my heart rises, falls like restive waves
it brings the weight of fears I cannot voice.
joy swells then slips silently away
memories lingers like salt on my skin
i follow its pull, unsure but alive
in its rhythm, I find my steady beat
It seems that every 10 to 12 days or so
my living room faces the force of my manic episodes
sticky-tacking every coloring book image
completed to the walls
rearranging lights in hopes something shines better
I can’t arrange my furniture in a way
that curls me into comfort
molds me interwoven home’s aroma
maybe
the issue isn’t whether the couch belongs
against the left or right wall
or against the wall at all
or possibly
the fact my bed is a place of unrest
it’s probably
my reluctance to unpack the real problems
but I’m too preoccupied trying to change things
that won’t make a difference in the first place
I gently beat the drum
it seems to appease my inner child
~ small pleasures warm the heart
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
heart-strings hum-ming, beat-ing,
songs rise-ing, soar-ing.
BiteSize Poetry Contest no121 // Sponsored by: Line Gauthier
( 3rd Place )
Written: August 20, 2025
Each word a note, a quiet song,
lines rise and fall where hearts belong.
Pauses hum as loudly as the sound,
meaning dances, turning all around.
Rhythm threads through every heartbeat
and soul and melody at last meet.
be the ~r~h~y~t~h~m~~
of the °°p°°o°°e°°m°° my h¦e¦a¦r¦t
~w~~r~~i~~t~~e~~s~
sweet love s• n• s•
i• g•
in ~h~
~e~
~a~
~r~
~t~
~s~
pull the veil separating day from night
and with a stroke of grace
beauty's canvas renewed
the cycle is immortalized
behold the rhythm of the universe
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
In my youth I dreamt of playing the piano
filling the nights with romance and melodies
orchestrating sound and beauty
Reading and interpreting sheet music while
compressing innermost feelings into sequences of notes
translated in the language best understood by the heart
Swirling to the beat of rhythmic grace
rich with aphrodisiac chemistry
intoxicating mesmerizing beguiling
I’ve dreamt so long of pleasuring the night
to charm the moon and stars above
with my hypnotic serenades and symphonies
Smooth moves
rivers perform
with intuitive flow.
Even when storms cause them to churn,
their God bequeathed responses are right on.
Not so, emotions in my heart,
besieging my faith's hold.
My needs pursue
smooth flows.
Current
glides in wild slope
along the dense forest,
rattling and burbling over rocks.
As my paddling arms sway with wind’s tempo,
canoe pulses with the wild flow.
Waves roll to smack the edge…
Vines tickle strong
current.
Rhythm of a River
Soothing
whispers in spring;
with rolling summer rains
revolves to robust roaring rush,
riding on crest of rough rocks on its bed,
chills down to soft rippling rhythm
with arrival of fall,
then silent and
soothing.
river,
flow by my feet~
as waters of my mind
do overtake and wet the page
and droplets step-dance to create, backstage.
for manufactured, processed verse
could never pulse with life,
the rhythm of a
river.
[On AI]
River
flowing in curves.
Waves dance and propagate
in rhythmic pattern of ripples.
Cadence of flow to change from ebb to tide.
Alluvial deposits on
soaked soil of either bank.
zig - zag flow of
River.
river
flows in slow strides,
kissing the rocky shores,
to unknown lands, in great wonder.
fetters that bind are broken asunder.
its heart is deluged with a song
waves lap merry along.
songs fill the air.
river
Nette Onclaud, Rolling with the R’s, 8/4/2025
Rhythm of a River
rambling
funny waters,
downward rapidity
of laughter on white water raft.
unintended coxswain gets rogue-wave kissed.
guides directing, this way and that,
up and down; rowers with
coarse correction,
rambling.
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