#44

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

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. 

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’.

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.”

On Outliving One’s Child

He pads down dark corridors
peering into empty rooms

Loss curls around him
rubbing his stubble

He swallows it whole
and feels it settle
heavy
in his belly

Picking at a frayed seam
he wonders how he can be both
so full
and so empty

 

This is for Bjorn at dVerse Poets Pub where we have been asked to write a poem of forty-four words including the word, “curl”, also know as a quadrille.

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.

Open

Go to the window
Earth’s curve waits for you
under wild skies
 
Run through the door
spin, sway, swing and play
 
Hinge
the circle
spill outside
boundaries fall before your feet
 
Breathe in heaven
swim with stars
 
Reach out
palms up in supplication
arms open

 

Writtien for dVerse Poets Pub, where Victoria asked us to write a Quadrille (44 words, exactly) about some aspect of the word, “open.”

Journey

In the beginning
trepidation, excitement
so much to look forward to

I will begin
today
I will step
into a world
swirling with chance and choice
a broken world full of hope

Anything can happen
that is the fear and the wonder
anything can happen

 

This is for dVerse Poets Pub.  Click on the link and check it out.