deer crosses the road
two eyes watch from cornfield
lonely deer grazes
Norman’s snowman decided to hit the road
he was disgusted by his current frosty abode
I am leaving tonight at eight, he told Norm and me.
He said he was heading toward Livestock, Tennessee
I heard later that he melted along the way
His parts were scraped off the sixty-seven highway
We had warned him not to go, begged him to stay
Let that be a lesson to you Norm said to his new snowwoman, Kay
my thoughts roll on paper like thunder my pen like lightening
My mom looks at me like I’m nothing
All cuz of 1 hit
My dad thinks I’m a failure
All cuz of 1 hit
My personality changed
All cuz of 1 hit
I spend all my money
All cuz of 1 hit
I can’t stop myself
All cuz of 1 hit
I want to stop but cant
All cuz of 1 hit
I ruined my life
All cuz of 1 hit
T'is sunny outside
I shiver and shake
So much at stake
I'm hit, broadside
In virtue, my gain
Karma to repay
A coin for pain
One level up, say?
Body infirm
Mind at peace
Spirit confirm
Upstream to seize
I am a working class
woman
"with a heart of gold
in a complicated time"
It happened when
I fell in love
with Jimmy Barnes
and his extraordinary lyrics
that remind me
what it feels like to be alive.
I am not celebrating
the midwestern sky.
Mine is the southeastern sky.
I try to find
the sunset
on my better nights.
I am still
"mad at Uncle Sam"
I continue dancing
to a dusty song
that should be reconsidered
and listened to on repeat.
I won't fall into the habit
of consistency.
I will live on the edge
and feel the coughs
of broken rhythm
and relish in life.
Dinner is leftover
spaghetti.
A caterpillar hit the sack -
in a chrysalis, as a matter of fact.
One day, it would crack,
and he could no longer doze.
As the sun rose up the sky,
a transformed creature said, "My oh my -
I feel it's time for me to fly",
and donned his fine new clothes.
It hits hard when you least expect
A sudden truth
A quiet ache
A memory you thought was settled
Rises up and starts to shake
A word
A look
A passing moment
Pulls the floor from underneath you
Somehow
After breath returns
You stand again
A little stronger
A little more you
Axes, throwing stars, and two silk scarves.
How do you release that passion?
Now you’ll remember how to
riot in the rage room,
with pure precision.
Be prudent scar
with a bold
direct
hit.
Sheila wants to go to Europe, her man, Lou is thinking Mexico.
Just go, said their teenage son, pack up and go! Go! Go!
You would have to come, they argued, but he has a job.
I’ll stay with him said Gram, who was fond of her grandson Rob.
Sheila and Lou hit the road, it was a smooth, happy start.
They traveled through the Midwest, each with a loving heart.
Formidable five-wheeler was packed with the supplies for a week.
They were like teenagers again, on bit of a honeymoon streak.
They went through Mississippi in the middle of the night
Traveled to Georgia, where they saw many an amazing sight
Wandered down to Florida and spied a large gator cross the road.
Oh, this gives me the creeps said Sheila, now in mama mode.
Let’s try Route 66 said Lou, so they turned that bus around.
Traveled through the Midwest, their eyes on boring ground.
When they hit Wyoming, they were cheering at bison who roam.
I cannot wait to get home, said Sheila, so I can write this in a poem.
When they call for peace
And you give it easily
Then they will think you're cheap or fearful
Even when you're fierceful
This always drives you insane
Because when you act, they say you've misbehaved.
You better move in your way
So you don't go astray
Live your life to the fullest
Portraying your attributes
Living within your magnitude
Your attitude, not your aptitude
Will determine your altitude.
There's always an answer to every question
When you ask the right person
A key to every lock
Find the right key
A solution to every mystery
Choose the right path
Hit the high point
When it's right, you can never go wrong.
razzle dazzle haircut
slivers of silver and copper
fantastical design
not worn in this town
until now
I am a splash hit
Destinies intertwine with no roadmap
life altering chances will never come twice
~ the future is a minefield
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
If it is written, so be it,
but who'll admit
to writing what was writ
when the fan is hit?
And, if, having inscribed,
the finger does proceed,
whose digit was it
when the words were decreed?
Yet, carved in stone,
or etched on glass,
who'll confess to pouring such concrete
when it comes to pass?
Bewitching Beauty,
Whence hast come this unique skill--
Shooting darts at will--
Thy skill O to hit man’s heart
By sheer merit, not with dart!
___________________________
Translation (Tanka) | 28.08.2025 | beauty, heart, arrow
Note: Here is a verse (in Anushtubh meter) from Bhartrihari’s Shringaara Shatakam (hundred verses on love and romance). Here the poet wonders from where has she learnt the skill to hit man’s heart, without ever releasing any arrow. Here is the transliteration:
Mugdhe dhanushkata keyam
Apurva tvayi drshyate |
Yaya vidhyasi chetamsi
Gunaih eva na sayakaih || 3 ||
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