The Joplin EF5 blew into Joplin Missouri the evening of May 22, 2011
Before this tornado had eaten its fill, 158 people went to heaven.
This EF5 was a mile wide; she was on the ground for over twenty miles.
No one was safe; there was a lot of terror, and few smiles.
Damaging four thousand homes, injuring over eleven hundred people.
Destroying the hospital, and eight churches, leaving not a steeple.
The costliest single tornado in US history, says a reference book.
Her death toll was the highest since 1947 if you want to take a look.
The Joplin EF5 was the first EF5 tornado since 1947, before I was alive.
I cannot envision the horror of this catastrophe, terrified of every EF5.
YEARNING FOR LEARNING
I studied love from a scientific text
Its logical approach fitted like a glove
It said exactly the things I must do next
I do know everything about life and love
At least now after reading that reference book
Although they do say, as below, so above
But your real life reaction was all it took
And what was possible, sadly is no more
So, I’m not inclined to take another look
My life without love is like it was before
Such ignorance has left me feeling so small
I thought I knew, but now I am not so sure
Just how would I know if love will ever call
Maybe it’s that I have learned nothing at all
occult believers
obtain obsidian blades
volcano's black blood
23rd August 2020
* Solidified lava which cools rapidly forms the crystal,
Obsidian. It's synonymous with spiritual rituals,
used historically by witches, carved into swords.
Isaac Newtown apparently has a more contemporary
association with Obsidian.
* Obsidian is described as a color in my reference book,
'The Secret Lives of Colour' by Kassia St. Clair 2016
* Black, with hint of transluscent olive green.
Tania Kitchin, Sponsor
Haiku Color Alliteration
Oh, dear Nessie, how you captivate us
when you rise up within the Loch Ness shores.
You swim and slither just above the surface,
serpentine and solid to many eyes,
yet, still a myth in any reference book.
But what about the Giant Squid?
It too, a myth that started long ago,
seen surfacing above the sea with tentacles
that frightened men to bring back tales
of horror and dismay in what they saw...
Until now. The Giant Squid recently was found
alive and well in deepest depths of the sea.
First, one washed on shore and soon another
filmed on video in its 'prehistoric' splendor.
One myth now put to rest...how many more to solve?
So, Nessie...perhaps your turn soon will come
to authenticate your secret life in old Loch Ness?
Sandra M. Haight
~3rd Place~
Contest: A Mythical Creature
Sponsor: Julia Ward
The Giant Squid was finally filmed on video in 2012. This leaves real hope for Nessie (The Loch Ness Monster) to some day overcome her mythical status!
Real LOCH NESS MONSTER sightings video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjLmJlzZ0JY
Squid Story:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/world/asia/japan-giant-squid/
Ok, so your poetry can be what you want
but most of this drivel belongs in the dump.
Most of my poems are bad, i admit,
and like this one, they'll go in the garbage bin.
But sometimes a real gem nags to be born;
it won't go away, you must give it form.
These are the poems that interest me,
not random idle chatter incessantly.
I don't want your comment if all you can say
is "nice write" or "good job"; i don't need it, okay?
The path is now littered. Where does the trail lead?
I can't see the forest for all the dead trees.
Do you ever use a notepad, proofread and revise?
Take another look with your critical eyes?
Take your time. Let the thoughts stew around in your brain
before you slop them all down on the page.
Think deeply, think longer. Grab a reference book.
Take pride in the measure of time that it took
because, it will be more obvious
that you are sincere,
when you inspire us.
Muted words linger in limbo
imprisoned between many leaves
bound together in the darkness
of a poet’s tried thesaurus.
Their alphabetic existence
is but an endless servitude
whose individual meanings
chosen and together sequenced
for the glory of the poet.
The many verses read aloud
gives each utile word a voice
and continues till completion.
Then darkness returns once again
as the reference book is closed.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.