After - by Rand

You can spend

a long time

waiting for

after to arrive

Absent - by Rand

I was
afraid
that
I would
arrive to
find you
missing

so I
decided
to stay
where
I was
and send
you this
note

Hoping
you might
meet me
here so
we might
both be
missed
together

Waiting - by Rand

This I know:

Whatever
it is
it's worth
waiting for

Because - by Debbie

I could tell when you asked
you didn't expect
me to answer.

But here it is:

Because you prefer dark chocolate.

Because of what you don't say.

Because you've seen me at my worst
yet haven't fled.

Because you always expect the best from me.

Because of all the reasons
I can't possibly list

in only five minutes.

Because - by Rand (for Elliott Smith)

Why does the sky
make me cry?

Why does the wind
blow my mind?

Why does the world
turn me on?

Why
is it
round?
High?
Blue?

Climb - by Rand (for Greg)

Whether the weather is
temperate or tempestuous
Whatever inclement
climate -- climb it!

Climb - by Debbie

I've been climbing
for years, I think.

The callouses on my hands
(thick with regret)

keep score
as I search for handholds

in the cracked rock.
Hand then foot

then hand and foot.
It's hard work but

I should be almost there.
I just wish I could

remember what's at the top.

Call - by Rand

At sixteen

I wasn't very

clear on the whole

"drunk dialing"or

"booty call" thing

so I spent a lot of

time with the phone

stuck to my ear wondering

what was wrong with

these attractive yet

unattainable girls

Villain's Lament - by Rand (prompt = Bad)

I'm not a bad guy
But I'm The Bad Guy

Hang - by Rand

Isn't it odd that
colloquialisms like
"hang" were being
used during the
eighteenth century?

I like to imagine
the Founding Fathers
hanging out outside
The Yellow Goose
drinking Sunny D
and gleaming the cube

--------------------------

"We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." -- Benjamin Franklin

Hang - by Debbie

 THE CREEPY THING IN THE CORNER

A conversation piece,
my grandmother called it.

She bought it at a garage sale
years before I was born,
the price haggled down
to four dollars
(she boasted).
It could be in a museum
but instead
it hangs in the corner,
toes downturned,
eyes vacant.

Worry - by Rand

The hours
I spend
on the
worry
treadmill
don't get
me very
far

But I'm
developing
strong
muscles
so I can
run away
from my
imaginary
problems

Worry - by Debbie

EVOLUTION OF WORRY

where did mommy go
when will i get fed
that kid took my toy
who is that stranger
what if i can't do it
what if no one likes me
what if i always look this spotty
will he ever notice me
when i start to blossom
what if i fail that exam
what if my parents find out
that bitch took my boyfriend
what if no one asks me to the dance
how am i going to be able to afford college
what college should I go to
what courses should I take
what if i can't do it
the professor hates me
why am i here
what if no one hires me
which job should i take
i hate this job
what if i get a bad performance review
what if i can't do it
does he really love me
what if he leaves me
how can we afford this wedding
what if something's wrong with the baby
what if i drop her
what if i can't do it
where did all these bills come from
why isn't she crawling yet
why isn't she reading yet
why doesn't she have a boyfriend yet
will we be able to afford this wedding
where did those crow's feet come from
is he seeing someone else
are we not going to make it
what if i can't do it
he doesn't look well
what if the doctors can't find out what's wrong
was it something i did wrong
why
why did i waste so much time
worrying

Xerox Kiss - by Rand (for Richard Brautigan)

Ah, you're just
a copy of all
the other kisses
I've ever had

-------------------

inspired by my realization that "kiss" was used as a prompt last month

Traffic - by Rand

You came back

into my life

like sudden traffic

Lucky for both of us

I had just gotten

my brakes done

Drive - by Rand

Oddly enough, I'm

largely motivated

Perhaps even driven

by questions like

Who is telling

me where to go

and Who will be

driving me home

Bed - by Rand

She said the old one
was getting lumpy
and hard to sleep with

He argued that it was
predictably comfortable

They both thought
they were talking
about their bed

Boss - by Rand

My review
of the new
Springsteen
album:

Meet the new Boss
Same as the old Boss

Cage - by Rand

My body is free
but my heart
remains trapped
inside its bony cage

Boat - by Rand

Imagine the first
person ever to
step into a boat
and drift away
from the land

In your mind is
the person important?
Popular or famous?
Royalty perhaps?
Or maybe the storied
inventor -- launching
to cheers and adoration?

Or is your imaginary
initiate being punished?
A victim of prejudice or
involuntary test subject?

Are our pioneers brave
or addicted to attention
or do they have no choice?

