Poetry Game, Anyone?

[black winged fighter]

Have you heard -
Yes I thought so.
Oh, alas
You don't know?
But -
You-know-who
has done
you-know-what!

Next word: gossip

[KTC]

On the tongues
of idle preachers,
blistering the taste buds,
anticipating the telling.
Gossip, like a liquid poison,
seeps through the quiet air,
crashing through the teeth of trumpets,
breaking promises
and allegiances
along the way.

Next word: icicle

[ricahardo]

Hot and Cold

Long hard day on the court,
tough games, close calls,
the satisfaction that comes from
a concept explained, digested,
assimilated, practiced, and finally -
incorporated.
And then a little light relief -
The coach's hat removed
and the competitive cap donned.
A chance for the students to try their strength
against the old master.
Close.
Even moments of doubt.
But not this time.
The students know, everyone knows,
but today the old coach is still king.
So off home, with feelings of well being,
a little comfort for a still competitive old ego,
and a glass full of cold beer with
icicles round the rim.


Next word: Beer

[JAlpha]

The buzzing barfly
licks the last drop of warm beer
from narrow red necks

Next word - scavenger

[Paint]

Sliding through the air
On a hot summer wind
Scavenger buzzard scouts for death.

Prehistoric bird is weary
Hungry young ones to feed.
Night beckons with indigo fingers.

Wheeling in the sky
One intent on his mind
Road kill is easy, gift of man.

next word: indigo

[ricahardo]

Indigo

African evenings after seven,

Cool jazz clubs in the back of town,

Billie Holliday singing rhythm,

A base violin playing alone.



Like chocolate velvet

And a mood cocoon,

They wrap you gently,

Beneath an indigo moon.

Next word: Jazz

[Albedo of Zero]

martini as a side dish
to a muted trumpet swan
in the jittering reflection
on a moonlit scatted pond
bullfrogs bellow bass sax
to crickets' craziness
and heat pulls off your zoot slacks
for jazzy midnight swim



next word: moonlight

[KTC]

Only once the day
is zapped of power,
and moonlight clouds my features
can I look back
on where the day took me,
and begin to build
my sense of regret.

Next day: WANDER

[ricahardo]

Destined to wander

Aimless meanderings
to and fro,
uncertain circles
that come and go.
With the wind,
where it will,
blown at random,
never still.
Ebb and flow,
a paper yacht,
the hapless ghost
of Lancelot.

Next word: Treachery

[Albedo of Zero]

an apple on the head
teaches of governmental rot
where common sense
and parental love
are thrown out with the lot


next word: sense

[KTC]

Sense,
that ignoble crutch
I used
when I thought
I was making the right decision.
Sense,
that feeling
of the passing
of time
I took too much for granted.
Sense,
that feeling
of touch
when a long lost
lover
skated noisily
over my untouched flesh.
Sense to know
that all of sense
is gone,
a feeling I have
that I will never get it back,
a sixth sense knowing.


Next word: tired

[ricahardo]

Crossed the Kwai,
lost the Delaware,
Struggled on at Arnhem,
Rolled over the Rhine.
Blood of Greek and Roman,
Scot and Dane and Jew,
German Anglo Saxon
The Celts and Normans too,
Flemish, Poles and Irish
shaken never stirred,
once they painted
every map with red,
wherever they desired.
But that was then and
this is now, and now
John Bull is tired.

Next word(s) God willing

[black winged fighter]

Unwilling man,
this god person.
Imaginary friend to many.
Wishes come true -
or don't,
depending
if they're worded right.
No solid proof,
except the lack thereof...
Maybe this will change one day -
when hell freezes over and
God is willing.

Next word: Blasphemy

[Paint]

Love's tender voice
I hear no more.
Neither parents or well-intended.
Center stage
for all to see,
I play the puppets' strings.
Your life and mine
I run with strangled key,
Arching with triumph
Singing with glee,
I am the ruler.
Responsible for all.
A world of wonder created.
Do not speak your truth
Or say I am wrong
I am god of being right.
The final blasphemy.

next word: puppet

[All Journey]

The smiling puppet laughed

Hollow, void

Under the shining of the spotlight

That shone with no mercy



The tattered puppet lay

Crumpled, torn

Under the shadow of the willow


That wept with the breezes

Next word: saddened

[ricahardo]

Saddened

Daddy's coming home today
from the army and the war
He's been way for much too long
I hope he stays much more

We stand in line with other folks
who're waiting for their dad
but when the soldiers all arrive
my mom looks very sad

The sergeant says he isn't here,
he had his leave revoked
my mom says they need him there
but she looks pretty choked

The hangar's standing empty now
the other folks have gone
My mom and me, we stand alone
It just feels very wrong.

Next word: Soldiers

[Eveningsdawn]

from where I stand
I can see soldiers marching out.
she's with them,
dressed in soldier's clothes.
they all look forward,
but she turns her head,
looking for me.
I'm easy to find,
with my rainbow skirt
bare feet, and
the flowers in my hair.
once she sees me,
she looks away.
Don't go, I call. Come back.
I know she hears me.
But soldiers march quickly,
and even as I call,
the girl I love
is gone.

next word: aquatic

[JAlpha]

reddish-green larvae
mosquito sized lobsters
flaunting their sharp claws


next word - evolution

[luke_e_richards]

The Darkest Heart

Harvester, Reaper, feed me your lies.
Your brutal mouth will open wide, while ride within the darkest tide
All creatures in their proudest guise.

Knower, keeper, tell me of Hell.
Your singing voice will cry and call, while all life will your voice enthrall.
What life makes Heaven swell?

Does change beget a growth?
Speaking of nothing:
Does change begin a curse?

No life lives and dies in vain, say some, but is it true,
When birth will lead to death again; no life can change the face of you?

Does love begin a reason?
Speaking of which:
Do hearts beget a curse?

Watcher, seeker, show me the way.
You beckon and grip with guiding hand, while sand is swept to foriegn lands
As Fate does sightless play.

Harvester, Reaper, let the plague rush in.
Let Brothers cry and Death begin, let wailing sing for change within:
A Requiem for friend and kin.

next word: God

[ricahardo]

Email to the Almighty



I haven’t visited much lately,

More a case of

Not taking the time,

Rather than not wanting to.



I’ve never been a regular

But I’ve never stopped.

I feel the same now as

I always have.



I like to have a quiet word

From time to time.

Nothing official you understand,

Just a quiet chat.



They say the devil is in the details

And I suppose that might be true

But if it is, I think

You’re in every moment.



If we’re neglectful

You understand

As long as we don’t forget,

Permanently.



Our relationship is like

A best friend or brother –

It might be weeks,

Or even years,



But when we do

Get back together

We pick up like

We never left off.



Thanks for being there

And thanks for caring.

My ‘up close and personal’

God.


Next word: Simplicity

[black winged fighter]

Beyond doubt,
Indubitably,
Life is an inexplicably
hurly-burly
swirling
business of motion,
oh so
simple.

Next Word: doubt

[Eveningsdawn]

he says he was
working late
at the office,
but there is
a smell of perfume,
a smear of red
on his collar,
a strange hair
on his jacket.
he says he was
working late,
but I doubt it.

next word: desire

[Cassie88]

I may have doubt about the weather
Or if I'll fall asleep
I may have doubt about a heaven
Or secrets I can't keep
But all the doubt that used to live
Inside my deepest heart
All the doubt that scarred my pride
Has chosen to depart
I doubt I'll ever question now
The all I have to give
I'm old enough to cast off fear
To shout out loud and live


Next Word: FEARLESS

[Paint]

Newborn babe gazes on
Tremulous world fearlessly,
Eyes are filled with God.

His only concern
Is unknowing gravity,
That illusion, the fall.

next word: gaze

[black winged fighter]

Heavy as a downy feather,
Light and airy as lead,
The golden child turns to me,
Lays storm sight on my head.

A question flows,
Pours from her mouth -
The answer drips away.

I've a thought -
It's flown down South,
So far from that gaze.

Next Word: Avoid

[Eveningsdawn]

it's a shame-
the girl I'd never avoid
i hardly ever see.
but those people that
i want to avoid
seem quite drawn to me.

next word - travel

[Albedo of Zero]

this road unnamed,
but for soles
thick with travel,
wends its way,
bumpy-smooth straight
through a life
wet with learning,
sweet in taste,
and odorous
-never ends
though it changes
past the gate


next word: texture

[ricahardo]

Life without/with texture



Boy and girl meet, fall in love

Have babies, work hard

Make money, buy home,

Pay for school, buy vacation home,

Pay for weddings, retire,

Have grandbabies, visit,

Plan legacy,

Die within days of each other.



Martin meets Sylvie,

She’s Jewish, he’s not,

Parents object, they elope

She changes her mind,

She’s pregnant, changes her mind,

Goes through with it,

Breech birth, fifty hours labor,

Last minute caesarian,

Plenty of guilt.

Struggle through two years,

Parents still not talking,

To them, each other or the in-laws,

Sylvie gets pregnant again,

Not a hundred per cent

That it’s Martin’s.

Martin loses his job.

They move back to his parents.

Parents still not talking,

To them, each other or the in-laws.

Second baby born naturally,

Martin gets new job.

In Canada.

Sylvie doesn’t want to go.

She goes.

She’s miserable for months.

No friends, eight months of winter.

Martin is promoted.

New job pays for schooling.

Parents still not talking,

To each other or the in-laws,

But they call out of the blue!

They visit!

They love the grandbabies.

They talk – to each other.

They love Sylvie.

They leave.

Sylvie finds some friends.

Martin takes Sylvie on vacation.

Martin loves Sylvie

Sylvie loves Martin.

Sylvie’s parents still not talking,

To them, each other or the in-laws.

Sylvie’s parents divorce.

Sylvie’s parents are talking,

To them each other and the in-laws,

They visit!

Separately.

They love the grandbabies.

Martin and Sylvie buy a big house

In Saskatchewan.

It leaks.

They fix it.

The kids both get into Ivy League.

The price nearly kills Martin.

He gets another promotion.

Sylvie’s parents remarry!

And divorce.

And remarry!

Martin’s dad dies.

Martin’s mom dies.

Martin and Sylvie grieve.

His parents aren’t talking,

To them, each other or the in-laws.

The kids leave school.

They have babies.

They decide to get married.

Separately.

They have more babies.

Martin and Sylvie buy a vacation home

In Bermuda.

Sylvie’s mom gets cancer.

Sylvie’s mom dies.

Sylvie and Martin grieve.

Sylvie’s dad talks to them,

To his wife and to the in-laws.

Sylvie’s dad thinks Sylvie

Is his wife.

