she pips in fear for lateness like her peers,
hauteur cloaked with reticence,
her-boo-boo-vague, though walled around and palpable
official Narcissist disguised in rude affronts
Bravado of naughtiness in candor yet tacit
“Free me free me”, rants in melancholy
as ignorance upsets sorts of sort
Insensibility of differentiate as angels often tastes the gall
By routines of cataract long glare
Sends nostalgia down their spines
Though forgetting the milk and candies of supposed rivals
Doubling as friends in conning angst beggarly in their nature
Nagging and ganging a gang of gossipers
Finding Mutual grounds for their victims
Causing higgledy where there exist no war
For a suspected compromise of morals
Or a hunting taint of a past paints on Z walls
Where decorum is not a schoolmaster
As official time wastes in visits to motels at un-break break time
With holy bible at desk view to mask hypocrisy
First venerable “Etis” Migrants tasted buds of vinegary as noised by witnessing chauffeur
And guilt cautioned not her thigh with avalanche of showy attire of a seductress
advertorials of “buried innocence”jagged in curved carbuncle front and back
Banging shoes in unending visits secreted in kitchen
double faced, loud calls to clients for managerial gratitude
as empty office fill vacuums of fast quickie (sharp-shap) appointments arranged or rearranged
Ill mannered, bad tempered not marriageable, never listen, never patient making enemies
Commandeering, verbose, self-conceited, presumptuous, stout and arrogant
Copyright © Oluseyi Akinbami | Year Posted 2019
I will dig the sand
the wet sand of this shore
I will bury my fingers
deep
and my soul will descend,
descend slowly,
and in silence
the warmth will rise
beneath the skin
I will dig deeper
and I will dig
this shore, which I know
like the palms of my hands.
Here, I have built spacious houses,
apportioned rooms
and accumulated towers of sand
till the tide buries them
and I return
the next day
and build.
Here, I know
I can play
Here, I realize dreams can be buried
and also
grief.
Copyright © Khalid Albudoor | Year Posted 2017
Angel designated highest position,
sanctifying partakers from God's tea pot
Copyright © Nicole Alexander | Year Posted 2015
Crowded amongst loved ones
But feeling lonely within
Shrouded in silence
While surrounded by din
The pain encompasses
It's all I am it seems
It rules my emotions
And shatters my dreams
I want to break free
But what can I do
My soul paces restlessly
Like a lion in a zoo
Of the things around me
Not really aware
My mind in a maze
Heart burning and bare
How did I reach here
When I tried so hard
To treat everyone
With humble regard
My love given freely
The shirt off my back
In the hope of helping them
Find the right track
What is the reason
That I must be so chained
Is it truly justified
Is my soul so stained
Sure I made mistakes
Unknowingly hurt others
I would take it all back
My sisters and brothers
I would live with this pain
If I knew it would heal
Those who I stomped
With my careless heel
But the past is just that
It can't be changed
The sequence of events
Never rearranged
So I will live on
In this coffin of pain
And wait for the time
I will be free again
And I know I will understand
His saving grace
When at last I can see
His wondrous face
Copyright © Aly Bahr | Year Posted 2024
Your soul has shown me through your heart,
A loving, caring and kindness part.
And from your mind it says to me,
That intellect and wisdom reside in thee.
But to your soul I do relate,
And know the oneness of my soulmate.
For no other presence has more blessed my life,
As having you as my eternal wife.
Two shall be one throughout eternity,
Sharing their love as it was meant to be.
In the light of love an adventure we’ll share,
With faith in our creator, we’ll never despair.
Life is for living, it’s not a test,
Just live in the present and do our best.
Don’t judge others, let them be who they are,
Let the spirit inside us be our guiding star.
We’ll live our life as one of the few,
By living life as we’re meant to do.
To love one another and always be true,
For truly we are one from what used to be two.
