Poetry Breakfast

SUMMER SCHOOL SENRYU
by Don Kingfisher Campbell

(1) PRE-TEST

It’s like light rain
heard outside a window–
students writing.

(2) CLASSWORK

Binders opening
and closing–popcorn,
popcorn, popcorn!

(3) FRIDAY TEST

Chair leaning back,
looking for answers
in the ceiling.

(4) STUDENT DESK

Orange edged,
scraped wood butterflies
leave graphite droppings.

(5) NO LOCKERS

On the tables of
the Creative Writing class,
Algebra and Calculus books.

Don Kingfisher Campbell is currently studying for an MFA in Poetry at
Antioch University, Los Angeles. Mr. Campbell has taught Creative Writing
for 27 years in the Occidental College Upward Bound program and has been a
Guest Teacher even longer for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Kingfisher is the host of Saturday Afternoon Poetry in Pasadena, editor of
the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, and founder of POETRYpeople youth
writing workshops. Don has recently been awarded a commission by the city
of Pasadena to compose a poem for the City Speaks art exhibit and also won
first place in the 2011 Whittier Poetry Contest.
(http://dkc1031.blogspot.com)

ROAD BED
by Don Kingfisher Campbell

lying on her side
like she was sleeping

golden brown fur still
absorbing morning sunlight

so intact so peaceful
cars drive around the feline

we continue on asphalt
in our metal machines

swerve away from each other
on the concrete river

off the offramp
a billboard reminds me

to VIVE HOY con Pepsi
in the midst of construction

Don Kingfisher Campbell is currently studying for an MFA in Poetry at
Antioch University, Los Angeles. Mr. Campbell has taught Creative Writing
for 27 years in the Occidental College Upward Bound program and has been a
Guest Teacher even longer for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Kingfisher is the host of Saturday Afternoon Poetry in Pasadena, editor of
the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, and founder of POETRYpeople youth
writing workshops. Don has recently been awarded a commission by the city
of Pasadena to compose a poem for the City Speaks art exhibit and also won
first place in the 2011 Whittier Poetry Contest.
(http://dkc1031.blogspot.com)

Not So Still Lives
by Don Kingfisher Campbell

Sun streaming through blinds makes oranges and apples in a basket on a
wooden dining table look like still life. Presence and aroma warm a living
room so much a tan carpet feels almost as inviting as earth to bare feet.
Lone desk lamp lights clay-colored desk into a model of an urban landscape.
Ebony laptop dominates surface like a modern building made of metal and
plastic. Its great window, a screen advertising ideas of the world. A bottle
of water nearby glazes nearly empty of emotion, just condensation of an
owner’s breath. A gentle mechanic whoosh and whirr mimic a typing body’s
efficiency. Oh oh, here comes another being to embrace the poet.

Don Kingfisher Campbell is currently studying for an MFA in Poetry at
Antioch University, Los Angeles. Mr. Campbell has taught Creative Writing
for 27 years in the Occidental College Upward Bound program and has been a
Guest Teacher even longer for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Kingfisher is the host of Saturday Afternoon Poetry in Pasadena, editor of
the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, and founder of POETRYpeople youth
writing workshops. Don has recently been awarded a commission by the city
of Pasadena to compose a poem for the City Speaks art exhibit and also won
first place in the 2011 Whittier Poetry Contest.
(http://dkc1031.blogspot.com)