Because what is the joy if you go alone
(from Osho ‘Courage’)
Joy is wild
part adventure
part starlight
part peace
she needs to expand
like breath
to be soft like single tears
to be hard like torrential rain
Joy glistens
content that in the shade of learning
is the thicket of alone
necessary
but alone is not forever
Joy is
so heave into the darkness
let joy’s laughing fingers tickle you home
when stooping to secure it*
my head hit an edge
an edge
of your love
at once a gaping trauma
pumps my blood
into the bowl of your
cupped hands
we stare at the crimson
ponder the spectrum of loss
I pass you the lock
I meant to secure to your heart
you toss it out the open window
pull thread from your soul to suture my wound
*from ‘The Poetry of Emily Dickinson’
Two poems each prompted by a line in randomly picked in books of poetry. In other words, each prompted by a lick of magic. Thank you Laura C. for joining me in the world of playing with poetry.
The Timed Writing Prompts:
- Pick a poetry book. Look at the number of pages of poetry. Choose a number between 1 and the number of pages in the book. Choose the first line of poetry on that page. Use that first line as the first line of your poem. Put your timer on for three minutes. Write a poem in three minutes.
- Pick a poetry book. Look at the number of pages of poetry. Choose a number between 1 and the number of pages. Go to that page. Estimate how may lines on the page. Choose a number between 1 and the estimated number of lines. Use that line somewhere in your poem. Put your timer on for four minutes. Write a poem in four minutes.
Spread love. Be kind. Peace.
VANESSA SHIELDS, writer 