Sylvie’s dad is talking,

To them, to his wife, to the in-laws

To anyone he meets.

Sylvie and Martin take her dad

To a care home.

Sylvie’s dad dies.

Martin and Sylvie retire to Bermuda.

The kids bring the grandbabies.

The kids become Buddhists.

Separately.

Martin and Sylvie plan their legacy.

The kids decide not to be Buddhists.

Together.

Martin and Sylvie grow old.

Martin and Sylvie die on a Tuesday

Separately.

Two weeks apart.

The kids aren’t talking,

To them, each other or the in-laws.

They’re too sad.

The kids and the grandbabies grieve.

Now they’re talking,

To each other, the in-laws

And Martin and Sylvie.

The kids bury Martin and Sylvie.

Together.





Next word: Canada

[KTC]

My Canada
touches Oceans,
carasses the spine of mountains,
tickles the great white tundra
with the breath of its Arctic winds.
My Canada
reaches all ends of the earth,
brings into its belly
the cultures of every country,
the colours of every flag,
the skin tone of every nation.
My Canada
offers a hope
to the hopeless,
a hand to the reaching,
a womb to the motherless.
My Canada,
more than a leaf
with a burning red heart,
more than a sheet of ice
with a hot black puck
shooting across its pure white surface,
racing toward a well tended net.
My Canada,
a hope,
a dream,
a chance,
a home.


Next word: ache

[luke_e_richards]

Beauty Pangs

All pleasantries repent.
Fear and loathing too must be felt.

All tapestries: breath deep.
Hatred, burning, these we must keep.

All beauty seen, look hard.
Burn into your eyes, heart, soul and mind.

Walk paths along cliffs and beach,
Walk slowly, listen, look, breath deep.

Walk alleyways dank and dark,
Graffiti and muggers, violence and stench.

Breath deep, seeker of beauty.
Breath deep of the dark and horrible.

Mist and smoke, beauty deformed.
Red hued autumn, the rotting of leaves.

Summer and drought; snow and death.
As rays rain down from peaceful skies
Think of beauty, horror, truth and lies,
Peace and war, graffiti and art.

Ache, lover of life.
The world is full, breath deep.

next word: paradox

[KTC]

The paradox being
that I never touched your skin
when I could.
Now, I think of nothing but.


Next word: focus

[Paint]

Buzzing insects
Whirl a lazy song
Around my nodding head.

Late summer air
hot and heavy
Fragrant grass scent lingers.

My vision, out of focus
Surreal edges unseen
Asleep in the sun.

next word: surreal

[KTC]

Your breath
upon my face
as you lean in
suggestively,
surreal,
almost
makes me believe
you will return.

Next word: Quest

[ricahardo]

How long perameters abound
despite our confusion,
available could we but dissemble,
they beckon to us in the air,
and yet we struggle
in adolescent blind man's buff.
Our quest begets the final quest
and that our life's purpose,
discovered when we least expect
and whence we least sought it -
a kind of drowning in troubled water,
and when we are half way dead -
the discovery that what we thought was
deep and deadly water
was precious air all along.

Next word: Purpose

[Eveningsdawn]

writing poetry
without purpose
can trap you
backing your words
into a corner
and penning them there.
but writing poetry
without purpose
can free you
handing your words
the wings you
always wanted to give them.

next word: orient

[black winged fighter]

Direction
Way to go
Following a distant star.
Turn about,
See land so far
It lies behind.
Sideways
Shaken to a dizzy
Until the ground stands still.
Only then will I know
Where am I?

Next Word: balance

[Albedo of Zero]

totter and fall
wooden, metal, leather covered stool
not made for drunken balance

stretch and roll
metal, electric, linen covered gurney
made for barstool victims



next word: victim

[Paint]

Slashes
Mark my arms
My thighs
My feet.
I control
Being a victim.

next word: mark

[black winged fighter]

Sorrow leaves its mark for the day,
bleeding wound and angry scar -
Try to outrun the pain,
but
crimson legs won't get you far.

Hope lies at the end of white -
dripping dry will set all right.

Next Word: Cut

[ricahardo]

Cut - a dash like a beautiful soldier
bringing up the pride of the regiment,
Cut - a rug with a beautiful women,
one who'll cry but never lament,
Cut - with a blade slashed high on the shoulder,
with a parry his feint failed to prevent,
Cut - from this earth 'fore his twenty first birthday
bold and so brave from this life was he sent.

Next word: Feint

[Eveningsdawn]

Love's archer
is Cupid.
But love's swordsman
is Desire, and she
is the trickiest,
the most skillful,
simply-the-best
at what she does.
As the smoke
from her cigarette
curls into the air
(forming the shape
of a heart)
she feints left,
slashes right,
parries once,
then thrusts her blade
into your heart.
Desire overwhelms;
there is no resisting
when she
enters the fight...

next word: nest

[black winged fighter]

tissue scraps,
paper stubs,
wire from a fraying fence,
aging grass,
cotton thread -
All to make the softest bed
for new Life,
very precious.

Next Word: trash

[Paint]

The recliner sits on the porch
with broken springs
next to the
refridgerator
that works
for easy reaching
Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

In the recliner sits Jimmy Don
hasn't moved in
five years
except
to get more PBR
and cigs.

In the lawnchair, web strips hanging
sits Martha Louise.
Talking a blue streak
to JD, who snores loudly.
Martha wonders when
the disability check
will show up.

Just another day
in Knockalot Trailer Park
Just another beer
Just another dream.

next word: recline

[black winged fighter]

Recline,
decline
To say no.
Stand back,
attack
the next show.
Accede
defeat
and let go.

Say yes.

Next word: yes

[Eveningsdawn]

it hurts -
how the answer
to a question
can change
from 'yes'
to 'no'
so quickly.
And sometimes,
it hurts
just as much
the other way.
For the question,
in that case,
is never the one
you want answered
in the affirmative.

next word: if only

[ricahardo]

You can, you will,
not can't or won't
could and would
and do not don't
It's like Johnny said:
accentuate
and eliminate
and for sure don't mess
with neither nor,
it's not a choice
not either or
just say it,
mean it, live it too
make it your pact
your whole life through,
no doubt or question
just confess,
don't hmm and hrr
just say yes!


Next word: In between

[Eliel Takavian]

In between reality

And what we see

This world crawls

Ten thousand finely crafted years

Of ever shifting walls



I thought I saw a glimpse of heaven’s side

Turns out that I was on a Disney ride



Cause heaven isn’t here like shopping malls

You can’t go there everyday and walk the halls



Heaven is apart from us, away

And yet it sits here every single day



So if you can’t see heaven from a plane

Fear not

Heaven is a place not just a name



And if you trust in Christ before you die

Have Faith

You’re guaranteed to see him bye and bye

[Paint]

Creatures with giant heads
That say hi.
Women in vintage dress
With crowns.

Buildings that look like dreams
nightmares abound.
Children screaming from
The unknown.

It is frightening, this fantasy world
Called Disney.
Other-worldliness unbeknownst
To a toddler.

next word: vintage

[ricahardo]

Beyond Reach



Your best friend’s mother,

That French teacher at high school,

The lady you see every Saturday,

Chicly dressed in a black crepe sheen dress,

Who runs the Chanel counter at Macy’s,

That blonde women who always picks up

The junior club champion

In a Mercedes 500SL convertible,

With the hood down , her shades up

Like Jackie Kennedy Onassis,

And her impossibly beautiful arms.

They have always been

And will always be:

Women of a certain vintage

Next word: Chic

[KTC]

So chic,
so avant garde.
So relevant,
so joi de vivre.
So now,
so je ne c'est qua.
So,
oh nevermind!


Next word: frisbee

[ricahardo]

So chic,
so avant garde.
So relevant,
so joi de vivre.
So now,
so je ne c'est qua.
So,
oh nevermind!


Next word: frisbee
Not wishing to teach my grandmother to suck eggs but:
Je ne sais quoi = je ne c'est qua.

[ricahardo]

Perspective





We passed through the terran atmosphere,

Without apparent hitch,

And moving through the upper strata

Sought a place to ditch.



After passing endless grey-green seas

We chanced upon some land

And thought to take our small craft in

Though it wasn’t what we’d planned.



Despite our damaged instruments

We glided down quite fair

And we were surely only moments short

When disaster struck us there.



In an area of open land,

With a giant plant surround,

A huge and hairy terran beast

Brought us crashing to the ground.



It’s teeth smashed through the landing gear

And it shook us side to side,

We fired our thrusters to the full -

But it wouldn’t be denied.



And just before we all passed out

A voice filled all of us with fear:

‘REX, YOU PUT THAT FRISBEE DOWN,

AND COME RIGHT OVER HERE!’

Next word: Disaster

[All Journey]

August 4th

I’ve signed away my rights
In hopes of revelation

It could be finished soon



A race I’ve crawled, faltered, fallen

Face muddied, clothes torn

Staring up, flat on my back



For continuation of their craft

Stained and shorn

Bright lights and masked faces



My reality wavers to a blur

Heat skipping in my veins

So much left unsaid, undone



The machines pulse a cadence

Of wrongs never righted

I’ve never sung loud enough



The curtain lowers with finality

I scream to Heaven, fists shaking

Demanding meaning before darkness falls


This could be a disaster

Next word: grief

[Eveningsdawn]

grief knocks you down
kicks your belly
takes your wallet
swipes your coat
steals your boots
and leaves you in the street
hurting and alone,
cold, robbed,
barefoot and scared,
to find your way home
from a dark alley
in a strange city.

next word: haircut

[black winged fighter]

Snip
Falls the lock
A curl of innocence in the tangle of the world.
Clip
Comes the shock
Gone is familiarity in a twirl of silver blades.

Next Word: scissors

[susanabra]

snick
another thread
and clip, clip
two more

sister spins
my scissors
snap the air
sister weaves
a story

rritsch!
right through
the tapestry
- massacre

next word "thread"

[Shane]

Thread

After everyone's gone
And all has been said
There you are hanging by a thread
It waits to break, as you try to grab on
It snaps, it cuts, pieces now cover the ground

Trying to get up, but still tied
It wraps and traps, they all have lied
Leaving you broken, you're forgotten
And once again you have nothing

A noose it was and will remain
Adding to the scars and the stains
Stay back, don't give me your hand
Leave me with the knots and strands
And On my own i will stand.

Word: "Betrayal"

[black winged fighter]

Turned shoulder
when
the world has stopped turning.
Scorching gaze
when
the fire has stopped burning.
Two coins dropped,
silver plated,
a death
a love
betrayed
unfated.

