A Recitation of My Poem “Childhood Carnivals”

Dear Reader, I invite you to watch me recite an old poem of mine: Childhood Carnivals, its form loosely represents a tautogram.

Childhood Carnivals
          Crazy Cycle Chases
                   Colourful Clothing
                             Crimson Crayons.

 Covered in clouds, my Moon, you sleep.
           Carry on the moonlight dance, up in the dreamy clouds.

 Come home, you child, cos worlds can be cruel,
            my Moon, don't cry. Just climb up high and fly.

 Childhood carnivals can come clear--
         with no consequences
         and no crimson conscience.

 My Moon-pie, close your eyes, open the casket of--
           sweet memories,
                      childhood camaraderies
                                      and look inside.

Crazy cycle chases
            cutting close corners
                    childhood is carefree
                             and clean with no boundaries.

 My Candlelight, it’s midnight as you cross the carpet of dreams.
                Shine bright, as you cross, the coloured carpet of dreams

 In the circus of life, my Candlelight, crowds always follow clowns.
           my Candlelight, create your future bright--
           You stand true and shine.

 Colourful clothing,
          constant chatter
                childhood friends,
                           hand-in-hand.

The tautogram is best explained by its Greek root words of “tauto” meaning “the same” and “gramma” meaning “letter.” Basically, all words in the poem begin with the same letter.

I’ve entered this poem in a contest, I don’t know if I’m gonna win or not but it was fun!

Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers and readers. I hope next year brings brighter days.

PS: The video is old. It was made in 2020 when the lockdown started. I’ve gotten very fat since then.

December 31, 2022 13

Love Poem

Now that the dream is over. 
Now that I don't have it, 
Now that it's real. 

Let the painter paint 
Let the writer write 

Paint on the wall 

Stain on the sofa 
From when 
I told some joke 
And dad laughed 
So hard he spilled
Coffee. Can't recall 
The joke anymore. 

Let the rain fall 
Let the kids fall

Scar on the knee 
From when 
I clashed 
With my best friend 
Both of us 
Fell from 
Our bicycles. 
We're not 
Friends anymore. 
We just share scars. 

Let the lovers love 
Let the flowers flower. 

Food on the table

Her wedding day 
On my calendar. 
It's coming close.
Lingering. 
I forgot about her 
But sometimes I dreamt 
about her 
about us. 

Now that the dream is over. 
Now that I don't have it, 
Now that, it's real. 

Let the falling leaves fall. 
Let the lingering love go.

Music on the radio 

A song that I love
and one I never 
told her about. 
A song about 
stains and 
scars.

December 29, 2022 13

The Last Page

I've taken a pill to kill 
A far sea moves in my ears 
With each breath, the sea sighs 
Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt 
The voices of my ancestors 
The lives of the dead

The sea now seizes all 
My consciousness 
With its shattering grey 
Waves, breaths, heaves
Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt 

There's no mercy for me 
Only the sea
With its formlessness 
And its exploding doom
Noise. Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt 

It washes over me 
I'm being washed out 
To sea 
Ceasing 
To exi-
-st.

Thinking about my favorite poet: Sylvia Plath.

December 22, 2022 5

Antithesis

You're beautiful 
solitude, blissful silence 
white, clear and calm 
united and healthy 
flying free 
like a butterfly in light 
on a spring day.
Heaven-sent, 
full of possibilities. 

I'm ugly 
lonely, tormented by silence 
black, tossing and turning 
mutilated and insane 
falling, dying 
like a sick leaf at night 
in autumn rain.
Hell-bent
on self-destruction.

This poem above was written for Sadje’s weekly #WDYS prompt.

Sadje offers us this image created by Cottonbro Studios (Pexels) of black silhouettes of a man and woman facing each other. In the background there are black and white concentric circles. Writers are to use this image as inspiration to produce art.

If you enjoyed the post don’t forget to like, comment and follow!
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Take care ❤
~Jay

December 20, 2022 4

Zen Poem

The walls absorb 
wintry shades 
Blue and Grey. 

Piercing cold 
Seeps through. 
I weep. 

I yearn 
to make a bonfire 
But autumn is gone 
and she took my tinder 
along with her tender breeze. 
She left me. 

I am present 
with skeleton trees 
and a sparrow  
which has come under 
my porch roof to sleep. 

Now, I must harm 
the sleeping 
skeleton trees, 
To keep myself 
(and the little bird) 
warm. 

One tree down 
and I use alcohol 
to kindle the fire. 

Flames bright 
Smell of years burning.

Posted over at dverse

After reading the prompt and Grace’s fantastic poem, I decided to give this form a try but I was having a hard time finding the starting of this poem. So, I just googled “What does Zen means, literally” and the following definition popped up.

Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of a Chinese word, ch’an, which comes from a Sanskrit root meaning “thought,” “absorption,” or “meditation.” And meditation is at the heart of Zen, along with an emphasis on self-control and insight.

