Weekly Short Stories Contest and Company! discussion

You have until the 5th of April to post a poem and from the 6th to around the 12th of April, we’ll vote for which one we thought was best!

Please post directly into the topic and not a link. Please don’t use a poem previously used in this group. Only one submission per person is allowed.

Your poem can be of any length!

This week’s topic is: pattern

The rules are pretty loose. You could write a poem about anything that has to do with the subject/photo but it must relate to the topic somehow.

POET: Garrison Kelly
TITLE: Life After Seduction
GENRE: Soft Rock Song
RATING: PG for language and themes of abuse



VERSE 1
When the only chicks who like you are femme fatales
When she separates you from your family and pals
When she won’t let you speak to any other gals
And then stabs you in the heart until you cry and howl
Just remember that the world doesn’t center on her
And that you did nothing at all to deserve being hurt
It’s toilet time for your expensive wedding ring
“We’re fucking divorced!” is the tune you sing

CHORUS
You can break the pattern, but it’ll only matter
If you cover your ears from the toxic chatter
Life after seduction comes with no instructions
But the light at the end needs no introduction

VERSE 2
You swear to yourself that you’ll never love again
It took so long to get back your family and friends
Single as a Pringle, no need to stay and mingle
Because the only thing that matters is how you feel
She calls you and leaves a thousand voicemails
Begging for forgiveness behind the walls of jail
But you put away your phone and go back to sleep
Because you earned your freedom, it’s yours to keep

CHORUS
You can break the pattern, but it’ll only matter
If you cover your ears from the toxic chatter
Life after seduction comes with no instructions
But the light at the end needs no introduction

VERSE 3
On the therapist’s couch, you’ve got lots to talk about
And then here come the tears and the need to shout
None of your pain will ever leave that cozy room
Don’t hold the detonation switch to your own doom

EXTENDED CHORUS
You can break the pattern, but it’ll only matter
If you cover your ears from the toxic chatter
Life after seduction comes with no instructions
But the light at the end needs no introduction
Life is beautiful and it’s still worth living
As long as you learn the limits of your giving
Takers have no limits to their narcissism
Now you see it all with twenty-twenty vision

Garrison wrote: "POET: Garrison Kelly
TITLE: Life After Seduction
GENRE: Soft Rock Song
RATING: PG for language and themes of abuse



VERSE 1
When the only chicks who like you are femme fatales
When she separates ..."

I feel your pain and frustration in this poem. Very good, Garrison.

Thanks, Brett. I appreciate the feedback. :)

Spirals!
By Brett A. Starr on March 27, 2021

Spirals! Spirals! Everywhere!
Over here and over there
In the garden, in the air
Did you ever stop and stare?

Flowers, pine cones, it all seems
Patterns come through natural means
Numerical puzzles to make us think
Just pull the light chain. Hear it clink?

Ocean waves and hurricanes
We label them with proper names
Here’s a microcosmic hint
Just look upon your fingerprint.

Spirals! Spirals! Everywhere!
Over here and over there.
Did you know it? Do you care?
This is what I came to share.

Brett wrote: "Spirals!
By Brett A. Starr on March 27, 2021

Spirals! Spirals! Everywhere!
Over here and over there
In the garden, in the air
Did you ever stop and stare?

Flowers, pine cones, it all seems
Patter..."


Oh really interesting take on the topic, Brett! I like it!

Stephanie wrote: "Brett wrote: "Spirals!
By Brett A. Starr on March 27, 2021

Spirals! Spirals! Everywhere!
Over here and over there
In the garden, in the air
Did you ever stop and stare?

Flowers, pine cones, it al..."

Thank you.

These are really great, Garrison & Brett! Garrison, your theme conveys very important messaging in a heartfelt manner; Brett, love the bit of whimsy that balances nicely with a more serious reminder to us.

Aww! Thank you for the kind feedback, Anne! Heartfelt messaging is what I was going for. :)

Brett wrote: "Spirals!
By Brett A. Starr on March 27, 2021

Spirals! Spirals! Everywhere!
Over here and over there
In the garden, in the air
Did you ever stop and stare?

Flowers, pine cones, it all seems
Patter..."

Brett, my favorite stanza from your poem this week is the third one about hurricanes. We do name them after people and people have a role in all of this. Love the route you took with this topic!

Garrison wrote: "Brett wrote: "Spirals!
By Brett A. Starr on March 27, 2021

Spirals! Spirals! Everywhere!
Over here and over there
In the garden, in the air
Did you ever stop and stare?

Flowers, pine cones, it al..."

Thank you, Garrison and Anne for your feedback. Spirals, I believe, are God's fingerprint in our universe. If interested, check out fibonacci sequence and sacred geometry. As you can tell, I'm a bit of a geek.

Sudbury Court

Through moth holes in the rotting Roman shades
that cloak the cobwebbed windows near the stairs,
an April afternoon casts little flares,
a spatter painting glowing in cascades
that flicker, with the movement of the leaves,
on varnish of a pedimented door.
In deep dust lies the polished, inlaid floor.
The spiral rail recalls her flowing sleeves,
the screams that split the blossom-heavy air.
The once-espaliered vines are overgrown,
the fountain filled with leaves, the grounds unmown.
A ghost descends the treads, her long, dark hair
still wrapped around her throat, a shocked surprise
on parted lips and in rainwater eyes.

M wrote: "Sudbury Court

Through faded-avocado Roman shades
that cloak the cobwebbed windows near the stairs,
a mid-March afternoon displays its wares
in flecks of light repeating in cascades
that flicker wi..."

Excellent imagery, M!! Admittedly, I had to look up espaliered, only to appreciate your poem that much more.

Thank you, Brett! After I read yours and Garrison’s poems, I thought, “I’ve got to throw something in there, too!” When I started it, I had no idea where it was going.