Revolt of the Spawning Adult - a Poem for Day One of the PAD Challenge

I'm so glad it's April—a time when I get to hang out and share poems with a bunch of other poets.

The prompt for day one of Robert Lee Brewer's 2015 April PAD challenge is resistance. I may write another one later today, but for now my attempt is below.

Fighting her Nature

Revolt of the Spawning Adult

Like a salmon swimming upstream,

against the current in frigid,

familiar waters, she fights, kills time,

swishes away her reflection,

                                    the past.

She resists her nature—rocky

rapids, hardy falls, sinister

nets and hooks, hungry bears—

threatening and tearing apart

hazardous saltwater memories

living inside her mind. 

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Thank you for reading!

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A Day of Poetry Makes Me Happy

Today has been a happy day for me. Not only did the MouseTales Press team finish pulling together the print copy of the January issue, but I also received news that my poem, “Coffee Dates,” was selected as one of Robert Lee Brewer’s top ten poems from his somonka challenge.

“The somonka is comprised of two tankas written as love letters–each tanka from one of two lovers.”

Regarding that mine is more about a breakup than love: Robert always accepts variations on form "rules." 

Coffee for One

 Coffee Dates

I nurse memories
of you in tiny teacups,
no milk. You cannot
be diluted. I swallow
your bitterness through clenched teeth.

I gave up coffee
and you, both a waste of taste
and time. I sold all
my teacups when I gave you
away on Valentine’s day.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you will visit Mag Cloud soon to see (or better yet, to help support a small press by making a purchase!) the January 2014 issue of Mouse Tales Press.

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April Poem-A-Day Challenge - Day 5

I'm tired, so I will get to the point.

The prompt for PAD, Day 5 is as follows: "For today’s prompt, write a plus poem. Plus can mean a lot of things, and even the act of addition could equate to subtraction."

The Answer is Easy

Math Lesson for Peaceful Living

Pick up, factor, and then deduct
Loose articles
Underneath beds = Formula for Feng
Shui's infinite energy balance.


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April Poem-A-Day Challenge - Day 4

Okay, okay, the purpose of this challenge is to write. I am not thrilled with this piece. It needs work, but since I'm behind, I am not going to worry about it. 

The prompt for Day 4:

"For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Hold That (Blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and write the poem."

Thoughts of Offspring

Hold that Thought

Cradle in your mind, swing

it back and forth, nurture

with quiet contemplation, pet

it with smooth, motherly hands, watch

it grow, send it off to school where

thought will learn how to love 

through the name-

calling days, cuddle until 

it’s grown, set 

it loose, let 

it fly, cherish

what it does, nurturing 

the world the way you

nurtured it.

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April Poem-A-Day Challenge - Day 3

For Day Three of Robert Lee Brewer's April Poem-A-Day (Writer's Digest) challenge, I wrote a "tentative" poem. 

Is it Safe to Jump In?

Suspicious River

She stepped barefoot to rocky

shore, pointed toe towards icy

creek, dipped down in to flowing

winter, brushed away soggy leaves

left over from his last kiss, words

gushed out from heart to hurtful

until winter came round again, hardening 

all that flowed through her, back 

to stifled, uninviting, mouth

frozen shut

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