Next word: shine

[Albedo of Zero]

Light, a weight of small numbers
that travels on sunbeams,
lands on trees,
flowers,
roads,
faces and places
only to bounce off in color,
high above veneration for all manmade gods,
and warm the coldest memory
with new ways
to see.

Shine light;
you're all we've got.


next word: prayer

[susanabra]

begging; demanding
accusation and remonstrance
are not

awareness, alive
in every breath
is

next word: awareness

[Swing Swing]

I am aware
That hatreds everwhere
I have fear
That I am alone
Rather to be a begger or not
I feel like a rock
Or rather that a stone


Next Poem:Vain

[Eveningsdawn]

This time of year -
it's unmistakable.
The kitchen table
is used less for eating
(which is done downstairs
out of the heat)
and more for working,
its surface scattered
with blunt pencils
scribbled notes
and lists.
This time when
social calls are forgotten
friends turned down
and we search in vain
for a few moments
of relaxation.
When we waver
between soaked with sweat
and dripping with soapy water.
When the kids
longe until they're dizzy
or memorize patterns,
or jump crossrails
and spend more time
at the barn than home.
When evenings are spent
writing, or drawing,
or searching under beds
for missing ties and pins,
or filling in endless forms.
Or worrying.
This time of year -
it's unmistakable.

next word: pen

[Paint]

Some pens are quite lovely
Lace curtains at the window
All you want at your elbow
A bank account in your name.

Some pens are quite hideous
Tortured prisoners looking out
Hoping for someone friendly
Praying to be left alone.

Some pens look like classrooms
Forced to ingest lies about history
Pay attention to endless boredom
Read tomes uncared about.

Some pens are your office
Whirl and swirl in a desk chair
Hold tight for your benefits
Forty hours of walls.

next word: history

[black winged fighter]

What came is done,
has gone
before
What time has spun
and run
the more -
over and lost
those lines are crossed
and we will touch what's passed
no more.

Next word: More

[ricahardo]

Than the sword? Perhaps –

Though a moment’s loss

Of focus with the rapier

Results in death.

Another sort of death less mortal

Will occur should a thought delay

Or two perhaps compete.

So, uncertain as to how to proceed,

An empty moment stalls to leave

An empty page.

The isolated fraction of

Temporal indecision leaves participants

With opposite conclusions:

The duelist sees his lifeblood run,

The scribe sees his lifeblood staunched.

Perhaps the pen is mightier,

For the lack of ink can only

Frustrate and motivate for more,

A lack of blood can only

Drip and drain the life force

Until, wish as you will,

There is no more.

All this for a moment of mental confusion,

Writers block and swordsman’s tardy parry.

Next word: Tardy

[ricahardo]

My check is in the mail of my life.
I am glad of traffic I can blame
for my consistent inconsistency.
I am putting off until tomorrow
the life I would like to live today
and I know it - I think.
But like some out of body experience
I watch myself failing, day by day,
Powerless, apparently, to set myself
on the proper road.
It is as though I feel that I will
miss something if I don't try and
fit a little extra in.
Sadly I do,
Precisely because of the little extra
I try to fit in.
At this rate I will be too late
for my whole life.

Next word: Traffic

[ricahardo]

Green, amber, red.,

Green, amber, red,

Green, amber, red.



Empty cross roads,

Busy once,

But now the passers by have passed by.

On to new exciting places with more

Enticing spaces.



Green, amber, red,



Green,



Amber,



Red.



Silent, empty, no need for lights

For no-one comes to stop and go.



Next word: Farewell? (Poetry game)

[Eveningsdawn]

Sometimes her farewell
is a hug so tight
I can hardly breathe.
But sometimes, her farewell
is no more than
a slight nod.
Sometimes, a dream of her
ends in my death.
And sometimes, the dream
ends in my salvation.
Predictable, she's not.
She never has been.
An arm around my shoulders
brings me close to her
for no reason
that I can see -
her fingers touch my throat,
gently, almost absently,
as we speak;
she leans on my shoulders
and murmurs in my ear.
But I have never
held her hand...

next word: longing

[Paint]

Grief
Knife jagged
Sharp
Holds me captive
Never to feel your lips
Longing beyond

Sleep
Take away
Aware
To a world of
Possibly a sunlit dream
We meet again, love.

Next word: away

[black winged fighter]

Away, away,
came the cry;
answer I did not wish to know.
The day, the day
has gone awry
and now I really have to go.

Simple rhyme is not enough
to place words to thought
that is this touch
of that which is absent,
no longer here
something old and
something dear
that has fallen by the way.

Next word: time

[ricahardo]

Time to call the girls to play

Time to call on friends

Time to meet and turn away

Time that never ends



Time to talk with mum and dad

Time enough to chat

Time we thought we always had

Time when that was that



Time to make apologies

Time to reconcile

Time the cure for all disease

Time to wait a while



Time that seems in short supply

Time that thieves and steals

Time when rules just don’t apply

Time that death reveals



Time to call a final halt

Time whose time has come

Time when years are in default

Time to leave for some



Time -’tis time for me to go

Time to say good bye

Time at last I finally know

Time is but a sigh



Time is just a whispering

Time is just a word

Time is just one bloom in spring

Time is life conferred



Time was good and all too soon

Time has come and gone

Time was both the sun and moon

Time has sung its song.

Next word: Life

[Albedo of Zero]

Longer days at work seems to be my life's offsetting
I look out the door, is there something I'm forgetting?
Flowers, trees or hummingbirds, maybe even sweating?
Even as I leave I don't know what I'll be getting.

Longing for a breath of air that soothes the soul complete,
I follow many paths yet my foot steps indiscreet
Foulness on my sole, I make black tracks upon the street
Even though I wear no shoes my stain would be defeat

Long curvy roads are tiresome; I take them by the mile
If I fall or lose my breath, the rest would be worthwhile
Fresh anything in my sight is worthy of a smile
Even as I'm on the ground in an exhausted pile

Longest days are coming, I'm not sure I can go on
Freedom's in this running, even though I'll soon be gone.


next word: road

[ricahardo]

No map before the journey,

No landmarks for to guide,

No higher ground to give a view,

No local knowledge to help us choose,



Whither? Whither? The voice inside -

Drives us on to where?

We only know when looking back

Which road we’ve walked along.

Next word: Echo

[emoellm]

I held myself at bay,
sifted across winters fold,
voices came and went,
though I could see little but a shadow,
through the repition,
voices came and went,
but I remained,
and remanded my caution,
back to the bay,
where I lay across in wait,
for you to come back.

next word: absolute

[Eveningsdawn]

They seem so absolute -
black and white.
One the absence of color,
the other
all colors blurred together
(or none of them;
it depends on who you ask).
So go on,
call me colorblind if you must,
but remember -
seeing the many shades of gray
is still better
than seeing only the absolutes
of black and white.

next word: lion

[KTC]

Like white on a zen wall,
lion streaks across night sky
silhouette dancing dreamily
within the memory
of evening's first blood,
white sleeping zebra
black lines erasing
the perfection
of white zen nature.

NEXT WORD: trail

[ricahardo]

Lost in a desert of confusion

Casting here and there for a sign of sense,

I stumble on a path of illusion

Hidden ‘neath a wilderness so dense

It defies the best imagination,

Discourages investigation or travail

And yet here lies the rescue from damnation

This hardly noticed, awkward little trail.

Next word: Wilderness

[KTC]

Alone in the darkness
wilderness naked of candles,
afloat on an endless wanting,
searching for clarity
by the light of the moon
And I howl
at its insignificant slice
its ravishes, how they entice
the wolf inside the man.

Next word: MOON

[Albedo of Zero]

How now low moon can you see us cry
and howl for our rents, our ways and our lives.
through the trees bright blue you shine your light
and our fangs sparkle clean as we smile in the night

How now low moon is it simple to permit
your light to show us in silouhette
frightening mothers to teach superstition
damning us to a life of contrition

How now low moon can you see us cry


next word: superstition

[KTC]

Here in the darkness
superstition sets in,
makes us wonder
if the light of day
will indeed burn off
the fog of doubt
we have set in motion.

NEXT WORD: elastic

[Alphabet]

Between elastic
and e--l--a--s--t--i--c
it's just a stretch

Next word: stretch

[KTC]

Move into folds of blanket
brace the body there
warm to the touch
breaking with the perspiration of night
Stretch an air chilled limb
across the hidden form
bring yourself
one step closer
to home.

NEXT WORD: fire

[Paint]

Fearful wind of searing breath
Irrelevant dreams of terror
Reasons to run from the heat
Even as to the very floor you fall.


next word: searing

[Alphabet]

He lost his job
The building burning
Out from a musket
The clay pot hardening
with enthusiasm
The cry warning
determination

Next word: determination


Oopss: - go with paint or, if brave, use both!

[Albedo of Zero]

searing determination grits between its teeth
on a wet-cooled metal bit
reined loose for the sprint

boiled perspiration washes over its length
stretched leg to leg
pounded strides to the end





next word: winner

[black winged fighter]

Give and take
Partnership,
roots entwining,
soul unwinding,
nights defining
the race of love.
It was supposed to be give and take:
There should have been no winner.

Next word: marriage

[Eveningsdawn]

a seamless marriage
of confusion and desire-
of play fights,
kittens and demons,
and dancing
around the truth.
oh my dear,
do you know what
this does to me?
(and you do -
because i know
you feel it as well).

next word: demonic

[black winged fighter]

The glint of red
in the soul of white
is more terrifying disturbing
than the dark of night.

Next Word: Nightmare

[Paint]

Gauzy
half-held memory.
Images that flit and flay.
Fear drips slowly
walls stained
with bloody tears.

Pursued
but never caught.
Breath siezed
by paniced heart.

Galvanized
by dream hangover.
The day passes
in slo time.
But I remember
shuddering.

next word: siezed

[Albedo of Zero]

But I remember shuddering ~ Paint


Seized are thoughts of escape
in a head immobile
connected
to a body more so
in a chair, wheeled for motion
-a ship on dry land -as the hands to propel
are withered.

A laugh
then tears
unyielding in descent
unfelt in their fall
a pain imagined
a memory


next word: escape

[black winged fighter]

The breathless dive
up into the sky;
A lift
a sigh
as life and time
slowly pass
the grip
that fails
and slips
so weak until
you float away...

Next Word: float

[KTC]

Float
into the morass
of memory.
Float
into the trickle
of time.
Float
into the wheel
of days.
Float
forever
into the trick
of passing
moments.


Next word: stop

[Eveningsdawn]

A telling of who I am,
of my starts and stops,
endings and beginnings,
loves and losses,
can be condensed
into the plain black book
that lies heavy in my hands.

next word: primordal

[black winged fighter]

The blood face of lust,
wild in grimace and in rapture,
strong in urge and desire,
cannot compare
to the pale cry
ahhhhhhh
of a love just born.

