NaPM April 1 2014

[milo]

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 1: In honor of April fool's day, write a poem about being a fool or being fooled or fools, fooling someone else or general foolishness.
Form : any
Line requirements: 8 lines or more

Questions?

[ellajam]

April Allergy

I must be mistaken, thought spring was the season
for growth and renewal. It's not a good reason
to dwell on the dry thorny branch of desires
long dead when instead we could light some new fires.
Though we're all fools for love moving on is not treason,
please dig for another emotion to seize on;
if I read one more poem of lost loves in past lives
what is now just an itch will become full-blown hives.


, okay, now that that's off my mind I'll think on it again.

[Truerenigma]

April Allergy

I must be mistaken, thought spring was the season
for growth and renewal. It's not a good reason
to dwell on the dry thorny branch of desires
long dead when instead we could light some new fires.
Though we're all fools for love moving on is not treason,
please dig for another emotion to seize on;
if I read one more poem of lost loves in past lives
what is now just an itch will become full-blown hives.


, okay, now that that's off my mind I'll think on it again.

I love it! Congrats on being first

I'm trying to get free to write one but it's going to be a juggling act.

[Keith]

Hot rays breed car rage,
twice my size half my age,
foolish ways dumb days.

Drunk too much acting tough,
said his girl looked a bit rough,
foolish rebuff slapped hard enough.

The Doctor said its not right,
for a man my years to fight,
foolish sight but I'm not that bright.

[ChristopherSea]

foolhardy mind expansion of youth

One Bad Trip to Mexico and Back

‘A Yaqui Way of Knowledge,’
it was no Shaman guide,
by Carlos Castaneda,
some say it was all lies.

It was the only map I had
to Sonoran hideaways,
but I found no desert wizard,
yet did it anyway.

I ate peyote buttons
to muster spirit strength,
for what, I could not fathom,
as I lost common sense.

My mind ran towards the mesa
in such great fear of me.
I prayed to Mescalito,
‘Please catch my sanity.’

My head swept across the desert
on turquoise paisley winds.
That damn bird, Quetzalcoatyl,
sunk claws in me again.

He dropped me on plaid cacti;
my brain, a dried out seed.
It rolled on back to the USA,
gray-matter tumble weed.

I was caught up in strong tailwinds
of ‘The Yellow Submarine.’
The stratosphere’s so lonely;
I'm afraid of Tatooine.

I asked that opal Moon-Man
to gather stars for me
and scribe this stellar message
for those below to see:

Someone wake Ken Kesey,
perhaps he can help me;
I’m flying solo, way too high,
over the cuckoo’s nest this eve.



Quetzalcoatl ˌ(kwet-səl-kwä-təl)

[cidermaid]

More fool me,

For thinking this was just
a simple recipe, a sweet desert
that you would share with me alone.

I should have known
that all those Sue chefs, whipping
up their creamy dreams
and stiff whisked soufflé,
were three spoons too many
for a homely pie.

Your stainless display
complete with flame grill and flambé
has caused this gooseberry fool
to separate.

[justcloudy]

Hawaiian shirts and sunburns

Straight from Aladdin’s cave
he told us, braided tassels to boot!--
a carpet made of finest silk
dyed with beetles and roots!
It’ll last five lifetimes!--
we’ll hand it down to Praxton.
Our sweet daughter will treasure it,
this jewel from Tangier’s old town.

[ellajam]

Enough

She clips the bells from the floppy
tips of her cap, slips in unnoticed.
Patient, she listens, hoping to catch
a thread woven throughout the hum,
to make sense of overheard exchanges.
Though she recognizes words, the language
winds, foreign in it's complexity, slippery
in it's simplicity. Half-fluent, in her estimation,
she cartwheels quickly though the crowd, satisfied
with a smile.

[Truerenigma]

An Injured Psyche

Dear Venus, I no longer search the bars
and pubs for ghosts. I sensed your waif-like form
brush by in nightclubs, slipping into cars--
long out the door before I drank the worm.

I pine no more for you or heaven, God
knows where it is; up in the stars, cross-legged,
or pissing on the neighbor's lightening rod,
after the last bad boss that ran you ragged.

There is a spirit that I used to know
though, and still keep; it whistles from the pines
at night, and howls on Cupid's radio--
where ambulances go, a siren whines.

---

[shemthepenman]

I heard it said...

I heard it said there were four golden tablets in a hill,
where old Joe Smith, the farmer's boy, translated God's own will.
He skipped to tell poor Elsie, who'd been playing through her lenses
with a Turk that made light work of all of her defenses.

He came upon the stony brook behind his little home
when a mermaid came to shore delivering a bone.
—what's all this, said old Joe Smith, a distant cousin, surely!
But as old cousins come and go, he's looking rather poorly.

—I'll take him back and dust him down and read him his last rights
in the shed, beside Ray's bed, filmed in grainy black and white.
But, just then a 10 foot giant came charging up the way,
knocking fairies left and right and shouting:
—I'm Keyser fucking Soze!

[milo]

looking really good, so far. I haven't had time for more than cursory reads in between pretending to be working but i will return!

[ellajam]

More fool me,

For thinking this was just
a simple recipe, a sweet desert
that you would share with me alone.

I should have known
that all those Sue chefs, whipping
up their creamy dreams
and stiff whisked soufflé,
were three spoons too many
for a homely pie.

Your stainless display
complete with flame grill and flambé
has caused this gooseberry fool
to separate.

