Unsold Poems from the March 3, 2015 Poetry Fishbowl
The following poems from the March 3, 2015 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 verses left in the linkback poem "To Choose a Direction." Linking to this page will reveal new verses of that.
"Bunker Skills" (Polychrome Heroics)
Regarding the SCA, they're a valuable archive of traditional skills. This led to the free-verse poem "Bunker Skills." Mallory goes to a SCAdian event and learns about improvisational cooking.
100 lines, Buy It Now = $50 SOLD
(This is set a few months down the timeline, has already been sponsored, and will be posted after some other poems have been published.)
Mallory drifted through the faire,
borrowed skirts swishing around her ankles,
and tried to think of herself as this Maudelyn person
whom she was trying to portray.
Maudelyn was the daughter of travelers,
her parents sometimes working as traders
and other times as entertainers,
often in trouble and never knowing
what to do with themselves or their daughter.
" The Cutting Edge" (Polychrome Heroics)
A DW prompt for Shiv inspired the free-verse poem "The Cutting Edge." After the hospital comes the trial, and brief encounters with people concerned about Shiv. He really doesn't deal with any of that well.
60 lines, Buy It Now = $20
"The Discontinuity of Science" (Torn World)
The Upheaval prompt inspired the free-verse poem "The Discontinuity of Science." Two people who are really just low-grade observation techs get a sideline view of the disaster as their technology tears itself apart.
70 lines, Buy It Now = $35
Efeilyu made the last few
delicate connections to bring
his monitor screens active,
then signaled the lab
that everything was ready.
Teloim jittered in her seat,
checking and rechecking
equipment that was already set.
" The Inheritor of Our Fear" (Polychrome Heroics)
A DW prompt inspired the free-verse poem "The Inheritor of Our Fear." A fork stalks Mallory because he doesn't think that soups should have kids. Heron and Ham are outraged.
294 lines, Buy It Now = $147
Mallory caught a bus to
the Sanger Women's Center
in time for the baby class
offered for college mothers.
" Right and Responsibility" (Polychrome Heroics)
A DW prompt inspired the free-verse poem "Right and Responsibility," an immediate sequel to "The Inheritor of Our Fear." Mallory and Heron deal with the aftermath of the stalking incident.
248 lines, Buy It Now = $124
When Mallory woke up, she was
stretched out on the futon -- which was
still in couch mode, rather than bed mode --
and covered with her new peach blanket,
the fabric warm and fuzzy under her fingers.
" Lay First the Foundation" (Polychrome Heroics)
A DW and a backchannel prompt inspired a comparison-contrast between overt and covert uses of superpowers as illustrated through events in world history. "Lay First the Foundation" is written in free verse.
56 lines, Buy It Now = $20
" The Shadow of His Hand" (Polychrome Heroics)
A prompt about Hadyn inspired the free-verse poem "The Shadow of His Hand." When Hadyn gets worried about a friend, she has to figure out what to do about it.
182 lines, Buy It Now = $91
Hadyn enjoyed art class.
Unlike math or reading, it wasn't
something you could flunk;
as long as you gave it a good try,
you got credit for the work.
" The World Keeps Spinning" (Polychrome Heroics)
From a DW prompt I got the free-verse poem "The World Keeps Spinning." Cassandra experiments with liquor. It doesn't go all that well.
230 lines, Buy It Now = $115
Cassandra has survived the worst
that life could throw at her,
and she's still kicking.
She has survived growing up
with parents who think sex is dirty
and superpowers are evil.
From the betrayal prompt came a triptych of free-verse poems in the series Frankenstein's Family. All three of these follow the story "Urgent Business" by DW user Dialecticdreamer, so first that needs to be published, and then these can be posted in order, whenever they're sponsored.
" Man's True Nature"
When Fridrik steps in a trap, Shandor brings him back to the castle for help -- but convincing Fridrik to accept it is easier said than done.
Igor was feeding the chickens when
Shandor and Fridrik returned from the forest
through the slanting afternoon light.
Shandor was half-carrying Fridrik,
who left a trail of bright red blood
over the white snow.
" Between Power and Vulnerability"
The day after the accident, Victor and Igor check to see how Fridrik is healing. An injured werewolf is a cranky creature.
346 lines, Buy It Now = $173
In the morning, Victor carefully extricated himself
from the cuddlesome pile of limbs that had
taken over his bed, leaving Igor and Csilla
entwined while he slipped into the bathroom.
"The Noblest of All Animals"
Victor takes Igor and Shandor down to the village in search of justice. It doesn't show very often, but Victor is really not a safe person to piss off.
482 lines, Buy It Now = $241
After breakfast, Victor went to the back of his closet
and pulled out what he privately thought of as
his "lord clothes," the gold-piped black suit and
his best white shirt with pearl buttons all down
the front placket, gold cufflinks and stickpin,
tall black boots hugging his legs, then
a top hat and frock coat over it all.
Usually he felt pretentious putting on
such a show, but today it felt different.
Today it felt like armor, like a knight
girding himself for the battle to come.