OctPoWriMo 31 - PEACE, an acrostic

Prompt: Finding Peace

PEACE, an acrostic

Pause

Everything

And

Catch

Equanimity

OctPoWriMo 30 - Each Piece of Me

Prompt: Who am I?

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

Each Piece of Me

I find the edges—make a frame
That can contain
The many varied pieces of
My life and love,
For I do not know what I’ll be
Until I see
Each piece of me.

OctPoWriMo 29 - Bursting Forth

Prompt: Lightness of Being

Image by Adina Voicu from Pixabay

Bursting Forth

I will reach
For the stars
I will spread my wings and fly
Casting off
All heaviness
I am free to reach the sky
I leave all my
Cares below
On Earth, which I hereby defy
Nothing will
Keep me down
Bursting forth, I am a butterfly

OctPoWriMo 28 - I Will Never Yield

Prompt: Mending the Broken Places
Form: Pantoum

Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay

I Will Never Yield

I was born with wings
But I must learn to fly.
No one pulls my strings;
I will reach the sky.

I must learn to fly,
And I know I’ll prevail.
I will reach the sky:
My wings are not so frail.

I know that I’ll prevail;
I will throw off these chains.
My wings are not so frail,
And I will rise again.

I will throw off these chains:
I’m broken but I’m healed,
And I will rise again,
And I will never yield.

I’m broken but I’m healed,
And no one pulls my strings,
And I will never yield,
For I was born with wings.

OctPoWriMo 27 - I'd Rather Make Mistakes

Prompt: How did I get here
Form: Ottava rima

Image by Simon Steinberger from Pixabay

I'd Rather Make Mistakes

Sometimes it feels like crawling up a hill
And I keep sliding back no matter what;
At other times it's like I'm standing still.
God, how do I get out of this deep rut?
If this is destiny, I'll take free will—
I'd rather make mistakes than be a robot.
Let me be just who I'm meant to be:
It may be hard but I'll at least be me.

OctPoWriMo 27 - Finding the Pieces

Prompt: What has been unspoken

Form: Jacob's Star

Image by Mike Sweeney from Pixabay

Finding the Pieces

What

Is my truth?

In many pieces

Scattered all around, some lost,

Some in the hands of others.

What is unspoken?

Who am I?

Trust.

***

I

Am human:

Broken? Or simply

Some assembly required.

Who am I really inside?

One piece at a time

I build me.

Faith.

***

Love:

The first piece,

The basis of life.

Trust is the glue that follows.

Faith keeps it all together.

But, to find each piece,

I still need

Hope.

OctPoWriMo 25 - White

Prompt: white
Form: musette

Image by Dorota Kudyba from Pixabay

White

White wings:
A dove of peace.
Good things.

White hoods,
Burning crosses:
Not good.

Snow, cold,
Clouds, light, shadows—
Nothing.

OctPoWriMo 24 - Take a Break

Prompt: breathe

I'm off sick today, so I wrote a really short poem.

Take a Break

Sometimes I just need to slow down,
To listen, to breathe, and to wait.
When life tries to help me to drown,
A break can help stress to abate.

OctPoWriMo 23 - An Ode to Dawn

Prompt: fur babies
Form: Ode

An Ode to Dawn

You knew what you liked;
I always felt blessed when you let me hold you.
With others, you’d struggle:
“Put me down!”
You liked to talk:
Meowing and purring and chirruping.
You wanted to be outside.
You thought we were so mean to keep you inside.
But we wanted to keep you safe.
I miss you.

OctPoWriMo 22 - I Broke My Heart

Prompt: Broken pieces

I Broke My Heart

I opened the door
Stepped off the edge
Fell into love

I thought I was soft
My heart open
But I shattered

I picked up the pieces
Glued together with gold
Better than I was

---

Kintsugi "is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum."

OctPoWriMo 21 - I Cannot Fix the World

Prompt: Screaming into the wind

I Cannot Fix the World

I am but one. I cannot fix
The world no matter what I do.
I do not have effective tricks.
I am but one. I cannot fix
Religion, earth, or politics
When you refuse to see what’s true.
I am but one. I cannot fix
The world no matter what I do.