Next word: pale

[KTC]

Pale moon,
burned in the dampening sky,
echoes the haze
of crisp winter days...
that time
just before the sun
fades from the face
of the glistening snow.

Next word: ripe

[threedogpeople]

Ripe blackberries
hiding
from autum's frosty morning breath
bursting
with the last of summer's
heat

next word: anticipation

[Albedo of Zero]

heck all i can think of for anticipation is that ketchup commercial with that song

[Eveningsdawn]

I stand
and I grin,
anticipating her,
feeling awkward
and scared -
not knowing
if she'll know me;
what if I don't
know her?
Then I see her;
striped socks,
a mug of grog -
and my heart leaps.
There's a call,
I hear my name
and suddenly -
she's there.
Things snap
into place;
the pirate and I
embrace.

next word: pirate

[black winged fighter]

The day falls sleepy,
lets down the guard -
and soon there's night
slinking into corners
and sailing across the blue bowl of day.
A wind comes,
blows warm,
like love's breath,
and
a star comes;
scout for the moon,
and its pirate crew of stars.
There lies the world,
birhgt before night,
and greedy
the moon takes it whole
and takes it
and takes it away.
Then comes the sun
with a crew of clouds,
and they take it,
they take it back
again.

Next Word: Continuous

[Paint]

That continuous drone
Is that you talking?
Do you take a breath
Hear the wind blow
Watch the flowers nod?
Does the conversation
Go while you are sleeping?
Between snores
Restless turning.
Do you see me
A small and curious child
Dressed in adult's clothing.
Waiting for a nod
Or a glance,
To know I exist
For you.

next word: dressed

[ricahardo]

to kill or for dinner?
a crab or a bed of flowers?
up or down?
by a valet or for bed,
for a wedding or in any gown,
such are the choices and options
for dressing.

next word: melancholy

[black winged fighter]

Painfull thump
contraction of four chambers
into another's space
How could I lose you
fitted neatly
square
into a circle?
The gaps,
the empty place,
where you slipped through my
skeletal clutch.
My flesh,
my hide,
my blood and veins;
how could I lose to you
that which made my corpse
a body -
your body,
shared by eight chambers beating together,
now separated?
Sadness,
if I could.

Next Word: Angst
(This is so different from my usual style. Comments via PM? (or rep-pts, if you're feeling generous)

[JustRite]

First kiss - the cause of much angst;
wondering how it will taste.
Should I, shouldn't I?
Will I know what to do?
I don't want to look
stupid,
but urbane, sophisticated
like it's no big deal.
Like in the movies,
cool and collected
end it with a witty comeback
and sashay into the night.



Next word: kiss
Note: I changed it after reading that the word prompt should be based on the theme of the poem.
Original word was: formula

[threedogpeople]

A kiss
Creating heat
In private places.


Remembering summer
being bare
In outdoor spaces.


Dry kiss
Wet kiss
In private places.


Breathless kiss
Impatient kiss
In indoor spaces.


Remembering Fall
Being cold
In risky places.


Tender kiss
Soothing kiss
My lover embraces.




Next word: calliope

[black winged fighter]

Hello, my dear
and welcome.
Come in, sit down,
I've just begun.
What will it be today?
A sigh to kindle,
a kiss to enflame?
The hiss of the wind
or the cry of the rain?
What can I play;
what tune can I set
to let the words flow and
inhibitions forget?
A rare gift,
and a gift it must be
from my own hands,
I, Calliope.

Next Word: muse

[Eveningsdawn]

she is like wildfire,
uncontainable,
hot on the skin,
flickering from
idea to idea,
even her drink of choice
burns on the way down.
he is like ice
calm and collected
cold on the skin,
focusing on
one concept.
his drink is white wine,
chilled; it goes down cold.
it is like fog,
amorphous,
touching all
the aspects of art.
its drink is dark mead
rich and honeyed, mysterious.
they are muses.
they are mine.

next word: sylph

[black winged fighter]

Slim as air
she breathes her sustenance
deep into his
being
is on fire
with long unkindled
desire
is so rare and
fleeting
is the glimpse
of a sylph
as she dashes - oh so light
into obscurity.

Next word: flight

[ricahardo]

Free as a bird.

Flapping my arms quite hard, I soar
Above roof tops, trees and my friends,
Who are clearly identifiable - though I am
A thousand feet above them.
A pretty girl I know and fell a little bit in love with
Joins me, and I show her how to flap her arms.
Together we glide across the skies, happily
Circling ever upward, except that from time to time,
We fall, and must flap our arms with desperate energy
To regain our places in the sky.
What joy! And then alas - I wake.
Never mind, I know that I'll return to fly again
In my recurring night-time flights of fantasy.

Next word: Dreams

[Paint]

I saw you in a dream
You had no face
I guess it was not
important.

Wind blew the long sheer curtains
You stood behind me and nuzzled my neck.

The scent of you
Mixed with ozone
Of the approaching storm
Made me dizzy, weak.

Your hands
on satin, my arms, my face.

I awoke and you were gone.
Only the storm, the hot night.
Ozone.


next word: sheer

[threedogpeople]

Sheer terror -
alert making, pulse pounding, logic flaking, panic feeding, reality fleeing
Terror.

Sheer hate -
Heartbeat stopping, memory baking, nightmare building, future taking, headline making
H A T E !

numb
deadened
stunned
bleak
desolate
lonely
isolated

Unfeeling
Unfeeling
Unfeeling

Sheer hope -
idea planting, impression building, time sharing, dream forming, future building
Hope.

Sheer joy -
Life changing, love affirming, reality mixing, words spilling, breath taking
JOY!


Next word: Gossamer

[JustRite]

Watching, waiting
casting her net
far and wide

gossamer beckons
eyes open, they fall
into her trap

Unwilling to see
what happened to those
that went before them.



Next word: gossip

[JAlpha]

These Walls Have Ears

You said
She said
He said
They said
We said
Do tell . . .

TELL

[fedorable1]

Tell those who died for freedom
That America isn't free.
Tell the blind who walk in darkness
That there is nothing good to see.

Tell the children, sick and ill
That they have plenty of time to play.
Tell the souls that haunt the night
That they should sieze the day.

Tell the aging seniors
They're only as old as they feel.
Tell a child who dreams of more
Just what exactly is real.


Next Word: Reality

[threedogpeople]

Reality grounds me
Nails me to the floor
Sends me out the door
Leaves me still yearning
While life’s lessons I’m learning.

Reality teases me
Promises me more
Of what life has in store
Loves I’ve only met
Children I’ll never get

Reality can elude me
Day dreams draw me in
Places I’ve never been.
People I’ve never met
Things I haven’t done yet.

Reality promises me
Keeps me moving ahead
Until I’m old or dead
My future is now
As much as life will allow.

Reality shocks me
The day to day grind
My future unwinds
In the promise of dreams
Reality is more than it seems.


Next word: permission

[JustRite]

That night,
on our first date
you asked for permission
to kiss me.

Giddy as a teenager,
heart beating faster,
I said, "No".

You kissed me anyway.

Next word: date

[black winged fighter]

A careful dance
of would-be grace
and
should-be poise.
Lead your partner
to the floor
heart stiff and hot
uncertain,
but the steps will come -
they will come -
and go
on that
first night.

Next word: eros

[ricahardo]

Eros (w.i.p)



Chubby cherub with rueful smile

He watches us and laughs the while

As we our nervous dance perform –

New to us – to him the norm.



Just when our clumsy feet misstep

He plucks his bow to intercept

The distance twixt a pair of hearts

Transfixing us with loving darts



And as the target forms are joined

He laughs aloud at love purloined

Where, but for him, none should exist -

But due to him - the lovers tryst.

Next word: Nervous

[threedogpeople]

Nervous
Will they like me
will they understand?

Nervous
Will he meet me
with heart in hand?

Nervous
Will she see me
for who I am?

Nervous
Will they want me
the way I am?

Nervous
Will they accept me
without demand?

Nervous.
They judged me.

Alone, but strong, I stand.


New word: Cereal

[Eliel Takavian]

Cereal
Food of the gods
Crunchy sweet nuggets of life
Breakfast or dinner
It matters little
You are the bridge between darkness and light

Golden flakes, sun dried grapes
Marshmallows in fanciful shapes
What bounty, what goodness
When in the frosty milk you lay
Content
I cannot help but think that
You are what is best of man and earth

Next word: Content

[JustRite]

Family dinner -
dog sits under the table
content with the scraps

Next word: dinner

[black winged fighter]

Hungry enough
famished
starving
but skipping dinner nonetheless.
Couldn't bare it -
conversation,
the sense sensation
of the latest meal
lying,
steaming,
beckoning...
Only to be discarded,
unwanted yet craved.
Full stomach,
or the perfect body -
bloated bag
and curvacious skeleton.
Is it worth it?

Next word: problem

[ricahardo]

Problem



Disconnect, repair gone wrong,

A cryptic challenge without clear answer.

Stumped,

Stymied,

All undone,

Removed from reason,

A conundrum.

The only solution – patient thought,

Unravel the raveling,

The solution bought with detailed sweat,

No speed,

No haste,

It’ll get there – just,

Not yet.

Next word: Nondescript

[threedogpeople]

Nondescript,
invisible,
over forty reality?


Life of notice
fading
with the years?

Shifting gaze,
freedom
to be me!

Self-confidence over
anxiety
in my maturity!

Profound comprehension
about aging well…
growing into my skin.

Appreciating
the advantages
of experienced composure.

Showing insecurity
the door
I like myself more.


New Word: Suspended

[black winged fighter]

A susserance
as the world changes
hanging
on the edge of a distinction
between nothing
and nothing more.
A suspension of time,
particles of past and future
sifting together and apart
to form our time.
Suspended
in a moment
of indecision,
insecurity,
as the world we know shifts with time
and changes.

Next Word: Change

[JustRite]

Change, please?

The homeless man on the
corner of 5th and Main
waves his arms so
he can get my attention.
I pretend not to notice
but he knows I did
and holds his sign up higher.
The light is still red, damn it!
I sneak a peek at his sign
(sometimes they have clever ones)
Change, please?, it says.
The light does and I hit
the accelerator harder than
I should -
Change? Next time, I promise myself.
Next time.

Next word: Promise

[black winged fighter]

Stronger than death
and no cheap cure,
the promise of one heart
can make or break this world.

