NaPM April 28 2015

[milo]

Rules: Write a poem for national poetry month on the topic or form described. Each poem should appear as a separate reply to this thread. The goal is to, at the end of the month have written 30 poems for National Poetry Month. 






Topic 28: Write a list poem.
Form : any
Line requirements: 8 lines or more

Questions?

[just mercedes]

I did yesterday. Damn. I'll have to make a list of list poems.

[milo]

I did yesterday. Damn. I'll have to make a list of list poems.

sorry, running out of prompts.
actually, I just make the prompts up nightly so
technically I am running out of ideas.

[just mercedes]

Only a couple to go now.

My father’s workshop



Allen keys, angle grinder
arc welder, axes.

Bench grinder, battery charger,
bearing pullers, bottle jacks.

Circular saw, caged lights,
cans of paint, callipers.

Degreaser, drill bits,
drill press, dust coat.

Electric cables,
engineer’s chalk,
engine parts, engines.

Fan belts, feeler gauges,
floodlight, fluxes.

Gouges, gum boots,
gutter brackets,
gardening gloves.

Hacksaw, hubcaps,
hammers, hoe.

Leather apron, lever jacks,
micrometers, nails.

Number plates, nuts,
oil drums, overalls.

Oxy welder, petrol cans,
pipe bender, plumb bob.

Rasps, rakes
ring spanners, rivets.

Sandpaper, screwdrivers
socket sets, solvents.

Taps and dies, Tilley lamp,
tomahawk, tyres.

Vice grips, welding rods,
wheel rims, wire.
Work bench.

[rayheinrich]

I loved the list. My dad's garage has everything you listed except
the leather apron, the Tilley lamp, and the tomahawk!!
To make up for it he has acid-proof nitrile aprons, Coleman lanterns
(like Tilleys only they use gasoline (petrol) instead of kerosene (paraffin),
and a varied assortment of machetes.

[billy]

my table top.
A pen, a phone
a patterned plate with buttered scone.
statements from HSBC;
a Stanley tape, a cup of tea.
Black speakers sat beside a screen;
remote control, a bit of treen.
a plastic bobby (English cop).
Perfume bottle, silver top,
a sixteen giga usb.
A pig, a cat, a front door key;
notes books, pencils and a book,
a small bronze rat with dirty look.
A torch, a magnifying glass;
my wallet and a free bus pass.

[rayheinrich]

my table top.
A pen, a phone
a patterned plate with buttered scone.
statements from HSBC;
a Stanley tape, a cup of tea.
Black speakers sat beside a screen;
remote control, a bit of treen*.
a plastic bobby (English cop).
Perfume bottle, silver top,
a sixteen giga usb.
A pig, a cat, a front door key;
notes books, pencils and a book,
a small bronze rat with dirty look.
A torch, a magnifying glass;
my wallet and a free bus pass.

All my life I have felt unfulfilled, like there was some missing piece
in the cardboard puzzle of my life.

Well, there it is: "a small bronze rat with dirty look.".



"Treen" Who knew? Not I.  Thank the gods for Google.

[RiverNotch]

Fishing for a Wife

To every corner of the world, I went,
inspired by a distant dream,
looking for the perfect woman,
the woman worthy of my seed.
First, four women, I had found:
from the east, a sun-kissed slave
with cold blue cheeks and sweet throat,
a singer and dancer, easily forgotten;
from the west, a grey-eyed girl
with cold blue lips and sweet cheeks,
a warrior and poet, perpetual virgin;
from the north, a fair-haired sprite
with cold blue breasts and sweet lips,
a soothsayer and priestess, always silent;
from the south, a moon-kissed ghost
with cold blue hands and sweet breasts,
a queen and strumpet, too open to the world.
But they were not the perfect woman,
the woman worthy of my seed.

And then, you came, the perfect woman,
the woman worthy of my seed:
a red-haired, green-eyed goddess,
mother of all, the living and the dead,
with cold blue skin and sweet hands,
and implements of steel and fire.
What pride I felt, until I found
that you were from the very sea
I'd journeyed through: the perfect woman,
the woman worthy of my seed,
is from the sea's reflective skin.

