#caroline
“
Shay Caroline Simmons
“I was an ace at algebra and got A's on the exams but the teacher dinged me for always refusing to do the homework on stuff I already knew, so my final grade, despite knowing the subject, was a C”
“There's a poem in there somewhere”
=======
let us explicate,
even holistically diagram, said sentence,
perhaps there is GREAT
truth
lurking nearby, or in the white spaces
our eyes use to ponder, consider, and
just have fun
with childhood inequities
that yet tankle,^
and surely, rankle
what biz of mine, she bethinks,
hopefully, while sizable big, big grinning,
well the same **** rigid thinking cursed me,
‘crept the course was English,
and I took it with a very large of Sodium {Na]^^
absolut *****
there’s a poem here,
about injustice cruelty and the failure of
our educational system
but that ain’t the one I’m agonna write,
there are poems in most things, of the most us for the mundane,
but this grievance (mine too)
has too long festered
and we deserve
justice!
of the poetic kind
so, this goes out to all of us,
who sat in courses
that did not challenge us,
and the system could, would
not bend beyond
the dividing line of
measurement &
creative thinking
and yet we survived…
the irony resides
that I went onto live a livelihood
resting upon the world of figures, odds, theorems, and
positive and negatives,
but while my in my whiling away coyote days,
accepting challenges from very
accomplished writers like SCS,
ex-algebra wizardesses
go figure
*all this drivel is just a hard driven nail in the head
of those believers, that poems must be au naturel,
thinges exquisite, lustered, well-behaved,
and that is not incorrect,
yet I find the irascible symmetry that fancy tickles
in the small things, in the little ironies,
in the simple puzzles that life ample provides, like:
“There's a poem in there somewhere”
Nov 5, 2025
Nov 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM UTC
A grey cloud covers her sky , Its raining in her mind tonight ,
first a drop made the vase leak and ever since its been spilling through her eyes .
She cant figure out how to make it stop , as she doesn’t know why , So she just waits till it empties,she waits a lifeteime .
And when her eyes aren’t the subject of a tsunami, it’s her heart that takes the weight of the entre ocean .
it’s her heart that becomes blue ,
as an irregular rythm is set in motion ,
But her heart gets so full so fast,
and the vase is only half empty ,
she feels it beating so hard , right beneath her skin .
So she swallows It all , glad that now she feels it less ,
she’s meant to be eating and swallowing , so it all makes sense . Then suddenly she’s not hungry for anything but water and air , and even that is now suffocating .
She chokes on it , drowns in it , as now it exudes from her pores , no matter how much gets out , there always seems to be more , oh the lord knows how she’d want it to stop , wants to stop it all.
It fills her up , and fills her mouth,only for her to ***** it out , hoping its all of it , shes purposefully gags , ignoring her groans and moans that are now ever so loud .
she empties her stomach's contents , that now has no water , no, only air. She hopes she's finally taken away part of the trouble and part of the blue that messed up her head .
but the vase is only half empty , she reminds herself , still its begging for exit , a crack in it is enough for the story to repeat-itself .
Jun 24, 2025
Jun 24, 2025 at 8:06 PM UTC
Let me show you one that's mine;
She, sweet and strong Caroline.
Her hair, a mess of own
Her eyes, radiant of dawn,
Her skin, under sunlight shine
Oh sweet Caroline.
In every journey she embarks,
A new light, shines a new mark.
Her feats cross the skyline,
Oh proud Caroline.
A palace in her name,
It shall grow in fame.
Own the throne, a while,
My sweet Caroline.
Mar 9, 2025
Mar 9, 2025 at 12:55 PM UTC
~
March 2024
HP Poet: Caroline Shank
Age: 77
Country: USA
Question 1: A warm welcome to the HP Spotlight, Caroline. Please tell us about your background?
Caroline Shank: "I am 77 and I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When I worked for Barnes and Nobel for ten years, customers asked me frequently for suggestions. I believe 'The Alexandria Quartet' by Lawrence Durrell is a serious contender for best prose fiction which has been written. Also 'The English Patient' by Michael Ondaatje is such a teaching tool on how to write the greatest novel ever written. I digress."
Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?
Caroline Shank: "I have been writing poetry since the adolescent striving of the very lonely. I am not sure how long I have been posting to Hello Poetry. At least 3 years, or maybe 5?"
Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).
Caroline Shank: "The unusual image will send me running for pen and paper. Usually what inspires the senses: a wind, an odor or perfume. I still remember my love affair with Chloe perfume. And! English Leather! Those were the days. Great sadness or anger will send me to my laptop but those poems do not usually survive."
Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?
Caroline Shank: "Poetry means that I have a place in a wonderful place. Once in awhile."
Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?
Caroline Shank: "My favorite poet's are: T. S. Eliot, Rainer Maria Rilke (the Stephen Mitchell translations), E. E. Cummings. I am a fan of Sara Teasdale's, her From the Sea is amazing. I save Shakespeare for the best nuggets ever. Anna Peters, her “I Am Not a Gentle Person” is a tour'd if ever. I love the poetry that is a much needed relief from The Civil War. Especially Lorena. I guess that's a song. Only one poem of Ezra Pound's, The Metro. It is a graduate course in image exploration."
Question 6: What other interests do you have?
Caroline Shank: "I used to be a huge consumer of books. I read all the time. I find that at my age I can't keep reading without finding something else to do."
Carlo C. Gomez: “We wish to thank you for giving us this opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet, Caroline! We are honored to add you to this series!”
Caroline Shank: "Thank you, Carlo! I am very grateful for all the encouragement you have given me."
Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed coming to know Caroline a little bit better. I surely did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez
We will post Spotlight #14 in April!
