Flash Club May Flash Club

[Emily]

Welcome to the Magnificent May Flash Club

For the challenge this month, I invite you to write a short poem of UP TO 40 lines.

The theme is open, but you get 2 extra points for each of the words below that you include (please format them in italic or bold within the piece).

Lemonade
Lily (or Lily of the Valley)
Attitude
Stitch
Transition

The entry with the most votes on the 31st of May, 2023, will be the winner of an extraordinary hand-crafted (!!) virtual trophy. And, more importantly: some of our very prized, and internationally-renowned, virtual Litopi-cake.


***NOTE!***
A thumbs up/like = 1 vote
"heart-eyes" and a "laughing face" emoji vote = 2 VOTES.



The competition is open to all members. Feel free to enter more than once.


-The main rules here are:

We ask you not to critique

AND

Please make your entry anonymous by clicking the anonymous button, but if you forget, don't worry, that's okay too. (Note: Guardians can see who posts.)


Best of luck!

 

[Anonymous]

Nonsense

Coffee, tea or lemonade?
These are the very words he said.
And please don't view me as a prude
But I don't care one bit for your attitude
So if you think as well you might,
in transition and scan this poem is too silly,
I suggest you speak to my good friend, Lily
She's a seer, though could even be a witch
Sorry, but I needed a rhyme for stitch

 

[Anonymous]

XX Chromosomes

I proposed to Giselle from Caerphilly
But she said to me, “Don’t be silly
Drink your lemonade
You don’t make the grade
And I save all my loving for Billy”

Lady Lily looks lovely in pink
Though you’ll miss the truth if you blink
Not easy to see
But she is a he
And life’s never quite what you think

I asked Nell if she fancied some bonking
She said, “I don’t find you that stonking
Stop that attitude
And don’t be so rude
Brush your teeth ‘cos your breath’s rather honking”

Big busted Bertha from Burton
Strolled around town with no shirt on
She raced on the pitch
Not wearing a stitch
And the vicar cried, “Please put your skirt on!”

Lola had an amazing transition
With help from a skilful physician
Boobs now enormous
Lips so ginormous
And her bum’s an expanded condition

 

[Anonymous]

Not Long Now

Lemonade for Lily.
Her bulging belly forbids the strong stuff.
A bundle of cells in transition once only made her sick.
Now it kicks with attitude and gives her a stitch.
She strokes where she hopes the head is
and lifts her glass to her lips
and drinks to a good birth and a gallon of Guinness.

 

[Anonymous]

I reached with arms too short.
You patted my head and tore down my fort.

An engineer? Don’t trouble your head.
Focus on makeup and beauty instead.

A scientist? Don’t waste your time.
Children should be the import of your prime.

An athlete? Running for fun makes sense.
But realize it’s a waste of strength in the end.

A teacher? That’s a good job for you, honey.
But you’ll need a husband to have enough money.

A wife? I hope so, but you can’t be sure.
Some women can’t …. And you’re immature.

But now you be quiet. Be still. I’ll be heard.
I don’t need to marry, be silent, be cured.

I learned to ignore you, I’ll never stop learning.
I’ve melted your chains, they’ll never stop burning.
I’ve striven and strained and groaned to break free.
I’ve learned how to first love the person who’s me.
To see her and hear her and cherish her soul.
Her skin carries none of the past captor’s toll.
Freedom to openly love others started,
When from your suffocating arms I parted.

 

[Anonymous]

We liked you
See, that’s your problem. Now always aggressive.
Aggressive. Expressive. You prefer me submissive.

We liked you more when you spoke less, they said.
Would you like me the most if I was dead?

 

[Anonymous]

Mother’s Day

Halfway through, an afterthought,
just a quick check—why not?
He paused in stitching sliced flesh together,
Brushed her vulva with touch like a feather.
“Can you feel this?” “Yes.”
Damn her. What a mess.
Why didn’t she speak? Why didn’t she say?
No husband or boyfriend with new mom today.
Unwed then, he mused, and he stitched her up tight.
Four layers he’d opened to hurry the night.
No matter—she’ll thank me later, he reconciled.
Or the next man, since she’s single with child.
Never mind her, move on to another.
And later, pick up some roses for his mother.

