This summer found men mortal
I’ll miss the better nature you find at the beach,
but goodness isn’t always a physical thing.
In the scene wherein we played,
—earlier this summer—
the sky was an azured theatre of taming heat
all colours seemingly washed too bright
and true to the ramping prophecies of science,
vital waterways shrank, and forests burned
with the devil’s own violence
Equal scales weigh though
both on the world’s beauty
and the miracles of men
though one’s a lower brand of perfection.
I know things of relative value when I see them, hold
and feel them, like the indisputable metric of gold
While nature has sand and majestic suns,
men, as sovereign masters of base elements
invented air conditioning, and Fruity Pebbles.
Should summer be invited back next year?
.
.
A song for this
the boys are back in town by thin lizzy
Perfect day to invite friends
It might be someone's birthday or anniversary
We'll find cause to celebrate
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2025
Rifts bred of lonely invitations
Tastes of iron and limitations
ringing down the boulevard
Soldiers drop
Fickle relationships feel alive
Turmoil predestined for failure
An injured excitement
Permission for freedom
Like a dog off leash
A finite social comfort
A floral dread trickles down
Hungry separation drives
A division in the night
That could, toss it out
Allow its definition
Whats with inevitability
Its all a lode
Talking to myself again
A sadness unique to who
A deserved solitude
Unequivocal
Shared ringing under lonelinesses umbrella
Rip out my intestines
Dont need them
The worst comes right out of me
Spending life up
But its a good deal with you
Days of solitude until the cell rings with too many invitations
Poet’s quote
Red Rover, Red Rover can I come over?
My way is blocked though I am free…
I see a friend - I won’t hover.
I wait, though I long for a spree.
I throw my rock, I am alone
and hop, skip and jump…it’s no game.
Without a friend, I’m on my own.
It’s me here! Remember my name?
I long to be hit with dodge ball.
No shoulder to shoulder align.
Can’t be eliminated y’all -
I’m yawning at friendship’s baseline.
Give me the red light…no, green light!
Don’t stop me! Keys in ignition…
BFF, I know we are tight!
so give me some recognition.
what's behind my door?
until you knock
loud enough for me to hear
you'll never know ~
it may be worth the risk
AP: Honorable Mention 2022
The invitations are already out
for our local community dialogue
without need to shout or pout
about another straight white male monologue.
In fact,
as fiction,
we have taken a nearly unprecedented step
of inviting straight white males
over the maturing age of thirty
to show up in droves
to listen,
and not to speak.
Yes,
you have heard this invitation clearly
discriminating not against Business As Usual
but for Busyness as Listening.
Once we have our multicultural plan in place
for this local health racing space,
we may invite our silent witnesses
to share with us what they
and we, perhaps,
have learned
about wisdom voices of non-elites
fully empowered
while elite over-voiced macro/microphones
remain reverently on mute.
I started by declining invitations
Just feeling a bit tired was the excuse
It’s funny how we often fool ourselves
Waiting for the world to tie the noose
It’s an easy thing to fall and lose our focus
When the road is full of potholes and gloom
To lower the bar of expectation
To see only the thorns and not the bloom
Though a grip is slight with slippery fingers
It’s more important now to persevere
And find our way back into the sunlight
To hold on to life and love so dear
Absolutely beautiful
celestial diamonds
encourage flickering
galaxies heavenly invitations
joyfully kindling
lucent moonbeams
nascent overtures
perhaps quietly reflecting
spiraling tints
upon vibrant
worlds
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