~
Mar 1, 2024
Mar 1, 2024 at 10:25 PM UTC
Billy Wynne Veracruz
best baseball pitcher ever
Me Mestizo beloved by the shore a teen a wannabe Mom wannabe wife.
Within his theme songs
In beautiful mystic Vera-cruz.
From the Shaks restaurant my cashiering job
Pitcher asked to walk by the ocean hand in hand.
Baseball players eyes glared so sea-sky blue.
Tallest Knight touching hands.
Handsome king of hearts
"Sweet Caroline song blasted
on pitchers radio cassette player and
" The great Pretender,*
The hours long.
Smooth all passion
seed withheld and me fire firefly flew away..
~~~
Kings like you ought to have many wives
and many babies
Your kind are the crown jewels of fatherhood and motherhood best super human seeds divine
Your legacy rules Earth.
~~~
I found my own reign, great treasures my king heart of gold like mine, called me beauty himself Beast.
Loved to be a one woman man for a one man woman like me his rddbba-Ginny.
We fell in love at first sight
my true love my
handsome American.
Such elite chose me to change Earth he was the bridge and me his worldbringer portal to heaven his star seed.
My once upon a time my twin soul, twin flame King of hearts, became my imaginary best friend my owl of wisdom my everything.
Our theme songs were Spill your heart to me, and what a wonderful world by Armstrong L.
We were also beauty and the Beast.
The memory of my knight my king lover, my true love
my companion,
keeps me safe and sound.
~~~~
By: Mr. and Mrs. Andrews.
Honoring Karijinbba
Jun 23, 2023
Jun 23, 2023 at 8:35 AM UTC
How could you know?
How did you take
All the right parts
Kind, gentle, and sweet
What did you learn?
What made you able
The first time you tried
To make our lives complete
When did you know?
When did the stars
So neatly align
To bring wonder into our world
Why is it us?
Why did the heavens
Choose people like we
To parent our precious girl
Dec 13, 2019
Dec 13, 2019 at 1:21 PM UTC
All my life I’ve never been quite sure,
Rused by the perpetually eclipsing penumbral blur,
Until I met a chouette with a heart so pure,
Wherein winter’s eve could emulate a Summery Demure.
May 9, 2019
May 9, 2019 at 1:11 PM UTC
"MISS CAROLINE"
Humanity is rare,
in this world today,
loyalty is bare,
just listen to what
people say! Most people seem soulless,
hearts callous.
In the woods is where, I
find renewing of my mind
and
spirit.
When I venture out,
I take one that is loyal,
trustworthy
and
kind.
It doesn't fit well with
me that as an animal
she is defined.
My Miss Caroline has
more compassion
than these humans
passing through.
She could teach the human
race; all about true humanity with
grace.
So when you've lost your way
and your head is filled with the
world's noise, then don't forget
to return to that peaceful
place with a friend...
more human than the human
race.
A friend like mine
that is loyal
until the end of time.
When i venture out,
I take one that is
loyal, trustworthy
& kind.
It doesn't fit well with me
that as an animal she's defined. ~SacredInkedBlood©
Apr 25, 2018
Apr 25, 2018 at 7:56 PM UTC
she drank slow but had this skip in her dance.
she ordered me a gin and tonic on the rocks.
she eyed me across the street (i’m losing track of time).
she marched in front of me, leading me
to an apartment. the walls were painted black and the
lights were a shade of blue rain.
there were two floors in the penthouse.
she giggled when i told her how nervous i was.
i felt my glass shake, this mixture of pale ale and oranges
resembled a tsunami.
my eyes convulsed like cracked sidewalks during
earthquakes; my teeth were grinding, (not like a dance to ******
but rather the last lick of hope for the protagonist
in slasher flicks screaming for help).
she told me everything would be okay.
she undressed herself and told me god doesn’t
watch her when she sleeps; rather, he
takes the night off and works overtime in the morning.
i fell in love on the second floor of her apartment,
i don’t know why it took me two stories to tell her.
Mar 16, 2016
Mar 16, 2016 at 12:45 PM UTC
At the 50 +
An old lot
coming from the monotonic ringing melody of Graham Bell's
gone the days of childhood , adolescence and to breath sighs !ah the kisses for her lips and eyes to watch as she walked on pedestrian , how often she moves her curvy hips ,
What's ahead !anytime anywhere , even this very moment clocks could be locked always tightening the noose around , Death that only clips ,we're acting childish in our shells ,
In a trance kept lone , social gaining kilos of fats and accumulating distances ! Ah though miles we're apart but isolated and in love , dancing rhythmic on keys and board of Dell's ,
what's to hide how much we seek the harmony we lost in quest unreached as ever asking where the soul dwells ,
All exit reveals in each of thyself opened are the many hells
we are no more child but to act childish whenever in love , only it tells ,
Sep 11, 2015
Sep 11, 2015 at 5:54 AM UTC
Pictures of your tubes and a wooden cross
Engraved is all I know of you.
I wasn't yet a thought when perhaps you wrapped a
Tiny hand 'round a trembling finger to feel a beat,
Or when maybe you cried just enough for everyone
Who kissed your little head.
I sidestepped all of your goings on and the grief
By a few years, but I will always miss you.
I will miss our bond.
You didn't stay long enough to grow into your mannerisms,
But I wonder what we could have shared.
Would you have been funny or serious?
Together or scattered?
Happy?
Somehow you've always been there for me.
You listened when I didn't know anyone else
Would and your flowers became my sanctuary.
Maybe you would kick my *** for
Being so uselessly sentimental,
And maybe you wouldn't.
It gets cold here, but you know that;
I hope you rest easy in your little garden,
Fit for a princess.
May 13, 2015
May 13, 2015 at 7:29 PM UTC