Fresh start

Sharpened pencil,

empty page,

time to WRITE.

Used - by Rand

I've been
utilized so
often that
I can count
it on my
second-hand

I've grown
accustomed
to it

Slow - by Rand

But if I
can manage
to run
slow and
steady I'm
pretty sure
I will
no longer
care about
winning

Bottom - by Rand

I was born at the
top of the bottom
but with some
hard work I've
managed to claw
my way to the
bottom of the top

Don't - by Rand

Your sentence isn't
ready for publication
until your contractions
are at least five
words apart

Dreams - by Rand

At eighteen my dreams
shifted and ceased to
traffic in fantasy

Since then I drift
nightly to a land
indistinguishable
from my waking world

As a result I find
myself more able
to anticipate and
appreciate the
miraculous wonder

of everyday life

Air - by Rand

By now you would think
that an airline would have
thought to use the slogan
"To air is human"

Sixty - by Rand

Now that Pete
has gotten old
I bet Elton
has changed
him mind

Awake - by Rand

It's morning
so I'm awake

It's a wake
so I'm mourning

Raincoat - by Rand

Galosh is the sound my boots
make as I step into huge
puddles of newly fallen water

Closhe is the sound my hat
makes as it is blown from
my head and lands in a puddle

The rest is silence
I left my anorak at home

Pine - by Rand

tolong
forever
green

Machine - by Rand

I invented a machine to write poems
I instructed it "Write a poem a day
based on randomly supplied prompts"

The machine said "That's all well and good
but who will read these poems
and how will I know if they are good poems
or if I'm wasting time?"

"Oh I'm sure they will be terrible" I said
"But you must keep writing every day"
"And my audience?" the machine asked

"Just me" I replied "I will be enough"

Destination - by Rand

You have to add the who and
what and where and when
in order to know your
destination

But to know your destiny
you have to add the Y

Warmth - by Rand (for Aaron Sorkin)

Like frumpy
warmth just
onomatopoetically
sounds right

Rocket - by Rand

It's exciting
to be going places
but sad to leave
Especially when
one considers
the damage done
to what's been
left behind

Underground - by Rand

A perfect
description
of this
morning's
espresso

Trap - by Rand

Ad
mi
ra
lA
ck
ba
rs
ai
di
tb
es
t

Abstract - by Rand

This poem begins by recounting the history of the abstract, from early Medieval times to its modern academic usage. Several lines are devoted to specific examples in disparate academic disciplines. Practical advice is given regarding the composition of abstracts. Special attention is paid to the increased importance of abstracts in the 21st century world of online citation indexes and full-text databases.

Rare - by Rand

How I order
my steaks
but also
how often
they are
prepared in
that manner

Old - by Rand

Like my favorite shoes
I know how they look
but they feel great

Encounter - by Rand

I knew I should have
written it all down
because the further
I get from it the less
detail I can recall

But somehow the act
of writing seemed
to be a betrayal
Like a photograph
of stained glass

Complete - by Rand

I refuse to place
the final piece
onto the puzzle

So long as it
remains incomplete
there is mystery

The missing piece
could contain
anything

Rich - by Rand

Like so much else
it depends on where
you are and who you
compare yourself to

Alien - by Rand

Every tale of
alien abduction
contains one lie

When removed
all that remains
is an abduction

Paint - by Rand

For years now
I've been painting
bowls of fruit

Not pictures of
bowls of fruit
That would be dumb

Whenever I see
bowls of fruit
I paint them
different colors

Most recently
I painted a
bowl of orange

Blanket - by Rand

as a toddler
i didn't have
a bankie
or
a binkie
but rather
a blue walrus
i slept with
and took with me
wherever i went

the last time
i saw him*
he had one eye
and a tusk was
barely hanging on
to his smiling
blue face

*many years ago

One - by Rand

I'm sorry Harry
Any number is
more lonely than
one

if that one is
set apart from
the other numbers
or
the relative complement
in a Venn diagram

Now one may be
the most alone
number
but that's different

Scandal - by Rand

How did the media
miss the opportunity
to refer to the bungled
response to Hurricane
Katrina as Floodgate?

Action - by Rand

Don't wait to hear
the word from
the director or
worry about
the wrap party

Just continue acting
and assume that
they will get
the footage
they need

Miles - by Rand

then you put down your horn and spoke
in a voice that was somehow more
distinct and haunting than
your sweet playing style

Floor - by Rand

In the past
that would have
floored me
but these days
I'm much more
grounded