OctPoWriMo 20 - The Mountain's Heart

Prompt: mountains or oceans
Form: haibun

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

The Mountain's Heart

Snowy heights. Cold thin air all year-round. Some seek to conquer the rocky ridges, but I am content to look up from down below. It is cold up there, cold and harsh and unforgiving, beautiful and deadly. A cap of snow, a face of rock, shoulders of trees. Stabbing at the sky, reaching through the clouds.

The mountain’s heart is
Blazing with heat and fire
Deep inside, hidden

OctPoWriMo 19 - The Whole Rainbow

Prompt: Purple
Form: Villanelle

The Whole Rainbow

I used to like purple the best
But now I love the whole rainbow:
Each part of me therein expressed.

As a child, I was obsessed;
I guess some things you just outgrow.
I used to like purple the best.

The prism in me manifest
Can through my life the spectrum show
Each part of me therein expressed.

It’s not a battle nor a test
To bring me to where I can glow.
I used to like purple the best.

And though I have not yet confessed
Every part of me, you know
Each part of me herein expressed.

No longer is my heart compressed;
Now I am free to learn and grow.
I used to like purple the best;
Each part of me herein expressed.

OctPoWriMo 18 - You Lied

Prompt: disappointment

You Lied

You told me love was ultimate
You told me everyone
You told me “all means all”
You lied

You told me there was nothing I could do to lose God’s love
You told me “just as I am”
You told me you loved me
You lied

I am apostate, heretic, backslider
Lost

You pray for me
You silence me
You wish that I would disappear

Where is the love?

OctPoWriMo 17 - Protect My Family

Prompt: Family
Form: Kyrielle

Protect My Family

When I hear the news I weep;

I don’t know how some people sleep.

I wish that all were safe and free;

God, protect my family.

It seems as if the world’s gone mad:

What’s bad is good; what’s good is bad,

And selfish people gloat with glee.

God, protect my family.

I thought He died for everyone;

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done:

Wasn’t that the guarantee?

God, protect my family.

OctPoWriMo 16 - Done With Time

Prompt: Father Time
Form: Blitz

Done With Time

Hurry, hurry, run, run, run
Hurry, getting nothing done
Done. I’m gonna stop this pace
Done with this rat race
Race I never signed up for
Race for nothing. I need more
More of life and more of peace
More joy before I cease
Cease living on my feet
Cease dancing to time’s beat
Beat the clock? Impossible
Beating gravity’s much more possible
Possible is relative
Possible’s not definite
Definite time will go on
Definitely, ‘til all’s gone
Gone, for time is not that kind
Gone out of sight and out of mind
Mind you, time can also heal
Mind and heart from all ordeal
Ordeals are long but not constant
Ordeals will end and I’m content
Content to stop and smell the roses
Content that time is never frozen
Frozen into crystalled ice
Frozen can seem nice
Nice that things are not declining
Nice and lifeless, fixed and shining
Shining in the stagnant sun
Shining ‘til it comes undone
Done with growing, changing, learning
Done, but no: the world keeps turning
Turning every day to night
Turning darkness into light
Light is truth, light is a liar
Light is life and light is fire
Fire warms and fire kills
Fire isn’t for cheap thrills
Thrills and chills and pounding heart
Thrills are sweet and thrills are tart
Tart and sassy, smart and sharp
Tart and brassy, cheeky harp
Harp will sing at break of dawn
Harping on and on forever
Forever is outside of time
Forever is the all of time
Time is nothing—it’s not real
Time is all: trapped in the wheel
Wheel…
Real...

OctPoWriMo 15 - Unbowed

Prompt: Mother May I
Form: Ballad

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Unbowed

My mother taught me how to sing
Even if you can’t,
How to do what you enjoy
With or without talent.

She taught me how to craft, create
Food and woolen things;
She gave me strength and daring to
Learn to use my wings.

And now, although she is long gone,
I know she would be proud
Of what I do and who I am:
Because of her, unbowed.

