Goodbye!

Despite my supercharged mental stamina and devotion to this blog...I am taking a vacation! I am going to a beautiful place that I love with all my heart, but alas, there is no internet. Nevertheless, I will not give up that easily. I promise you, all of my blog readers, that I will be writing a poem every day next week. Then, the week after that, you will all be bombarded with vacation poetry. 

Thank you all for putting up with me, and remember to keep giving me feedback on my poems. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, and what you want to see more of. I am counting on a lot of juicy comments waiting for me when I get back!

Hope everybody's summer is great!

~Claire

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"What said he, when he came unto himself?"
-Julius Caesar

Unexplained Pain

Up my foot there shoots a pain
Like an inkblot spreads the stain
Pins and needles prickle there
Of this leg I must beware
How did this happen, the onlookers cry
The answer: I don't know when or why.

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits
And their enterances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
-As You Like It

Flying in my Boat

The sound
Brings a chill to the very pit of my stomach
But this is a good chill
An excited, exhilarated, jubilant chill
That drips down my spine
And there it is again
A ruffling, muffled, dull and quiet sound
A flapping noise
Like a heavy bird
Pushing up into the air
Beginning to take flight
The sound of the sails
Brings a chill to my spine
And I ready my self
To be swept away
I ready myself
To fly down the river

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"And how like you this shepherd's life?"
-As You Like It

Headlights

A sleek pair of eyes
Drifting beams as they rush by
How much can they see?

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"How well he's read, to reason against reading!"
-Love's Labour's Lost 

Grass

the sun
sparkles brilliantly against
the cool green
of  the grass
thousands of blades
millions
they stand as
one

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"This house is little: the old man and his people
Cannot be well bestow'd"
-King Lear

Sprinkler

Droplets fling skyward
Rushing up then dropping down
Twisting in the air

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"I am hurt.
A plague a' both your houses! I am sped.
Is he gone and hath nothing?"

-Romeo and Juliet

Waiting

a nervous glance
out of the darkening window
you look out into the night
expectant
willing something to happen
with all your might
your fingers curl and uncurl
tap against the light wood
of the table
the clock
is a torture device
ticking down the seconds
ever so
slowly

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Now is my time to speak"
-Titus Andronicus

Curtains

Soft folds of pattern
Hanging loosely by the side
Of a dark window

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Excellent workman! Thou canst not paint a man so bad as thyself"
-Timon of Athens

Dances of the Stars

the sky deepens to azure
then a rich indigo
into the eternal purple of
late twilight
stars of gold
spin around the horizon
dancing to the rhythm
of the universe
planets dance with them
swinging from
side to side
a lazy tango
and beneath them all
is me
raising my arms above
my head
dancing
a salute
to the music
of the cosmos

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"For this relief much thanks; tis bitter cold,
And I am sick at heart"
-Hamlet

Water Up My Nose

Itching and burning
I cough, sneeze, and sneeze again
My senses are clogged

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"O, fellow! come, the song we had last night"
-Twelfth Night

Horror Movie

The eerie glow
Floats across the
Haunted faces
A shiver runs
Down your back
A cold hand
Brushes your neck
When
Will you scream?

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"He dares not come there for the candle;
for, you see, it is already in the snuff"
-A Midsummer Night's Dream

Fan

Fan hums away on

The patch of carpet

The heat is not stopped

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Romeo, away! be gone!"
-Romeo and Juliet

Yawns

There's a bubble
Somewhere
        D
             E
                 E
                    P
down inside
it slowly rises
as I sit up
and stretch my arms above my head
suddenly
out it comes!
a huge yawn
escapes from my throat
and  I am awake

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"In your fair minds let this acceptance take."
-Henry V

A Moment of Dizzyness

Dizzying blackness
At the edge of my vision
Colored stars explode

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"But small to greater matters must give way"
-Antony and Cleopatra

Rowing

Blades flash
In and out of the glistening water
Catch
Finish
Recovery
Steps that are
Burned into my mind
Legs back arms
Arms back legs
My body has started to
Do these things
As the oar sinks and rises
In the murky water
Blue from a distance
Brown under the boat
Fingers cramp and
Back aches
The boat slides easily
Unaware of my problems

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Let thy love be younger than thyself"
-Twelfth Night

Blueberry

Can one become drunk
On the taste of blueberries?
On the dappled way that
Sunlight creeps between branches?
Will one feel giddy
As the indigo juice
Dribbles down their chin?
Will they stop and stare
At every new turn in the path
Of life?

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"My heart is full of woe;
O! Play me some merry dump to comfort me"
-Romeo and Juliet

Waiting

The lawn mower
From next door drones on
And on
And on
Dull noises surround me
The mundane slap of
A bicycle tire on pavement
Cars whip past
Too busy to care
They splash in the shallow puddles from
A previous rain storm
Several secluded drops of water
Fall from the damp trees
Which glisten
In the off grey light
The clouds sit
Heavy in the skies
Expectant
Though for what I
Have no idea
What
Is everything
Waiting for?

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Here; wear this jewel for me, 'tis my picture"
-Twelfth Night

More Heat

Oppressive and muggy
Why do I live in a place
With such hot summers?

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"For she is sweeter than perfume itself"
-Taming of the Shrew

Heat

A soft breeze
Blows gently across my
Tormented brow
Teasing me about
The coolness I can
Never have
I can feel the moisture
In the air and the
Single drop of sweat
Rolling down my back
I lie back
Down on my bed
Utterly defeated

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"This dream is all amiss interpreted;
It was a vision fair and fortunate"
-Julius Caesar

The Sea ( My First Ever Attempt At A Shakespearian Sonnet!)

