Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
Mary-Eliz Mar 2017
That you grow strong and tall
keeping your child-like spirit
your heart filled with love and wonder,
I wish
That you have music and good times
That you are loved and cherished
I wish that sunshine fill your days
And peaceful dreams the nights
I wish for you to know your beauty
And your worth...

But now, mostly I wish
you were still with us,
my beautiful son.
We lost our oldest son to a brain tumor almost eight years ago. On one hand, it seems an eternity, the other a split second in time. I have a sweet picture of him at about 4 years old holding and blowing the seeds on a dandelion. Would love to be able to post with the poem!
Mary-Eliz Jun 2018
if I can't think what
the problem can be
well, then it just has
to be me!

even if no problem at all
imagination jumps in
kicks me right in the shins
from there a mountain will grow
out of a tiny mole hill, oh woe!

I know this is something I do
I remind myself it's nothing new
yet my senses seem to dislodge
finding ways to my own sabotage.

it's deep in my heart and my mind
a solution I'd sure love to find
to a problem that this time I know
is definitely me...without doubt.
My foot looks like swiss cheese!
Mary-Eliz May 2018
1
and
seven
squared
times twenty
again and some
more plus just a circle
or two, counting on fingers
to one, counting yet some more
and over and over again, don't forget
triangles now they count for a lot, you know,
figure it out, add it all up, equals a gazillion and
ten to the power of ten hundred thousand million+1
Total nonsense.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
I am the night wind.
I blow the dust
off the stars
and
brush the face
of the moon
with soft clouds.

I am the night wind.
I ruffle the hair
of lovers both
young
and old
as they exchange
their breath
for mine.

I am the night wind.
I whisper sweet nothings
to the trees
as I flirt among
their branches,
tickling their leaves.

I am the night wind.
I greet the awakening
dawn
and bow to her beauty
she blushes demurely.
Mary-Eliz Jun 2017
I am so honored that "Moments in Time" - my tribute to my son, the son we lost to a brain tumor, our first-born, our sunshine was selected as the Daily. It brings honor to me...and to him. But more than this, I am so honored by all my loving, beautiful, compassionate friends here who read, who liked or loved, or commented with such caring. Though it can't heal the brokenness of the heart, feeling such love, understanding, and compassion is like warm and gentle hands cupped around a tiny wounded bird. Friends help hold together the pieces of the shattered heart, allowing it to go on beating and loving - even more deeply.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Just because
I've put my clothes on

upside down
inside out
and backway round

doesn't mean my mind has gone

must be still in my prime
it's not all at the same time.
My husband just said "that would be a good one for a children's 'nonsense' book"... I said "but it's not nonsense...when it's true"
Mary-Eliz Jun 2017
Hand-in-hand
with the Muse
I feel ageless
timeless

with that guide
how could one lose?

ageless, timeless

when my skin is warmed
in morning sun

when I delight in
childhood fun

kaleidoscopes
colorful jumble
juxtaposed
to unique
lace-like designs

playground swings and slides

making wishes on
dandelion seeds
or stars shooting
in the amethyst evening sky

watching the flight of a butterfly

building sand castles
as the waves
tease the edge
and tickle toes

counting petals on a rose

lying in velvet grass
watching silken clouds
in the cerulean sky beyond

viewing the breaking of the dawn

walking in a gentle rain
rhythm of a rumbling train

rejoicing in these again and again

and...
when I die
I will be
just for that brief moment
but no more
all at once
all those ages
I was before

my soul set free
I then will be
timeless
ageless
for eternity.
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
For our son we lost to brain cancer 2009:

memorial
a crowd
candles lit
songs sung
words read
memories shared
hugs and tears

Butterflies released

"Ah!" breathed
in unison

Monarchs
so rare
filling the air
for those few moments
with their delicate
flittering wave
wafting in a clear royal sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

one week
at home
family of four
intimate sharing
candles lit
words read
words spoken
memories shared
wineglass toast