Copyright © Bill Baker | Year Posted 2021
Knee on my neck
Help me, I can't breathe
Not a move was made
No help received
Another life lost
Reason matters not
No remorse for the action
Regret only, we got caught
White is a color
Black is a crime
To long the injustice
Open your mind
Together we must come
United we must stand
Color has it's privilege
Equality it must demand
Turn the other way
No place in this fight
Live freely without fear
Everyone's right
Help me I can't breathe
Sit with his words
Turn privilege into action
Be the change reaffirmed
Copyright © Cheryl Bousquet | Year Posted 2020
Dropped in to visit...impulsive action
For Brian Strand contest
Any Form/Any Theme
Honorable Mention
Copyright © Carol Sunshine Brown | Year Posted 2012
magenta magic
recently escaped eve's skies
darkening to plum
crows caw on the wing
as pink sun turns red-orange
day goes up in flames
mango berry crush
mahogany shadows move
gold clocks go tick tock
Copyright © Evelyn Judy Buehler | Year Posted 2024
A Loss so unfair worse the life left in total despair
Silently in the night or on the busiest of days
Unrelenting this fatal pain a true love sustains
An emptiness no one can fill, the days, since a heartbeat did still
In the depth of living anguish echo screams and cries
Unable to escape, until like you I die
Copyright © Michael Craig | Year Posted 2019
Exchanging Presents for Presence
I’m sorry I was there,
But really not.
I did not know what being “we” was all about.
When I was with you
I always thought first about me
Never realizing what the joy
Of unrequited giving could be.
Now that “we” are no more,
I ponder what could have been,
As I deprived you of my presence,
While showering you
With token presents.
Copyright © Steve Crismond | Year Posted 2015
To give is to gain
in the eyes of the mind
of a soul that is honest
and loving and kind.
It's fair to expect
that you get what you give
as your life is a measure
of morals you live.
What do we gain
when were willing to give?
What force feeds the soul
in our willing to live?
When given the chance
of a lifetime to choose,
our hope is the treasure
our hearts cannot lose.
Like a torch we pass down
to each, one by one.
To mothers as daughters
and fathers as sons,
a hope burning brightly,
a steady flame fast,
the strength of our future
through hope from our past.
We pass on these ways
without saying a word
as actions speak louder
and clearly are heard.
The examples are set
by the actions we choose,
without even thinking
of what we could lose
What is the worth
in the willing to give?
What is the point
of our purpose to live?
We give with the hope
of a better tomorrow.
To give up our hope
were are certain for sorrow
What is the cost
when we won't even try?
To give up our hope
and eventually die?
We break the connections
that keep us in sync,
a game of survival
that's lived on the brink.
All things find death
in the journey of life.
Hope is the light
through the darkness of strife.
We give and we gain,
give up and we lose.
What we will give
shapes the world that we choose.
- Jeannie Minor
Copyright © Jeannie Cronin | Year Posted 2016
Do they let dogs into heaven? I’m only askin’ for a friend
They bring such joy to life on earth, I hope that they get in
I don’t think Jesus would mind a furry, happy friend
Eternity would be better if heaven let dogs in
According to the bible, dogs were made before man
The more people that I meet, the more I understand
Their unconditional love, an example for everyone
Add in that wagging tail and heaven would be more fun
I ain’t saying I won’t go, cuz that other place sounds worse
But I’ve met quite a few people and I think dogs should get in first
I hope St Peter is listening, I can’t be the only one
Hoping the pearly gates open and dogs are welcomed home
Copyright © Kevin Cummings | Year Posted 2024
The words are
intimate as lovers
in my arms;
I taste each sound
gently in my mouth,
rolled around on
tip of tongue;
try them on for size
one by one,
tracing their shapes
with tender care;
guard them
jealously against
reproach, and
hold them closely
to my heart in
the dark of night.
If not to remember,
then at least to declare,
in this moment:
I felt this.
I was here.
Copyright © A.M. Demotte | Year Posted 2022
Beige sport's car with fifty-nine thousand miles.
Rag top (original color - brown).
Engine still runs great, but frame might
need some work. Body ok.
Awesome wheels and front end.
Fuel efficient too.
Vintage model-
A must-see!
(Not for
sale.)
Copyright © Andrea Dietrich | Year Posted 2010
My life gardens yin's integrity
and hunt's yang's universal synergy,
outside and inside
reseeding back
and new seeding forth
across time's life
death boundary loves.
