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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Disasters, Delights and Other Detours - 95. Short Essays on Summer Vacation

Oh, the dreaded summer vacation essay on the first day of school: it's a staple of the novice teacher, and the default lesson for the harried veteran. Here are my (mercifully) brief responses and observations.

North-northeast

I sped into the dawn,

through sleepy towns and just-woke meadows,

challenging the hours to pass quicker than the miles

could silence signal and cast off care,

while the rocks and trees change

their clothing.

 

 

Melville sailed

with me before the wind,

faster than any clipper he knew,

passing through a school of hulking Winnebagoes,

tacking to port past eighteen wheelers,

sharing the long grey seas

of the road.

 

 

Porcupines

stripped the young maples,

baring their skeletons to the skies;

their white branches claw at the towering thunderheads

begging for merciful lightning bolts

to bring an end to their

misery.

 

 

The red eft,

halfway across the road,

pauses in its hazardous journey

to wonder why it must wear its gaudy costume,

so garish for such a shy creature,

but fit for a roadside

flower fest.

 

 

I walked home

beneath a comma moon,

its silver curve separating the sky

into ethereal subordinate clauses,

punctuated by stars and comets

singing celestial

poetry.


If you'd like to share your thoughts on these, or post your own miniature essay on summer, this would be an excellent place to do it. Unlike your grade school teachers, I will enjoy reading anything you might have to say.
Copyright © 2017 Parker Owens; All Rights Reserved.
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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

Parker Owens
18 minutes ago, dughlas said:

I like them, I like them very much. Especially the Melville, I wonder the inspiration for it.

I took along with me a book of Herman Melville’s poetry on vacation, along with other things to read; together, we sailed faster than the wind. I’m glad you liked my short essays, and that you came along for the ride. 

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Parker Owens
44 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Awesome. I love 'comma moon' and I had to google red eft. :)  Porcupines was a good reminder of nature's power, and the renewal it brings. Maple ash gives life to so much more... and turns misery to beautiful havens for life to thrive in. Melville might have been my favorite. Cheers!

Thank you for joining me on my vacation this summer. It was good of you to read through these and visualize the scenes in each one. Hugs and thanks! 

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Parker Owens
4 hours ago, AC Benus said:

The porcupine, the comma and Melville :) These will travel with me through the day. The porcupine Skyscraper particularly gains a near-operatic intensity in just a few words. Where, oh where are the heaven-beseeched fulmine when called upon...?    

I had not seen porcupine damage like that in many years. Those trees will reach their bleached bones to the skies like something in a Halloween movie for years to come. They indeed remind one of some ancient sorcerer calling down heaven’s wrath. I’m glad these came so vividly to you, and that you could see my journey’s snapshots. 

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Parker Owens
10 hours ago, Geron Kees said:

These are all very appealing. I like the mix of sailing ships and 18-wheelers. And the little red newt in his life vest, scurrying  across the macadam sea.

You  paint well with words. And the results are alluring! :)

 

You are most kind; the interstate highway lets us voyage just as much as the wide open sea, or so it seems. I’m glad the red eft endeared himself to you as much as he did to me. Many thanks. 

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