eyes drift to the window

"Ah!" in unison
and amazement

Monarch
rare and magnificent
out the window
on Butterfly Bush
posed at that very moment
for us to sense
his transformation
This was extremely hard to put into a poem and it needs work. It really happened. We rarely see Monarchs as they are becoming rare. Since our son was a hobbyist photographer who loved taking pictures of butterflies, bees, etc. on flowers in my garden, we thought it appropriate to find and order butterflies to release at his Memorial (which we held on his birthday). When we had our own private "memorial" the following week, we were astonished when this one appeared just as we were finishing. It was the only one we saw that year. The following summer I had an especially dark day...went out to the garden and there he was...again the only one I saw that year. The third year it happened again. The fourth year two appeared together and that was the last I've seen. (I may just not be out there at the right time, but the serendipity of these encounters was awesome and significant to me!) The title comes from the last line of "Advice From a Butterfly" with a picture of a Monarch.
Mary-Eliz Mar 2017
In the beginning,
there was nothing.
Then she appeared with a small magic wand,
dipped in a shimmering liquid.
She gently blew
and the bubbles of life floated
and lit up the nothingness.
They were all sizes and colors,
some heavy and solid;
some light, airy, and brilliant;
some shone intensely.
They began to be drawn to
one another
and dance in patterns,
some close, some afar.
They circled around,
forming all that we know.
They were magnificent
and powerful.
They were the world.
They remain
and fill
the lonely space that was
nothingness.
Inspired by a really cool picture of a little girl blowing bubbles, some of which were planets. See the collection "Beginnings"
Mary-Eliz Jun 2018
here I sit
things to do
that should be done
yet here I sit

here I sit
books unread
shelves undusted
yet here I sit

here I sit
things to write
remain unwrit
yet here I sit

'cause this ain't it
Puttering away on a Saturday.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
......................Though
                             your
                                smile
                          ­      is broader
                                  tonight
               ­                 you look
                              lonely
                       ­ moon
Mary-Eliz May 2018
Speak your words
Speak them loud

write them down strong

scatter your thoughts on the page

write till your fingers are numb

drain your heart of the blood
so filled with pain

unlock the chains
on your soul

take an axe to the tree
that's diseased inside

giving only
fruit that's no good

its roots won't hold
its limbs will split
in the very least wind
rising up

finding its grim branches
comfortless

even birds
have flown
taking with them their song

let it fall
let it compost
create fertile loam

say goodbye

cry
as you must
water this place

this place
that you've cleared

scatter fresh seeds
allow them to sprout
unspoiled green

then
let your light shine
on
new growth
Mary-Eliz Mar 2017
In the dark regions
of the ocean...
dreams gather...
all the dreams
of all the minds
from the starry nights,
the moonlit nights,
the dark and empty nights.

They merge into the blackness,
plunging to its depths.

The dreams are lost,
swirling with seaweed,
caught on rocks,
stuck in reefs.
The ocean spits
into the eye of the world.

Loneliness arches like
a solitary gull
whose form scarcely
shows against the sky's grayness,
circling
the watery abyss.
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
Postman
and poet?

love letters in mail

Accountant
and poet?

precision, detail

Archeologist
and poet?

sifting for feelings

Electrician
and poet?

a jolt
leaving one reeling

architect
and poet?

drafting with words

Zookeeper
and poet?

singing of birds

Bus driver
and poet?

observing life's roadways

Minister
and poet?

perhaps how he prays

Lawyer
and poet?

though about win or lose
her poetry just might amuse

whoever you are
whatever you choose
listen, observe
welcome your Muse!
A bit corny but have been pondering various occupations and how to reconcile them with the person also being a poet.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Postman
and poet?

love letters in mail

Accountant
and poet?

precision, detail

Archeologist
and poet?

sifting for feelings

Electrician
and poet?

a jolt
leaving one reeling

architect
and poet?

drafting with words

Zookeeper
and poet?

singing of birds

Bus driver
and poet?

observing life's roadways

Minister
and poet?

perhaps how he prays

Lawyer
and poet?

though about win or lose
her poetry just might amuse

Economist
and poet?

Aren't we all that?
though we wear different hats
distilling things downwards
saving on words

whoever you are
whatever you choose
listen, observe
welcome your Muse!
A rewrite to add one. :-)
Mary-Eliz May 2018
I think I’m having withdrawal
With HP now off-line
They say BRB and ASAP  
but it’s been an awfully long time

I’m anxious to get back to reading
To see what you all have to say
If it’s not back soon, gonna open some wine
Oh heck, I think I will, anyway!
I had forgotten about this from over the weekend.
Mary-Eliz Jun 2018
its sweet fragrance imprinted
on olfactory nerve
bloom pressed in a book
essence is thus preserved

its delicate hues
painted in one's thoughts,
petals counted in loves me,
loves me nots

its hips used to make a tea
florets turned into potpourri

if it seems too brown or dry
give it another try

don't do anything rash
don't throw it in the trash

keep smiling and do not weep
put it on the compost heap

doesn't have to be its final ovation
you may get a (re-in)carnation
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
I look at the abyss.
It isn't mine
anymore.

