Poems - a few

good save

What is

The answer please?

I do not know, you say.

What is the question, precious girl?

You were not listening! Again!

I was! Until I got

Distracted by

Your charms. 

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 The poem above is an eintou. An eintou is a poem that follows a format of 2,4,6,8,6,4,2 - either syllables or words. If you're really good, I suppose you could do both. 
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Pease Porridge Revisited 

Pease porridge hot

Best served with a scoop

These days we call it

Split pea soup

Pease porridge cold

Leaves me agog

Thick as pea soup

Walking in the fog

You can’t see a thing

So some like it not

I’d rather pease porridge fog

Than pease porridge hot!

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new dawn

whirling eyes watch as this cream stone

mottled red, gold, and green

moves of its own accord

nestled among glittering gems

something more precious than gold

crown jewel in this dragon’s horde

with a thunderous cracking

from stone does emerge now

beautiful dragon spawn

as glistening wings do slowly unfurl

a tiny tongue samples the breezes

at the edge of a new dawn

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song

weightless
and brilliant
as bright as the sun
you light
my way
when I am
undone

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Song, like most of these, was written for a contest. This particular contest allowed only 8 lines. Many of the people reviewing 'song' felt it was too short, or the title didn't fit the poem. I wrote an explanation of the poem - something I normally would not do, as I feel that the reader has to get what they get not necessarily what I get. This one, however, deserved explanation, as every word was carefully chosen to pack maximum meaning into minimum space. The explanation follows.

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'song' is the English translation of psalm - a song of praise.

weightless =light, but also, light itself is weightless, so the meaning here is double. Because the light is there, the burden is lightened.

brilliant = shining brightly, illustrious, magnificent, of great intelligence. Something so wondrous as to defy any other description.

bright as the sun = So intense that you cannot see it by looking at it directly, so vital that you cannot survive with out it.

you light = you, Light, you light (both an address to the specific 'Light' and a description of the action of guidance.)

my way = combined with you light, meaning I am guided by the light of Light (the guide).

when I am = philosophically, there is no "I", as we are all part of the whole. One cell in your body is a specific cell, but without all the other cells, it does not comprise a human. So, when I misplace my connection to Everything, then I am. When I recall my connection to everything, then am 'i'. (Note the case - i is a part of the whole, I is egocentric and separate. Here, "I" is the only capitalization within the poem, placing the value of "I" above the value of the light, hence "undone".)

undone= what we are when we misplace our connection to Everything. We cannot lose the connection, but we do sometimes seriously misplace it. You cannot be separate from that from which you are made, but in feeling alone, you feel undone, unconnected, unloved.

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New Beginnings

I watched as the swinging boom did bring
The building to its knees
Scattering brick and glass and dust
And random memories.

The rubble was cleared, it took some time
To haul it all away
And in its place we planted laughter
To let the children play.  

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New beginnings (contest entry, 8 line max) is another misunderstood poem. Most people got it, but some thought "planted laughter" meant a new house was built, where an old house had been torn down. I meant that a dilapidated building in the city had been replaced by an inner city playground. I wonder if the difference in perception is equal to the difference between a "privileged" childhood and growing up poor? Or at least, not growing up well-off. Curious.

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 Canada Geese

We watched the goslings hatch and grow

Three families in the pond.

They overstayed the welcome though

And we became less fond.

Less fond of their ceaseless chatter.

Less fond of the mess they were making.

Less fond of their organic matter.

Less fond of sudden braking.

And then one day they went too far,
 My little daughter’s lunch! -

They knocked her down beside the car

This thieving, feathered bunch.

I knew not how to make them leave,

To shoo them from our docks.
 I never thought I’d ever be

Rescued by a fox!

Each early morn, the fox would come

And set the geese to squawking,

And I would curse the noise it caused,

This early morning stalking.

And then one day, with swift dispatch

The fox became a winner

Feathers flew, then down the hatch

That goose was fox’s dinner.

Oh, crafty fox, you made a mess

Of feathers everywhere!

The goosey flock, in sheer distress,

Took honking to the air.

They’ve flown away and not returned,

How peaceful life's become.

My gratitude that fox has earned

And this poetic fame.

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I took liberties. Canada Geese don't tend to attack people, white geese do. Mixing them added some spice to the poem. The white geese attacked a child I nannied (a thousand years ago). The fox did solve our Canada Goose issue last spring. So, I took liberties, but the events were real enough. This one did not win its contest. I apparently offended the judge who made it clear that he was not pleased with the fox. =) I'm guessing he's never had a yard full of gooseshit to contend with!

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revenge of the revenge

Oh! Sometimes you make me
Madder than a cat in the bathtub!
This time you really went too far.

Sometimes, I think of ways to get revenge
For my tattered, aching heart.
I never follow through.

Instead, I clean the house –
I go a little overboard.
I’ve been known to wash the soap.

I scrub the grout between the tiles
On the bathroom floor.
This time, you really went too far!


Your forty dollar whitening kit
Is doing a fine job.
Who knew I’d one day follow through?

My aggravation lessens as I scrub
Then escalates again.
I used the wrong toothbrush.

Yours is in the caddy,
Mine is in my hand.
This time, I really went too far.

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Another contest entry, in which I had to use the bolded phrase "the wrong toothbrush".

I have to be honest - I've never been known to "wash the soap", and your toothbrush is safe with me. I'm not much on revenge either. This one won it's contest. WooHoo!   

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