Next Word: Armageddon

[Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse]

i know that its coming
but yet i still post
and i don't even know
when exactly does bread
become toast

[Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse]

ah, forgot the next word -

change

[Unique]

It didn't work
I put it down
I took another walk around
I changed my look
my clothes, my hair
I even changed
my underwear
It didn't work
I walked on by
I thought I'd give it
one last try
I picked it up
and shook it hard
I kicked it far
I made if fly
It landed on the pavement
splat
So what the heck
D'ya'll think of that?

next word:
Broken

[black winged fighter]

Crack
splinter
fracture
a pain branching
off and on
as dull as dried blood
throbbing like
an aching heart
is still
the most profound
of pains.

Next Word: Uncertain

[ricahardo]

Time and Tide



Lapping, lapping, always lapping,

The sands are taken a grain at a time.

The wind, the moon and always the lapping

Relentlessly whether at night or noon.



Lapping, lapping always lapping,

The days are taken one at a time,

Work, sleep but always the lapping

Continuously draining as life passes on.



Time and tide wearing us down

Waiting for none, lucky for some

But always the lapping, endlessly lapping

Inexorably thieving with barely a sound.

Next word: Fatigue

[JustRite]

Fatigue

Wake up at midnight.
At 2:00 am;
arise at the unearthly
hour of dawn
when the rest of the
world is sleeping
gloriously,
undisturbed, uninterrupted.

At first the mind
is foggy,
sleep blurred brain
fighting
mind numbing fatigue.
Then, my baby
smiles at me
and I pity
the poor fools
who are asleep.

Next word: delicious

[ricahardo]

Great job Justrite.
I can't help smiling when I visualise the speaker and her baby enjoying the first sunbeams breaking into the room.

Delicious

Juice squirts in a starburst of liquid
as the apple explodes in sensational tang
in my mouth.

In my eager consumption
rivulets of crisp flavor
dribble from my chin.

I am too engorged with pleasure
to regret their loss
until the flesh is gone.

But even then
the memory alone
rekindles the fireworks of taste

Next word: Feast

[black winged fighter]

Heap your plate high
pile on the affections,
joy, love
friendship
connection.
Dessert is the bittersweet,
loss and remembrance
after love's meat.
Go on, go on,
take more, take the lot
live life, live love,
live the loss I know not.
Go on, go on,
take more, be so kind!
Feast while you can
and feed thy own heart;
leave me behind.
I was not made
for this world's sweeter meal
I know not what it is
to truly feel.

Next word: pulse

[JAlpha]

Put on Your Dancing Shoes







5,6,7,8


Roll up the rug
Swing, twirl, split
Leap on the beat, dip
Pause, pose, sweeping
One stiff leg over the floor
Trot the fox, tango, sway to
Arthur Murry’s Deep Purple
Red Petticoats and Tequila
Fantasies shifting weight
Step-close-step-slide
Shuffle swing
Merengue
Cha-Cha
Rumba
Pulse

Away

The Night

5,6,7,8







Next word for the game: eight

[threedogpeople]

What if
you had
only
eight minutes
left to live?

Would you be able
to say
“I love you”
to everyone
that loves you?

I hope not…

I hope that
you are loved
more, and
love more,
than eight minutes worth.


I hope that,
to say
“I love you”
to everyone
that you love
and that loves you
will take you,
a lifetime,
a lifetime much
longer than eight minutes.



Next word: Broken

[ricahardo]

Broken dreams and promises,
the future chain unhooked,

holy smoke chaotica -

not a plan I brooked

when first I set upon this road,

the path that I had planned

was diametrically opposed

to the one that's now in hand.

Rabbie Burns foresaw it well

when of mice and men he spoke -

the clarity of eager youth

is but a middle aged bad joke.

But such is life and often such

a broken path leads on

to happy chance and places where

no eager youth had gone.

Next word: Youth

[black winged fighter]

Ache of bones and heart:
growth
in both -
the subtle art
of fitting in
and
standing apart -
ah...
the careful dance of youth.

Next Word: grow

[Kim Gogo]

Next Word: grow

Grow fragile seed and search for the sun

Find your destiny, your day has come



Reach up and warm yourself in the day

Strengthen and bloom in your special way



Drink the refreshing droplets of rain

Become the beauty that’s yours to claim



Colour so vibrant and scent so sweet

Brightening lives, your gift is a treat



Stand against wind and coolness of night

Opening full in daytime’s warm light



When summer’s done, your time will be, too

For winter, we must bid you adieu



But when spring arrives we trust your seed

Will search again, for destiny’s deed



Next word: selfless

[Paint]

Indeed the study of self
A tearing away of pride.

When at last you realize
Selfless is a lonely path.

For in laying down your own
To another dream it seems

Both are lost to the wind
You stand naked to the world.

next word: pride

[Kim Gogo]

next word: pride

Pride is that which he holds so dear
Denial of grace, he turns his back

And accepts the world for what it is

What measly gift he might scavenge

By his own hands

Pride is that which he holds from me

His dear daughter, by example

That I might not fail

As he once did

And gave up to soon

When he was young

Like me



Filled with pride
Not for anyone, not for himself
Yet I desire it
With my every breath
As he suffocates
Under its relentless grip


Next word: worthy

[Shane]

Should i still post this? 3 previous posts ago the word was broken. wrote this during a really boring lecture and completed in in the library cafe at university....the word has change now though... i'll post it and continue with the previous word... ok?

Broken

Here I am falling to pieces
With shattered memories as hope releases
Its grip that strangles ever so tight
Lost are the dreams of previous nights

Do you see what you’ve done?
With your shadows you’ve taken the sun
Lies and promises all mean the same thing
When pain and misery is all you bring

Walking away, laughing and mocking
Because of you I’m left crawling
Crawling in the dirt with sand in my eyes
Splinters in my veins as I whimper and cry

Going away, you’ll never return
Leaving me here to rot and burn
Look back and see all that you’ve taken
And spit upon that which you’ve broken

Step on the pieces, break them some more
As I lay helpless scattered on the floor
Piece by piece you’ve taken me apart
Bit by bit you’ve broken my heart

Sorry never spoken, goodbyes never said
Here I am forsaken, left for the dead.
Everything’s gone; all taken away
Broken am I since you left that day.

Next word worthy

[Alphabet]

Something worthy of your attention
I think that I should mention
there is a poll going on
about where this thread belongs
so if you care one mote
Vote (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19675)




Next word: VOTE

[Unique]

Be it so noted
That I not only voted
This person said, 'Nay'
Because I won't play
if it goes away.

But it's truly OK
in a sick kind of way
it's the trouble to find
out of sight
out of mind.

Next word:

Disappear

[threedogpeople]

I wish that I could make
all my troubles disappear,
I wish that I could start my life over
as easily as we restart the year.

I wish that I could leave
all my troubles at the door.
I wish that I could rejoice
in my life so much more.

I wish that I could erase
all the pain that I feel.
I wish that my happiness
would seem as intense and real.

I wish that I could multiply
the best days of my life
I wish that I could live
the rest completely free from strife.

I don’t know how to magically
erase the troubles on my mind,
but, I do know that by loving others
a balanced life can be mine.

Next word: rapture

[ricahardo]

The Disappearers





In the seventh month I started here

And since that time I've seen

Many poets disappear -

From this, their one time scene.



Some were young, some were old,

Some were timid, some were bold,

Many had the Midas touch,

Some had none to speak as such.



Folks move on to pastures new

And in passing leave us little -

Perhaps their art and fleet adieu,

And remnants of their spittle.



Where is Cassie? Where is Bill?

Where is Wordsoup if you will?

Beyond repair you know it ain’t

After all we still have Paint,



And Eveningsdawn and KTC

To give us voice to beauty

But even so it’s plain to see

That some are not on duty.



Black Winged Fighter flies here still

And often with your words you thrill

We willing students of the verse

As your shades and tones disperse.



But here’s my hope for everyone:

That those we briefly capture

Will not escape for evermore -

But return to us in rapture.


Next Word: Hello?

[Eveningsdawn]

"Hello?"
The call echoes,
rings in my ears,
a little lonely,
a bit forlorn.
I raise my head,
ears pricked,
hearing my name -
someone has missed me
and I never knew.

next word: sheepish

[KTC]

Sheepish is how I feel
when walking into crowds
surrounded by strange faces
nowhere places
I wonder where I belong
where I get along.
Sheepish is the trait
I taste
on the back of my tongue
wishing I could take that step
that all important leap
where I would belong
get along
with those whose presence I find myself
inside
I wish
with all my intrinsic
backpedalling insecurities
that I can be the person
I feel I am
when I am inside
the world around me
breathing the life
of parties, of gatherings, of get-togethers
but I am not
that person
I am not that gregarious black-tie representative
I am more the flower
pasted against the wall
in an anarchanistic way
unsmiling,
unfreindly
unopening.
I am sheepish.
Unwilling to be the
open me
I want to be.

[Eveningsdawn]

*whispers* Hey! KTC! You forgot to leave a word.

[black winged fighter]

No word...Hmmm - I feel like posting anyway:

Happiness and joy,
my love,
happiness and joy -

Absence,
lack, and
emptiness
of letters,
words, and
phrase;
there are
no words
to capture,
trap, or
tangle up
these days.

Next word: inadequate (unless KTC wishes to change the word)

[JustRite]

I shop like I am going to
the Oscars, or at least the Emmys
Who am I wearing?
Oh, this is Macy's!
Thankyouverymuch.

I pore over the glossies
and buy the shoes
Kate Winslet reportedly wears
when she goes shopping
with her daughter.

I waltz into the room
in my new dress, new shoes;
they say peach is the color
for lips this spring.

You look at me
with that subtle hint of
amusement,
(or is that my imagination?)
"Pearls, Dah'ling?"
and I feel -
so inadequate.


Next word: fashion

[Beyondian]

It's All The Other People

I remember those moments
of years in the past
when I wore what I wanted

I was stylish and free
I was brimming with class
I was confident to the extreme

Sure, I wore strange things
Capes, dresses, gowns
Scarfs far too long that swept round my shoulders

I used to relish the feeling
of being 'different' around town
Feeling people looking, feeling people smiling
I even wore a trilby hat!

But now I'm in a class with others
I don't understand why I suddenly
Down't want to splash out with wierd and wonderful clothes

I wear jeans and shirts, plain and simple
And stare in shop windows pensively
Wishing that somehow I might afford 'one of those dresses'

Nothing too flashy, just something that suits me
Something more in fashion - that I'd ever say that!
Something more smart so I won't feel so shabby with all the girls around me

Strange that I would feel the need to be more conforming
When once I'd have snapped my fingers and laughed... like that!
Maybe next year I'll be in fashion again.

The next word is - seeking

[black winged fighter]

Wistful,
glancing, perusing -
poring over,
choosing
mix match;
adding
this that
then -
polishing the finale...
a compilation
of scars
where we've
welded
soul-bits
together
to form
oursleves.