It's yours.

I feel you reaching up
toward me
ready
to pull me down.

No longer
do I reach
back for you,
no longer
do I join you
in the prison,
plummeting,
slashed
on the slippery
sharp stone
soul's protection
torn away.

I stand alone
but
it isn't lonely.

I look
at the abyss.
It isn't mine
anymore.

It's yours.

I don't miss it.

Will I soon
not
miss you?
.
One
Mary-Eliz May 2017
One
He's your other half
your heart's deep red
your soul's mystery
your life in your head

He's the warmth of sun
your morning light
the stars of evening
moon shining bright

In the chill of winter
he's your temple of fire
a refuge, a sanctum
of burning desire

When beads of sweat
form on your brow
he gently smooths, then
cools as he alone knows how

You're bonded, so close
how can we know
where one begins,
the other one goes

A unit, a whole
that won't come apart
one being, one soul
rhythm of one heart.
Mary-Eliz May 2017
Just ten words
that is difficult
but many try hard.
Mary-Eliz Jun 2018
it seems no matter which way I goes
I'm never much further in than my toes
always feeling left out
and having self-doubt
but I guess that's just how the wind blows.
Mary-Eliz Aug 2018
gently interrupted by velvet mountains
burnt sienna soil stretches through olive trees
that lift their limbs toward blue expanse
where pillowy clouds drift with ease

shadows lengthen as the sun spreads
a warmth perceptible to the view
energy and life pouring into ripening fruit
soon harvest gathering will be due

tracks of vehicles between the rows
show signs of tending that's been done
through summer's growing season
and years before when they were begun

