Submissions by Ahavati (Tams)
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
Don't make me take my pearls off.
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
17th Jun 2015 2:50am
17th Jun 2015 2:50am
The Pepper Box
Use the darkness of your past to propel you to a brighter future.”
~ Donata Joseph
I
The pepper box sits in the garden
corner with marigolds and baby breath;
its contents are empty—
like we are of Life
when Death comes for tea.
It was once full of seeds
that grew to burn our tongue
when eaten;
but, there was a satisfaction in the heat—
an accomplishment, growth
from the inevitable harvest.
That's life: a big bang...
~ Donata Joseph
I
The pepper box sits in the garden
corner with marigolds and baby breath;
its contents are empty—
like we are of Life
when Death comes for tea.
It was once full of seeds
that grew to burn our tongue
when eaten;
but, there was a satisfaction in the heat—
an accomplishment, growth
from the inevitable harvest.
That's life: a big bang...
1196 reads
11 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
15th Jun 2015 1:24am
15th Jun 2015 1:24am
The Shipping News
It's finding the center of your story, the beating heart of it..."
The bluebird's song was kept in the chambers of a beating
cage for its own protection against the world. Bukowski did
that, accommodated the demands of the crowd because he
had nothing left to lose and someone was always willing to buy
the next bottle or cigarette for true untruths he published.
I see the broken on the streets, in offices, construction sites
cat-calling attention away from themselves. I get it; when
the last thing you had was bashed against...
The bluebird's song was kept in the chambers of a beating
cage for its own protection against the world. Bukowski did
that, accommodated the demands of the crowd because he
had nothing left to lose and someone was always willing to buy
the next bottle or cigarette for true untruths he published.
I see the broken on the streets, in offices, construction sites
cat-calling attention away from themselves. I get it; when
the last thing you had was bashed against...
1021 reads
11 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
13th Jun 2015 9:24pm
13th Jun 2015 9:24pm
The Everything
1.
World
Driven by the forces of love, the fragments of the world seek
each other so that the world may come to being.
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Neither can be contained by man; wind and waves.
In the midst of their calm pleasantries we delve
as Spring lovers upon the landscapes of their skin.
We spread our checked blankets and shed bathing
suits to skinny dip; eat of grapes and poetry
under the cool spray of their conjoined breath.
...
World
Driven by the forces of love, the fragments of the world seek
each other so that the world may come to being.
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Neither can be contained by man; wind and waves.
In the midst of their calm pleasantries we delve
as Spring lovers upon the landscapes of their skin.
We spread our checked blankets and shed bathing
suits to skinny dip; eat of grapes and poetry
under the cool spray of their conjoined breath.
...
1137 reads
10 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
13th Jun 2015 3:05am
13th Jun 2015 3:05am
The Healing Place
The Cardinal has flown in, his red banner
as a departed lover waving strong in the tree.
The stray cat has arrived too, regarding me
from a distance. We have shared as much loss
as we have food. I am frankly amazed she has
survived this long. I'm fairly certain she feels
the same of me. Tonight we honor a silent bond
known only to women. There is no separation
of species between her eyes and mine. I hear
her without ever a sound. We share the survival
and...
as a departed lover waving strong in the tree.
The stray cat has arrived too, regarding me
from a distance. We have shared as much loss
as we have food. I am frankly amazed she has
survived this long. I'm fairly certain she feels
the same of me. Tonight we honor a silent bond
known only to women. There is no separation
of species between her eyes and mine. I hear
her without ever a sound. We share the survival
and...
1173 reads
14 Comments
ANGER POEM
Published
12th Jun 2015 6:26pm
12th Jun 2015 6:26pm
The Tree
I wanted to scream from the porch, kick dirt in their face
say something about injustice, idiocy, nonconformity;
or all, or some, or nothing at all if they'd just stop. STOP!
Nope, because there has to be direction; a plan; a reverse
change of wind after the tree is gang-raped by four men,
wooden-dress ripped, exposed vertebrae saw-dust-spread.
It's a loudness, a soul stomping pain, a wail plowing
the field of faith kicking loose the gate. It's the audacity
of...
say something about injustice, idiocy, nonconformity;
or all, or some, or nothing at all if they'd just stop. STOP!
Nope, because there has to be direction; a plan; a reverse
change of wind after the tree is gang-raped by four men,
wooden-dress ripped, exposed vertebrae saw-dust-spread.
It's a loudness, a soul stomping pain, a wail plowing
the field of faith kicking loose the gate. It's the audacity
of...
1163 reads
18 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
11th Jun 2015 7:52pm
11th Jun 2015 7:52pm
The Messenger
Like Secretariat or American Pharaoh,
you've rounded the final stretch home.
