Best Abridged Poems
VIVA LA ELVIS
In Tupelo Mississippi, twin baby boys were born,
To Gladys and Vernon Presley, but sadly one passed on.
They named him Jesse Garon, their hearts so full of pain,
And then came Elvis Aaron, a breath of sweet refrain.
One heart beating for the two, their spirits intertwined;
To restore faith and hope and joy to dear ones left behind.
Elvis grew from babe to boy his heart set on a goal,
From boy to man to legend; The King of Rock n’ Roll.
He lived in humble dwellings, his Pa his Ma and he;
Playing his guitar, singing songs, pure golden melodies.
Country, Gospel, Blues and Jazz the rhythms of the soul,
And Rock n’ Roll, the very core of hearts both young and old.
While rising up to stardom, his pelvis did he swing;
Some church folk banged the gavel to crucify ‘The King’.
Their efforts came to nothing, as fans from near and far,
Surged on with huge momentum, to win that holy war.
So once again he stood there, gyrating at his will,
Until the day he heard a call that made those hips stand still.
Called to serve his country, the nation’s rising star,
And while along that journey, he sadly lost his Ma.
On the first of May, a bride’s bouquet, a blush of summer wine,
Elvis wed Priscilla; his beautiful fraulein.
Soaring in her lover’s arms on the wings of destiny,
Nine months later they were blessed with gorgeous Lisa Marie.
The happiness they shared together wrapped in melody;
Like a poet’s dream, a symphony, a lover’s rhapsody.
Then fate stepped in and dealt a blow that tore the dream apart,
And in its wake it left a trail of tears and broken hearts.
‘The King’, on stage and silver screen, he took the world by storm,
A real hunk of burning love in a GI uniform.
He rocked the house to loud applause, he played the matador,
And danced with pretty Hula girls in the Hawaiian sunset glow.
August 16, ’77 was the day ‘The King’ had died,
But forever lives the Legend, born on 8/1/35.
His mamma smiled and gently beckoned to her second born,
While holding close the one she’d lost that fateful winter’s morn.
The joy he brings to us down here can never be replaced,
Though many keep on trying in vain to fill the empty space.
His spirit fills all Graceland, to watch o’er kith and kin,
In the Heavenly sounds of Dixieland … I hear God joining in.
Elaine Randolph
Copyright ©2009 Elaine Randolph
I let an opportunist within my circle of trust
He slipped a rufi in my wine
I was too naïve to question
my sudden lapse of memory
I tremble at what might have been
I was like putty in his hands
it happened so easily
I was so naïve
My destiny was in the hands of
someone who could not be trusted
my luck hanging on a string
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
posted on March 16, 2020
You!! You, I say you on the guitar?
Do you know who you are?
Or are you just an angel without a name?
I see your heart my sister!! And you do not sing for fame!!!
No, you live and love and play and dance to praise that man who Reigns!!
You!! You singing on the microphone?
Do you feel alone?
Or do you know dear brother Seraphim, that you help to put us in that zone?
To bow down low in honor?,
Of he who sits high on the throne?!!!
You!! You dancing in the corner, with your hands lifted high,
Do you feel sometimes like you wish you’d die?
Or do you know that when you dance, my Savior’s hands you untie?
To give us joy deep in our hearts and free our minds from lies?
My sister, I’m just a warrior, whose run in fear too many times,
My brother, I’m just a warrior, who fights the dark one with my rhymes,
And I press the boundaries of our justice for those who fall beneath the cracks,
I press in against the evil one, who puts this hatred on our backs,
But you? You see beyond this evil to a place I long to go,
You reach into the light of God, and the path to right you show,
For you bring the water of music to wash away our sin,
And because you choose to worship her, this battle we shall win,
For worship is the weapon of Sons and Daughters Divine,
For worship is the key to life and an end to these dark times,
For worship is a refuge in a world of sinister sounds,
For worship is a space ship that goes to realms of God renown,
For worship is my best friend’s and my eldest brother’s great delight,
For worship is the celebration of that freedom for which I fight,
Man can you see it?
Worship is light!!
Worship is tight!
Worship makes me take flight!
Worship ain’t black and worship ain’t white,
Worship is the power of love to wield the True Savior’s might!!
