The arrow tracked the deepest hurt grazing the heart on its way down Not as a message from Cupid’s bow a fatal blow or target practice The arrow landed on its mark in a child’s graveyard of forgetfulness Pinned and pierced Fear unmasked The arrow’s tip like a scalpel cuts It opens the path to […]
I wasn’t born yellow or caged I didn’t fly or live in a coal mine I don’t tell other people’s secrets I don’t sing as much as the males I haven’t died but the world takes a toll I lie down but don’t quit I have an obstacle to unblock and a small light to […]
Stripes of first snow Separate winter from fall Highlight and shading Pique like whipped frosting White on color Outlines December Splits in two Like winter half-moons ________Poets and Storytellers United
It takes time in the dark room to bring lived-experience into focus and to develop the meaning we’ve made of our lives. That is the theme of my latest poetry book, Poems from the Darkroom. I imagined the process of writing as excavating and examining foundational memories, choosing the ones that illuminate the gold of […]
I wrote this poem while on hold for a bureaucrat with a Lynyrd Skynyrd instrumental playing in the background A Simple Man irony for today’s red tape reality of phone menu roulette I wrote this poem knowing that with one wrong button press my connection could be cut and the ‘no more than 20 minutes […]
Moon under my pillow is a princess’s pea I cross my heart and hope to dream _________Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United
Poets rhyme sugar / with teacup and saucer / They alliterate morning / with mug Linda Fallon, who was a long-time board president for the Floyd Center for the Arts, had the idea for a poetry tea to benefit the Center after attending a 2018 poetry tea party at Fiddlesticks Farm where Katherine Chantal, Chelsea […]
“Poetry and tea different branches, same tree. Ever have they been entwined, both present to a life refined, both eliciting a clear mind.”- From A Tea Poet’s Journey by Katherine Chantal A trio of poets will share their varied writings and enjoy afternoon tea with the public at the Floyd Center for the Arts on […]
Pull the fire alarms Build the arks Don’t suffocate yourself with plastic Don’t shoot black men for traffic violations Don’t take Christmas pictures of your children with AR15s Don’t poison earth’s apples Don’t drop bombs on people Don’t be fooled by a flag or ruled by a fool Thou shalt not oppress or bear false […]
Gold rush strike in late afternoon A black crow cries out The sun tips its pool on a chatter of trees wading in flooded light A fleet of leaves like paper canoes are whisked upstream by a dash of wind Whispered secrets are shushed away in the hurry of days growing shorter ________Colleen Redman, rewrite […]
This dream leaves a residue that doesn’t wash off like a phantom assault perpetrated in the dark when no one is watching It’s a dream that leaves an imprint like an unexplained bruise on flesh A dilemma that doesn’t exist but finds its way under my skin It hints at a double life with vaguely […]
I once loved an apple tree filled with red fruit in a hidden orchard in Eden But now the maple trees have grown large They block out the sun There’s no room to stretch Now the wind has downed limbs I’ve gone porous and gray Now the land around me is not the same New […]
