beyond my bleak midwinter

We are in the bleak midwinter part of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.  Most of this piece is sweeter than my others.  Here’s the first stanza of “beyond my bleak midwinter”:

my town prepares for spring beauty

I drape my own bleak midwinter

across three clothes lines

thrash it with a carpet beater

loosen dust and dirt

© 7 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#bleak #winter #dust #dirt #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

Photo credit:  maria-guerra-1172824-unsplash

root bound

I read this piece at an open mic in October 2018, have since changed the name and one word; thought I had shared it here, but can’t find the evidence.  So, here’s the middle stanza of “rootbound”:

my porous stalk, a sponge

my bound roots wallow stagnant water

I loathe this stink

how it snakes

grips the rocks

cracks my terracotta

© 21 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#terracotta #stagnant #crack #bound #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

Photo credit: kyle-ellefson-196125-unsplash

chilly passover

Today, I’m sharing the first and last stanzas of “chilly passover”:

 make a rubbing of me, darling

charcoal your fingers

trace me with onion skin paper

smudge my harsh lines

I used to love the smell of a snuffed out candle

I can still hear you

you can’t take a shortcut

you walk towards my open earth

you want to bury yourself in me

but all you can do now is

throw dirt on my casket

© 8 March 2018

Cindy B. Stevens

#charcoal #fingers #OnionSkinPaper #casket #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

Photo credit:  jacqueline-day-619822-unsplash

bare naked beauty

I don’t write many sweet poems, or whatever you want to call them:  flowery, sweet, fluffy, soft . . ..  But my poem titled “bare naked beauty” is one of those, so here’s the first stanza:

I Saturday shop on 9^thStreet Durham

Blue Corn serves warmth and food

I watch snow magic cover concrete and dirty cars

© 7 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#snow #magic #Durham #Saturday #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

Photo credit: alice-donovan-rouse-63187-unsplash