Conversion Poems (form–>free)

8 thoughts on “Conversion Poems (form–>free)”

1. i had a grandmother once
   for breakfast, she always ordered coffee with milk
   she wore only red shoes
   her favorite thing was to watch
   her grandchildren eat their fill

   we never spoke,
   we nodded and said words,
   always in different languages
   she kept our photos next to her bed
   our gifts carefully displayed on her shelves

   she refused to see
   my sister and i’s birth
   my mother was too old, she said
   we were going to come out wrong

   my grandmother lived through war,
   she passed it down to us,
   my mother carried it in her anger,
   i carry it in my grief,

   she was a dancer,
   her daughter was a painter,
   my sister is a poet,
   i’m just what’s left

   할머니, 사랑해
   저는 배웠어요
   들을 수있어요?
   다시 춤을 추길 바라

2. A helpless sack of bones
   There she goes again
   Her feebleness pains me
   Her skin has lost its glow

   There she goes again
   She made me leave today
   Her skin has lost its glow
   We can never dance again.

   The hospital called while I was home
   We can never dance again
   She is gone, forever…code blue.
   There she goes again.

3. A (previous) ode to Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

   Only in the morning do you come
   A surprise, an infrequent blessing
   Little do you know how your presence sustains me
   A labor of love, though that labor goes unseen
   To those who treasure you. I wish that more were keen
   Elements of you that I loved already
   Rich flavor and warm touch
   There are days I find I need you, though you aren’t there
   When I see you again
   When I embrace you once more
   I will make sure others neglect you nevermore

4. Scar Tissue

   Maybe it’s not what you were expecting, but I forgive you.
   It transpired slowly, before I could even realize what was happening,
   before the stubborn part of me could resist,
   my stupid, stupid heart opened up and took you in again.

   Somehow, we’ve returned back to some semblance of normalcy,
   where we chuckle to fill the awkward silences and make small talk like strangers.
   But it was still tentative and raw, with jagged edges like a still-healing wound.

   Before I know it, we’re joking around and acting as if nothing happened.
   Where every time you pat my head, I glow a little brighter. Beaming,
   because Dad, I forgive you, and I hope you can forgive me too.

5. Little butterflies chasing
   the streams of sunlight,
   the light blue sky filled
   with their beautiful wings.

   Pink with black stripes,
   sitting on the red rose,
   This one seems utterly content
   just fluttering its wings.

   Gliding away,
   not a worry in its mind,
   the butterfly flies away,
   the others right behind its wings.

   The butterfly lives
   in its own world,
   blissfully unaware,
   of the threats behind its wings.

   The butterflies have found their next muse.
   Oh, so pretty!
   On its white petals, they sit,
   the sunlight reflecting on their wings.

6. Cut the double strand
   Switch you with me
   Me with you
   We are one again
   There is new love to be found

7. The sun rises over thawing hills,
   breath warming fingertips, visible,
   invisible wind. Biting chapped lips.
   Chills threaten, a shivering smile. Delight in it.

   Breath warming fingertips, grasped together,
   floating, drifting up above the skyline
   that threatens, becomes a shivering smile.
   Eyes in the horizon.
   Teeth glistening, a morning to grit and bear—fine.
   Exalt in it, that frigid glory. Take your time.
   Forgotten fires frozen over; frost incinerating.
   A morning to endure, fine, finally.

   Forgotten fires frozen over,
   Breathe in the winter, again, the thrill.
   Cold enough to be shocked sober,
   To breathe in and know survival.

8. Creeping through the gaps within my mind
   So luring and tempting
   Whispering sweet words into my ears
   Hushed voices that send shivers down my spine

   Its enticing words pull me in
   Wanting me to take action
   Yet, I am stuck between a decision
   That calls for an answer

   I am driven by you
   Despite how shameful you are
   You still have a grip hold on me
   I must accept that you are natural

   Not one to be ashamed, beauty perhaps you are
   An unknown force that is driven by naturalistic behaviors
   I must accept the faults
   And allow you to have me