Next Word: Creation

[KTC]

I awake
startled
from a reverie of dreams
bashful in early morning requiem
Wondering whether the dream
of creation is real.


Next word: horses

[Eveningsdawn]

i walk into a barn
and breathe deep;
the scents sooth me,
comfort me,
ground me.
they are familiar,
so much so that
i forget they are there.
until, three hours later,
my friend smiles,
and says,
you smell like horses.

next word: grace

[black winged fighter]

I could write
of a
virtue -
of patience of thought
and
elegance of mind.
Gliding motion of the
psyche and the physical.
Instead
I choose to write
of a girl.
I knew her once or twice,
and still do.
Unorthodox in her portrayal of virtue
but, nevertheless,
ever Grace.

Next Word: Friend

[Beyondian]

Finding the courage to say the dress doesn't suit you
Stopping you making a fool of yourself
Slipping into familiar patterns with a laugh
Sharing an old 'in joke' when we can't remember where it began
Rolling our eyes at the corny old movie phrases
That one of us always ends up saying
Not being afraid to cry at the soppy movies together
Fighting and making up again
Being the first to say 'I'm sorry' even when we're still mad
And trying to give each other the benefit of the doubt
No matter what

next word - teacher

[black winged fighter]

Wouldn't have thought
a (not so) regular guy
could've taught me
something new and old,
rolled into one.
A new way of laughing
of waiting
and hoping,
with tight longing,
oh perplexing quandary,
that is,
love.

Next Word: Damned

[Eveningsdawn]

Damned if you do...
she whispers, puritanical,
as my eyes rest
on a girl with red hair.
I turn, and we lock gazes.
No, I say. No.
Damned if I don't...

next word: balance

[Paint]

She teeters precariously
balancing on heels
way too high.
Her hair is too long
Her skirt too short.
Red hat
lipstick hot.
Sexy at fifty.

next word: precarious

[JustRite]

Transformation
_____________

Watch the timid mouse roar -
abruptly change from
invisible and voiceless
to fearless;
a lioness
protecting her cub.
A new me battles
the old;
at every turn -
a precarious truce

Next word: abrupt

[black winged fighter]

Plain girl
wondering where the world fits in
her scheme.
She knows life is short,
love doubly so,
knows that by our loss of love,
not life,
not innocence,
are we damned
to lose
ourselves.

Next Word: Scheme

[ricahardo]

Plans



What is this blueprint that lacks annotation?

Is if for life?

Is it the first draft?

Is it the second?

Is it completed or awaiting attention?

The trouble with diagrams is their permanent nature –

Lacking organic and malleable features

They depend on reworking, erasure and such,

But then again Life, as a scheme, is the same -

Pretty much.

Next word: Blue

[Paint]

Indigo blue
Sky blue
Pale blue
Your eyes, blue.

Crimson red
Blood red
Rusty red
Your lips, red.

Pale white
Off white
Pure white
Your skin, white

Ah love
Sweet love
Color my world
The colors of you.

next word: world

[black winged fighter]

Rage against world's passion,
deny the day its light,
Fling far from darkness' arms
the shadows of the night.

Break down the worldly walls,
destroy without a thought,
For all that dies is born to live,
and all that lives is bought.

Rend the rules, my children,
say no instead of yes,
Fight fate, my love, and win;
Life's more than a game of chess.

Next Word: struggle

[JustRite]

Pause
_______

Horse and lonely rider -
one against the stark landscape,
inhaling the crisp, cool air,
indulging
in a quiet moment
stolen
at day's end.
Friends in solitude.
Thankful for the things
today brought with it,
filled with hope for what
tomorrow might bring.
For, at sun up, the struggle
starts again.

Next word: pause

[black winged fighter]

A hitch,
jump in the sound track of life,
hiccup in day's breathing,
a skipped beat in earth heart's thumping,
A pause,
before
the next song,
the next breath,
the next pulse,
Intermission
between life and death.

Next Word: old

[JustRite]

Salsa
______

Weathered face
its own grace
gnarled hands
take a chance
Crooked grin
double chin
feet still spry
as they fly
across the dance floor.
Encore, encore!

Next word: soar

[ricahardo]

Rejoice!



Such height!

Born of the sheer delight

In living joy,

In living light.

In celebration I could sing

And serenade you on the wing

As risen large, in heaven here,

I smile down on the world

That I hold near,

That fills my soul

And heart and corps

And lifts me up on high,

To soar.

Next word: Talon

[threedogpeople]

Talon sharp,
rapier wit
leaves me feeling
like…like…like
I’m slower than
the rest.

What happened to
my quick witted
youth?

Gone. Erased. Elusive.

Not worn away
by time;
taken in the
blink of an eye.

How fast can
you lose all that is
yourself?

Faster than this.



New word: Elusive

[JustRite]

Muse
____

Brief taste,
fleeting glimpse;
will'o wisp.

random hints,
passing ken,
empyrean.

Here now, now
away - forever
eluding grasp.

Next word: intangible

[black winged fighter]

Twitch and shiver -
a phantom's touch,
tracing a curve,
following a line
invisible to me,
with a hand,
intangible,
yet touching part of me
I thought I'd lost.
Heart, love, soul.

Next Word: ghostly

[threedogpeople]

Ghostly thoughts,
memories
that may or may not
have been.

Places visited,
gatherings
attended by family
and friends.

Creeping sensations,
shudders
crawling up
my spine.

Obsessions given root,
shadows that
might not
be mine.

Fading echoes,
sounds that
might not
be real.

Bony fingers,
phantom hands,
icy shivers;
night terrors.


-------------------------

Next word: revelation

[black winged fighter]

Curved and beautiful in mortal eyes,
silk deception covers her form.
"The truth," she says,
"is naked,"
and begins to peel back the layers.
Eager anticipation,
replaced by a gasp,
he turns away
at the revelation of her flesh.
"Yes," she smiles.
The truth is oft disturbing.

Next Word: true

[Cassie88]

He is true green, that one.
True black and true white,
And all the time, I thought
He was true blue.

He is true hard, that one.
True, through and through, hard.
And all the time, I thought
He was true soft.

He is true straight, that one,
Traveling alone on a straight road
To get to his true.
And all the time,
I thought he knew
The road led back to me.

And all the time,
I thought he was true blue.
All the time, all that time.


Next word: Betrayal

[black winged fighter]

Blinkers on,
no side to side,
running to a future together -
only to find you gone
when I get there.

Next Word: gone

[Paint]

Gone the open spaces
No more empty places.

To songbirds say goodbye
No more to sing or fly.

Fresh air is a dream
Dirty water in the stream.

Off we go to Mars
To dwell, find oil for our cars.

We've used it up here
It's all gone I fear.

Okay rhyming is not my forte. An honest effort. next word: sing

[threedogpeople]

Lifting tones
Shaking hands
Stuffing fear and anxiety
Share the moment
Humbled by sound

Deep breath
Open lungs
Push from below
Offer the sounds
Crafted by God

Amazing experience
Open heart
Push with everything
Offer your history
In your words

Lift diaphragm
Open ribcage
Create an aura
Expose your soul
In the notes

Feel the emotion
Drown in relief
See the tears
Hear the applause
Humbled by God’s gift

Next word: quiver

[black winged fighter]

Love's quiver
punctures my body
punctuates my day,
a silent rain
a breathy shudder,
and then
it passes.
Clouds pull away,
Tremble falls away,
and I feel I have lost something
worth keeping.

Next Word: keep

[Alphabet]

these fragile words
that we keep beating
break us apart
more fragile still
and yet your heart
seems worth the keeping
whatever hurts
whatever thrills

we needn't speak
lets touch eachother
lets become close
lets barely breathe
whatever broke
might join together
no longer weak
if we believe

next word: speak

[black winged fighter]

Sprout,
my seedling,
birth forth from grave -
push back the silent layers;
Curl out a phrase
and
push out letters.
Don't be afraid
to speak
and send out roots.

Next word: break

[Cassie88]

It's broke
With no one near to care
With all of us in fear
Broke
With scattered rusty parts
With old men's lazy farts
Broke
And
Hurling words won't fix it
And
We're too far to kick it
Broke
The schools need art
Broke
A theatre part
Broke
On frozen stoops
Broke
Out of the loops
And
Crying for the flag won't help
The leaders make us gag and yelp
This plan to give us drugs
Divised by greedy thugs
Broke
Inside our souls
Broke
It takes its toll
Broke
Will smash your gate
Broke
Will unleash hate
Broke
Is it too late
With liars 'round each bend
No cash for us to spend
Why do some pretend
Why do some pretend
It's broke
Broke
Broke!


Next word: Shameful

[ricahardo]

Floods rise up: unbidden pools -

Collecting tanks for the weeping world

That can no longer keep it in

And bursts forth in rain,

The bleeding tears of painful sin.



The ill equipped are made to pay

For the evil deeds they didn’t plan

Or execute, or consent, or want

And engorged with shame at her

Earthly child, Mother Nature

Pours forth her wrath.



We see her power destroy

And wreak the havoc of destruction

And in excusing human acts

Assume our innocence.

But is this quid pro quo?

Do we not really know

The consequence of action?



In every deed a counter,

In every thought an action,

In every move a balance

In every life a conscience.

Do our people suffer without cause?

Or do they reap as their leaders sow?



Ebb and Flow.

Saturation.

If the world is full of shame

Then it must burst

And shed the shameful tears.

Next word: Balance

[threedogpeople]

Balance my check book,
Balance my life,
Why do you say
That I’m only a wife?

I gave up one career
For much less strife
Why do you fret
while I’m making a new life?

You loved me before
You still love me now
We’ll get through the changes
we just don’t know how

I’m finding a way
To make it make sense
I’ll craft a new life
Filled with art and innocence

I don’t want to look back
I’ve traded it in
For a chance at happiness
And days with my pen

Balance my check book
Balance my life
I found my true calling,
happiness, and delight.

New word: sleep

[black winged fighter]

Last night,
as I lay sleeping,
he cut me.
Not a friendly cut-
an ending cut,
connecting the dots on
my jugular veins.
Life flow snuffed,
my head gave a nod -
a final "yes"
to death's old question.
It was wet and warm,
yet cold and dark,
and then
it was nothing at all.
A lifetime later
(it seems)
I opened my eyes,
and found new questions.

Next Word: questions

[Cassie88]

We were laughers, mostly.
We asked the questions,
But needed no answers.

Only fun, then.
Oh, to have those days again!

For questions age,
And call for aid,
Waiting for the words
To put them to bed,
Waiting to fall asleep
To the sound of laughter.


