Unsold Poems from the April 1, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl
The following poems from the April 1, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my LiveJournal profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods.
There are still some verses left in the linkback poem, " Lawless, Winged, and Unconfined" is now complete. Link to this page to reveal the remaining verses of " Hatching into the Future."
"April Showers" -- 100 lines, $50 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
A Dreamwidth social event prompt inspired the free-verse poem "April Showers," in which Calliope attends her first baby shower as a woman. My cottoncandy fluff, let me show you it.
Availing for posting after "Learning to Be Her" has been published.
The card came inside
a green and yellow envelope
with booties and bunnies on the front.
Closer inspection revealed that
the booties had skate blades
and the bunnies were snowshoe hares.
Calliope was surprised to receive
an invitation to Jackie Frost's baby shower.
She had never been to one before,
and even as Calvin the last was decades ago,
toddling along behind Mom to Aunt Fanny's.
"Chance Met" -- 48 lines, $20
A Dreamwidth blind date prompt inspired the poem "Chance Met," in which two people try to navigate around their secrets. This is written in unrhymed quatrains.
"Engendered Lives" -- 22 lines, $10
From a Dreamwidth prompt, there is the free-verse poem "Engendered Lives," a tale of different shapes and loves and offspring. Basically, it's an exploration of Loki as metasexual.
" Learning to Be Her" -- 71 lines, $35.50 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
Yes, Polychrome Heroics has a soup whose identity is flipped; that's Calvin/Calliope. In the free-verse poem "Learning to Be Her," Cal sets out to create a feminine persona to go with the new female body.
There are so many things,
Calvin/Calliope realizes,
that girls learn growing up
so they know how to be women,
so much they are taught
that he never had a chance to pick up.
The whirlwind gave him a woman's body
to match the hidden spirit inside,
something felt but never named
suddenly whipped out into the open.
"Learning to Breathe the Clear Mountain Air" -- 41 lines, $20 (Torn World)
For genderqueer in Torn World, I wrote the free-verse poem "Learning to Breathe the Clear Mountain Air." It's about gender history in the Empire and how people can move to a place that understands no-gender folks.
"Like the Two Wings of a Bird" -- 39 lines, $15 SOLD (Fledgling Grace)
Based on a Dreamwidth prompt is the free-verse poem "Like the Two Wings of a Bird." There are actually multiple ways that genderqueer identity can manifest in Fledgling Grace; this one is a gynandromorph.
"Parts of Myselves" -- 163 lines, $81.50 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
For Damask, I wrote "Parts of Myselves," exploring gender and sexual orientation among a diverse group of headmates. They are trying different accommodations and techniques to adapt to their new life, but it's slow going.
Available for posting after "Needled" and "Drawing Me Out" have been published.
The mirror shows me a face
that I wear but is not mine,
tinted skin instead of pinkish-fair,
golden curls instead of
straight white hair.
This is Maisie's face,
but I'm not Maisie,
can't even fake being her
as well as Maze can.
"Souls Without Form" -- 57 lines, $20
From your reincarnation prompt came the free-verse poem "Souls Without Form," which explores the different ways and implications of incarnating as queer in some regard.
"A Stranger's Way" -- 82 lines, $41 (Beneath the Family Tree)
It seems that each culture places different expectations on genderqueer people. "A Stranger's Way" explores what happens when somebody doesn't want to be a shaman, and isn't happy described as one-between, but insists on being a man and looking for a wife. This poem is written in free verse.
In the spring when the wild sheep
were shedding their wool,
a stranger of the Strong People
came to the Camp of the Wide Tree.
Twined in a tuft of hair were
the blue and red feathers
of one-between, but with
the blue fastened over the red
so that only a crescent showed at the tip.
"An Unexpected Connection" -- 208 lines, $104 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
Savoir Faire and Sintonizao tangle with the Sponge. It turns out that, with an asexual person in need of healing, Pax can do different things. Poor guy, he's still learning how to get a handle on his talents. This is written in free verse.
Sintonizao was working a shift at the
Super Power Organizational & Operational Nexus,
using her synaesthetic energy manipulation
to relay messages coded to the recipients.
This made it easier to coordinate
a team of superheroes in a fight,
even if they weren't a regular team.
The current occasion went well
until Savoir Faire returned to base
with a prisoner in tow.
