O is for ORAL FIREWORKS #PoetryMonth

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth

 

Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:

1. To celebrate my appreciation of life

2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi

3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.

 

The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge

 

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 O is for Oral Fireworks and Orchids 

Photo I snapped at an orchid garden on Big Island

 

 

ORAL FIREWORKS

 

Hand-knit mohair sweater

Still a treasure,

though an outgrown style. 

Sugar-coated jelly slices

Stuck between the teeth,

don’t smile. 

Oral fireworks of

Nehi Orange-Ade

on a first date. 

Teen memories bear weight,

Adults cannot carry,

and nothing can replace. 

Relive,

pretend,

embellish. 

You are but once sweet sixteen.

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I still have that hand-knit sherbet-orange mohair sweater with the six-inch wide collar that my mom knit for me! Which item have you saved from your teen years that holds such strong memories that you pack it up to take with you every time you move?

 

S is for SMILING BACK #AtoZ

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth

 

Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:

1. To celebrate my appreciation of life

2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi

3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.

 

The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge

 

***   ***   ***

 

 S is for Smiling Back and Sunflowers

 

Smiling Back

From shadows,

smiling back at me,

clear memories

of frothy rapids

while tubing down

an apple-scented river. 

Company softball games,

cheering on my teammates

win or lose, celebrating

El Torito style. 

All too soon, highways

move me state to state,

major life changes

blinding me to loss. 

Above the clouds

endless open skies

ease me from the past; with

lazy eagerness, promises appear

of another new beginning.

 

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Do you need to understand everything the poet is saying to appreciate a poem? Or is sailing off in whatever direction a specific phrase sends you, like a word-association excursion, more to your liking?