[Todd]

The Men of My Mother
The stranger cutting the wedding cake for his 16 year old bride in a photo I found after her death
The horse trainer she married from the most racist town in America
The stock car driver whose head exploded like a melon while she was in the stands
The poker player she married who built fantasy hotels
The bisexual hairstylist
The bartender from the coal mines
The alcoholic stepdad who survived driving off a cliff like Wile E. Coyote
The millionaire who wanted to leave his wife
The man with sunshine patches on his jeans
The neat freak who liked flying airplanes
The Napoleonic jet setter who only talked about himself
The coke addict who had a cooked turkey thrown at him
The dealer whose son I beat up
The New Age minister she married who took care of her while she died

[ChristopherSea]

The Men of My Mother

The stranger cutting the wedding cake for his 16 year old bride in a photo I found after her death

The horse trainer she married from the most racist town in America

The stock car driver whose head exploded like a melon while she was in the stands

The poker player she married who built fantasy hotels

The bisexual hairstylist

The bartender from the coal mines

The alcoholic stepdad who survived driving off a cliff like Wylie Coyote

The millionaire who wanted to leave his wife

The man with sunshine patches on his jeans

The neat freak who liked flying airplanes

The Napoleonic jet setter who only talked about himself

The coke addict who had a cooked turkey thrown at him

The dealer whose son I beat up

The New Age minister she married who took care of her while she died

She sounds like an interesting lady Todd!

---

CARNIVAL OF FEAR


Clowns that need no makeup hide in shadows of the tent
Aerialist Natasha is a black widow femme fatale
Ring Announcer from Brazil was a Nazi criminal
Native Aboriginal imposter was born in Washington DC
Illusionist lost his mind from the fear of reality
Ventriloquist fights his dummy before each daily show
Anaconda Charmer handles other ‘snakes’ for fees
Lion paces back and forth with the tamer in his eyes

Organist, a child molester, tickles ivory keys
Fortune-Telling Gypsies pick the pockets of their shills

Freak wears Siamese-brother under woolen coat lapels
Elephants mistreated are just waiting to turn rogue
Acrobatic Midgets huddle in conspiracy against the tall
Roustabout, an escaped convict, hides waiting for his haul

[RiverNotch]

The alcoholic stepdad who survived driving off a cliff like Wylie Coyote

Actually, it's Wile E. Coyote. 

[Todd]

The alcoholic stepdad who survived driving off a cliff like Wylie Coyote

Actually, it's Wile E. Coyote. 

Thanks I fixed it. I was so sure that I didn't need to look it up (and I was very, very wrong).

Appreciate it...thanks.

[Todd]

She sounds like an interesting lady Todd!

---

CARNIVAL OF FEAR


Clowns that need no makeup hide in shadows of the tent
Aerialist Natasha is a black widow femme fatale
Ring Announcer from Brazil was a Nazi criminal
Native Aboriginal imposter was born in Washington DC
Illusionist lost his mind from the fear of reality
Ventriloquist fights his dummy before each daily show
Anaconda Charmer handles other ‘snakes’ for fees
Lion paces back and forth with the tamer in his eyes

Organist, a child molester, tickles ivory keys
Fortune-Telling Gypsies pick the pockets of their shills

Freak wears Siamese-brother under woolen coat lapels
Elephants mistreated are just waiting to turn rogue
Acrobatic Midgets huddle in conspiracy against the tall
Roustabout, an escaped convict, hides waiting for his haul

Thanks Chris. Yours reminds me why I so hate sideshows. Very cool list though.

[RiverNotch]

No problem, Todd.

CARNIVAL OF FEAR

Clowns that need no makeup hide in shadows of the tent
Aerialist Natasha is a black widow femme fatale
Ring Announcer from Brazil was a Nazi criminal
Native Aboriginal imposter was born in Washington DC
Illusionist lost his mind from the fear of reality
Ventriloquist fights his dummy before each daily show
Anaconda Charmer handles other ‘snakes’ for fees
Lion paces back and forth with the tamer in his eyes

Organist, a child molester, tickles ivory keys
Fortune-Telling Gypsies pick the pockets of their shills

Freak wears Siamese-brother under woolen coat lapels
Elephants mistreated are just waiting to turn rogue
Acrobatic Midgets huddle in conspiracy against the tall
Roustabout, an escaped convict, hides waiting for his haul

Scary, but I can't help but feel that a subtler title would be, I dunno, more fun. I like the part about the organist, the midgets, and the faux-aborigine.

[rayheinrich]

                                  < steps >
                               
                                the 1st step
                                has a foolish foot
                                that's busy
                                counting feet
                               
                                the 2nd step
                                is missing
                                is it you that
                                pressed 'delete'?
                               
