Thanks, Branch, by Ed Kline

Thanks, Branch

April 13, 2020

luck, he said,

is the residue

of design,

so i sit here

on the side

of the road

drawing

designs

in the residue

coating my car,

wondering who

designed

this day.

Every Year, by Ed Kline

Every Year

April 12, 2020

One must go in the mail slot,

and one must be hidden in the

lamp shade. Every year, one

must be hidden just out of reach,

a little higher than the year before.

We have to tell the story of the egg

hidden in the garbage can, and

we must find the picture to prove

it happened. And Dad – I mean,

the Easter Bunny – always brings

just the wrong kind of gummy worms.

The hunt always ends in

hotter and colder, each parent

hoping their egg is found last.

Then we crack the eggs and

sort the candy, and eat fresh biscuits

warm with the glow of tradition.

Writing Prompt, Day 13

Ack! Sorry this is late. I went to bed early last night and forgot to post.

Today's prompt: Write about bad luck (or good luck, if you prefer). Aim for 13 lines, but don't force it.

Shavasana, by Ed Kline

Shavasana

April 11, 2020

My fingertips rest in a sliver of sun –

barely enough to bathe a pad’s width –

radiating warmth throughout

my shade-soaked body as

I contemplate nothing but breath.

Writing Prompt, Day 12

Write a poem about a tradition. It could be a real tradition or an imagined one; it could be a family tradition or something broader; it could be present day or long ago.

Fact: Honey is the only natural food which never spoils, by Savannah Richmond-Breeding

April 10, 2020

There is a food beyond compare

Those which hold her, savor her luscious flavor

Honey, so smooth, so golden, almost cloying, but not quite

Too perfect.

Her perfume clouds the beholder in a feeling of bliss

Alas, it is true. She cannot be broken. She cannot die.

Her golden swirls live beyond eternity

There to haunt the world with her purity

Almost as Felurian herself

Honey, the everlasting lover

Writing Prompt, Day 11

Write a poem of exactly five lines about something very small. This one seems very difficult to me. I wonder what I'm going to write about ...

Little-Known Facts, by Ed Kline

Little-Known Facts

April 10, 2020

It is a little-known fact that

lines from a tv show

can be so strongly imprinted

on the human memory that

they will outlast even the

sturdiest of plastic bags.

It is a little-known fact that

the sturdiest of plastic bags

contain atoms that once

swirled and bounced about

in the body of Democritus,

inventor of the atom.

It is a little-known fact that,

Democritus cobbled together

the first atom from a combination

of stone, spit, and sophistry.

Prior to that, all matter consisted

of guesswork and heroic couplets.

It is a little-known fact that

guesswork and heroic couplets

laid the foundation of all history,

from times unimaginable

to the end of plastic bags, and

all the lines from tv shows between.

Writing Prompt, Day 10

Write a poem based on a weird fact or some odd bits of information you know. The rarer or odder or falser that information, the better!

[Hear the thundering chatter], by Savannah Richmond-Breeding

April 9, 2020

Hear the thundering chatter boil up in the stands

Hear the dull beat of your heart as all noise seems to fall away

Feel the shaking of your hand as you get called up as starter, even though you’ve done it a million times

Feel the familiar leather ball sit perfectly cupped in your hand

Don’t hear the thunderous round of boos all trying to distract you

Don’t feel the butterflies rising in your chest as all eyes sit on you

See the open hole, see it and take it, watch your opponent miss it

See your family in the crowd, waving wildly. See the coach on the sidelines, motioning the next play

Smell that hard earned perspiration fill the gym with its aroma

Smell that sweet smell of victory