My sister, I’m just a warrior, whose run in fear too many times,
My brother, I’m just a warrior, who fights the dark one with my rhymes,
And I press the boundaries of our justice for those who fall beneath the cracks,
I press in against the evil one, who puts this hatred on our backs,
But you? You see beyond this evil to a place I long to go,
You reach into the light of God, and the path to right you show,
For you bring the water of music to wash away our sin,
And because you choose to worship her, this battle we shall win,
An Abridged Story of Wine
The bottom of the nave used to be a lake’s bed, but one night,
when moon was white as search light and the sky maroon,
the lake vanished. Dead fish and toenail clippings at the bottom,
but the soil was rich, and the people who used to fish for a living,
planted vine which bore healthy grapes, but grapes fermented
and wine was discovered. A drink that made them merry, they
sang, slapped flat stones together and made music.
But if drinking too much they ended fighting and used stones as
missiles, and given to arguing about the quality of snow that fell
the year before. In clay pots they sold red wine and became rich,
till Moslems came, forbad the making of wine, they planted pale
yellow orange trees instead. But the juice of sweet blue grapes
has an unstoppable allure it fills heart with music, the production
was moved to hidden dells in Alentejo. When Arabs, defeated by
Christian hordes, fled; Iberia had abundance of red wine but also
sugary orange juice.
All in this world are natural,
We the men making differences.
All we love the roses,
Is it only for her glamour ?
Someone love the loftiness,
Is it only for height ?
Someone love the sea,
Is it only for a dive ?
We love opposite sex,
Is it only a seasonable agreement ?
The thorn of roses injure us,
Yet we love her,
Because of her life long celibacy,
Her youth, her grace.
Attraction on height is nothing
But the vastness which is
Much important in a human being
To make himself broad-hearted.
The magnanimous sea attract us
Not only for a dive in her saltish water
But she teaches us to accept all
In this vast world are good or, bad.
The opposite sex is nothing
But we try to find-out our lost love,
The resort, the peace, the serene
In our abridged, very short life.
__________________________
Thank you for reading.
Chitta
It was the twenty fourth of December nineteen fourteen.
Troops were English, French & Belgians, a bloody war was the scene.
A sound was coming from the German enemy line.
German soldiers were approaching on that day and singing in voices fine.
A cry of “Merry Christmas” from the German solders who were advancing quick.
They all looked so jovial, it didn’t seem to be a trick.
For a short time, all were comrades not one bit afraid for their lives at all.
There was laughing and joking, and they all joined in singing by night fall.
Seemed all men were the same, didn’t matter which uniform they wore.
How extraordinary, enemies singing together a carol in the middle of a war.
By morning gifts of cake, smokes and clothes were exchanged by each side.
A truce that should be an example of what we humans really have inside.
A true show, that men aren’t killing machines, everyone, a husband or a son.
A true Christmas Miracle from the bloody chapters of World War One.
Skeleton quay - abridged for Give Me Goosebumps contest
When the sniper fired his rifle and his faithful canine fell
A second bullet found his heart and he went down as well
Might we stay together, somehow he deigned to try
His last exhale the whispered vow, Lord, we must not die
Army medics took him, in vain, his life to save
His hero German Shepherd in a stoney desert grave
And then his own cremation, yet he remained aware
Ethereal intervention withdrew his corpse from there
Something in his mind just knew his dog was somewhere yearning
Shame the intervention came when he was near done burning
Two thousand miles of skimming clouds or bounding over sea
This canine’s epic trek has brought him to his hometown quay
He only gets to hear him when a crescent moon shines bright
Perhaps they do as ghost ships do just pass by in the night
Each one knows the other’s close, they’ll reunite in time
He’s of a mind to bide his time fighting low-life crime
He prowls the night in shadows twixt the bat the rat and cat
Keeps his hairless cranium hid beneath his tan rimmed hat
And lest he scares the homeless like he's been born out of hell
Behind dark shades his vacant sockets hide away as well
Whilst he has no need for food - he hasn't any guts
He passes time by nibbling packs of jelly beans or nuts
They bounce around his ribcage then trail along the ground
To feed Cedric his rat sidekick who follows him around
It takes a while but then a smile at four wet footprint marks
No phantom howl, a joyous wail and then some playful barks
Man and dog now reunited, distant bond now reignited
Cedric tried it, couldn’t fight it, three good friends now all delighted
And so they prowl the shadows where no lawful man shall dare
Only those of I'll intent shall stand or loiter there
But nothing here shall cause them fear nor get under their skin
A knife glints in the moonlight and they cannot help... but grin.
18 December 2018
For: Give Me Goosebumps
Sponsor : Nina Parmenter
The northern lights A Butt-whack And A Prayer To Mom And The Albatross
All I had left was a man
I told him I was sick and tired of life.
and I laughed and laughed.
and wondered what I was doing.
