Eastern Skies

God entered a welcoming virgin’s womb
(as many among us have longed to do . . . )
Ascending, years later, from His own tomb
To rule and to reign from behind the blue.

Passed over us: two thousand years—
Short-term relief for lingering fears.

As if no big thing, these feats by our Lord.
We hear it so often our hearts grow dull.
We’ve nothing but sullen indifference toward
The One who achieved redemption in full.

Blood on the door-posts of your heart;
Egyptian doom: you know this part.

Theater of cruelty; His the main role.
Sad victim—until all fulfillment passed;
The playwright possessed of a blameless soul
whose angel stagehands assisted the cast.

Now Romans marry Jewish brides;
And Christ, the King of Kings, presides.

Naropa-dopa

Ginsberg’s boomers ramble on
Micromanaging the muse
Inflicting on poetic crowds
Futile and postmodern views.

Born of crackpot meditation,
Formless poems, hippie dreams.
Useless psychedelia-lite:
Poetry as empty as it seems.

MFA meets beatnik-Buddha
(Lord, what fools these mortals be)
Fouling the Colorado air
Forcing on us weak green tea.

Punk-rock poetry is dull—
Neo-Buddhism much worse;
Please do not conflate the two
By bigging-up your boring verse.

 

  there’s so much to explore/we’re branching out/chart a new path/let’s stay focused

GET A LOAD OF THIS PROMPT (Day 3):

make a “Personal Universal Deck,” and then to write a poem using it.
The idea of the “Personal Universal Deck” originated with the poet and playwright Michael McClure, who gave the project of creating such decks to his students in a 1976 lecture at Naropa University. Basically, you will need 50 index cards or small pieces of paper, and on them, you will write 100 words (one on the front and one on the back of each card/paper) using the rules found here.
Don’t agonize over your word choices. Making the deck should be fun and revealing, as you generate words that sound “good” to you. The fact that the words are mainly divided among the five senses should be helpful in selecting words that you like the sound of, and that have some meaning personal to you. For example, my deck contains “harbor,” “wool,” “murmur,” “obsidian,” and “needle.”
Once you have your deck put together, shuffle it a few times. Now select a card or two, and use them as the basis for a new poem.

To the Core

 

Echoing footsteps, near Port Authority:
One bad decision enhanced by beer
Recalling the mishap in anteriority:
I needed a healthier dose of fear.

Clueless young wallet, easy prey
I bit at the apple of urban bait
I was her golden goose to waylay
All because Amtrak departed late.

What if the door had been locked in that hall?
What if the lady had used a knife?
I wish I could blame it on alcohol . . .
Thank God I escaped with my life.

 

BASED on a TRUE STORY !

PROMPT#2:

write a poem about your own road not taken –
about a choice of yours and what might have happened