It's still the 8th somewhere...

Poetry challenge fail. But, today was not a fail. I gave this day to myself, and though I spent part of it grading and part of it reading work emails (they seem so much more ridiculous when you're not actually there...), I needed this day. Time spent at a coffee shop, grocery shopping while it's still light out, and an EXCELLENT show by my beloved Hearts of Darkness (you all missed out), amongst other fun things, filled my day.

So, poetry took a little backseat, but I have a feeling it will return with a vengeance tomorrow. The forecast says 90 degrees, and my schedule is nearly empty. Awesome.

To quickly fill today's (yesterday's) slot, here is what I got as the first result when I googled "poem." It's actually pretty fitting for what I hope tomorrow will bring. For now, good night.


"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth

Blue Moon rising

You’re not here.
You’re not going to be here.
I knew that coming in, really.

You’re not the kind of guy
a girl like me
would meet in a place like this.

You’re waiting
in some laundromat
or grocery store
or maybe a coffee shop,
although we both know
that’s a little pretentious.

“Tonight’s gonna be a good night,”
we chant in unison with the canned legumes –
but those words taste bitter in my mouth.

Hold on –
is that you hiding behind those emo bangs?
Nope, false alarm again.

Wait out the buzz amongst the masquerade –
silently begging sluggish metabolism to wake up.
Car keys rustle impatiently within a purse’s depths.

My better judgment begrudgingly takes the keys from others;
well-earned rest is delayed a few hours more
as I seek sober refuge scribbling verse in a bathroom stall.


May 1, 2010


Suggestions are welcome as always - it still feels pretty rough to me, but so did last night, haha.