OctPoWriMo 14 - A Year in the Life of Mother Earth

Prompt: Mother Earth
Form: multiple tanka

A Year in the Life of Mother Earth

Hot sun beating down,
Lazy sleepy days of heat,
“Let’s go to the beach”
Time stretches out like taffy—
But then, much too soon, it ends.

The leaves are turning,
A chill creeps into the air:
Sweaters, pumpkins, boots,
Pumpkins, scarecrows, apples fall.
Ghosts may walk among the stones...

And then the snow flies,
Slush and ice and freezing cold.
In the longest dark
Red and green and gold and gifts
Remembering Jesus’ birth,

But soon it all melts;
Leaves and grass and flowers sprout,
The earth born again,
The cold is ousted and then:
The heady scent of flowers.

OctPoWriMo 13 - Creation is a Jubilee

Prompt: Hugging a Tree
Form: Rondeau

Creation is a Jubilee

A sparrow sings her song so free,
Perched in the branches of a tree
And, silhouetted ‘gainst the sky,
The leaves and branches charm my eye—
I am a forest devotee.

From great blue whale to honeybee,
Creation is a jubilee,
From elephant to butterfly.
A sparrow sings…

I bow my head and bend my knee;
The One Who made it all made me.
The simple things that mystify
Are selfsame things that satisfy.
I lay my hands upon a tree...
A sparrow sings.

OctPoWriMo 12 - A Spark in the Dark

Prompt: Black
Form: Shadow Sonnet

A Spark in the Dark

A shadow falls across my life, a shadow
To shield and cover me behind Your shield.
Your rainbow guards my heart. You hold the rainbow
To wield defending me. Your sword I wield:
The Word in flesh; the Light. You are the Word
And everything I need. You’re everything
Unheard no eye has seen nor ear has heard.
I sing in light or dark; for You I sing.
Night and day are Yours, and in the night
The stars proclaim Your glory. Moon and stars:
Light so gentle in the night. Their light
Applause. And all creation stands to give applause.
In darkest night, I find You in the dark;
You spark something with me. You’re my spark.

OctPoWriMo 11 - Peace

Prompt: Sound or Silence

Form: Loop poetry

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Peace

I used to love silence.

Silence gave me peace.

Peace, please return;

Return, and tinnitus, cease.

Never again quiet.

Quiet is noise.

Sound is forever,

Forever destroyed.

Music fills the corners—

Corners of shrill sound.

Sound in my head:

Head it off, drowned.

OctPoWriMo 10 - Please Ask

Prompt: Touch

Image by Maklay62 from Pixabay

Please Ask

They  say we all need touch to live
But please, ask me before you do.
I don’t want to be combative;
They say we all need touch to live
But if kindness you want to give
I may not want that touch with you.
They  say we all need touch to live
But please, ask me before you do.

OctPoWriMo 9 - Rose-Coloured Glasses

Prompt: Eyes

Rose-Coloured Glasses

Like Pollyanna, I will try to see
The good in everything that I endure;
A filter of rose does not make me carefree.
Like Pollyanna, I will try to see
The diamond hidden underneath debris.
I don’t believe this means I’m immature.
Like Pollyanna, I will try to see
The good in everything that I endure.

OctPoWriMo 8 - Scent

Prompt: scent
Form: sonnet

Scent

Roses blooming in the summer rain
And coffee brewing just before the dawn;
A mug of steaming chocolate keeps me sane
When flowers, kittens, raindrops all are gone.

A turkey roasting and a pumpkin pie,
Bacon frying, pine logs in the stove.
Forests, rivers, mountains soothe my eye;
My nose prefers mint, cinnamon, and cloves.

When I’m feeling sad or lost or blue
I remember all my favourite things:
A whiff of favoured smell can bring me through
And lift me up on reminiscent wings.

If I were blind and deaf I’d be content,
But I could not enjoy life without scent.

