ManicDDaily

Sailor Elephant?

At Sea

Brother

The boy hauled the roses like burlap sacking–
at a distance–navigating prickle
through kitchen door which he kicked
to the side for noise value,
hating his mother.  What he wanted was to man
the wood, where he could
lurk and spy and brick up
hideouts with clods of dirt and brush and never lean
to any whim or wish except
of sky and guttering stream
to whose blue wills he’d willingly tack
his whole young life.

Sister

The girl rigged her skirt to
the base of her hips,
tacking the elastic waist
to her pelvis, a convenient gutter
for fabric that would run its own course.
Bottling lips into an appraising O,
she weighed her chances, spying
navel in that belly as smooth
as the long sought shore, distant
yet within reach.

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The above is a paired poem written as part of an exercise on verbs!  In this case, I used verbs associated with the life of a sailor/pirate, i.e. tack, navigate, haul, rig, weigh, spy. (Sorry if it seems a bit sexist!  I  have no particular problem with girls getting mad at having to cart roses around and boys adjusting their clothes.)

At any rate, I am posting this for the dVerse Poets Pub Poetics Prompt – “Tools of the Trade” – which I am also hosting today.  Check it out!

And, while you are at it, check out my books!  Children’s counting book 1 Mississippi -for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms.  Or, if you in the mood for something older, check out Going on Somewhere, poetry, and Nose Dive, escapist fluff.