Does your heart
break open
on a regular
basis?
Do you ever
find yourself
weeping
in the back
aisle
of a bookshop?
Do you ever
see
a person
on the street
and have
to look away
because you are
overcome
with
sadness?
Me too
dVerse
Rain Song
Skies gather, darken
rain falls straight and true.
Its sound
hitting the roof
is a comfort,
my lullaby.
There are dramatic storms
with lightning and thunder,
or showy, flashing sun
but the rain,
the tranquil rain,
sings me to sleep
with its gentle song.
Lillian at dVerse Poets Poets asked us include the word tranquility, or a form of the word, in a quadrille, which is a poem of exactly 44 words, not including the title.
Steep
The hills call siren-like and steep.
Two children share a wooden sled,
new snow is beckoning and deep,
the hills call siren-like and steep.
They landed in a shattered heap,
too fast to suffer, it was said.
The hills called siren-like and steep.
Two children shared a wooden sled.
Well, this started out to be a quadrille (44 words) including the word “steep” to link to dVerse Poets’ Pub, but somehow it turned into a dark triolet. Theat’s an eight line, iambic tetrameter poem with the rhyme scheme: ABaAabAB, where capital letters indicate repeated lines. I haven’t written one of these in ages.
Changes
Today is unseasonably warm
The shed wall is thick with Asian beetles
We’ve had once-in-a-century floods
the past three years.
Running through my brain,
insistent as an unfed cat,
is the thought
this isn’t right
Is it too early to panic
or too late?
This is in response to dVerse Poets, whose writing prompt is a quadrille (44 words) including the word ‘early’.
Letter to My Love
I love you
but
you have
fallen
in with
the wrong crowd
They don’t care
about you
or your children
Hucksters
in shiny suits
lie and call it truth
With fast talk and small words
They steal your treasures
your reputation
your dignity
Orange is the new
black and blue
I weep for you
America
This is written for Verse Escape and for dVerse.
Circus
-Image by Carter Goodrich from the cover of the New Yorker, October 30, 2017
follow
the yellow-haired clown
through
the house of mirrors
see yourself
and the world
distorted
beyond recognition
then ride
the roller coaster
into the dark
try to
knock down
the impossible, weighted
bottles
the insufficient
ball
falls to the ground
with a dead-cat bounce
This is a Quadrille (44 words) containing the word “bounce” written for De at dVerse.
Band Member
Signing up with the Sargent
audition unrehearsed
first chair potential
the score, peppered with notes
unwarranted, unanswered, unsent
and I, virtuoso in
a minor key
play
plucking my heart
con dolore
transmuting
pain to melody
oxidation to harmony
and regret to
solo
This is for dVerse where we were asked to write a Quadrille (44 words, including title) including some form of the word, “pepper” in honor of the anniversary of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Weather Report
It’s grey today, and drizzling
inside my head
clouds gather behind my eyes
Outside the sun is burning
stars are turning
and the world hurtles
on
Looking out the window
I see only the fog
of my breath,
condensed
Then, without warning,
I storm
This is a Quadrille, or a poem of exactly 44 words for dVerse Poets’ Pub. And Mish has asked us to include some form of the word, “drizzle.”
Night in the Portrait Gallery of My Ancestors
The dead watch me
as I walk down the hall
I hear them whisper
among themselves
mournful, mindful
urgent or ironic
I cannot tell
when I turn
to look
mist gathers
behind my eyes
and they are still, silent,
poised within their frames
waiting…
This is a quadrille (poem composed of forty-four words) for dVerse Poets Pub. De also asked us to include some form of the word “whisper” in our piece.
Scars
You tried to love me
with your broken
glass heart
and I tried not to
let you see the cuts
the damage
the blood
But in the end
I dropped my mask to the ground
and pulled my scars around me
like a blessing
This is for dVerse Poets Pub, where De asked us to write a quadrille (44 words exactly) including some form of the word, “scar.” Click on the link and check it out.
In Other Words 