NAPOWRIMO - 10 April 2006 - Fog

Fog, like bad breath creeps up
on you unaware and blinds
your eyes to tease your senses.
Icy hands shroud your shoulders
and you try to shudder off
the daze that leaves you stranded
like a glass of water in a desert,
not knowing who to yield to.
You turn 360 degrees
And find a tree to hang on to
until someone with a fog light comes along.

NAPOWRIMO - 9 April 2006 - Holy Week

The day you came home
was like Palm Sunday
when Jesus entered Jerusalem.
We celebrated and laid palm leaves
to comfort you.
We thought there was salvation.
We forgot about Peter
who had three times denied you.
And if Jesus had known about Judas,
we did not.
Two days later we had our last supper
before we laid down to a sleepless night.
The next day we celebrated your death.

NAPOWRIMO - 8 April 2006 - Storm

Lighning charges the atmosphere
and suffocates those who share the air.
Smell of earth rises and gathers
humidity to spread across roof tops.
Then sinks to rest on human flesh.
Clouds pout out ready to bleed.
The storm is ripe to be savoured.

NAPOWRIMO - 7 April 2006 - Failure

Floral lace and soft chiffon
on sharp organza
cut a silhoutte well.
Its colour, pure as Eve
before she ate the apple,
failed to blind Adam from deceit.
A gown untouched,
stood like a ghost
in a wardrobe,
left to become fragments
in the mind.

NAPOWRIMO - 6 April 2006 - Late Into The Night

The night strained to be heard
in protest of its silence,
like a man not able to talk
wanting to sing.
The sky was a black velvet blanket
but its warmth was chill instead.
Lamposts hung from the ground,
each with two arms reaching out
to embrace the night.
Trees cast swaying shadows
on cars, gravel and asphalt,
and all within their reach,
like a giant boogieman
stalking from behind
with his many hands
and whispers of muffled swish.
Grass stirred with eerie sounds
of unknown creatures
that only late nights knew of.
It was a long wait before dawn,
before the breath of the sun
warmed the air again.

NAPOWRIMO - 5 April 2006 - Dances And Words

At the office today,
documents piled one foot high in my in-tray.
I dragged an agreement out
and tortured my eyes to read.
They danced around the letters for a while
until page 5, then the words
began to dance instead.
The o in overview leaped three lines up
to hide between b and u in contribute
and e dropped two lines down
to sit on top of m in appointments.

What could I do but take up a ruler
to beat the jig out of them.
And when I pressed a pen
to underline some words,
red ink bled like blood oozing
from a bullet wound onto the page,
in mockery of me.
To mock them back,
I did some aerobics
with paper and pen.

NAPOWRIMO - 4 April 2006 - Life

I bent to smell my pink champayne
lined up in a row along the fence
and ran a finger on the petals.
Today, the sky was as blue as the lavender
that the wind brought to my nose.
I knelt on the dewy carpet of grass
and my knees in tattered jeans
received a damp welcome.
As I worked the shears in my hand
at the top of the shrubs,
I heard flutterings of tiny wings.
My eyes followed the sound,
and saw a butterfly,
the colour of the sun,
flapping on a sea of blue periwrinkles.
Drops of water sprayed
like miniature rain on its body
as it struggled to balance,
drinking air in gasps of desperation.
The thumps of my heart
became flutterings of wings
of a sparrow; a parrot; an eagle,
as the butterfly sank into the foliage.
I dug a frantic hand into the leaves and flowers
in search of life, determined that today
there would be no death.

NAPOWRIMO - 3 April 2006 - Magnets

When we are near, current runs along our veins
and our bodies burn like smouldering iron.
Our eyes shoot hot waves down our throats
and sweats threaten to stick like clingwrap on our skin
as we fantasize we are wrapped together.
Our tongues knot in our mouths
as we wish they are knotted in each other.
But we are like a broken needle on a vinyl record player,
repeating two words of a song, unable to go on.
And we try to wriggle our toes
pretending we are not nailed to the ground.
If we fail, two magnets will hug with a thud,
leaving no gap in between.

NAPOWRIMO - 2 April 2006 - Snowflakes

Snowflakes, set by prisms of their birth,
fall like feathers, forming pillows on the ground.
Birds cool their toes on rivers of snow.
Giggling children trample on diamonds
and aim to throw.

NaPoWriMo - 1 April 2006 - A Recipe

Ingredients:
Words, fresh phrases, good grammar and sonics.

Method:
Chop up some words
and brown them in a saucepan.
Add in fresh phrases
for some spicy effects.
Stir in good grammar to taste.
Pour in sonics to thicken the sauce.
Simmer until thoroughly cooked.
Serve with a smile.