 2023
black
cast iron head

blonde
wooden handle

the magnet
you were

and I
was the steel

but too bad
it had to be the hammer

you thought to be
the only tool

you
ever needed
an abstract word painting
Dec 2023 · 140
A fading day in Winter
Whit Howland Dec 2023
Long
shadows cast

and sunlight goes
pale

so little time
yet

so much left
to do
A word painting with a straightforward message
Dec 2023 · 227
Magic Marker
Whit Howland Dec 2023
Constructon paper
and a wet felt tip

I said

was all we ever
needed

to make
a million dollars

you believed in me

my dreams
my promises

I'm sorry I shattered
and broke them all

one by one
vase by vase
Dec 2023 · 85
Snow
Whit Howland Dec 2023
All night the snowflakes
fell

and they were robust flakes
in the cold clear air

and all night
the earth slumbered

under
a soft white blanket

we are the metaphors we
choose

and last night we chose
the earth
Dec 2023 · 46
Last Call
Whit Howland Dec 2023
Glasses clink
the piano dies

and the bartender
begins his sweeping

who am I
who are you

maybe
someone

who hates long goodbyes
and probably prefers

we just shake hands
and go?
Nov 2023 · 149
Wish Bone
Whit Howland Nov 2023
Or one to pick
with myself

of how I wish
I'd done this

or that
and what I could've did

or what I should've did
but be grateful

for plain blessings

like how we don't get
the opportunities

in life
for those kinds of do-overs

because the biggest fear
is getting the smaller piece of bone

all over again
Nov 2023 · 258
Comedy from the Couch
Whit Howland Nov 2023
Head to toe
wall to wall

Jazz, blues
rock and roll

bouncing
up and down

on weak springs on
a saggy couch

15 minutes of fame
I'm lucky at ten or seven

and that's
with the squirting flower
An abstract word painting.
Oct 2023 · 218
Egg Timer
Whit Howland Oct 2023
Cue the ticking
and then the ringing

as the metal trinket
vibrates

on the table
the  counter

eggs are done

or must we
put down the pen

as that  puts an end
to the test

and it's the pressure
the stress

of a time crunch
or crisis

that never fails us
when we swing

for the fences
swoosh for the stars

mixing and tripping
over our metaphors

in our relentless
pursuit of success
Whit Howland Oct 2023
Of high value
but yet the most flimsy
or breakable

and in some cases
shatters in pieces
and scatters across the floor

was this truly legit
or just an impulse buy
in the checkout line

at the front
counter
in the Hallmark store

something like love
so precious and we still
kick it to the curb

or manhandle
and shove it roughly
out the door
An abstract word painting.
Whit Howland Oct 2023
For once
pale light is warm

the whistling wind
gentle

and even though
the air is cold

and the snow swirls
piling high along the curb


strings of lights
on shuttered storefronts

twinkle

and for 48 hours
all was never lost
A word painting with straight straightforward message.
Oct 2023 · 257
Half Past Midnight
Whit Howland Oct 2023
The moon is full
but your lips
were much fuller

as your reflection
rippled
in the amber

it's half past midnight
and all I can do
is stare at an empty glass

and ask
what the hell was  I
thinking
Oct 2023 · 157
Gray
Whit Howland Oct 2023
poem
lyrics
or just a screed

we rant
we rave
we rage against the machine

dandelions
daffodils
pear blossoms

and they say
to get gray
you must facilitate

the mostly holy
union
of bull and cow
An abstract word painting.
Oct 2023 · 117
Rain on glass
Whit Howland Oct 2023
Raindrops
some skinny
others

chubby

spiraling down the glass
in rivulets
with an occasional gust

of wind

that will
sometimes blow them
sideways

I would say lots of wind
but if I'm being honest
it's just

occasional

and you know
what they say
not about wind

but of country songs
about how every one of them
is about your life

at any given time

I didn't believe it then
but  now I can say this
with extreme clarity

Father
I know this
to be true
Impressionistic word painting
Oct 2023 · 292
Leaving
Whit Howland Oct 2023
The air brakes
and rumble of a bus

pulling out
of town

and the buzzing
fly

of what would've been
if we had just stayed put

and is there progress
or  forward motion

when
there's lament
An abstract word painting
Oct 2023 · 102
Bonfire
Whit Howland Oct 2023
Yellow green and blue
made by metal shavings

flower and bloom
in the pyre

as sparks rise
dancing

and whirling
in the dark

and melted chocolate
marshmallows

sandwiched between
graham crackers

for smores
are something sweet

to go with the pieces
and shards

of memories
from oh so long ago
An impressionistic word painting.
Whit Howland Oct 2023
there was a tear
forming in the corner
of your eye

and I knew
I had to say something
because it was the only thing
that could save us

and then there were
those windmills
refrigerator white
and otherworldly

scattered

on what was supposed
to be our Illano Esctado
or as they say
staked plain

those **** windmills
I swear they'll be
the death of you
and me
Sep 2023 · 244
Dollar Bill's
Whit Howland Sep 2023
but what you really
don't comprehend

was that you left
when we were on the mend

yes the wine is cheap
but apparently though

our love
was much cheaper than that
An impressionistic word painting
Sep 2023 · 317
Silver Bucket
Whit Howland Sep 2023
It's not about the mark
journey

story
or the song

it's those other things
on the list

buy some pears
carrots and milk

do the windows
get the car fixed

vacuum the floors
dust out the corners

and the cobwebs
off the eves

because
it's all about leaving

cupboards well stocked
and the place

cleaner
than you found it
Sep 2023 · 56
Walk into my life
Whit Howland Sep 2023
Fields
of golden wheat

and a summer evening
on the porch

where two lovers
hands and fingers

hover each other
like moths around a flame

I've seen those paintings
of which you describe

the ones that you can just
walk right into and be a part of

you are that picture
for me
A word painting with a straight forward message.
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