“shield”
during months or years of peace
his wife has been polishing--the shield
blackened as it hung in the chimney corner
respond to the call to fight
plain duty admits no hesitation.
a hard interruption of their happy lives,
the risk of passing
from the warm company of men
to the chill shades of death. they knew bravery
is not an everyday possession.
highly as they prized it
to warm their hearts for the clash
most Greek armies
as they charged,
shouted,
that each might borrow from the general stock
courage.
what best suits the citizen-soldier
battle
in which one short effort carries him forward,
in which a man’s duty to his immediate comrade
best spurs his intent.
during months or years of peace
the shield blackened as it hung in the chimney corner
his wife has been polishing
*
--found poem taken from The Greek and Macedonian Art of War by F.E. Adcock. If you are unfamiliar with this type of poetry, it’s a way of collaging the work of another author into a unique poem by clipping, altering, and rearranging pieces into something new.
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing.
“last year’s revels”
the toddler rolls from bed,
a ballerina princess excited
for the special day ahead,
anticipates her long-awaited party.
strawberry-topped chocolate cake
with a grape soda chaser,
she’s fueled for festivity:
rainbowed streamers wave
above a table piled with gifts,
sunshine yellow ribbon
seals each shining gold wrapper,
as storm clouds gather unheaded
outside her window’s thin glass.
she tears a first package apart,
eager, greedy for its contents,
frowns at the dimestore damsel’s
impossible figure and painted smile,
tosses her aside for another
bright box’s glinting temptation,
enchanted to find inside
flint enough to fire her tinder home.
caffeine-fueled and sugar-dosed,
she blazes pirouette on tip-toes,
ecstatic homage to firenadoes
swirling flame outside her door.
she watches in delight,
her face crimson bright
as a demon risen to scorch
this mortal earth with hellfire.
hay-colored landscapes wither,
flames kindle the world: fireworks
enough to entertain her swollen
all-too-childish brain. she collapses,
in a fit of giggles watches murder hornets
bloom across the blood red sky.
her joy indisputable on a face free
from the thin cotton mask she refuses to wear.
she knows these days are hallowed,
these endless nights will last
for years to come.
exhausted from her revels,
quietly
she tears the Barbie’s bloodless arms;
the doll’s blank eyes reflect nothing,
the hollow chest holds her silent scream,
her frozen face beaming
an eternally vacant grin.
#
If you’d like to know more about the craft that went into this poem, next week I will be posting a poem dissection on my Patreon–which is free during the pandemic. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, stay well, and read often!
I’ve been feeling very nostalgic lately, and the above poem was inspired by my attendance at multiple poetry readings last year. Hopefully, we’ll all be able to attend them again soon. In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, and read often!
April is National Poetry Month, and although many poetry and writing events have been cancelled due to the current world crisis, we have also come together in other ways through technology. Many open mics, book launches, and other meetups have switched to virtual venues, and people are searching for new ways to come together, support each other, and consume art.
So in the spirit of this unity, I’d love to share some online venues to help get through these trying times. My favorite poetry magazine, Rattle, has a podcast and a virtual open mic called Rattlecast that meets/posts weekly. The FaceBook group for Latitudes Poetry Night has switched from monthly (in person) meetups to weekly Wednesday night (online) Open Mics as a way to support others during quarantine. Different libraries have switched to online meetups for book clubs such as Barberton Library’s monthly Hooks and Books.
There are also free downloadable ebooks from ManyBooks.Net, Project Gutenberg, and (for audiobooks) Librivox. And, last but not least, many libraries have online resources as well for checkouts–as well as other events. My favorite of these is the annual Read + Write: 30 Days of Poetry via Cuyahoga County Public Library; just sign up on the site for April emails with poems from Ohio poets as well as writing prompts.
This year, on April 5th, one of my poems from Soul Picked Clean will be the featured poem for Read + Write. I’m so honored to be part of this event and beyond thrilled!
So, I hope you enjoyed my poem! If you can, I urge you to take advantage of some of these online resources. If you are quarantined at home, you are helping to save lives. If you need to venture out to work to keep everyone else going during these difficult times, thank you. Your efforts are appreciated, and my heart goes out to you all.
Take solace in the good things, and try to get through the bad. Stay safe, stay well, and read often!
Today is the one year anniversary of the Book Launch for my first published book, my poetry collection, Soul Picked Clean.
Since an in-person event is obviously not possible now, I wanted to celebrate online! I read a few of my poems, explain the thoughts behind them, and talk about how to keep in touch online. Enjoy!
If you would like to attend my FaceBook LIVE Book Birthday Party tonight, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/rhmzktp
Cat Russell 
