Word of the Month Poems, October 2011

Hi everyone,

I’ve been asked by Patrick Hernan how to look up previous Word of the Month poems. Since Kathy Temean rearranged the blog to make it easier to use, you’ll find all previously tagged categories in the column running down the right side of the daily page. If you’re looking for W.O.M. poems, click on Voting for Hall of Fame Poets. Once that opens, you can scroll down for miles as you come to one month of voting after another.

Starting last month, we discontinued the voting process so from now on, to make the monthly poems available to the archives, I’ll need to post them. I didn’t think to do that for October so I’ll do it now and start doing it at the end of each month. I’ll call the category WORD OF THE MONTH POEMS – OCTOBER 2011, WORD OF THE MONTH POEMS – NOVEMBER 2011, etc. How’s that?

Adult Poems for October 2011

1 My New Cell Phone
By Steven Withrow
When my new cell phone
Dropped and popped in half
My mom and dad
Bought me a telegraph.
This ancient old machine’s
The worst thing, ever.
Instead of touchscreen apps
It’s got…a lever?
Instead of texting IMs
In a flash
It vexes you to tap out
Dot-Dot-Dash.
Instead of playing Angry Birds
I’m edging to explode…
‘Cause no kid in my class
Can read Morse code.
And even if they could
They aren’t able
Without first hooking
Handhelds
To a transatlantic
Cable…
So if you get this message
I insist there’s nothing wrong:
My tel-e-graph sent
Laugh Out Loud
But spelled it
Short-Short-Long!
Copyright Steven Withrow, all rights reserved
2 After the loose tooth cometh the new tooth…
Loosey Toothy
My tooth is loose,
my gum is sore.
I just can’t take it
anymore.
A wiggle left,
a jiggle right,
I’ll get it out
in one more bite.
But suddenly
I’m full
of dread…
my wiggle-finger’s
turning red!
I think it’s blood,
but I’m not sure—
until I see it
on the floor.
My gore has turned
the carpet brown;
I grab a towel
and swab it round.
But what a mess
is on that rug—
ketchup, crumbs,
a million bugs.
That’s when I find,
to my surprise,
my baby tooth—
among the fries.
@ jg Krantz 2011
3 The random rhythm and loose rhymes in the first version bothered me, so I revised and came up with this:
My New Cell Phone
By Steven Withrow
Downtown today I dot-dot-dashed—
My cell phone broke in half—
And dropped a hundred dollars cash
To buy a telegraph.
This ancient old machine is not
The best invention ever.
Instead of touchscreen apps it’s got
A heavy metal lever.
Instead of playing Angry Birds
I’m edging to explode
’Cause even nerd-kids good with words
Can’t understand Morse code.
And every time they do connect
They find they are unable
Without first tapping in direct
To transatlantic cable.
So if you get this (I’m not proud)
I insist there’s nothing wrong:
My tel-e-graph sent Laugh Out Loud
But spelled it Short-Short-Long!
©2011 Steven Withrow, all rights reserved
4 New
Today at the Apple Store everything is new!
New memory in the sky: Clouds!
New touch screens jumping if you hover!
New Media: i-Books, i-Tunes, i-Videos!
New versions!
New speeds!
New tools!
New optics!
“There is more to life than increasing its speed’ said Gandhi.
Pay Attention!
Freeze that frame.
Peel away the oldest layer
The center core-
Embrace!
By Jeanne Poland
10/4/11
5 The above poem, in free verse, tells how I feel. But after reading J. Patrick Lewis’ Rhupunt (Welsh) pattern, I have revised it.
The Apple Store
Where new is more
It calls to me.
Its memory: clouds;
Its volume loud
Too fast to see.
The touch screen
Jumps if you mean
To scroll or choose.
“Tween i-Tunes, books
Or video
You muse.
So freeze that frame
Arrest the game
And search within.
There’s more to life
Than all that strife:
A brand new spin.
6 The Big Picture
While galaxies collide
And stars go supernova
I fret about my taxes
And worry about my job.
While black holes suck in worlds
And the universe expands
I wonder if I’m happy
And check my horoscope.
While new stars form and expand
And old suns age and die
I watch ‘reality’ shows
And dream about being rich.
While solar systems coalesce
And planets revolve through space
I bemoan the minutiae
And my oh so boring life.
– Paul W. Johns

