Lament of the Urban Poet
It's hard to make things rhyme
When you're running short of time
And you cannot seem to get your thoughts on paper.
No matter if you could
You still wonder if you should
Or if you'd best find a less indulgent caper.
But you try to relax
Cut the TV, phone and fax
Play your favourite instrumental, light a taper.
Put your mind to the chore ...
When a knock upon the door
Makes the brewing verse just disappear like vapour.
Heidi Ross
Living in a poem
For BL
Living in a poem is rent free
Its lease is eternal
Save a stanza or two
Poems with north facing windows
Warm as decent childhoods
May overheat without warning
Verse apartments near parks
Offer tall trees and summer parties
But the daylight is complicated
By the untraceable histories of dapples
In the poem where you live
Passenger balloons ripen
Like apricots at first sun
This poem is inhabited
By bakers of real cream matchsticks
And fruiterers who convert pessimists with reggae smiles
Your poem shares espresso, verandas and amici
It offers haiku brandy for clarity
Casual iambic measure for strolling
Then limericks to lighten future composition
This poem you live in is abstract like time
Measured or chaotic, it has rhythm,
Is constantly recomposed
Not tied to bricks and mortar
There are no contracts
Enhancements are encouraged
Your poem, as described, is wholly portable
It may be taken from residence to residence
Without undue disruption
And — as the price of fixed dwellings soar around you —
Your poem does not charge rent
Margaret McCarthy
Heidi Ross writes in a variety of genres, mostly non-fiction. She often returns to poetry to refresh her love of language. She is a librarian in Western Australia.
Margaret McCarthy is a Melbourne-based creative writer. She teaches creative writing, English construction for writers and professional editing skills.