The following are short poems, accompanied by a quick summary of my inspiration behind the piece/the meaning of the piece.
PASSION
— inspired by a word prompt at the beginning of a class
when i see ‘passion’
i think of, well, the passionfruit
that’s bad, isn’t it?
to associate
the driving force of one’s life
with a small, sweet fruit.
to associate
something so very unknown
with store-bought produce.
to associate
such an intricate idea
with something plucked.
plucked not from a
pair of hands rough with pure strength
but a withered tree.
passion is less than
a seed of an idea, in
my mind, which is a
very scary thought,
indeed.
SHACKLED
— inspired by something unknown
shackled is such a
harsh word
don’t you think?
a harsh ‘k’
for the crack of a whip
a ‘shh’
to silence pitiful cries
the ending ‘ed’
which implies a sense
of forever.
shackles leave scars
forever.
LOVE IS
— inspired by an activity in which we had to write what our definition of love was
love is like seeing
the most beautiful
flower you have ever
seen, picking it, and
giving it to someone
else.
STARRY NIGHT
— inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of the same name and a poem about the painting by Anne Sexton
i curl into you
like the waves of the sea and
the clouds in our night.
our hands are now blue
the colour of your lovely
eyes that only look at me.
i cannot feel much.
your slowing heartbeat scares me
your face brings comfort.
we are dying now
but the starry night in your eyes
is more infinite.
WHEN I HAVE FEARS
— inspired by John Keats’ poem ‘When I Have Fears that I May Cease To Be’ (a short emulation).
when i have fears that i may cease to be
the moon will no longer reflect my love,
nor will the sun wake up glowing for me
your arms will take me to the clouds above;
when i grasp, with my palms kissed by the stars,
your hands, which place me into the sea,
and allow this deep, deep blue to take you and me.
SOLDIERS DON’T WEAR NAIL POLISH
— inspired by a presentation by the astounding Cpl. Vincent Fowler on Remembrance Day – November 11th, 2015.
soldiers don’t wear nail polish
because the last time she
tried, the base beside them
exploded, and the vibrations made
her shaking hands shake some
more.
soldiers don’t wear nail polish
because her favourite colour is
the same shade as the
sandy dunes they must duck
behind to avoid a bullet
in their brain.
soldiers don’t wear nail polish
because when he did, his
“brothers” beat and spit
on him and destroyed the
little bottle of dreams he
called hope.
soldiers don’t wear polish
because it reminds them of
home and home is the
kind of false promise they
swore not to make.
claire b.
pic credit: katai.tv