This is for you, Mom

This is just to say

I have taken my helmet off 

once or twice 

when on another road.

You probably should scold me.

Forgive me.

I felt so free

and so mischievous.

~Eliza J. Dennis

A poem written by me and inspired by a poem by William Carlos Williams

This is just to say

I have picked too many dandelions

that went bad right away.

You probably would have liked it better if I had left them in the ground.

Forgive me.

They were so yellow

and there were so many.

Photo by my sister Ani

William Carlos Williams originally wrote a letter to his wife in poetry form, that inspired this poem and many others.

This is just to say

by Williams Carlos Williams

I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox

and which you were probably saving for breakfast.

Forgive me.

They were delicious

so sweet 

and so cold

Icecream Stand

a poem



The ice cream man, broke the first waffle cone, so he had to get another one. He told me to call him Paul, but he looked like a saint, so I called him St. Paul. When he looked down at me, I could tell he thought I was an angel, but he didn’t know I had a knife in my pocket, that made me a bandit. I didn’t look like one because dad said I couldn’t ride my horse around town. I smiled at him when he handed me two ice creams, one for me, one for Cali. I was surprised there were still ice cream stands, seeing it was autumn.




#fictionalpoem

My Mother

a poem

She always carried that knife. Even when she was broke. We buried her in late autumn, two miles out of St. Paul. She was buried deep down in the earth. With the plastic angel Cali gave her, and her horse’s saddle tucked under one arm.

I kept the knife. But I vowed to never be broke. I put her high school picture I found in her diary next to the grave. After some thought, left the knife there as well.

This is fictional, my mother is perfectly alive, but I just like writing poems from fictional character's points of view.

Juicy Summers

a poem

I remember the summers in St. Paul to be real Juicy. What with Cali getting married, when Sarah fell off her horse and broke her arm, I remember Aunt Watermelon giving her a lollipop and Sarah sticking her tongue out at me, I didn’t get one. I decided that if I wanted a sucker, I’d have to work for one. I spent all day picking flowers, cutting the stems with my knife so I wouldn’t pull up the roots. I gave them to Aunt Watermelon. She called me an angel, but didn’t give a sucker. I remember looking down at Aunt Watermelon’s fluffy slippers and wishing I had some.

    Autumn is juicy, just not as juicy as summers are.




Hope you liked it! I don't actually have an Aunt Watermelon, this is completely fictional!

Flowers of joy.

credit

Flowers dust the fields like blush across a girl's cheek. 

If you dig a hole into the ground under a field of poppies, 

you would find a girl, your age. 

If you talk to her, you would find that the

sound of her voice is like the smell of roses and lilacs.

She is your friend.

A Cat.

The leap of a cat. The tension of the cat's legs, propelling them 

forward and into the glass window separating the cat and the birds.

Head high, pretending that nothing has happened.

Their dignity not spoiling. Then, once more, leaping upon 

the window, bouncing backwards. 

Words coo like little bells as hands stroke silky fur.

"Good kitty." 

"Did you get 'em, puss?"

"Don't ruin your fur, Snowball."

On and on and on... 

Until... the cat moves to another window...

~Eliza

Light of the Moon

credit

I am nowhere. And yet, you almost always can find me. Shining through the branches of yesterdays worries, you see my light through all the darkness. You see the sliver of a silver wish that might be granted in a sea of unfortunate things. 

Spirit of the Wind

credit

When all is silent, when all is calm, I make my entrance. Whipping down through trees, crashing atop roofs, blowing your hair across  your face. No one sees me, I am as if the mere thought of wind is invisible. But if you would see me, I would look as familiar to you as your own sister. 

Hope

I am here because when all else fails, when the other spirits have gone to war, when sickness spreads over the land, and when everything is lost, I am all that is left. I am Hope.

credit