This month, a bop poem — three stanzas, with no proscribed rhyme or meter, 6/8/6 lines respectively. And those stanzas are meant to set up an argument, elaborate upon that argument, and… well… resolve it. PLUS, there’s a refrain in between each one. We agreed, as a group, to use the refrain: Let’s kick that can down the road.
So. Shall we?
Kick That Can
LGS 8/22
Deadlines and appointments,
insomnia and overwhelm,
a rolling scroll of obligations…
each item in this magpie’s nest
mocking me – a pointed finger,
a dusty mirror.
Let’s kick that can down the road…
It’s not that I don’t know
what to do (lists and agendas,
schedules and sticky notes,
fresh air and meditation)
but rather that the doing
undoes me, that the nest itself
is a messy comfort,
is a fragile cup.
Let’s kick that can down the road…
I collect things to do
and places to be and promises
to keep, let’s call it mindful
miscellany, let’s call it
gathering, let’s call it
life. And
let’s kick that can down the road
Go read these now, too!
Mary Lee
Sara
Kelly
Andi
Oh — and look who’s hosting Poetry Friday today! Helllloooo, Tanita!!
As for next month, we’ll be writing definitos! Join us?
This is a call I can answer! That whole first stanza…be GONE! This is a refreshing take-control kind of poem. Love it.
I feel this to my very bones. These lines in particular:
It’s not that I don’t know/what to do …
but rather that the doing/undoes me,
Yes! Procrastination is not such a bad thing.
but rather that the doing
undoes me,
Yes…I feel this whole poem in my bones, Liz.
*the nest itself
is a messy comfort,
is a fragile cup.*
Oh, and we are cradled, in our mindful miscellany, within that cramped comfort.
And you NAILED that final stanza. Let’s call it life, indeed.
I love that this is the THIRD poem in which dust has made an appearance and is another can we want kicked down the road.
This challenge has brought such amazing thoughts from the line The Poetry Sisters share. Your poem is about reality. I relate to it and love the wording “mindful miscellany”.
I like the idea of that final stanza, Liz, “I collect things to do. . .” guess it’s really true of most, if only they knew they could “kick that can down the road” at least sometime.
I like your “mindful/miscellany,” and finally, kicking it all “down the road.” Life is just too full these days… thanks Liz!
Ahh… procrastination – perfectly captured in “Let’s kick that can down the road.” Hope you find your mojo!
Love the “doing that undoes me.” Totally relatable.