Next word: Answers

[Eveningsdawn]

finding the right answers
is easy
it's finding the questions
to those answers
that often proves harder
than we would ever
have guessed.

(not my best, but eh. I'm tired.)

Next word: obsession

[black winged fighter]

There's something odd
about this glass,
forever always
fixated forward,
blinkers on - no side view.
But I know something others don't:
The mirror is obsessed with me.
Each time I look,
it holds me there,
tastes my form and mimics.
Little shapes,
about the town,
my other selves sent to stalk,
through the mirror's mask of glass.
But to break up would be
bad luck.

Next word: triskaidekaphobia

[Paint]

Seven little girls
in starched dresses
ready for church.
Six towheaded boys
in flannel shirts
help dad cut hay.

Mom is tired
cooks for the brood.
Dad wears road map wrinkles
Hours in the sun.
Life is the work day
Evening cries for rest.

No triskaidekaphobia
Only love and work.

next word: brood

[Cassie88]

I will not dine with men that brood
And make a face when eating food
I cannot stand a man that stews
And rolls his eyeballs when he chews

Take your long face from the table
Join the horses in the stable
When I lift my fork in pleasure
You'll not spoil my only treasure

If you must brood, then eat alone
I will not have it in my home
For when I swill and taste the wine
The world is good and life is fine



Next word: Chew

[Eveningsdawn]

I will not stand
like a blinkered horse
harnessed to my Hansom,
chewing my feed morosely
from the bag on my nose.
Nor will I be
a lessoning horse,
going forever in circles
handling nervous amateurs
who can't give me direction.
No; for me it is
the life of a wild horse
a free-to-live-or-die horse
a going-where-I-please horse
or none.

next word: exchange

[Albedo of Zero]

two for a nickel
the old joke exchanges pennies
more is better, right?

traded smiles,
one for sadness,
two for hope
-rain on a warm summer funeral

death is still cold
to the body

two for a soul
the old dirge exchanges families
-heat on a wet guilted face

life, cold and old,
controls a man,
a family,
a religious vendetta

pennies saved
in cups for closed eyes;
angels trade two
for last rites

more is better, right?


next word: welcome

[Paint]

Seeking destruction
welcome clutches
of addiction and pain.

Dark lonely places
siren song of numb
stabs from shadows.

Mind skitters aimlessly
one compulsive thought
feeds another.

Hopeless and lost
I teeter close to the edge
Only to fall, spinning.

Whew! left me breathless--next word: spinning

[Unique]

I met my self coming and going

in the hallway yesterday.

Had I left or

had I just arrived?

I spun so fast

That when I fell down the stairs

I realized

It didn’t matter

Life was in the journey

And the bumps were only

There to remind me

I was still alive.


:Smack: Oh, yeah....next word: Dizzy

[Cassie88]

She'd suspected for some time,
And had started to listen
To the conversations
Between her mother and father.
Always hearing her name,
She wondered if it could be true,
And waited.

The house was dizzy with Christmas eve,
When surrounded by family,
She opened a belated birthday present
From an aunt.

She turned away,
Adorning her disappointment
With a weak smile and a tear.
The aunt promised they'd
Return the gift after the holiday.

Testing her power,
She wielded her wand,
And spoke with the voice of an angel.
"Will you take me now, Daddy?"

They held up dinner
For over an hour,
But the food tasted delicious
As it sometimes will,
When you know
You're the center of the universe.


Next word: spoiled

[black winged fighter]

A perfect evening
spoiled only slightly
by the way
our eyes didn't meet.

Next Word: remorse

[Paint]

Laid flat
on a large hard stone
She begged
The powers that be
For mercy.

Children gone
Husband dead
She knew no peace.

Praying for a miracle
Salty tears
fell like rain
down her dusty face.

Raising her head
to the gusty wind
She saw stars twinkling
in the cold clear night.

On the stone
beside her
a lone white wolf.

Looking in its amber eyes
She knew
What she had come there
to know.
Mercy.

next word: amber

[ricahardo]

Droplet of honeyed gold,
prism of the past,
what secrets do you hold?
What questions left unasked?
We see you now as crystal,
a precious lucky find,
once you lived as fluid,
but now as gold, are mined.
Would I could but peer through
your misty amber light
and see what was around you
when first you dripped in sight.

next word: Trinket

[black winged fighter]

I gave you a bauble,
a trinket,
and you embraced me
in return.
I have resolved to find more such treasures.

Next Word: pine (as in longing)

[threedogpeople]

Next word?

[Pat~]

Oops, sorry.

Next word: Reflections

[Unique]

When into the mirror she gazed
and saw no reflection there
Away in a flash she turned
The memory stripped her bare.

No light, no sound, no thought
Her emotions they did rise
Throughout the journey fraught
Lightening lept from her eyes.

When once again she stood
before her mirror cloaked in black
draped with a mourning hood
Her reflection never came back.


(if any of ya'll could help with the last verse - I'd be obliged. It's lame)PMme


Next word: Unknown

[black winged fighter]

Blankness fills me -
where once there were words
there is a hole.
I plucked them all out,
left no roots...
no flowers next year;
the bulbs are gone.
I - something has changed,
a killing springtime in my soul
when emptiness grows.
There is a sense of
waiting,
and not much more.
A week has passed;
this must be the Seventh day,
and like Him,
I cast my words away.
Like Him,
I have no more to say,
so I cast my future to the
unknown.

Next Word: uneven

[ricahardo]

Daytrip



B’dm!…. B’dm!…. B’dm!

What a beautiful day!

Look at the sky, so blue,

And look at the river

So smooth and clear,

What a beautiful day!

B’dm!…. B’dm!…. B’dm!

What a beautiful day!

Look at the Buzzards circling high,

And look at the trees

So green and tall,

What a beautiful day!

B’dm!…. B’dm!…. B’dm!

What a beautiful day!

Look at the deer, so gentle,

And look at the mountain

So high and proud,

What a beautiful day!

B’dm!…. B’dm!…. B’dm!

What a beautiful day!

Look at the road, my dear

And look at the bumps

So often and tedious,

Spoiling our beautiful day!

B’dm!…. B’dm!…. B’dm!



( In grudging admiration of Highway 17 through the Catskills of New York)

Next word: Tedious

[Eveningsdawn]

the work is tedious,
not boring, no-
though looking for features
on an old skull
is a slow, careful process.
what saves it
from being boring
is looking into hollow eyes
and wondering
who he was.

next word: anatomy

[JustRite]

The anatomy of love
bears
no understanding;
I take it apart
thread by thread -
still I can find
no meaning,
no rhyme, no reason
why my heart beats
in unison
with yours
through every season.

Next word: reward

[Cassie88]

LOST: Former husband and father -
May be seen carousing with vampire,
Possibly driving vintate MG or new Porsche.
Look in fur and jewelry stores, banks,
5 start restaurants, boat yards, and
Plastic surgeon offices.
Man is in his late sixties; head may be
Caved in as brains fell out.
Female is fanged and humorless.
She repeatedly smacks lips and may
Appear to be man's daughter or grandaughter.
REWARD


Next word: Vampire

[Paint]

Sucking the land
of its life blood.

Evil vampire snake
asphalt and cement.

A black orchid
the city.


next word: orchid

[Unique]

Not every orchid is exotic
Peruse your woods
You may find me hidden
there in the deep gloaming
Underappreciated
Terrestial
Yet an orchid nonetheless.


Next word: Terrestial

[JustRite]

We, who are terrestrial,
have taken from the earth
her forests,
her oil,
the very air and water,
that sustains and nourishes us.
We have overgrown the land,
invaded her skies,
and reclaimed the sea.
We have left nothing unspoilt.
We, who walk the earth
on two legs.

Next word: Jealous

[black winged fighter]

The words,
"I love you,"
cause me slow death
as they avoid me
and seek out her ears.

Next Word: Hear

[Cassie88]

Write me when you get there.
Pick me up and carry me with your words.
Hold me high so I can see the ocean.
Speak to me softly so I can hear the wind.
Turn my face to the sun so I can feel the warmth.
Then put me down gently,
Close my eyes and
Spare me your sweet farewell.


Next word: Letter

[JustRite]

I could call you
on your cell phone -
the one that also doubles
as a PDA, or even
email you.
An SMS message would
probably do the trick too...
but, then, I couldn't use
lavender paper or
scent it with that perfume
of mine you like so much.

Next word: message

[black winged fighter]

It is strange -
a simple touch,
hand to shoulder,
can convey the complexity
of "no worries."

Next Word: confusion

[JustRite]

The guy behind the old lady
waves at me.
I squint my eyes -
is he someone I know?
Best to wave back.
I do and turn away
not quite sure who (or whom? please correct my grammar)
I just waved to.
The girl next to me
walks up and hugs him.

Next Word: rendezvous

[Cassie88]

He doesn't meet, he rendevous
With Lauras, never Mary Lous -
He's always late, why can't they see
That he arrives there COD,
Reciting poems and phrases French,
He whispers deeply "Sexy Wench."
But in the morning, with the light,
They wake and he's nowhere in sight.


Next Word: heartbreaker

[black winged fighter]

The way he doesn't know
and doesn't mean to
hurts more
than anything he's ever said.
The silence
waiting for his words
is what breaks my heart.

Next Word: forlorn

[threedogpeople]

Leafless
Lifeless
Listless

Forlorn
Forgotten
Fall

Waiting
Watching
Winter

Standing
Swaying
Spring

Stunning
Shading
Summer

Tree...


Next word: Bones (as in skeleton)

[Paint]

Turn,
so she could see
in the mirror
the curve of back
bones
sticking out so fine.

Smile.
She admired her thinness,
turning
back,
heads for the
porcelain goddess
to lose lunch
once more.

next word: mirror

[Cassie88]

Once I danced inside the mirror,
Twirling, twisting, smiles -
Returning often just to prance
Down princess wedding aisles.

Then I posed for mirror's lens,
Flirting, winking, eyes -
An artist lived inside the glass
And never painted lies.

But now the mirror softly mourns,
Forgetting days of grand -
The stranger's dance is beveled by
A wrinkled foreign land.

I'm not fooled, I know someplace
Inside reflections deep,
A girl is spinning, round and round,
Where mirrors never weep.



Next word: Glass

[ricahardo]

Glass



Jumping onto the water taxi on the Grand Canal,

Gondolas full and empty pass by.

The Gondoliers in their hoops

Chat in their ancient patois,

Winking or laughing roughly as they spy a pretty girl.

The taxi suddenly surges forward, spray foaming

And a bow wave driving powerfully toward

The canal bank and the traditional mooring poles

Incongruously littered along the quayside

Like so many water-born barbers’ poles.