saplings planted there with care
by tanned, robust yet gentle hands
have grown taller year by year
where now a stately orchard stands
A picture prompt - reminiscent of van Gogh's paintings of olive tree groves.
Mary-Eliz Jun 2018
US
first
greed
impede
mislead
misdeeds
supersede
need to lead
people bleed
so much gall
install a wall
no protocol
we'll all fall
~futility~
stupidity
incivility
hostility
ignobility
scurril­ity
instability
vulnerability
insensibility
destructibility
thump­ing chest virility
winning, an impossibility
pathetically  inevitability
~~~war~~~
Rework and add-on.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
does my bipolarity
strange-sounding word

does it affect my poetry?

sometimes my poems
are
a bit absurd

one up and cheery
next solemn and dreary
one bouncy and bubbly
another quite ugly

That's just who I am
I'm up, then I'm down
can't help what I'm feeling
can't help a melt down

but I get back on track
a new day
a smile and sunshine
can bring me back

though on meds
to keep me in tow
I still have highs
I still have lows

we all do, I think
sometimes we're not the best "us"

sometimes we're just out of sync
...or maybe the other way round
the world's out of sync
with us
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
Sometimes
I think I'll stop
writing...
that lasts
a moment or two

until

my thoughts begin to form
into some force that builds
until
it has no place to go
but
down my arm
      through my wrist
          into my fingers and
              out through their ends

into the pen
         flowing from it
            onto the page

in black ink or blue
          in pencil or green marker
               pink crayon or highlighter

onto backs of bills
           old letters or jagged-edged envelopes...

any empty spot looking lonely
            and in need of being stroked

my pen strokes it and coos to it
              giving it life, giving it meaning
                                                       (I hope)
                   making it a page in my book,
                        my scattered book that may

never be bound

do I want it to be?
or
do I want it free, floating, scattered to the wind

like black birds leaving a tree
              shooting out in all directions, writing
                   their book, their black ink making a deep
                       impression in the pale blue sky, cursive writing
                            with frills and dips and curves

watch how they move, how they write it all down
                 in the heavens for all to read like books on a library's
                    shelves holding themselves out, offering their very souls

to the loving hands of all who pass by, bound pages waiting to be freed
                  to fly across our minds like blackbirds across the sky,

writing
                        
a new page there
Someone's poem...I should have written it down...reminded me of this one.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
time
meets earth,
forever turning,
cooled days fall
as sunshine softens
cloudiness disappearing,
memories
unfolded
memories,
disappearing
cloudiness
softens sunshine as
fall days
cooled,
turning forever,
earth meets
time
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
planets                                                
follow patterns                                    
always dancing, singing eternally                            
dying stars arrange carefully                                                                  ­          
darkness finding swirling spaces        
beauty cancelled                                        
foundations disrupted like rocks crumbling              
regretfully finding                                                          ­            
distorted pictures                                                         ­           
-spawn-
pictures distorted                                                        ­                                  
finding regretfully
crumbling rocks like disrupted foundations
canceled beauty
spaces swirling finding darkness
carefully arrange stars dying
eternally singing, dancing always
patterns follow
planets
Mary-Eliz Jun 2018
when I heed the ocean's pull
I hear its rhythmic roll
it makes my heart seem full
creating music in my soul

when the mountains call
with their mist so softly rising
above their majestic sprawl
my dreams are mesmerizing

I hear the ocean's rhythmic roll
its gentle lapping waves
creating music in my soul
the peace my spirit craves

with mountain mist so softly rising
above gently rolling crowns
my dreams are mesmerizing
of that peaceful sacred ground

ocean's gentle lapping waves
licking feet, tickling toes
the peace my spirit craves
takes away my woes

above gently rolling crowns
the sky cerulean blue, a part
of that peaceful sacred ground
that lifts my grateful heart

ocean licking feet, tickling toes
enjoyment to the full
takes away my woes
when I heed the ocean's pull

the sky cerulean blue, a part
of enjoyment to enthrall
that lifts my grateful heart
when I hear the mountains' call
Tried adding to the Ocean Pantoum adding the mountains as an intertwined pantoum. I love both.
Mary-Eliz May 2018
Opera's something I can take or leave
some I don't really much like
perhaps were I multi-lingual
they'd be more apt my fancy to strike

some I don't really much like
if I knew just what they were saying
they'd be more apt my fancy to strike
I wouldn't mind going and paying

if I knew just what they were saying
opera would speak more to my soul
I wouldn't mind going and paying
its beauty I then would extol

opera would speak more to my soul
if the story I could unweave
its beauty I then would extol
And opera I could take, not leave
Mary-Eliz May 2018
Can the opera inspire a Pantoum?

just a phantom thought!
Feeling silly this morning.,,maybe because I didn't get enough sleep last night! :-)
Mary-Eliz May 2018
tears spill out
from weary eyes

all color drained
no sparkle there
no life

my soul won't hold
the pain today

spirit split
and torn

my mind's sadness
makes my body ache

with leaden feet
weighted heart

when filled with all
this gravity

how can there be

