APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY-EIGHT

APRIL PAD DAY 28, 2015

Today's prompt is to write a poem about matter or anti-matter.

INCORPOREAL

Moonlight discloses her

Pale and white

she sits astride a unicorn

her long, silver hair glows

with an ethereal light

her lips the color of pomegranates

lush and full 

her gown drapes down

in folds to her waist

a silver coronet, twisted and curved

encircles her head

slippers made of rose petals

peek from beneath her flowing gown

in one hand she holds a gilded cage

on the other sits a white dove 

beside her flows a silver spring

the pale moon floats on it's surface 

white flowers, their petals unfolding

open in the silver moonlight

emerging from soft slumber 

dreams fade away, reality paints the day

her phantom image slips away

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

APRIL PAD DAY 27, 2015

Today's prompt is to write a looking back poem.

REMEMBERING

These old hand were once

soft and smooth 

these old hands were once small

sweaty and dirty

as they held a ladybug

perched on the tip of a little finger

they once hugged a daddy's neck, 

made mud pies for him to taste

they wiped away tears

clapped with glee

held a crayon

then a pencil, then a pen

they trembled as they wrote

their first love note

were glorious with brightly

polished nails and silver rings

they curled and combed willful hair

nervously smoothed a new dress

before a first date

joined another's at the altar

were deft as they sewed a fine seam

these hands cradled babies

changed countless diapers

wiped away tears and hurts

held aging parents 

cradled them close

while memories faded

now these hands are knarled

and twisted with age

younger hands now soothe

this brow and hold me close

while I cling to memories

lest they fade away

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY-SIX

APRIL PAD DAY 26, 2015

For today’s prompt, take a word or two invented by William Shakespeare, make it the title of your poem, and write your poem. 

ODE TO BANDIT

A tiny fur-ball

I found him beside the road

didn't think he'd live

but he surprised me 

and grew to be one seventy

pounds that is, weighed more than me

he turned out to be

practically, almost, absolutely, untrainable

named him Bandit

bought him a bed

that's where the cat sleeps

he prefers the couch 

he farts, gets up and leaves the room

he digs holes, big ones

dug one under the fence

took a short vacation over at the dog pound

not even a guilty look on his mug on the ride home

sat in the car seat with his head out the window

ears blowing in the wind, just as pleased as punch

he barks at the neighbors cat,  digs in the trash

tore up my bed pillow, all over the house

ate a whole pizza he stole off the counter

threw it up on the living room rug

but he also warms my feet on cold nights

sleeps beside me when I am sick

never gets angry or calls me names

doesn't hold a grudge, or slam the door

never leaves in the middle of my story

never points out my faults

thinks I am the greatest person on earth

meets me at the door every evening

what more could you ask for in a best friend!

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY-FIVE

APRIL PAD DAY 25, 2015

Today's prompt is to write an Across the sea poem.

FALSE LOVE

You went across the sea

wait for my return 

empty promises

you never meant to keep 

scattered across the heavens,

tears like diamonds 

fragile glass stars

shattered 

fell to earth, swallowed

by the hungry ocean

 angry tides 

picked them up 

hurled them upon the lonely beach

our love that you swore was forever

is nothing more than

crystal sand upon the shore

J KUYKENDALL

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY-FOUR

APIRL PAD DAY 24, 2015

The prompt today is to write a moment poem.

A MOMENT OF DESPAIR

There is a feeling of despair, 

of hopelessness, of quiet rage,

a growing hostility, 

a silent desperation that screams

for a need to change the twisted,

pervasive, controlling love that grips

our lives and threatens to  separate 

our paths forever.

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY-THREE

APRIL PAD DAY 23, 2015

Today's prompt is to write a historic poem.

