I hadan admirablevocabularyand an even biggercapacityfor love
For Izy’s 4/30 prompt to the Real Toads: BANG, WHIMPER, HISS
And HEY it’s number 30 of 30 poems for NaPoWriMo! Yo, April, don’t let the door smack yer ass on the way out.
I hadan admirablevocabularyand an even biggercapacityfor love
Sensible and sedatehandsomeimpressed interiorspongy immenseinterwovenwith glittery necessitylearned to cookcelebratedcoconut cookiescharity cakeSpartan breakfastsneither coffee or tea,of course he did not drink.
One part homework,Two garbage nights,Three loads of towels,Half-serving cat hairballs,Tetch of frustration,Handful of mismatched socks,Generous helping of Mama, Look!Blend with equal parts mundaneand small joys.(Best served with kisses.)Dinner’s on the table.
Margaret has resurrected the infamous alphabet prompt from an April of yore for her Play It Again, Toads prompt, and I worked on this with my kids this morning! So thank you, Margaret, and here are our efforts:Able bonesconcreted down.Every Fool gets hisin jealous knowing,like machine noiseson piano--quiet rhythm,staccato--tick-tock--undulating Wellspring--xanthous,yet Zen.
Kitten Crazy (by Anne)A bunny can’t drive every fish.George, hi!I, Jeffrey, kicking lemonjuice,mumbling Nyancats on pizza.Qwerty reality.Seals tiptoeing under Venuswith xylophones,yelling zebras.The Nyan Apocalypse! (by Jack)A bouncy catdoing everything funny!Ghosts hiding in Jupiterknowing little messenger Nyancats.Overflowing party!!!Quacking rhino?!?!Silly tie-dyed underpantsversus wet x-raysyet zero....
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(In case you are unfamiliar with Nyan Cat.) |
At five years, it was time for some sprucing up. My old man Aaron has always been the creative design brains behind this blog, and he whipped up a fancy updated masthead and logo to celebrate the birthday of runaway sentence. Isn’t it beautiful?Thank you, gentle readers. Some of you have been here since the very beginning (and even before that). All of you are treasured friends. Here’s to another five years of poetry and occasional mayhem!
The best part of this interview is being referred to as a "successful Easthampton poet." Heh. I'm flattered and appreciative of being inteviewed by Vanessa Pesa for this lovely series. Check it out:
Local Author Series: Marian Kent
When firstwe made our love,conspiring together,we knew not that years would welcomelossesand gainin volumes unspoken before,measured in soft footfalls,rhyming heartbeatpatters.
Springtime storm-childbed-bright dreamlightthundering thicketbare-branched apple treeswizening towardearthrun for all you’re worthcollapse in a cloud huddlehere I’ll hold you
Seems impossibleto divide love in halfbut you learnabout the vastnessof your capacity for loveWhen you give it all to onethen turn aroundand give the entirety againendlesslyHeredrink from my cupit may not be running overbut it’s always half full
If I werethe wished-for childI would floatinstead of rebellingbitter wavesbuoyed by regret and salty tearsout to sea again
Grey liftsincessant chattergift of sunrise*
Old maple’sbare branchessoon will give birth*
Conifersways to earthaid after my fall
*
Sweet sleepinterruptedby wicked wishing
*
Back porch squirrelpeeks indoor with longingI pine for out
At hospitalfor another babyyou warned of painBut you knewpainwas my sisterThe brainnot the bodyexperiences painAnd the headnot the heartis what gets brokenYou strokedmy hairbut I thought of her
Grey lifts to chatter.I tiptoe, hover, listening in,bewildered by verbiage,maze of fanciful descriptorsentirely out of context,challenged to even begin imaginingcontext for your best ruffian argot.Where are you inside your pillow fort?I wish I could go there.But you recognizedespite my languid protestthat adult concerns counterbalanceyour bright menagerie of wordswith which to play I am no longer invited.Instead, it is my privilege to witnessfrom a short distance--
An old story,Not for nothing,Older thanTime--Heaven turning its face towardEarth,Refusing her.
RecallingEarth’sSisterhood amongst the wisePines, coniferous forests bereftOf envy,Never knowing heaven’s sweet bountyShould have beenEarlier than then.
OLIVE
On the couch sleeps a kittyLying, waiting, dreaming of tunaInstead of squirrelsVery, very sleepy kittyEvery cat dreams of tuna
BUNNY
Bonk! A bunny hopped on your head.Uhhhh, a bunny hopped on my head?No bunny jumped on my head!!!No no no, I know that a bunny did not--You know there was a bunny!!!
THE HAUNTED WOODSOn a cold Autumn nightLying in the moonlight is a black catDancing in the shadows are the ghosts.
Witches flying high in the skyOver the blood moon.On a hill is the PumpkingDragging the dead away.Spider hissing in the distance.
The moon, that sad man,Comes through tears and protestations,That sad man.
His almond eyes heavyIn shadowy backyard half-lightStay awake.
Disenchanted starsStand still while mourning dovesStay awake.
I sleep, wake, toss,I sleep, wake from screaming,Stay awake.
The sad man sighs downGrasping heartbeams and resisting arrest,That sad man.
Madness swirlsfuzzes in like staticout like late-night television hauntswaking hours as well as dreamsdarkening darkerstill deeper each day till summoningwill for living seemswaityour daughter
Sorryfor leaving youlurched aching like androidunsettled travellers fartherfaringSorrybut we disbelieved in furthergestures hoping waywardlonging would wavegoodbye
In writingon losing you, memoryallows only mundane elements,lists of almost-facts stacked uplike matryoshkas,lathed half-truths layered impossiblydeep, revealing onlyfine luster.
We don’t knowwhen you were bornbut spring is kittentimeWe don’t know howyou were harmedbefore you came to usWho would want to hurt you?Years and a girl’s gritdrew you outwith the blood moonAnd now is the perfect timefor us to renew our vows to you.
Cute Kitty
Cute scratchyCute sleepyCute cute kittyLook kittyLook tinyTiny tiny bullyCan’t kittyCan’t bullyShrinking shrinking kitty!
Olive
Oh for a cute bully.Jumpy loudCrazy weirdLazy weirdLazy tinyLazy sneakyLazy lazy kitty.What of a fluffy kitty that loves us.What of a loud kitty that is hungry.What kitty.A cute little kitty.