A Showcase For P H Poets: November 2015: Section ' A '...[10th Monthly Showcase Of Poems; Some Changes; A New Poem Introduction! ; “fun”? ] Poem by Bri Edwards

[introductory poem]:

From February’s showcase, this has ballooned;
our showcases with fine poems are festooned!
My thanks to participants now go out,
to the writers and readers (‘what it’s about’) .

I’ve made some changes I’ll mention below;
hopefully they’ll make these showcases glow...
...even MORE!

I hope there are more readers than comments indicate,
but this is to be enjoyed, so if you are late,
OR never bother to leave any comments here,
don’t worry! I’ll not drop tears in my stale beer.

(October 27, 2015)

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If you are not familiar with, or if you can’t remember how this showcase business “works”, please feel free to read the introductory remarks made by me in previous showcases. ESPECIALLY THE October SHOWCASE. :) .

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‘NEW’ INFORMATION about how showcases work.

[You can read all of this OR just send poem(s) and TRUST ME! ]
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'SECTIONS:

BRIEFLY, THERE WILL FOUR SECTIONS (4) in which to find the poems for November (and perhaps in future months as well) . bri :) :)

1- I plan in November to have FOUR (4) poems “Sections”. Each section will consist of a “poem” starting with the words “A Showcase …”, and indicating the month, the year, and ‘Section A’, ‘Section B’, ‘Section C’, OR 'Section D'.

2- Section “A” shall contain poems submitted by members, with each poem consisting of “not many more than 12 lines”. Each poet may have one or two poems in this Section “A”.

3- Section “B” shall contain poems generally longer than 12 lines, but shorter than 51 lines. Each poet may have ONE poem in this Section “B”.

[Will Bri E. remember all this? ]

4- Section “C” shall contain ‘second’ poems [or LATE ‘first’ poem submissions] from any poet who submits one or two poems “generally longer than 12 lines, but shorter than 51 lines”.

5- Section “D”, if needed, shall contain poems submitted which are generally more than 50 lines each. ONE poem per poet is allowed in this section.
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Also “NEW” in November:

CHALLENGE TOPIC OF THE MONTH:

I shall give a “CHALLENGE TOPIC” out to poets who wish to be challenged to write one or more poems using my suggested topic. [the idea for this came from Brian Johnston’s extinct monthly ‘title challenge contest’, which he (and I) ‘ran’ for several months about a year ago] This is still NOT a contest, but just a showcase. Any poems (submitted for a showcase) which are based on “the topic” shall be placed in the appropriate “Section” by me, according to length, NOT by topic.

For November, my chosen 'Challenge Topic' is 'THE EXTINCTION OF MANKIND'. This may be short, or long, serious or not, and deal with the 'extinction' happening OR not happening. Chose your own title. :) :)
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[The October showcase, found in two sections, “A” and “B”, in my list of poems, had about 50 poems by about 25 poets. My thanks to all who wrote poems and who read poems. I hope you enjoyed some of them! ]


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***CHANGE: [[Unlike in previous months, I shall NOT plan to try to have poets correct what i believe/know are errors in English (such as grammar and spelling) in their poems. The reason for this is two-fold.

One: I am not finding as much time as i used to have to work on 'correcting' other poets' poems.

Two: The poems will more accurately display how the poets have chosen to display their poems (either on purpose or 'by mistake[s]) .


If a poet asks me to proofread and make suggestions/corrections, I will try to accommodate her/his request, but i might make a note indicating my assistance at the end of the poem.]]
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THE POETS:
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EIGHTEEN: WES VOGLER (Canada; Male; 85)

Expiration Of Mankind

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SEVENTEEN: DOUGLAS SCOTNEY (Australia; Male; 62)

Knowing Is Stamping Feet

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SIXTEEN: WES VOGLER (Canada; Male; 85)

The New Braille 'Playboy'

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FIFTEEN: WES VOGLER (Canada; Male; 85)

At The Cottager's Hut

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FOURTEEN: BRI EDWARDS (United States; Male; 67)

Death Of Mankind? ……[extinction poem for November Showcase; How Shall Mankind End, If It Does? ? ; Musings]

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THIRTEEN: DELLA PERRY (United Kingdom; Female; 41)

