Monday, July 13, 2009

Monday Poetry Stretch - Confessions

Confession is good for the soul, or so they say. I find it quite liberating, though the thought of confessing my sins as a child was often quite disconcerting. (Really, at ten or twelve, what did I have to confess beyond disobedience to my parents and the admission of a using a few well-chosen curse words?!)

I thought it might be fun to write poems of confession. These are NOT poems of apology, but real confessions. Perhaps you might want to confess to a crime you didn’t commit, or an obsession you have. This one is wide open for some creative ideas, so have some fun. When you're finished, leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

3 comments:

  1. Love it! I am inspired!

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  2. Chocolate Love

    I want chocolate, dark as kohl,
    Lining my eyes,
    Slathered between my legs,
    Decorating my nipples.
    I could eat it for every meal,
    Rub it into my arm pits,
    Crush it between my molars,
    Suck it through a straw.
    I dream of chocolate each night,
    Running down my chin,
    Hot and cold,
    In a cup, in a cone.
    My tongue gives it a deep kiss
    And I am lost in its sweet tartness.
    Can you tell I am on a diet?


    c 2009 Jane Yolen

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  3. While you were at your father’s in July


    Week four of your absence, night twenty-six,
    Counting creaks, snores, days ‘til your return,
    I lead myself to your undisturbed bed, glass lake
    Of your glowing room

    I fold back your summer quilt, slip in,
    These sheets are fine, on your ceiling
    Lines and lines of pale streetlight stretch
    Like a canopy, I close my eyes

    Your pillow does its job and a large pink dog
    Flies me to the slanted house of your friend
    Stella (I’ve always thought she was imaginary),
    Who asks how long you’re gone

    When I awake some time later I am ten,
    But then your cat appears,
    Trills at my presence, slinks near,
    Wet-noses my cheek, settles, purrs

    I sing his name, stroke his long back the way
    I’ve seen you do, shoulders to tail,
    Shoulders to tail, and for a moment,
    We both pretend
    I am you

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