Abdominal Poems

List of New Poems

PM	Poem Title	Poet	Form	Form	Categories
	A Former Slender Man Deplores Weight Gain	matthew harris	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, age, beauty, clothes, funny,
	Filched Physiognomy Mine	matthew harris	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, age, anxiety, betrayal, conflict,
	december 31, 2019	Allan Terry	Cowboy	Cowboy	abdominal, appreciation, celebration, celebrity, independence
	Praise Zing A Fully Functioning Sphincter Muscle	matthew harris	Enclosed Rhyme	Enclosed Rhyme	abdominal, break up, conflict, desire,
	Human Sack Gruff Ice Agonizingly Glommed	matthew harris	Dramatic Monologue	Dramatic Monologue	abdominal, 11th grade, 12th grade,
	Caught Undertow	Freddie Robinson Jr.	Villanelle	Villanelle	abdominal, allusion, imagery, love hurts,
	Nostalgia For Yesteryear Of Boyhood	matthew harris	Dramatic Monologue	Dramatic Monologue	abdominal, 12th grade, 9th grade,
	Sundered Heart Tis Like Death	matthew harris	Enclosed Rhyme	Enclosed Rhyme	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	No Reason To Complain	matthew harris	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	A Most Violent Reaction	matthew harris	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, 10th grade, 12th grade,
	An Oop Pinion About Omitted Ir Rack	matthew harris	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	Vagaries Of An Unknown Methacton High School	matthew harris	Dramatic Verse	Dramatic Verse	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	Redoubtable Pestiferous Nemesis	matthew harris	Bio	Bio	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	irritable bowel syndrome exacerbated courtesy of prunes	matthew harris	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, 12th grade, anxiety, dark,
	a stray tear doth adieu occasionally shed	matthew harris	Epitaph	Epitaph	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	constipation hell worse than perdition	matthew harris	Concrete	Concrete	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	Fortune Cookie Maxim Minimizes Apple Macbook Pro Update Process	matthew harris	Prose Poetry	Prose Poetry	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	addictive ampoules annihilate after alluring	matthew harris	Alliteration	Alliteration	abdominal, 10th grade, 12th grade,
	Self Mutilation	matthew harris	Dramatic monologue	Dramatic monologue	abdominal, 10th grade, 12th grade,
	Defecation Dilemma	matthew harris	Dramatic Verse	Dramatic Verse	abdominal, 11th grade, 12th grade,
	Labor Yielded Lustrous Lovely Lass	matthew harris	Lyric	Lyric	abdominal, 10th grade, 11th grade,
	The Executioner As Scrambled Humorist	matthew harris	Rhyme	Rhyme	abdominal, appreciation, baptism, dark, farewell,
	An Oncoming Asteroid	Jack Ellison	Limerick	Limerick	abdominal, life,
	fascination with etymology	MATTHEW harris	Bio	Bio	abdominal, addiction, age, appreciation, boy,
	What the Gospel is Not	Ronald A. Williams	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, bible, christian, god, political,
	Constipation hell worse than perdition	matthew harris	I do not know?	I do not know?	abdominal, angst, anxiety, blessing, conflict,
	Breath Control	LR Waldman	Verse	Verse	abdominal, science,
	Okay	Will Palitee	Acrostic	Acrostic	abdominal, homework, sexy,
	In A Box	Malik Baker	Narrative	Narrative	abdominal, anxiety, change, conflict, depression,
	Pineapple	Zoe Nye	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, angel, angst, crazy, desire,
	defecation dilemma	matthew harris	Concrete	Concrete	abdominal, firework, happy, humorous, poetry,
	defecation dilemma	matthew harris	Dramatic Verse	Dramatic Verse	abdominal, angel, anxiety, blessing, funny,
	The Cry of an Unattended Addict	Kilalo Mwashighadi	Rhyme	Rhyme	abdominal, addiction, africa, community,
	The Canopy and Economy	Robert Ronnow	Verse	Verse	abdominal, baby, day, history, jobs,
	FOR THE BOYS TO MEN OF MOZAMBIQUE	millard lowe	Prose Poetry	Prose Poetry	abdominal, africa, children, irony, war,
	HUNGER DOES NOT KNOCK	millard lowe	Prose Poetry	Prose Poetry	abdominal, allegory, analogy, betrayal, horror,
	Once Upon A Whole New World	HSK AlKendi	Acrostic	Acrostic	abdominal, beauty, emotions, girl, love,
	Chemo	Sara Kendrick	Kimo	Kimo	abdominal, funny,
	Underwater panther	John Beam	Couplet	Couplet	abdominal, christian, jealousy, jesus, judgement,
	revolution will	Goode Guy	Couplet	Couplet	abdominal, imagination, social, tribute, uplifting,
	letter to Eden	matthew harris	Narrative	Narrative	abdominal, angel, beautiful, caregiving, child,
	' no farting allowed ' - a scene in a car with friends	jun-jun villanueva	Limerick	Limerick	abdominal, funny,
	Anticipating the Fall	Robb A. Kopp	Kimo	Kimo	abdominal, childhood, nostalgia
	Summer Belly	Gerry Cunningham	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, funny, people, social,
	Screaming and Showering	Nicole Sharon Brown	Narrative	Narrative	abdominal, caregiving, life, loss, sadpain,
	Hey, handsome...	John Heck	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, lossme, language, language, me,
	C-RST	Norey Bailey	Blank verse	Blank verse	abdominal, mystery, urban, wife, me,
	Wreathed Flowers	Shishir Gupta	Free verse	Free verse	abdominal, inspirational, life, philosophy,
	More	Tony Bush	Verse	Verse	abdominal, love, autumn, love, time,

