This was written on April 1, 2016
Ode to Kwame Alexander (aka Lemme ShakeYour Hand, Sir)
Oh, Kwame—
With your wonder words—
Laying lines of rhyme,
Preying on prepositions in their prime:
Outside the cage,
‘Round with rage
With, or without, wage,
Down
the
page.
Within the winsome,
Surrounding the sweetness,
Hanging with the hope.
Throw me a challenge.
Amuse me with your musing.
Confuse me until I see.
Wind me up with wondering.
Word to your words.
Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein (Shadorma poem)
Gun and cash –
Sixteen and alone –
Sara Jane
Rispoli
Needs to find her parents and
Fight for her own life.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Acrostic)
Wallowing in the pain of
Awkward adolescence,
Learning to
Love others and to become
Free enough to
Love yourself,
Outcast, and casting out the
Wailing of an
Earlier you –
Redeemable with truth.
This one is a cinquain (5 lines, syllables 2-4-6-8-2).
Auggie,
With heart of gold,
Face-to-face with bullies –
Being himself for his own sake
And theirs.
For this new trilogy, I have written a Triolet…
Genius appliances and friends,
Treasures found in Tesla’s Attic,
Are they magic or mathematic?
Genius appliances, and friends,
Are drawn to the new kid Nick.
One who might know how it ends-
Genius appliances and friends-
Treasures found in Tesla’s attic.
Med Head: My Knock-down, Drag-out, Drugged-up Battle with My Brain by James Patterson
There once was a young man named Cory,
Who had a triumphant story –
Tourette’s, OCD,
Mixed with anxiety-
Tough love (not the meds) brought him glory.
Today’s Poem is a Tanka. (Syllable pattern 5-7-5-7-7).
Coffee nut latte?
Maybe that makes Cam perfect
For Em (or does it?)
Espressology’s a hit.
People want love and lattes.
This is a Kyrielle poem in response to Sharon Draper’s most recent book Panic (which I began and completed today).
DIAMOND
Though people tell of the danger,
Say “Never talk to a stranger”,
It was in public – light of day,
So She went with him anyway.
He was professionally dressed,
His intentions kept full at bay,
He portrayed a family-man (blessed)
So She went with him anyway.
She didn’t have nary a clue
Of the nasty things he would do,
Or the way the acts he’d display,
So She went with him anyway.
He claimed a daughter and a wife,
His evil plan not on display.
She wasn’t concerned for her life,
So She went with him anyway.
This is a “Found Poem” which is like a word-collage. I pulled some words and phrases from pages 98-100 of
The Smart Aleck’s Guide to American History, and arranged them into this:
Whig on a penny
Depression
Grew up to be
on the five-dollar bill.
Hated by some
Abraham Lincoln
Crippling anxiety
“Good Guys” and “Bad Guys” on both sides
States’ rights
Not all Southerners favored
Articles of Secession
Tariff disputes
Stovepipe Hat
End slavery
When I made the decision to post a poem each day of this month, it was with the intention of writing a different type of poem each day. I keep coming across the Blitz poem (invented by Robert Keim), and I felt the need to try it. It was challenging, but fun. Here’s what I came up with…
Man-All
Man o’ war
Man of steel
Steel boned corsets
Steel cut oats
Oats and whey
Oats and grains
Grains of sand
Grains of truth
Truth or dare
Truth be told
Told you twice
Told you so
So it goes
So you say
Say a prayer
Say my name
Name of names
Name that tune
Tune the piano
Tune in
In the closet
In the dark
Dark of night
Dark of day
Day of reckoning
Day-dream
Dream a dream
Dream and wish
Wish on a star
Wish me luck
Luck of the Irish
Luck be a lady
Lady and gent
Lady in waiting
Waiting on train
Waiting on a friend
Friend indeed
Friend in need
Need a break
Need a drink
Drink it up
Drink to that
That is all
That is enough
Enough to eat
Enough said
Said it all
Said it best
Best…
All…
The Read-e-ologist 