Sotto Poet Poet Free verse

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Engaging All Senses

Written: June 24, 2026, for a contest sponsored by Natasha L Scragg

Quote: "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to 
man as it is, infinite." By William Blake 

"Note: If we define perception to include transcendence, intuition, and the process of abstract meaning, we ultimately consider Spirit as the human sixth sense"

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Sight 

The sky soars over sycamores above— 
Amber light oozes over foliage & cove
A web of shadows weaves in stone.
The leaden hand of dusk settles in hush.
Eyes drink the amber evening's glow—
Remember, sight traces the soul's flow.

Sound 

A sighing symphony thrums in the grass,
And birds croon their nightime requiem—
Wind dissolves to a sighing minstrel's song,
The river's pulse falls, soars, and swells—
With every ripple, a true voice tells—
Remember, pitch lets us feel—loudness dwells.

Smell

Café hallway emits the scent of roasted beans.
Velvet bitterness, and draft of warm balm.
A panacea for weary spirits.
Bearing salt sobs from ocean's eternal call.
Scents rouse the soul from dormant sleep—
Remember, scent rouses souvenirs from ash.

Touch

Wooden tables rough with mercurial grain,
Stone stairs under roving hand—lost in touch, 
Wind, a feathered touch soft as a bird's wing, 
Pressing, melting, morphing against skin.
Clearer than words, touch conveys fact—
Remember, touch and grace nurture men's mood 

Taste 

Cappuccino foam, pure alabaster gleam,
An astringent elixir dissolves into sweetness. 
Rhythmic throb of each tongue's caress
A perpetual delight, a lament for oblivion.
Each sip recalls summer's golden light—
Remember, taste maps food and drains.

Spirit  
 
All senses join in a nexus of now.
Knitted with time, bursting with life's vow. 
No lack here, no abyss, no plough—
Spirit fulfills yin and yang—limitless sky.
Only abundance of presence here,
The ardor of being, the breathing flame—
Remember that soul transcends name.

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Krishnanand Guptar July 4, 2026 at 11:36 AM Congratulations dear poet on sharing the top win in this contest with a lovely poem on eac of the secnses, including the inner sixth sense, the spirit. Each part though separate seems like a whole with the pen of a master poet. Wishing you a blessed day.

Valsa George July 2, 2026 at 4:35 AM With what wonderful cleverness you have done the demarcation of the senses and how beautifully you have blended them into your poem. A poet with Midas' touch turning everything into gold. Congratulations on your top win.

Natasha L Scragg July 1, 2026 at 9:39 AM Hi Sotto. I like the way you have listed and created a verse for each sense. By the spirit they all harmonize. "All sense join in a nexus of now" a lovely flow when reading. Thank you for entering the contest :-D