With a thin cylinder of ash,
barely clinging to the Lucky Strike
pressed between her coarse chapped lips,
she slammed down the jack of hearts
and said to no one in particular,
Well, that’s that,
just another one for the discard pile.
Where in the world is that damned joker?
She stood at the crossroads of dusk
mourning smile upon her lips,
and slowly stepped across.
If we can see a pumping heart,
chormosome X and chromosone Y
striations on a bullet and the human spine,
why is the rearing head of prejudice
still veiled within our midst
Peach juice dripped
indolent rivulets down her wrist,
as she felt the soft blushing
fuzzy peel on her tongue
and tasted its cool sweetness.
She wondered
as she tapped the frame slightly askew
replaced the dirty coffee mug on his Chilewich placemat
shuffled the mail so her bill was on top
and turned their bathroom faucet handle just enough
to let the water drip in slow motion,
will he know she’s still with him,
not quite yet a fully embodied angel
in that other world?
Written from a writing prompt in my June Challenge Course: write within a constraint, IE a one sentence poem.
As the old saying goes, come dance with me. Below is a one sentence poem. Use it as the “poem within a poem”….write words before or after…..free verse, stanzas, whatever moves you. Create the title too. Put the full poem in a Reply or a Pingback. Two minds, better than one today – excited to partner with you!
My dreams flew by
on gossamer wings,
too high to reach today
even on tiptoe.
Savoring the sea salt on my lips,
I remember how it tasted on your nose,
the nape of your neck and so much more,
those delectable three months
when you were my summer man.
Thanks to my poetry mentor, Holly Wren Spaulding, who keeps reminding me to seek the “poem within the poem.” This one sentence poem first appeared as part of Life’s Choices.
Home at Sea
Dune shack dweller these many years
she fancied herself a Crustacean
sliding through life sidewise.
Have you ever known any “Yes-But” people? They’re the ones who share their problems with you, seeking your input for solutions. They actually ask for your ideas. So you offer them a solution and their immediate answer is, “Well, yes but….”. You think carefully about what they’ve said again, offer another solution and they say, “Yes but….” . Did they really want any help at all? Well, I was a high school debater way back when …. which got me to thinking yesterday and I came up with this One Sentence Poem….just a little ditty for a smile on your Sunday morn!
??????????
Questions
produce answers
produce choices
produce solutions
unless you’re
a rhetorical
person.
Day 8 National Poetry Writing Month Prompt is to write a palinode: defined as when a poet retracts a statment made in an earlier poem. Prism was previously posted under One Sentence Poems. Posting these just under the wire today.
If you’ve not seen my Sunrise Return to Sweden, published this morning — please do scroll down and take a peek — one of my favorites.
Prism
When I’m asked, How do you see the world?
I squint a bit under the bright light
looking for the crimson of her scarf
and answer, Through a kaleidoscope.
Palinode
As she slips through the crowd
not acknowledging me again,
I clear my throat and add,
But mostly as a labyrinth.
lillian the home poet 