Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Double Blast of Poetry


In the frantic busy-ness of last week, I didn't have the time to jot down Carry On Tuesday's poetry prompt, much less compose a response. So this week I am posting TWO poems in response to Prompt #40 and Prompt #41. Poet friend Sarah filled me in on how to make my lines indent properly in poetry here in Blogger, so I thank her very much for the help!

The first poem does describe an event recently, but blown out of proportion for dramatic effect. The second poem was just a follow-through of the image I imagined when I first read the prompt: a man and woman lying silent, side by side in bed at night, neither of them able to break the silence -- which builds and thickens and cracks and crazes.... I have several friends going through difficult marriages and the breaking apart of those marriages, so my focus is often on them, in thought and in prayer....

Prompt #40: Percy Bysshe Shelley:
"Fear not for the future
Weep not for the past"


breathe this day

the past...
the future ...
.....wrapped in fears,
.....sealed with tears.

the present
.....shimmers, shakes,
.....demanding my attention:
the volume requires reply.

but I run--
escaping boundaries of my present,
.....of home--
..........boxed in by walls
..........and clamoring needs,
I slam the door behind me.

but I can't run far--
.....only to porch steps
.....bepuddled by morning's rain.
chill winds grasp my face--
.....I gulp the shifting of cloud
..........into cramped lungs.

and now
I can
breathe

Prompt #41: Michael Crichton's State of Fear:
"In the darkness, he touched her arm and said..."

The Silent Ice

He pulled at the silence,
.....tangible, weighted.
In the darkness
.....he reached,
.....touched her arm...
..........but no words came.
Yet the silence spoke,
.....a familiar bedfellow,
..........stifling their tonights,
..........crippling their tomorrows.

With the buzz of morning alarm
.....normalcy returns,
..........slightly cooler than before,
..........frosting each new day.
The chill silence breaks
.....with mundane reminders:
..........his doctor's appointment at noon,
..........her meeting after work,
while layers of ice thicken and crackle.
Copyright 2010 by Susanne Barrett



2 comments:

sarah said...

Really neat poems :-)

To achieve the indented look, simply add these: ....... for the distance you want, then select them and change the font colour to white. They will disappear against your white background and you'll have your identation.

Susanne Barrett said...

Thanks, Sarah -- I did it. Perfect -- thank you!!

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