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Best Poems Written by Stephen Clarke

Below are the all-time best Stephen Clarke poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Unto Golgotha

I stood amidst the maddening crowds

 drowned in cries of disarray....

 Something about this gentle captive

 Encouraged me to stay.

 Through the crimson rivets flowing

 his eyes they pulsed with love.

 And through the swarming sea of fists

 His gaze was cast above.

 They kicked him down, with every lunge

 a vicious spite fuelled taunt...

 They marched their prey atop the hill

  to torture kill and flaunt.

  I braved the writhing mass of spite

  as i was in his debt i felt.

  I shuddered at his broken form

  every open wound and welt.

  His mouth grimaced in sheer torment

  as nails were driven to his wrists.

  Blood thickened on the sun scorched sand

  trickling from his tight clenched fists.

  They mounted him on the cross

  As he was raised for all to see.

  Anger toiled deep in my heart

  as the high priests howled in glee.

  All silenced by his final cry

  his broken chords in lamentation.

  He wailed unto the heavenly Father

  The God of our creation....

  Father God forgive them.. for they know not

  what they do ...

  Love was spilt from the beams that bore

  The man so pure ... so true ..

  And as he hung his deadening glare

  which faded in affection..

  Death had lost its mighty sting

  as he awaited resurrection.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Exchange

Eyes of sapphire rouse my spirit.
Lull me senseless, love me blind.
Hands clasped, lips intertwined
in a passion fuelled clash 
of love and lustre.
Smile sirene concealed within
as in my arms ... 
Beauty sleeps.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

In Memory of the Lightning Tree

Woe betide the lightning tree
the guardian of the sacred stone.
Devoid of life and leaf alike 
as even the ivy creeps elsewhere.

Woe betide the lightning tree
the silent watcher of the north.
Mastered by the winds of change
and the scapegoat of the ruthless skies.

Woe betide the lightning tree
the keeper of the ancient grove.
Once a mighty bellowing giant 
now fodder for the relentless fungi.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Corn Market Belfast

Where the gallows once stood 
and souls met their demise.

Where the gatherings scowled
and dead eyes met the ground.

Where the guilty paid homage
as corruptness prevailed.

Where divinity withered 
and turmoil was praised.

Where the merriment beamed
as they killed in his name.

A preacher now rants pon' 
these cold bricks of shame.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Guilty Onlooker

One day i watched a housefly perish. 
A memory i'd never hold or cherish.
A soul escaped his writhing mass
magnified by looking glass.
I swore i'd seen its final breath
and knew i'd been its cause of death.

Insignificant i know God slap my wrist!
Oh lord i wish the fly swat missed.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Summer, Milltown, Belfast 1980's

Milltown, Shawsbridge in the 1980's...
 
When the sun had possession of the season
 and tarmac was treacled by the temperature.
 When we went to war with the wasps
 and ventured wide eyed in 'the planties' 
to the roped thrall of commandoland.
 Back when 'mr freeze pops' and 'cherry coke' 
was our sustenance against the beating sun.
 When real music blared from ghettoblasters
 and parents red raw slurped ice cold harp via can.
 When shawsbridge was appealing 
and patchworked in vibrant beach towels,
 folks clustered in defeat of the sun.
 Back when the Barclay had an arcade machines
 and we cross pollenated each's bedrooms
 to play Nes, Atari and Amstrad CPC 464.
 Back when our longsuffering knees 
were raw to the pavement 
and rollerboots were means of transport.
 When kirby was played and water pistols our means of defence.
 Back when reality glimmered....
 And summer shone with meaning.
 
S.J.C

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

With Ingrid Below

Alas my mind so lofty,  silence broods with the past 
My mouth resounds a freedom anthem and sorrow diminishes 
as my eyes fall upon her portrait.

With ingrid below, 

I proclaim her pearls of wisdom 
pon the embers of community.
Bless the smouldering windswepts 
as they strive to hold the fire 

With ingrid below,

they walk shadowed sorrowful.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Devoid

As christmas mounts decembers passing
we huddle in your absence.
Our eyes earthbound in aversion
of the stinging words etched upon the marble.
A solitary magpie skipping over the crystallised blades
highlights my purpose at your graveside.
Your first christmas misspent in the depths of the earths
are my thoughts as my eyes thaw the ground beneath.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Sidekick

This is my companion
 to the left of me.
 Everlong by my side
 in lifes travail
 and heart to heart
 in worlds apart.
 This is my guardian 
and my servant dearest 
whatever his size.
 This is my watcher
 by the windowpane
 foretelling the visitors 
and mocking the postman 
in his luminesce apparel.
 This is my nights last seen face 
and my mornings first pace. 
This is my companion, 
my dog.

Details | Stephen Clarke Poem

Yours Faithfully

A killer roams these streets at night
all for pleasure, out of sight.
Prowling neath' a pallid moon,
the midnight hour approaches soon.
A surefire glance secures her prey,
she readies stance if she may
pace stealthily in quiet advance
and maul her catch with graceful prance.
She discards her victims at my back door
and slinks to shadow to kill some more.
Two stiff brown mice a careless bat
a curled up shrew and eyeless rat.
For my freindship with an alleycat.