National Poetry Month

Yes, it's that time of year again. It's National Poetry Month and I decided to be ambitious. I am going to try to post a poem every day this month.

Every poem will be written by me. Some will be brand new, some will be older, some written last autumn. Some may be long and some may be haiku. Some will be rhymed, some will be sonnets, and maybe I'll sneak in some other forms.

I'll start with a personal favorite. It was originally written as an exercise in how many poetic devices I could use, and after much editing, I discovered I actually liked it. So here it is. If you like it or not, I'd like to hear about it. And like it or not, it may give you some insight into how (or if) my brain works.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tea's Bridesmaid

The milk swirls tiny cyclones in my tea.
Butterscotch doesn’t work as an herbicide.
Your brow furrows with wicker-chair-imprint preciseness
at the off-key scrape of the sugar pot lid on the counter,
and the grains tickling the cupped palm of your hand,
while the steam warms the air next to your nostrils,
lingering for the linen scent.
The kitchen takes on cream-colored urges and vanilla sounds.
With a wry smile, I mention Dylan Thomas
and Wales doesn’t seem so far away.
Okay…
Wales is unreachable.
Unless, of course, you are in Cardiff reading this
or you can only read Urdu
(and tides effect only grapefruit).
So take the chill off your chili and cha cha cha!
The cordial jest of despair can’t douse the flame of your anxiety.
My tea steeps in urgent equations.
You giggle uncontrollably
and stare at the Fig in disbelief.
The storm will come and freeze my tea before it’s ready,
and the cup will crack in cinnamon waves.
Time will go by as if by ancestral recipes
(de gustibus non est disputandum).
Though my tea laughed until it spilled its sides,
the light from the kitchen skylight aches in as if it traveled all the way from Wales.

9 Jan 2003