national poetry month – Kate M. Colby

Poetry isn’t a medium that comes naturally to me, and I would never dare call myself a poet. However, I do find it a refreshing way to let off some steam when I am feeling especially emotional, and I did write my fair share during my time in university.

Therefore, in honor of National Poetry Month, I’d like to share a short set of poems from said college days and encourage you all to leave your own (or links to your favorite poems) in the comments. Let’s fill the world with art today!

The following is a set of abstraction poems written in my Poetry Writing I class and refined in my Advanced Poetry Workshop. As readers of my fiction will know, I do love a revenge theme.

Revenge

sneaks behind the bar,
dressed in fishnets and stilettos,
and sprinkles cyanide in his shot glass.

Regret

is the brown bottle, blue bottle,
clear bottle, spirit bottle, long-necked
bottle, bottle neck spiraling
down your throat.

Remorse

ferments in the brain, drips down
the spinal cord, commands the hand
to put down the bottle

and pick up the gun.

In honor of National Poetry Month, here is a poem from my university creative writing days. This poem’s style imitates that of the Swampy Cree First Nation from Canada. Their poetry often described a person by his/her attributes and was written in community voice.

Who Saw Doves

–

She came to us from the shore,

pale-skinned with stringy yellow hair.

Vultures smelled sea salt

on her flesh, swooped near her ears

and crowed, We love you.

–

We told her not to believe them –

that they wanted to taste

the ocean fish in her belly –

but she could not hear us

over the beating of feathers.

–

Laughing, she climbed high into the oak

and crawled into the nest. Surrounded by vultures,

she whispered, How lovely to be a friend

of the doves.

“Who Saw Doves” was part of my collection, “Olive Branch,” which I presented at the 2013 Sigma Tau Delta Convention. It was also featured in Watershed, Baker University’s literary magazine.