Today’s prompt on Poetic Asides is to write a stolen poem. Here’s my attempt:
Poetry Prompt: Write a Stolen Poem
I stole this poem years ago, actually,
from a shelf in a corner of that old book shop
on a quiet street down by the river.
Dust motes twinkled in shafts of sun
which slanted through the windows.
I eased the leather-clad book from a high shelf.
I thought I heard it whispering.
My fingers tingled with its electric pull.
I knew it would contain treasures:
words like glisten and linger,
like numinous, mellow, meringue.
I thought it might glow on the page,
hum my name, offer me words to ponder:
tendril, exquisite, winsome, wander.
And words strong and feral,
like flame, wild, and bramble,
courageous, incarnate, sycamore.
I thought it might tell me how not to be afraid,
how to not put so much stake in other people’s opinions,
how not to trust the lure of the the easiest road.
It did not disappoint.
I’ve kept it, concealed,
waiting for the moment,
the right invitation,
to reveal it.
Mockingbird Chronicles 