Turn Back Time

Studying poetry forms, we read one type of poem where the content is pure supposition.  Our assignment was to write a poem like that.

This was also a wild word assignment.  My word was smoke-filled.

Turn Back Time

 

Suppose you could turn back time –
Dispel those smoke-filled echoes
Of a memory,
A hallucination of regret
Which causes a fear…
A fear beyond comfort.

Suppose you could rewind your life –

Erase the mistakes made until,
Once again,
You stand alone in a
Fragment of nothingness.

Suppose futurity no longer

Teemed with endless destruction –
A future where the righteous and
Unrighteous alike were
Consumed…
Consumed in an eternal fire with
An air of breathless intensity.

Leaving an Unforgettable Mark

This was an interesting assignment.  We were talking about music and poetry, and we read some poems that revolved around music at their cores.

The assignment was to write a poem that centered around music - whether it was an actual song or if it was something like the birds in the trees or the call of whales.

Leaving an Unforgettable Mark

 

Surrounds by chaos,
Swallowed in the mists of the time,
Someone plays my song.

The first few notes

Pierce the miasma,
Taking me back again

Hot, humid, almost holy

Summer sun’s sweltering stare
Streams through clouded windows

Sitting in the back pew,

Exchanging glances and notes,
His hand brushing mine

Silently laughing at a

Shared joke, a thought
Meant to entertain

First blush of love

At the height of youth –
Naïve, trusting, fleeting

Struck down by distance –

The miles, the years –
Before the bud could bloom

Left with the memories of

A summer romance in
The innocence of childhood.

All that’s left?  A wistful smile

Echoed in the refrains for
My son of a preacher man.

A Night to Remember

This poetry assignment was really a very fun one.  We'd read emotional poetry capped off with love poems that were more about the stupid things we do for love.

Our assignment was to write such a love poem - possibly from the point of view of a particular character or figure we know. 

This was also a "wild word" poem.  My wild word was nuzzled.  All I could see in my mind's eye when I pulled that word was a man, romantically nuzzling his date's neck - only to choke because her long hair got caught in his mouth.

For some reason, with the instructions and the mental image my word conjured, all I could think of was what Mr. Bean might do on a date.

This poem is the result.

A Night To Remember

 

He planned a night to remember…

Dinner for two, picnic-style,

In front of a fire
To fan the flames of desire.

Dessert for two,

Rich, sweet, creamy
To heighten the senses.

Romantic movie on TV,

Sitting together in the dark
Alone.

He planned a night to remember…

Feet tangling in the blanket

Moved too close to the flames,
Starting to smoke.

Strawberry mousse with cream

Remaining untouched –
Pesky allergies, you know.

Video broken – scratched and warped

Nuzzling her neck,
Only to choke on her hair.

 

It was a night to remember.

 

Pillar of Strength

Part of the exhibits in the UAF Museum of the North is prehistoric mammoth & mastodon bones and teeth.  There's a femur bone you're allowed to touch, so, during our Walk and Write, I spent time just studying it; running my hands over it to feel the textures; enjoying the way the bone and the history both gelled in my head.

This poem is a result of the time spent with that femur bone.

Pillar of Strength

Strong yet hollow

It stands the ravages of time

An outer face,

Once pale and unblemished,
Darkens…
     Cracks…
          Chips.

Smooth from wind and rain

Preserved by Nature

A supporting character –

Just a part of the whole –
Unlocking history

Fragile,

     Easily broken

Indestructible,

     Resisting pressure

Beaded

This is another poem inspired during my "Walk and Write" at the UAF Museum of the North.  I spent probably ten minutes just studying pieces of Alaskan Native bead work.  The intricate details, the patterns, the amount of effort that goes into any piece...

It was definitely inspiring.

Beaded

 

Tanned hands

Stiff with arthritis
Yet fingers still nimble

Deftly, deliberately

Needle darts, moving like a
Hummingbird.

Soft, supple hide

Rolls in the hand,
A natural, worthy campus.

Gossip shared, news delivered

Politics discussed
Friendships rekindled

Functional, ceremonial

The labor of love worn
Distinguished and powerful