I created both of these poems from the same word list.
I wasn't sure I liked the first one
so I decided to make an attempt at another one.
I couldn't decide which to post so I just posted both of them.
(1).jpg)
Not Every Quote in the Throat
Some would like their claws in my jaws,
pour sour lemons in my tea to see
if I can hold on to every blue note I sing.
So many times, the rhymes hit a target
too close to truth and they want to turn loose
their anger on me because I found the music.
Not every quote in the throat is made to sugar
a day into a peppermint experiment of mindless escape,
but if a listener stays long enough to hear it becomes clear
we’re both hanging from a rope trying to cope
and it’s often a song that unites instead of divides us.
©Susie Clevenger 2024
South Texas Can’t Sugar Tea a Snowman
Christmas feels more like
a month of summer than
snowflakes on a windowsill.
South Texas doesn’t like
to give up its heat, or lead
a hand to a cup of hot cocoa
teased with peppermint.
Walking down a Houston street
in December is muggy July jazz
dressed in a t-shirt trying
to convince the body it’s a sweater.
We Texans like a lot of sugar in our tea,
insult it with a slice of lemon, and
dance around bigger is better.
But we get a bit jealous that
the only time it feels cold enough
to build a snowman is when
we pull ice cream out of the freezer.
©Susie Clevenger 2024
