Best Quintain (Sicilian) Poems
Today I really feel it; I feel it in the air,
and even though I still can feel sun’s glow,
the breeze is blowing cooler through my hair.
Mr. Sun, your throne seems to be getting low
up there in September’s blue so fair.
Oh, Autumn, you are here now. You are here!
Since the Equinox I’ve truly known.
Nature calls for you; I need no seer,
no fanfare or announcement. I’ve simply grown
accustomed to knowing when you are near!
October’s on the doorstep. I feel that too.
Geese in V’s will cross God’s heaven on the way
to warmer climes. A most wondrous view
will greet me when the mountains I’ve seen every day
flaunt garbs of brilliant hues! But why do I feel blue?
It never fails, this melancholy comes to me in fall
regardless of the beauty that I see.
Like my life, oh Autumn, you come not at a crawl,
but quickening your pace, you come each year to me.
Just one time, Autumn, let the winter wait . . . please stall.
Oct. 2, 2021 for Emile Pinet's
the 'Quintain (Sicilian)' Poetry Contest
For Your Favorite Poem Of 2021 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Chantelle Anne Cooke
These gold suffused August afternoons
The luxury of this lazy light
Sweetened beneath peach blossom moons
Wide dawn reclaims the narrow night
As the sun lifts on saffron balloons.
08/09/22
Just August contest
Sponsor: Andrea Dietrich
those knots that wrench your gut belong to me
the terror in your eyes, yeah that's mine too
but soon my friend your death will set us free
when the guillotine severs you in two
for heinous crimes against humanity
"Everything holds a tinge of beauty, something unique,
but not everyone recognizes something beautiful."
~ by poet
Some of the most beautiful things in the world
are those that are visually impossible to see...
A fern frond that we can feel, not yet uncurled
Mated doves cooing, "Come to me, my love"
Or lofty wind in a canvas sail when it's unfurled
Promises of a pewter sky when rain's sorely needed
Swaddled newborns while dreaming in slumber
Starlight skies when the view is not impeded
Or fine fertile soil of this Earth in shades of umber
And polished pearls when oysters are seeded
The obvious sunrise morns and sunset twiights
A soul that was lost, then found its way back
Wavering hues of colors from the Northern lights
Pretty, a flower, growing in a sidewalk crack
Crystalized snowflakes and other wintry delights
Beauty can exist inside a good person's heart
In the prismed colors radiating from waterfalls
And at the greeting of lovers who have been apart
It's found in lost friendships by tearing down walls
Realizing life can be happy again with a fresh start
Our sweetest memories, when in dreams we drift
Smiles endowed to strangers who wear a frown
That may be what they needed to give them a lift
The glowing face of a bride, in her wedding gown
And how beautiful the offer of forgiveness as a gift
I heard my name from shadows spoke,
beyond the place called time
where thoughts begin, from deep within
where names have never been
It's there I found the driftless peace
upon the sunlit glen
far from the distant cloudless nights
where hope has never been
I felt the tears of morning dew
the Angels left for you
I'll shine a light upon your path
that sunrise never knew
Who walks into forever maudlin and seeking heights misplaced ?
What tortured memories, would mankind wish most undone, unsung?
When time's tide seeks to gather grace, with each painful thought displaced,
Where fullness bursts, how happy will those emptied heart-holds be once wrung?
Why waste the gift of life seeking solace with such unbridled haste.
When the party’s over, the rising sun shines, with all eyes squinting
Make-up smeared on face’s, some have slimy snail skin
A woman waiting for a gent to light her cigarette, just hinting
Last thing she remembered the drink in her cup sink’n in
Alas a smoke from the one glaring all night, even his lighter is glinting
That night she lost her balance, her head, and her Gucci slipper
Though in costume, she didn’t feel like Cinderella anymore
Drunk-on champaign they went out to the marina for a dipper
Everyone dancing all night, felt great, with music galore
At the stroke of midnight, on a yacht, a first mate and his skipper
Swirling in gay abandon in her party dress, putting on a show
The first one to leave is deemed a killjoy in this circle fest
They pulled an all-nighter, ‘neith the shroud of the moon’s luscious glow
The first one to leave the event, was weary, in the state of unrest
The sun is setting, the party is ending, a new day calls, a caravan in tow
Autumn teases the last cinnamon leaves
clinging to branches with amber fingers.
