An Odd Assortment of Things

Anthony, at dVerse Poetics,  has served up a cocktail of words he would like us incorporate into a poem. Here’s my effort. I was able to use all of them.

Photo: treeaware.blogspot.com

 

An Odd Assortment of Things…

 

that make me happy or sad,

of which I’ll leave the reader to discern:

the way the sun casts light though beveled glass,

thus spewing rainbows on the walls and ceiling;

pernicious maladies with foreign names, exotic—

robbing us of quality of life— Meniere’s, Vitiglio, Klinefelter;

those souls whose love of self is so diminished

they must tunnel behind Persona’s tattered mask;

early morning when the trees allow their leaves

a dance with shadows to the songs of finches;

a door that’s waiting to be opened, inviting,

or one that’s nailed shut through fear;

an old one’s face that’s etched, that’s luminous,

that caches wisdom of so many years;

those allegories life serves up to those

who learn to watch, to see and listen well;

tectonic plates that clash, destroying those

who dare to straddle boundaries;

messiahs draped in fraud, would-be, that is,

seducing childhood from its innocence;

and epochal pronouncements that restrain,set free,

that set the earth on fire,

that flood her with the warmth of love

or with the chill of hatred,

that shatter every thought

that clings to Status Quo.

 

The words: messiah, allegory, luminous, plate, shadow, door, persona, glass, vitiglio, epochal, pernicious, warmth. Anthony would have us use at least five of them!