these are two poems that i wrote during a poetry workshop last fall. i normally don't write much poetry because i like prose better, but the poet-in-residence lady really liked these so i guess i'm sharing them.
defiance
defiance looks like a brazen teenager
standing arms crossed and feet planted
because his mother told him to
clean his storm-blown room
defiance sounds like a tribal shout
war-painted faces taking up arms
because uniformed/pale lumps of flesh
marching in rows of six are
coming to reign
defiance feels like the coarse material
of an anarchist's sweat stained bandana
because she marched in protest for
hours, raising a fist in demand
defiance tastes like spattered iron blood
shed in nice straight rows on
porcelain white skin
because he wanted them to notice
that his all black outfit and
shiny metallic wallet chain match
his sliced up arms
defiance moves like a predatory beast
suddenly floating away into the
outstretched arms of clouds
because gravity laws mean nothing
to those who don't take physics
defiance wants its own way
and its glowing eyes will smoke you
out of the honeycombed repetitious beehive
because defiance disagrees in
order to produce eventual change
defiance promises to conserve
the human race
because individuality is what gives
this world a little sparkling color
if defiance could speak,
it would say, "stand up and fight it!"
because defiance is the smart aleck
in debate class who pisses you off
by never agreeing
thirteen ways to look at a crush
I
a crushing heavy weight
plummeting to earth
at tremendous speed
II
a cloud blocking the sun's rays
refracting beams of hope
back towards the vacuum of space
III
a daydream floating pleasantly
above my head
IV
cellblock 36a beckons
trapped
in a steel cage with
the undertaker and hulk hogan
V
like the guy
gyrating on the floor
with his hands in his pants
and the girl in a white dress
hiding behind a tall man
VI
a whisper of the mind
and a wondrous question, "WHY?"
the question that weaves in and out
between a yogurtlike substance
dribbling down a silk shirt's front
and fruit chunks with seeds of
shallow attraction
VII
pineapples and oranges
crushed to a pulp
the juice dripped into a silver pitcher
and poured into a frosted glass
she drank it in one gulp
VIII
as the consumer shops
for luxury soaps and bath salts
so the individual is
consumed by desire
for a jolie mate
IX
carefully cataloguing
statements, expressions, and conversations
strung together in a story called obsession
X
neither is the actual relationship
ever as stimulating as
the imagination's interpretation
some would rather stay inside their head
XI
ice skating rink
and two middle school girls
slyly whisper in empty space
between the clank of metal blades
they follow him around in circles
each week at the same time
XII
soaring too high
on wings of wax
XIII
i say i am just ordinary
he says i am simply spectacular
i am a mermaid harvesting gold from the sea
imparting gems of knowledge
with every flick of the tail