A place for poems and pics
New Rules for Writing Poetry
Go to a library
Find an old book
The well- read kind with
a tattered cover and dog- eared pages
Gently shake it over a blank sheet of paper
until it has no more words to give
Spread the loose word evenly
Fold the paper into a crane and let it fly away
Wait
When the crane returns open it and read its poem aloud
Turn it into a small boat
Set it adrift on the current of dreams encircling the universe
Tell Me
Don’t tell me about your new car
with its fancy dashboard and back up camera.
Don’t tell me about your latest trip to
some foreign country with beaches and sunshine.
Don’t tell me how long you waited in the drive-thru
line for your morning latte.
Tell me instead about birdsong in the morning,
the male goldfinches singing their hearts
out, dressed in their brightest yellow feathers.
Tell me about the row of orange and pink
Zinnias, planted especially for bees and butterflies.
Tell me how much you care about this old planet
with all its light and darkness, its joys and sorrows.
Tell me the stories of its creation and the hope for its future.
Tell me love stories about you and me.
—
Day 22 of Poem a Day at Writer’s Digest
Altered Heart
It’s time to take my heart off my sleeve –
unpin the rough edges,
smooth it out, look for tears.
It’s time to mend some holes and,
after a few alterations, gently stitch it
back where it belongs for the
whole world to see.
Sing Me a Song
Place me in a chamber of music
and let my soul soar to the rafters
Immerse me in a pool of quarter notes
until I am soaked to the bone in the tempo of peace
Wrap me in a cocoon of melody and
harmony, stuff my ears with a hymn so
I can obliterate the choir of discord
rhymeswithbug 