such emptiness inside
Out of nowhere...out of everywhere.
Mary-Eliz May 2018
death comes
hungry

at times swiftly
like a high
wind

rushing
through in
wanton disregard

other times

slowly like an
iceberg

stealthy, lurking

obscured

by the flower that
is love

hushed

by the music that
is life

subdued

by the dance that
is spirit

as we pass our days
on this swirling
sphere

until our threshold's
met
Mary-Eliz May 2017
Be a child again
come along with me
to make-believe and magic
hopes and fanciful dreams

that's where you'll find it
the peace you're looking for
when you drop your defenses
your masks and your schemes

just believe in fairies
elves and leprechauns
watch for rainbows
pick some flowers
dance out in the rain
sing silly songs
laugh and play

wave madly to a passing train**

find a world of simple pleasure
be a child again
come along with me
**I had an aunt who lived at the end of a street on a slight hill...below the hill was the train track. We loved to visit her because we knew we'd have a chance to listen for a train coming and run out and wave to it. When the caboose passed, we waved the hardest And when the conductor was there and waved back we were thrilled and felt so special. A favorite memory that's why I let that line have its own space. :-)
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
people
with
compassion
seek
and
­love
truly
love
and
­seek
compas­sion
with
people
"Strict" palindrome...???
Very short and very simple! Want to write a longer one...lots of work, I think!
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
As the conversation slides
into naked silence
swollen memories
throb within her mind

stripped of feeling
she is compelled to dance
one ghostly sacrament
before granting
her velvet promise

later
alone
lost in empty benediction
she washes away
the aftertaste
to heal her soul

before Morpheus
weaves
his golden fantasies
silky
soft
delicious
in the hazy shadows of sleep

where
like a delicate spider
on the surface of a pool
her mind
hovering in placid desire
forgets
tomorrow's void
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
the formation of the rain
on the window
recasts the landscape
into a kaleidoscope
picture
a glossy eight by ten
viewed through a prism
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
Sometimes I see and feel
a whole poem
in my mind
all at one time

like a painting
a landscape of alluring
colors
and
form
a star-filled ebony sky
a perfectly formed blossom

or a spectacular instant

a burst of lightning
vehement rumbling of thunder
the fleeting glimpse of a rainbow

a moment of inexpressible
joy and love...

a child's delighted laughter
a new mother's glow
white-haired lovers walking
hand-in-hand

but...

I can't seem to take it apart
and name the pieces.

The fragments are dandelion seeds
blown to the wind
once scattered
not retrievable.

But the feeling they present
as they float freely about
is worth letting them go.
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
Once knew a guy who liked moonshine
not the shine of the orb in the sky
No, not that one
though he could be quite a loon

over the lake you could hear
the loons' high-pitched quiver

but he had no quiver to carry
his bow or his arrows

so he climbed into his boat
turning the bow from the shore

heading for the other side
hoping to shore up his soul

he skimmed the water's surface
with soles of bare feet

praying not to find
in the distant woods
a bear, rather a still
with fresh moonshine

while the moon still
shone down on
the lake
No moonshine...just lunacy!
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Pantoum I - Non-Rhyming

I took my diamond to the pawn shop
but that didn't make it junk@
though I didn't get much money for it
just enough to buy a meal

what makes something junk
when you come right down to it
if it buys you a meal
and can satisfy a need

when you come right down to it
what value can we give
to satisfy a need
when we swallow down our pride

what value is there really
in any things we have
if they swallow up our pride
like useless diamonds pawned
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pantoum II - Rhyming

I took my diamond to the pawn shop
but that didn't make it junk@
didn't get much for it
value, it seems, had shrunk

pawning doesn't make it junk
if it satisfies a need
even with its value shrunk
pawned diamonds make you free
@ "took my diamond to the pawn shop, that don't make it junk" line from Leonard Cohen song.

These are harder than it sounded! Just randomly chose a Leonard Cohen line I like as a start. I called these "playing with"...but I need to *work* on some if I want to get better at this form!
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Pantoum I  (Rhymes now; repeat lines unchanged)

I took my diamond to the pawn shop
that didn't make it junk@
I didn't get much money for it
that put me in a funk

that didn't make it junk
it wasn't just a shiny bangle
that put me in a funk
our lives were just too tangled

it wasn't just a shiny bangle
easily swapped or traded
our lives were just too tangled
our love became too jaded

easily swapped and traded
yet not so easily dropped
our love became too jaded
I took my diamond to the pawn shop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pantoum II (Now longer than two verses; repeat lines unchanged)

I took my diamond to the pawn shop
but that didn't make it junk@
didn't get much for it
value, it seems, had shrunk

but that didn't make it junk
unlike us, it had no flaws
value, it seems had shrunk
there ought to be a law

unlike us, it had no flaws
yet, like us it was a flop
there ought to be a law
this really had to stop

yet, like us it was a flop
all the pretense, all the sop
this really had to stop
I took my diamond to the pawn shop
Using stricter rules.
@ From a Leonard Cohen song
Mary-Eliz Apr 2017
Do you recall your dreams?

unconscious dreams
nighttime dreams


plays acted out
behind
curtains
of closed eyes

plays for which
you are neither
playwright
nor
director,
only starving actor
trying to decipher
the script
mercurial,
mysterious

I've heard people say
they can
control
what they dream

how,
I wonder
Do they split