I can't get enough of this one. It's a keeper.

[milo]

Am I a Fool

Am I a fool to see a ghost -
a girl that walks along the coast
as lavender’s the ghost of grey
and one will turn to none and say,
"am I a fool."

This morning could be spent like most -
the endless days of tea and toast
but I won’t give the ghost away
am I a fool?

Three for the pot and one to roast
the spirit’s gone without the host
as night will always conquer day
as ghosts of voices fade away
you call me still so I just may -
Am I a fool?

[Brownlie]

Am I a Fool

Am I a fool to see a ghost -
a girl that walks along the coast
as lavender’s the ghost of grey
and one will turn to none and say,
"am I a fool."

This morning could be spent like most -
the endless days of tea and toast
but I won’t give the ghost away
am I a fool?

Three for the pot and one to roast
the spirit’s gone without the host
as night will always conquer day
as ghosts of voices fade away
you call me still so I just may -
Am I a fool?

You built to the anaphora really well here.

---

An Injured Psyche

Dear Venus, I no longer search the bars
and pubs for ghosts. I sensed your waif-like form
brush by in nightclubs, slipping into cars--
long out the door before I drank the worm.

I pine no more for you or heaven, God
knows where it is; up in the stars, cross-legged,
or pissing on the neighbor's lightening rod,
after the last bad boss that ran you ragged.

There is a spirit that I used to know
though, and still keep; it whistles from the pines
at night, and howls on Cupid's radio--
where ambulances go, a siren whines.

---

Props on this one the references and puns are very impressive

[jdvanwijk]

Viral

When the bucket refused to tilt
and came crashing down instead,
and knocked the little lady dead,
there were some doubts as to our ploy,
suggestions for revisions voiced,
and there appeared inside our heads
a minor sense of guilt.

But now we've upped it to our 'Space,
and people whom we've never met
expressed their joy all o'er the Web,
we cannot help but feeling proud
that, though our parents might find out,
we chose to be both strong and brave, and left
the world a happier place.

[milo]

April Allergy

I must be mistaken, thought spring was the season
for growth and renewal. It's not a good reason
to dwell on the dry thorny branch of desires
long dead when instead we could light some new fires.
Though we're all fools for love moving on is not treason,
please dig for another emotion to seize on;
if I read one more poem of lost loves in past lives
what is now just an itch will become full-blown hives.


, okay, now that that's off my mind I'll think on it again.

This was clever and fun. I like what you did with the rhymes. There were a couple patches where the meter caught me but it was a smooth read overall.

Thanks for posting.

---

Hot rays breed car rage,
twice my size half my age,
foolish ways dumb days.

Drunk too much acting tough,
said his girl looked a bit rough,
foolish rebuff slapped hard enough.

The Doctor said its not right,
for a man my years to fight,
foolish sight but I'm not that bright.

Nice. This is the perfect fool story, Keith.

[ellajam]

April Allergy

I must be mistaken, thought spring was the season
for growth and renewal. It's not a good reason
to dwell on the dry thorny branch of desires
long dead when instead we could light some new fires.
Though we're all fools for love moving on is not treason,
please dig for another emotion to seize on;
if I read one more poem of lost loves in past lives
what is now just an itch will become full-blown hives.


, okay, now that that's off my mind I'll think on it again.

This was clever and fun. I like what you did with the rhymes. There were a couple patches where the meter caught me but it was a smooth read overall.

Thanks for posting.

ha, I thought of you when I doubled on dry thorny.

I know, I still make the meter work right in my head, it's hard for me to identify the spots that are off. Practice, I guess.

---

Viral

When the bucket refused to tilt
and came crashing down instead,
and knocked the little lady dead,
there were some doubts as to our ploy,
suggestions for revisions voiced,
and there appeared inside our heads
a minor sense of guilt.

But now we've upped it to our 'Space,
and people whom we've never met
expressed their joy all o'er the Web,
we cannot help but feeling proud
that, though our parents might find out,
we chose to be both strong and brave, and left
the world a happier place.

Great to see you posting again.

[milo]

Viral

When the bucket refused to tilt
and came crashing down instead,
and knocked the little lady dead,
there were some doubts as to our ploy,
suggestions for revisions voiced,
and there appeared inside our heads
a minor sense of guilt.

But now we've upped it to our 'Space,
and people whom we've never met
expressed their joy all o'er the Web,
we cannot help but feeling proud
that, though our parents might find out,
we chose to be both strong and brave, and left
the world a happier place.

There is a lot going on in here. Very interesting. Hope you get some more in.

[milo]

Enough

She clips the bells from the floppy
tips of her cap, slips in unnoticed.
Patient, she listens, hoping to catch
a thread woven throughout the hum,
to make sense of overheard exchanges.
Though she recognizes words, the language
winds, foreign in it's complexity, slippery
in it's simplicity. Half-fluent, in her estimation,
she cartwheels quickly though the crowd, satisfied
with a smile.

Just noticed you snuck in a second one here!

[ellajam]

Enough

She clips the bells from the floppy
tips of her cap, slips in unnoticed.
Patient, she listens, hoping to catch
a thread woven throughout the hum,
to make sense of overheard exchanges.
Though she recognizes words, the language
winds, foreign in it's complexity, slippery
in it's simplicity. Half-fluent, in her estimation,
she cartwheels quickly though the crowd, satisfied
with a smile.

Just noticed you snuck in a second one here!

So many fools, so little time.