Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Why should proud summer boast
Before the birds have any cause to sing?
Why should I joy?"
-Love's Labour's Lost

Future

imagining
the rest of your life
can be scary
like diving into a sky blue pool
not knowing how deep
imagining tomorrow
or the day after that
can be scary too
but imagining a sunny day
isn't hard
or a laugh
or a bird, diving from its nest
living
one second
to the fullest
one minute at a time
will make your heart swell
your brain
work its magic
your blood will
 happily
rush through your body
and you will be awake
ready to face the day

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"I had rather live
With cheese and garlic in a windmill"
-King Henry IV

Too much glue, too much icing

Trees stand

Like many toothpicks

Molded together with too much glue

Fluffy snow covers everything

It is a winter wonderland

But not to me

Maybe in December, when this was my dream

But not February

Not almost March!

The flakes float past my window

I do not even look up

Begging the sky

For rain

Not frozen particles

For sun, for spring

Even icing on a cake grows tiresome

When there is excess

And there is icing in New England

Refusing to melt

To go away

Powdered sugar

Is detestable

Flour and other white substances

Are frowned upon

Men and women itch to put their overused shovels

In the garage for good

Or until next year

When it starts all over again

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Welcome hither:
I have begun to plant thee, and will labour
To make thee full of growing"
-Macbeth

Puddles

Dismal puddles sit
Wishing spring would come quickly
They could melt away

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"A merrier man,
Within the limit of becoming mirth,
I never spent an hour's talk with."
-Love's Labour's Lost

Monster Made of Pen

One day a monster came to me
In my notebook, with my pen in my hand
I knew from the first line that  I drew
He would be the terror of the land
He grew a head
With a pointy nose
He grew a slithery tail
He grew a body so enormous
It would have outdone to any whale
His fingers had claws
His toes did too
His teeth were like razors
I'd look out if I were you!

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before"
-Sonnet 60

My thoughts about thinking

Sometimes I think I think too much
The thinking process slows me down
If only the words
Could flow more easily
From my brain to my fingers
I think something stops them
In the middle
I think it's the thinking
That cramps my brain

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more"
-Macbeth

Clock

There's no one more steady than a clock
With arms that move and fingers that tock
Sitting still throughout the day
He's always keen to run away

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Look in the calendar, and bring me word"
-Julius Caesar

Evening

Dad chops red peppers quickly
Then saws the French bread into slices
Pasta simmers on the stove
NPR tickles our ears
Sitting at the table with the ruby table cloth
The fruit bowl in the middle
Full of apples and unripe bananas
Now I walk
Into the  living room
Plop myself down on the couch
Brother follows
The lamps glow as I pull a blanket
Around my shoulders
Books are stacked neatly on the table
I read the titles
Sideways
 A picture I drew sits
Carelessly left on the floor
Pencil smudged
As a result of my left hand
The radio sings
Music swirling in the background
Dad likes classical
Brothers bicker playfully in another room
I sip my water
Fingernails clicking against the glass
The darkness outside threatens
Yet inside is the warmth of family

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools"
-King Lear

Nothing more to say

This poem is for anyone who has ever felt this way. Lost in something far greater then they are, yet attached to the world with a string. What to do is the question to ask yourself, even if you draw a blank. If all else fails, write a poem about not being able to write a poem.

Sometimes, the words don't come
My fingers are still
Thoughts are erratic
Lines are jagged
My computer screen
Glows in my face
My eyes are blank
My thoughts wander
Aimlessly
As fish wander through
Seas of kelp
My eyelids grow heavy
As I sit and ponder the world
Simple things begin to have meaning
The sunlight on my desk chair
The dusty soccer trophy on my bookcase
 A bare branch tap tap tapping on my window
Yet still
The words don't come
Won't come
My computer goes to sleep
After a period of inactivity
And I watch
The blackness of the screen
Thinking
A hole in the wall
Catches my attention
I stare into space
Nothing to write about
My wrinkled shirt lies dirty on the floor
And still
The words don't come

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Like a dull actor now,
I have forgot my part, and I am out,
Even to a full disgrace"
-Coriolanus

Be Happy!

Crisp
clean
air
bright
golden
sunshine
happy
radiant
smiles
there
is
always
something
to be joyful
about

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"An old man, broken with the storms of state,
Is come to lay his weary bones among ye;
Give him a little earth for charity!"
-King Henry VIII

Song

A pattern of notes
Which soothes the mind and the soul
Always food for thought

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us"
-King Lear

Unidentified Rose

The misty morning brings surprises
You walk down the damp drive
Faintly hoping
For something unusual, out of the ordinary
Staring around the yard
Wishing for change,
For mystery
Then
Poking out of the old, decrepit mailbox
A tear of red
Scarlet against the white and grey
Of dawn
A message
Of no words
Unsigned
The single rose
Which represents so much
Brings a hope to your heart
A smile to your lips
A ray of sunshine
To the grimness of February
This single flower
Brings happiness to so many

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"I tell you, my lord fool, out of this nettle, danger, we
pluck this flower, safety"
-King Henry IV

Winter or Spring??