There are still some verses left in the linkback poem, " Lawless, Winged, and Unconfined" is now complete. Link to this page to reveal the remaining verses of " Hatching into the Future."
"April Showers" -- 100 lines, $50 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
A Dreamwidth social event prompt inspired the free-verse poem "April Showers," in which Calliope attends her first baby shower as a woman. My cottoncandy fluff, let me show you it.
Availing for posting after "Learning to Be Her" has been published.
The card came inside
a green and yellow envelope
with booties and bunnies on the front.
Closer inspection revealed that
the booties had skate blades
and the bunnies were snowshoe hares.
Calliope was surprised to receive
an invitation to Jackie Frost's baby shower.
She had never been to one before,
and even as Calvin the last was decades ago,
toddling along behind Mom to Aunt Fanny's.
"Chance Met" -- 48 lines, $20
A Dreamwidth blind date prompt inspired the poem "Chance Met," in which two people try to navigate around their secrets. This is written in unrhymed quatrains.
"Engendered Lives" -- 22 lines, $10
From a Dreamwidth prompt, there is the free-verse poem "Engendered Lives," a tale of different shapes and loves and offspring. Basically, it's an exploration of Loki as metasexual.
" Learning to Be Her" -- 71 lines, $35.50 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
Yes, Polychrome Heroics has a soup whose identity is flipped; that's Calvin/Calliope. In the free-verse poem "Learning to Be Her," Cal sets out to create a feminine persona to go with the new female body.
There are so many things,
Calvin/Calliope realizes,
that girls learn growing up
so they know how to be women,
so much they are taught
that he never had a chance to pick up.
The whirlwind gave him a woman's body
to match the hidden spirit inside,
something felt but never named
suddenly whipped out into the open.
"Learning to Breathe the Clear Mountain Air" -- 41 lines, $20 (Torn World)
For genderqueer in Torn World, I wrote the free-verse poem "Learning to Breathe the Clear Mountain Air." It's about gender history in the Empire and how people can move to a place that understands no-gender folks.
"Like the Two Wings of a Bird" -- 39 lines, $15 SOLD (Fledgling Grace)
Based on a Dreamwidth prompt is the free-verse poem "Like the Two Wings of a Bird." There are actually multiple ways that genderqueer identity can manifest in Fledgling Grace; this one is a gynandromorph.
"Parts of Myselves" -- 163 lines, $81.50 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
For Damask, I wrote "Parts of Myselves," exploring gender and sexual orientation among a diverse group of headmates. They are trying different accommodations and techniques to adapt to their new life, but it's slow going.
Available for posting after "Needled" and "Drawing Me Out" have been published.
The mirror shows me a face
that I wear but is not mine,
tinted skin instead of pinkish-fair,
golden curls instead of
straight white hair.
This is Maisie's face,
but I'm not Maisie,
can't even fake being her
as well as Maze can.
"Souls Without Form" -- 57 lines, $20
From your reincarnation prompt came the free-verse poem "Souls Without Form," which explores the different ways and implications of incarnating as queer in some regard.
"A Stranger's Way" -- 82 lines, $41 (Beneath the Family Tree)
It seems that each culture places different expectations on genderqueer people. "A Stranger's Way" explores what happens when somebody doesn't want to be a shaman, and isn't happy described as one-between, but insists on being a man and looking for a wife. This poem is written in free verse.
In the spring when the wild sheep
were shedding their wool,
a stranger of the Strong People
came to the Camp of the Wide Tree.
Twined in a tuft of hair were
the blue and red feathers
of one-between, but with
the blue fastened over the red
so that only a crescent showed at the tip.
"An Unexpected Connection" -- 208 lines, $104 (Polychrome Heroics) SOLD
Savoir Faire and Sintonizao tangle with the Sponge. It turns out that, with an asexual person in need of healing, Pax can do different things. Poor guy, he's still learning how to get a handle on his talents. This is written in free verse.
Sintonizao was working a shift at the
Super Power Organizational & Operational Nexus,
using her synaesthetic energy manipulation
to relay messages coded to the recipients.
This made it easier to coordinate
a team of superheroes in a fight,
even if they weren't a regular team.
The current occasion went well
until Savoir Faire returned to base
with a prisoner in tow.