Who jumps
who falls
and who is
pushed?

Wildcard - by Debbie

My book was going well
until you showed up.

Ignoring your character description
and scoffing at backstory,
you tread with neither
mercy nor outline.

The others howl in neglect
but no, I must tend
to YOU,
my errant waif,
my rebel child....

...my favorite.

---------------------------------------------------

Do you have a "wildcard" instapoem to share? Feel free to post it below! We also welcome prompt suggestions.

Grave - by Debbie

It's a terribly serious business,
this decision we're making.
Such enormous impact
on our lives...or at least our baking.

Wipe that smirk off your face!
Refrain from snide remarks.
Just answer this one question:
White, milk or dark?

Wrong - by Rand

The trick

is to know

what things

you need to

do correctly

and what

things can be

done "wrong"

-----------------

I had to jump back in to add that this poem has some meta-juju going on as I apparently looked at the wrong prompt.

Wrong - by Debbie

So many ways
I could screw up a poem
in just five minutes.

My small critic
cringes as each word
(yes, even these ones)
vomit themselves
onto my screen.

So many reasons
I shouldn't try writing
poetry, including the fact
that I'll use the word "vomit"
twice in one poem.

And yet...

So many poems
scumble about inside me,
waiting to get out
and I suppose
that just maybe one of them
will startle me with its
eloquence and understanding,
cutting deep.

Hasn't happened yet,
but here's hoping.

Start - by Debbie

It mocks me,
this blank screen.

A whisper inside me:
Go ahead -
be brilliant.
They're all watching.

Already,
my fingers itch toward
the delete key.

Stop it.


Just get something down.
Something.

It mocks me,
this blank screen
but I take a deep breath,
reach out
and start typing.

Start - by Rand

Where and when isn't
as important as how

And don't forget
that part about
the last being first

Everything - by Debbie

Everything Haiku

Some days I want to
hug everything I see but
today? Not so much.

Everything - by Rand

Everything is everything
It is what it is
This is this

From now on
you're on
your own

Request for Prompts - by Rand

Hey kids,

As some of you may have noticed, currently our prompts run out at the end of April. We're working to set up an automated system where anyone can supply prompts for us in a simple, 21st century manner, but in the meantime, we'll have to settle for a more arcane method.

If you would like to submit a prompt (or a list of prompts), please do so either as a comment on this post or email them to me at realrand [at sign] yahoo [dot] com. Either way, I will make sure they get added, and do my best to forget them by the time May rolls around.

Two simple rules for submitting prompts:

• keep your prompts to one word
  
• no dirty or offensive words

Thanks for reading and participating.

Your pal,

Rand

Poke - by Rand (for William T. Allen)

James K. Poke
Eats only egg yokes
His favorite music is foke
His painting style baroke

One night as a jolk
he put some poison oalk
in his best friend's Colk
The poor blolk crolked!

Match - by Debbie

You claim the heat of passion
but I fear I can't admire
your shocking lack of fashion
& how you set my house afire.

==================================

Many thanks to Rand for being so patient with my lack of posts lately! Going to try catching up today. Setting my iPad timer to 5 minutes for each. Also excited to see that people are starting to post poems...yay!

Match - by Rand

You said we were
a perfect match
and you were right

I've never been
so burned

Three - by Debbie

I see them every Friday
in the corner coffee shop
clutching nonfat mochacccinos
with whipped cream on top.

Heads leaned close together
during whispery exchange
and I often marveled how
their appearance never changed.

Same clothes, same hair:
they could be twins, these three.
But yesterday I noticed they're all
starting to look like ME.

Three - by Rand

I imagine I've got three
really great poems in me

This isn't one of them

Puppet - by Rand

Pinocchio defeated Dracula

by burying his face

into the vampire's chest

and insisting that --

unlike his undead adversary

-- he was a real boy

Spider - by Rand

I know why

she swallowed

the fly

There was

a spider

inside her

Famous - by Rand

As I handed the book to the vendor
I looked to my right and noticed the author
unaware of my impending purchase
I stared a moment too long and our eyes met

I've never been one to ask for an autograph
but it seemed almost rude not to ask as
the author was watching me buy his latest work

So after the vendor and I traded credit card for book
I offered it to its creator and asked for an inscription

I took my receipt and we each signed our names in silence
surrendering our anonymity to the paper
before returning each item to its rightful owner

He offered a perfunctory smile, nodded his head and walked away
A curious silence from a man who wrestles his living from words

As the back of his head faded into the crowd I opened the cover and read
"To Rand -- thanks for all the music" above his signature