6 Jurassic Fish
By Steven Withrow
My deepest wish:
To catch a fish
That dwarfs a whale.
To hook and reel
By look and feel
A monster’s tail.
But I’m too late
To cast my bait
For bones so strong
And razor sharp.
I’ve only carp
To string along.
I’d settle for
A man o’ war
Or basking shark
For pity’s sake
If one will break
From fathoms dark.
Copyright 2011 Steven Withrow, all rights reserved
7 Lost
First I lost a thousand links
Deleted my whole in-box.
Floated up to the top of a vast ocean.
Adrift.
Then Facebook came to surround me
With life preservers,
In the shape of graphics
Of Steve Jobs.
Spectacular memorials
Urging me to love
One byte at a time.
iSad.
“Change the world”
He smiles.
“Stay foolish! Stay hungry!
No one can replace you.”
“Push the human race forward.”
Hold your MacBook on your heart
And sing a song of visions,
Piercing truths discovered,
Imaginings made flesh!
I floated safely home
To write this poem,
With Steve Jobs at my side
Part of my history.
His Macs, my tools for life.
Join me on these blogs
To comment and to find
The soothing lullabies
That bring you back to rest
Within a thousand links.
by Jeanne Poland
10/6/11
8 Dear Steven: I have taken your suggestion and rewritten the memorial part of the poem in a redondilla (envelope quatrains)
octosyllabic quatrains rhyming ABBA:
Lost
First I lost a thousand links
Deleted my whole in-box.
Floated up to the top of a vast ocean.
Adrift.
Then Facebook came to surround me
With life preservers,
In the shape of graphics
Of Steve Jobs.
Spectacular memorials
Urging me to love
One byte at a time.
iSad.
“Change the world” he smiles; “Stay foolish”
“Stay hungry. No one’ll replace you.”
“Push the human race forward, do”
“Be a misfit, rebel, genius.”
“Be crazy enough: change the world”
“See things fitting differently;
Round pegs in square holes: disagree.
Rebel, respect, make trouble swirled.”
Hold your MacBook on your heart
And sing a song of visions,
Piercing truths discovered,
Imaginings made flesh!
I floated safely home
To write this poem,
With Steve Jobs at my side
Part of my history.
His Macs, my tools for life.
Join me on these blogs
To comment and to find
The soothing lullabies
That bring you back to rest
Within a thousand links.
by Jeanne Poland
10/6/11
rewritten on 10/11/11
9 Middle Child Syndrome
Let out the hem
and tuck the waist
fix the seam
with bias tape
Bleach the stains
and patch the holes
Why’s my big sis
so hard on clothes?
Hand me that
and hand me this
hand me down
my sister’s dress
Pants and skirts
and even shoes
blouses, shirts
Nothing’s new!
It all was hers
and now it’s mine
and with my brother
next in line
none of this
will go to him
It’s up to me
and not to them
to be frugal
and not to waste
I think I’m in
second place
Or maybe I’m just
second fiddle
Never first
I’m in the middle!
10 Greetings! My husband and I just returned from vacation in the Smokey Mountains…great trip…but for…
THE BEAR
Susan Carmichael
Gravel roads hugging the bluff
were treacherous to traverse.
But a bear attack at the vacation cabin?
Nothing else could be much worse.

Alone for a week; no humans in sight
No electronics to keep us connected.
Just a view of the mountains, a bottle of wine
And no visitors ever expected.

Late one night an unwelcome guest!
(This I thought quite rude)
However the shaking and rattling outside
was a black bear searching for food.

We stayed inside, we didn’t move
he was hungry and posed a huge threat.
But looking around the only weapon we found
Was a heavy and old TV set.

My husband, trying to calm my nerves,
said he’d throw the beast a curve
And would never allow our precious puppies
to be Smokeys first round of hors d’oeuvres.

He would hit him hard and hit him fast
Our intruder would soon be dead!
I asked to please not hurt the bear…..
I can’t repeat what he said.

