I’ve recently discovered and become rather enamored with the work of American-British poet Robert Peake. On his site he has a poetry prompt thingamajig, which randomly generates words to use in a poem. I was feeling a little stuck today in my writing, so decided to see if this tool could fix me up.

I tried for ten words and got: hens; undulating; harp; agreed; anew; expectations; treasures; encounter; ham; reefs.

This is what, and who, sprung to mind and I decided to post it as it came.

 

Flight Song

 

It was agreed that Vicky would get out

before she knew how to crawl.

Sitting on the filthy shag rug

in a soggy diaper

listening for treasures in the harp-string

melodics of her mama’s voice.

Gooey smile

answering her mama’s invocation.

 

Yours will be a life anew,

hummed Vicky’s mama to her

undulating babe on the rug.

You’ll hit green summits,

plunge to skeletal reefs.

Encounter men with a natural knowing

of how a woman should be touched.

Have expectations

of being loved.

 

No truck stop life for my babe,

crooned Vicky’s mama to Vicky.

No serving up fried hens and greasy ham,

prying slimy fingers off your hips

when you come to refill the coffee.

No wearing some stranger’s old coat

to fend off that shrieking January wind.

I ain’t gonna buy you a mockingbird,

Vicky’s mama sang,

but I am gonna teach you

how to fly.