Poetry Catch-Up

The Easter holiday finds me behind on my poetry and posting. In reverse writing order, here are two new poems.

NaPoWriMo Prompt #8 (from ReadWritePoem)

Please forgive your son, Mrs. Fillippi,
he was young and in love
and had no other way of expressing
how he felt about her,
the new girl in 3rd grade.

Tall and plump other kids called
her names like giraffe and elephant.
Wondering what to believe,
she ignored the name calling and
played by herself.

Whether it was pity or admiration,
he found himself waiting around the edges
of the playground watching her,
swallowing his fear as he approached
her to ask her to play with him during recess.

After a few weeks, he fell in love;
no one could penetrate his devotion
to her. One day he brought her
a token of his love--
a beautiful ring full of colorful stones.

Worn with pride for the rest of the day,
she left school with it clutched in her sweaty palm.
Kept safe in a box in her room, she
peeked at the ring all night and brought
it back to school the next day.

Afterschool, innocently playing
on the swings, a stranger drove into the
driveway and parked her station wagon. He
slowly got out of the car with a woman
who looked mad.

Yes, she mumbled, he gave me a ring
yesterday. The cold silence scared her
as she handed the ring back to him. You
grabbed his arm and hurried him back
to the car all the while hissing your anger.

At school the next day, he was too embarrassed
to talk to her. It was over;
he'd made a mistake and paid for it.
Forgive your son, Mrs. Fillippi,
young love makes young men act rashly.

April 13, 2009

Good Friday

How can I thank You
for the gift of Your son's sacrifice.
I ask for Your grace as I honor
Jesus' life--the life He lived for me.
I ask for Your mercy when I fail to remember
how much Jesus loves me now and forever.
Please help me to accept the love
You've shown me through Your son.

April 10, 2009