All that has been, out-grows itself,
becomes monstrous in a mouse hole.
Thoughts pinned to carnival garbs
hang under night’s pitch-dark tent
to chew over minds missing links.
The silence of wordless clowns
mimes the shrill music of bats.
In a dusty room, the hammer-struck face
of a wall clock is a parody of my age
for it is younger than the hands that hung it there.
What great teaching unpacks this emptiness,
is it ancient, or as young
as the sleepless pad of my feet?
Perhaps as in dandelion seeds,
that act of their dispersal
has planted yet more muted revelations.
The dry rustle of mothwings --- a whispering
of some yet other enormity
one emerging now
within a threadbare soul's
deep-set pockets.
Categories:
unpacks, poetry,
Form: Free verse
escape
hatch shape
egg cracks
unpacks
extrudes
intrudes
his birth
on earth
It’s Mork -
a dork
meets girl -
a pearl
head sits
no wits
bit cool -
still, fool…
nanu
nanu
:
:
:
his “hi”
and “bye”
this dork
from Ork
4/2/2022
Footle created by Brian Strand
Categories:
unpacks, character, humor,
Form: Footle
Spring Whimsy
winter packs his trunk
full of icy fleece and flakes ~
going south for spring
spring unpacks her bags
rolls out green hills with poppies ~
mustard carpets glens
vernal daylight sighs
sheds a winter overcoat ~
nature somersaults
sassy daffodils
troubadours of the season ~
in the midst of snow
snowdrops and tulips
mingle with playful raindrops ~
hummingbirds return
spring teases tree buds
tickles robins and the wrens ~
jokes in cheeky fun
loons and larks arrive
mistral songs fill flaxen fields ~
forests swing and sway
coy clouds gather in
flirt with flashing thunderbolts ~
birds watch from warm nests
rain tumbles through skies
plays hide and seek with thunder ~
feisty blue bells stand
waxing springtime moon
paints rose petals platinum ~
neon night aglow
impish morning sun
winks at fields of red clover ~
spring born of whimsy
3-30-22
Contest: A Brian Strand Premiere Choice
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Categories:
unpacks, spring,
Form: Haiku
Spring tantalizingly unfolds vernal, winsome
Blossoms of lilies pristine, undulating to appease
Fawning nectar-dreams adrift on wings of bees
Frolicking tranquility of rustling flowering trees
Refulgent summer, too, unpacks variegated
Revelry on rivers, oceans, flamboyant meadows
As ubiquitously nature paints blooms primrose
On hills and valleys oscillating jubilant shadows
Autumn’s brilliance courts dazzling ebullience
Of mellowed sun scintillating eventide’s ruby glow
Where gamboge leaves of fall amber winds blow
As passions of romance vie moonlit stellar show
Snowfalls titillate, unveiling vehement winter
In eyes of lovers ruminating in blessings of yore
When enticing beats of hearts indulgently implore
Aesthetic glacial memories venerated evermore
July 31, 2021
Placed 1st: Alpha lines poetry contest
Sponsor: Joseph May
Placed 1st: A Brian Strand Rhyme Contest
Categories:
unpacks, nature, seasons,
Form: Rhyme
Too early for festivities, Christmas stillness crouches
Soon puncture of anticipation unpacks gifts
Humid harassment, curtain pummelling sun pounces
Dull of smug day blocked, first denial assists
Performed to prosper, biology reaps what's obtainable
Demanding we sit attentive in its auditorium
Under Star of Bethlehem, glory of Christ born in stable
Impossibly modest birth place unfit for Him
Finality of year held close by opportunistic beginnings
Tradition wreathed by assurity of expectation
Emerged from trauma, miracle newness distinguished
Hardship God given culminates in celebration
18th December
- Angels -
Categories:
unpacks, baptism, birthday, boxing day ,
Form: Rhyme
They didn't rush out to greet him
When Father time made his call...
They traded house and picket fence...
For one room down a long hall
like soldiers standing watch...
They take turns staring at the clock...
And wonder where the babies are....
They used to rock!
He said....It's Grand Central Station...
Every day, at breakfast call
Between the walkers and the wheelchairs!
She said.....Be glad that you can walk!
Silence streaks across the room...
And a hush falls on the hallway...
When the announcer says...bingo has...
Been cancelled... for today!
Oh! They're going with the flow
Like candles...when he wind begins to blow...
Two precious silver tears...
....in their golden years
They are going with the flow!
Close friends and family...
Don't come around much...anymore
So they comfort one another...
'Thought that what friends were for....
They pack up to go back home.....
About once a week it seems...
And the nurse softly smiles...
As she unpacks their things...
They are going.....
Going.......Goi
Categories:
unpacks, emotions, endurance, retirement, seasons,
Form: Lyric
Thoughts disperse like dandelion seeds,
all that has been, out-grows present and future,
becomes enormous in a mouse hole.
Moths are pinned to carnival garments,
only their quicksilver eyes glitter .
Those wall clocks
the nails that have hung all those hammer-struck faces,
even my face, they are younger than the hands
that set them there,
younger than the sleepless pad of my bare feet.
What great teaching unpacks this emptiness?
Perhaps the dandelion seeds
or the act of their dispersal are the revelation,
or maybe the rustle of mothwings --- a whisper
of some yet other enormity lost now
in the minds shabby pockets.
Categories:
unpacks, poetry,
Form: Free verse
SILENT ROOSTERS SLEEP
Dads don’t sleep. They drive over-packed cars, and sip coffee from a thermos cup. Kids in backseat mull over grandma’s home ~ roosters never move, cuckoo clock never quits, and grandma’s always at the door, waiting. Front passenger divvies out cheerios and chips. The turnpike yawns with well-worn pitstops. All seats salivate for grandma’s homemade coffee cake. “Are we there yet?” echoes, bounces, plays with the driver’s nerves. Dads get revenge, transforming the auto into a tour bus. Pointer finger flashes toward a birthplace, a high school, and a park, and finally a hearth in the suburbs of Depew.
silent roosters sleep
moonlight auto unpacks dawn
crowing door exhales
7/14/2017
Haibun Form
Categories:
unpacks, family, memory, travel,
Form: Haibun
Dear Mr. G.,
I'm a sloppily manufactured good
the kind of
you don't want it to be
exposed to the view
the kind of
piles up in a humid warehouse
tacitly humiliated
collusively dehumanized
even that feeling of having price attached
was never introduced
and I've heard the story about 20 dollar bill
that doesn't lose its value
no matter what
yet, here I am
unpriced
magnitude of my role is reduced to
bidding for detour
and what if
no one ever unpacks my pages
what if ...
is this reticent predestination
my real path
or instructions are misplaced
give them an order
I'm patiently waiting for refinement
Kind regards
S.
Categories:
unpacks, faith,
Form: Free verse
Sitting in the dentist’s office
Waiting for my turn
What will my mouth’s treatment be?
Will it sting? Will it burn?
I look at books; I turn the page
I don’t want to see
Any people now in pain
‘Cause the next one in –- is me!
The nurse has flowers on her blouse
To quell my fear and calm
I think I’ll run from here to home
To save me from this harm
“What’s that you say? You called my name?”
I bravely smooth my hair
Down the hall I take myself
And mount a shiny chair
The nurse then enters, hangs a bib
Then unpacks a tray
Full of picks, pliers and tongs
“Don’t worry; all’s O.K.”
“Did you say nice? Did you approve?
My teeth are fine you say?
You know I wasn’t worried
But, I’ll be on my way.”
Categories:
unpacks, funny
Form: Rhyme