kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Guest Poet #5

As I post the final guest poet this evening, I would like to thank all the featured poets and the readers for their comments. Originally I was going to post one my poems tonight, but I discovered an amazing poet on Gather this week. Sadly, in the correspondance, I never asked her name: I only know her as Just Me~I’m happy to be.

About the Poet: I am a single mother, daughter, sister, teacher, lover of life and one of my greatest passions is writing. Read more of her poems at: http://justme0307.gather.com/

“Inspiration”

When I need to remember
the goodness of the world
I simply look
into your warm, sweet eyes
brimming over with desire
Feel the touch of
your fingertips
on the curve of my spine
Your lips
at the base of my pale white neck
where my pulse rises
to greet your hungry mouth
Such a tremendous comfort
to know
you are willing to
linger here with me
as I shiver
for as long as I want
or need
even when my world
spins out of control
You are here
keeping me safe
holding me
in the sweet crush
of your generously strong arms

kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Guest Poet #4: Ruth Cox

Today’s post will not only celebrate National Poetry Month but will call attention to Child Abuse Prevention Month. I thank Ruth for her brave poetry and her willingness to share her experiences with others. It is a privelege to feature her on my blog, but at the same time, I must warn my readers: This poem, like my novel, deals with a mature theme.

Meet Ruth Cox: Born and bred unto the pain of poverty and abuse, Ruth Cox often shares the darkest days of her life in her poetry and prose. Her storytelling is inspired by her desire to be a voice for the victims of such demons and hopes that in so doing, the cries of the victims shall be heard. Cox believes “a bit o’ sunshine can always be found peekin’ out o’ the clouds” and has spent a lifetime spreading “nuttin’ but sunshine” with her sun-bespeckled ink.

To get “a bit o’ sunshine” every day, you can find Ruth here: http://ruthcox.gather.com/

Immersion of a Rape Victim

©2009 Ruth Cox

I jerk back the shower curtain

as I force the knob to feed full blast.

Piping hot water pours into the porcelain tub

as I remove the tattered shreds from my torn skin.

I slip into the water…

to scald the remains from my weakened flesh.

You violated my body with your sickening stench.

.

I drain the tub, refill it, slip into it once again…

to flush the raging visions from my head.

You raped my sanity with your vicious vulgarity.

.

I drain the tub, refill it, slip into it once again…

to cleanse the blood dripping from my spirit.

You pierced my heart with your blade.

.

I drain the tub, refill it, slip into it once again…

to defy the repitition of the hellish torture.

You demanded I yield to the blows of your battering ram.

.

I drain the tub, refill it, slip into it once again…

to soak droplets of venom falling from my eyes.

You shot your poison within me.

.

I drain the tub, refill it, slip into it once again…

to avenge the agony of life and limb.

You defiled every cell of my being with your demonic desire.

.

I drain the tub, refill it, slip into it once again…

to drench the darkness into light.

You stole my very soul.

.

Seven baths have not rid me of you…

seven days, seven months, nor seven years shall rid me of you.

Seven decades might rid me of you…

by then I may have died.

kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Guest Poet #3: Elle Veady

I’ll save you the trouble of the google search because you won’t find Elle Veady anywhere on the Internet. When asked to post her poem, she said, “This would be my pen name if I ever decide to be an author someday.” 🙂
 
American Sky
by: Elle Veady

Whence did thou come
upon the wakening sea
and spread from coast to coast
a symbol of freedom be
Upon your early dawn
didst thou shine so bright
a heavenly glow
sending forth a glorious light
Throughout your youth
thy splendor did not fade
for even in the shadows
could one see the luminous day
Twas a promise unknown-
of emancipated privilege
unfolding deliberately beneath
thy sovereign expanses
Even the storms that raged
could not deny thee
the beauty that was beheld
nothing could thy allure defeat
Yet thy azure solemnity
and refulgent golden hues
are found in evanescence
as the vacant obscurity ensues
And left to wonder are we that trod
confounded by the how and why
and we wait in vigilant duty
for the new dawning of our American sky

kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Guest Poet #2: John Beck

John Beck was born in Titusville, PA in 1938 and moved with his family (at age 3 1/2) to Sturgeon Bay, WI, where he resides today. He had a passing interest in poetry in school but focused on training for a profession as a physician. After a 2 1/2 year tour of active duty in the US Navy as a Flight Surgeon and Naval Parachutist he returned to Sturgeon Bay and practiced family medicine with his father until Parkinson’s disease forced his father’s retirement. Now semi-retired as physician electronic health record advisor with part time clinical practice, John has found time to do some writing. Through the Gather social network he has been experimenting with new poetry forms as well as writing some short prose. Read more of John’s poetry at: http://lapapa.gather.com/

 

-COMING HOME-

I’ve climbed a mountain, sailed the lakes

I’ve taken chances, some high stakes.

I’ve had my chance to stray and roam

And now at last I’m coming home.

.

I’ve jumped from aircraft, skied the slopes

Pursued some dreams, desires and hopes

I’ve tilled the clay, the sand, the loam

And now at last I’m coming home.

.

