Thursday, March 5, 2015

forward...punCH!

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Good morning on this snowy day in suburban DC!  We're marching along briskly in our first week of the Forward...MarCH Poetry CHallenge (read the introduction to this project here) and our word today is "punCH"--another one with several meanings most delicious to the poet.

I'm posting my one previously published poem for the week, but first I'll share one from Donna of Mainely Write.  You'll see why...
A Punch of Sun

Packing a wallop
Up in the sky 
Noontime it reaches
Cerulean;                                                  
High

--Donna Smith

Really tight, really strong, really great!  And how's this for a coincidence? 


Solar-Powered Sun Puppet


the dark side of me
glowers inside
drags at the tips of my toes

it feeds on clouds
on rainy skies
and only my shadow knows:

how heavy
the day is
how low the horizon
how sodden
and sad
I am

then sweet sun punches a hole in the clouds
sizzles and swims in my eyes
my shadow spills out through a hole in my sole
my darker side hung out to dry

howbrilliantthedayis! 
howhighthebluesky!
how sudden and mad I am!

I’m sunny-side up
I’m pumped full of light 
my silhouette dances on walls

now I can see clearly:
my dark doppelganger
freed by the sun's high call

        my demon cast out, my shadow of doubt
        is the shadow that proves that I am

HM 2009
Pumpkin Butterfly: Poems from the Other Side of Nature (Boyds Mills/Wordsong)

I don't know Donna well, but clearly we have sunthing going on.  Go visit Donna's blog--there's a LOT going on there!

Diane of Random Noodling has gone in a different direction with one of her senryu.  Love this marriage of words and image! (Too bad about Punch and Judy's marriage.)


 And Charles Waters is back, too--reminding me of all the "punch buggy, no punch-backs" that I've lived through in the car.

THE GOOD LUCK ALTERNATIVE
I bash my brother on his arm
I did this as a good luck charm
Until he punches my arm, whack!
 I then decide to pat his back.

(c) Charles Waters 2015 all rights reserved.


Mary Lee gets whacked and walloped by the wind:

Pre-Dawn Walk, Winter Edition

It's more than just a punch.
I'm hit by a powerful blow
as I turn north
into the bitter wind.

It slams me back,
rakes my face,
tears away breath,
tears up my eyes.

Seventy steps,
head bent,
then I turn west
and am sheltered.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015 

Carol's is short and light:

The storm raged on-
punCHed the sky,
letting more snow
flit and fly.

2015 CVarsalona
Joy's punch is eggnog...

Please
Use the
New
Cups to
Have eggnog.
 
And Matt's will quenCH your thirst for a laugh:

Some years ago
I met Don Ho.
He took me out to lunch.
His date was hot;
that's why I got
a nice Hawaiian punch.

-© 2015, Matt Forrest Esenwine

Join us tomorrow for "fetCH"!

12 comments:

  1. Awesome work today, everyone! I can picture the siblings in Charles' poem clearly. Diane -- what a brilliant idea to write about Punch and Judy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mine is here: http://www.maryleehahn.com/2015/03/brrr.html

    and here:

    Pre-Dawn Walk, Winter Edition

    It's more than just a punch.
    I'm hit by a powerful blow
    as I turn north
    into the bitter wind.

    It slams me back,
    rakes my face,
    tears away breath,
    tears up my eyes.

    Seventy steps,
    head bent,
    then I turn west
    and am sheltered.

    ©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

    ReplyDelete
  3. Heidi, in my offering for #SOL15 and #spiritualjourney Thursday I have a poem with a few CH words inside: reaCHed, stretCHed , arCHed at http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2015/03/journey-onward.html.

    I added a short CH poem for the word punCHed to describe what is still happening outside my windows:

    The storm raged on-
    punCHed the sky,
    letting more snow
    flit and fly.

    2015 CVarsalona

    ReplyDelete
  4. Some years ago
    I met Don Ho.
    He took me out to lunch.
    His date was hot;
    that's why I got
    a nice Hawaiian punch.

    -© 2015, Matt Forrest Esenwine

    Fun challenge, Heidi! I wish I could do all of these, but I've got a major project that's taking up most of my spare time...but I'll try to keep up on things here!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you, thank you, everyone! Mary Lee, you are brave to go out before light at this time of year. Carol, I feel like someone is punching a giant pillow in the sky and cold feathers keep on keep on floating down. And Matt, every time I think of yours I gotta giggle!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Heidi, These are wonderful. I am sorry but I've been punCHed with a deadline. I can relate to Mary Lee today. The wind whipped me around as I walked to my car. It's a strong one today as this cold front punches through.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice showing today! Thank you everyone. Donna and Heidi's poem put me in mind of "How Deep is the Ocean," a great Irving Berlin song. Here's Ella Fitzgerald's version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fY2EOIjeBE

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Heidi,
    I saw this as a jumprope rhyme.

    Ice cream soda,
    Delaware punch
    won't you be my
    own honey bunch?

    If you love me
    here's what to do,
    come jump with me
    one and two.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, Heidi, I'm glad you enjoyed it - and glad I was able to come up with something spur-of-the-moment!

    ReplyDelete
  10. These are great! Congrats, everyone. Okay, I'll go see what's up for today...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Please
    Use the
    New
    Cups to
    Have eggnog.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for joining in the wild rumpus!