Writer Wednesday: More #napowrimo poetry

Last week was insane. I forgot to post my poems, but they were written! The business of work and the craziness of last quarter coupled with concurrent teaching (teaching to kids in school and online at the same time) led me to write poetry without punctuation, something I really disapprove of. But the lack of structure seemed fitting for several poems. Here are poems from two weeks ago. I’ll post the rest on the following 2 Wednesdays.

April 15, 2021 (virelai) “A Ride in the Car”

Posted a few days ago at https://corgicapers.com/2021/04/23/poem-virelai-a-ride-in-the-car/

We wake up and bark
In the early dark,
Waiting
To hear singing lark
Or squirrel’s snark
Playing
With canine ears: mark
Out teeth like a shark’s
Staying
Our owner’s command.
A hush takes the land:
A plop
Of sustenance canned.
Our dish in her hand,
The slop—
Food! We understand!
Our barks, as she planned,
Then stop
As we eat. Then out,
Bark over her shout:
New mark:
The car is about!
We sniff, snort, and scout
Then bark
Excitement and clout
And follow the route:
The park!

 

April 16

“Your Password is Due to Expire in 11 Days”

Teach from work
Teach from home
Teach to icons
Feel alone

Grades don’t count
Yes they do
Wait for the vaccine
But not for you

It’s safe to breathe
No it’s not
Here’s your second
COVID shot

Teach from work
To those in school
While teaching to
Those on screen too

Keep them engaged
Don’t assign too much
Teach with rigor
Stay in touch

Temperature check
Every day
Music’s not open
Sports are okay

State testing
Must happen physically
AP testing
Happens virtually

Masks required
But not for lunch
Is it science
Or just a hunch

“Teachers are lazy
They don’t want to teach
They want slippers and bon bons
And days at the beach

“My kid is lazy
Because teacher’s not there
To micromanage tasks
And keep him in his chair

“Schools need to open
So I can work from home
Without little junior
Interrupting my phone”

Cover this teacher
We don’t have a sub
You can’t say no
Simply because

Have you posted your work
The system is down
Record your lesson
The mask hides your frown

Bend over backward
Turn water to wine
We’re changing things up
Just one more time

Perform the impossible
Keep energy high
Who needs to sleep
You can sleep when you die

 

(April 17)

“Tooth”

In younger days, I dreamed

I lost my teeth.

They’d fall out.

I’d stick them back in gummy holes,

Hoping no one would notice—

Especially me.

 

In sleep-deprived newness of motherhood,

I dreamed I had 30 seconds to myself,

And I used those 30 seconds

To floss,

And when I did, a chunk of tooth came out.

It was no dream:

The dentist said I clench jaw in sleep.

My daughter woke six times a night

For 15 months:

I had to do something.

 

My son woke, too,

And so,

Another chunk.

A new dentist this time.

 

When I see white fuzz on the ground,

Or little ivory pebbles,

My heart leaps,

And I wonder if it’s one of my teeth

Secretly come out.

I tongue my toothline

Just to make sure.

 

The other day

I found a tooth

Perfectly placed on the kitchen floor.

It was no human tooth.

I looked at my aging dogs.

It must be one of theirs.

Do dogs truly lose teeth like that,

Clean, bloodless, painlessly?

Would I find more?

And how often?

I went to bed

Worried about mortality.

 

In the morning I remembered

Dog teeth don’t look like that.

This was a shark tooth

Given to my daughter—

Aquarium trip,

A time forgotten,

Until the tooth,

Timeless,

Joined me in memory.

 

April 18, 2021

“Ephemeral”

This poem has an imposed structure, but I do not know if it has a name.

Pink, fuchsia, purple: magic

Of Virginia’s red bud tree!

Word, camera both fall tragic

In conveying what I see.

 

Bird perches like an eagle.

Haze of rain and droplets cool

Make him look no less regal:

Pink behind the blue bird jewel.

 

Wind picks up—rain beats harder:

Camera can’t withstand this rain.

Rush inside—save the camera—

The bird won’t appear again.

 

Crystal clear, mind’s eyes sees it—

Kaleidoscope in the tree—

Transcends sight, pen, and paper—

Transcends our reality.

 

(April 19)

“The Pie Song”

He asks for the “Pie

Song.” My

Little guy,

When bedtime draws nigh.

It’s really about birds in the sky.

They fly

High;

Some die.

I lie:

Yes, it’s about pie.

Why?

Death makes us cry,

Makes us shy.

He should be saying hi

To life, not burdened by

The weight of goodbye.

Like Holden in the rye,

I try—

But fie!

The truth will pry,

Sear, and fry;

But until then, little guy:

A song about pie.

 

April 20, 2021

“Blue Screen of Death”

My brain is low on RAM

No memory to spare. Bam!

Pile another requirement

To my overloaded detriment

Tax the superpowered motherboard

CPU 90%, 100%, more

Overloaded process

NO way to stop this

You got this,

But have I?

I could die.

One more thing.

System spins

Never ends

Mouse froze

I suppose

It could be worse

System resources

Update needed

Restart completed

Error now

Blue screen

Bad dream

Hold button in

Begin again

System repair

In progress

Are you there?