the mind
into
playwright
director
still one to "act"

teach me
I need to know

how,
I wonder
when I awake
in terrified
sweat,
the curtains wide open
wishing I could
forget

playwright’s
evil pen,
director’s
harsh words,
my botched lines
and
nakedness
Mary-Eliz Mar 2018
Better to tell ordinary things
in stunning, unexpected ways
than tell the extraordinary
in the usual ways, the everyday

Better to weave a story,
paint a picture in their minds
than to make a vapid statement,
to simply write some lines

It's not happening here
just an exercise in rhyme
not creating any images but
will work on it, I promise,
at another time.
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
Poetry
suggests
love
given freely
feelings shared
reaching outward
heart to heart
outward reaching
shared feelings
freely given
love
suggests
Poetry
A "strict" palindrome...I think! These are really hard! And I can only get short ones to work!
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
rainbows and rain
smudged windows on trains
singing and playing
dancing and swaying

forests, woodlands green and lush
passionate scenes that can make one blush

sighing and moaning
forgiving, atoning
heartbreak and sadness
sweetness and gladness

musical notes falling like leaves
swirling round and round autumn trees

seasons and changes
and wide-open ranges
smiles and laughter
the here and the after

skies cloudy, skies clear
tiny sailboats seen from the pier

ocean breeze, crashing waves
undersea caverns and caves
flying and falling
creeping and crawling

creatures that swim in the deep
ones that awake while we sleep

dreaming and hoping
struggling and coping
sun, moon and stars
lands that are far

nightmares, ungodly fears
cold blood, hot sweat, unstoppable tears

lightning and thunder
the above and the under
soaring and hovering
healing, recovering

creeks, lakes and seas
dark prisons without any keys

chains and locks
deep rivers, smooth rocks
reality, fantasy
wanting to flee

we write it all down
we write it all here
it makes us feel better
it makes us feel freer
Mary-Eliz Mar 2017
My messy house!
This holy jumble!
Let it be a shrine to Shiva,
Hindu god of destruction.

May I view the dust as
ashes of my ancestors,
imbued with their spirits
and creativity.

Let the stacks of overdue books,
mail to be sorted,
bills to be paid and
records to file
be a draft of my history,
raw and waiting to be shaped.

May I see in the cobwebs
the dust of stars and planets
from ancient times.

Let the chaos represent
a potential universe.

But mostly, please
let me have
time to clean it up
before my guests arrive!
Mary-Eliz Mar 2017
Messy love,
is there any other kind?
Lives entangled, untidy lives
bringing together
all the sins of the past
and questions of the future,
grief and wounds,
baggage,
trinkets wrapped
in tissue paper
yellowed by the years,
orchids pressed flat
and brown in cellophane,
trunks full of dim memories,
outgrown dreams,
and crumpled hopes
packed away and kept
like worn out clothes,
scrapbooks
with faces familiar
yet unclear
as in a dream
gathered in piles to be burned.

Before the match is struck,
rescued
as if worth an equal pile of gold
and clung to
like
an eyeless doll.
Mary-Eliz Mar 2017
PRIDE
Even rocks crack, I'm telling you,
and not on account of age.                
For years they lie on their backs
in the heat and the cold,
so many years,
it almost creates the illusion of calm.  
They don't move, so the cracks stay hidden.        
A kind of pride.
Years pass over them as they wait.
Whoever is going to shatter them
hasn't come yet.
And so the moss flourishes, the seaweed
whips around,
the sea bursts forth and rolls back --    
and still they seem motionless.                  
Till a little seal comes to rub up against the rocks,        
comes and goes.                            
And suddenly the rock has an open wound.
I told you, when rocks crack, it comes as a surprise.
All the more so, people.
  



© Translation: 1989, Chana Bloch and Ariel Bloch
Mary-Eliz Apr 2018
What gives
with the asterisk?

Does anyone
know?

is it broken for good

or did it just stub its toe?

I remember feeling
so good
when I learned
how to use it

I didn't use it
much
I didn't
abuse it

It seems to work sometimes
but never for me

is there something I'm missing
does it charge a fee?

Oh, never mind
I found out the issue
it doesn't compete well
if other "marks" are there too
Didn't post this because I thought I resolved it...but found another place it didn't work. So here it is.
Mary-Eliz Jun 2017
Within this restless
hurried modern world*
marching bands
and flags unfurled
voices raised just
to be heard
but no one
understands a word
the tower of "Babble"
all nonsense spoken
listening has become
just a token
minds run past
what's being said
forming responses
in one's head
planning the next
clever remark
what goes in is just noise
thrashing around in the dark
it's no wonder
divorce is rampant
no wonder world leaders
rave and rant
like leaves blowing aimlessly
in an autumn breeze
words fly about but
no one understands or sees
daily bombarded
by traffic sounds
music blaring far too loud
whirs and rumbles all around
is there no escape, no peace
no contemplative space
where one can go to clear the head?
where one can step to leave this race?

if there is
please take me there
take me while

I still have hair!
"Within this restless hurried modern world" - line from *Voice* By Oscar Wilde. I came across a list of lines to use as prompts. I had made the list some time ago but had forgotten about it
Mary-Eliz May 2018
With Poe-try you can surely
get your Words' worth
So many words are waiting
like a Wolfe at your door,
for their Cummings into being.

If you listen, they Pound
upon your brain
They Lamb-aste your viscera,
making you Nash your teeth.
They create a Millay in your head.
So many shapes, so many Hughes

Lusting for Moore they Lear
at you when you least expect.
Look back at them!

Like Frost upon the windowpane
they write themselves,
then, when all is said and Donne
melt away too soon.

Grasp them when you can.
Put them in a Rowe
Taylor
them to your muse,
use your Whit, man !
Dusted off out of the "archives".
Next page