Best Actualized Poems
These seasons which sing in silent symphonies,
like the hush of a new age,
like portals to pretence,
actualized to change itself;
The winter wind ---
he who loses his cool to birth of Spring,
and July in its hot, hazy adventures,
to Autumn and Indian Summer
are born many a poet,
with its myriad of romantic ink,
and misted-arbor parks;
When Apollo walks his most precious muse
and whispers for those who watch....
'Thy art, for you my gift'
the eolian sings unheard,
but for Wordsworth in his wood,
where we oft follow,
and Coleridge bellowing of its ministries...
All we have is that which seasons sing,
as a nightingale from Keat's tree,
and how Tennyson even became lost in its moss,
covered in dark, rain, snow...
where Maria waited the Lonely Wood....
but from a many colored pallet
we see where beauty lies,
how it bats her eyes in thy soul,
and a feeling of love follows,
for the snowcapped mountains,
and June-green forest,
waking with a galaxy of life,
Bursting upon the rocks....
the breakers in Dover hath held agape ---
the Saxon word-smiths of old,
and from many a pen we have answered,
living in our calendars,
and endless months,
(these seasons which sing in silent symphonies...)
Categories:
actualized, beauty, nature, poetry, poets,
Form:
Classicism
In opposition to social injustice
Colin Kapernick took a knee
To bring national attention to
Black American police brutality
But an unexpected result was
Eventually affected
Colin was black balled
From the NFL he was rejected
But what most people can't seem
To simply comprehend
Is that God will always cover and
Look out for His children
Uncertain of what his future
Would be
Unsure of how to earn a salary
But the blessings of a new beginning
For Colin did arise
He received an endorsement
From Nike and from Harvard
A prestigious prize
Don't allow society to ever box you in
And don't accept anyone telling you
You don't have what it takes to win
For when God designed you
It wasn't to be one dimensional
You're more than linear
You're multi- purposeful
For God's turning power
Can rotate 180° degrees
God's turning power
Has omnipotency
Endurance during transition
God wants us to stay true
And cleave to our convictions
No matter what we have to go through
And yes there will be some heartache,
Tragedy and pain
There will be metaphorical tornadoes
Hurricanes and torrential rain
But out of the carnage
A blessing will emerge
As God needs to get our attention
So He stages a purge
In order for a new beginning
To now take place
As a reminder of His
Infinite power, mercy and grace
Just don't take for granted
All that God has given to you
As answered prayers and actualized
Possessions aren't your due
So put your pride to the side
And don't ever forget
That you didn't give life to yourself
It was God's Holy Spirit
Yes there are somethings
Of which which you have no control
Just don't create situations
That can cause you to lose your soul
And most of all allow nothing
To separate you from God
In the midst of your chaos
Keep Him in your heart
As divine activities always
Manifest in the dark of night
Just hold on, keep praying
For the morning brings
A new beginning with its light
Yes the blessings of a new beginning
Will surely come
As only God can turn it around
When all is said and done
Categories:
actualized, blessing, faith, god,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
Dancing in an uninhibited way,
Glorying in her self-truth
She had no idea she was intimidating
Almost every girl her age,
Not caring a whit about the opinions
Of ones who are not magically in touch
With themselves.
Two teenagers attempted to bully her.
To taunt her, to make fun.
They were not well received.
Two of her good friends began to dance
With her.
Pretty soon the whole dance floor was
Full of uninhibited dancer.
She had unintentionally become a leader.
Unaware, she gave them happy smiles.
Her friends were dragging others onto the dance floor.
Pretty soon all of the girls except two were dancing.
The boys watched from the shadows. Amazed.
They had never realized what fun a dance could be.
None of them went out there.
Most were twelve and thirteen,
Not actualized yet.
Categories:
actualized, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form:
Free verse
I AM A POEM
Imaginative illustration
intricately impassioned
impeccable individualism
important
Accomplished arrangement
ageless authenticity
appraised actualized
alive
Perfection personified
paint-brushed panoramic
poignant paradigms
personal
Overabundance optimized
optimistic omniscienct
oceans outshined
original
Enraptured edition
elevated endearment
effervescent embodiment
exclusive
Magnificent meaning
meritorious muse
miraculously majestic
moral
I am a saint
sanctified by God
through His Son
Jesus
I AM A POEM
Categories:
actualized, analogy, christian, poems,
Form:
Alliteration
Danger lurking everywhere, behind each boulder, gulch and hill;
the likelihood of trouble poised in tense, crouching forms,
Indian or animal, murderer or thief, marauders of the badlands,
joined with weather threats: sand, hail, fire and thunderstorm.
