A daily poetry practice to generate and sustain the Life/Lines among us, for published and novice poets alike
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Prompt
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
caramel
delight
slither
glistening
hope
Send us your poem via our Submissions page or post on Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #lifelines.
Today’s words were contributed by guest curator Blake Strode, executive director of Arch City Defenders.
Poems submitted for April 26
Farmer's Market
Caramel-covered Granny Smiths
And red candy apples glisten
In the sun
As I pass by the confectionery counter
Tugging on Granddaddy's shirt.
So full of hope, I plead
That he'd
Go back and grant
Me
This one small delight.
He says, "Alright."
So, I slither my way across,
Sliding my hands along
The front of the glass display case.
— J. Thomas 4/26/21
***
bliss
is it the absence of the snake's slither
is it the presence of an antivenom
or is it hope, glistening, even in the unknown
the delight of believing in a future
where the snakes venom is sweet like caramel
helping build a new sunrise instead of triggering demise
***
He had such passion for cake caramel
To live without it wasn’t bearable.
He peered into the oven—it was glistening
And nicely coming into shape and thickening.
To think how it would taste was his delight.
He knew he couldn’t wait for that first bite.
And so it came, the crown, the coming of his hope
The first of many pieces—slippery slope.
The only rhyme I couldn’t fit is “slither.”
And some of you may think my poem is blither.
Robert Henke
***
Awakening
The glistening glow of dawn’s light
bids us to awake from dismal night.
But dare we hope for fresh delight,
in smooth golden caramel sunlight
or an innocent babe’s smile bright,
when Satan’s contagion could smite
us again with a chill slither of blight?
Rebecca Carron Wood
***
Attending Sunday Services in South St. Louis
It’s raining.
We slither up Watson, near Jamieson,
And the car turns of its own volition:
Cardinal Sin, Dutchmen’s Delight.
Dry ice smokes from the paper bag—
Fog forms against the glistening windshield.
Where there is frozen custard, there is hope—
Written in green on a yellow paper cup.
Jo Schaper
***
Fire Salamander!
Glistening black
with yellow markings,
bright eyes, broad smile,
slithering across
the terrace tiles.
My delight to spot you
as you quickly move
over the floor of ancient stone,
patterned in white and teal
and caramel tones.
A geometry of diamonds,
squares, triangles, and stars
on top of which you run along.
You may soon be extinct,
they say. I hope they're wrong.
You flick your tail
and disappear
down the drainage hole.
J Kiefer
and starsnaonds
***
At the Beach
I quiver with hope and delight,
watch the glistening caramel sun
slither down the horizon,
bid the day adieu and kiss
the moon goodnight.
Linda O’Connell
***
A caramel cone is a delight to eat
To slurp and slither we should meet
A glistening creation so delicious
We hope its calories are not malicious!
Jan Newman LA72
***
WHO INVITED ANTS TO THE PARTY?
A sense of imminent delight
Raised its hope for a treat
Caramel ooze in sunlight
But attracting ants near the street.
Its delight turned to disgust
Now incited angry dither
It wanted to rush the glistening pile
But as a snake could only slither.
TED
***
sultry
as I slither
out of my silken gown
I take delight
to see
his moist caramel eyes
glistening
with hope.
***
Hope is the thing with scales
Hope arrives not feathered but in another
nameable beauty riding the glistening skin
of the black rat snake, a slither of surprise,
past the front door. I call you to watch
as it slides into the caramel shadow of the azalea.
Our hands touch, our breath pauses; the shadow
dissolves into the deep garden. Your sigh the delight
I have missed.
~~M.E. Hope
***
Caramel delight
Slither like glistening rope
Hope, both free and sweet
K.J. Boehler
***
beneath
caramel delight
and
glistening hope
I see slither
black suspicion
by Lloyd Klinedinst
***
Through a wardrobe
an eternal winter
a glistening queen
offering hope
in the form of
Turkish delight
sweet as caramel
slithering with deceit
~ M.A
***
A forbidden tree
A glistening delight
Bitter and Sweet as caramel
Convinced by the Serpent
To hope for more
Punishment comes swift
Eviction of one
The other to slither in the dust
--Chad Savage
***
Snake Hunt
We follow the slithering trail
through streams and sand and rocks,
At the final crossroad,
we run to the path covered in caramel,
chisel in delight,
licking the yellow syrup on our fingers.
