Bri Edwards' Last Showcase? ? …[ Presented As A 3rd August,2021 Showcase Poem by Bri Edwards

Bri's Intro Poem:

This showcase is meant to amuse, educate, &/or {at least} help you to pass your days.
PoemHunter, and my "friends" here, have done just that** for me for years in many ways.
Now, with the ‘changes' instituted on PH late last year, (which I viewed as a bowel movement) ,
SOME of what members ‘lost' in December has been restored. There HAS been improvement.

But not all is as fine as I'd wish here, nor in my life away from this poetry site.
I'll try to remain here, visiting from time to time,
but my future could be dim or bright.
I hope to feel like, and be able to submit more, showcases; if I DO, I hope they do delight.

(August 18th,2021)

Bri :)

** "just that" meaning:
that which was previously referred to, in this case, amusement, education, & something to fill one's ‘spare time'


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A Brief History of the Showcases:
I have been putting showcases on PH for years, usually every month. Recently I've used fewer poems, but had two showcases a month instead of one. This time, other than the "Intro Poem", I've only used two poems, both long, and one being also by me.
I copy and paste the poems into showcases as they appear on PH pages [with rare exceptions].
Since the showcases are submitted as single poems [though they are NOT], the showcases end up on my list of PH poems. Now I have "deactivated" most of the showcases and hundreds of my poems from my list of poems here; I've hoped to draw attention to poems I hope more people will read.

Poems:

1
Parrot In Paradise
By Diane Hine

Parrot in the cyclone eye
spread his sodden wings to dry.
Wall of wind approaching sly
snapped him up and flung him high.

Swept aloft a hundred mile,
dropped on black volcanic isle,
Parrot viewed the ashy pile;
not the jolliest exile.
Parrot flew around the peak,
finding there a pleasing scene.
Brought a smile to his beak,
a little paradise of green.

After roaming full extent
sadly, it seemed evident,
on this fertile lava vent
he alone was resident.
Long he scanned surrounding seas
for a sign to still unease.
Tossed ashore, one day on breeze;
a mat of storm-whipped splintered trees.

Lifeless, though it first appeared,
something moved and Parrot neared.
In Chameleon's eyes he peered,
'How d'you do'? he squawked and cheered.

'What's your name? Please come ashore!
I won't bore, I've tales galore.
I can tell we've great rapport.
Did I mention, I don't snore'?

Cautiously, Chameleon
left the safety of the raft.
Black sand beach, it stepped upon.
Parrot danced around, quite daft.

'Bu Parleur's my name, I'm fine;
means I like to drink and talk.
Let's ferment some island wine,
we'll walk the talk and squawk the walk'.

Parrot boasted, 'I'm a Chick……'
'Yes', Chameleon replied.
'What? No! Ha! Well done, you're quick;
Chick Magnet'! Parrot glibly lied.

Reaching welcome leafy shade,
shy Chameleon's fears allayed,
back and forth it gently swayed,
swiveled turret eyes; surveyed.

'Can I call you Cham for short?
Do you think I'm beady-eyed?
Shall we dance, play cards or sport'?
'Yes', Chameleon replied.

'Do you like my feathered suit?
Would you like some seeds or fruit'?
(Cham caught fly, with aim astute)
'Wow', said Parrot, 'My, you're cute'.

'Like the way you aim and flick,
love those slinky moves, real slick,
I've got tricks and you've got shtick.
What shall we do now? You pick'

'See my feet, you'll be enthralled,
two toes forward, two toes back.
ZygoDACtylous that's called.
I dig your color-changing knack'.

Parrot stared at Cham's small feet;
cried 'I knew it! ain't life swell.
We are so alike, that's neat.
You're zygodactylous as well'!

And so, the pair became firm friends,
bonded by their common ends.
Castaways the island tends,
castaways the island mends.
Soft the moonlit night descends,
loud, the parrot's song ascends.

Zygodactylous me….
Zygodactylous you...
Zygodactylous we….
Zygodactylous two…

Zygodactylous zygodactylous zygodactylous me…
Diane Hine
Tuesday, July 31,2012

2
‘ Hollow ‘ Halloween: Janice And Mr. Bones ….[ Boozing; Loneliness; Mental Health; Psychiatry; Halloween; Fictional; Long Enough ]

By Bri Edwards

Janice worked 9-5 as her boss's secretary.
At work she was sedate. But her evenings could be scary.
You see, Janice lived a bit on the ‘wild side',
something which, from her coworkers, she did hide.

She was single,25, had a tattoo on her ass.
In the evening she drank and smoked 'a little grass'.
She ‘bar-hopped' and some nights took some guy back home.
Janice lived by herself, but did NOT like …..being alone.
One October 31st, yes, a night of Halloween, …..
Janice was ‘flying high', feeling like a freaking queen.
She'd dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein, in itself scary,
and on her way home from a bar walked into a cemetery.