Two partners in search of better fortunes, leaving all behind,
wives, children, homes, friends and families set aside;
stretching out before them, farther than the eye could see,
the badlands to be conquered without benefit of guide.
Will they make the desperate crossing, reach their quest across the way
or will some later traveler find displayed their bleaching bones?
Thousands made the journey, many died upon the road,
and the adventures that they lived remain unknown.
The badlands conquered many before man conquered them,
a country built of dreams, some lost, some realized;
upon the backs of men like these, we stand up, proud and strong--
their utmost dream complete and actualized.
Copyright, September 28, 2014
Faye Lanham Gibson
Categories:
actualized, adventure, america,
Form:
Rhyme
Nothing like Gayle’s homemade chili wafting throughout her home
To make even the hardest heart feel comforted and less alone
I met an earth angel when I was a merely sixteen and a half
Her spirit was as inviting and as contagious as her laugh
The very first moment we met I felt I had known her forever
Perhaps in another life I was her daughter and her my mother
Tears rush to my eyes and my heart leaps as I write and weep
As it speaks volumes of how my connection to her is so deep
Immediately drawn to her beauty which resonates warmth and compassion
I longed to be just like her, with the same values, integrity and passion
Older than I, yet youthful and beaming with such strong intense light
Gayle is unusually gorgeous, significantly intelligent and bright
Twenty six years later I receive a call and she is there for me like before
Not just to share my grief for the loss of my father but much more
A white flower bouquet, a ‘Care of the Soul,’ book, a card depicting a work of art
Filled with her original loving words and a talk that healed my heart
Still to this day she is my idol, my guru, my mentor, my ‘other,’ mother
Her abilities are immense her talents are many and her spirit like no other
With the originality of Martha Stewart she wraps gifts and decorates her house
Cooks a feast like Emeril, writes like Thomas Moore and sings like Alison Krauss
A phenomenal writer, and college professor, there is nothing she can’t teach
She resides in harmony with nature in a chateau overlooking the beach
In my next time around when I have self actualized enough to deserve less strife
I hope to be her, with all her wisdom and spiritual depth, and have her exact life
Categories:
actualized, devotion, friendship, mother, nostalgiaheart,
Form:
Rhyme
Since industrialization there’s been agitation frustration palpitation trepidation vociferation
And unequivocal asseveration in favour of our planet’s welfare glorification and protection
Premeditated or not, the results on the planet are nothing short of brutalization and martyrization
Damage is irreversible and orchestrated with acceleration towards matricide and genocide no question
Axiomatic domination exploitation contamination violation decimation decapitation
Take their toll from appropriation to deforestation, amputating earth’s lungs without arbitration
Patronizing politicians greedy for ovations ignore aggravation assassination brutification asphyxiation
Not fooling anyone with altruistic motives of lavishing ones with undue admiration and accreditation
We’re beyond allegations and accusations of criminal irresponsible desensitization and legitimation
Way beyond denials repudiation vacillation and claiming a convocation for immediate restoration
The truth is we’re an actualized and glorified civilization cohabitating with vegetation and crustacean
We claim to have more intelligence yet all we show is irreverence greed alienation and agglomeration
The truth is the damage humans have created in the last hundred years amounts to irreparable laceration
Optimists say it’s not too late to opt for self-preservation with inspiration adaptation and indoctrination…
AP: 1st place 2022
Submitted on March 26, 2018 for contest TRIPLE A CHALLENGE sponsored by ROBERT HAIGH - RANKED 8TH
Categories:
actualized, abuse, corruption, environment, future,
Form:
Monorhyme
Beyond the sky
The plain ground calls,
Like drop of water falls,
Offering bed of roses,
A real or an imaginary paradise it poses,
Below, I wasn’t ready to break more walls.
The blue bowel above remained visible,
Reminding me to soar – it’s advisable,
A much more deadly path to thread,
Many ascended, felled but I dared,
Leaving my footprints there - indelible.
Life has never been fair,
A heavy oppression seemed to brood upon the air,
Covered time and space determines our fate,
Not a mere figment of a poet's fancy that you should hate,
But I have made my choice like the wretched bearing Sinclair.
