Poetry Thursday Unplugged

Unleashed from the weekly prompt! How scary to have to resume responsibility for my own inspiration ...

Looking for something to write about this week I opened a book to the first page. On it was a photo of a small egg, in black and white, and the words "If not now, when"? Oh the possibilities! Such a prompt asks for much more than a simple poem. It instead calls for soul seeking and introspection, journal writing and changes in direction.

The universe taps on my shoulder in many mischievous ways. This week it was in the form of a book placed on my desk by the woman who sits next to me at work, a depressive who otherwise drives me crazy. Her gift to me was to show me the work of a fabric artist, beautiful quilts - works of art covered in images of insects, frogs and birds. So of course now I have to find time in my busy schedule to learn the basics. I may even need to buy a sewing machine!

All this from one little photo in one little book. In the meantime, here's my poem for this week. It's been a while since I wrote a Wellington weather poem. While all you American types (and those of you living in America on a temporary basis) keep talking about how hot it is. Well, in Wellington the opposite might be said to be true. This is very much a draft. I will keep working on it though, I promise!

Winter 2007
A double agent has descended on Wellington,
extending his hand then freezing my own
with the trickery of his grip.

He has lured us all into his living room and
turned on the refrigeration units to strip
the skin from our faces.

We have been fooled by his tranquil façade,
by his calm front and his coolness of demeanour.
We thought this frigid killer had reformed.
Now we run to secure ourselves from his attentions.

The warnings spread across the city.
The streets are no longer safe.
The cold war has returned.

More poets let loose here.