CIVIL WAR

Brother against brother

Blue against gray

A nation divided

Yankee against Rebel

Confederate or Union

North and south

Lincoln and Davis

The blood of a nation

flowed together

in the trenches of Shiloh,

Antietam and Fredericksburg

Chancellorsville and Gettysburg

They were filled with the blood 

of victory and defeat

Fought in a thousand places

from fields of Pennsylvania

all the way to Louisiana

From New Mexico to Florida

the war between brothers 

stained the battlefields with blood

from Gettysburg to Vicksburg

After five long years 

what started at Fort Sumter

ended at Appomattox 

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLEGE DAY TWENTY-TWO

APRIL PAD 22, 2015

Today's prompt is to write a Nature Poem.

It's not in my nature

to nurture

an unkind word

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY-ONE

April PAD Day 21, 2015

Today's prompt is write a poem of "what your are" or "what you are not."

ASPECTS 

I see her in the mirror

standing on the other side

I think I know her

face the same as mine

eyes stare back at me

lying eyes, that

hide the darkness

of a sad, tormented mind

But she's just a reflection

a two dimensional image

a silvered paradigm

on a painted surface

And when I walk away

she ceases to exist

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY SEVENTEEN

April PAD Day 17, 2015

Sorry for the order, but I somehow skipped day 17, so here it is. The prompt is write a swing poem.

DIFFERENT

She is beautiful

She "swings both ways"

She is courageous

She never shies away

from who she is

no matter what people say

To her family, she's an outcast

made them ashamed

afraid to be tainted 

afraid they'd be blamed

for who she is

no matter how they disclaimed

She's an inspiration

she stands tall and proud

to be different 

to many is not allowed

but who she is

she was by birth endowed

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWENTY

April PAD Day 20, 2015

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “My (blank), the (blank),” replace the blanks with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. 

MY DAD THE COWBOY

Texas born, New Mexico sworn

Tall, thin, hardened and rough

Dad was no greenhorn

the land made him tough

Land of enchantment, dry and arid

it was in his blood

for the need he was girded

for the taste he thirsted

high in the saddle 

leather chaps he wore

his horse was agile

a cowboy's horse and more

the work was hard and mean

long, grueling hours in the sun

made him brown and lean

his life his own, owed to none

he loved the plains and canyons

the sunsets of fire

he hated the cattle barons

with their fences of barbwire

he liked to sleep under the stars

by a campfire he cooked

his body bore the scars

of the many dangers he brooked

A cowboy hard and keen

a life lived in the land he cherished

where the sand and cactus teemed

and the free and wild flourished

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY NINETEEN

April PAD Day 19, 2015

For today's prompt write and Authority poem.

AUTHORITARIAN

He, absolute Sun

My total eclipse

has obscured him.

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY EIGHTEEN

April Pad Day 18, 2015

 For today’s prompt, pick 2 vowels and write a poem using words that only contain one or both of those vowels. 

FAILURE

I went warily, fearing 

the coming torment

I knew there were more

horrible tortures

I stopped, panic

seized me

minutes  ticked, ticked

still I stayed, waiting 

fear held me,

imprisoned me

the sweat trickled soaking

the thin shirt, skin sticking

hair plastered

breathing heavily

heart racing

he's sitting,

sitting grinning,

greedily grinning

patting the seat

behind the wheel

drivers test  honey

hope dims

surely failure 

is waiting 

again, then

he will grin 

his slick grin

tell me cheerfully

next time honey

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY SIXTEEN

April Pad Day 16, 2015

Today's prompt is write a science poem.

THE MILKY WAY

Astronomy is the branch of science that has always fascinated me.

A million stars fill the sky

above the New Mexico mountains

wrapped in a red Navajo blanket

I stand on the porch of my cabin

my breath steaming the air

head tilted toward the stars

The constellations of the Milky way

spread out like diamonds

There he is, my great hunter, Orion

son of the great  god, Poseidon

Betelgeuse, his right shoulder

Bellatrix, his left, 

Rigel, his left foot,

Saiph, his right 

and Mintaka, the westernmost

of the three stars of Orion's belt.

I know I will not see Scorpius, 

for they are never seen 

in the sky at the same time

my mind is filled with wonder

spilling over with delight

of the celestial show 

that fills the sky each night

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY FIFTEEN

April PAD Day 15, 2015

Today's prompt is pick an adjective and make it the title of your poem.

