poetry | ManicDDaily

Archive for the ‘poetry’ category

“White Flag”

January 6, 2013

Diorama from North American Mammals Section of the American Museum of Natural History (from AMNH’s site)

White Flag

We go to the museum
after a spat, the white flag
between us deep rose
as it’s raised and crimped a bit
as lips tend to be
aborting retort, though

it unfurls soon enough
under the spiny heights of browned bones
in smiles that flash,
rather than bare,
our teeth (slightly yellowing).

Until we’re faced with a true war – man
against planet – and root together, on the wrong
side of the diorama, for the two wolves’ bristling run
across a snow as flat as cloth, a painted
peace, shivering

suddenly
even in the cramped
corridor, the darkness
a furred hood, wishing, as one, for somewhere’s
frozen luminescence, somewhere’s crust
of North-lit pine, somewhere’s fanged
wind, sharp
possibility, bite not yet
surrendered.

Quiet
walking back
to the train.

****************************************

Here’s a rather odd poem for dVerse Poets Pub’s prompt on peace hosted by Mary Kling. The picture is a picture of one of the newly restored dioramas at the wonderful American Museum of Natural History in NYC.

Categories: poetry
Tags: "White Flag", making peace at AMNH poem, man against planet, manicddaily, White Flag poem, wolves running under glass poem

Comments: 24 Comments

“Vi(r)gilant” Friday Flash 55

January 4, 2013

Vi(r)gilant

My rearing more classical
than equine,
I never understood why
you shouldn’t look a gift horse
in the mouth.

Especially if you wanted
to scope out
hiding Greeks.

I imagined peering down the maned
gullet, muzzle cocked, as I stood upon
a chair in High School English, faces
in the dark chest cavity torchlit,
alarmed.

******************************
55 true and slightly toothless words for the wonderful (and very tricky) G-Man. Have a great week-end!

PS – Virgil here is author of the Aeneid, which, along with Homer’s Odyssey, is the main source of Trojan Horse story. I had to read the Aeneid in college, not high school, but I learned the story well before college – maybe even from cartoons! (As always, all rights reserved on drawings as well as words. Love to have people use, but please ask and credit!)

Categories: poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Friday Flash 55, I love Greeks!, manicddaily, Trojan Horse confusion poem, Vi(r)gilant, Virgil, what we don't talk about when we talk about gift horses

Comments: 20 Comments

Sometimes (In the Unclair de Lune)

January 3, 2013

Sometimes (In the Unclair de Lune)

I would cut,
if I could, that thin
skin within my

eardrums that timpanies
your call; vibrates voice into
promise; gloms meaning,

or what I
would mean, onto your throat’s
notes; devoting my

all to the
carve; then, later, to the
stitching back as

your face grave,
but silently uncomprehending, as even
the moved-close moon

in an ellipsis
skewed my way, shines light
to sew by.

************************************

Still a bit under the weather here, but posting the above draft poem, a would-be Collom Lune, for Samuel Peralta’s prompt on dVerse Poets Pub’s Form For All. It’s a word count form developed by Jack Collom. (I call it a draft in part because I’ve been switching the last “shines” from “shone” and back again.) Check out Sam’s very interesting article, and if you have a moment in this new year, check out my books!

Poetry, GOING ON SOMEWHERE, (by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Diana Barco). 1 Mississippi -counting book for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms, or Nose Dive. Nose Dive is available on Kindle for just 99 cents!

Categories: elephants, poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: ear drum poem, elephant beneath greenish moon, irritable poem, Jack Collom Lune, Lune Poem, manicddaily, what we talk about when we don't listen poem

Comments: 34 Comments

“Sick” (With elephant)

January 2, 2013

Sick

Each twin of shiver
(shiver)
dotes
on bed, a trademark cold
branding throat
with slogan too sharp
to swallow; I pay instead
through the nose.

*********************

A quick and kind of silly poem for the Real Toads “get listed” prompt hosted by Fireblossom. I am suffering, in fact, from a text book cold, which has the great benefit of excusing adherence to New Year’s resolutions!

Those wierd crinkly grey ghosts are meant to be kleenexes. (Sorry!) Take care.

Categories: elephants, poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: "sick" poem, cold in my apartment, disgruntled elephant, elephant with tissue box, manicddaily, paying through the nose cold poem

Comments: 30 Comments

“Anniversary” – Departures of Old Year

December 31, 2012

Anniversary

I walk the plowed road. Even brown slush
glistens in the sun. Last year this day
my father died, briefly. In an elbowed rush,
they brought him back. I don’t know the way
of such things, only that they blessed us with four
days more–time to fly, drive, arrive, live, be…
our suddenly fleet feet bare on the raised floor
of the urgent now, the only-this now, the
now not everlasting. We defended, then,
from the tubes that made life possible, also
impossible; doing all one does when
one h0pes for still to do; saying, low,
I love you in the lightening of the dim maze
that’s death, arms around arms, returning gaze.

************************************************

A reading of the poem:

************************************************

Here’s a draft sonnet (of sorts – I know the meter is not exact) written as the old year, a rather hard one for me, departs.

I will likely link with Real Toads and dVerse Poets Pub open link nights.

I wish all the happiest of new years.

