Samantha sensed another safari was in her very near future
the summer was not over yet, so she ran to Africa, the Congo
Mosquitoes, Covid, Typhoid and fruit flies did not bother her
Her maps were worn out so she winged it, and loved it so…
I wonder what I'd be like if you had loved me
As a mother myself, a friend, and spouse
If your love had stretched like branches of a tree
But I still keep your picture at the entrance of my house
She's the Samantha before you had to take life by the handles
The Samantha before you were consumed, as if by fire
So I ran to a Father who gave my feet sandals
And He gave me all the love my heart could desire
Samantha was a small-town girl
Taught to never ignore or turn her back on anyone
She developed a thicker skin in the city
Where she had to learn to turn her back and ignore
It was not her norm, but necessary
For there were either more narcissists and conmen here
Or they were not as easily pointed out by an entire town
It's cold though sunny, the temperature's twenty,
as Samantha flies out the door..
I try to explain again and again, it's not summer any more..
She opens it wide.
My heat goes outside.
My gas bill will surely soar.
I remind her each day, this utility she will pay,
but all she does is ignore..
Samantha my cat brought me a present.
It really wasn't all that pleasant.
She brought it into my sun room door
and left it there on the floor..
I'm finally recognizing her gifting growl.
It's much more dramatic than a mere meow..
Now I'm wondering just what to do.
Does she need a thank you note for her dead shrew?
Samantha can take blue jeans and turn them into a work of art.
I can try to do the same thing, and it looks botched, not at all smart.
She had on jeans today with lace inserts that were darling and cute.
If I tried it, mine would be a disaster. People would make fun and hoot.
Samantha was the prettiest hog in the field for sure.
The only one here in this meadow, but that did not stop her.
From admiring herself in the cool farm pond’s reflection.
Frankly, Samantha could not see any flaw or imperfection.
A summer butterfly with dots and squiggles came by.
It landed on Samantha’s pretty snout, who knows why?
You have superior taste, Samantha said to the beast.
I am the most gorgeous hog in this field, at least!
RISKING REPUTATIONS (written in Samantha's invented form, a poetic trinitas)
Lipstick smears,
Pillows stain.
Lack of forethought?
Surprising tears –
A cleansing rain.
Noah knew
What was coming –
A boat
Comes in handy in storms,
but
A captain,
Wishing to avoid an iceberg
Must think ahead.
Still, it can’t always save
A reputation from its fate.
---
Samantha Terrell is an internationally published American poet whose work has received five-star reviews. In 2021, she earned First Honorable Mention in the "Anita McAndrews Poets for Human Rights Awards" organized by Poets Without Borders. Her book, Things Worth Repeating?, features her invented form - the poetic trinitas. Terrell and her family reside in upstate New York.
Samantha is as delightful as an ingrown toenail.
As wonderful as a virus, hearty and hale.
She was a corn on the bottom of my foot.
Her caustic tongue as long as a tree root.
The rest of the family said “give her a chance”
But I had to let her go, so I could dance.
She entertains the rest of them with her vile.
I prefer keeping my distance, and natural smile.
The morning illuminated her face:
While deep in a sweet sleep she wondered why
She couldn’t see through the glowering darkness;
But in the morn she was amazed at the light –
Though she did not know that it was called light,
And where it did come from no one told her:
What does half year old baby understand!
Her eyes were beautiful heavenly stars
And her face was the morning eastern sky;
The patriots of our great country regarded her,
So the splendor of a future nation was greater
For she would be the sun-smile of tomorrow
When today’s sun would set away.
The morning illuminated her face:
But, so sad, a bullet came from the heart
Of the jungle, from the mouth of a tiger
And burst into her half a year old head.
Hear all of you: so the babe died.
Her dead face was full of sparkling tears:
The tinsel on the lifeless face, was end of a future.
Notes :Baby Samantha Pendo was killed in cold blood in Kisumu City after chaos erupted following the 08/08/2017 elections in Kenya.
FOR SAMANTHA
she listens well
angelic softness
innocence born in mid afternoon
of a November day
resting peacefully in
your mother's arms
your eternal home
shaped to your mother's womb
trusting in goodness
breathing, now, the universal breath
a permanent seal
to your eternal home
incarnation of all that was before
carrying forward
all yet to be
My daughter plucked Sam from the wild.
At the time he was about nickel sized.
That was nine years and three tank upgrades ago.
Recently we learned that Sam is not a boy after all.
She's about the size of a cereal bowl.
She's eaten all but one feeder fish in the latest batch.
It comes within striking distance.
but Samantha seems to have no interest.
I think she enjoys the companionship.
Sammi was crushed in snow and ice,
Under the beam of a forklift truck,
Being driven by her dad on his farm,
Such that her back did break, no luck.
Her physio at Glasgow’s Southern,
Sent her to top Stoke Mandeville,
Because she showed interest in,
Sports and exercise’s cool bevel.
“I thought I’d be in a bed forever.
So, then…a wheelchair was amazing.
Sounds strange, but I was so happy.
Then to find [myself competing]
in sport in my wheelchair, [mega],
has just been incredible, [indelible],
Sport has helped me [lots], hugely,
Helped me to accept it really. [Able].”
Before the accident Sammi played,
Hockey, did gymnastics and ballet,
So disability sports just means that,
She can continue on with her way.
Sammi met Jo Butterfield, club throw,
Whilst in Stoke Mandeville, a click,
And the two of them have become,
The leading Scots athletes thick.
In Swansea at the 2014 Europeans,
Sammi returned with three golds,
One for the 100m, one for the 400m
And another for the 800 metre’s folds.
Then in 2015 in Doha, the Worlds,
She bagged a bronze this time,
And was a star at Rio de Janeiro -
She intends on marathoning fine.
Her eyes full of wonder,
Her heart still free and open.
She trusted me, and opened a door.
If shut hope she left a window open,
for our spirits to pass through, and find each other again.
Could we have met,
to hold each other in cupped hands,
to guard and to guide,
based on equality, not years on earth.
To give her my strength and wisdom,
and all the good things that life can offer,
when spirits and souls, share their humanity.
Hers is a sacred trust,
Never to be harmed with words,
that can bite and sting,
only to be led into the truth.
The passion and the wonder
Shine in your eyes so blue
A spring tide born in rainbows
Pull me deeper into you
Our goodbyes feel like torture
As we kiss with painful frowns
I'd sooner die in your arms
In your rainbow tide I'd drown
The hours pass like seconds
When you are next to me
Together we could walk through hell
Still heaven's all I'd see
I love it when it's late at night
We laugh and point at stars
Celestial smiles telling us
The world has became ours
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