Writing a
poem via flashlight
Is
something I thought I’d try tonight
Since the
power has gone out.
Now I’m
waiting for the transformer to be sorted out.
I should
really be in bed,
But I now
have words rattling in my head
Trying to
be heard
In this
darkened, snow-filled world.
I am
waiting for the power to come back,
So I can
turn on the heat that I lack.
The pipes
may freeze
If the
outage doesn’t get remedied
Soon, and
the ice cream might melt
In the
kitchen if the power’s not felt.
For
thirty-four hours we waited
Before the
cold was sated
With
warmth once again
From the
power being restored within,
And
sleeping with extra blankets on my bed until then.
Some
people’s power just got restored
Four days
after there was no more.
It wasn’t
too bad for one friend
Who cooked
with a wood store while waiting for the end.
Another
friend kept their bird warm,
But they
only had to wait a few hours after the storm
Knocked
their power out
Before
they could get warm and go about
Doing
their daily business
While others
warmth was elusive as Ness [1].
I’m just
happy to have power,
So I could
take a warm bath or shower
Before
beginning my day
And going
on my way.
Aside from finishing one poem, I started another inspired by the death of my friend Traci. It's still a work in progress, and will be shared when I'm finished writing it. I had to stop writing because it made me miss her so much. I can't believe it's almost been a whole year since she died. The time passing hasn't made it any easier on her loved ones.
I started out this year going to another memorial service for a friend of the family that I met when I was attending my mom's church. He had a long, full life and was ready to go home. Traci and I, however, are the same age! The longevity of the person seems to make the passing easier to comprehend and deal with for me. In Traci's case I still think she was taken too soon, but no one has any power over that. Only God does!
On Another Note...
I shared this on Facebook when it happened, but wanted to share it again here in case there are other readers I have that aren't Facebook friends. A while back I entered my poem "A Lover's Dance" into a contest at the World Poetry Movement for a chance to win one of 116 prizes. The Grand Prize of which is $1,000. Well, I got a letter from them in the mail telling me that I'm a semi-finalist, and my poem was automatically entered into the finals.
Besides that information, they wanted me to proof a copy of the poem in a book to be published in May called "Stars in our Hearts." Originally, I was going to add my author's profile before sending it in, but in order for the profile to be added to the publication I would have to buy a copy of the book and pay extra for the profile to be added. The cost of which totaled $75 that I can't afford right now. Needless to say, I'm sending in the proof, but that's it.
I'm just ecstatic to be included because my poem was one that was picked among over 450,000 entries spanning 18 different countries! That's huge! The current contest ends on April 30th, 2012! Another contest starts right after that on May 1st.
As for the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, I still have three pages to fill before I turn that in, and I still have to tell about the different poems I picked. That won't take me long with all the poems I've been writing lately. I'm thinking about adding the poem I wrote for Dr. Seuss's birthday, so I'll have one more page filled up before too long. I don't have to submit the application until March 30th, but I want to get it done this week for sure because the week of the 30th is a busy one in my life. I'm glad I get to submit it online because that's a lot easier, and less time-consuming for me.
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