The poemin waning moments
in one shot
new heroes are born
Ekphrasis, boiled down, is art describing another work of art. For poetry, the example most sites provide is John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” I call this category of posts ‘Not Necessarily Ekphrasis’, because all of the poems won’t necessarily describe the pic on which they will be placed. I may find the picture a good match for the mood of the poem, or it may actually be an ekphrastic poem.
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s 2012 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 17, 17 Nov 2012.
Topic: How to <blank>
Topic suggested by: Maxie Steer
(form: cinquain)
How to hurt your team
This story inspired by the Wednesday’ Prompt: Have a Ball on Flashy Fiction, May 23, 2012.
Yo, Joe!
Classic AC/DC playing through her ear buds, Jessica was having a pretty good night stocking the shelves of the old, home town toy store. She’d only been doing this job for a few weeks, but had already learned that this was one of those rare, nearly magical nights when it appeared to have been a light day at the register, everything went into place easily, and there was very little new product that had to be displayed. To top it off, she’d not dropped anything…until she dropped the soccer ball from the upper shelf. Jessica watched it fall and as it hit the floor, there was a pulse of light that swept out from the impact. Her music stopped playing and everything was quiet as she hopped down from the step stool and ran a hand across her face, rubbing her eyes. As she bent to pick up the dropped ball, Jessica heard the sound of boxes popping open, and paper and tape being ripped a few aisles over. She went to the end of the aisle, then crept toward the aisles from where she heard the noise. Peering down each aisle she passed, she heard the sound of tiny boots running across the floor a few rows ahead, followed by the murmuring of small voices. Passing the aisle that held action figures, she spotted a bunch of open boxes on the floor, but no action figures. Shaking her head, Jessica continued toward the sound of the voices, eventually peering down the stuffed animal aisle to see the action figures, all G.I. Joes from a quick glance, squared off against a similar number of various stuffed animals, talking smack to each other. She had a vision of a bad gang war scene from a movie before one of the Joes yelled out to her, “Hey, Doll, you gonna toss us that ball to play with or what?” Jessica nearly gave herself whiplash turning as the owner of the store whispered from behind her, “You better throw them the ball. The Joes can get rather surly if you delay the game.” In a daze, Jessica took the ball out of its box and rolled it down to the group of toys, watching it shrink to their size as it rolled. She spent the next few hours watching G.I. Joe play a fairly even game of soccer against the stuffed animals. At one point, she looked over at the owner, who gave her a wink and said “You’ll never find this happen in one of those big chain stores.” She stared at him, dumbfounded. He continued, “You should see it when the Joes and the Barbies have a Ball.”
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s 2012 April PAD Challenge: Day 25, 25 Apr 2012, topic: sports
(form: shadorma)
Chelsea Beats Barcelona to Advance!
Down a man,
behind by two goals
Chelsea fought
back, drawing
even, sending Barca home.
…on to the finals!
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s 2012 April PAD Challenge: Day 7, 7 Apr 2012, topic: nonverbal interaction
Working toward a Goal
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s Wednesday Poetry Prompt 172, 28 March 2012. Topic: one last thing
(form: lune)
One Last Goal
The fans go crazy;
Their hero
seals his legacy.
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s 2011 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day6, 6 Nov 2011. Topic: Addict
(form: Shadorma)
The Beautiful Game
I play it
My daughters play it
I coach it
I watch it
It’s football around the world
Here, I love soccer!
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s Wednesday Poetry Prompt #152, 5 October 2011. Topic/subject: October.
(form: lunes)
Autumn (a family of Lunes)
The days grow shorter,
the air crisp,
colors more vibrant.
To my wife, Autumn
brings Starbucks’
Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
Autumn finds my girls
back in school
and back in soccer.
And my own special
autumn gift?
Raking fallen leaves??
Note: I realized after I wrote this that the prompt was an October poem, not an Autumn poem. I didn’t change it. I realize that Autumn actually begins in September, but it doesn’t really feel like Autumn until October…to me anyway.
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s Wednesday Poetry Prompt #140, 13 July 2011.
Abby Being Abby
Time winding down
on the hopes of a nation
and their shining stars
bringing home the cup.
Sighs and gasps from the fans,
grunts and shouts from the team,
the thump of foot on ball
leads to a huge woosh
as thousands of spectators
in the stadium
and around the world
collectively suck in breath.
Time slows as the ball soars,
arcing gracefully over the pitch.
The keeper leaps skyward,
narrowly missing the ball.
Wild screams and cheers ensue
as the emotional leader
of the U.S. Women’s National Team
puts the perfect header on the ball
for the equalizing goal.
Here’s a clip of the goal:
NOTE: Abby Wambach’s header for The US Women’s National Team (USWNT) tied the game at two goals each against Brazil in their quarterfinal match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 in Germany in the final minute of stoppage time. The US defeated Brazil on penalty kicks after a beautiful save by Hope Solo.)
Poem created in response to Robert Lee Brewer’s 2011 April PAD Challenge: Day 4, 4 Apr 2011.
The Sports Addict
The Armchair Quarterback
who’s never taken a snap
or a hit, but is a walking,
talking, statistic spouting
Hall of Fame.
The Jiu Jitsu Master
who’s never put anyone
in an arm bar or been
kicked in the Octagon,
but routinely submits
his hard earned money
for Pay-Per-View
UFC fights.
The Lakers Cheerleader
who’s never shaken a
pom pom at center court,
but sits court side
so often she’s on a
first name basis with
Jack Nicholson.
The Reds, Yankees and
Cubs fans whose team
stores are their only
source of clothing and
home decor, including
the giant foam fingers.
The soccer fans who pay
extra for channels to
watch the foreign club
matches to see the best
in the world, but still
root, hoping and praying,
for their U.S. National
Teams to advance out
of group play.
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