All Christians live with fervent hope
That they would see their Lord appear,
This is the hope that buoys their soul
Amid the toils and cares of life.
But then they die before that time,
therefore, it seems they hoped in vain.
Death seems to be the hope-dasher
of Christians dear, in every age.
The skeptics point to this and say,
ages ago, Christ was to come
an absentee, he seems to be
All things exist as they have been.
But truth be told, all Christians live
the good life promised by their Lord
They then lie down and fall asleep
oblivious of the state of death.
The flight of time they know not of,
be it days or thousands of years.
When Jesus comes, and they are raised
for them ‘twill be just a new day.
There is no disappointed hope,
for those who in Christ do believe.
Their lives are held in secure arms
For Christ has sealed their destiny.
O dreaded death, where is your sting?
O grave, where is your victory?
Christ mocked you when He rose again
breaking the portals of the tomb.
Soon the trumpet of God will sound,
And all the dead in Christ shall rise
to meet their Savior in the air
and with Him joy celestial share.
Gleam in the mirror acts like it’s running some bright scheme,
stream of thoughts tell me I’m not as mysterious as I seem;
Twirl the frame and watch my reflection start to whirl,
furl a knowing grin, amused I’m trying to look like a serious girl.
Glows from the glass suggests it’s wiser than I know,
shows me practicing pep-talks I perfected ages ago;
Slide into view and see my mirror-self politely hide,
wide grows a teasing grin, “Nice effort,” with pride.
The setting sun urged holiday makers
To roam around the Venice canals.
A thousand and one lamps helped
The gondoliers to find their way
As he sang a lovely love song
And pleased the lovers as they sat
On comfy cushions on the boat
Occasionally stealing a kind kiss.
Stare at the twinkling beautiful stars
Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes,
List and learn, ye dainty roses
We're called the gondoliers
And this is our song of love.
Venice knew what love meant,
Even when they traverse the bridge of sighs.
They wondered how many crossed
To their doom. But that was ages ago.
Now the bridge was decorated with lamps.
Oh, what a beautiful sight it was.
Solitary gulls lead all to Piazza San Marco.
The lovers looked in awe at the tourists.
They paid the gondolier handsomely
And descended on to the vast square.
They found a table and ordered
An espresso and a tasty pizza.
It was expensive but worth it.
Some seven years after the war, food was still scarce and costly,
Yet, I would never change anything that life hadn't brought me.
We hardly noticed the ruins around, houses and churches,
It became a sort of adventure; hidden ghosts were just searches.
We never had a proper football, but one made of old cloth.
We played, cheered if we scored and had fun in that smooth piece of swath
Ma was mad as we played in the rain when we put paper boats.
I ran in the rill by the side of the gutter, watching the floats.
Hot summer was great, swimming and diving sea urchins to find,
Then, it is eaten with bread, oil, tomatoes, and fruit of every kind.
28 September 2018
Note: I wrote this pem ages ago but never posted. Unfortunately we are in the brink of a new war.
“A true friendship is a lifetime treasure” – Quote by Poet
Looking at the perennially full valley of river,
its ebullient water not stopping to flow ever,
I remembered the age-old adage,
a reality, the true friends are forever.
Ages ago on a summer dusk we had met
on the river front, the sun was sinking to set,
I saw trust glisten in colors in your intense eyes,
knew, its lasting hues our friendship would get.
Way out of distress in dark times I couldn’t find,
I found you like my second shadow right behind,
your supporting hands strongly clasping mine,
guided me to light, I followed you like a blind.
The sky fell, I was buried in the ruins of sorrow,
how to rise from debris of destiny I didn’t know.
You came to my wreck fleeting like a butterfly,
I learned to fly on wings of hope I could then grow.
The full moon made sequined stream for me to adore,
and I felt the ecstasy of life flow through my heart's core.
We swam together till dulcet dawn under starry sky,
knew, you’d be by my side, in my mind, forevermore.
Not a single one of those days, so pleasant
Has been saved in its entirety
The fragmentary memory spares the present
From our salad days impropriety
I shimmered in every shade of green
Before blending into the dark
You’ve grown the roses I’ve never seen
In Kew and even in Regent’s Park
Was it a blessing I couldn’t notice
When I was young, time won’t tell
Has it flown away from both of us?
A sunray in the old wishing well
Reflects in the coin thrown ages ago
Your black shirts swing on the line
And the swifts cry flying fast and low
Bursts the wind and blows down the sky..
from ages ago
formations frozen in ground
forever embedded
Watches herself in the mirror
Listlessly smudging the lipstick off her face
~ her smile gone ages ago
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
We rightly share reserves of love
for such gifts made available unlimited before
the start – unwrapped, ages ago, where sat great
celestial rulers and guides~ unanimously
agreeing, let us try the human heart.