I walked the dunes beside the sea
Majestic mountains made of sand
The god Poseidon smiled for me
That day I bridged the water and land

 The sun was shining bright and full
Upon the ocean's azure flame
And I could feel the tide's pull
It called to me and sang my name

The sand beneath my fingers spread
An everlasting stretch of white
I sat where many feet had tread
Yet was alone, in my own right

The water and earth on this day blend
And my story is at its end

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"My lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts"
-Hamlet

Sailboat

Sorry, today I totally forgot to write the sonnet. I PROMISE I will write it tomorrow. For now, I will just write something quick...

Shining water lies
Between the bright sale and pale
Sails of a schooner

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck, and yet methinks I have astronomy."
-Sonnet 14

A Spenserian Sonnet

Today, after listening to a healthy dose of Shakespeare's Sonnets on cassette, I decided to write a sonnet. This particular form is, in fact, not the kind that Shakespeare wrote, but slightly close. Maybe I will try an English sonnet tomorrow...



As I sit here and pick up my pen
A thousand thoughts fly around my head
Am I the bear trapped inside its den?
Or just a child, climbing into bed
You know, it has been said
That Shakespeare was the master of this piece
He could write of love and words unsaid
This thought makes my courage decrease
How can I top this man, deceased?
Instead I honor him tonight
I seek to write a poem and make peace
To fill his legacy with golden light
So please, William if you can see me now
Accept this poem, and accept my bow

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"What is this forest call'd?"
-King Henry IV

All Alone

Solitary and alone
I feel content
The silence wraps around me
Like a warm blanket on a cool day
I feel the stillness
Like a barrier
That I can easily break
My feet light, I dance around the house
Because no one is watching

The Joy of Being Simple

Guinea pigs munching
Happily away on grass
What a simple life

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go."
-Hamlet

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more, is none."
-Macbeth

Ferry Ride

the sun is hot on my face and the
back of my legs are getting a sunburn
the light beats down on the top of my head and I can feel
my hair getting several shades lighter
the bright blue bench below me is covered with
peeling paint that my hands and bare legs detest.
the smokestack above me is sunshine colored
clashing horribly with the benches yet somehow when I look
I see a strange beauty
maybe, I think it is the water. the thing that shifts around in the back
like that person at the party who
everyone wants to see yet
stands alone at the edge of a wall
the water speaks to me. I know it does
the shifting colors pull me in, I am engrossed.
the sky spreading above me
I use the common metaphor
a bowl
please excuse me. I am not able to find words to describe
the symphony of color
delicate and pastel as an Easter egg. fragile.
my dark sunglasses make me
a creepy stranger to some but I think
the bright tie dye shirt saves my reputation
my soon to be lobster red forearms
rest lightly on the salty and sticky railing
I can feel the heat from above and
the cool drifting from
the water below.
it seems to me
my life is a harmony.

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"We, ignorant of ourselves,
Beg often our own harms, which the wise powers
Deny us for our good"
-Antony and Cleopatra

America

Happy 4th of July, Quilt readers! Let us take this time to remember how lucky we are to live in a country like the United States of America.  Here is a poem dedicated to all those who worked for and believed in the American Dream...

Throughout the battlefield where rifles gleam
Each proud man there holds a dream
Under the jacket with faint stains of blood
There sits a bold heart with not a trace of mud
In this world freedom calls and duty sings
Through every newborn valley the bell rings
And just like that, a new nation is born
Blood red, pure white, and true blue are worn
Hope soars high on light and feathery wings
From every soul a song of freedom springs
So find your friend today and clasp their hand
To rejoice in America, this sacred land

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Thou rememberest?"
-A Midsummer Night's Dream

Rain in the Car

Drops spatter against
The cool glass of the wind shield
The car drives onward

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Men's eyes were made to look, and let them gaze;
I will not budge for no man's pleasure, I."
-Romeo and Juliet

Bat Mitzvah

That day on the playground
        We laughed and joked
Smiling because we knew that someday it would come
        It was distant, a hazy dream
But of course we over planned
         Years in advance we
Picked out dress colors and you
         Pretended to recite
Months followed
         The conversation was forgotten
As I watched you grow with me
          We were both learning
You getting ever closer
          The future
Rushing up to meet us
          Faster than I wanted it to
Soon the days of slides and
          Free for all were over as
We started to mature

Today I saw you
         Standing in front of
A group of people who loved you
         I watched as you proved
That you had grown older
         I remembered the chats of
Years ago and I
          Realized how far we had come
You recited perfectly, doing
         Just as well as I knew you would
In that moment I knew
          Throughout all those years
Spent in joking immaturity
           I had your back, and you mine
Sitting on the hard pew
           I congratulated you

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"We should be woo'd and were not made to woo."
-A Midsummer Night's Dream

Somebody Said

Somebody said to
Write every poem
As if
It is your last poem on
This earth
Scrape your fingernails
Into your poem, tear and rip and claw at it
Make it bleed
Hurl your idea
Against a wall just to
Make sure it stays together
Make is cringe
Cower in a  corner
Nursing wounds yet
Somehow still breathing
Then, slowly walk up to
Your poem
Ease your way into its field of vision
And reach out
To stroke it
Under your breath speak
Kind words to it
Nurture it
For it has proved its worthwhile