On the bus

I don't know why, but riding on the bus often inspires me to write poetry. Haha. Anyway, here is a piece written on the bus, somewhat appropriately about the bus. I don't really have a name for it... why not just:

On the bus

The modern-day dragon
lurches forward with a roar
Hisses and spits as it halts
Weaves through lesser vehicles

Inside, we clutch its ribs
as a jolt tosses us to
and fro
here and
there
His tennis racket hitting her pink
backpack
while the elderly man
clings to his ticket and his seat
like simultaneous lifelines.

Ding!
I thank the driver
and stumble off.

~~~~
My thoughts: I'm not sure how this worked out. I tried to kind of capture the feeling of riding a bus in words, breaking up the lines in different places and all that, but I don't know if it works or not. Your comments, please? :)

At Sea

This poetry class assignment was to base our poem on a photograph, beginning it with the phrase, "In this photograph, (the subject) is..." It also had to follow a 'real' form. :) This was kind of weird for me, because I'm not big on form when writing poetry (I'm not that creative!). Anyway, I decided to use a ballade form for this- three 8-line stanzas, and a 4-line "envoy."

I really enjoyed writing this. One, it's past 11 PM, and anything can be fun late at night. Haha. Also, I'm listening to Jon Foreman, always an uplifting experience. (Currently- the Winter EP, "White As Snow.") Thirdly, I adore my little brother. He is soooo cute! (click on the picture above and take a peek at his gorgeous face.) :D Spoiled to death, sure, but he is ADORABLE. Anyway. I hope you enjoy this poem a bit. :)

At Sea

In this photograph, my brother steers the ship
Hand over hand, navigating through surf and spray
He stands resolute on the deck
Feet (smaller than my hand) firmly planted
Socks irregular heights from the heat of combat
Tousled hair as the wind gusts
Eyes focused on the ship's wheel
Hand over hand, the fearless captain

Overhead, the clouds turn ashen
Blue is slowly being devoured
The sun still beats
Through a window in the heavens
Enough to take the sting off the breeze (no, the gale!)
The spritz the captain feels is the lawn sprinkler
But don't tell him that
Hand over hand, the stout leader

Moments before, he was cheering on his men
He dashes up the stairs
To guide the ship past yet another disaster
In his ears, cannons are roaring
Seagulls caw, debris splashes
A bullet whizzes past his ear
Unperturbed, he knows his duty
Hand over hand, the unyielding commander

You may see protective plastic
But he knows where he really is
The deck of a pirate ship
Hand over hand, my brother, the little sailor.

For Drew

This was an assignment for my poetry class. We had to write a poem based on an existing one (we could choose from like 4), with the same style and number of lines and all that. So mine is based on a poem called For Elizabeth Taylor. It's about a guy I work with at Starbucks. :)

For Drew

One of my first days on the job
you were a box-cutter casualty.
Refusing to look at your doubtlessly gruesome injury
I was disgusted, amused, laughing.
From the first week
You were a favorite coworker
An opinion I haven't lost.
Quick to encourage anyone
"You got it, you got it!"
Singing all the time
The unofficial voice of the store.
Spinning caramel bottles like a bartender
never a boring day when you're working
You tell me I'm beautiful
Indirectly, yet still powerful
Even as I write this I start to smile.
You make me laugh every day.
Totally inappropriate, totally hilarious
I can't imagine the store without you.
Month in, month out
I'll never take you for granted.
Unappreciated talent as a barista
It's true, everyone loves you.
You've taught me so much
even if you don't realize it.
Don't forget me when I leave, because
where'd I be without you?