Sunday, April 8, 2018

The Family 411 (A Poem for Day Eight of PAD)

I was really hoping to write something lighter or even funny. But this is what came out and my bed is calling. 

For today’s prompt (day eight), write a family poem. Good, bad, big, small, adopted, imaginary, nonexistent–everyone has to deal with family (even if that involves running from it or chasing it down). I have a feeling today’s prompt is going to stir up some really good poems.

Photo by Felix Atsoram
Our Memories Bring Them to Life


The Family 411

We’ve been wandering
in the back yard, behind
the unfinished A-frame,
prying up weather-beaten
shingles, and peering
underground
into mountain
beaver towns.

We’ve been following
the grassy knoll through
cherry blossoms, rhododendrons
and other shrubs,
searching for nuts
from the family
tree. But it seems
we were too late.

The place has been
overrun by flying
squirrels, moving
across the sky. There’s
no stopping them.
Their grub hunting
and hoarding, has 
our family capsized.

If you dare pay a visit or even
respects, or dare to get
even with death’s refusal
for leaving, just beware, you might
fall down the cracks
or be swallowed alive
by that hunger we all
now struggle
to live with—
it never dies.



*****


[Please note that all prompts have been copied from the Writer's Digest Poetic Asides website.]

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