Eye 3 Poems

Poem for B.D.

Since the birth of the written word and images scratched on the walls of caves or painted on to canvases or weaved into music, humans have tried to express love. But no arrangement, no description, no song -- no matter how perfect --- ever fully measures up to love's bittersweet affect on us.   For day 10 of the National Poetry Writing Month challenge, we were asked to write a love poem.  Here is mine.

 

©2022 Kat Shamash

Poem for B.D. -- by Kat Shamash

 

I never thought I'd have to stop filming
our faces pressed together for selfies
on rooftops
or with the water of the Indian Ocean behind us

love makes you feel
like a modern-day digital Da Vinci
illuminating the warmth all around our bodies
like halos of the saints

I was never brave enough to capture
the magnificance of your
brown skin against the sheets --
a divine creation
in a still pool of white

 

you can't photograph the way
touch heals 

you can't put into words the way
a trembling dance is
a blanket of
minuscule mirrors , quivering

our souls are the cosmos,
quantum leaps away from a
disco ball on a Saturday night

these days I pick
mangos and coconuts
from the fruit seller
in the street
carry them up to the apartment
some nights I climb even higher still
to the roof on 7th floor 

where I try to 
strike a match in the wind
sweeping in from the sea

we once held our cameras here
the backdrop of the shimmering bridge
behind us,
the Jack Daniels and Disaronno
glowing in our glasses
resting on the ledge,
the sweet taste of cloves
on our lips

how easily we snapped those images
of smiles -- our bodies leaning together
in an half-embrace, laughing
before we kissed three times.... or six

now I climb the steps to the roof
where all the remnants of
light and love are
glimmering, flickering
and the dusk is settling in like dust
and the bats are starting to fly overhead
and I don't know if I need a flash
or if I should just photograph the
darkness -- 

not a portrait

not a selfie

a dim landscape
a distant bridge
a cityscape at night
after the sun 
has just set

 

©2022 Kat Shamash

 

#napowrimo2022 #glopowrimo2022 #napowrimo #glopowrimo #poetry #poetrylove 

 

Begin (again) with National Poetry Writing Month

The 2022 National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) begins tomorrow.  Also known as Global Poetry Writing Month, #NaPoWriMo has been such a helpful writing initiative, pressing me to produce not only a large number of poems in a short period of time (30 in 30 days!), but poems that couldn't have been written without the daily prompts to push me to write, under the pressure of time, in innovative ways. 

It's been a couple of years, since I participated in the event. What kept me back? Well, the pandemic, for one thing. I'm one of those writers who went numb during Covid times. I'm a bit nervous to get back into writing again, so I've decided to gear up by doing some things to prep for the event.

Firstly, I've created this blog so that I am able to submit it to the the Glo/NaPoWriMo site. I have planned an outdoor poetry gathering that I will host at a nearby arts cafe on April 1st. I've started to create connections with other poets and writers both online and in person. I've dusted off the poetry books on my bookshelf and placed them out in plain sight so that poetry is front and center in my home.  I've been hanging out on sites like Poetry.org and Poetry Outloud while I sip my morning coffee. I've downloaded the NaPoWriMo buttons/badges so they are ready to add to my blog. Here they are:

(Note: The organizers of NaPoWriMo might consider adding the traditional dark colored Global Poetry Writing Month (#GloPoWriMo) 2022 badge. They've posted a white one, but we're missing a black one.)

Here's to embarking upon a new season, with new poetry, and new connections with other poets. I always love to see how other poets have taken the same daily prompt and created original, thought-provoking pieces that inspire me.