bathtub poetry

I took a bath before to try to help with my fibromyalgia pain. I was reading a book called How Poetry Can Change Your Heart by Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley. I only got a few pages in when I realized I had a poem inside me, waiting to burst free. Luckily, I had my cell phone near the bathtub. I opened up my "Notes" app, where I regularly write poetry, and wrote this short poem. Do you ever write poetry in odd places?

We Will Not Be Silenced 

the stories they

whisper about 

behind the backs 

of the unfortunate 

protagonists are

the stories that

must be shouted aloud

in the most brash,

urgent way possible

Composition (poem)

Composition 

You are from the plenitude 
of stars in our vast 
heavens. And you are
made of the clear water that
runs through deep 
valley streams. And 
most of all, you are 
dedicated to the 
planets, the estuary,
the quasars, the
leaves of marjoram, the 
jasper, and the 
totality of being.

Tapio (poem)

I wrote Tapio about ten years ago. I still remember exactly where I was sitting when I wrote it. I was sitting at a picnic table at a park near my house. This park is close enough that I can walk to it. So, one summer, I would pack up a bag and go sit at the park for a while. I wrote in my journal, wrote some poems, and even started writing a novel. Even though I enjoyed sitting at the picnic table in the summer, I couldn't help but wonder what the heavily-wooded park would be like in the winter. And thus, Tapio was born. Enjoy! 

Tapio

I sit here,
in brilliant solitude,
amongst the strong evergreens.

Snow has fallen.
The air is crisp.
The sky heavy and gray.

There is silence abound,
save for the charming sounds of nature-
a bird calling, a deer sprinting, a squirrel leaping.

The winter forest is
beauty, peace, joy.