Saturday, March 21, 2009

3.18.2009 Poetry Prompt: What Doesn't Belong Poem

What doesn't belong in this family
is the quiet one, the reader and
knitter, the one who can clear
a room mere moments after
entering it. The one who still
lives at home, who isn't
much of a partier, and whose
boyfriend comes around so
infrequently he practically
doesn't exist. The one who
comes from a broken home,
the bastard, who should
have been aborted. What
doesn't belong in this family...
is me.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

I was standing in the shower
the steam wrapping around me
like a lover, the pounding
water massaging my back.
My eyes were closed, so I
didn't see you step in
behind me. I felt no fear
when you touched my face,
then slit my throat,
only shock. I looked up
at you, then down to my
blood running down my
chest and stomach. I
put your hand on my
womb before I slid
down the wall. Your
eyes widen in understanding,
and I see nothing anymore.
It's early on a Saturday morning
the sun is still wiping the clouds
from its eye before shining boldly.
I'm sitting on my terrace, wrapped
in a blanket, the same spot I've
been all night. I'm finishing
the last cigarette of my last
pack. A night spent with my
favorite city, and the only
conclusion I can come to is
I have no answer. I stand up
and stretch, flicking the butt
in a can by my feet. As I
get dressed, I accept the fact
that I have to just come
to terms that I just can't
have a conscience. That's
why I got into this business
in the first place.
I grab my leather jacket
and pistol, and head out
into the city that's just
awakening.

Looking for Ginsberg

I'm looking for Ginsberg
to Howl over the Fall of America.
I'm looking for Abbie, Jerry, and Bobby
and the other historians of
this nation. I'm looking
for those who once cared
so much for this country-
they protested, marched,
stormed buildings, held
press conferences, and festivals.
They gave interviews, wore costumes,
and organized speeches.
What happened toDellenger,
Weiner, and Froines, those
men who weren't afraid of
our government or the law,
who would take a stand?
I'm searching for those
people to shake off our
apathy, to stir my
generation into action,
into making a difference.
The gas falls on all of us.
We're up against the wall, Mother.