As soon as I read that definition, I had the in to my poem.

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Take care ❤

December 16, 2022 38

Us

Dark gives comfort 
to newborns. 
They enjoy it, really. 
They aren’t afraid  
of the dark. 
But they do fear 
separation. 
Separation from parents, 
or from anyone whom they depend on. 

Children are lighthearted. 
They love laughing and listening  
and telling 
stories. 
Although, their stories  
often wander 
and don’t really make sense. 
They’re afraid, scared shitless. 
They’re afraid of the dark, 
They fear demons, ghosts, 
zombies, vampires,  
critters, dementors,  
werewolves, 
evil lurking somewhere 
in the dark.  
Waiting for them. 
Maybe in the basement 
or an abandoned house? 
And they fear separation, 
not as much as a newborn  
but loneliness frightens them. 

We, the elders, the adults,
we’re not so lighthearted,
our hearts have heaviness.
When we laugh loudly like children
neighbors hear us and complain
and we feel ashamed.
Some of us
still fear dark, still believe
that monsters exist. 
But none of us 
fear loneliness. 
Sure, it’s sad to be lonely.
But sadness and scariness
are very different.
Those of us who 
still fear dark, still believe
that monsters exist,
we just turn on the light
when we’re lonely.
That way, we’re no longer 
scared 
of the loneliness
because darkness
is what makes
loneliness scary.

What is light, really?
A feather is light.
A newborn is light.
A child’s heart is light.
An adult’s loud laughter is light.

There is no evil lurking
in the dark
And there is no one waiting
except us.

Posted over at dverse

If you enjoyed the post don’t forget to like, comment and follow!
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Take care ❤

December 14, 2022 17

Hello/Goodbye

The sunlight, 
slitting the dark sky, a horizon. 
Or is it the Yellow Paint? 

And does it taste sweet 
like the yellow candy 
with flavor of mango? 

Sunflowers stand slant
on the ground, 
indisposed? 

Surely not, they're happy 

hands waving-- 
yellow hello 
or goodbye?

44 words

Posted over at dverse

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Take care ❤

December 13, 2022 38

Tautogram: Space Sighs

Space sighs--Stars shine, Silence.
she sleeps soundly.
Solar System stays suspended.

Somewhere--some starmen speculate--
Stuff, Squares--Speed,
Small, Subatomic.

soon--Science, says,
Seeing, searching,

Screaming scientists--show--
Signals, Signs, Symbols

Simulations
Summing Solar System,

Shunning
Silence.

Sun sends
Slanted
Salutations,

She smiles--
Surrendering
Sleep.

She sings--
Submitting
Silence.

The tautogram is best explained by its Greek root words of “tauto” meaning “the same” and “gramma” meaning “letter.” Basically, all words in the poem begin with the same letter.

If you enjoyed the post don’t forget to like, comment and follow!
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Take care

~Jay ❤

December 9, 2022 10

A Winter Villanelle

When life leaves you blind, 
The hounds of winter are at your door 
And the night has seen your mind. 

You’re going numb, you’re leaving behind 
Footprints in the snow. You hit the floor 
When Life leaves you blind. 

You hear a voice—a melody kind, 
Fainting, trapped under ice, underfloor. 
And the night has seen your mind. 

You lift your eyes, you find 
A hazy shade of winter, forevermore. 
When life leaves you blind. 

The hounds are in your shrine, 
They’re pawing at your core 
And the night has seen your mind. 

And you, beautiful-brave, love of mine 
are battling with heart beating this winter’s war. 
When life leaves you blind 
And the night has seen your mind.

posted over at dverse

A/N: This is my first time writing a Villanelle, I fell in love with this form when I read “Mad Girl’s Love Song” by Sylvia Plath and “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas. I hope you’ll like mine. If there’s something wrong, please feel free to tell me in the comment section.

One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite singers. Enjoy!

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Take care

~Jay ❤

December 7, 2022 34

About Her (Prose)

In the tender gray,
I swim undisturbed.
by Celia Dropkin,
from, “In Sullivan County”

She comes in colors everywhere. I’m happier than a child chasing an ice cream truck, full of colors. Spellbound, enchanted, like in a trance, I transform. She transforms me. Now, all the worlds glow. They glow so bright, so vivid. My soul wanders in this dreamscape, full of colors. Here, it is always Summer or Spring. When it rains, the water is warm. The sun shines calmly, softly on me. The nights always have a smiling moon and shining stars. The leaves never fall, the winter never comes.

Cold wind blows, I’m on a bridge. The waist-high pedestrian railing is black and its iron (against my palms) is cold. Beneath, there is the grey river, full of nothing. The Sun, the Moon, the Stars, see nothing of this. (I think I made her up inside my head) In the tender gray, I swim undisturbed.

[ 144 words ]

Posted over at dverse

If you enjoyed the post don’t forget to like, comment and follow!
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Take care

~Jay ❤

December 7, 2022 20