There are more phobias than you would believe
Some have names, others are a one-of-a-kind nameless fear
People have fear of werewolves, rats, snakes, and ghosts
Fear of long words, mirrors, hair, balloons, paper clips
Fear of belly buttons, vegetables, windshields, flashlights,
I try to see if there is a fear of baths; yes, there is.
Some of these fears might seem unrealistic and strange to you
Until you develop the same fear.
Categories:
paperclips, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form: Light Verse
~
“Shadows grow so long before my eyes”
In silhouettes of dreams past and present
Deep within my desperate heart,
as I yearn for your love, reaching for my pen,
digging through postage stamps and paperclips
“And they’re moving, across the page”
Producing odd shapes on striped paper,
outlines of shaded emotions and verses
Calling out your name in bold ink
and rhyming stanzas of affection
“Suddenly the day turns into night”
Twilight steps over the horizon
as tree top edges touch newly glowing stars
Peering through curtains of cosmic lace
and flickering candlelight with soft breezes
“Far away, from the city”
Miles counted by minutes can be
a daunting task if I hesitate, yet footsteps in the dark
follow paths illumined by your eyes,
as my need grows for your love…I just can’t wait
“Baby, I love your ways”
~
Written with a little help from Peter Frampton
Italicized lines from the song “Baby, I love your ways”
Categories:
paperclips, love, song,
Form: Free verse
Most people are easily bent out of shape
Like Paperclips
Because they can't hold it together
Like Paperclips
My words are weapons so I lock & load
My Paper Clips
I bet your two cents is worth less
Than a Paperclip
Categories:
paperclips, analogy, integrity, middle school,
Form: Rhyme
We often have crazy hair day at school
To raise money for puppies, or wigs, or people who need a fresh start.
People do all kinds of things to their hair.
Mine is already crazy, it is fly away out-of-control hair like my father’s.
I have to do nothing on crazy hair day,
because my hair is already there.
However, I do not want the children to feel disappointed.
Color is covered, it's burgundy.
I usually start looking in my desk drawer for ideas, then ask my
friends to attach as many things as they can to my hair with paperclips, and rubber bands.
I am a “hot mess” when they get finished.
The peculiar thing is, the children are so used to my winsome
ways, no one notices as I fly through my day, leaving a trail.
Categories:
paperclips, 5th grade, 6th grade,
Form: Free verse
I was reeking of spilled grape juice yesterday.
Today I stink like cigarettes.
In less than two weeks I have gone from new to old.
From crisp to filthy,
from sticky to stiff.
I shudder as my aggressor pulls me apart.
She yells something to her partner.
I don’t recognize the words, but….
Every time she yells this,
my belly hurts for days from her wickedly
insensitive manipulation, and indelicate prodding.
After fishing around with her hands, stirring
Green gum wrapper carcasses from one
Side of my tummy to the other,
She finally lets me catch my breath.
WHAM! I am completely dizzy when she
twists me upside down and shakes me hard,
Slapping my bottom with long, angry slugs.
I throw up pencils, pens, erasers, a variety of multi-colored
Toys, a washrag, crackers, cellophane wrappers,
A half-eaten candy bar, gritty stomach acid pills,
Paperclips, a baby’s shoe, two headbands, dust mites,
A dog biscuit and so many receipts it is ridiculous.
“Here they are!” Her partner calls.
She pops all the junk back into me, throws in
Her car keys for dessert, and off we go for more receipts.
I long for my clean shelf in Macy’s, and my relatives.
Categories:
paperclips, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form: Personification
CHANGELING
photos strike me and
everything
is beautiful… I find books
mark passages with pencils
pens and paperclips
all blue a
favourite color
into the bathroom
shut the door
locked it twice
adjusted water
red the hue
the knocking
commenced felt
intense faded
into a backward hum
to match the drum in
my dead head
just one focus on
slivers of stainless
steel and everything
becomes real
again
I feel fine
just fine…
and you?
are you a
changeling too
© Kim van Breda—28 October 2015
Categories:
paperclips, hurt, satire,
Form: Free verse
Tonight's episode...
When rumor meets reality,
what truth shall shake loose
as your body surrenders
to temptation rising?
Resolved to perform
interrogations and coercions
that land on agreeable moments.
Snapping like orchestrated jazz
and toe taps.
Your body produces a rhythm
that vibrates a zip code
so imagine how it feels next to you.
You bring out Q and Ray in me.
I'll be as good or as bad
as you need me to be.
Resist if you must, but don't deny
the third yes.
Surpass glass ceiling type heights,
I insist on it.
Make angels pay attention
as I keep you uplifted.
Proclamations of emancipated thrills,
yield to a hero's will, and I'll save you.
I promise I will. If not this time,
then next episode, somehow,
someway, even if it takes bubblegum,
paperclips, and a shoe string
I got you.
Categories:
paperclips, for her,
Form: Free verse
We read each other so perfectly
two minds with a single thought,
when we combine, baby it's explosive
chemistry like ours cannot be taught.
The electricity gets me jumping
and attacks the heart's beat,
this experiment you concocted
has revived the frog's feet.
Like a volcanic lava lamp
an eruption of emotion flows,
the heat welds me to you
our bond that nobody knows.
We met inside this classroom
where my opposite attracted to yours,
like magnetized paperclips
we were linked right from our cores.
We're closer than Dr. Jekyll was
to his hidden self, Mr. Hyde,
but, I can take you by the hand
as we go along for the ride.
Categories:
paperclips, love, relationship, science, soulmate,
Form: Quatrain
-What do you really want?
I've told you, I don't know!
-But you do, don't lie to me!
No, I promise, I don't
-What are your dreams made of?
-Can you answer that at least?
Marshmellow, cats, and poetry,
Paperclips, the ocean, and peace.
-Why can't you answer me seriously?
Why must you always ask the question why?
-Becuase I need to know, you know?
But I'd much rather lie.
-Come on, please just talk to me!
Can you imagine how this looks to them all?
-Whatever do you mean my dear?
...Talking to myself against this wall...
-No one is even watching you!
But someone is bound to see
-Just shut up a minute and answer my questions.
No, I don't feel like talking to me.
Categories:
paperclips, life
Form: Free verse