Here we go–round two of the 2018 November Poem-A-Day challenge. It’s been hard to write each poem within the 24-hour window, but I’m hanging in there. I hope you enjoy this next installment.

Day 8: Poem that Hints at Something

“Clickbait”

What happens next
will leave you in tears–
will shock you–
you’ll never believe
how these three simple tricks
could save your life
or restore your faith
in humanity–
experts agree
that 90% of people can’t guess
how the story ends–

Day 9: Burn ___

When the burn ban is over
and the nights grow cold,
we won’t need matches
to light the leaves.
They will burn on their stems,
lit from within,
curling and crisping,
trembling and twisting,
every branch a flame
of ordinary holiness.

Day 10: Teenage Poem

The storehouse of my heart is full
of things you said in passing
and on purpose. So, like Mary,
I will gather up these moments
and press them like flowers
in the pages of my memory.

Day 11: Forgiveness

I used to think
forgiveness was a snap
of the fingers, a wave
of the hand,
but I am older now,
and I can see
that forgiveness
is the way a sunflower turns
its face again and again
to the sun,
drawn by the warmth
of greater light.

Day 12: Disaster

All we see is ash;
our fingers touch silk
but feel sackcloth.
Even the oil of gladness
Sours in its urn.
Every sip from the cistern
is bitter.

Here in the midst of this
wilderness that separates
who we are
from who we will be,
remind us that one day
the children of disaster
will be led out in peace.

Day 13: Soft and/or Loud

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? 
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.” 

“Soft you now, the fair Ophelia” 

There is no fourth wall at the Globe,
so when misguided lovers
whisper soliloquies to the stars,
they are speaking to us,
their ever-present audience.

And even though we are groundlings
and they are fiction,
we are stilled by their speech
as they teach our hearts to hush
and our eyes to look up
when the objects of their affection
take the stage.

Day 14: Hungry

“Lines Composed Upon Turning Off the TV”

In the split-second shift
from dancing light to darkness,
I realize
how hungry I was
for the sound of my own thoughts.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope your Thanksgiving is full of rest and good food!

Keep Reading,
Sarah