Sinkhole

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TWELVE: EUGENE LEVICH (United States; Male; 78)

My Mind Is A Monkey

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ELEVEN: PATTI MASTERMAN (United States; Female; 55)

Drowned Piano

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TEN: PATTI MASTERMAN (United States; Female; 55)

A Woman

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NINE: DELLA PERRY (United Kingdom; Female; 41)

Love Bomb

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EIGHT: KIM BARNEY (United States; Male; '100')

Bird Eat Bird World

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SEVEN: MELVINA GERMAIN (Canada; Female; -)

(420) Watering The Flowers

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Bri's note: OOPS! This is Melvina's 3rd poem in this section. I said I would allow 1 or 2 here from each poet. I goofed, BUT I'm leaving it! I'm 'the boss' here; she has plenty more for future months. :)

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SIX: MELVINA GERMAIN (Canada; Female; 70)

Haiku: (Peace)

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FIVE: MELVINA GERMAIN (Canada; Female; 70)

Haiku (Protect Our Future)

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FOUR: EUGENE LEVICH (United States; Male; 78)

Tragedy And Comedy

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THREE: M. J. LEMON (Canada)

Coffee Run

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TWO: XELAM KAN (Pakistan; Male; 96)

Pseudo Tears

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ONE: BRI EDWARDS (United States; Male; 67) (1st poem)

Biker Days

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THE POEMS:

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EIGHTEEN: by Wes Vogler


Expiration Of Mankind

Clip board totin' feller, real mean:
'Gotta be the one, Jimmy Dean.
Earth. I can tell
By that horrible smell;
Expiry date, twenty fifteen.'

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Bri's note: For my own reasons I'm giving Wes Vogler a third slot
here this month, rather than just two. It has nothing to do with
him promising me his firstborn daughter! ! Honest!
:)
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SEVENTEEN: by Douglas Scotney


Knowing Is Stamping Feet

A politician knows
'Not letting a contrarian have his say'
is incorrect.

A contrarian is he or she, or, she or he.
Say 'her or his' or 'his or her'.
'Its' is an insult,
'Their' is becoming okay,
and '...contrarians have their say'
is a way.

A poet can delete:
'Not letting a contrarian have say
and watching stamp,
or, knowing is stamping feet.'

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SIXTEEN: by Wes Vogler


The New Braille 'Playboy'

The braille 'Playboy' is quite a sensation.
There's no sensory, uh, deprivation.
Along with some droolin',
'Got a feelin' you're foolin'.'
Is the latest new song of the nation.

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FIFTEEN: by Wes Vogler


At The Cottager's Hut

Dining out at a cottager's hut,
I was faced with a menacing mutt.
Then its boss gave a roar:
'That's enough now! No more! —
You've 'is dish. 'E's no manners, the scut.'

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Bri's note: Wes asked me to ask: 'Do you know what happened? '

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FOURTEEN: by Bri Edwards


Death Of Mankind? ……[extinction poem for November Showcase; How Shall Mankind End, If It Does? ? ; Musings]

Will Humans die off quickly, or slowly peter out***?
I think the latter; I’ve, of that, little doubt.
I don’t mean individual humans; I mean Mankind.
They’ll peter out till …..not one human soul you’ll find.

Sure, widespread nuclear war could do it more quickly I suppose,
OR “global warming”. [Do you want your body cooked or ‘froze’? ]
A brand new pandemic spread by birds or bugs?
And THEN there'd be no more Moms or Dads giving hugs!

My theory is: “Men (with machines) will merge, …..
[with a few human technicians cloned] until, on the verge of …..
EXTINCTION, machines will then decide Men aren’t the ‘right stuff’,
….which may leave God AND the Devil, BOTH, in a huff*****.”

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Bri's note: 'peter out' and 'in a huff' idioms are defined
on the poem's page in my Poet's Notes. :) bri

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THIRTEEN: by Della Perry


Sinkhole

A sinkhole
Swallowed the dog
Now I hear barking
Whenever I'm on the bog.

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Bri's note: No animal was harmed in the writing of this poem!

