October 2022 mini poems
This October, like last year, I set a vague intention to write a few short poems (length ≤ 5 lines), in the spirit of inktober and other daily challenges.
1. Gargoyle
The old woman sits on the bench under the gargoyle. He remembers when she was young, when her grandmother was young. His visage grows more weathered with each passing decade, but he will watch over her family for a long time yet.
2. Scurry
Come, scurry down, into leaves, down, into dirt, down, into rock, down, scurry down.
3. Bat
Content note: body horror
Expand / Collapse
Leathery wings burst through the skin of my back.
I am a bat – no, that's not right.
I am an eagle. My lips elongate, become a beak – no. No.
I am a mouse, shrinking, no, a rabbit, no, a horse, a cheetah, dolphin, no,
please just tell me who I am.
4. Scallop
They say space is an ocean. Like a fish, I hide in the scallop shell of this old space station.
5. Flame
Fire, flickering, flaring. White fades to yellow fades to red. And you, standing in the middle of it all, unharmed.
7. Trip
Ships move fast, but space is vast And our worlds are far apart Only me for company On this trip between the stars
8. Match
I remember the first time you held fire. Running up to me, lit match resting on your open palm. How far you've come, with your command of the flames. How much damage you've done.
9. Nest
May you remember to hydrate, may your meds be in reach, may your phone stay charged, may your pain level be low, may your blanket nest be comfy.
11. Eagle
In the sky of the newly discovered gas giant soars an artificial eagle who never gets tired and never has to land.
12. Forget
Half-aware pain gives way to troubled dreams. He isn't aware of the fingers coming to gently rest on his face, only the familiar presence in his mind, and the voice whispering, reassuring, forget.
14. Empty
At the end of the universe, gravity pulls everything that has ever existed into a single point, leaving nothing except one forgotten pair of jorts spinning endlessly in the void.
16. Fowl
Bedraggled, with singed feathers, the chicken squawks proudly. Under her, protected from the world, a dragon hatchling sleeps.
17. Salty
Content note: food
Expand / Collapse
Coffee cup. Freshly made.
Hold it gently, watch the steam.
Pleasing warmth, inviting smell.
Take a sip. Spit it out.
Instead of sugar you've used salt.
21. Bad Dog
The mud-covered puppy tilts his head, as if to say “Am I a bad dog?” I glance at the door, carelessly left open. I scritch under his chin. “No. Never.”
24. Fairy
Make a deal with the fae. It's not safe, no, but don't you want to?