                                the 3rd step's
                                made of promises
                                that might lead
                                you astray
                               
                                the 4th step's
                                prone to listening
                                be careful
                                what you say
                               
                                the 5th step
                                is a turquoise blue
                                within
                                a silver frame
                               
                                the 6th step's
                                filled with fury
                                never let it
                                know your name
                               
                                the 7th step
                                is sleeping
                                you should never
                                wake it up
                               
                                the 8th step's
                                busy dreaming
                                what you'll dream
                                when you wake up
                               
                                the 9th step
                                sits in waiting
                                to confuse that
                                foolish foot
                               
                                the 10th step
                                has a chimney elf
                                gray ashes
                                and black soot
                               
                                the 11th
                                has an elephant
                                that's riding
                                on a horse
                               
                                the 12th step
                                is a river
                                with salvation  
                                as its source
                               
                                the 13th step
                                is silent
                                meditating
                                on your fate
                               
                                the 14th
                                begs for mercy
                                i'm afraid he'll
                                have to wait
                               
                                the 15th
                                is a golden flame
                                just watch the
                                martyrs burn
                               
                                the 16th's
                                lost in sorrow
                                with no prospect
                                of return
                               
                                the 17th
                                is rusted steel
                                that's well
                                beyond repair
                               
                                the 18th
                                speaks salvation
                                there's no cure
                                for its despair
                               
                                the 19th
                                is a mirror
                                is that you
                                with silver hair?
                               
                                the 20th's
                                a fantasy
                                it really
                                isn't there
                               
                                    - - -

[Tiger the Lion]

Kitchen, January 1st

 
1 sleeping stranger, almost as pretty as the night before,
even with vomit and streamers in her hair,
 
2 sinks full of plates, both ceramic and paper;
crusted in ketchup and guacamole,
 
3 pack of condoms, ribbed for her pleasure,
unopened,
 
4 empty quarts: vodka, rye, tequila and gin,
 
5 sugary mixers, with caramelizing dregs,
 
6 balloons at various stages of deflation,
 
7 more; popped on the floor,
 
8 shot glasses, 1 full,
 
9 grams of weed, (of course I weighed it),
 
10 party horns, soaked and silent,
 
11 burnt chocolate chip cookies in the oven,
 
123 beers cans, plus 44 bottles; all doubling as ashtrays,
 
364 and 1/3 days to get cleaned up.

[bena]

i don't do lists, dammit.



Alphabet of Abstracts (just for milo)


articulate alienation
bouffant barricades
cistern cacophony
distilled decapitation
elongated eloquence
fastidious flamboyance
gesticulating gyre
halcion hallucination
imaginary impotence
jumbo jejunum
kaleidoscopic kumquat
languishing lilliputian
machiavellian mistletoe
nonchalant nymphomaniac
ostentatious oxazine
predisposed platypus
quivering quagmire
relinquished relativity
salivating singularity
titillating transcendence
undulating umiaq
valvular vulva
whispering wanker
xiphoid xylem
yearning yak
zombified zygote




things got a little weird near the end.  I still blame milo.

[Tiger the Lion]

i don't do lists, dammit.



Alphabet of Abstracts (just for milo)


articulate alienation
bouffant barricades
cistern cacophony
distilled decapitation
elongated eloquence
fastidious flamboyance
gesticulating gyre
halcion hallucination
imaginary impotence
jumbo jejunum
kaleidoscopic kumquat
languishing lilliputian
machiavellian mistletoe
nonchalant nymphomaniac
ostentatious oxazine
predisposed platypus
quivering quagmire
relinquished relativity
salivating singularity
titillating transcendence
undulating umiaq
valvular vulva
whispering wanker
xiphoid xylem
yearning yak
zombified zygote




things got a little weird near the end.  I still blame milo.

"machiavellian mistletoe" - I'm so pissed I didn't write that! Created an immediate story in 2 words, complete with visuals and motives.  So good.

[ellajam]

Wow, striking page, every one. I read so much elsewhere to find one I like but not here. Bam, bam bam. Thanks for posting them, a pleasure to read.

[milo]

Some words I Never Put into a Poem
(but always wanted to)


Cuneiform is a way of writing
far before I’ve ever written
or you were here to read
 
Purlicue is that meaty section
between your thumb and fingers
where you might rest your pen
(if you even use such things)
or couch against your lip
when you get nervous
 
Mandelbrot is what infinity
might look like,
if it wasn’t so large.
 
A tarn is a small lake
reflecting the moon’s face
isolated by the mountains
more beautiful for being alone
 
and a crucible is a pot
so strong they use it to melt steel
(or an uncommonly awkward situation)
so I ask that you stay a while.