But fortune had its way with us
the bear withdrew the charge
Remote cabins for us again?
No thanks, we’ll take the lodge.
11 So, Whats New?
Jane Heitman Healy
Summer again and here come those
pesky humans.
Trampling over my forrest space.
Leaving wrappers from candy and other
foods and pop bottles. So much trash.
Such loud noise from radios and phones.
Ruining my natural habitat.
Then they get mad when I get into their food.
When they see me they scream and run away.
No one ever says, “Hi Bear, are you having
a nice day?”
Then the loggers cutting all those trees I need to
climb and breathe and scratch my back.
How soon will they grow again to comfort me?
Late one night I approched a cabin at a good
pace to look for food.
I was startled to see this couple afraid of me.
He picked up a big box to hurl at me. In disgust
I ran back into the woods.
Humans are not for me.
12 They Wait
Gay Fawcett
She…
Sick, tired, old,
No memories left, save one–him.
She waits for him
And he comes every day.
He…
Sad, worried, old,
Many memories of one–her.
He waits on her
And feeds her every meal.
Soon she will be called to a new home,
Healed through death.
He will go home yet one more time,
Broken by life.
13 FREEDOM LIMITED
© By Mary Nida Smith
In zoos
animals run free
behind fences.
Antelopes
on open range
no longer roam.
Deer run free
in restricted forest.
Buffalo roam free
not near ranches
where cattle feed.
Wolves run free.
All the people said,
not by me.
14 Twenty-Four Doors
The new rug in my room
is one inch deep,
a layer of soil
made of snowflake and moon.
I lie down by a river
of lightning and leaves.
My arms span a sky
like a mine full of gold;
turtles in treetops nibble my toes.
A cloudburst of apples
showers my head.
I tickle sharks
at the rainbow’s end,
feed the bluebird of gravity
acorns and sun.
They can keep me inside,
but the rug in my room
has twenty-four doors that lead
out to the wild.
Heidi Mordhorst 2010
all rights reserved
15 THE NEW ME
By Janet Kay Gallagher
I am always working on improvement
This week the diet fell by the wayside
Tomorrow I will start again
The new computer arrived and was soon
downloading my programs
Back online Yea
Wednesday our Jewels Breakfast Group
will give me another chance to be on time
I hate when others are late
so I am trying not to make my friends wait
” I am making progress”. I like to say
But I have to start again each new day
Here’s my try, with emphasis on wordplay.
16 What’s New in Nature
By Jane Heitman Healy
The gnu knew what was new.
His nose nibbled the air and
Made sense of the scents,
Telling him whether to
Fight or flee.
The newt knew what was new.
His tongue tickled the air and
Tasted tantalizing topics,
Telling him whether to
Turn tail or tuck.
The emu knew what was new.
His ears explained the air and
Heard heartbeat happenings,
Telling him whether to
Rip or race .

17 I’ve Got a New Pair of Shoes
By Shakerra Jones-Johnson
I seen them I the window
and I knew they had to be mine.
A six-inch heel,
pointed toe,
and boy did they look divine!
I hurried into the store
and didn’t waste any time.
“Please,” I asked, “Can I see this shoe in a size nine?”
Ecstatic that they had my size,
I didn’t try them on.
I paid for my new shoes,
said “Thank you”,
and proceeded to go home.
I decided to wear my new shoes to work
with a fabulous power suit.
As I walked through the office
my feet began to ache.
I could feel the blisters sprouting up
and the pain I felt was great.
Limping to and fro,
my boss asked if I was okay.
Too embarrassed to tell him the truth,
in fear he wouldn’t understand,
I told him that I hurt my knee,
jogging in the sand.
Now that I’m at home
soaking my blistered feet,
I’m not so happy about my new shoes
since they were almost the death of me.
Copyrighted by Shakerra Jones-Johnson

18 What is New?
By Tiffany Lopez
Untouched smells
Unworn textiles
Clean
Uncharted territories
Finding a relationship
Exciting
Discovered frustrations
Heated discussions
Learning
Developing fears
Conquering struggles
Growing
Working hard
Achieving goals
Earned
Yesterday there was new
Today there is new
Tomorrow there will be new
19 Dignity’s Bruise
By April Sopczak
It’s always been there
That stupid door
Each time I’ve walked through it before
I’ve stuck out an arm
And pushed it back
And made it through without attack
But this was not the
Case today
Something new to start the day
A most lovely bruise
Upon my nose
It’s not that bad, I suppose
My nose isn’t broke
Nor is the door
We’ll call it a draw and tangle no more!
20 NATURE SINGS
Autumn trees thin
Fiery tones dim
Falling leaves spin
Nature’s new hymn
© Cory Corrado
21 New Country
She couldn’t do it,
Couldn’t make herself
Put her foot
On the strange
Moving stairs.
Alice had done it.
There she was
Rising into the sky,
Smiling even.
But still,
On the ground
They seemed dangerous,
These steps
That moved by themselves
Taking you only
Forward and up.
What if she changed her mind?
People crowded
Behind her
Urging her on.
“What’s taking so long?” they asked.
It was nothing to them.
She pushed
Through the crowd,
Watching Alice
Rise above her.
Who knew what could happen
In this country
Where you took just one step
And were swept away?
© 2011 Elizabeth Ehrenfest Steinglass, all rights reserved
22 IT’S MY NEW….
Look at it!
It’s so shiny and new.
I just discovered it.
I’m so proud of it!
Can’t you see it on my face?
Some people say that you can’t have a new one.
I know that it’s not true.
It’s mine.
And I thought of it.
My friends definitely can tell.
Even my two cats have perched up from their nap to see it.
Have I kept you in suspense long enough?
Ok, I think I’m ready to show you.
Here it is.
Drum roll please.
It’s my NEW IDEA!
By Patrick Hernan

