"repurpose" poems
“20 ways to repurpose a light bulb”
It tells me I need to start with a good grip around the bulb,
give the solder point a twist and free the brass contact
from the wires leading to the filament. If I make it that far,
I have to break the insulator and pull the filament out
from there. Grabbing the fill tube, I need to empty out the bulb
and wipe it out to get it ready.
I guess I could channel my childhood and turn the bulb
into an aquarium—dropping a little bloodfin tetra in with
a sprig of sea-grass or even make one of three small hanging vases
to put on my wall in the kitchen. If I want to get crafty,
I have directions for a glass sculpture, a holiday ornament,
and seven different size centerpieces.
The real surprises on the list are the light bulb necklace
and the concrete molds for light bulb handles.
Here I am, 4 A.M. on a Saturday morning planted on the couch
peering at the screen through my Jim Bean bottle eyes
and all I see are ways to repurpose this broken bulb
for something new—something it should have never been—
and I wonder why I can’t just grab the oil and a wick and
turn it into what it always wanted to be.
Feb 17, 2016
Feb 17, 2016 at 12:26 PM UTC
Barricades detach my demeanour slowly…
Wear my shades to match my deceiver clothing
A kiss of *** good to balance pH mantra
…I did some good to malice and got defaced, gangsta…!!
I’m a whirlwind and terribly vexed
to be mentioned in the same pun as Labour Rights
I make the world spin, probably next…
Repurpose myself and brace plugs for my neighbour’s lights…
Mar 4, 2015
Mar 4, 2015 at 4:49 AM UTC
induratize me, just leave that scent behind;
at the doorway it lingers,
whispering faux truths without surprise.
the snow laughs in reflection, glitter haunts a mirror & to say we
see as nothing, we find there's
constant consistency here.
but water is transformation,
repurpose, great ingenuity;
freezing to create sorrow's surface, melting to break deep rests escape
my mother's brain found it incredibly sad,
trickling chemicals tricking bodies into reform,
skirmishing the soul away from the eyes,
to think if I could shake her free.
and that's what a love hath done to me, so i wait for the melt,
to remember my uncertainty
© 2015 Kate Volk
Jan 5, 2014
Jan 5, 2014 at 11:08 AM UTC
Got to remember
how the **** to swim
before it's far too late-
before I must surrender
to the flow of things in Time
Got to break this spell,
got to break free from
this hell
in which I hold myself
captive
pleading for
a more fair Judge and Jury;
Holding myself prisoner
even though not consciously,
this sort-of Shadow puppetry
is forcing me to see that
I've got to relearn to swim
before it's far too late-
to rectify and repurpose
all these persistent negative Energies
and turn all this darkness
once more into light.
Oct 21, 2013
Oct 21, 2013 at 6:59 PM UTC
in our very own room
all have fever.. privately
we feed it soft egg
we closet and build
create fabric, like insect
mouthwork, repurpose
outside of the home
dictated by company
we have shared madness
we tread the weather
we institutionalize
miss out on the world
societies pal
traitors to our piracy
mistrust our own mind
blinds drawn, in fierce study
apply to the retooling
head clay made better
the automaton
must bare some animation
unallied approach
wetter still and fit
your neutrons fend now and thrive
carry the tune outdoors ?
Sep 13, 2019
Sep 13, 2019 at 9:09 AM UTC
It's ironic - you're not environmentally conscious——
And don't forget, baby, you're the one who said you want this
You wanna date her, but then you claim you've had it,
So you return like I'm made of paper or plastic
Crumble me up and throw me away
Or repurpose my presence, you wouldn't want me to stray
and try to salvage what's left of my shattered broken pieces
Keep me compacted tight, make me believe I'm beneath this
Shred me, burn me, then keep my remains
Just to piece me back together how you want me in your brain
One day you'll lose me, I'll become biodegradable,
and you'll try to reuse me only to realize I'm not disposable
I'm not the insulated coffee cup you settle for when you're in a rush
In fact, keep this up and I'll be ice cold to the touch
Cut down tree after tree then wonder why you can't catch your breath
Dug yourself into a landfill trying to avoid your death
Consume me, then remove me, keeping pieces each time
But you can take it all, the soul you know's no longer mine
Dec 3, 2016
Dec 3, 2016 at 7:14 PM UTC
Somewhere smothered --
In between sprinting feet,
And a hazy head
Heavy spun with dreams,
The image of you - dissolving.
