Day 31 of 31
Inspired by the word prompt:
worthy, embrace, light, dark, shadow, imperfections warrior
Image Courtesy of © J. Felice Boucher, Black Birds from "Wabi Sabi"
When will I wander
into my knowing
I am
worthy
When will I wander
into the safety
of your
embrace
For I am
a child
of
light
One who wanders
the endless dark
like the stars
on the path
of
shadow
When will I wander
through
tearing tangles
bruising brambles
time's thorn
and at last
see
the scabbed scar
truth
that my beauty
is
in
my
imperfections
long
have I
wandered
this world
long
have I
circled
the
sun
Forever falling
into
the
gravity
of knowing
of accepting
of being
who I am
who am I?
I am
a
wabi-sabi
warrior
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 31 of 31
Inspired by the word prompt:
worthy, embrace, light, dark, shadow, imperfections warrior
Image Courtesy of © J. Felice Boucher, Black Birds from "Wabi Sabi"
As long as I can remember
you cupped me
in comfort
always
there
when I would crawl
into the bowing bed
beside you
curving around
you
a collapsed c
spread
past the midline
I would mold
to your shape
I was the shadow
cast long
in the autumn afternoon
If I woke you
the guttural
growl
and
shove
soon followed
so in stealth
I would slither
a silk sleeved serpent
tucking in
around your warm body
melting into liquid
that could fill any space
then the dance begins
all night
tossing
turning
twisting
leg over hip
arm overhead
like being locked in
the weathered white
roller coaster
at Whalom park
You made me feel safe
enough to brave
the final drop-off
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 30 of 31
I remember
walking the tracks
of our childhood
woven past the cemetary
filled with fictions
of forgotten souls
Together, we
laid down ties
in the long grass fields
filled with lies
and sticky milkweed cotton
on off Lord road
140,000 miles
of tracks
to travel
in this land
we call home
They say
it is against the law
of this land
to place
a penny
on the hot rolled steel
still we dared
flatten a few
for fun
never fearing
click-clack
contact
consequences
in the muggy Autum night
it wasn't until
that
time
I walked
the empty Elk Grove tracks
with your babies
beside me
staring out
the horizon aching
in its endless expanse
I hear my words
like the train whistle
in the wind
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 29 of 31
Inspired by the prompt to write a poem about tracks
We coded another man this afternoon
cracked his ribs
like twigs
under foot
on a scorched
forest floor
splintering
bones
at 104 beats per minute
the staying alive
meter
that was never going to work
Everything
is a violent request now
sometimes
it is futile
That man
that song
Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
that sound
sternum snapping
Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
stayed on my mind
all day
all night
It is 3 am now
and I cannot
shake him
there is another
refrigerated truck
outside the hospital
it does not feel as startling
as the first
it feels
inevitable
of course there would be two
the fancy ones
have shelving
so the bodies
do not have to be
piled on top
of each other
this virus
an unwelcome guest
settles in
deep
impervious
taking up
all the air
in the room
it is hard
to
breathe
just
bearing witness
shortens
my
breath
We all need some extra air
to keep
stayin' alive
Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me
Somebody help me, yeah
Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, yeah
I'm stayin' alive
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 28 of 31
Lyrics: Bee Gees Stayin Alive Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack 1977
Choose the path
follow your
nature
calling
allow the pull
fall into flow
map
your course
run
around
boundaries
rules
impediments
practice
consistency
set
sacred
time
trust
yourself
clear the way
welcome
on stage
inspiration
create
mind
space
calm
clear
simply
breathe
your
net
will
catch you
and
your
words
will
keep
you
afloat
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 27 of 31
Image Credit: American Technology Society
Beauty Calls
in the waning
shadow
of a desert moon
The pack
howls
in mourning
in celebration
of youth
stolen
forgotten
circles
commune
closer
to guard
the wounded
souls
seeking
salvation
I sit
alone
a lioness
listening
to wolf-song
echoing
across
the valley
of
death
I know this place well
It calls my name
but I refuse
to call
it
home
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 26 of 31
she watched him
watch her
closely
as he moved
fluid
and
firm
across her thoughts
holding
hands
loosely
palms
grow
moist
holding
on
the glass half full
of unctuous red
intentions
holding
out
perhaps it is best
to put it all out
on the table
holding
still
mouths opening
opening to receive
a spoonful
just
a taste
feel
the low
rumbling
the deep
stirring
an urge
on the edge
of a need
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 25 of 31
and a half
weeks
the whole
yards
lives
a cat
has
left
days
remaining
waiting
planning
panicking
pleading
for
an escape
where is our justice?
waiting
to exhale
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 24 of 31
chic
she is
in her
smokey
greys
and
sooty
stone
oh la la
Paris
coquette
she is
beneath her
skirts
can-can colors
ruffle and swirl
like
parting
petals
blown open
tulips
crimson
in full bloom
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 23 of 31
Ideas and Notions and fears
pop up
poke
through
the surface
tension
break
through
the frost cloaked
chalk and clay and clod
like
late flowers
early mushrooms
the methane
from a years
rot
hangs in the air
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 22 of 31
I almost forgot
my place
re-reading
my choices
like chapters
words
written
without
recollection
I crawl
out of the comfort
of deliberate
denial
where I curl
nose
to
knee
in the womb
of dreams
listen
here it is
the first
cry
hear
it is
at last
proof
of
life
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 21 of 31
This place
This place by the sea
a sea
that knows
my name
calls forth
all the aching parts
and shattered pieces
of me
her
relentless
return
to the shore
softens
my
edges
into sea glass
I have kept
the company
of foxes,
blue-winged birds
and the one
whose story
pulls out my truth
like a splinter
She stands
at the jagged edge
knowing
me
She sees
me
and
pulls me in
to
the sea
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 20 of 31
Pain is a demanding guest
at the table
hamfisted
grabbing
all the attention
like buns steaming
hot from the oven
the crumbs
of intentions
cling
to the
corners
of the nine
minute
napkins
our grandmother's
mother
made
on
slow
Saturday
afternoons
to pass the time
Somehow
we
make
our way
through
it
all
those
Mitered
corner
memories
locked in
a creaking cedar
hope-filled
chest
folded
and
forgotten
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 19 of 31
words
wisdom
and
will
slowly
succumb
eyes
like
bindings
shut
the
day's
pages
now
safe
between
covers
we
dream
October Poetry Writing Month 2020
Day 18 of 31
I am a wandering wordsmith and storyteller captivated by the beauty in imperfection.
Join me on this exploration of all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities:
nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect .
Jenny Astramowicz is The Wabi-Sabi Writer, word weaving her way through the streets of San Francisco, passages of Paris and redwood flanked beaches of Santa Cruz.
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