FOUR FEATHERS PRESS ONLINE EDITION: DEAD DAYS Send up to three poems on the subject of or at least mentioning the words dead and/or day, totaling up to 150 lines in length, in the body of an email message or attached in a Word file to donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59 PM PST on November 15th. No PDF's please. Color artwork is also desired. Please send in JPG form. No late submissions accepted. Poets and artists published in Four Feathers Press Online Edition: Dead Days will be published online and invited to read at the Saturday Afternoon Poetry Zoom meeting on Saturday, November 16th between 3 and 5 pm PST.

Friday, November 15, 2024

CLS Sandoval

Fireworks, Your Family,

And Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

 

Miles and Miles of long, blond hair

Encircle the room; streak out the door

Big Blue Eyes just stare

As I reach to pick her off the floor

 

Four generations gathered here

All at their own place in life

I assure you not to fear

As you release that look of strife

 

I offer salutations to faces with smiles

Who seem to want to know about us

You try to reassure me all the while

And I remind you not to fuss

 

We go outside to grill the meal

You compliment me to no end

With each look, my heart you steal

And to me, love you send

 

All the stress we face each day

Is left anywhere else tonight

Embraced in family, we stay

As we watch the fire take flight

 

I still cannot believe you are mine

I am my best when I am with you

Though I know it is and over-used line

I promise: it could not be more true




Questions

 

Is life really any better than death?

What does it feel like to be high on meth?

When will I finally meet God?

Is it really okay to be odd?

 

Will I ever stop feeling alone?

What will I look like when I’m grown?

Is it ever okay to hate?

Will I ever find the perfect mate?

 

Will all of the trees grow real tall?

Why does it always hurt when I fall?

Will all the world’s slaves ever truly be free?

Why can’t everyone want to love me?

 

When will mothers stop killing their babies?

Will we ever stop cheating ourselves with only maybes?

Is it alright to just set down your gun?

Is it okay to just turn and run?

 

Could I please have help tying my shoe?

Why are the evil abundant and the righteous few?

Will we ever fill ourselves with I cans instead of I can’ts?

In this life, will we ever really learn to dance?




When Death and Birth Overlap

 

On the third day

Jesus rolled the stone away

 

After being consumed by flames

the Phoenix is reborn 

 

Zombies’ human minds die

as their bodies continue on

relentlessly seeking brains

 

Death and rebirth take on many forms

in lived experience and myth alike

and it is not always for the better


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