I have nothing left
and so I am consumed
incendiary
for the mother whose fire is extinguished
for the father who is mere ashes
for the child
for the child
I protest
I have nothing left
you will burn with me
and you will listen
Tonight the dVerse Poets Pub is kindly hosted by Punam for Quadrille Monday, where she invites us to write a quadrille of 44 words on the them of ‘protest’.
I will let the poem speak for itself.
(Image credit: Michael Noel, via Pexels).
He sows fine seeds upon the earth
But no wheat grows, there is a dearth
Of rainfall
The sun beats down upon his field
The soil bakes hard, there is no yield
Still rainless
He hopes for wind and begs for clouds
He whispers soft, he prays aloud
for raindrops
He lies prostrate, drowning in fears
A ghostly form cries saltless tears
The rainsprite
Showers and sunlight join as one
The heavens shimmer, having fun
A rainbow
It’s Meeting the Bar time over at dVerse Poets Pub, and Laura, our congenial host, has asked us to create a Compound Word Verse of five stanzas, three lines in each, with the syllable format 8/8/3 and rhyming pattern a/a/b. The final line must end with the required compound word that begins, or ends, with the stem word.
Limitation can often create freedom as our poetic and creative minds no longer need to expand into the freedom of the form, but in the story itself. I had no idea I was going to write a poem about a farmer desperate for rain – although given the drought and constant high temperatures we have had in Europe, this probably isn’t surprising.
If you fancy trying your hand at this Compound Word Verse form, why not join us? It’s fun, creative and you can read lots of other contributors’ poems into the bargain!
Once in a lifetime I hover
at the threshold, made ice
with fear, thawed by hope
yet brittle with acceptance
for this is no rehearsal; no
amount of practising the
u
n
f
u
r
l
i
n
g
of your life
can prepare me for your journey
and this will not be
the last time, for you are the first
the most important, paving the way
and perhaps, because of that
I fancy this gives you solace
together with the drama
that your departure creates;
a fanfare marking your final parade
you are not keen on acceptances
nor being the quiet man
preferring to make waves, no, bloody storms!
your greatest fear is
being left behind, so you leave first
slamming the door shut
to make your point
hope is a barbed crown of roses
scratching your scalp red-raw, blood
and perylene petals not merging, but fighting
like the tigers in your soul; I never know which one will win
fearing one, hoping for the other
understanding
finally, that I have no say
as for the ice?
you prefer it
- - floating - -
in your martini (dirty)
two olives, pierced
and even still you raise your glass chin chin
and I ciao ciao
you, always present, never past tense
au revoir, Dad
this is not goodbye.
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, it’s time to dive into a bit of Poetics with our friendly host, Kim. This week she has asked us to be inspired by the glorious poem ‘The Window’ by Mary Jean Chan, which you can read here. Her poem won second prize in the 2017 National Poetry Competition.
Kim has asked us re-read and explore Chan’s poem, particularly the use of line breaks and caesura to build rhythm and evoke emotion, and the three-word movement: “anger is like the sun, which is like love” and then write a poem that begins with ‘Once in a lifetime’, just like Mary Jean Chan’s.
Writing this was certainly enjoyable but quite a challenge to begin with, and then I got into a rhythm, losing myself in the process. Even though it’s thirteen years since my dad died, he’s still inspiring me. His death certainly wasn’t goodbye!
If you’d like to join us, head over to dVerse, follow the guidelines and most of all, have fun!
(Image by https://www.pexels.com/@amine-kubranur-cakiroglu-689611212/ on Pexels).