ZEALOUS

He dips his pen, scratches a line

stops, closes his eyes

leans over the page, crosses it out

lays his pen aside, stands

paces to and fro, stops

leans down, takes up the pen

hesitates, dips the pen

scribbles furiously, stops

crumples the paper, throws it on the floor

sits down, takes up the pen once more

writes a word, then another

words flow out of his fingertips

at last he stops,

fingers rake his hair

his hand drops, crumples the paper

throws it on the floor 

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY FOURTEEN

April PAD Day 14, 2015

The prompt for today is write an honest or dishonest poem.

A DADDY'S WORDS

You told me you could lasso the moon

and bring it down to earth

so I could keep moon beams in a jar 

You told me unicorns were magical 

and could carry me up to the Milky Way

where I could dance among the stars

You told me the trees and wind 

whispered secrets to each other

and if I listened I could hear

You told me fairies lived in moss houses

and danced at night to the tunes

crickets played on their violin legs

You told me Santa Claus, the tooth fairy

and the Easter bunny were real

You held my hand told me you loved me 

more than all the stars that fill the sky

You crossed your heart and told me

that you would never,ever leave me

Then, you went far away 

to fight a war in a foreign land

You kissed me and told me not to cry

You told me you would come back soon

But you lied, they told me you died

Now all I have left are these words 

these empty words you told to me.

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY THIRTEEN

April PAD Day 13

The prompt for today is Confession. I had no time to write this as I was busy with company until ten at night. I wrote this in about ten minutes.

A WIFE'S CONFESSION

When I was a young wife

I sometimes hid the dirty dishes

and lied about the cost of some 

little thing I bought for myself

When I was married ten years

I sometimes hid my tears

and lied about the bruises,

made excuses for the things he did

When I was married twenty years

I no longer waited up at night

when he came home smelling of perfume

with whiskey on his breath

J Kuykendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY TWELVE

April PAD Day 12, 2014

Today's prompt is write a damage poem.

DAMAGED GOODS

Momma left when I was two

and I never really knew

why she left us three

Poppa, my brother and me

Poppa never said a word

but somehow I overheard

about why she went away

the story of why she didn't stay

Momma didn't want to be tied down

didn't want to live in a small town

two children and a husband

wasn't the life she had bargained

These and more words were said

after I was safely tucked in bed

she just couldn't stand to be mother

and worse, she didn't want another

She was too young they would sigh

and they agreed, no one could deny

another baby wasn't in the plan

and this was surely the reason she ran

but, Momma never did return

and it was hard for me to learn

I was the reason Poppa was cheated

and finally died a man defeated

Now I am twenty and three

and the one I love just left me

and I am left to wonder why

Everyone I love says goodbye

Momma left because of me

Left Poppa, my brother and me

J Kukendall

APRIL PAD CHALLENGE DAY ELEVEN

April PAD Day 11, 2015

Today's prompt is write a seasonal poem.

SPRING

I am as a young maiden

dressed in verdant green

swelling with birdsong

carried on a gentle breeze

You open your windows,

throw open the doors

and welcome me step in

you inhale my breath, like 

intoxicating perfume

I am the soft rays of sunlight 

the tender fingers of morn

I am fertile green shoots

the swelling pregnant buds

the harbinger of new life

my colors strain in joy

against the slumbering

old southernwood clothed 

his drab brown garments

AUTUMN

I am neither young nor old

my garment, red and gold 

bursting forth from the seared

breath of hot-blooded youth

my rich mantle, aflame 

with riotous, wanton glory

I have grown wise, a sage

you inhale my breath

the sharp bite of a crisp apple

I am the bursting orange pumpkins

the wine of plump grape days

the flaming sunset that hearkens

the last crimson flush of youth

my golden days trickle down

like sand through you fingers

I prepare for a long sleep

as the chill breath of decline

blows across my brow

J Kuykendall