 

[Anonymous]

Waste

I wake in a wasteland.
Sand, white. Endless.
In eyes. Nose. Mouth.
Burning more than the sun that
Drills through my skin
My bones
My soul.

I dreamed I feasted
On pigs fat for slaughter
Fawns, untouched before I carved them
Opened them, cracked their ribs
Devoured their heart, still beating.

When I wake, the fragrance of flesh
Coats my tongue.
But blood, dried, turns to grains.
My crushed enemies.

When I dreamt, I was little Lily.
Pink. Pretty. Perfect.
Strip away silk.
Shear tresses.
Behold.
I am Lilith.
And I’ve come home.

 

[Anonymous]

remember

Thirty-five times
Earth circled the sun.
Your end, abrupt,
Left many undone.
I whispered your name
Thirty-five times
Reminded myself that
You used to be mine
Cherished once more
Moments together
Wondering when
Or even if whether
I’ll see you, feel you
With you find a friend
In heaven, in hell
Together again

 

[Anonymous]

manifest

Words
Over me
To me
Through me
Knives that carved me
Hands that molded me
Fire that burned me.
Until soot blankets soul.
All that’s left of me
All that’s me
Vanity, vanquished
Pride, dispersed
Anger, abolished.

God lives in the division of everything and nothing.
Listen for the thunder
Watch for the flash
When I create myself anew
When I manifest me without you.

 

[Anonymous]

That was how he lived:
Wild, loud, and carefree
I really don't know where he got it
'Cause he was nothing like Father and me.

Father's always hard at work
And I admit, I'm grumpy and dull
But he jumped and yelled and laughed
My little brother, he was his own creative soul.

I remember that day we roamed the forest
And he found a lily of the valley
Wilting and dry, I wanted to leave it
But he watered it and made it healthy.

I remember the day at our lemonade stand
The drinks were sour, the writing was crude
The sun was blazing and I would've walked out
If it weren't for his happy, contagious attitude.

I remember I made him a fancy girly doll
Before he went through his transition
So with a scissor and a stitch,
That girl doll was a boy, just like him.

I remember when he came to me crying
Because of what the kids at school said
I stupidly told him to just ignore them
I guess he couldn't, and it went to his head.

And I remember that cloudy day in the city
He smiled and dropped a folded paper at my feet
I picked it up and read his suicide note
And then he stepped out into the street.

I remember the blood and the hospital
The first time Father ever cried
Lonely, quiet, and smiling
That was how he died.

 

[mickleinapickle]

That was how he lived:
Wild, loud, and carefree
I really don't know where he got it
'Cause he was nothing like Father and me.

Father's always hard at work
And I admit, I'm grumpy and dull
But he jumped and yelled and laughed
My little brother, he was his own creative soul.

I remember that day we roamed the forest
And he found a lily of the valley
Wilting and dry, I wanted to leave it
But he watered it and made it healthy.

I remember the day at our lemonade stand
The drinks were sour, the writing was crude
The sun was blazing and I would've walked out
If it weren't for his happy, contagious attitude.

I remember I made him a fancy girly doll
Before he went through his transition
So with a scissor and a stitch,
That girl doll was a boy, just like him.

I remember when he came to me crying
Because of what the kids at school said
I stupidly told him to just ignore them
I guess he couldn't, and it went to his head.

And I remember that cloudy day in the city
He smiled and dropped a folded paper at my feet
I picked it up and read his suicide note
And then he stepped out into the street.

I remember the blood and the hospital
The first time Father ever cried
Lonely, quiet, and smiling
That was how he died.

Aw heck. Very sad. Your words have touched my soul.

 

[Emily]

Heartiest congratulations to @Brooke for her winning May Flash Club entry!! You can find her winning piece HERE.
(I can't get the linky thing to work... But it's the last poem )

WELL DONE BROOKE!!!!!!!

 

[Hannah F]

Link didn't work but easy to guess which one. Congrats @Brooke, it was brilliant!

 

[Emily]

Thanks Hannah, I'll fix that now

 

[Brooke]

aw thank you!! i was hoping to win even though my poem was a bit sad :') everyone did great!

 

[izi 出久]

Excellent poem, @Brooke! I’m not surprised. Well done, love