Laughing Dove Poetry

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In the Quad

November 12th, 2009 by Tamra
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In Read Write Poem prompt #100, Bruce Covey invites us to play with our dreams. Visit the site for complete instructions on this one.

In the Quad

Three women meet
beneath the yellow leaf-light
of an autumn campus.
There may or may not be a fountain,
water dribbling from its tip;
it may or may not be important.

Their destination is numerical,
symbolic. 35.11º N 106.64º W.
Their destination is molecular,
precisely C12H22O11,
and biological, Populus wislizeni.
The women move at 3 mph.

A familiar drama unfolds
in the Palace of Reason.
From which character
do you draw strength?
Which one devours you?

Quills sprout from my fingers.
I rub them out, and more emerge.
With feathered hands, I move on.

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Things that have left

November 6th, 2009 by Tamra
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Read Write Poem prompt #99: Setting the Scene.

“This week, write a poem that tells a narrowly focused story — a “scene” — without telling the story. Instead, convey the essence of the scene through your description of the world in which it takes place and the “characters” (who don’t have to be human or even “alive”) that inhabit it.”

Things that have left

The leaves have left the trees,
leaving behind the trunks
and branches of their families.
The leaves have left the trees.
They have landed on the doorstep
where prints of our soles remain
after we have entered the house,
where we have left our wet boots
beside the door.

The leaves have left the doorstep,
leaving behind the damp stains
of their midribs and serrated edges.
The leaves have left the doorstep.
They stowaway on cuffs and socks
to new lands. There is one in the kitchen
and one on the stairs. They swirl
in eddies and sneak beneath
the closet door.

The leaves have left,
leaving behind memories
of earth, of woods, of rain.
The leaves have left.

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Tuesday Market

October 29th, 2009 by Tamra
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Read Write Poem prompt #98 – Whee! – got me thinking about spinning and whirling, and because I live in Turkey, that led to the dervishes, to Rumi, and to this ghazal. I’ve never tried to write one before, and I’m not sure I completely understand the form. This article – What Is a Ghazal and How to Write It -  was the most helpful resource I found.

Fair Fireworks by aubernxc

Fair Fireworks by auburnxc


Tuesday Market

Canvas tents unfurl today.
The market crowds swirl today.

Braided ropes of new garlic
festoon stalls like pearls today.

I stand at the edge afraid
to enter that whirl today.

Bright colors, big noise, sharp smells
around me they curl today.

Will I learn, at last, what words
the fishmongers hurl today?

Cold wind blusters through the tents.
Scarves and aprons twirl today.

Into the fray, Laughing Dove,
or go hungry, girl, today.

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Chance Language Encounters

October 21st, 2009 by Tamra
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This week’s poem comes from Nathan Moore’s Read Write Poem prompt #97. I used some words of his post for my text and came up with this.

Chance Language Encounters

Let’s create remarks &
surprise transitions
from words, little words.

Shake the first line,
link situations &
cut the rough way.

Relax. It’s just fun.
Finished? Let the
scissors drop.

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Field Notes: Storm

October 14th, 2009 by Tamra
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Today’s poem comes from Read Write Poem prompt #96. Using some of the words in the prompt, I returned to my American Sentence Field Notes – I have written 30 of these by now – and rearranged them into this five line poem. The 17 syllable form requires strong verbs, so the Wordle prompts are really helpful.

Field Notes: Storm

i.
Dawn call to prayer echoes from twenty mosques. Parrots croak in counterpoint.

ii.
Magpie tells it like it is. Reprobate cat stalks shadows near the hedge.

iii.
Crow makes wisecracks from the tree tops. Horse chestnut shells rattle to the ground.

iv.
Bird chatter is all croak and consonant. Tis cat that vowelizes.

v.
Branch like broken mast crashes to ground. Yellow sycamore leaf sails by.

vi.
Trees no longer resist change of seasons. Twigs, seeds, leaves, and nuts rain down.

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My Angel, My Devil

October 1st, 2009 by Tamra
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photo by Thomas Hawk
My Angel and My Devil by Thomas Hawk

Today’s poem comes from Read Write Poem Prompt #94 and a photo, My Angel and My Devil, by Thomas Hawk. The photo didn’t inspire me much, but when I saw this post by Robert Lee Brewer, Poetic Form: Sevenlings, the poem came together.

My Angel, My Devil

Temptation – your apple,
your rose, your pomegranate -
comes into view.

Surrender – my wings,
my gown, my driven snow -
is out of the question.

Entwined we dance into the yonder.

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The Vamp Is Singing

September 23rd, 2009 by Tamra
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Read Write Poem’s challenge #93, The Big Whopper, didn’t come easy. What would I never do? This.

The Vamp Is Singing

It’s on a bet
that I take
to the scarred old stage
and sing up my inner vamp.
With smoke all around me
like a kiss on a frog,
I become what I’m not,
and the notes
come out blue,
and the words sultry.
Even the clatter
at the pool table
can be taken
for applause.

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Field Notes

September 16th, 2009 by Tamra
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ReadWritePoem #92 was a Wordle prompt. I decided to try American sentences for this one. Technically, these aren’t American sentences, although each note contains 17 (+ or -) syllables .

Field Notes

i.
Belled cat stares at patch of sun. Small movement. Small chime. Patch flickers and flees.

ii.
Two gnats circle in pillar of sunshine. One leaf falls through the limelight.

iii.
Like a hip scofflaw, snail extends its foot and jaywalks across window.

iv.
Heavy air conforms to hill’s contours; no breezy confections aswirl.

v.
Black cat glides through garden, warbler in jaws. Bell remedy didn’t work.

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Poetry on the Bus

September 10th, 2009 by Tamra
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Do any of you have Google Voice? It is pretty cool because it will make a transcript of your voice mail messages and send the transcript to your email. The transcripts are often imperfect, but they do have their own poetry. The day after we arrived in Istanbul, I received this transcript.

Yeah, this is Nick mentally calling. Tamra. Hayes about the poetry on the bus complication this Friday 5 31 02, gold street south, west hi right, south of the Century 14 theater. We’d love to have her there. Again, if you need more information call Nick at 724-3115. Thank you.
Play message

The poem that will appear on an Albuquerque bus – Where Will You Walk Today? – was part of my NaPoWriMo work in April. In case you aren’t on an Albuquerque bus, you can read it here.

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A Cul-de-Sac of Lost Dreams

August 27th, 2009 by Tamra
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Read Write Poem #89: It Came from the News. The challenge was to write a poem inspired by a headline. This headline came from the New York Times, August 23, 2009. I loved the prompt, but I don’t like the poem yet. For one thing, I’m having a hard time with its grammar. Where does a sentence begin and end? What’s a comma for? Should a poem have sentences, commas?

A Cul-de-Sac of Lost Dreams

Here they are
with their houses
and lawns,
each different
yet identical,
the ones who wanted
to be
when they grew up,
swirling in an eddy
of obligation
like flecks of gold
in a stream
waiting
for the prospector
and his riffled pan.

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