She must have passed out there, among the mossy graves.
At 3 A.M. she woke up, seeing, at first, multi-colored waves.
But then a strange man appeared, quite pale, tall, and thin.
She wanted sex, and before too long he was well in-
side of her.

At dawn she awoke, lying across two gravestones.
'He' was not there, but she recalled his name: 'Mr. Bones'.

[[ 3 months pass ]]

That November 1st she had called into work 'sick'.
She'd gotten home, had showered off real quick.
She felt VERY ‘creepy'. Soon she was alone in her own bed.
Sleep overtook her again the moment her pillow hit her head.

A few weeks later all was not well. 'Mr. Bones, indeed! '
She was drawn back to the cemetery. She felt a pressing need …..
To find the man called 'Mr. Bones', but he was not there.
She cruised the bars and shops nearby, ‘not turning up a hair'*.

She'd gone back to work November 2nd, to no avail.
She just could NOT concentrate and, at her job, she did fail.
She said she was having psychological problems; she WAS!
She saw a psychologist to figure out the cause.

BUT Janice was too embarrassed to tell the doctor 'ALL'.
After three visits and no improvement, both the ‘doc' and she hit a ‘wall' …..
beyond which neither felt they could proceed. The visits now did end.
She fell into a deep depression; spiraling down her life did wend.

Nights were the worst times for Janice. Nightmares did abound.
In her past she could not stand to be alone; now she wanted no one around.
She lived on her three credit cards, paying the minimum allowed.
She ate mostly 'fast-food, take-out', avoiding any crowd.

She tried, and failed, to kill herself. She ended up hospitalized.
After three days a 'shrink'** came by, one highly-specialized.
Dr. Graham [not related to 'Cracker'] spoke in soothing tones.
Janice, sedated, told her of her night with 'Mr. Bones'.

[ But first the hospital spoke to Janice's mom, as part of protocol.
'Mom' was a widow. She said: 'Doctor, make her well. It's all
……..I want.' ]

A few more days passed while Janice recovered more and more.
Doctor Graham hypnotized Janice, hoping to learn the 'score',
'the score' meaning 'the reason' for Janice's mental troubles.
The doctor would try to find AND burst some 'imaginary bubbles'***,

'bubbles' being beliefs of Janice which were not backed by facts.
Graham hoped to find, in her patient's mind, useful psychiatric ‘tracks',
‘tracks' hidden in Janice's subconscious, tracks to make her well.
The doctor knew that mental problems could be ‘a living Hell'.

Back through her recent past the doctor took Janice, searching.
She took the patient back months, Janice sometimes lurching …
forward from her sitting position, her face at times looking pained.
Though the process looked at times distressing, much could thus be gained.

They ‘went back' at last to October 31st, and 'Mister Bones'.
NOW, besides lurching and grimacing, Janice let out ….some groans.
BUT, 'No pain, NO gain', an ‘old saying', certainly did apply.
Soon, in a day or two, Janice was up and about, smiling. Here's why:

It came out while she was hypnotized, there'd been no nighttime sex!
Beer and drugs? Yes. A cemetery? Yes. Wishful thinking? Maybe. But NO SEX! !
No 'Mr. Bones'. Only in Janice's mind did Mr. Bones exist;
a Halloween trick had been played on her, a nonexistent tryst!

Now, more months gone by, Janice no longer frequents after-work bars.
But she's at a new job, has a cat, and collects colored rocks in jars.
She goes to McDonald's, but she also walks her building's treadmill.
AND she's dated the same guy three times this month. Wish her luck! Bri will.


(October 16th and 25th 2017)

* 'not turning up a hair' ……..not finding a thing; finding nothing (that is looked for)

** 'shrink' ….a psychiatrist

*** 'imaginary bubbles' …misconceptions; untruths in Janice's thinking

Bri Edwards
Thursday, October 26,2017

Topic(s) of this poem: depression, halloween, mental illness


POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
i'm in a hurry. read the poem. ha ha.

have a nice Halloween, or not.

BOO!

bri ;)

p.s.

* 'not turning up a hair' ……..not finding a thing; finding nothing (that is looked for)

** 'shrink' ….a psychiatrist

*** 'imaginary bubbles' …misconceptions; untruths in Janice's thinking



And 'Graham Crackers' are a type of cracker snack, nice for making a sandwich with a thin chocolate bar and hot marshmallows between the cracker! The marshmallows melt the chocolate some. Don't forget to brush your teeth.

Conclusion of showcase:

I believe Diane Hine is a rare visitor now to PH.
If anyone has any comments on this showcase or any of my poems, pro or con, feel very free [ Yes! PoemHunter is still FREE! ! ] ….to leave a comment, which I most likely will never know about unless you message me or I return to the poems' pages, which I RARELY do. The "old PH" used to send notifications of poem comments directly to the authors. : (

Enjoy what you can in your future and consider trying to give some enjoyment to others.
Best wishes to you,

Bri

:)