I’ve walked the desert, hiked the trails

I’ve ridden horses, tossed some bales

Learned of the sky from Adler’s dome

And now at last I’m coming home.

.

I’ve crossed the country east to west

I’ve watched the clouds from Teton’s crest

I’ve been to Oslo, never Rome

And now at last I’m coming home.

.

I’ve been a babe with loving mom

I’ve been a kid with dad so calm

I’ve been a teen with hair to comb

And now at last I’m coming home.

This poem is an example of a kyrielle. Learn more about this form of poetry at: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2164673/poetic_forms_kyrielle.html

kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Guest Poet #1: Lindsey Kelly

Poet. Songwriter. Singer. Friend. Lindsey Kelly made her songwriting debut on Sister Hazel’s Release album with her ballad “Better Way.” Her poetry, reflective and  romantic, illustrates the matters of the heart with vivid imagery. “My Heart Resides in You,” which was recited at a mutual friend’s wedding, is one of my favorite selections.

If you would like to learn more about Lindsey Kelly, follow the link to her website: http://www.lindseykelly.com/

“My Heart Resides in You”
by Lindsey Kelly

My heart resides in you
always it will stay
for no longer do I
need
nor want
nor care
it be anywhere
other than there
As you are my love-
my one
with God I share-
forever you will
always be
For it is your eyes
I search to see
when I wake from sleep
It is your arms
wrapped around me
which make my
soul complete
With this comes
the greatest gift
God gives
to me-
I send to you-
My love-
Forever
in You-
my heart will be

Lindsey Kelly – “My Heart Resides in You” (Jul 3, 2006)
kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Favorite Poem #5:”The Song: When I am Dead, My Dearest” by Christina Rosetti

This was the first poem that came to mind for this week’s posts; now you may think I’m a bit melancholy, but “The Song” was a favorite during my teenage years. I found it romantic then…and I guess, I still do. Loving someone means you want them to be happy–not sad–when you are gone. (Or at least that’s what I get out of it.)

THE SONG

When I am dead, my dearest,
    Sing no sad songs for me;
  Plant thou no roses at my head,
    Nor shady cypress tree:
  Be the green grass above me
    With showers and dewdrops wet;
  And if thou wilt, remember,
    And if thou wilt, forget.

  I shall not see the shadows,
    I shall not feel the rain;
  I shall not hear the nightingale
    Sing on, as if in pain:
  And dreaming through the twilight
    That doth not rise nor set,
  Haply I may remember,
    And haply may forget.

kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Favorite Poem #4: “Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything”

Some of the most beautiful poetry ever written is in the Bible, and these are my absolute favorite verses. “A Time for Everything” is often included in literature anthologies, and over the years, I was lucky enough to teach the passage.

Also, I love The Byrds’ song, which is based on these verses, and I included a link to “Turn, Turn, Turn.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNopQq5lWqQ

 

ECCLESIASTES 3

A Time for Everything

 1 There is a time for everything,
       and a season for every activity under heaven:

 2 a time to be born and a time to die,
       a time to plant and a time to uproot,

 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
       a time to tear down and a time to build,

 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
       a time to mourn and a time to dance,

 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
       a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

 6 a time to search and a time to give up,
       a time to keep and a time to throw away,

 7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
       a time to be silent and a time to speak,

 8 a time to love and a time to hate,
       a time for war and a time for peace.

kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Favorite Poem #3: “Invitation” by Shel Silverstein

When I was a child, my father gave me Where the Sidwalk Ends. And with every book he gave me, he gave me something quite intangible–a love of reading. On my sixteenth, it was a stack of books. And somewhere along the way, he gifted me the Biograhpy of John Steinbeck. (If you’ve read NBTAM, you realize the significance of that!) Back then, perhaps, I muttered, “Thanks for book, Dad,” but now, I am very grateful for all of them. Without them, I may have never found a love for reading…become an English teacher…and written a book…

 

INVITATION

If you are a dreamer, come in

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

A hope-er. a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…

If you’re a pretender, come sit by the fire

For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.

Come in!

Come in!

Perhaps, I should have posted this on day one. It’s so inviting–just like a good poem. I have known many teachers who have posted this on the door to their classroom. 🙂

kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Favorite Poem #2: “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare

My personal library, which includes several editions of the sonnets, reflects my complete  fascination with Shakespeare’s work. And even though most scholars agree that Sonnet 18 (as well as the first 126 sonnets) was written to a young male, this sonnet lives on as one of the most romantic verses of all time. The final couplet alone is poetry at its best!

SONNET 18

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
kimberlyblackadar Uncategorized

Favorite Poem #1: “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

My first selection is one of my mother’s favorite poems, and just like the poem’s message, she has always encouraged me to take the road “less traveled by.”

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

-by Robert Frost-

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

Yes, the poem is about choices, and life is full of tough ones. Frost admitted that the poem was about a friend who had gone off to war, and no matter which path he took, he would regret his choice. Sometimes we choose the path “less traveled by,” or the rough road, thinking it will yeild greater rewards. And yet like the traveler, we look back with a sigh always wondering if the other way would have been better.