10- this is not your home

a tiny hole between the shingles
a shelter made its own
the cat's tail flicks quickly
against the window pane
bird, it says, this is not
your home
as the cloud beckons from above

09- preposition

Can there be a relationship of
abstractions and window beds? The theme
of the day is sanity. If we can
feel it with our hands,
the wind between our fingers
how can it be anything without a
height and width? A name, a face, an
element. Then what is a silhouette?
It is there, in the sidelight,but can
you wrap it in a robe, pour it
in a glass, put a border around it?
The finger beat instructions upon the
puzzle pieces. Why the fear of
opening the message machine?

08-the storyline between

"i had a dream about
you last night but
i can't really remember most
of it"
i pause to imagine the storyline
between
what could we have been doing? me
there in your brain while
really i was in my own bed
dreaming of you
and i, those perfect nights
where our naked skin mirrored
our naked speech baring
the unsheltered thoughts to
one another
"but i was sad to wake up
without you"

07-slumber

"a cat nap" you called it
as you slipped back under
the covers
your cavern for the rest
of the day
in the sunlight,
my kittens nose twitches
tail flips
foot shakes
perhaps she is dreaming of
another self
roaming the world as clouds
pass swiftly overhead
i couldn't know, but each
flick of a paw reminds
me of your slumber
shoulder twitching
beneath an invisible touch

06- in tune

the car buzzed with excitement
waiting, in the rain, for your
return.
i felt each vibration
along with my heartbeat
(or was
my heart that was becoming
in tune with the hum
of the engine?)
the windshield wipers flashed
crossing my vision
suddenly, i felt
drawn to the memory of the night
i thought i lost you
in the crowd
an unfamiliar place with people too
large for the space
containing them
i felt
diminished
then, again, the wipers flash
and i'm back in the car
waiting

05-disconnect

the movie continues on despite
our present disconnect
what was that you said? that
wasn't you, it was the movie speaking.
like i said,

disconnect.

but it made so much
sense, what was said, that
i didn't suspect for a moment
it was not
your voice
pressed against my ear
with my head in your shoulder
a curtain of hair
i couldn't have seen the lips
moving on the screen.

04- a constant.

"they say that doing
the same thing over and
over expecting different results
is the definition of madness" you say
to me quietly, eying sideways
the open book in my lap.
only the outside action
is the same to me, love,
inside the words are churning, stewing,
never constant
with one meaning
or effect on me and my own.

03-onwards and upwards

hours upon hours the stare
becomes monotonous
the single white line guide
knows the destination
my humble machine lumbers on
carrying me
onward

02- my your face

in my heavylidded dreamstate
beneath windows open, curtains flowing
languid in the humid breeze

your face was mine.

i felt myself speak, blink, swallow but
they were your lips, eyes, throat
i could feel the wind, my wind
here, without you
but the feeling was distinct
and foreign upon your skin.

01- a tangle.

as you exhale through pursed
lips the tiniest burst of air, snowflakes flow upward
through time,
the reel unraveled.
pulling us backward through paths
already created, footsteps in the snow
appearing, disappearing.
leading us back inside, a tangle
of limbs creating warmth between
us, between
the sheets.
gazing out, for a moment, at the wonder
of time flowing back.

Bio

My name is Kendra Bartell, I’m currently finishing up my sophomore year at Cornell University. I recently switched to an English major, concentrating in poetry and poetics, so this is an exciting project for me to join. This is my first year doing the 100 Days project, but I’ve been very close to the action both years, as Stephen and Susan E. are my parents! I’m going to be writing a poem a day for the 100 days this year. I don’t want to limit myself to one set form or style, but I plan to experiment with many of the poetic forms I haven’t had a chance to write in before. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with, and how the work evolves each day from John’s original video.

Let the wild rumpus start!