I’ve been writing poetry my whole life. But I rarely share it. Until now. Hopefully, this small sampling will be the first of a fairly regular set of poetry-related posts.
In keeping with my love of writing for kids, most of these poems are geared toward what kids love, think about…worry about. I’ll leave it to my readers to decide which is which…
Dissection
“Eeewww,” my kids mumble as they prod the squishy form.
It twitches. So do they.
“It’s not…still…alive…is it?” They ask.
We are performing a dissection
Outside under the trees.
Formaldehyde-tang punctures the air –
Death wafts on the fresh, young breeze.
We are disorganizing an organism
In order to see the organization.
One long cut…and the deep offers up her secrets.
We begin our exploration of the unseen,
Peel protective layers and reveal…
Filth, darkness, the underbelly that once brought nourishment
But now reeks of decay.
Our society scrapes white-washed skin
From the bones of our institutions and finds
Disease, injustice, corruption.
“How did it die?”
I have no answer. I have many ideas.
How long is the slow exhale of civilization?
We have no answers. We have many ideas.
More precise cuts,
And darkness is brought to light –
Now we come to the center.
What severe mercy to peer into the heart of a matter.
“It’s still…dead…right? It doesn’t feel anything, does it, Mom?”
How many times have we pleaded?
In languages innumerable –
“Is it over? Is it dead yet? Can I just stop feeling?”
But…ah…it twitches. And so do we.
Love is Brave
A Fragment
(The following is a portion of a complete story-poem. Edited in this post for length.)
Valentine’s –
One week away!
Zoe’s favorite
Holiday!
“I’ll make cards!”
Zoe cheers,
“For my friends
Far and near.”
But then – sigh –
Zoe blinks.
“What friends?”
Zoe thinks.
Best friend
Far away.
Zoe moved.
Tina stayed.
Tears gather.
Drip drop.
Once flowing
Hard to stop.
Daddy’s hand
Smooths her hair.
“Brave girl,
Want to share?”
“I miss my friend!”
Zoe cries.
Daddy holds her,
“So do I.”
Zoe sniffs,
“You miss friends too?”
Daddy nods,
“I sure do.”
Bird Song
I hear a bluebird chirping,
Perched high up in a tree.
I hug my bear and whisper –
“He’s singing just for me.”
Get Moving!
When Dad wakes you in the morning – clap, clap, clap.
When you gobble up your breakfast – snap, snap, snap.
When you skip along your walk – stomp, stomp, stomp.
When you run and play outside – romp, romp, romp.
When you hide and when you seek – dash, dash, dash
When you scrub and rub-a-dub – splash, splash, splash
When you read a night-time story – hug, hug, hug.
When Mom turns out the light – snug, snug, snug.
Rend
Render-rent stem from which scent erupted
Parallels my soul, corrupted.
Whose save-soul beauty is God-granted fragrance:
And it is the essence
Of a spirit-sigh released from sin’s choking roots.
The Jack O’ Lantern House
This is a house.
A haunted house,
Where a jack o’ lantern’s glowing.
And up the porch steps
Is an old front door.
A creaking door
On the haunted house
Where a jack o’ lantern’s glowing.
And drifting along,
Floats a ghost.
A giggling ghost
Near the creaking front door
On the haunted house
Where a jack o’ lantern’s glowing
Heather C. Morris 
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