I choose, my decision -- going beyond the tumultuous sky,
Bearing all the stifling sensation of pains, I still fly,
Because in destitution, I see no sudden gleam of insight,
Since I know only by flying higher can I see the light,
With the inspired ray in my eyes, I need to try.
I’m done dallying in maudlin regret over the past,
Since my life is moving too fast,
On a fathomless speed of movement,
To a realm of golden improvement,
There I will be self actualized at last.
A Stewart Annie Everestus's poem © 2019
Categories:
actualized, endurance, life, recovery from,
Form:
Limerick
This might not be a pleasant flow of appropriate language
A somewhat complicated and abstruse diction
Maybe, a puerile illusion…
You think so?
Imagine and picture that clearly
Because if in our quest to achieve greatness and becoming self actualized
With an acute sensibility coupled with quickness of intellect
Adhering to forms and modes
Like an admirable mastery of technique
Then we rise and fall, most times, kick the bucket
Know it that the truth was sold and not told
Many of us want to go home
To see the smiles of our lovely mothers and hope in our fathers eyes
Share our joys and pains with siblings at home
But it seem almost impossible when the environment is too rigid, killing us all
We are exploited, underrated, neglected and marginalized
Daily, we lack money, food, guide, formal education and the dividends of true democracy
Hard to remove – toxins of hard drugs and frustrations in our heart’s arteries
Chiefly speaking to our minds
And that’s what we have been listening to
A voice as soft as cotton and soothingly amazing
Already, we have faulted religions and politics
None got the true ethics and codes to a fulfilled life
That was yesterday
Today, the politicians are speaking through the media
With their promises of white elephants
Hoping we rise and vote during election
While they will later ignore and abandon us
And that will be during job appointments, employments and selections
We meant nothing to them initially.
A Stewart Annie Everestus's poem © 2019
Categories:
actualized, africa, depression, discrimination, fate,
Form:
Free verse
Into your life I did blow, using my feminine magic to heal your broken and wounded soul
As you laid your head upon my breasts, my female potion did bless and provide you with much needed rest
As I opened my soul you actualized your goals, developing into a Warrior-King within the truest embrace of your Queen
I was your guiding light, breathed your mission, supported your goals and and saw your unlimited possibilities
Like the rare women of old, whose hearts and soul were gold, because the wicked slave owners raped their soul, but they kept a secret part for their Warrior-King
Because his spirit needed to be fed, from being beaten, mistreated, and bled, she pushed her pain aside to become his loving guide
Unconditional love, I did offer, but you turned me away, threw my love in my face and denied my embrace.
I gave you my feminine vulnerability, but you used it to cut me, with the deepest of cruelty.
Your soul is empty and ice cold, because unconditional love you did behold, in its beautiful rarity.
Categories:
actualized, boyfriend, cry, desire, emotions,
Form:
Ballad
The reign of death will last as long as time
when my last fruit changes into wormwood
the death of life is not misunderstood
when candles lit will cause the bells to chime
silent in death's repose lay I disguised
this end will count the minuscule of years
and quell the fear unknown when it appears
from Heaven's Kingdom minds have actualized
no way can I vanquish the time of death
dispenses me as if a rotten gourd
the fear of what's beyond in silence grows
when life cannot sustain the fate of breath
I'll find Charon's ferry and get aboard
the question asked of truth is no one knows
4/6/23 contest I Died
Categories:
actualized, death,
Form:
Sonnet
There was a man named Maslow, who designed
a hierarchy of needs for every soul.
Foremost are the physiological.
Without food, water or sleep, we can’t be whole.
The other major needs are in this order:
Number 2: security; Third: love and belonging.
Fourth involves confidence and respect of others.
Are there any of these things for which you still are longing?
Most people have the basics met, but think of refugees
living day to day with lack of food.
And think of all the stressed-out souls in category three,
lacking jobs and family! How bad must be their mood.
I’d say a good majority of us and folks we know
have work and loved ones and a roof above their head.
Intimate relationships and self-esteem
mean that our souls’ appetites are being fed.
Self-actualization is the pinnacle
when all of our souls’ wishes are being met.
Then we are creative, wise, and lacking prejudice,
but I think many have not gotten that far yet!
If more souls could feel self-actualized,
I believe we’d see more peace and much less strife.
But people face despair and get hung up
on basic facets needful for living a good life.
Think about the Hierarchy of Needs.
Are you fulfilled in all of them? If not,
you must reflect on what your soul is missing.
