NaPM April 13, 2018

[Todd]

Rules: Write a poem for national poetry month on the topic or form described. Each poem should appear as a separate reply to this thread. The goal is to, at the end of the month have written 30 poems for National Poetry Month.


Topic 13: Write a poem inspired by a secret.
Form : any
Line requirements: 8 lines or more


Questions?

[Tiger the Lion]

Secrets and Lies

Spring is a month tardy.

There are still bits of snow
where there should be shoots of green

and the birds don't give a shit
that the mailman has aged 
a decade this year. 

They've been chirping their hallelujahs 
since four-forty-five
like it's the first morning ever,

and I have to be at work soon.

[Knot]

Shame will keep you,
beneath the crowded earth,
till bones become mineral
and polished, turned
smooth as forgiveness;
that your roundness
may not draw blood.
But burden, you remain
enough to pull me down.

[Todd]

Look, Up in the Sky
 
I never understood my father.
I thought it was because
we looked nothing alike.
I would sneak out to watch
Pa work in the corn fields.
I'd be behind the stalks;
the humidity gluing the shirt
to my chest. At night, he would cut
crop circles, and explain how now
this would be the one place
people wouldn’t look for aliens.
Everyone scans the sky for glowing lights,
but can’t see what crashes
right in front of their face. I guess
that’s why even though I can see
the wing on a fly across the yard,
he has me wear glasses.

[vagabond]

Tiger the Lion:
Secrets and Lies

how do you do that.. assemble such casual lines to something powerful.
and yeah, who hasn´t yet cursed birds at 4:30 in the morning?
at my first read the last line seemed a bit expected... but on the second things/ hints became clearer.

Todd:
Look, Up in the Sky

the inverted purpose of glasses is able to send each reader to a personal interpretation, i think.
genious build up.

[RiverNotch]

About the Current Situation

for Mercedes


The bottom line is we changed an industry:
now everyone wants their own epic franchise.
Every studio -- every country

with nothing to its name
but landscapes, cows, and those big-eyed
big-ass men in skirts screaming

like schoolboys -- every director
with a vision. But it's hard to save a world:
it took us three movies

and what we showed in the theaters
was barely the whole story.
We cut out most of the party.

---

I hope I did your country justice

[cloud]

the only secret
is that there is no secret
death is coming: the acid truth
living with the bitterness in one's mouth
whether to spit it out or swallow it whole: run or hide 
some are numb to the taste; they cut out the tongue
but savor it - the pasty, bubbly strife
it reminds me being is pain
it reminds me we never change

I'm upset at how emo this turned out.
oh well, fuck it, I guess.

[Lizzie]

Shhhhhh.....

What secrets can ruin a man?
When the comb-over stops working
and yields to the comb around and up.
When the mistress describes his best moves,
phallus appearance – the mediocrity of both.
When the friend swore with his hand raised
but his fingers crossed
that he’d jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.
When the IRS releases his tax returns.
What infernal melting comes next?
The waxen face of a man who has not chosen wisely.

[just mercedes]

Kingdoms and keys



In the back of a drawer
of an old writing desk in the attic,
helping your mother clear away clutter,
you come across a bunch of keys
tagged in spidery copperplate
‘Unknown’
and you pocket it.

You know you’ll need help later
with old secrets. They’re lined up
already, all those dusty suitcases
and trunks.

---

About the Current Situation

for Mercedes


The bottom line is we changed an industry:
now everyone wants their own epic franchise.
Every studio -- every country

with nothing to its name
but landscapes, cows, and those big-eyed
big-ass men in skirts screaming

like schoolboys -- every director
with a vision. But it's hard to save a world:
it took us three movies

and what we showed in the theaters
was barely the whole story.
We cut out most of the party.

---

I hope I did your country justice

You sure did! I love it. Genius.   Friends of mine worked on sets for LOTR and Avatar, for years - most of the best artistic talent in NZ worked and partied together for those years. Their stories are even more bizarre than the ones they worked on.

[dukealien]

Open Secret


A secret’s value lies
not in obscurity
but its utility:
billions know the secret
of success, which is to spend
less than they get—
for most, without ability
to check themselves, futility.

[Richard]

Jerome of Sandy Cove

We know when you died, but nothing of your birth.

Perhaps a sailor punished for mutiny?
Or a problematic foreigner who lost his legs
when he fell through the ice in Chipman?
Although you never spoke our language,
so may be everyone else seemed like agitating tourists,
asking for directions, accents thick.
Or were you the cursed incarnation of a saint,
your noises difficult to translate;
your legacy a strange encyclopedia entry.

You took your true identity to death,
and probably tried to keep the secret then too.

---

Shhhhhh.....

What secrets can ruin a man?
When the comb-over stops working
and yields to the comb around and up.
When the mistress describes his best moves,
phallus appearance – the mediocrity of both.
When the friend swore with his hand raised
but his fingers crossed
that he’d jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.
When the IRS releases his tax returns.
What infernal melting comes next?
The waxen face of a man who has not chosen wisely.

Love this Lizzie. The last line is especially effective, and I love how used "waxen". Nice work

[Lizzie]

Look, Up in the Sky
 


that’s why even though I can see
the wing on a fly across the yard,
he has me wear glasses.

It's striking the difference between "I have to wear glasses" and "he has me wear glasses." Little tweaks with big implications.

A keeper.

---

Love this Lizzie. The last line is especially effective, and I love how used "waxen". Nice work

Gracias.

