Today’s entry for the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon is an erasure poem. That’s where you take some found text and erase or black out parts of it. My found text is the Missouri attorney general’s emergency rule making trans health care nearly impossible to obtain — an attempt to erase trans Missourians.
Erasure
~~
For my 12th entry in the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon, I’m back to haiku.
Puffs of white on the
horizon bring no rain, stand
of blooming dogwoods
Day 11 of the the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon.
Last Piano Lesson
Once he was going to be a concert
pianist, his fingers
shaping his whole future
composing and performing to wide
acclaim, the dreams of a 12-year-old
plus his mother and the
teacher who discovered
and showed him his best musical self.
Three years on a decade of lessons
ended on the same bench
where his feet once dangled.
He had grown into a visionary
aware of many possible bright
futures with the boldness
to explore new dreams and
the youthful wisdom of letting go.
~~
I almost forgot to write something today for the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon, but managed to get something knocked out after all.
The Window By My Bed
I was often sleepless even
as a child and watched the night
unfold outside the window by
my bed, knew which neighbors
came home late and stumbling,
which other windows of other houses
would have a light on at midnight,
became familiar with the erratic
shadow theater of moths and bats
playing out around the streetlight
on the corner, the same one where
the big boy from a few doors down
would stop many nights to extinguish
a tiny red glow, flicking it
away into the dark, before
exiting my field of vision
himself, leaving a faint glimmer
of mystery lingering on.
~~
Today is day nine in the City of Refuge 30-day Poem-a-Thon. Here’s my entry.
Sun Hat
From the closet each April I retrieve my most
valiant protector, a woven oval
of straw, a simple band of blue fabric
its only flourish. Not all heroes are
flashy with a complicated backstory.
Sometimes a quiet, stolid presence provides
the most effective aid, and I have learned the pain
of disregarding this fact.
~~
This is my day eight entry for the City of Refuge April Poem-a-Thon. A little attempt at humor today.
Poet’s Narcissus, Identified
Seventy-four species identified
by the app on my phone. One more, I get
a badge. Puffed up with my near achievement
I scout the neighborhood park for a plant
or critter to put me over the top.
Across the creek, frilled white bonnets bob in
the breeze looking freshly laundered, each one
framing golden lips lined in red, puckered
for an expected kiss. My phone app says
seventy-five is Poet’s Narcissus.
So perfect! Were these placed here just for me?
~~
My day seven entry for the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon. This is another one that feels somewhat unfinished to me, but I’m calling good enough for now.
Wayfinding
Pick an escape, any escape
Knock on the door of fate
What does the glass orb show?
A way out or a way in?
Which way out, which way in?
Or is the vision dim?
Let the stars chart a path
If no path can be seen
Venture into the darkness.
But take a light.
Pick a light, any light.
~~
My day six entry for the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon. I decided today to follow their prompt which suggested using rhyme in some way. I have a feeling I will add more to this later, but for now I’m calling it done enough.
Things I Am Choosing to Ignore
The widening crack in the bathroom wall
The box of “decluttered” items in my entry hall
The plan I made for this day last night
The opportunity to make that right
The distance between my heart and head
The number of books on my list “to be read”
The conspiracy theories of a stranger
A growing sense of impending danger
Criticism from people who have no clue
And the agendas they want to pursue
~~
My day five entry for the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon is a haiku, a form I haven’t written in much.
Field of hyacinth
humble beauty caresses
every footstep
**
Day 4 entry for the City of Refuge Poem-a-Thon. For this one in particular, I feel the need to remind everyone it’s a rough draft. I only had a few free minutes today. I chose a list of random words and tried to connect them without overthinking.
Among Faces I Know
Among faces I know
Time has made many deep
Change coming in the enrichment of details
Dimes spent to cover the etchings,
Pursuing erasure, can only stretch so far
The face will do its job of showing the
Threads that create a life story
May my eyes seek the depth, the details,
The story, the human within the story
~~
Nomadic Noesis 