Then do your best to fill that empty spot.
Be mindful, always showing gratitude
for what you’ve got, and savor all the good
that’s come to you! We don’t need all that much
to feel the joy of peace and brotherhood!
Dec. 19, 2022
for Unseeking Seeker's Our Soul’s Wish List Poetry Contest
Categories:
actualized, philosophy,
Form:
Rhyme
(alternately titled fancyfeast feeds finicky folky fungi)
No matter this omnivore
experiences stomach rumbles like birth
(pains) of a nation (loud enough to be heard
clear opposite side of Earth),
this self actualized (1% Neanderthal
ask my eldest sister while sitting close to heath
(genetic results from 23andme.com as proof positive)
thar haint no dearth
where genealogy traces origin of *****Sapiens, while girth
of Gaia swollen with present burgeoning population,
whose gestalt swings between moroseness, mirth
or emotional gamut, such sentient being such as mice elf
(i.e., a generic male)
undergoes self guided heightened sensory
quintessential existential awareness,
the effort wool worth.
the idea sans art of mindfulness –
analogous to a sixth sense
plus active listening (with consciousness) quite intense
said silent credo, dictum, ethos...fueling gutsy cents
and sensibility (without pridefulness nor prejudice)
herewith, this poem doth try to condense,
incorporating laser re: mental focus
involving munching or drinking favored beverage
at necessary survival at substantial expense
on food in mannered mien without offense
naturally with healthy, nutritiously plentiful,
quality meal in company of aye gents
provocateurs or alone, nonetheless
(consisting of adequate ruffage sustenance) dense
enough to satiate appetite,
and hence able to function utmost energy –
practice taking mouth-size bites, and dis pence
with hungrily wolfing incredible edibles –
rather I strive to measure core rents,
and paroxysms germinating deep
within bowels of this body electric,
implementing prolonged chewing whence
I (in presence of family)
usually heal chow digestion at light speed,
thus (no syrup rise) tend to be
last person to consume entire meal
enjoying tasting every last morsel
conjuring awareness to appeal
avast realm of numerous textures,
qualities, characteristics, et cetera
per culinary delight allows,
enables, and provides sensation feel
ling dissolution concomitant with each mouthful
prolonging basic function to appease
famished "beast" fur real.
Categories:
actualized, appreciation, character, food, health,
Form:
Free verse
Like a mystical wight,
Ain't in a trance,
Nor experiencing delusions and phantasmagoria.
I live. I fight,
Fighting
Because the decision to be free
Is that which I took freely,
Yet, criticized with unsparing vigor,
Cruel and baseless calumnies.
The past is gone,
The future is a dream,
All I got is now and only now,
Enormities of crime and anomalies of law
I care not,
The quest to be real engulfed my thoughts,
But still afraid of reincarnation,
Then I skipped religion and politics,
Ready to die for my passion,
Because in the final analysis of my life,
The only true bulwark against penury is to hustle,
Become self actualized or die trying.
Free from all controversial pettifogging,
I still pen with sledgehammer directness,
Heavily freighted with erudition,
For you to fain believe,
In language terse yet familiar.
I'm not far from the street,
Words!
Justifiable in certain exigencies.
In a world full of trends,
I remained trendy,
Devoid of mulishness.
I glitter,
You wish to wear my shoes.
Pain is inevitable,
Suffering is optional,
Snitches who treated me wrong,
Have made me strong,
Yesterday, I wasn't in a rush to figure out everything,
Embraced the unknown,
And today my life has surprised me
With that which would have scared you.
A Stewart Annie Everestus's poem © 2019
Categories:
actualized, freedom, success,
Form:
Free verse
L O V E
—————
Love…
Crosses walls-
Invites the vines-
Joins the harvest toil-
Stays, Faithful-
Speaks the ineffable-
Increases-
Offers its fruit-
Swells within-
Embroiders tapestries-
Will not pause-
Shall be
Caressed, with appreciation-
Bears forgiveness-
Sings-
Constantly is re-created-
By the touch of God-
Great as the division of
Dark from Light-
And, is actualized by the heart-
A seed in the soul,
An enduring source-
A force of all good-
To reap peace…
And at the last,
lasts longer
In undreamed-of ways.
———————————————
(c) sally young Eslinger 11/7/21
Thanks be to God
Categories:
actualized, blessing, creation, inspiration, peace,
Form:
Didactic