Road Trip Blip

Behind us, superfluous

feral cats yowl, owls
hoot, trains maintain
distance resistance,
drivers in the fast lane complain.

[This is an Echo Verse poem.]

Admire the View, Crew

Today is our second Two-for-Tuesday prompt day. Pick one prompt for your poem today, or write a poem for each prompt, or write one poem that works with both. Today’s prompts are:

1. Write a form poem (here’s a list of 100 poetic forms for reference), and/or…
2. Write an anti-form poem.

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Oh, Fedora

I adored your

soft, wide brim
& indented crown,
your heat-pressed
          felt,
your playboy
          flare,
your one-
          of-a-kind
reputation.

But that
was then.
Now, I’ve learned
to wear
my hair
down.

I Still Wear You Once in a While

For today’s prompt, pick an article of clothing, make it the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. It could be as general as “Ankle-cut Socks” or “Bell-bottoms.” Or get more specific like “My Bearcats Hoodie” or “Reebok Pump High Top Shoes.”

* * * 

For Good Measure

When you nick-
named her
Simpleton,
she built a secret

pleasure dome 

comprised of
       down
                 &
                   out-
                   ward
                   thrust
and a whispering
walkway to sustain
hymns & mantras
she chants
to soothe herself.
She no longer takes it
personally
that you friend-
zoned her
for life; she's been left
content, detained
in her self-made
Heaven
on Earth.

She's Become the Light

Today is our first Two-for-Tuesday prompt day. Pick one prompt for your poem today, or write a poem for each prompt, or write one poem that works with both. Today’s prompts are:

1. Write a pleasure poem, and/or…
2. Write a displeasure poem.

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One Nightstand

Hidden inside these walnut-
finished solid oak
drawers, guarded by half-
moon pulls,
live remnants
from another life-
time when you & I braved a night
entwine,
locked
together like a dovetail joint,
confessed our affection
under a single streetlight
     at Taylor & John.

But the next day
you torqued my slides
& sent me off track
when you decided
we were misaligned
     & you moved on.

My Nightstand is Nothing Special (to You)

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Night (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Night Hawk,” “Night Rider,” “Night and Day,” “Night Watchman,” or even “Nightmare.”

* * * 

Granny’s Special Surprise

For my birthday, she brandished 

one long, bony finger,
summoned me in-
          side, sidled be-
          side my hungry
          taste
               buds,
slathered my platter
with exceptional brownies,
crafted under super-
          vised care
of knobby knuckles
& one loose stringy
gray hair. Her smile revealed
one tooth had gone missing,
dotted out by a smear
of chocolate frosted inking.
She nodded & asked,
“How do you like them, dear?
Do you feel funny?”
I confessed I’d never
been a consumer
of nature’s sedatives
or potions.
She said, “Silly, that’s not
what I meant. These goodies
were assembled
with some of my friends
who couldn’t escape,
so I stirred them right in.
For your birthday all year,
remember this adage of three—
     see no weevils,
     hear no weevils,
     speak no weevils—
because they’ve departed,
gifting you with pure
unadulterated
protein & a message
from beyond."

Live life to the fullest
even if that means
hiding undercover
in somebody’s
cupboard in a sack
of flour—cowpea,
granary, or rice.
Pick your poison,
for the fate
of our family tree
foretells
that no matter your vice,
you’ll never live twice.

Granny's Special-Ingredient Brownies

For today’s prompt, write a poem of threes. Your poem could be about the number three or feature three of something, for sure, but it could also do some other things. For instance, your poem could be composed of tercets (or three-line stanzas), have three syllables per line, or be a three-line poem (like a haiku or lune). Or write about tricycles or triangles or any number (though mostly the number three) of other plays on three.

* * * 

A Letter to My Other Half

Why can’t we

ever agree?
I say yes.
You say no.
I say A.
You say Z.
Some call us
opposites,
but we’re a perfect
match.
You’re the heater
to my cold hands,
the push
to my pause,
the miracle cream
to my wrinkles,
the pen
to my pad.
When we’re
old & senile,
I suppose
then
we’ll see
that
all along we agreed
on everything
between
A & Z.

We Make the Perfect Pack

For today’s prompt, write an alpha poem. Of course, you could write a poem about an alpha male or alpha female (or some other play on alpha this or that). Or you can move into the realm of an alphabet poem–focusing on all 26 letters or just one (or a pair).


* * *

Death of the Old Self

Once upon a time,

she hitchhiked toward bright,
scampered with Buddhas
& gods
because she didn’t fit in-
                     side
anyone else’s box
                    (or mind).
She drifted like ash,
disembodied thoughts
with nowhere to go
but to the fiery bottom
of burned timber,
           brick,
                     & stone.
Now the dented base
of her metal urn rests
on a mantel
     & she wonders
(how she made that mistake)
     if there’s anyone
else
around
     and how she ever
    allowed herself
to snuff out
her own
               light.

Spill My Ashes in the Garden Instead

For today’s prompt, write a once upon a time poem. The title of the poem could be “Once Upon a Time,” or the first words could be. Or you could do what I did in my attempt below: I pretended the words “once upon a time” preceded the first line of my poem.

* * *