Poems

these night butterflies
unlike their gentle cousins
prefer the redeye

Author notes: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-moth-week-last-week-in-july/

As she prunes her memories
their sharp thorns prick her,
drawing blood on occasion,
and rarely, a pleasant smile,
No matter!
She'll be done soon

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2784124-MAX-8-lines---PHOTO-is-prompt

John set the tail of the kite on fire
and then ran as fast as he could,
getting it high up in the sky.

Then using all of his considerable skill,
he spelled out "Will You Marry Me"
by maneuvering the kite around
like a stunt pilot on parade.

The proposal went down in flames

But she said yes.

Author notes: kite https://allpoetry.com/contest/2784422-Pick-your-word-Letter-K-

I wanted to write about
twenty two hundred bottles on the wall
just to see your reaction...
but then the game came on and I drank one.

So here we go, twenty one hundred and ninety nine bottles on the wall...

Author notes: The prompt calls for writing something with 2,2200 https://allpoetry.com/contest/2782860-Write-about-2200-Hundred-of-Anything-top-3-

I'm Michael Myers
for the love of God above...
Please! No more sequels

Author notes: Image from IndieWire https://allpoetry.com/contest/2784270-Dark-or-Scary-Poem-Contest-

not making the bot
anatomically correct
a good decision

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2784269-Sci-Fi-Image-Haiku-Welcome-Contest-

Oceans below and stars above
The mothers of creation
Cradle us gently with their love
Protective of their station

But like all children, we rebel
Persistent longing festers
We feel constricted in our cell
Constrained by our ancestors

What shall it be? Our mothers know
That we’ll outgrow our breeches
And when it’s time to let us go
They’ll give the usual speeches

And then watch proudly, from afar
They can’t help but adore
Each time we reach a distant star
Or walk an alien shore

Pens are mighty indeed
but if you want to make money
watch skirts
Skirt Length Theory
sometimes called
Hemline Theory
predicts that as hemlines go up
markets go up
some wonder if this relationship
can hold as more women trade
perhaps not
but men will watch skirts anyway

Author notes: 1. The universe, for him, did not extend beyond the silken round of her skirts. Madam Bovary, Flaubert https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/skirtlengththeory.asp https://allpoetry.com/contest/2784221-skirts-or-skirting-quotes-prompts

his septic business
on the verge of bankruptcy
then the new slogan

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2783807-Quote-Prompt---Any-Length

to err is human
to forgive divine
figures that his name was Pope

Author notes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Essay_on_Criticism

Plagues visit every age
Unbidden and unwanted
Released from nature’s cage
The cemeteries, haunted
By ancient pain and tears
The visitors can’t fathom
Some cross to hide their fears
And secrets gnawing at them
“they came, they saw, they lived”
Reads through, though it’s eroded
Perhaps the stones achieved
The pain that they encoded

Author notes: 7. On a Tuesday they were wed And by Friday they were dead And they buried them in the churchyard side by side, Oh, my love, And they buried them in the churchyard side by side. - Author: Cassandra Clare The image is a photo I took in an old Irish cemetary https://allpoetry.com/contest/2783763-Churchyard-Quotes-Prompts-

today's sand castle artist
has an unfair advantage
digital images abound

alas, the great beach works
of Michelangelo
are swallowed by the sands of time

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2784209-Sand-Castle-Picture-Prompt image from Architectural Digest, sand artwork France 2007