Categories: poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: anniversary of a death poem, departing poem, manicddaily, mourning poem, spoken word, what we don't talk about when we talk about new years

Comments: 58 Comments

After Herrick – “Even During Festivities”

December 30, 2012

Brain in Snow Drift

Even During Festivities

The brain will strain against the now;
so hard to stay right here.
Mind wanders lonely as a cloud
above communal cheer.
“Above”
is not the word–for love
aloud
(but to itself) proclaims
“I hear,” “I do,” “I will”–
all ruse of cerebellum’s Tao
to never be quite still.

***************************

The above is sort of a draft poem written for a prompt by the wonderfully gifted Kerry O’Connor on With Real Toads to write a poem in a form developed by Robert Herrick. Kerry sets great mini challenges with traditional and not so traditional forms – this one has various meter and rhyme requirements which Kerry can explain much better than me.

I have difficulty at times in group situations, parties! (Though not sure this poem quite describes it.) And my brain does seem to get stuck in drifts – even outside of parties. (The pic’s a repost, I’m afraid, suitable for all too many occasions.)

Check out Kerry’s post and, if you have time, also my books!

Poetry, GOING ON SOMEWHERE, (by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Diana Barco). 1 Mississippi -counting book for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms, orNose Dive. Nose Dive is available on Kindle for just 99 cents!

Categories: New York City, poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: "Even During Festivities", http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com, manicddaily, not being here now, painting of brain in snowdrift, poem about brain, poem written after Robert Herrick's form

Comments: 37 Comments

Cold Night

December 29, 2012

Pearl Not Too Bothered By It

Cold Night – Waiting for the Furnace Guy –

I sit in a house
with hat, long-underwear, two
sweaters, coat, and non-
working furnace. Outside – several
inches (and miles)
of snow.
I find it almost helpful to bare
swathes of flesh
to the fire. You, between logs,
work on the crossword. Then the furnace guy
gets stuck and it feels suddenly
super cold.

**********************

55 frosty (and belated) words for the G-Man. And here’s one more. Brrr…..

Categories: poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: almost passes for pleasant, cold night - waiting for the furnace guy, Friday Flash 55, G-Man Mr. Knowitall, manicddaily, no heat in house, Pearl

Comments: 13 Comments

To the Avant Garde–not sonnet, not 18

December 28, 2012

To the Avant Garde
(Not Sonnet, Not Number 18)

Shall I compare thee
to a summer’s day?
Thou art too hot
for lovely, too rough
for temperate.

Thy heavens lease decline (the lines
for the eternal
too f…ing long) and thou wanderest
the course of sometimes.

Thy eye, Darling, brags possession of that
that growest dimmed, but breathes
shine.

Shall I compare thee to
A summer’s day? But thy short
life/death (untrimmed) loses
“may”,
eases “shall”,
buds “can”, dates
the wind.

**^^*^******
Agh! I am in Orlando airport in a day of flying! The wifi doesn’t work so I’ve had to type the above poem on iPhone. I should stop complaining! But well– I have been in this airport a long time.

I am posting the above for Anna Montgomery’s prompt on dverse poets pub to write an experimental poem. The above poem only uses words from Shakespeare’s 18th sonnet–except that the f is the beginning of one word and the ing the end of another. There may also be some additional s’es.

Reading note: I only intend pauses to happen as punctuated and not with line breaks. Most line breaks are intended to rub on. (might make poem more coherent). Sorry for mucky typing. I think i got most typos but probably not all.

Categories: poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: dverse poets, experimental poem, manicddaily, recycling comparison to a summers day, rif on Shakespeare, to the avant Garde

Comments: 18 Comments

Ill-Received Christmas Present

December 22, 2012

Ill-Received Christmas Present

I understood
even at the time
that the cardboard Elvis
(life-sized) was well-intentioned.

The problem was not
that anything associated with Elvis should be larger
than life. (The cardboard suit
shone gold, glimmering hues
crooning along the trouser folds.)

The problem was me–my life-sized inability
to rock around the clock, my biology’s SRO tenancy
at the Heartbreak Hotel–they keep me a spare room
close to the door–

I was already too
shook up and I thought you, who knew
what the warmth of flesh
could do
to me,
would know better.

I’m not sure I even
had the presence of mind
to thank you, though you at least
apologized. Me
too.

******************************************

Ha! The above is my offering for dVerse Poets Pub’s Poetics challenge on presents/presence, hosted by yours truly. Check out dVerse and join in the fun!

Also, if you want to do a very holiday-spirit type of thing, check out my books! Poetry, GOING ON SOMEWHERE, (by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Diana Barco). 1 Mississippi -counting book for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms, orNose Dive. Nose Dive is available on Kindle for just 99 cents!

Categories: poetry, Uncategorized
Tags: Cardboard Elvis poem, Christmas poem, ill-received present poem, love poem about cardboard gift, manicddaily, no presence of mind poem, poem about presents

Comments: 46 Comments

	M on Arlington
	ManicDdaily on Arlington
	Helen on Arlington
	Anonymous on Arlington
	ManicDdaily on Arlington
	Sherry Marr on Arlington
	Helen on Hurry, Stop
	Helen on Returning (in Springtime)

ManicDDaily

Archive for the ‘poetry’ category

“White Flag”

“Vi(r)gilant” Friday Flash 55

Sometimes (In the Unclair de Lune)

“Sick” (With elephant)

“Anniversary” – Departures of Old Year

After Herrick – “Even During Festivities”

Cold Night

To the Avant Garde–not sonnet, not 18

Ill-Received Christmas Present

Pages

Top Posts

Email Subscription

Recent Comments

Most Recent Posts

Search Posts:

Posts By Category

Archives