An Alchemy of Words

Plague House Anthem

#poemchallenge with VeraLisle44

"Plague House Anthem"

In my plague house, marked with crowns,

within my basement, six feet down,

I toss and turn and yearn for sleep,

while sickness stalks 'midst darkness deep.

For in that darkened space below,

I, now like a mushroom, grow.

My roots reach out and, tender, touch

the faces, pale, I love so much.

From house to house, my reach expands,

a fibrous net beneath the lands.

Past filth, and rot, and hate, and race,

past fractious lies and falls from grace.

Confined to home, our souls laid bare,

we're all broken, lost, and sick, and scared.

But, as my tendrils span this world,

around a simple truth they've furled:

We are not lost. We're not alone.

The entire world has lived this poem.

This plague unites, through loss and grief,

through death's pale tendrils, thick beneath.

Your heart is my heart, your hand my hand.

United, masked, as one we stand,

Joined by fungal roots, asleep

within plague houses, six feet deep.

˗ˏˋ・。☆.・゜✭・.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
✫・゜・。.・。. ✭

I normally prefer to write in free verse but this one arose out of a #poemchallenge with VeraLisle44 . Our discussion of our different styles escalated quickly into a friendly poem challenge - with a 1 week deadline, she would write and publish a free verse poem, with tight lines and spacing. You can see the result in her poem "The Beach" in https://www.wattpad.com/story/260778987-my-poetry. And I would write and publish a poem built from formal rhymes and stanzas. I hope I've done it justice.

Note that this is a challenge, not a poem slam or a competition. It's not about who does it better but rather about Vera and I pushing each other as poets, forcing each other out of our respective nests to catch the wind and stretch our wings. As a reader, you get to discover two new poems that wouldn't have existed otherwise. And if you like what you see, Vera and I would both love to have your votes and comments.

Calling All Poets

Want to issue a #poemchallenge of your own? Please do! Lay down the ground rules of your challenge in a comment to this poem. Make it interesting. I can't promise I'll accept, as I also have a mountain of poems in my back-catalogue that I want to publish, and new poems in my established voice that I need to write and share. But this one's been a lot of fun and taken me to a poetic place I wasn't expecting.

If I'm not available, issue your challenge to another poet here on Wattpad. Age, experience, popularity and audience size don't matter. As this is about self-improvement, everyone's on a level playing field. And if you want to try your own hand at someone else's #poemchallenge that's already run its course (such as this one between VeraLisle44 and I), go ahead - just link back to the original poets, as a friendly courtesy, in your Author's Notes!

Let's make #poemchallenge a thing.