Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
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
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.
6d · 51
Woody Allen
A silver nicrophone
blares

rapid fire punchlines
in one long sentence

that snakes its way
to your funny bone
7d · 224
Burlesque Theatre
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 · 72
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 · 61
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 · 107
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 · 158
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 · 62
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 · 30
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 · 134
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 · 60
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 · 67
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 · 35
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 · 123
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 · 25
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 · 54
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 · 62
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 · 221
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 · 135
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 · 221
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 · 80
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 · 41
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 · 143
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 · 254
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 · 210
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 · 252
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 · 150
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 · 112
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 · 286
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 · 96
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 · 238
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 · 309
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 · 51
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.
Sep 2023 · 189
Old Scratch
Whit Howland Sep 2023
To say you had claws
is an understatement

your cat talons
like little saws

could have cut away
a forest

and

the snaking scar
you made so long ago

still  runs down
my arm

and gives me devilish
inspiration

which is why
it's called

Old Scratch
A whimsical word painting.
Sep 2023 · 109
Chilhuly Glass
Whit Howland Sep 2023
We TALK
and we WALK

through a GARDEN


not of stone
daffodils

or red roses
but of

GLASS glass
of all  MANIPULATIONS

and because of this
FLOWERS  trees and other

natural things
no longer satisfy

what I want is now
much

HIGHER
PLEASE believe me when I say

it is much
HIGHER
An abstract word painting
Sep 2023 · 130
the Calm
Whit Howland Sep 2023
outside is gray
and silent

with just a hint
of breeze

mixed with a faint
rumble

and my nose
is

ITCHY
An abstract word painting.
Aug 2023 · 98
Melancholy
Whit Howland Aug 2023
In the moment
after the sparks

pops
and flashes

where tendrils of smoke
drift

off into the ink
that is squarely night
An abstract word painting.
Aug 2023 · 111
Hoover Vaccuum Cleaner
Whit Howland Aug 2023
and she assembles
a new Hoover  hand vacuum

that's not my grandmother's
or even my mother's

hand vacuum

it's futuristic body
resembles

a robot from a Fifties
sci-fi thriller and

while the hour is late
and as shadows dance on the water

I think

what a difference
a year makes

or a decade
and most of all

a century
A word painting with an open ending.
Aug 2023 · 545
Checkers
Whit Howland Aug 2023
Red
Black
move
jump
KING

nothing to it

you are making this way too hard

but it is hard
for a square peg

in an ocean  
of round holes
Aug 2023 · 385
Boom
Whit Howland Aug 2023
Still resonant on my
hollowed-out soul

do you think we paid too much
for this apartment

she asked
all those years ago
Aug 2023 · 59
The Juggler
Whit Howland Aug 2023
Such as life
we have

many irons
in the fire

some glowing
and some

not yet red hot
and like a household

appliance
we mix

or blend
our metaphors

because of

so much information
passing through

our minds
like pets

that have passed through
our lives

and most
importantly

people
Jul 2023 · 263
Silver Can
Whit Howland Jul 2023
Actually
a beautiful gleaming thing

with wheels
that rides out of town

mostly
under gray skies

sometimes thunderous
with a hard rain falling
Jul 2023 · 123
Route 66 Postcard
Whit Howland Jul 2023
A hand painted
still life

of the Munger Moss Motel
Lebanon Missouri

red doors in a neat row
with vintage cars

parked out front

off to the side
is the turquoise slide

that plummeted guests
into the baby blue

of the pool

flip it over
and there are turkey tracks

on the back
where the ink is smudged

in spots

with
only the brevity

MISS YOU!

readable
in big caps with exclamation point

and I miss you
already

like I miss my brother
mother

and everything else
I can only see when

I close my eyes
at night
Jul 2023 · 519
Electric Blue
Whit Howland Jul 2023
The color of your
ballpoint pen

I used to scrawl
on the Post-it note

Are we ok

I think
that's a fair question

don't you
Jul 2023 · 94
The Hen House
Whit Howland Jul 2023
eighteen wheelers
welcome

with parking
in front

forks bent
plates are chipped

the peg game's
missing a few pegs

and the eggs run
like the waitress's mascara
Next page