The child of love
will descend, dwell with them, nurture, ever greater
mature, divinely impart.
As the stars glimmer softly
And the silver moon appears
I tell them about you
I tell the cobalt skies
Of how I wished on the lights of magic
That we'd be forever
I tell the wisps of clouds
Wandering the sky
How I called with you
At this time
Seemingly ages ago
And how we promised each other
We'd never let go
I confess to the world up above
That I still miss you
And they listen to me
But you're still gone
Like how the moonlit glows
Disappear when the clouds break open
To let the dawn shine
As the stars fade away
Returning to their world as they do
Every dawn
I wonder if you'll fade away with them
Someday
In an alphabet book that my grandson once liked,
One page unfamiliar to me
Which, in turn, got my curiosity spiked,
Was the animal listed for P.
For a pangolin isn’t your average beast,
But an anteater covered in scales,
Looking quite prehistoric from head to, not least
Of its features, those long spiky nails.
It waddles in search of its main source of food,
For which it employs every sense,
Yet if threatened, it is very quickly subdued;
Curling up is its only defense.
I learned all about this today on TV,
But I’m glad that awareness was raised
In an alphabet book on which, ages ago,
Both my grandson and I once had gazed.
It was important to come and see
Though I don’t remember too well
It was ages ago when I crossed your sea
In purpose to buy and sell
I sold nothing and bought a few
Small items like cds and paints
I tried to talk but couldn’t see you
So I gave up the attempts
I sat on the bench in the park lane
With my eyes down to the gravel
It would be hopeless, I knew but I came
Just by inertia to travel
Home is where the two hearts are
One is yours, and the other is mine
Now there's no home for me, how bizarre
To live only in the mind.
Chilterns - a naïve melody
Let’s go to Chilterns to see what it’s like
While the weather is fine
Call me and note if you turned on the mike
Let’s picnic down on the hillside
Show me the path that you used to walk on
You said it was ages ago
Nothing has changed except we aren’t that strong
But we can sing along
Chilterns, magical Chilterns, what a view!
Green grass, birds sing, you love me and I love you too
Chilterns, magical hills, down the slope we go
Blue skies, so high, what a wonderful show.
We sat on the bench, being tired to walk
Wasn’t it always like this?
Hugging each other, for hours we talked
The rain saved us time for a kiss
Down home we hurried laughing like mad
Soaking wet at the end of the day
Your blue hyacinths and your roses so red
Gave some of their petals away
Chilterns, magical Chilterns, what a beautiful scene
Out in the garden we dance to a tune that you sing
Chilterns, a carpet of green, under a changeable sky
This is a paradise found on earth, a place for you and I.
Huge pie in the sky,
visiting her grandparents.
A lofty and crusty bake
from ages ago.
The chill cellar held jars.
Fruits were homegrown,
handpicked, canned.
Humongous, it was not
an average-sized pie.
The gigantic pie, at least
to a child that remembers,
was gorged on satisfying
fat-purple-blueberries.
I can only imagine a taste,
to take a bite out of
1950’s life. My tongue
red and blue, savoring.
My memory only holds
my Great-Grandma
in a corner chair
in her daughter’s home;
and a couple visits
to our home
with her sister.
At least I remember that,
but paint me purple,
or let me go closer,
for her granddaughter
made me rhubarb pie.
That’s my mama,
whose Great-Grands
will only mostly recollect
what I surrender
from the past.
The moon, a pale eye, watched the lake below,
Where White Rock shimmered, cold and slow.
A shroud of mist clung to the water's face,
And whispers rose, a chilling, spectral grace.
They say a woman, dressed in purest white,
Walks these shores, a haunting, mournful sight.
Her screams echo through the silent night,
A chilling cry, lost in the pale moonlight.
The wind, a phantom hand, sweeps through the trees,
Rustling leaves, like ghostly, whispered pleas.
A chilling moan, a sudden, sharp despair,
A woman's grief, heavy in the air.
They say she fell, a lover's cruel design,
Her blood spilled red, on waters now malign.
She sought her peace, but found a watery grave,
Now doomed to wander, a restless, ghostly slave.
So, keep your distance, when the moon is high,
And shadows dance across the glassy sky.
For if you hear a whisper, soft and low,
It's just a ghost, a tale of ages ago.
The woman in white, forever tied to shore,
Her mournful cries, forevermore.
A chilling reminder, etched in the night,
Of a love lost, and a soul lost in the white.
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