Putting behind us
the past death and pain,
and the future venom dripping from the fang.
Sugar patches up our broken hope
until it no longer sticks,
while the scales glistening away,
until disappeared in the dark.
Yixuan Chen
***
as the glistening caramel color handbag was opened,
the deceased copperhead that used to slither contently,
now had hope.
hope that she would snag a fingernail on something inside
whereupon Gaea would chuckle with delight at the retribution
d. bates
***
Hope is buoyant as is delight in what you can see and sense in the day:
Glistening light, wildlife, flowers.
Light slithers in shapes across the floor making caramel patterns.
I remain happy in my space.
Margaret Fourt Goka
***
Hope
A word layered with delight
it ls a slither in our minds
promising a caramel treat
glistening and whispering
here I am on the green plate
Don’t wait only one left
Sara Burke
***
Gilgamesh’s plant of life
sweet as caramel
delight turns to lost hope
when a glistening snake steals it,
slithers away
John J. Han
***
It was a caramel reckoning,
one where the sun shone like a kind
of promise, more generous
than we deserved. Is this what it feels like?
You whispered. I think you meant hope,
but were afraid to say it. Everything was glistening
and for the first time I did not feel like a liar
when I said yes, and took delight.
It was not long, of course,
before the old wounds would slither in.
But why say so now, if I can help it?
Why not just
remember the sunshine?
Gwyneth Henke
***
Order Please
Bagel
a little caramel delight
slither slather
With hope
glistening
Thank you
james goodman
***
coffee hopes
glistening with desire
my dog's eyes focus
on my morning coffee
a caramel delight
his tongue slithers
over his jowls
he follows me about
hounding me to share
Terrie Jacks
***
A serpentine shape slithers
across the pinestraw ground (a dull rainbow
of greens, browns, caramels), then curls up
under a sunbeam. Glistening scales
delight in the springtime warmth,
full of hope for another year.
Christopher Ray
***
I think that’s what happened to me, she said
from the other side of the glass, phone in hand:
I just lost hope.
I think I saw it slither by once years ago
glistening just beyond my reach
a caramel-covered delight in someone else’s hand.
Steve Givens
***
Lament
Glistening black with bright yellow
or caramel colored markings,
fire salamanders are a memory from childhood.
They live in the forests of central Europe
under fallen leaves, near moss and streams.
I saw one once, its head lifted, broad smile,
bright eyes. They are dying now,
attacked by a fungus for which there is no cure.
"Fire Salamanders in the Netherlands
Wiped Out." They've identified the fungus,
not the cure. O, hope for the fire salamander -
that it doesn't slither into extinction,
another dear delight of forest life
forever lost.
They are worried that the fungus may invade
other species, other lands.
Fifty species of salamander call Missouri home.
Have you ever seen one?
J. Kiefer
***
This blooming fluttering soaring slithering spring
Brings hope for a summer of delights
Sitting with a friend savoring the beauty
Of water glistening with sunlight
Simple
But sweet as salted caramel
That sticks around long after
That first burst of flavor
Carol Haake
***
He will slither through hot dust,
scales glistening an alien green,
and coil my body,
movement smooth as caramel,
offering delight,
stealing hope.
—Jeannette Cooperman
***
Her smile is caramel
I slither or glissade down her smile,
her teeth glistening with open sunlight.
I hope for the delight of a kind, loving words.
She chews me up.
I disintegrate happily, a bite of bliss
and a candy kiss so sweet.
I tweet like a little bird.
---Dan Cuddy
***
Let it Be
Tan and caramel hourglass,
Diamond-shaped head, bright yellow tail.
Slither out of the grass
Delight in the warm sun
Glistening with the hope of spring.
***
So yes, I do delight
in disorder. I drank
my glistening drafts at Pat's
until I had to slither
out of there at 1am.
Oh, everyone was so cool
and offered me caramel.
But I pounced on hope
until something opened up
and a little phrase came out.
— Matthew Freeman
***
Headline image: Alice Butenko via Unsplash