Monday, November 13, 2017

POEMS OF THE WEEK by MAMA ZEN, ROMMY DRIKS AND JAE ROSE

We have a treat for you today, my friends, a poem each by Kelli Simpson, well-known as Mama Zen, who blogs at  another damn poetry blog(which is anything but! Smiles), Rommy Driks, of  Kestril's Rhythms and Groove, and Jae Rose, who writes at her blog  of the same name. Each poem took my breath  away, and I thought the combined effect of all three together would certainly brighten your day. Enjoy!






Old Mother Wichita wets with twilight.
Blackjacks bruise purple but for the green

lichen half-rubbed away hip-high
to an old bison's itch.

A rich robe of Indian Blanket sways and drapes
the hill to hollow hovered

by a red-tailed hawk circling
in the blue becoming gold becoming thick

with cicadas, fireflies,
and mockingbird song.

Summer light dies slow,
lingers lazy and long.

Then she sighs herself into a star
for night to wish upon.



Sherry: I am sighing myself, at your beautiful closing lines. Your imagery is so vivid, Kelli. This is beautiful.

Kelli: "Mother Wichita" is about the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near where I grew up in southwestern Oklahoma.  The Wichitas are one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth; the Wichita tribe believed that their first ancestors sprang from the rocky points of the range.  

Today, the refuge is home to a large herd of bison and acres and acres of untouched mixed grass prairie.  To say that it is beautiful, inspiring, and humbling, is to say the very least.



Sherry: It is such a beautiful landscape. I can see how it inspires your muse. Thanks, Kelli, for this wonderful share.







In Samantha's Shoes

Dinner’s in the fridge.
Don’t forget Tabitha’s bedtime story.
Make sure Darren Jr does his homework.

I’ve laced up my take-no-prisoners,
Valkyrie-on-a-broomstick, hell-yes
you’ll-hear-me-roar boots.

You smiled at me,
while I decided between
belladonna or datura -
made me want to reach
for damania instead.

I love these boots.
But I also love the slippers
we’ve made of our love -

the warm, mmm-so-cozy,
love-rare-lazy-afternoons-with-you,
strong-enough-to-go-through-the-wash,
still-sturdy-after-so-many-years slippers.

But tonight, there are great, odiferous, pestilent
hydras to contain and a coven waiting for me to rise.
“The hydra doesn’t stand a chance,” you say
before we kiss and I fly.


Sherry: I love this! Especially, "the hydra doesn't stand a chance". 

Rommy: In Samantha's Shoes came about as a response to a prompt given over at Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads, Poetry Through the Eyes of Carol Ann Duffy. The prompt asked us to pay homage to Duffy's style by creating a love poem using a common every day image. 

I don't know what specifically called to me about creating a poem around beloved TV witch Samantha from the show Bewitched. Perhaps it was a perverse need to add an element of the fantastical anyway to the main conceit (the idea of a mature love being as comfortable as a cozy pair of slippers). Perhaps it's just that I love playing with a bit of pop culture from time to time in my poems. I've written about Molly Grue (from The Last Unicorn) and Phaedra no Delaunay (from Kushiel's Dart). Either way, I really was charmed by the way it turned out.

Sherry: And we are charmed as well. Thanks for this, Rommy.







Autumn

Autumn licks at the corner of our existence 
We are all at once ready and able 
Time ticks on 
Hatter sings and Joker dances 
The peppermint clouds and cinnamon dust waft through the window
Another day
Another day 
Crisp leaves and gentle breezes 
We gather them up like treasures 
Keep them in our pocket
Wait for another year
Another year
I am sure that the breeze will come and wash away the darkness
Autumn comes
Winter stays 
Summer lingers in the background 
We will wait and gather stones 
Open the window and let the light prevail.


Sherry: I love the hope in this poem, opening the window to let the light prevail. Beautiful, my friend.

Jae Rose: This poem came to be solely from the prompt at Midweek Motif: Autumn. I tried to make it more upbeat than my usual scribbles.

Sherry: And you succeeded, my friend.  Thank you for the share, and for lifting our hearts.

Thank you, Kelli, Rommy and Jae Rose, for the wonderful poems, which we very much enjoyed. And for your faithful participation at Poets United through the years. We so appreciate you.

Do come back, my friends, to see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!



19 comments:

  1. Three poets; three extremely different writing styles. All three of which i consider Out of the box. What a treat this Monday. Thanks Sherry

    muchlove...

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  2. You are welcome, Gillena. I agree, they are each uniquely wonderful. We are enjoying our first winter storm and might lose power, so I want to thank you, Kelli, Rommy and Jae, for allowing me to feature your fantastic poems.

    Also, i just became aware of a video of the song Rise Up, sung by a Baltimore school choir. They have been featured on tv after their video on youtube gained attention. I urge you to watch it. For these kids - and for all kids - we adults need to get our political, environmental and global acts together.

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  3. I agree with Gillena; what a treat this is to read such visually impressive poems from three of my favorite poets. The poetic styles are all different but how well each one really places us in the scene to visualize the word images so well. Thank you girls for such a great start to my morning (in Oz!).

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  4. Wow Sherry these are amazing poems from 3 amazing poets...and what a treat to read them on a gray Monday to brighten my day!

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  5. Three unique and uplifting poems. Thank you all for sharing them here.

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  6. Loved this! A splendid end-of-afternoon treat to lift the spirits, on this drizzly Vancouver autumn day. Wonderful poems, interspersed with the - always fascinating - back story of how they came to 'be'. Great job on this, Poets!

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  7. Enjoyed this feast of words, dear poets! Thank you Sherry!

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  8. Thank you Sherry and to each of you. I loved each poem!!! xoxo

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  9. I am delighted to have my work featured alongside other talented writers. :)

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  10. What Rommy said! Thank you, everyone!

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  11. You are most welcome, Mama Zen! Thank you so much for joining in.

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  12. I'm sitting here wrapped in my Indian Blanket Robe, wearing comfortable slippers, and--my pockets stuffed with autumn--I am anticipating flying out the window to the heights. What a treat. Thank you for these images and experiences, dear poets.

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  13. Three wonderful poems by three excellent poets! Thanks to all of you for sharing your work & Sherry for this wonderful feature!!

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  14. Another wonderful feature! All 3 poets are very talented and unique. Such a pleasure to read their work.

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  15. Thanks for sharing these poems of three unique and excellent poets!

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  16. Away from home and occupied with family events, I'm late to see this – and so glad I finally did. What a joy to read all of these gorgeous poems!

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