2013 November PAD Chapbook Challenge

1 Appearing
-
snowy morning
horse heads peeking out
from the shelter



2 News
-
the boss knows more
about the quarterback's health
than his workers'


3 The last time I was here
-
the roses are gone
and a stranger lives in
my father's house


4 Short sheet
-
A trio of tiny ghosts
in the fading twilight
"Trick or Treat"


5 Concealed
-
we look up-
in the fog
a train whistles


6 Visitor
-
selling secondhand clothes-
outside the window
tourists on the beach


7 Hardship
-
nothing here to eat
to tide us over
toothpaste tastes sweet

8
-
that old song
full of dated disco riffs
and memories of a drive with Dad


9 The Other Woman
-
suddenly
both notice
they have the same bracelet



10 Something Sweet
-
refilled the honey bear
all day
sticky hands sticky elbows



11 Reflective Walk
-
in the pond
we seem to
walk side by side



12 Saddest
-
don't look back
nothing is worth
setting foot there again



13 Self-help
-
honey
it's a little late
to change who you are


14 Exploration
-
Furniture moved
cats creep
slowly around behind



15 What, a blind horse?
-
when people see us
they think
we are both whole
but moving together
we are one




16 Half-time
-
after the speech
we pick our helmets up
and return to the noise


17 Element
-
Sunday evening
everthing looks normal
but the phone just won't ring



18 forget what I said earlier
-
I lost?
But aren't most bets
really just jokes?



19 love poem
_

after 20 years
even our handwriting
looks the same



20 Always (blank)
-
in the morning
mountains to the west
in the evening



21 secret message
-
is there a secret code
among snowflakes
to aim for the eyes?



22 casket eclipse wretch
-
in wretched weather
we the few, the brave
gather around the casket
stars and stripes
eclipsing the dark wood



23 I shouldn’t be here
-
who goes to the graveyard
on Christmas
with a wreath of pine




24 "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss
-
I dreamed again
that you were with me
turned over my wet pillow


25 remix
-
locked doors
shuttered windows
a stranger lives there
where John Phillips Sousa
used to march
pulling us from bed
to the tree
where my little cousin
had already opened all her presents
and fallen asleep again



26 free lunch
-
take the back way
out of the parking lot
to avoid the panhandlers


27 Longmont
-
between
the two college towns
between
1920's corn fields
1990's suburban traffic
between
the rushing river
the stretching plains
and the snowy mountains
between
farm subsidies
and natural grocers
lies Longmont


28 bird
-
little bird in my hand
please wake up
I'm sorry about my cat



29 commercial
-
that song
from the commercials
runs through my head all night



30 disappearing
-
newspaper in the wind
crosses the highway
vanishes