[danny_]

Hey cloud, I don't think you should be too hard on yourself. This is all good for practice and growing as writers. Besides that, it wasn't bad what you posted. I've been busy, but also a little reluctant to post anything as I also tend to look pretty critically at everything I write. It's probably a good thing, up to a point. But you had the courage to post anyway, and I think I'll go ahead and try myself as well.

After all,
when you're high up on the lake's windy cliff-side
staring down at the little boat and deep blue-green,
somebody has to be the first
to jump.

(I don't know where that came from except a memory that popped into my head. Maybe I'll go write about it.) Cheers mate!

[Keith]

Foundation on a bruise

Sunday was silenced
by saturday night,
a split lip sips coffee
from a worlds greatest mum mug.

Children won't get dressed today
they know Disney isn't real,
they know which charaters to play
and all their lines.

Sunglasses stop the glare
head scarf keeps her mind
from spilling out into the supermarket.
She smashes her parking lot fists
onto the steering wheel
then opens her trembling fingers.

The children risk a glance at dad
as the back door breaks its seal,
his beer goes into the fridge first.
"you've been a long time, were starving in here"
She steady's herself, ready to speak for the first time that day
and takes a bread knife out of the drawer.

It's a question, that she knows will reset the day.
"Who wants peanut butter sandwiches?"
"Me me me" shout the children resuming their childhood.
She spreads it so thick, they can't see the bread.

[danny_]

Foundation on a bruise

This was quite engaging, especially after a few reads. A few parts could be made a little clearer but I do see the whole picture. Only the second stanza seemed a bit confusing, and the title perhaps doesn't do it justice. A very touching subject for me, and also something I have written about before.

"a split lip sips coffee" - good image to say without saying.
"She smashes her parking lot fists" - giving the fists the noun-as-adjective of what they actually were responsible for. i like it.
"resuming their childhood" - yes.
"[...] they can't see the bread" - nice ending line, with dual meaning.

Good work, put it in the workshop later and shape it up even better.

[Keith]

Foundation on a bruise

This was quite engaging, especially after a few reads. A few parts could be made a little clearer but I do see the whole picture. Only the second stanza seemed a bit confusing, and the title perhaps doesn't do it justice. A very touching subject for me, and also something I have written about before.

"a split lip sips coffee" - good image to say without saying.
"She smashes her parking lot fists" - giving the fists the noun-as-adjective of what they actually were responsible for. i like it.
"resuming their childhood" - yes.
"[...] they can't see the bread" - nice ending line, with dual meaning.



Good work, put it in the workshop later and shape it up even better.

Thanks Danny for the feedback, really appreciated. I am hoping to select a few for the workshops when we reach the end, its good to know you think this one is worth it. Best Keith

[RiverNotch]

About the Current Situation

for Mercedes


The bottom line is we changed an industry:
now everyone wants their own epic franchise.
Every studio -- every country

with nothing to its name
but landscapes, cows, and those big-eyed
big-ass men in skirts screaming

like schoolboys -- every director
with a vision. But it's hard to save a world:
it took us three movies

and what we showed in the theaters
was barely the whole story.
We cut out most of the party.

---

I hope I did your country justice

You sure did! I love it. Genius.   Friends of mine worked on sets for LOTR and Avatar, for years - most of the best artistic talent in NZ worked and partied together for those years. Their stories are even more bizarre than the ones they worked on.

I think at about the same day I wrote this I learned a bit about some issues regarding the production of LOTR -- well, of The Hobbit, at least. At any rate, here's a bit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi7t_g5QObs

[Keith]

Look, Up in the Sky
 
I never understood my father.
I thought it was because
we looked nothing alike.
I would sneak out to watch
Pa work in the corn fields.
I'd be behind the stalks;
the humidity gluing the shirt
to my chest. At night, he would cut
crop circles, and explain how now
this would be the one place
people wouldn’t look for aliens.
Everyone scans the sky for glowing lights,
but can’t see what crashes
right in front of their face. I guess
that’s why even though I can see
the wing on a fly across the yard,
he has me wear glasses.

The penny has on just dropped on this one Todd, but very much enjoyed, its good to come back and read. Best Keith

[vagabond]

horror vacui

complex matters compulse
into the negative pressure
of elements
keeping to pop into existence.
secrets are sucking,
vacuum is harmful.
i need a distraction.

silence be filled,
my world needs a sound.
any noise does,
any comforting hum.

first version, utter crap (well, the thing didn´t get much better):

horror vacui

matters
are useful distraction
not random compulsion.
secrets are sucking,
vacuum is harmful,
opposing the pressure
of things that want out.

silence be filled,
my world needs a sound.
any noise does,
any comforting hum.

[Leanne]

Fried

Eleven herbs and spices, finger lickin',
an advertiser's dream in crumbs and grease --
ain't nothing beats the Colonel's famous chicken

When we were kids our little hearts would quicken
just thinking of the flavour of a piece:
eleven herbs and spices, finger lickin'

For road trips, birthday treats or just picnickin'
the salty gobs of fat would bring us peace
ain't nothing beats the Colonel's famous chicken

The rumours were that KFC were trickin'
and it was pigeon fried, or maybe meece --
eleven herbs and spices, finger lickin'

And even when the folks began to sicken,
the payouts figures never did increase --
ain't nothing beats the Colonel's famous chicken

Just salt and pepper, bit of flour to thicken
the greedy are not very hard to fleece
eleven herbs and spices, finger lickin' 
ain't nothing beats the Colonel's famous chicken