Saturday, April 12, 2008

Poem a day -- 6 thru 10

Catching up on posting these here -- and I'm a couple of days behind on the challenge -- still have to make up 11 and 12.

6. The mandate: today's prompt involves recording all the details of your day and generating a poem from that material. My guy would have to be very careful in recording what he did on any given day, so I translated the poem into Morse code:


- --- -.. .- -.-- .. ..-. --- ..- -. -..
.-. --- .- -.. -.- .. .-.. .-.. .- .--. --- ... ... ..- --
... -.- .. -. -. . -.. --. ..- - - . -..
--.- ..- .. -.-. -.- .-.. -.-- ... . .- .-. . -.. --- ...- . .-. .-
-.-. .-.. .- -. -.. . ... - .. -. . ..-. .. .-. .

-.- .. -.-. -.- . -.. -.. .. .-. - --- ...- . .-. - .... .
.- ... .... . ... -- --- ...- . -..
.- --.- ..- .- .-. - . .-. --- ..-. .- -- .. .-.. .
-... . ..-. --- .-. . . .- - .. -. --. .. -
.. -. .- ... ..- -- .- -.-. --. .-. --- ...- .

...- --- -- .. - . -..
-... ..- - .... . .-.. -.. .. - .-.. --- -. --. . -. --- ..- --. ....
- --- .-. . -- . -- -... . .-.
-.- . . .--. .... ..- -. --. . .-. .- - .-
-.-. .-.. --- ... . .-. . -- --- ...- .

- .... . .-. . ... - --- ..-. - .... . -.. .- -.-- ..
... .... .. ...- . .-. . -.. .-- .. - .... -.-. --- .-.. -..
.. -- .- ... - ..- .-. -... .- - . -..
- --- -.- . . .--. -- -.--
-... --- -.. -.-- .. -. .... .- .-. -- --- -. -.--

that’s my report
all anyone needs
tomorrow
I should reach the border
with new papers

If anyone is curious -- yes, there is an actual poem here.


Day 7: Today's prompt is to write a "ramble poem." That is, I want you to write a poem where you just start rambling without worrying about where you're headed.

Well, I always write that way, so I decided to put my character into a state where'd have to ramble.



Temperature
103
I don’t know where I am
or how I got here
starting to

hallucinate
a childhood I never
had a governess
given to
nude sunbathing

on the promontory
overlooking the
universe
she’s getting up
shaking drops of water

like a dog from her
pubic fur
each drop becomes
a new version of her
like the dragon’s teeth

phalanx of
naked nannies
where are they taking me?
powerless to re
fever down


8. Painting -- today's prompt asks you to write a poem that is inspired by one of the two paintings linked below. Please indicate the title of the painting or the artist's name somewhere in your comment as well. Of course, there is also the possibility that you could blend the two together. Hmmm...

Anyway, here are the paintings:

Painting #1: Piazza d'Italia, by Giorgio de Chirico

Painting #2: The Little Deer, by Frida Kahlo.


I took The Little Deer.




Everywhere reminders
many have tried
this same route
and many have failed
the border is littered

with their remains
some picked clean
by scavenger crows
bones polished by fire ants
others bloated

and right here
mortally wounded
becoming animal
as life leaches
out of her

my predecessor
who sent dispatches back
sealed with a kiss
I ask her
for any last words

but she can barely talk
I settle for
what’s death like?
It’s nothing special
not really worth the wait


Day 9: Today's prompt is to choose a word (any word) and then write a poem either about that word or using that word in different ways.


Today’s code word is “night”
I get it
over short wave
radio at 10:
45 every night

“night must fall”
means the border
is closed don’t try it
“cows often move at night”
means I can

make it across
if I can procure
an armored vehicle
--like a cow?
I see myself

a knight in armor
my childhood fantasy
where honor
was everything
and one rode bravely

into the teeth of war
Sir Gawain
Sir Lancelot
General Custer
Charge of the Light Brigade




10: Today, the poetry prompt is to write a location poem. You can write about a city, a building, a planet, etc.

Here, by the way, is the only place you can read an unexpurgated version of this poem.

I’ve spent three nights
shivering
in this woodsman’s cabin
can’t risk a fire
in the corner

next to the
black potbellied stove
a stack of cordwood
on the table
a candle

I can’t light not even
with the shutters closed
the bare mattress
stinks of piss
and more curiously

unmistakeable
the lingering
scent of sex
who would have wanted to
fuck here? But I know

anyone would
if I could
wrap myself in a warm
human body I’d
fuck my sister

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