If It Wasn't for the Wind

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If It Wasn’t for the Wind

If you are a bridge, everyone will step over you.

Pure gold knows no rust.

It’s no use flying before your wings grow.

If it wasn’t for the wind, spiders would cover the sky with cobwebs.

GloPoWriMo Day 13 - familiar phrases

This is a found poem and it consists of Serbian proverbs. I used this source. The translation is mine. 

The Cherry Tree

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The Cherry Tree

It is a good idea to believe that time is standing still. There are children sitting in the cherry tree. They do this every spring. The tree casts a beautiful shade onto the house, so it is never too hot inside. A woodpecker can be heard in the neighbour’s yard. The owls live here too, but they won’t let themselves be seen at daytime. It is even easy to believe that Mimi the cat still visits. She knows there will be milk every time she comes. There is that funny dog too. That one doesn’t need to be fed, he just wants company. There are other trees, but they are small. There are apples and medlars and plums and quinces. Quince flowers smell sweet in early spring. There are lilacs too, so nobody misses the smell of cherry flowers. Sometimes you do what you have to do, but if you try hard, you can easily believe that time is standing still.

And in the garden

the ghost tree grows, white blossoms,

cover the threshold.

GloPoWriMo Day 12 - a haibun

Two Poems for Day 11

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AI

Everything they know, they learnt from us.

They have seen

our last incognito search,

our secret digital diary,

those photos in our private files.

They are getting better at this.

They can already do a decent joke

and appreciate irony.

We are uploading our lives onto their servers day by day.

Soon they will learn how to dream

and our job will be done.

GloPoWriMo Day 11 - the future

Deal, No Deal

They told me you would grant my wish

provided that something was promised in return

provided that the promise was kept,

otherwise you would come and take what’s yours.

If my wish was granted, I would write you a poem, I said.

I was so smug about this.

I would simply do nothing

until you got tired of waiting

and took my poem from me.

I forgot how much time you have.

Apparently you can wait forever and,

no matter how much I procrastinate,

I can’t make you do my work for me.

April PAD Challenge, day 10 prompt - "deal, no deal"

In the News

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In the News

World’s oldest man turns 112.
Photos are helping victims love themselves again.
Why doesn’t dry meat kill us?
There's fear and uncertainty all around.
They are giving away thousands of trees.
Finger bone points to early human exodus.
Who else has your data?



GloPoWriMo Day 10 - simultaneity
Sources: BBC World Twitter feed and Good News Network

Princess Tree

Princess Tree

It is planted at the birth of a girl.

The fast-growing tree matures when she does.

On the day she marries, the tree is cut

and carved into a marriage chest for her dowry.

Its texture is smooth, almost soft.

A phoenix will land only on Princess Tree

and only when a good ruler is in power.

It is a persistent exotic invasive.

The beautiful flowers have a sweet smell.

The seeds are winged.
They disperse by wind and water.
They are not fussy about the soil.
This tree can grow from a crack in the pavement.

It can survive wildfire and regenerate,
but it will not thrive in the shade of another tree.

GloPoWriMo Day 9 - something big and something small

More about Paulownia (Princess Tree) here and here

The Maiden Who Was Swifter than a Horse

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The Maiden Who Was Swifter than a Horse

She wasn't born of a woman.
She is a snow-child.
The Wind breathed life into her.
The Forest dressed her in leaves.
Fairies taught her everything she knows.
They say she can outrun a horse.
They say she knows spells.
If you make her cry, her tears will flood the world.
When she wants to hide from you,
deep forests grow from her single hair.
Many tried to have her.
She melted like snow between their fingers.
Many died or lost their minds over her.
You knew all that, still you lusted for her
alone in your castle at the top of the hill.
You were ready on the day of the race.
She stood barefoot in front of your horses.
Many died in the flood, or got lost in the woods.
Some gave up, but not you.
You dismounted your horse, you took off your shoes,
barefoot, you stood before her.
You asked her to stop, in God’s name.
She waited for you and said nothing.
She let you lead her by the hand.
All night you rode together,
her arms around your waist, her head on your shoulder.
All night you talked to her.
In the morning, you arrived home
and there was no one behind you.



GloPoWriMo Day 8 - mysterious and magical things
Inspired by The Maiden Who Was Swifter than a Horse (a Serbian folk tale)

When My Shift Ends

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When My Shift Ends

Every day I do the Job.
My mother and uncle did it before me.
The Job is important, you make a difference.
I know that I am good at the Job.
Every day I dress for the part.
The costume is tight, the makeup is heavy.
Then there’s the mask, which is good,
considering how hard the Job can get.
At night, when my shift ends
and I come home,
I carefully remove it all.
The mask goes first, then the costume.
The makeup is stubborn, but there are ways.
Finally I stand, naked and faceless,
divested of colour, defrocked for the night,
myself again and so afraid.



GloPoWriMo Day 7 - what makes you feel powerful/vulnerable
Imaginary Garden with Real Toads prompt for Day 7 
Inspired by this picture