If here now,
then not quite yet there tomorrow
outside memories still incarnating,
forming resonant echoes
as dysfunctional dissonance fades,
decaying and absorbing eternal Now,
make haying while Earth's light shines bravely Here
blending diverse future therapeutic dreams
into permaculture's historic enculturing designs
Patriarchal hunters
embracing matriarchal Eden's
sacred synergetic signs
Of exquisitely imperfect rhyming reasons,
not so much orderly marching
toward unseasonal demise,
climate changing surprise
Woke garden witness
to messy riots of richly soiled drama
hunting quieter sustained joy
Perhaps a predative pilgrimage
but also a more resonant ramble,
resiliently romping through rutting
and sleeping salacious seasons.
Copyright © Gerald Dillenbeck | Year Posted 2015
Cat had a pet;
Some old dude
He met, while on patrol
His many backyards
A territorial feral;
Opportunist:
A lap was empty,
Well used
But warm enough,
Some sandwich unfinished
Surprise!—It was tuna!
(A match seemed
Made in heaven)
Cat had a pet,
Some old dude
He met—an opportunist:
Quickly he laid claim
Though the find sat
Quite lame—
Unable to speak
Yet attentive;
Having tasty treats
Pocket full unending—
How inventive!
Quite the incentive,
Seemed a match
Made in heaven—
As seasons passed
Their relationship grew
Till the old dude due—
His chair
Now empty;
Well, not always…
An occasional cat-nap
Keeps the heat on…
Purring while dreaming
His incentive:
A warm lap
And a pocket full of treats
Surely a match
To be continued
In heaven—
Copyright © Joe Dimino | Year Posted 2016
As she walked in to the room
The air filled with the smell of lilacs
Sweet music drifted to my ears
As she walked in to the room.
As she walked in to the room
My heart skipped a thousand beats
My eyes saw the worlds beauty
As she walked in to the room.
As she walked in to the room
Her smile enlightened my day
Her shining hair moved my emotions
As she walked in to the room.
As she walked in to the room
She embraced a young man nearby
My dreams awoke me to reality
As they walked out of the room.
Copyright © Ken Duddle | Year Posted 2012
32: Ode to a Fortunetelling
I.
The land was never to rest
The princess locked in a tower
The Tarot card laid on the chest
Her feelings began to sour
The teller made an impression.
The reading made her afraid
Causing her land to shake
No longer an innocent maid
Her future unlocked a black quake
Regretting this fortunetelling session.
II.
With bad news outlined and decked,
The princess’ plans become questions.
Is my future so hopelessly wrecked?
Could all these cards offer suggestions
On how to avoid certain death?
Now the tellers is free from the prison
The girl’s dread grows to an unheard of height
He leaves the poor princess in derision
Lamenting her bad luck and plight
It is hard to capture her breath.
III.
Are you leaving me with no way fight this?
She calls after him furious and contrite
He replies that no one can avoid the abyss
Her thoughts reel with contempt and spite
How is she supposed to digest this mess?
The foreseer just shrugs his shoulders
Lets the door lock on it own
She tears the armor from its holders
I guess I am battling this one alone
Never again to wear a pink silken dress.
Copyright © Autumn Ehrhardt | Year Posted 2011
Love radiates on this ecstatic June eve's bliss.
Sprites place magnolia blossoms in her cascading
twilight-hued hair of a gloss of flaxen.
Her necklace of the pearl orb's blue-silver,
sweetly close to her generous heart.
Her lips a shade of young pink rose buds blushing,
so entwined in their royalty of maiden queens on
the ivory trellis.
She smiles with obsidian eyes of charmed mystery,
as they dance so lovingly close in this garden of
many lover's betrothals with promises of forever.
A garden the gracious fairies keep in their care.
His pure wife, her glistening lavender stardust
gown fashioned in dreamland.
They sway gently to the joyous music of
the angel's harps just over the treetops.
They're enchanted by so many life images in
the galaxies,
he kisses his wondrous wife,
and with his poet's soul he is enraptured
with their union of evermore. ~
Copyright © Regina Elliott | Year Posted 2023
Unfold, now behold
The truth of how all answers
Are hidden within
Every folded, small facet;
Every fibre part of you.
Copyright © Marissa Faries | Year Posted 2022