Poetry Corner February 2009

Working the Room

Champagne glasses clink together,
Laughter fills the evening air,
Music set its subtle mood as
Fashion flashes everywhere.
In the middle of it all
You begin to weave your loom,
And I can only stand in awe
To watch you work the room.

There’s a sparkle in your eye
Meant for all the world to know,
Captured from a midnight sky,
Projected in its afterglow.
Lifting up your audience
Far beyond the waning moon,
Magic follows everywhere as you’re
Working the room.

Others try to steal your spotlight,
But they can’t compete.
They just fade into the background,
Left to worship at your feet.

You are every roving star
Filling up the nighttime sky,
Flaunting wings of fantasy;
Never mind the reason why.
Finding favor everywhere to
Chase away the gloom.
There’s a celebration as you’re
Working the room.

~ Dennis S Martin
http://www.iwritesome.com
http://iwritesome.blogspot.com/

SCARS

There’s a little red spot on my left breast.
Where the biopsy needle went in.
There’s a long purple smile beside it,
Where the surgeon pulled back the skin.
And she scraped all the bad ole stuff right out.
I put my pants back on, and I went home with my doubts.
Did I take one hormone too many?
Should I have drunk more red wine?
Did I smoke too many cigarettes?
Which of these risks was mine?
I was number eight out of ten,
On the clinic dry erase board that day.
We all put our pants back on.
We all went home to wait.

And we all have scars no one else can see.
From pain we don’t want to remember.
They make us move in different ways,
Leave places that are tender.

My Ex signed by all the Xs on the paper.
His lawyer shoved the pen at me.
A judge can sign off on all this stuff.
But I know I’ll never be free.
Somewhere we lost the real-deal love.
I went home, all by myself, and asked the stars above.
Should I have given him a baby?
Would he have stayed home a little more?
Why did he have to correct my grammar?
Why did I scream when he walked out the door?
We were the third divorce case,
In his lawyer’s office that day.
We all put our coats back on.
And went our separate ways.

And we all have scars no one else can see.
From pain we don’t want to remember.
They make us move in different ways,
Leave places that are tender.

~ Jan Bossing © Joelton, TN 2007

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You Are Like the Light

You walked along the wrong path
For a very long time,
You stopped when you knew
You had crossed the line.

It took something very wrong
To make something very right,
Before you were in darkness
And now you're in the light.

You learned bad experiences
You almost lived in hell,
You learned possibilities
You were saved by the bell.

The "virus" I call the bell
Because it opened up your soul,
Before the world was over you
But now you're in control.

This time God really barked
He barked, but didn't bite,
It just scared you enough
To make you want to fight.

In your old path of life
You refused your way out,
But now you finally realized
What life is really about.

When you discovered your disease
You thought you were said and done,
Not realizing at all
Your life had just begun.

Now you're on the road
Now you must keep on living,
Testify your experiences
And heal by giving.

Enjoy your living life
Let go of all your fears,
Remember all the laughter
And forget about the tears.

Life can be very long
It can also be short,
Just have proof of innocence
When you reach heavens court.

Oh sister, you're in my heart
And this poem I had to write,
Before you were in darkness
But now you're in the light

I love you! I can't wait to see you again!
I miss you! But until then......

Written By Iris Erielle Foss for sister Maria before she died of AIDS

A Self

A Self
Is Found
In Each Belief
In Each Moment
In Each Experience

A Self
Is Energy
Completely Aglow
Fueled
By The Match
Of Consciousness

Burning At Different Intensities
The Flame
Of Each Self
Becomes A Candle
Within The Framework
Of Spontaneous Selves

The Self
Is A Reflection
Of Becoming
In The Awareness
Of The Wick
The Wax
The Candle
And The Light

From the 2008 Collection of Spirit Songs by Hal Manogue poet and author of Short Sleeves Insights and Short Sleeves A Book For Friends http://halmanogue.blogspot.com/

I Can Do It, Lord

I can be who you want me to be!
I need practice every day for the rest of my life,
But I know now that I can respond to you as you wish.
Please be merciful and kind to me.
Pay special attention to the ways I learn best and
Teach me according to my mind set.
Be as gentle as possible, I ask.

As for me, I bravely set myself to practice the lessons
You give me from day to day.

My testimony is:
The Lord and I are working together.
We have lots on our minds…much work to do
(work in my inner person, testimony to give others,
fruits of the Holy Spirit to bring forth,
many good works to accomplish).

I remain your faithful and loyal servant.
What's my next assignment?

~ Dianne Hansen, Bipolar blog Enjoying Your Health : http://enjoyingyourhealth.com

Sky

Rain falls from the sky
down on to the white desert of satin,
from a dark hazel emotion
as the devil smiles away his sorrow
in seing his angel fly,
saying he was never afraid of anything,
except the part where he became a memory
blurred out of the sky.

See how many times I write sky?
Is because Heaven is inexistent,
and I cannot speak of that which I cannot pray
... and I cannot pray to the sands of satin...
not while the rain falls from the hazel-colored sky.

Nostalgic

If you saw me, desire me
Like the moon desires the sun's sighs,
Like the clouds desire the touch of the rain.
Beautiful as the sunset,
Beautiful as the night sky,
You are far away...

I can't have the luxury of having you
Because I cannot have the luxury of having a soul,
That misses you,
That wants you,
That tells me just how empty is my existence without you.

How little poetic we become,
When we turn all mushy and nostalgic!

Yuvia Chairez. Born, raised, and currently living in the border town of Juarez, Mexico. Writer, Veterinarian, and Teacher, she has been published in several cultural magazines in Mexico (Fronteras, Armario, Tierra Adentro), as well as several poetry anthology books from various authors ("Ciudad de Cierto, Rio", "Voces de la Frontera", "Memorias del Encuentro de Poetras" -- all of them from Doble Helice Editorial). As a writer, she has won the David Alfaro Siqueiros Award given by the Chihuahua Culture Institute with her short story book, "De la Luna y Otros Vicios" (From the Moon and Other Vices). She currently works as an ESL Teacher at the North Regional University (URN). Web page: deviantart.com