Moonflowers - Sonnet I

Pale white they bloom beneath the stars and moon
Flowers that shine with black of nighttime sky
They think the oth’rs will surely join them soon
They wonder why those flowers do not try

Meanwhile they flourish, drinking sweet moonlight
The flowers that are very much alive
The others fade while these stay tall and bright
These stand alone, so special as they thrive

The flowers stretch, so radiant all night long
Stems sway in wind, deep breaths, still standing tall
Unique and strange, the moon child will stay strong
Apart, content, with not a care at all

But in no time, this poise that they have built
is killed in sunrise when the moonflow’rs wilt.

~Kaylee Bodtke-Stout
4.15.12

Hands.

On one hand you have five
Reasons to be alive,
On another you have five
Reasons to die.

But you can’t lie
It’s difficult to survive
In a world that is blind
To your own life.

Would it matter if I’m gone?
That question we all ask
I mean, a new day will dawn
And another night will pass

However some still live
Staring at the one hand
A hand that can give
Yes healing, it can

For you cannot be selfish
Think of others and smile
For they can grant your wish
What you wanted all the while

You want to breathe
You want to feel
You want to see
You want to heal

Choose that hand
You know the truth
Take a stand
Save the real you

You’ll have the lows
You’ll have those highs
You’ll fall below
But you will not die

On one hand you have five
Reasons to be alive,
On another you have five
Reasons to die

Which will you choose
The life or the death
Of course it’s up to you
But savor each or
your last
breath

~Kaylee Bodtke-Stout
2.1.12

Drowning.

The fog returns
Distorting and blurring
Causing separation and fear
Burning.

The clouds overhead
Follow the spirit
Returning again
Bringing acid rain with it

The soul overflows
Brim reaching
The tainted water
Blood springing

Then heart overflows
Pouring from soul
Blood still
No longer whole

Produces physical blur
The fog escapes
Leaving the spill
The fate

Following fog
Following rain
Comes stitches
Again

Working against
Horrors transparent
Reassembling
Pieces mildly coherent

Though weak
And scarred
Soul and heart
Restored

Still prone to
A future
Of despair
And sutures

Are they healed?
From the distance,
A near loss
Of existence?

Or are they wounded
From the damaging
Splitting
Drowning.

~Kaylee Bodtke-Stout
1.23.12

“Locked In” (one of my new favorites)

      All my life I lived in a coconut.
      It was cramped and dark.
Especially in the morning when I had to shave.
But what pained me most was that I had no way
to get into touch with the outside world.
If no one out there happened to find the coconut,
If no one cracked it, then I was doomed
to live all my life in the nut, ad maybe even die there.
      I died in the coconut.
      A couple of years later they found the coconut,
cracked it, and found me shrunk and crumpled inside.
      “What an accident!”
      “If only we had found it earlier…”
      “Then maybe we could have saved him.”
      “Maybe there are more of them locked in like that.”
      “Whom we might be able to save,”
they said, and started knocking to pieces every coconut
within reach.
      No use! Meaningless! A waste of time!
A person who chooses to live in a coconut!
Such a nut is one in a million!
      But I have a brother-in-law who
lives in an
acorn.

~Ingemar Gustafson

“Conceal”

The curtain falls.
It falls.
This window and light
Are covered.

The wind rattles.
The sun burns.
The glass that
Feels.

The sounds
Are harsh.
The room reacts.
Creaks.

The window.
Holds.

The curtain
Is red.
It’s velvet.
Soft.

Night.
The window
Is cold.
Glass.

The window
Feels.

The curtain
Conceals.

~Kaylee Bodtke-Stout
11.8.10

“To My Dear and Loving Husband”

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov’d by wife then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

~Anne Bradstreet

“Huswifery”

Make me, O Lord, Thy spinning wheel complete.
Thy holy word my distaff make for me.
Make mine affections Thy swift flyers neat
And make my soul Thy holy spoole to be.
My conversation make to be Thy reel
And reel the yarn thereon spun of Thy wheel.

Make me They loom then, knit therein this twine:
And make Thy holy spirit, Lord, wind quills:
Then weave the web Thyself. The yarn is fine.
Thine ordinances make my fulling mills.
Then dye the same in heavenly colors choice.
All pinked with varnished flowers of paradise.

Then clothe therewith mine understanding, will,
Affections, judgement, conscience, memory
My words, and actions, that their shine may fill
My ways with glory and Thee glorify
Then mine apparel shall display before Ye
That I am clothed in holy robes for glory.

~Edward Taylor

“Normal”

“I want to be normal!”
She screams day and night
But what really is normal?
The truth is hidden from sight

To be normal..

Is it laughing all day?
Is it getting an A on a test?
Or maybe it’s having an angel for a sibling
Or winning a contest; being the best

Is it having a boyfried?
Publically kissing at school
Or maybe being skinny
Like the magazines you think are so cool

Is it winning a football game?
Is it being team captain?
Or is it putting down the freshman
Because she sucks ass at Latin

Is it dressing the best?
Is it not fighting with parents?
Oh, it’s got to be decorating
Your room like your friend’s is

To fit in, to skip loneliness
To be the most popular
And raise your reputation higher
That’s it, you’re so sure

Well let me tell you
That’s not normal at all
It’s lying to yourself
And just taking your fall

There’s no such thing as normal
It’s fictional, a lie
Don’t go to school each day
And live a “normal” lie

Go fight with your parents
Go bully your sibling
Wear what you want
And show whatever you’re feeling

Be your own weight
Don’t be ashamed of the number
Whether 2 or 3 digits
You are beautiful, don’t wonder

Normal.
Average.
Popular.
Ordinary.

You’re not those things?
Ok, then be you
You think that I’m normal?
Well I think JUST like you, too.

written 9.2.10

~Kaylee Bodtke-Stout

“The Cure”

-Quite possibly my favorite piece of work-

The beads clinked as they were
     threaded on a string
Like obedient ducks in a row.
The reds shining crimson
     and oranges were bright as gold
While the yellows imitated the sun.

The bracelet was meant to stand out
     and was clad with warm colors
To reflect pure happiness - a cure
It was exchanged frequently
     from best friend to best friend,
The sick and the healthy.

A constant reminder that the sufferer was loved
     and the sickness could not destroy
Any happiness that still remained.
The healthy encouraged heads to be held high,
     for life was still being lived
And the girl would always stay.

The bed was occupied, and so was its side,
The boy would cough and cry
And the girl would stretch beads
     across his wrist as she smiled.
And so it was, three months on
Until he let out his last breath - a light sigh

A the girl cried, but happy tears
     because to her he was still alive
As she grew older, her wrist was never bare -
The colorful beads of love, happiness, and life.

written 5/10

~Kaylee Bodtke-Stout

Untitled.

I felt you in my arms as I drifted off to sleep.

I heard you in my ear as I feel under so deep.

I saw us in the dark lit up by fire.

I knew us from the past and true desires.

I thought of how my life was planned in my dreams.

But the truth struck me as the light burned and gleamed.

I realized as I painted what my life had seemed.

This is not what I had dreamed.

written 5.13.10

~Valerie Rainey