I was starving to death.
I’m wicked
God, I’m bad.
the absolute madness and
The mad dream --- grabbing,
forgive me. For- I’m . . . no no, you little half naked Savage
Get away!
Patience and skill had no voice
it was crushed.
he had sworn to forget her
sweet . . .
I was all alone
It had never occured to me
walking those last miles
in the middle of a rush hour,
taking, giving, sighing, dying
I had no eyes
Now it was too late.
Route 66ish No 10
There was a young girl from Nantucket,
Who collected her eggs in a bucket,
One fell on her toe,
So she really let go,
And cried "Gosh! Now I won't have to crack it!"
My dear brain, forgive me, won't you?
I've filled you with alcohol, time and again
My heart's silence drowning the head's tin can
Once and for all I am delivered to you
Forgive me, won't you?
Give me time, an agenda if you must.
Make me a shoe salesman, a bird-watcher,
A circus clown, whatever...
But keep and restore the Trust of the Spirit.
Forgive me, brain.
I once wrote a poem when i felt really cynical
all the letter's had pointed sharp edges.
another time i wrote a poem about a drunk dyslexic
it read in mumbles from right to left.
and this one time i wrote a poem about
a pen that had internal bleeding, it leaked words
when slanted between the thumb and forefinger
it filled pages of notebook's, and ruined
many a pair of pants in the wash,
but i dried it in the dryer and now it is dead.....
I’ll keep this short,
that all may know
These words I write,
I write to show
Please do a poem honor
and read it again
Don’t let first time through
be simply the end.
Whispering Angel: Strength of the Babes
Blubbering baby, newborn to this Earth
Tell me why you wail and blubber at birth?
Could you be afraid of this Earthly Circus?
Well, don’t be afraid and don’t be nervous.
I shall hold your hand, so don’t be anxious.
We are all on Earth for a higher purpose.
Even if we feel that the world is against us
Even if we face a most daunting concourse
Even if we think that the task is enormous,
...perhaps all these things are sent, and meant, to test us.
Let us hum a tune, to the angels, in chorus.
Look up to the skies; to the Heavens above us.
I shall be your guide - just keep calm, and focus.
Hold on to this faith, and you shall be joyous.
Even if you feel that some men are monstrous
Even if you face that foe - mischievous
Even if you think that it's all mysterious,
…be cautious to be curious at a world that is so curious.
Sometimes you may fail, and sometimes victorious.
Journeys that you make may at times be dangerous.
I am by your side in all storms tempestuous.
Never give up hope; just stride on courageous.
Even if it seems that the paths are perilous
Even if you face a road most treacherous,
Even if you think the ways of men outrageous,
...take care to be precocious, for the gift of life is precious.
I shall let you in on a secret about Jesus,
How to seem poor and yet be prosperous.
Don’t ever hold back in being too generous.
Forgive all bad friends, and even bad neighbours.
Even though betrayed by that man, called Judas
Even though they swapped Him for that thief, Barabbas
Even though they nailed Him to that Cross, still conscious,
...men still remain oblivious ...though the Truth is quite obvious.
Blubbering baby ...sleep on then in peace.
I shall watch over you - I shall your Journey ease.
Dedicated to Nancy B (born Autumn 2016)
Once upon a time in the square shaped woods
There lived a square shaped thing
He liked to watch the square shaped birds
He liked to hear them sing
A shadow moved behind a mound,
A mound all square and flat
The square shaped thing then took a look
Oh my, it’s oddly fat
The odd fat thing said that’s not fair
It’s just that I’m not square,
In my world everyone is round
There are no corners there
The Square shaped thing just thought a while
And this is what he said
Could it be that where you’re from
You’re simply overfed
The round shaped thing spoke firmly
As he came out from the mound
We are not fat, it’s just the shape
Where everything is round
They talked about their different worlds
One square, the other round
could they ever get along
And find some middle ground
What if we got together
The problems we could solve
Like when we sing about the bus
Who’s wheels cannot revolve
And so they sat and talked about all things
Both round and square,
Until the round thing jumped up, startled,
What's that over there?
Confused, the square thing looked around,
What's what over where?
Something moved, the round thing stammered,
Then he said a prayer.
What is it that you're frightened of,
Why don't we take a peek?
I think it’s just some square shaped children
Playing hide and seek.
What they found was trapped inside
A prickly bramble tangle,
It asked them if they'd care to help
A rather stuck triangle.
7 December 2020
Word Count: 280
For: Fantasy with Fictional Beings contest
Sponsor: Caren Krutsinger