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TWELVE: by Eugene Levich


My Mind Is A Monkey -

My mind is a monkey.
He likes to climb,
And jump from tree to tree,
And scratch,
And swing from vine to vine.
Oh! But his life is so divine.

But that monkey never leaves me free
To rest at peace like I'd like to be.
Why can't that monkey go to sleep
And leave my mind at rest to keep?

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ELEVEN: by Patti Masterman


Drowned Piano -

Drowned piano, plunging through the depths,
Bubbling out its dark mahogany breaths;
Drowned piano, songs played by the tide
And the harp strings shivering inside.

Drowned piano, the sea's become your hymn,
All about you schools of fishes swim;
Upon your legs, the coral will make a home,
And clams will envy your keys of whiter bone.

Drowned piano, answers a mermaid's prayer;
Startles sea-urchins, with a sight so rare;
Drowned piano, so many miles from shore-
Beloved fingers caress you never more.


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TEN: by Patti Masterman


A Woman

A woman doesn’t fill a space;
She occupies a mood,
And although she may contemplate-
She will never brood.

A woman never speaks her mind;
She slips it through her pores,
And though unspoken, you will find-
You’ll notice it much more.

Though woman is no extrovert,
She’s someone dear to you;
As close to heaven as you’ll get-
And none as near, to you.

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NINE: by Della Perry


Love Bomb

Wow, you are the bomb
You attack my senses
You charge my soul
When you're near I'm set on fire
You are the bomb
I'm bombarded with love
I'm blitzed with emotions
You are explosive
You are my love bomb!

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Bri's note: She ain't talkin' 'bout me! : (
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EIGHT: by Kim Barney


Bird Eat Bird World

You say it's a dog eat dog world?
I say that's just absurd.
I've never seen a dog eat a dog,
but I have seen a bird eat a bird.

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Bri's note: Kim has an interesting photo on his poem's page.
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SEVEN: by Melvina Germain


(420) Watering The Flowers

The early morning dew caressed petals
of garden flowers, allowing them to
hold their tiny heads toward the sky.

I wore the sun as a glove this morning,
covering my skin with its warm embrace, while
the mist from the garden hose ever so slightly
touched my legs as I watered our beautiful
Flowers.

A sense of tranquility came over me as I
stood there basking in the beauty of the day.
A slight wind touched the back of my neck
and I was sure I heard a whisper say,
I love you.

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SIX: by Melvina Germain


Haiku (Peace)

Become one and all
live in the beauty of peace
be soothed, be happy

(Date: Oct.29/2015)

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FIVE: by Melvina Germain


Haiku (Protect Our Future)

Protect our future
save a childs mind, body, soul
embracing the love


(Date: oct.29/2015)

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FOUR: by Eugene Levich


Tragedy And Comedy

Tragedy and Comedy
So intertwined!
We are born to die:
That is the tragedy!

But the playwright
Is a comic writer:
The Guy in the Sky-
And the Joke's on us!

But the funniest part
Is that most of Humanity
Doesn't get the joke—
That we're all actors
In a freaky comedy
Written on high.

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THREE: BY M. J. LEMON


Coffee Run


You're coffee isn't perfect
fresh out of the box
We'll make it over
Almost to the stitch
1970s-grade nylon.
Weathered foam.
If it's still not perfect
It's vintage. It's not so
bad now...

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M. J.'s Poet's Note: 'A mash-up of two ads...sneakers, coffee...one idea, one vision.'
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TWO: by Xelam Kan


Pseudo Tears

Like a phantom
in the sinking sun
I am walking
ahead of a 'marching funeral'
where i m coffined
in Whites and
being taken
away from 'lights'.
But I am followed by
bands of maroon, dressed in
gloomy dark and look
bright and gay, but
appear to be 'blue and down'
with pseudo tears.

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ONE: by Bri Edwards


Biker Days

Biker names like 'Switch', turn me on,
unlike common ones like Bob and John.

With my gang, I rode high and tight.
Each open road was a beautiful sight.

We wore our colors and did the tuck,
and with the highway cops we did not f++k.

The end came quickly; i hit a pothole in a bend.
That fateful day my biker days and nights did end.

(July 29,2014)
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Bri's note: The Poet's note (on this poem's page) explains some of the biker terms used in the poem.
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Bri :) :)