Seasonal change awakens Nature's thieves,
a wafting breeze that doggedly lingers,
stripping trees bare; a scene that sadly grieves.
Fall sings in a rhythmic glissando voice
announcing it's time that she takes the helm.
We acquiesce, given no other choice.
She reigns over Indian Summer's realm,
painting meadows and vales as we rejoice.
Acorns are gathered by hoarding squirrels
who scurry to find the tasty jewels,
cherishing them as valuable pearls.
As north winds blow, the temperature cools.
Chimney smoke drifts in white ribbons and curls.
Time for harvesting ripe apples for pies.
Halloween pumpkins are put on display.
Carefully, we watch Autumn's sullen skies
Clouds grow heavy, in shades of nimbus gray.
A gaggle of geese in migration, flies.
Autumn dresses herself in wrinkled gown.
Ruffled skirt in hues of crimson and gold.
Bodice in ochre, trimmed in walnut brown,
a russet cloak worn when a chill takes hold,
woven from wizened leaves that tumbled down.
July 13, 2022
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 1 Contest
Sponsor: Mark Toney
Originally posted in September 2021
Clement weather is often just my dream.
I don’t mind wispy white clouds way up high,
or marshmallow ones topped with whipping cream.
Alas, brooding nimbus are drawing nigh,
I yearn for azure skies and one sunbeam!
Raindrops fall, I hear them pitter-patter,
then hail stones bounce upon my brand new car.
I daren’t go outside and watch them batter
my garden, too. Ice storms are so bizarre
and their crashing makes such a loud clatter!
Rain still teems down, it’s been pouring for hours.
Where’s the warm sunshine, and vivid rainbow?
Torn to shreds will be my lovely flowers,
trellis of sweet peas, just starting to grow.
How I loathe these sudden April showers!
Dark clouds start to lift, a rainbow appears.
Sun’s peeking through a minute patch of blue.
Prisms of colour, I’ve so adored for years.
I’ll venture out to get a better view
for such a welcomed sight moves me to tears
My fate decays like dead moss on a tree.
Soft teardrops fall like leaves caught in a breeze.
My shadow still remains lost in debris,
as I reside in prison on my knees.
In darkness no light helps me find the key.
A world community like no other, this troupe
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Someone might even write something that stuns.
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Expression is welcome where wonder never ceases.
Written April 21, 2022
I’m like the rain, lamenting with despair.
I ache to feel the stars in golden skies.
My heart, a mirror cracked beyond repair,
it echoes hymns of grief in somber sighs,
like herbs of hurt, that moonlight will declare.
They quickly pass, the waning days more brief,
like love once shied beneath a garish moon,
expose the truths betrayed by Autumn's thief.
Infatuation always ends too soon ~
still tethered to the oak, a hopeful leaf...
for Andrea's "Half Past Summer" Contest
Picture a tropical paradise - faraway
Colorful leis of fresh fragrant flowers
Worn by hula dancers that sway
Sandy beaches and leisure filled hours
Soft waving palms on a moonlit bay
This island where mountains reach down to the seas
You’ll be filled with Aloha wherever you go
Soothed by the oceans and warm blowing breeze
Each day assures us of a rainbow
Everything dances here - even the trees
As evening fades to pale orange light
Beach boys sound a conch shell call
Hawaiian torches burn into the night
Ukulele’s strum- an instant heal all
At last on vacation the world seems right
Many people each of a different race
From other lands have come to make a home
To live in peace in this enchanting place
And to here will return however far they roam
Ko ‘Olina beckons them with silent grace
I saw a wizard cast a magic spell.
Six dolphins jumped from the sea.
He asked me kindly not to tell.
They grew legs and danced with glee.
They really danced quite well.
He caught a wave in his hand,
From one of the seven seas
He turned it into a strip of land.
On that island he put some trees,
Also, tropical flowers quite grand.
He then turned his attention to me.
He suggested a gift, very expensive.
And asked what I wanted to be.
He stood looking very pensive.
I answered emphatically “just me.”