Abdominal Poem Example

Hey, handsome...

My heart is empty, Jeffrey.
I’m standing here transfixed 
within the threshold 
of a vacant bedroom.
The air is still
but the delicate scent 
of your passing soul 
invades my nostrils. 
The aroma travels deep 
inside the tunnels 
of my abdominal cavity -
lingering like... 
a dew-anointed meadow 
sleeping ‘neath 
a fuchsia sunrise.

Your mattress is scrubbed, 
stripped and sunlit – 
except for two eiderdown pillows.
I envision a perfect outline -
your fragile face
softly carved within 
the creases of these satin cases.
I visually inhale the profile 
of your splendor; 
a modern day Shroud of Turin 
resurrected and resplendent 
through trickled specks 
of semi-dried sweat.

“No more IV’s”…“right…”
“No more bedpans”…“exactly…”
“No more night sweats”…“yes, handsome…”
“Now give me a big hug, Jeffrey…Jeffrey…”

My hands tremble as I 
reach from one photograph to the next.
The images I want to barter 
with Faustus and friends - 
ensuring me a pact 
whereas I can live and breathe 
inside these time honored pixels -
content in lonely frames
hanging upon clinical walls 
in a half-emptied bedroom.

I grabbed a beaded satin pillow
to cushion the fall as
I slowly hyperventilated.
I breathe once more, Jeffrey,
but I’ll gag twice again,
as I remember our newly spoken language -
a private dialect we created last month
reminiscent of the movie 
“The Lost Language of Cranes.”
Those three long weeks before
you suddenly became incoherent 
and inaudible 
and immobilized. 
Remember how we improvised?
Remember, handsome:

(shaking and arms crossed) “OK…you’re cold – I’ll get you a blanket!"
(pointing to your mouth)  “You’re thirsty…water or juice?"
(pointing to your mouth and shaking) “OK…I’ve got it…ice cream…pudding?"
(index fingers pointing upward and swaying) “I know… you wanna listen to music”
(index fingers pointing downward) “Please turn off the TV set”
(middle finger pointing upward) “OK…you want me to adjust your pillows?"
(both middle fingers pointing upward and shaking) “Alright…alright – I know!…If you
hear Celine Dion one more time on the radio you’re gonna kick your bedpan off the side of
the bed!"

(arms folded across your chest)…”Rest handsome, rest…”

Ssshhhh...
It’s OK, Jeffrey...it's OK.
No more IV’s.
No more bedpans.
I have your pictures.
You're not sweating anymore.
I’m not choking...now.
Beautiful pillows…really…
TV’s turned off...
Ate the last of the ice cream
and the pudding...and...

And as I did -
I swallowed every part
of your triumphant, 
blessed soul.

Poem Copyright © John Heck