Slipping slowly like sand,
Through cracks in a desperately
Clenched fist, seeping
Out through pores,
Glistening a ghostly sheen,
From ghastly truths.
Sometime released --
In between blooming bushes,
And the infinite inhaling
Of passages - hungry, hunting
For fragrance to fill the lungs.
Expelling old dusty promises,
In a windy whirlpool,
Your roots were dug up
From my garden, and you
Dissipated into clean blue sky.
Somehow forgotten --
In between toes dangling,
Off a precipice of golden possibilities,
And the plunge of faith,
To the inconceivable depths
Of my expanding soul.
A cosmic flight to air me out:
Empty slate, open arms.
I am slipping into light,
Reclaim, repurpose, renew.
Back cowering atop the cliff
Lies my memory of you.
Sep 1, 2014
Sep 1, 2014 at 7:48 PM UTC
The Earth is swallowed by fire then chewed up by carnage,
The flames lick the world and then Gaia is tarnished,
Hugrgy maws of a beast to our mother we encourage,
Unsuspecting till the day that our collective nutrition is harnessed.
Life swallowed across the scale
Recycle rebirth refuse if they fail,
Reform and repurpose review a new trail
Revive and realise a line in the tale.
Energy is magic and vessels always transforms
A glacier to a blizzard that becomes a sandstorm
And if you listen closely you can hear the earth move
Life can just transform and to humans it won't prove.
Jun 29, 2019
Jun 29, 2019 at 4:12 PM UTC
We sit in these walls
With a million doors pressing closed
They close until you stand up
and pry with your ****** fingers
at least one door open
Even a crack can let in the light.
Im sick of prying with ****** fingers - I want this door flung open now!
Ive felt a few feelings in my life
None that didn't do me help
None that didnt lead me to this exact thought.
**** this im ******* done!
Ive discovered who and what
Its the where and how thats staggering
In circles in front of me
Running like the headless chicken
That i assume is me
But its not
Im in full spectrum
At least i honestly feel like i am
Ive been tricked into a destiny that has no piece in my puzzle
And i have to be brave enough to be all my own parts
That's what they all fear the most
Let be those
Who judge you
Pretending is the hardest game
And im not its number one player
I know thats ok
Its ok
Ive done my mending and changing - as i grow towards my light
How do i do all this ****
Its confusing
Its bothering
How do you try sow new seeds
Or even mend to the old ones
when someone took a great fat stinking **** in your garden?
I suppose
You have to shovle the **** out
Repurpose it into a sort of fertilizer
Yet i still need to source the mud
& some how you got to keep those seeds safe
& the few buds you have,
some how they need to stay alive
And its wrenching my heart
& i want to pull it out of my chest
& lay it down in some tool box
Perhaps for hands that know how to do with it better.
May 17, 2019
May 17, 2019 at 4:31 AM UTC
¤ i borrow a snippet of a thought from ezra pound
and repurpose it...
to make a mothers plea...
..is it not time for us,
to remember how....
"to be men.... not destroyers"
so that we can give
a world .....
somewhat intact,
to those in the following generations
is it not time....again
Oct 2, 2014
Oct 2, 2014 at 8:27 PM UTC
Look within me
look through all of the soft spots,
sharp corners
study every space and piece
what do you see?
Do you see someone who loves --
or someone who hates?
Can you see my demons?
The pain and the shame?
Do you see yourself?
I am a woman
product of the white devil
proud to be reborn
to redefine,
reflect,
and repurpose myself
as a lover of God
and to see the light in every being
Feb 9, 2017
Feb 9, 2017 at 8:21 PM UTC
Can you recycle
It's the same as repurpose
Improve with your change
Brian Hill - 2020 # 21
Jan 21, 2020
Jan 21, 2020 at 10:15 AM UTC