Wednesday, March 25, 2020

I never imagined
We would live in
A time of plague,
But as I think
It would seem life
Has prepared me.

I learned as a wee
Little one in my
Illustrated Holy Bible
The fate of the Egyptians
Who in the Old Testament
Chose to stand against God.

I often read Edgar’s,
“Masque of the Red Death,”
And a few times I braved
Stephen’s apocalyptic masterwork,
The Stand which invaded
My dreams with fear.

Various articles on 1918
With their focus on
The failure of the grid,
Were supremely worrying,
Then more recently
Chuck’s terrifying Wanderers.

When the first news broke
In the New York Times
That the Coronavirus was
Fast-moving in China
Something clutched at me
And I became concerned.

As it spread further
Taking a tenacious hold
Worry invaded, and with
Each report of increased transmission
Fear escalated until a panic
Began to set in, spooking me.

I gathered my nerves
Convinced God is in Control
Knowing isolation is my lifestyle
Finding some peace that time
Is easy to occupy when creative
Hoping and praying as life goes on.

This was written about 4am after watching Netflix on the tablet in bed. I should have put it up earlier, but I was not sure how I felt about it. I try to focus on positive things, but I think there must be some use for poetic comment on the times.

Redoubtable

It was brought to my attention
That my infatuation has not gone
Without notice among those few
Who are aware of my propensity
To, through an unfortunate mutation,
Assume an addiction to almost
Anything presently in existence.
There are no confines within
Which I am unable to exercise
The trait whether reality, fantasy,
Imagination, or creativity, it is
All-encompassing in time and space
Even when I make courageous
Attempts to restrain desire
There is very little I can do.
Love takes me over and chooses
Whoever and whatever it will
Filling me with such longing
Little in the universe can be denied,
Though I have over a lifetime realized
If certain things are avoided,
Never kept in my vicinity,
My voracious appetite does
To a lesser extent, prey upon me.
So I shelter when I may
Restricting my interactions
And become in less position
To have cause to say, “Take It Away!”

This was prompted by “Take It Away” on the Facebook Group, Prompted Positive Poetry. In all sincerity, I did not think it would be the answer to the prompt. It worked out though.

Short Form – Tanka

The prompt from the Poetic Asides blog by Robert Brewer for the Countdown to PAD Challenge today is a “Short Form Poem.” Playing my game, though he did not mention tanka in his list, I chose it. Tanka are counted syllable poems of 5-7-5-7-7, and I love them.

Priorities

Now this weight gain seems
Definitely less awful,
Like the defiant
Mind, body, invoked wisdom
Choosing protection as goal.

Mirth

Laughter sneaks into
The space between silences,
Frothing out over
The loving cup which splashes
Pleasantries freely abroad.

Okay, so we know I could do these all day long. No one needs me to test my limits.

If you are a poet, writer, or really any kind of creator, I recommend you go to Poetic Asides and jump in with your own brand of creativity.

Almost True

I will not say
How
But these restless hours know
I am saturated
In a willful wild
Wantingness
That remains always unmet.
Sometimes in the twilit
Moments between awakened
And that fond
Escalation
Into dreaming,
I know some success
Which lingers only
A whisper delayed
Like
The stilling of the caressing
Hands on the face
Of a cuckoo clock,
Let to fall silent by an
Accident
Of neglect no one
Managed to prevent.
Time is transparent
But the break
Sinks hope beneath margins
And the glimpse of dazzling
Other
Has no fuel to write it,
No tool to catch it
Bind such dreams to present
Presence
Being reality might accept
Such opportunities developed
Possibilities, but the lines
Diverge
Like traffic headed for those
Destinations
East, North, South, West,
Deepening the dream
Almost caught, realized,
But need calls for rising,
Amnesia ensues.

The prompt for Prompted Positive Poetry was Dreams.

The dogs and I got out here today so I am including us.

I hope all are well and not overmuch inconvenienced by events. You are in my thoughts. I wrote five poems today should you care to read them all. May we all return to our standard lives as soon as safety allows.

Overwhelm

We are not
What is seen in looking,
We are
Tsunamis
Breaking upon shores
Of non-attendance,
Overflowing with
Abundances of LOVE,
Overcoming hesitance
That stifles generosity,
Conquering those tendencies
To cloister ourselves
Looking away,
Welcoming only companions;
Nevermore!
Our storm-wake recognizes
The outright necessity
Of every life,
Honored, treasured, valued
As even we, ourselves.
The world is not
A vague projected concept –
It is us,
Every person counted,
Matter and meaning,
Not something which
Must be sought and earned
With transitory achievement
But a given right of survival.