Bird's-Eye Gemini

I Rise as One

Laurie Kolp — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:41:01 +0000

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
~Maya Angelou

Some things in life drift
With the changing tide
In and out
Going with the flow
A watercraft
Whipping from one
Wave to the next, then
Buried in the sand
A hiding place, these
Twists and turns outdone–
Just like moons and like suns

I found solace there
Buried in the sand
Waves lapping
Back and forth
Across my legs
Meditative rides
Rhythmic ecstasy
Going with the flow
No favored sides
With the certainty of tides

Seagulls coasting low
Crying out
Up and down
Diving in the sea, while
At the water’s edge
I watch them fly
They offer peace
Symphonic tunes
Deep breath, a peaceful sigh
Just like hopes springing high

The salty air
Slaps my cheeks alive
Grits between my teeth
As I speak to the wind
Stand up, spread my arms
Separate my thighs
And spin, spin, spin
A whirlybird
Newfound hopes, no surprise
Still I rise

My attempt at a glosa. The opening quatrain, which is called a cabeza, is taken from Maya Angelou’s poem, I’ll Rise.

Check out dVersePoets:Form ForAll and Sam will explain how to write this challenging form.

Tagged: dVersePoets, Glosa Poetry Form, I'll Rise, Laurie Kolp, Maya Angelou

Latticework

Laurie Kolp — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:22:34 +0000

The trellis stands empty
in between
overgrown holly bushes

no flowering vines
entwine around its body,
no fragrance fills the air

only blue jays
perched on top
chirping angrily,
awaiting their next move.

Poetry inspiration- dVersePoets:OLN

(untitled)

Laurie Kolp — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:43:36 +0000

springtime storms-
perception hindered
by love bugs

~OR~

springtime rain-
perception filled
with love bugs

~~
Which one do you like better?

Poetry inspiration-
dVersePoets:OLN

Chippendale (From Hell)

Laurie Kolp — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:17:49 +0000

I’d always thought
of Chip and Dale as chipmunks
or perhaps, antique furniture

until a Chippendale show
in college, sweet temptation,
those bow-tied, shirt-cuffed
cockY jocks with six-pack abs;
live erotica right before my eyes.

Embarrassment, the thrill
I should have felt, arousal
like all my single friends
at the Texas Hall of Fame;
friends who drug me there
after a harrowing break up

when I’d rather have been hanging
at the good old Dixie Chicken
country music in the air,
singing with the others
David Allan Coe–

“Well I was drunk
the day my momma
got out of prison
and I went to pick her up
in the RAIN,”

playing 42, a game of pool
and pitchers of beer
instead of six-packs,
the speed meant for me;
not egotistical hunks
gyrating in my face.

Poetry inspiration~ dVersePoetsPoetics: It’s Tempting with Mary

Tagged: chippendale dancers, College Station, David Allan Coe, Texas A&M University, Texas Hall of Fame, The Dixie Chicken, TX, You Never Even Called Me By My Name

The Ultimate Revenge

Laurie Kolp — Sun, 05 May 2013 15:22:56 +0000

A thousand thunderous bubbles
pulsing through the red liquid
set upon the stove, forgotten
while she escaped to her bedroom.
Dressing in witch-like attire,
added charm; the wart she pasted
on her nose.

Back to the cauldron, she spit
in his blood, a count of one, two, three
each with messages of their own –
the lies, the abuse, the debt -
she watched the steam rise in front of her
then filled the soup dish, waited
for it to cool down and wondered,
“Am I crazy?”

~~~

Shared with dVersePoets:OLN

Poetry inspiration- The Sunday Whirl 107
thunderous, spit, messages, count, soup, thousand
red, dish, front, dressing, charm, pulsing

Company for Poseidon

Laurie Kolp — Sat, 04 May 2013 19:21:32 +0000

I am but a wave in the sea of life.
I am but a wave in the sea of life.
My consistency changes like the tide.
My consistency changes like the tide.
But life changes like a wave in the sea,
of the tide, I am my consistency.

You are the current that pulls me beneath.
You are the current that pulls me beneath.
Drowning ripples torment my destiny.
Drowning ripples torment my destiny.
Beneath the ripples, you are my current.
That drowning destiny pulls me; torment.

Together we will surf the ocean vast.
Together we will surf the ocean vast.
At last Poseidon gains grave company.
At last Poseidon gains grave company.
The grave ocean we surf together vast,
Poseidon will gain company at last.

The drowning sea beneath my current life,
Changes me like the ripples that you are.
A wave of consistency, we surf the tide
together at last, my destiny.
But the ocean torment I am in pulls vast;
will Poseidon gain grave company?

An attempt at the paradelle, which was originally created by Billy Collins as a parody to the villanelle.

Poetry Inspiration~ dVersePoets:Poetics- The Creatures of Mythology, Folklore and Fairy Tales w/Fred

Don’t Believe the Big Lie!

Laurie Kolp — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:33:52 +0000

I know you believe
jealous Jim Beam lies;
his power to transform you
into Miss A-mer-i-CA (la la la)
a beauty mask to hide behind

but do you really think
falling off barstools
is ladylike and pretty,
when all it really does
is gather second glances,
brand you a fool?

I know you believe
smirky Smirnoff lies;
his almighty answer
to your quicksand problems,
helps the pain go away
as you dig your grave

but do you really think
a DUI, YES DUI!
ticket-in-the-slammer-weekend
slap upon your clammy face
dissolves a thing
now that trouble’s doubled,
you feel a horrible disgrace?

I know you believe
when the spirit’s in you
anything is possible-
you can change the world!-
your confidence
a genie-in-the-bottle
wish come true

but do you really think
you can move mountains
when you’re dead?

~~~

Poetry inspiration- dVersePoets:MeetingTheBar- Your Voice- Let’s Hear It! w/ Victoria Slotto

A Seedy Venue

Laurie Kolp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:50:55 +0000

illustration by Helen Ward, photo courtesy

of The Mag 166

Varmints gathered there at night,
the party place a rat hole
with drooling mouths awaiting
victims unaware, the scare
whoever trampled in
never seen again.

~~~

You’d Probably Never Guess…

Laurie Kolp — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:24:11 +0000

she eats Cheetos with a fork,
kisses the orange puffs
so that, stuck around her lips,
the fluff’s a tasty treat
when, with her love,
she puckers-up

+ plus +

she wears flip-flops
opposite,
the flop a flip
between her middle toes
not to slow her down
when she walks away
in a jealous huff
when Chester wins again.

~~~

Poetry inspiration~ dVersePoets- Poetics: ”Trip the Poem Fantastic” w/ Karin (Manicddaily)

Night Swimming in the Ocean

Laurie Kolp — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:17:48 +0000

Phosphoric waves of green and blue shine ~ your sparkling eyes reflect
floating on eve’s moonbeam ~ you grasp my hand, enwrap it in yours;
fragility you cannot see in my nakedness ~ the crest.

~~~

Prompt inspiration- dVerse:FormForAll w/ Semaphore- The “sijo”