A couple more stops and then out into the Lagoon.

Other taxi pilots nod as we follow the clearly marked

Channel in the shallow water.

‘Murano!’ shouts the ticket collector as we gently bump

dockside on Venice’s smaller neighbor.

Alighting in this smaller Venetian world we try and follow

The street map.

Suddenly we are in a small square and we are alone.

No other tourists.

We recheck the map.

Then, half guessing, we walk down a particularly narrow street,

Just wide enough for two people walking abreast.

We walk past a tiny drapers and women’s hairdressers,

Whose occupants look up and nod nonchalantly as we pass.

Finally we come out on a canal side.

A tiny sign written in English announces

‘ Working factory – free entry’.

An elderly man – perhaps in his mid sixties, beckons:

‘Please, you come.’ He signals us to follow and repeats:

‘Please.’

We follow down another narrow street and into a small doorway.

He points and we follow his finger to a neatly laid out table

Behind a small roped off walkway.

We stand dutifully behind the rope in the walkway.

He scuttles over to a huge furnace and opens the door.

White heat blasts out and our host quickly dips

A long metal tube inside.

It comes out with a glowing orange end.

Dexterously he blows, then quickly turns the tube,

Blows and turns, blows and turns.

Then he comes over to the table and points to one of several

Small dishes.

‘Cobalt’ he announces and dips the now less orange tip of the tube,

into the dish.

Now moving swiftly he molds the viscous mixture,

Pulling at it with sharp nose pliers.

Miraculously, as we watch, a tiny rampant horse appears,

Blue mane and tail, nostrils flared, front hooves rearing defiantly.

‘You like?’ The old man enquires.

We like.

‘Ten euro. Is OK?’

Is OK.

‘Grazie!’ he says.

Grazie.

And we leave with our little blue horse from Murano.



Next word: Rampant

[Cassie88]

Rampant fears
Auctioneers
Shivering me
Shivering me
Exclusive voices
Cannot hear
Withering me
Withering me
Evangelical
Save yourself
We sinners
Know the way
Chistian
Gentile
Buddhist
Quaker
Transsexual
Lesbian
Gay
Rampant fears
Mix with tears
Shivering
Withering
Me


Next Word: Auctioneer

[ricahardo]

Yielding.

A joke - a pig in a poke.
Couldn't stop myself, caught up in the moment.
Ha! Now what? Stuck.
Make the best of it, live with the rub of it -
Pay for it.
Self made misery,
a melancholy born of haste,
the pain of the gain.
Perhaps, though, what doesn't kill you
makes you stronger,
makes us stronger.
Looking back, the decision made was rushed,
but the outcome may shape a better future.
The child of temptation
may shape not spoil.
Perhaps regret may not tinge my seduction
of the auctioneer.

Next word: Tinge

[Cassie88]

His hair is tinged with silver

spoon

in his mouth

dry

martini tinged with 5 o'clock

timetable

train rides to city bank

deposits

of rolex

watches

no sunsets from dark limo

window

curtain to keep out the poor

man

whose hair is tinged

with

silver

sterling

silver






next word: bankrupt

[black winged fighter]

CEO
doe$n't know -
got the bigge$t $ta$h,
the mo$t green,
and $till doe$n't know
that he'$
emotionally bankrupt.

Next Word: Money

[Paint]

a wallet
found innocently
on the ground.
it fell upside down
like an a.

Inside lived stories
pictures of children
money
and love.

buried deep inside
his true self
a poem
written to a lost sweet
for none to see.

passer-by
picks it up
finds the poem
weeps
keeps the money.

next word: buried

[black winged fighter]

Ground
and sound,
shifting tomb,
the earthy womb contracting.
Pulsing now, the sense of loss,
a dying fear blacked out
by lack of light,
an emptiness
where fight
should be.
Resignation
will be the end.

Next Word: resignation

[ricahardo]

Take Notice



I’ve tried, I’ve lied, each trick applied

Just for your benefaction,

But despite the mite I compromised,

I’ve naught but putrefaction.



I understood the greater good -

Well worth the minor lapses,

But in the main it was in vain

As my house of cards collapses.



In gratitude: a platitude

Rewards my each endeavor,

I can’t sustain this constant pain –

So goodbye to you for ever!





Next word: Endeavor

[JustRite]

Drawing

Pencil in hand,
brows furrowed,
I turn the book upside down.

Apparently,
Your left brain
is activated when you do this.

This is one way
to learn How to Draw - even if
you have previously sucked at it.

I chew on my pencil,
and contemplate
the squiggles I have marked on the paper

in my endeavor to find
the original drawing
somewhere within those amateurish strokes.

_______________________________________

Next word: portrait

[Eveningsdawn]

if i had to paint a portrait of you
with just one color
i would chose the richly mottled
deep crimson-purple
you only get by mixing paints.
and i would paint it so that at first
all you could see was the color;
but after a while of gazing,
you would see the patterns
and sworls of paint-on-paint
that outline the curves
of your face -

next word: rush

[black winged fighter]

With a swoop
and rush,
a recognition and a lesson learned,
I am falling.
Join me -
the trip's meant to be shared,
and dropping's lonely business.

Next Word: beg

[Paint]

Mustangs
beg to be free
Locked in
two hundred acres
a raging thirst
have they

They watch
man and his truck
suspiciously
with good reason
now the rope
takes them away

Mustangs
kick and scream
mightily
ransome paid
in meat
so others live.

next word: rope

[black winged fighter]

Single fibres,
gossamer, it seems,
fragile little light traps.
Twist and wind -
like words,
like people -
then snap into
a coil.
So useful,
so ready,
so easy to control
Give shape,
decide fate,
and then lower the noose
about my neck.

Next Word: society

[ricahardo]

Sink or Swim



Dribbling cesspool of rationale

Justified by deed and need,

Daily separation of yolk and white

And disappointment of aerosol can cream

Conscience,



Fake with enough semblance of the real thing

To persuade.

It rises to the top of the pool,

Though by way of its lack of substance.



It masquerades as quality while surreptitiously

Poisoning those fool enough to

Find themselves momentarily adjacent.



The ebb and flow of excreta

Can look like a beautiful natural phenomenon,

But so too can an out of control soccer crowd

Just before hundreds are crushed.



Whirlpools and eddies of society

Are as like to throw the virulent and diseased up

And suck the clean down, as vice-versa.



The trick is to not stand still

On the quagmire for too long.



And be careful of what you breath in.


Next word: Crushed

[JustRite]

The smell of
crushed garlic,
and basil
wafts through
the house.
Dinner is cooking.


Next word: dinner.

[Eliel Takavian]

Dinner

Elegant night meal

Potatoes, gravy and stoneware

Darkness

The clanging of cutlery

And conversation

Salt, pepper, butter and

Love

next word: gravy

[JustRite]

All I need is
a regular job,
good health,
a love to have
and hold,
good friends
and family -
the rest is
gravy.


Next word: need

[Unique]

Your need strikes fear into my heart
How could I provide for the depths of your soul?
You look to me for answers, yet my kit is empty
I've lost the answers to my own questions
As I've journeyed across the sorrow of my years
Joy I've sucked like marrow from the bones of others
How do you trust that I won't do the same to you?

You see me as something pleasant, a beckoning path
Why do your eyes see what my own mirror refuses to reveal?
The hours I've spent like coin of the realm have left me bankrupt
Pockets depleted, soul destitute, heart exhausted
I am a minstrel singing through tears
As time slips through my hands I wonder
Will the sparkle reflected in your eyes rekindle the light in my own?



Next word: Exhausted


(because that was hard!)

[ricahardo]

Exhausted

I have a flat in my life tires,
slow punctures that have been creeping up on me for years.
I'd like to get them in to the shop to be mended,
but I never seem to find the time.
Eventually I guess there will be no air left
and the deflated wheels just won't turn,
then I'll stop.
But by then the tires will have worn through.


Next word: Air

[Pat~]

As vital as the air I breathe

His presence is to me;

Though invisible to naked eye

This reality I see.

He fills the war-torn heart with peace,

And strengthens for the task;

Divinity becomes one with me,

As in His love I bask.


Next word: union

[Eveningsdawn]

first the makeup.
a boy lifts my chin
judging the color
of my face and lips,
then hands me lipstick
(he's dead on).
then the hair,
tamed by a headband
and curling irons
and hairspray,
as i sit totally still
(i'm no good at hair).
then the costume
a navy blue dress,
trimmed with lace,
a matching hat,
a gold-and-white necklace.
(don't forget shoes!)
and then-
the show-
the breathe-deep warmups
the waiting in the wings
the overture -
the union of panic
and excitement
when you step out
onto the stage -

next word: premiere

[Paint]

Knees knock
Stomach flips
First one out
Desire to run.

Onstage
All is calm
To act-
becomes natural.

Smile for photos
Success is heady
the rush is loved
Under lights.

next word: natural

[kdnxdr]

the eyes,
the smile,
the poise
of every turn
brings the flash
of recognition
and
premiere's
the crash
of what there was


Artie Parny

[kdnxdr]

from
dust to dust
the ease of decay
pulls me from the earth
and settles me back
to rest again,
home of my natural
mother


next word: ease

[black winged fighter]

With what ease
love creeps up,
twining, rooting,
ivy tendrils with
heart leaves -
and then how difficult to eradicate!

Next Word: vine

[kdnxdr]

crown of twisted
vine and thorn
gouged
to make the bleed
life
let out
to let me in
the sacred
entwined
profane

artie parny

next word: sacred

[black winged fighter]

The most sacred
touch
is shared
between all lovers -

The most sacred
breath
is tasted
through a kiss -

The most sacred
dream
is born
of one night -
an eternity of bliss.

Next Word: breath

[kdnxdr]

o'er the breath
of life
two lives
hang in the balance
be it yours
or mine
or other's yet
a life well lived
is valiant


artie parny


next word: valiant

[threedogpeople]

I thought about their
sacrifice
ordinary people
paying the price
of our freedom
with their lives
leaving parents, children,
husbands and wives
left alone;
to weep and grieve,
forlorn.

Valiant soldiers
ordinary people
I’m forever grateful
for where you’ve been
stepping through
the gates of hell
so we can sleep
so soundly and so well.

I don’t possess
enough words
to convey
my thankfulness.

God bless you all,
for answering freedom's call.




Next word: rennovation

[Eveningsdawn]

O valiant -
you sit on your snowwhite horse
shining in your armor
sword in your hand
ready to face dragons
or wizards
or cruel queens
just to save me.
But O valiant -
I don't need rescuing.


whoops, threedog definitly beat me there. I like this too much to delete it, so just take her word.