NAPOWRIMO #30: THE ½ WEREWOLF

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

THE ½ WEREWOLF

Follow the moon. Follow the tides. But only half the time. Every other full moon. Sometimes a half moon here or there. But never every cycle of the moon. Usually eight weeks. Sometimes six weeks.

Bark at the moon. Bay at the night sky. Vomit because it takes so much energy. So much time. I really just want to take a nap.

Don’t rely on transformation. It’s usually never full. More likely its half. Or worse. A hairy patch on one’s back. Knuckles and earlobes that will need to be shaved later. Long unkempt nails that will need to be trimmed. A tooth or two protruding more than it should.

It really is rather pathetic. They call me the half-werewolf. But it’s more like the half-assed werewolf. I can’t even bother to burst through my clothing. I don’t wake up naked. I wake up fully clothed. Yeah, maybe there’s a button or two missing from my shirt. Or a zipper has skipped its teeth.

But otherwise, I’m warm and curled up in a fetal ball. In the bright night light of Luna herself. Clutching at my knees. Sucking my thumb. Dreaming of a mostly rare steak.

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.

NAPOWRIMO #29: LATE APRIL, 2015

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

LATE APRIL, 2015

there are black boys being
beaten in Baltimore

against a backdrop
of burning buildings

and what am I doing?

am I standing alongside them
as a brother in arms?

am I standing alongside them
as a brother in Christ?

am I walking out into
the street of my own town

and weeping for them?

what good is a voice
if it isn’t used?

what good is a voice
if it isn’t heard?

what would Queequeg say?

what would Jesus do?

Who-e debel you?

Get behind me Satan!

can two men hug
in the street

wrapped in a counterpane
of Instagram posts

black and white
against a backdrop of color

hugged by the mother
of one or the other

wrapped in her yellow
jacket rather

than being beaten by her
before someone

throws the final punch?

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.

NAPOWRIMO #28: UNTITLED (SCENE)

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

I don't even know what I'm trying to say in this poem any longer, although I think I did at one time. I need to let it go and let it roost for a bit and see if it's plumage changes.

---

All truth be told, I'm a bit worn out by all of this NaPoWriMo writing. I need some time to read and recharge. (I know that it's coming in a couple of days!)

---

UNTITLED (SCENE)

There is a silence
that can only be soothed
by the song of small birds—

Oregon juncos
jump about through
the protective leaves of salal

and azalea as they
search for castaway seeds
from the cockatiel’s cage—

a long-lost cousin
who watches them from
the kitchen window

commenting upon
their foraging and play—
longing to do likewise

but in the safety and security
of his cage.

His song does not sooth.

He does not hop.

He shuffles over wire bars
and newsprint

squawking

his pleasure at

mess-making

and gaining the attention

of both outdoor birds

and his person.

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.

NAPOWRIMO #27: FRUITING BODIES

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

FRUITING BODIES

     fruiting bodies :: naked bodies :: all you need :: to know

spore :: some more :: before :: it becomes :: a chore

     glisten :: moisten :: move :: and mold

shift :: and grasp :: beauty :: to behold

     slick :: and sticky :: tendrils :: threads

keep it going :: refuse :: the dead

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.

SPRING LEAVES

Spring foliage. Downtown Puyallup.

NAPOWRIMO #26: EVERY DAY (FREYA)

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

EVERY DAY (FREYA)

ignored shot across the bow
becomes a death-knell tow

run aground upon the shoals
stranded in the shallows

each day prior a preparation
each day a rehearsal

long-standing practiced ruin
long past reversal

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.

NAPOWRIMO #25: KENOSIS

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

KENOSIS

emptying
emptying out
always emptying

what does this mean?

pointing away
pointing toward another
always pointing away

in humility pointing away

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.

NAPOWRIMO #24: SECRET GIRLFRIEND

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

SECRET GIRLFRIEND

Dusk arrives— Now comes the End—
And yet a Promise made—
Today you’ll see me— Restored— Renewed—
Your Secret Girlfriend—

I’ll walk the distance of the Stars—
To stand at your Right hand—
I’ll hear your Song— Rejoice— Live Long—
Recited ‘pon my Heart—

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.

THE MOURNING ATHENA

"The Mourning Athena" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalking for Friday 20 March 2015.

---

I've been poking around in The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis.  There, as in The Iliad and The Odyssey, both by Homer, the heroes mingle with the gods of Olympus. And Odysseus is tied to Athena.

---

I'm fascinated by Athena's watchfulness over and help rendered to Odysseus. I'm fascinated by Athena's willingness to appear incarnated as beast or man or woman. I'm fascinated by her manipulation.

---

Online, I found an image of Athena that I find particularly compelling—the relief of "The Mourning Athena" as found in the Athenian Acropolis.

---

With her Corinthian helmet worn high on her head while she leans forward on her spear, I see the outline of an octopus. There she was. And then she found her way onto the carport concrete. There she is.

---

View more pictures of "The Mourning Athena" HERE.

NAPOWRIMO #23: ATHENE

For 2015's National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), Troy's Work Table is writing thirty poems in thirty days.

---

shore :: shallow waters :: darting form

Eight-Foot :: rising :: rising

rising :: floating near the surface :: lifting

lifting :: from sea toward sky :: erect

mantle cap :: stele arms :: statuesque

liquid :: solid :: biologic

Corinthian helmet :: chiton :: well-wielded spear

virgin :: warrior :: earned epithets and appelations

She of the Gleaming Eyes ::
     The Golden One ::
          At the Forefront of the Battle

piercing herself in hectocotylitic fashion ::
     the divine born of herself ::
          daughter and mother both

egg :: breath :: tender wave

---

Copyright © 2015 by Troy's Work Table.