An Image Poem by Joe Landry

The Chihuahua (Expanded Version)

His body is smaller than a loaf of bread,

Yet his heart seems bigger than his apple sized head.

Previously imprisoned in a sharp metallic cage,

I imagined he would have a lion’s fierce rage.

But now,

Free as a bird that soars crystal blue skies,

Happiness can be seen in his smokey brown,

olive-sized eyes.

He playfully prances in the tall green grass,

Slowly forgetting his horrid past.

His fuzzy yellow tail slices through the air,

His boundless playground, everywhere.

As innocent as a newborn child,

figuring out this puzzle of a world,

he widely smiled.
More loyal than a best friend answering an important call,

He will closely stick to my side as a shadow on the wall.

He warms my heart like a searing orange flame.

Eternally thankful our diverging paths crossed,

Chalupa is his name.

A Persona Poem by Joe Landry

The Ballad of Wheelchair Bobby (Revised)

I've been in this rusty old wheelchair

since as long as i can remember.

Everyday i feel a part of my youth,

fading past my clenched fingertips.

My dreams were once bigger than the fiery sun,

Now my crippled legs deceive me.

What I wouldn't do to be able to run.

I feel tied down to this cold metallic chair.

My friends have left me.

They run and play on the blacktop streets,

choruses of laughter echo.

I crave for a mere taste of freedom,

but i know my high hopes will never come to be.

My wishful thinking,

never true.

What is a poor boy with no legs to do?

Twitter Haiku Poems by Joe Landry

Day by Day

The morning rises

Bird songs gently awake me

A new day begins.

Time passes quickly

Flowing like a waterfall

Wash away my pain.

The night rolls on by

Dreams come to take me away

Another day gone.

A Sonnet by Joe Landry

Morning Glory

The sun pierces through my bedroom window,

I gently roll off my cozy warm bed.

The time has come for the grass to now grow,

Without my careful watch, all would be dead.

Plants are closer to me than any child,

I won’t let one of those damn birds hurt ‘em.

If they dare to trespass I will go wild.

Those winged devils better not touch a stem.

I’ll keep a close eye from my windowsill,

Watching every move those creatures will make.

Besides marriage I’ve never had this thrill.

I won’t let them beat me for goodness sake.

“Hey honey, I’ve made a delicious stew

Don’t mind the texture, birds are hard to chew.”

Narrative and Performance Poems by Diane Doll

Escape to Paradise

I slam the door of today’s grind

Clenching the steering wheel, it drives

The 15 paved miles of the treadmill road

An eternity away from tomorrow

My mind’s sand paper thoughts,

Cemented to brevity with muscles taut

The blinker snaps me back.  A left turn to hear

churning gravel.  Arching till I see the dust trail rise

Swinging the door open and breathing in

To release everywhere I have been

Fresh cut grass and dried out hay

Newly laid shavings air freshen my soul

Grasping the halter and lead that I won’t need

My legs steer me to where I wish to be

Straight out the back gate and down dirt path

My heart leaps at the first sight of paradise

I sing “Willow” and can’t hold back my grin

As she lifts her head and nickers through my world

Trotting in a zig-zag pattern till she meets my hand

That holds her orange prize to crunch

My hand reaches into the abundant tote of tools

To remove the layer of clay and day of dust

My artist has tattooed from head to toe

Stroke after brush is therapy to heal my soul

Perfectly sparkling as though no rain has fallen

I slip the bridle around her face

Parting her hair to left of the broken star

                                                        In that moment, I am free  

Performance Poem by Diane Doll

Midnight Stroll

 

Ekphrastic Poem by Diane Doll

 Self Portrait

I want to paint myself today

bright, layered, sharp and contained-

                        I want to photograph my smile on the canvas

                                    From my memory of the reflection in the mirror

I want to live inside the womb of the brush

            As if to use my dripping blood as the color green

                        To become my art and to live on the wall

            I want to bare my nakedness in window of my eye

                        To have observers see this piece as my twin

                                    That we were surgically removed at birth

I want to be an artist that captures its subject

            And cages it to be displayed for all to see and wonder

                        I will grasps the brush lightly and let it be free

                                    To wonder around the jungle of my soul

            So that it can know me and pick pieces of my body

                        To pour into the hues

                                    So no one can duplicate the strokes of me

                                                No one will take their eyes away

                        I will close my vision and my tools will guide me

                                    To paint my perfect image

                                                To paint me.

And opening them reveals everything inside me

            Everything that is me that is not seen

                        Emotions that construct me.

http://best-abstract-paintings.com/abstract-paintings/abstract-paintings-dance-of-emotion-abstract-art.jpg.php

Image Poem by Diane Doll

Anger

Flash of flickering lighting swirling a tornado in my mind

Flames that burn blue with violent motions

Winding, twisting path of smoke

That slips between strangling fingers and fists

Choking out light smothering everything in darkness

Griping the intestines to entangle within

A brutal battle jabbing daggers and blades

That engulf the universe in a black hole

Heat that bubbles and foams

Till liquid boiling-rises and bursts

Splashing shearing molten to ignited the ground

Turning flowers to ash and rainbows to dust

A freight train that gains momentum

As it crashes into mountains burying vast oceans

It wraps itself deep inside the core

Feeding off parasites and decomposers.