Just as the leaves were turning crispy and red, I found myself in a parking lot with a dead gray car. I met Terry because he was the kind person who volunteered to give it a jump start. He gave me a surprising word that was really fun to play with.
The Stranger: Terry
The Word: Shot
The poem I wrote:
***
Once upon a time
alive or dead
in a bright
or darkened room
the last shot
fired
and all questions
scattered
on the floor.
*
Subject shoots.
Object falls
(…not done
upon but doing)
Our labor is
what we know
(…everything else is
our fear)
*
Moon shot
Flu shot
Whiskey shot
Sling shot
Gutshot
No shot
(and a shot
of you
holding
a hand
in the dining
room.)
Each new day
builds pressure.
*
Each man once
shot
out of her
(Once upon a time
Alive or dead
in a bright
or darkened room)
***
The Challenge: Do you have a poem in you on this word? Write one here.
November 17, 2019 at 3:06 am
November 22
My icy eaves
drip to fat cedar after sunrise.
I imagine I can slip the drips,
step through dry,
privileged,
smiling
like the young Kennedy couple in Dallas.
Perfect timing
is all it takes to be a god
stepping through drips in fine certainty,
…until an icy scalp slap
runs like thin blood down my face.
I hear … again, too late,
the shots, shrieks,
sirens screaming
over a mortally wounded vision,
somehow still breathing
in memory.
November 18, 2019 at 12:31 pm
Scatter Shot
Whether, it’s a shot in the dark
Or just giving it a shot,
A nightingale or a lark,
Aim for what is not.
It’s a shot in the arm,
Perhaps, inoculation
From disease or realities
Of contagion or sensation.
Sure, it’s worth a shot,
Even if it’s long,
But if you’re risk averse,
You may do yourself some wrong.
So, no, it’s not a sure shot.
That’s why we like it scattered.
Double ought or buck
Will hit something if it matters.
You might try a bank shot,
One done by misdirecting.
What can be achieved
After time spent in reflecting?
Sometimes, it is worthwhile
To go shooting for the moon.
Exceed all expectations
Or go directly to your doom.
He really shot his mouth off
After draining his shot glass
He shot himself in the foot
By behaving like an …
Going for that second shot?
Do you really need that boost?
More can have its benefits
Or harm that may be loosed.
Many things, given time,
Lose all of their potential.
We find that they are shot.
It’s probability, eventual.
November 27, 2019 at 4:54 am
Fall Leaves
Leaves swirling from tires
Like shot from a 12-gauge gun
Skip down the pavement