This afternoon will reveal you fading
and me, marveling at your strength of
resolve in the face of abnormality.
Many will not be sad your backward illusion
has again returned to its seemingly standard
position. The truest of tongues will reemerge
safely from your black...
you've rounded the final stretch home.
This afternoon will reveal you fading
and me, marveling at your strength of
resolve in the face of abnormality.
Many will not be sad your backward illusion
has again returned to its seemingly standard
position. The truest of tongues will reemerge
safely from your black...
953 reads
6 Comments
SPIRITUAL POEM
Published
10th Jun 2015 4:14am
10th Jun 2015 4:14am
The Sondering Tree
I have positioned myself for sunset—
waited all day for this moment
Sunflowers are blooming
Finches swallow their seeds—
unable to restrain themselves
from what they determinedly pluck
Their color makes it difficult
to tell where they end
and the petals begin;
it is all specifically created
for each in a grand design
Tomatoes top vines, bulging green
hardening red, beginnings of ripened
flow above small clusters of marigolds...
waited all day for this moment
Sunflowers are blooming
Finches swallow their seeds—
unable to restrain themselves
from what they determinedly pluck
Their color makes it difficult
to tell where they end
and the petals begin;
it is all specifically created
for each in a grand design
Tomatoes top vines, bulging green
hardening red, beginnings of ripened
flow above small clusters of marigolds...
1093 reads
22 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
9th Jun 2015 10:22pm
9th Jun 2015 10:22pm
The Laundromat
When things go awry I don't know what I'll learn.
Like tonight, I'm sitting in a laundromat because
the washer wasn't delivered, and who can wait
when you're out of unmentionable lady garmets?
It looks like it's straight out of the 70's with 60's
remnants. Faded Patriotic stripes of red, white and
blue cling to the cinder block against the water-
stained ceiling. It's filthy and yet nostalgic too.
An older couple sits whispering in this...
Like tonight, I'm sitting in a laundromat because
the washer wasn't delivered, and who can wait
when you're out of unmentionable lady garmets?
It looks like it's straight out of the 70's with 60's
remnants. Faded Patriotic stripes of red, white and
blue cling to the cinder block against the water-
stained ceiling. It's filthy and yet nostalgic too.
An older couple sits whispering in this...
970 reads
18 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
8th Jun 2015 11:02pm
8th Jun 2015 11:02pm
Southern Etiquette
1784 reads
23 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
8th Jun 2015 3:40am
8th Jun 2015 3:40am
Not this Island Music
I. What it was never
(on J reading Robert Kelly)
"And after luscious months of living they would say it's not so
very different from what they knew."
It was never the verse, but something thicker
dangerous to the finger; a bait trap
of honesty foraged from a conformed colony by a dominant
drone possessing a new Queen.
It was never the voice, but something...
(on J reading Robert Kelly)
"And after luscious months of living they would say it's not so
very different from what they knew."
It was never the verse, but something thicker
dangerous to the finger; a bait trap
of honesty foraged from a conformed colony by a dominant
drone possessing a new Queen.
It was never the voice, but something...
989 reads
1 Comment
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
7th Jun 2015 7:04pm
7th Jun 2015 7:04pm
Spring ELEPHANTS
From these shadows I see a woman on a bicycle
walking three dogs in the sun while a black stray
follows not-too-closely behind, peering suspiciously
at everything. An escaped breeze reeking of coffee
has hi-jacked neighbor's voices through the kitchen
window. Young joggers and old walkers share polite
nods of curiosity toward my pen but don't speak.
Flakes of lead-based paint dig beneath the dirt ...
walking three dogs in the sun while a black stray
follows not-too-closely behind, peering suspiciously
at everything. An escaped breeze reeking of coffee
has hi-jacked neighbor's voices through the kitchen
window. Young joggers and old walkers share polite
nods of curiosity toward my pen but don't speak.
Flakes of lead-based paint dig beneath the dirt ...
1023 reads
9 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
6th Jun 2015 4:35pm
6th Jun 2015 4:35pm
Philia
We're not prehistoric ruins fossilized
under rocks or earthed in sacred burial
tombs under Chinese restaurants
filled with pigment and Peking Duck.
We're young under this stretched sinew.
We could be blind, stillborn, and still our
genetics, twisted within the molecular helix
of DNA would gravitate toward us to congeal
blood...
under rocks or earthed in sacred burial
tombs under Chinese restaurants
filled with pigment and Peking Duck.
We're young under this stretched sinew.
We could be blind, stillborn, and still our
genetics, twisted within the molecular helix
of DNA would gravitate toward us to congeal
blood...
1139 reads
7 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Ahavati (Tams)
