Friday, March 17, 2023

Stone Soup Croutons, 3-15-23: Unwanted Caesar


Stone Soup Croutons is a weekly poem I write using lines and impressions selected from Stone Soup Poetry's open mic readers and features. I figure out a title (and sometimes the rest of the poem) later. You can read the other ones I've done since 2015 here.
 
I also have a book collecting the best of my first year of poems. Click here to purchase it.

 Margaret R. Sáraco was our online feature on March 15. Please donate to her Venmo at @Margaret-Saraco, which I plan to do later today. I appreciate her being a good sport and playing up that it was the ides of March. I play it up in this week's poem. 
 
For the second week in a row, I'm repeating words in the poem intentionally. Even when writing in the second version, I do my best to avoid it. For the second week in a row, it appears to be unavoidable. That annoying "you." Thanks in advance for your forgiveness, and thanks for reading.


Unwanted Caesar
 
Wall shadows
wonder why 
you're still here. 

Current calls, 
but you haven't 
taken hint. 

Roads split, 
trains derail to
throw you off.

Morning frost
follows you into
late evening.

Class bullies 
track you
after tagging.

Fog follows
feet, a cat after 
hollow ball.

Geologists 
aim prize rocks
at your head.

Cubicles just
another dark
alleyway.

Thoughts and
prayers your
prerogative. 

Just don't dare 
turn them 
into words.

When the storm
finally stalls,
it happens.

Ghosts of sins
past, promises
broke, come out.

They plume out
from cover of 
wind-dashed dark.

Relieved, you'll
put your head
down, sleep.

The monsters you
looked our for
are here at last.

Waited so long
to be covered, 
even dirt counts.

Thanks for coming, new people!

Special thanks to Angelo D'Amato, Alexander Perez, Ed Gault, Jan Rowe, Nancy Dodson, Bil Lewis, Maria Neuda, Carol Weston, Jon Wesick, Shockie G., Theresa Rose, Robert Fleming, James Van Looy and special feature Margaret R. Sáraco. 

1 comment:

Margaret R. Sáraco said...

So fun! Chad. Love your poem. I loved being a themed feature.