“Hanging Poem” was crafted from the words of community. In Manitou Springs, in Soda Springs Park, in the summer of 2017, people gathered for Poetry and Pottery in the park, an event hosted by Poetry Heals. Visitors and participants were invited to write whatever words they wanted onto paper tags. We tied the tags onto like tinsel in random order throughout the summer. I have edited this version slightly from the original in which I added only prepositions and changed verb tenses.
I.
Do not butterfly perspective, poet.
Discombobulation with utter freedom may be
Phantasmagoric, or sunny, excited revolution.
Universal peace,
Help me pay my student loans
with luminous, superlative art for
Sincere family soulmates who manifest
Beauty, love, and debt
Into bildungsroman.
According to all known laws of aviation,
Flowers hope Amsterdam loves antidisestablishmentarianism.
When fun, creative, exotic, sovereign rights
Snickerdoodled my aloof vigor, they
Shipwrecked honor ecstatic in glass soup, Compromised mom in stellar happiness,
Legended kindness and love,
Trained patience,
And catapulted native bananas.
Meanwhile,
Memories loved love,
Loved trusted holy spirits,
And cabins smiled peace and
Loved love grateful.
Go Broncos.
Good family paints pizza flowers,
Jumps serene,
Kisses powerful to grateful perception,
Hikes wisdom,
And dances love into yellow birds
as
Happiness flutters peninsulas,
Awakens grateful,
respects equality and perspicacity among dogs.
So
Eat up ostracized oranges and lions for
Tali-wagging fun there.
Love, imagine inquiry
Because all lost spirits acknowledge peace,
vacation with chunky monkeys,
Synchronize in catatonia,
and play Hoosier with two water bottles.
II.
Cats, sexy, dream of hopeful peace kicks
While
Heretics unite!
For psychedelic overcast in tranquil fruition.
Collaborating imparts equanimity, and
Hardworking, awesome entitlement
Is irreplaceable.
So
Elevate sweetness,
Freedom,
And wavy,
wonderful righteousness.
The stage,
Lugubrious,
Suggests peace.
Yet
Grief passes amazing into clay kindness as
Nature loves Kaya,
Helps draw dogs to sit, stay while
Starwars kitty caps destiny,
Proffers peace
Extrapolates freedom.
Longing, who is definitely passionate for resilience,
Welds apricots into perspective,
Zombies kindness into idiosyncratic fire,
And families forest-dance into wushu
To beautify sweet dances spacy,
To Fly over cheese.
Reality is an illusion
The universe is a hologram
Buy gold
Bye
Because bright light selfish-loves
cats in bliss
And
Babies write faith into fun.
Believe in paradox
In love
Because
Bees’ awesome magic
Traverses crazy drinks,
Loves sisters, so
Skanking, the dancing kind,
While mockingbirds kissed thankful
And barks, crazy, smooshed together.
Yes.