OctPoWriMo 7 - Be Kind

Prompt: Tongue
Form: Tongue Twister

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Be Kind

Sweet and sugary, sticky saccharine syrup
Sour and stinging sharp
Salty
Bitter and broken
A silver tongue can shiver and sliver and shred a soul

Sticks and stones shatter and smash
Words can crush and cripple
Fragment and fracture
Hammer a heart and split it in pieces

Restore, repair, and rebuild
Speak life
Twist your tongue to treat the trauma
Be benevolent, beneficent, good
Be kind

OctPoWriMo 6 - Lady Sky

Prompt: blue

Lady Sky

Along a dress of brightest blue

She wears a golden coronet

‘Til evening’s fall from morning’s dew.

Then, o’er her dress of brightest blue

She draws a raven wrap—gloves too,

And bows her head ‘til dawn is met.

Along a dress of brightest blue

She wears a golden coronet.

OctPoWriMo 5 - Wide Open

Prompt: Doors
Suggested form: The Bop

Wide Open

All my life I’ve sought the shadows:

Hiding who I am from everyone;

Presenting part of me as all of me;

A mask not quite a lie but not the whole

of who I really am. I like the quiet

in the darkness of my thoughts.

Fling the door wide open and let the light come in.

I am sensitive to sun and light:

Too much of it can quickly burn my skin,

But I cannot survive too long in shadow.

And yet the opened door is terrifying.

I am safe, alone and sheltered

here inside my refuge

where no one knows me

or my secrets.

Fling the door wide open and let the light come in.

With creaking, squeaking hinges,

my closet door cracks open.

I let a couple people in.

But fear still holds me in its grip

and keeps me in the dark. Why should I

share who I am with those I cannot trust?

Fling the door wide open and let the light come in.

OctPoWriMo 4 - Born With Wings

Prompt: Cage

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Born With Wings

I was born with wings, yet they were weak;

I needed training how to make them fly,

But no one told me I could reach the sky,

And those who flew were looked upon as freaks.

They told me I was meant to be unique,

But “normal” was the model to my eye.

It took me way too long to see the lie—

How can you find if you don’t know to seek?

Now fear is chains upon my heart and soul,

Heavy links that hold the feathers fast,

Doubt that tries to keep me in control.

When I come out and spread my wings at last

And fly into the blue, then I will see

That I was always meant to be this free.

OctPoWriMo 3 - Barren

Today's prompt is womb. This one was a little painful to write for me.

Image by Marion Wunder from Pixabay

Barren

“There is nothing more important to society than the raising of children, for its very survival requires it.”

Desolate
Empty
Dry and dead
The wind cries across the arid expanse
Seeds don’t sprout here
Rain doesn’t fall here

Nothing but sand and bare rocks as far as the eye can see

“...they have many of the collateral features of marriage, but they do not have its inherent feature, as they cannot commit to the natural procreation of children.”

Natural
Real
Creation
But nothing grows here

“They cannot therefore be married.”

My womb is empty, dry, and dead
I do not have the inherent feature

~
All quotes by Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

OctPoWriMo 2 - Changeling

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Changeling

What if I was someone else
And I didn’t know?
The child of gremlins, fairies, elves,
Switched so long ago.

And, if I never learned the truth,
Would it amount to naught?
A human copy so exact:
A flawless counterfeit.

So, who am I? And what am I?
And what does ‘human’ mean?
Am I a bag of meat and bones,
A flesh and blood machine?

Or am I made of stars and dust,
A spirit wrapped in skin?
An immortal soul who has
Only just begun?

Does it matter what I am
Or where my genesis?
Who I am is who I am
The rest irrelevant.

OctPoWriMo 1 - Change My Mind

Today's prompt is "Dark Night of the Soul." There is no suggested form, so I chose one of my favourites, the English sonnet.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Change My Mind

I look for myself in Mom, in Dad, in friends;
I look for myself in art, in love, in God;
But all I find is bits of odds and ends.
Is there a me? Or am I just a fraud?

And yet, each piece I find is part of me
And, piece by piece, I fit myself together
Just like a jigsaw puzzle, and I see
Some pieces join to be, not whole, but closer.

The dark night of my soul is when I find
A portion of the picture is something
That I don’t want to be. And yet my mind
Is mine. So this is me, despite the sting.

If I accept and integrate that part,
And change my mind, then I can change my heart.