Willow's Prodigal Poet Thread

[willow213]

Hydro, M.Wooley, I'm glad you liked my "fukyu." I am getting very tired (not to mention behind on poems!!), so here is the best I could do today:



Spider
Weaver of early morning prisms
and mysteries.
Scandinavian stories:
Spider weaves, colors,
and cuts
the strands of our lives.

Those who stand on chairs in your presence
have no idea that if you fall, you will shatter
like finely-blown glass.
Your two-section body weaves
the Mobius strip of infinity.
You are Grandmother to our
First Nation people.

But now, you are sitting
on my lampshade, my
cat is distracted, and
my tissue ends your
exploration.

While I have learned many stories about the spider, the specific stories I mention above are from Animal-Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small, written by Ted Andrews. Copyright 1999, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota.

[willow213]

The fig tree
stands thirty feet tall
offering shade
in this arid country,

a respite for travelers
along the road.

Leaves, lobed and
downy underneath,
invite birds to rest
in their shade.

One man
with twelve followers
and a taste for figs
reaches through the leaves,
rustles around,

reaches again

and again

and curses the figless tree.

Birds scatter
as leaves brown
and
fall.

The tree stands naked,
branches lining the sky,
an unnatural image
of winter.


Something crazy always seems to be happening in April for me (beyond NaPo, of course)!! My apologies for not visiting more of your threads. I hope to have some time, gardening permitting, to return and see how everyone else is doing.

and perhaps try to catch up on my....10 poems or so???

Willow

[January Poet]

willow, i really enjoyed your latest. strong images and concise. I like how you snuck in the mention of Jesus (and apostles)- very clever metaphor

[new leaf]

Not Like Chicken/How a blowfly tastes and yourFukyu have me laughing hard. I liked your poker-faced Dissection, especially the eyes looking everywhere. Fig Tree is sad because at least, before the curse, it offered shade. Such risk in demanding too much.

Such good things here, Willow - I hope you're feeling better, because I am selfishly wanting more. But I could not curse you if you did not produce more; I'd just satisfy myself with what you've already done.

Cheers,
Malinda

[PClem]

I can't believe I haven't found you before. Your Kafka was great, the fukyu priceless - it needs to go on a coffee mug. Blowflies and how they taste - I may never eat again. Dissection - just a great thread all around. Brought me back to biology labs. I will be back if you will keep writing. Love, love, love it.

[poetic gypsy]

Hi Willow,

I enjoyed reading your poem about spiders and the webs they weave.

Those who stand on chairs in your presence
have no idea that if you fall, you will shatter
like finely-blown glass.

Nice line.

My favorite part of Fig tree is

reaches through the leaves,
rustles around,
reaches again
and again

Keep up the good work!!

Danielle

[Emilio]

Willow, I liked Not Like Chicken, but Feminist Anatomy stole the show!!

Call it my "pussy"
again: I'll kick your tiny
penis to the moon.

Oh my.

Enjoyed,
Emilio

[willow213]

January Poet, new leaf, PClem, Poetic Gypsy, Emilio, thank you so much for your comments! Maybe I will put my fukyu on a coffee mug...

I was thinking the other day about how wonderful it is to do something I love, and also have other people enjoy it!

And now, with apologies to Wendell Berry (this poem was strangely inspired by "The Peace of Wild Things"), I give you:

Urban Peace

When I get tired
of the guy who wouldn’t leave
until we called the cops because
he didn’t get his Vicodin,
When I review the twenty year old’s chart:

trich then

herpes then

HIV,

when another drunk
wanders into our lobby
mumbling, stumbling, peeing himself,

I go outside.
I sit in the courtyard and listen
to the breeze
ruffling the leaves,
discarded newspapers, and paper cups.
I breathe deeply,
close my eyes,
and hope no one asks me for money
this time.

[Kathy]

Willow, I want the fukyu on a coffee mug. Or a tee shirt. Brilliant!

You have lots to work with here. I like Fig Tree very much, and Urban Peace made me visualize my sister, who is a nurse, sitting in the hospital courtyard with her coffee. Good stuff!

~Kathy

[January Poet]

stopped in again to find the Female Anatomy-hilarious. Also enjoyed your latest. You paint stark reality with a brevity that captures the reader. You keep everyone in suspense waiting for the next gem.

[RobynD]

Willow, I enjoyed the Urban Peace poem, and the spiderweb poem- great ending! The Fig Tree- had no idea they got to be that big. We have none in my part of the world-

Oh, and the Disecction poem too, which I read a long time ago but forgot to tell you. Anyway, I think it's got a lot going for it- hold onto that one.

My husband and I were just complaining last night, why can't NAPo be in JAnuary or February? April is always much busier than I anticipate before hand, so I sympathize! But your poems are all good- quality over quantity and all that.

[willow213]

Kathy, January Poet, RobynD, thank you so much for your comments. Robyn, maybe we can petition NaPo to be changed to January.

Anyway, here's my latest:

The Gift
The curse the
unwelcome visitor the
oh shit I’m bloating bleeding bitching
time of our month.
Drug it! cover it! perfume it!
hide it.

In geological time
it was not long ago that women
were revered, admired, respected
as we bled without dying.

We hold life in the dark of our womb
until our children are born in blood.
Is it only the women whose cycles wane
without harvest know what a gift we carry?

I really want to develop this further but alas, I have to get ready for work. I HATE it when my livelihood interferes with poetry.

[Mike Lane]

Hey Willow,

I really like "The Gift".

A little tweaking in those last 2 lines and BAM.

Good luck the rest of the way!

Mike

[willow213]

Thanks, Mike! Sorry for the length of time it took me to reply. My excuse follows:

Gardener’s Excuse
or why I can’t write 30 poems in 30 days in April.

Must…write…poem…
Don’t hit that Internet button.
Don’t.

Oh, look, a gardening site!
Astilbe, spirea, daisy wisteria honeysucklehollytroleusfernlavenderviolabutterflybush
need
more
room!

Trees will give purpose to that ugly spot between the sidewalk and the street:
crabapplepeachapplepearcherrydwarfevergreens.

Vegetables:
beetsspinachcarrotslettucepepperstomatoespeasbeanspotatoes
how many vegetables can I
stuff into one 5x5 garden?

Yesterday between rainshowers,
I planted two common purple lilacs and
two red-twigged dogwoods: winter interest, of course
(crap now where the hell do I put my birdfeeder? that was the best site for the dogwoods).

I came inside,
kicked off mud-baptized boots,
wiped dirt off my chin,
stripped
showered, and
napped.



I realize the real "poem" may start with "Yesterday between rainshowers," but I wanted to share the whole stream of consciousness thing in case some of my fellow PFFA-ers are going through the same dilemma.
Willow

[new leaf]

Hi, Willow, Urban Peace makes me feel that tenuous peace. My garden gives me none either. Cheers for the home stretch!