23 New Moon
By liz korba

Where are you, Moon? Where have you gone?
Why aren’t you here tonight?
I’m waiting, Moon. Will you come soon?
And bring your bedtime light?
The stars, they shine there in the sky,
But they can’t take your place.
Where are you, Moon? What secret spot
Out there in all that space?
I wonder what you’re doing now,
I hope you’re having fun.
Do you play games, like hide and seek,
Some nighttimes with the sun?
Or do you take your mommy’s hand,
Walk in the Milky Way,
And look for comets in the sky
Like I did yesterday?
Did you get lost? Are you asleep?
I hope you feel all right.
Are you away on holiday?
Where have you gone tonight?
I’m waiting, Moon, for you to come.
You know where I will be –
Here in my room and missing you.
Please hurry back to me.
24 New Husband
By Lisa Terry
In 20 days I will be married,
To someone I love,
To someone I trust.
In 20 days I will be relieved,
To be done with all the work,
To be relaxed without a care.
In 20 days I will be elated,
To be starting a new life,
To be having a great time.
In 20 days I will be exited,
To go on a new adventure,
To learn new things.
In 20 days I will be done,
With nighttime worrying,
With daytime stress.
In 20 days I will be okay,
Everything will work out,
Everything will be fine.
25 The Beauty of Being a New Godmother
by: Allison C
Each time I see her little face,
all covered in frosting so blue,
I sit back and admire this special place,
and take in this wonderful view.
Each time I see her cute little smile,
wide as wide can be,
I think back and reflect for a while,
and think how special she is to me.
Each time I’m with my little god daughter,
I’m reminded how precious life can be,
How lucky I am to be a new god mother,
and have her here with me.

Young Poets, October 2011

1 Among the Stars
By Taylor McGowan
The big bay horse
With a little white star
As light as a feather
And fast as a car.
His chocolate eyes
as bright as the sun
Along paddock fences
He loved to run.
He slept standing up
He jumped like a dream.
He’d walk without qualms
through smoke or through steam.
He practiced good manners
He leaned into hugs.
And he’d flick his tail lightly
At unwelcome bugs.
I walked in the barn.
He walked to the gate.
I forgot to take note
Of the July evening’s date.
Warm rays of sunlight
Danced on his coat.
His appearance had matched
A story I once wrote.
I went on my way
I slept soundly that night.
I did not bear witness
To his miserable plight.
He writhed and rolled
In his shaving-filled stall
He needed our help
But had no way to call
He went to the vet
Surgery took place
I did not hear his panting
Or his heartbeat that raced.
After two painful hours.
The big bay was dead.
As I recieved the news
My heart turned to lead.
Tears welled in my eyes.
But how could it be?
Who last saw him healthy?
Could it possibly be me?
That night I stood vigil
By the window at home.
Gazing sadly
Into the sky’s endless dome.
Pegasus, Orion,
Polaris and more
Glittered like diamonds
With more light in store.
But next to the moon
Two bright eyes met my own
Two eyes made my realize
I wasn’t alone.
From his place in the stars
The big bay gazed down.
His mane no longer black,
coat no longer brown.
His shimmered the blue
of a midnight sky.
His starry eyes told me
“Don’t say goodbye.”
“I’ll always be here
If you love me enough.
And I can only hope
That I still hold your trust.
But while I’m not next to you
I’m not in the barn
I know that you know
I’m not really gone.
I’ll never leave you.
I’ll race by your car.
I’ll watch you forever.
From among the stars.
A new beginning
a brand new start
but I’ll live forever
Within your heart.”
2 A Brand New Start
By Rachel Heinrichs
A brand new school, a brand new start, I have a new place in my heart.
There are some girls who don’t get along, and try to make each other not belong. To me it is not a race, to cross the line, to spit in her face. To make her feel like dirt under feet, to make people stare as if she was kicked with a cleat. It has happened to me, and probably you, so why don’t we ALL start over-fresh and new.