Bad Poetry Thursday

A First Step
by [REDACTED]

Let us go then, you and I
Out past where the furthest whitecaps swell
Out beyond the reef
Let us step out onto the water
With only faith to float us
And see what we can do
Let us tempt the ocean and mock the waves
Out there beyond the final slips of land
And if we sink
We still will spite the sea
Let us go to the bottom of it all
And laugh at all the powers of the earth
Let us not be drowned
For we are the only love gods.

Bad Poetry Tuesday

The Unbearable Lightness of Fire
by [REDACTED]

Her flames lick the seasoned wood
of last year's holly tree
cut down to make more room
and tunneled under to make more light.
Her smoke floats and slips
between the branches
seeking to escape
to send signals to the world about her fate.
But still she sits trapped
caged in rings of stone
Fed, yes, always fed
but poked and prodded
pushed and shoved.
And then the feedings end.
She withers, shrinks
Until she goes quietly into that good night
Nothing left to burn against the dying of the light.

Bad Poetry Monday

Illumination
by [REDACTED]

Light lightening the woods
Natural and yet unnatural
The glowing orb is here for now
A second hanging limply from the branch
And ferns below
Are reaching up to grasp the shine
Unfurled fronds are long enough
And there beneath the surface
The worms churn