Melting, melting
Constant dripping
Squishy fluid
In my boots
Rivers running
Down the street
Everything is
Incomplete
Two seasons
Merged into one whole
Is just a lot of slush and mush

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"The heavens forbid
But that our loves and comforts should increase
Even as our days do grow!"
-Othello

Lull

There is a lull
After Valentine's Day
A midwinter crisis
Of boredom and frigid weather
No holidays
For months
Nothing to look forward to but Spring
Which seems miles away

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Mine eyes
Were not in fault, for she was beautiful;
Mine ears, that heard her flattery"
-Cymbeline

Old Ideas

Bits of paper lie
Strewn across the table
Crumpled into balls

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Love goes by haps; Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps"
-Much Ado About Nothing

Happy Valentine's Day!

Paper-
red and white
Sits atop desks, waiting
candy hearts
make patterns on the tabletop
ready to be nibbled
ribbons and bits of paper
fly through the air
as an intense card making session
occurs
hearts are worn
on sleeves, on chests
emotions are not taken lightly
or are they?

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings."
-Sonnet

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day!

Pink frills are yucky
Red roses too
That's Valentine's Day
From a boy's point of view!

Hearts and pink paper
Cover the wall
But I would prefer
A V-Day soccer ball!

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"And many strokes though with a little axe
Hew down and fell the hardest-timbered oak."
-King Henry VI

It's Getting Closer

Roses are red
Violets are blue
There are two days left
I'm excited, are you??

Valentine cards
Can be really cute
V-Day is a time
To stock up on loot

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown"
-King Henry IV

3 Days Left

Roses are red
Violets are blue
You're crazy and weird
But I think you will do

Violets are blue
Roses are red
If Monday is awful
I'll go back to bed

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"He that filches from me my good name
Robs me of which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed"
-Othello

4 More Days

Here are two more suggestions, rather less self destructive than the first one. I'm becoming better I think! By Valentine's Day I will be a pro!

Come Valentine's Day
I will cry and whine
If you aren't with me
So will you be mine?

Flowers are pretty
Candy is sweet
Being my valentine
Would be really neat

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"That light we see is burning in my hall.
How far that little candle throws its beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world"
-The Merchant of Venice

Valentine's Day is Coming Our Way

Five days until Valentine's Day. I understand your pain, writing poem after poem can get dull and stretch your imagination a bit too much. So I will write Valentine's Day poems until Valentine's Day, just so you can all get that little boost in pink hearts and frills creativity.

Roses are blue
Violets are red
I don't think I'm
Completely right in the head

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

" 'Tis a cruelty,
To load a falling man"
-King Henry VIII

Brain Over Brawn

It's a mental game
Knocking down opponents
Like chess pieces on
A gargantuan scale

It's a mental game
Conditioning each muscle
Each Limb
Into the perfect form

It's a mental game
Vying for a spot on the team
A chance to prove yourself
Among so many others

Whoever said
It's a physical game
Has the wrong mind set
It's a mental game

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"All my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay
And follow thee my lord throughout the world"
-Romeo and Juliet

Haiku

A verse of few words
Easy to write and to read
Yet so difficult

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"I give thee thanks in part of thy deserts,
And will with deeds requite thy gentleness"
-Titus Andronicus

Scarf

Layers of yarn
Strung together
Knotted tightly
So none will come undone
Yet pick the right end of yarn
And the entire scarf
A myriad of rainbow colors
Will unravel
And sit
In a disconsolate pile
On the floor untouched
The yarn is a thousand colors
Textures thrive and flourish
When it is done
It will be gently wound
Around a person's neck
Warm to the touch
Their personal symbol
Of creativity

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"For mine own part, I could be well content
To entertain the lag-end of my life
With quiet hours"
-King Henry IV

Drip, slip, grip, pip, whip, nip

Icicles
drip
drip
dripping
down the side
of the building
slipping
trying to stay
on top they are
gripping
all while the squirrels are
pip
pip
pipping
down the road the cars are
whipping
at our toes
the frost is nipping
nip nip
nipping

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Be happy!
Let all the number of the stars give light
To thy fair way!"
-Antony and Cleopatra

My Very Own World

sometimes I feel
so detached
separated from
the world
in my own universe
floating
dreaming
willing myself
never to turn back
my world is full of
beauty
trees and
grassy hillsides
waiting to be explored

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Why, what's the matter,
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?"
-Much Ado About Nothing

Winter Doldrums

Winter doldrums start
To eat away at the soul
You long for summer

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"Receive what cheer you may:
The night is long that never finds the day."
-Macbeth

Trees in the Snow

Trees are
weighted down
with powdered sugar
their boughs
hanging limply towards the ground
a work of art
during a snowstorm

Shakespeare Quote of the Day

"In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility"
-King Henry V

Sleep

Drifting into the
Deep and dark abyss of sleep
Dreams float around you