Best Adjacent Poems
Drive mindfully, dear children, as you traverse hurdled highways of life,
Cognizant that adjacent to an oasis of joy, lies a desert brooding strife;
Assume charge of your chosen path, obey rules of road as you ride,
Pursuing life’s aspirations you vie, with compass of mind as your guide.
Beware things luring you with glitter, may be just metal, feigning gold,
Love superficial, love that is shallow, never the love for you to behold;
Don’t let a mirage~ a spurious illusion~ become an aspiration of hope,
Life, a vast ocean, as it ebbs and flows, learn to navigate, strive to cope.
As shrouds and clouds obscure life, seek enlightenment to wear a smile,
Defy encroachment of grimace, defy the vibes that cramp your style;
Embrace blissed domain of empathy, proffering missives angelic, kind,
Yield to others, who are lost, show them the egress destiny designed.
Build your abode on pillars of morals, revering honesty, and trust,
For they are the hallmarks of people, respectable, equitable, just;
Mind your paradigms and proverbs, practice always what you say,
Extend genuine gestures of regret, when actions have gone astray.
Be grateful for family and friends, honor them in prayers of heart,
Create keepsake albums of memories, life-scapes endearing impart;
For they are the priceless treasures of love, omnipresent lifelong,
Inspiring, nurturing you, reassuring all along~ love can do no wrong.
Five thousand years before the sky was introduced with the sea
It was at that time, that God wrote your name adjacent to me
Even before the stars were chosen to give the Light
It was at that time, that God choses your face to make my day bright
In the journey of love, we were two souls, searching for one another
Fate was against us, time was our enemy,yet God was the writer of our tale
And one day I caught a glimpse of you, that lovely face hiding behind a veil
It was at that exact moment, that I became your secret lover
For it was the first time that I heard my heart beating
It was restless for you, and everyday for you I prayed
Permeating through the sunlight, gliding through shade
I met you in junction and the time stopped due to our meeting
Both of us were sitting on the station of fate
Totally unaware of our future and the hearts filled with dejected pains
we decided to alter our destiny by sitting on a mutual train
God is the witness that during the journey we fell in love and became desperate
For I was never a poet, neither was I ever good with words
It was the feeling of love that I started to notice the melody of the birds
It was your beauty which tempted me to write
Your angelic looking eyes and it were your hairs which kept me awake during nights
For In heaven, God made everyone perfect lovers
But we were lucky to find each other in this world
For Five thousand years before the sky was introduced with the sea
It was at that time that God wrote your name adjacent to me
22 December 2018
For the contest"Marathon Mile 2"
Sponsor" Mark Toney"
I scanned the shelves to pick a book
That seemed to be appealing,
From those adjacent to my shoes
To those up near the ceiling.
Selecting some that might work out,
I skimmed the first few pages,
For mostly I can tell by then
A story that engages.
A half an hour passed before
I found a prime contender,
The author someone in whose words
I’d happily surrender.
I checked it out and brought it home,
Some reading time in store
But soon enough it came to me –
I’d read this book before!
Written: January 1st, 2023
Rumi's verse, "The desert beckons us as if it were the oasis,"
____________________________________________
An endless, lifeless moor—arid and fright.
A withering sun whips souls—toils to ignite.
Sans shelter or relief, ghost winds stand.
Dry air as shriveled wits seek relief sight.
Spurs appeared as ripples on the sand.
Hidden amid the tall grass of the land.
Quench your thirst at the watery oasis.
Our ravenous thirst for water will expand.
Amid a kaleidoscope of queries rapacious.
Life shrinks to grain of sand on daily basis.
Amid a dust of labor, a haven of serenity.
I was scared upon grasping the base hits.
We're like sand amid an arid sea of dexterity.
Southern blaze stores a feverish posterity.
As a tunic for our ethereal souls improve
Soar twice through the oasis of temerity.
Sky is drawn by daffodil and drifting groove.
Crisp air, soft breeze, and azure feet prove.
Bees buzz over heather, as marigolds rise.
Eagles trim their fierce feathers—rabbits move
Staring into gloom may uncover a prize.
For a dwarf area, glimpse an oasis of apprise.
This domain, this desert, endures best as gold.
It is highly precious than quartz grains size.
Scatterings of color that are scarce and bold.
Covered in a mixture of brown and green folds.
Such a proximity, yet so distant, yet so distinct.
We were transported back to the prior era, told.
A spring that flows with pure water hint
A lush green zone in the arid land succinct
An atmosphere devoid of noise and disarray
Away from adjacent noise or motion instinct.
If you have not read my earlier ones, please check out the first in the series and see if you like the story. It will help this make more sense.
Ricky slowly sauntered up the stairs, as you know most little boys don't like going to bed. When Ricky got to his room I noticed the Bunk Bed against the wall and a dresser on an adjacent wall. Why I knew what these things were is beyond me, perhaps it is a part of hearing Ricky's mind. Ricky walked over to the window and placed me on the sill. This was great because it was a clear night and I could see the twinkling stars in the black velvet sky. The street itself was dark except for a few lights in other windows and an occasional car driving by.
I turned my attention to the room, Ricky's brother Roy climbed a ladder to the top bunk and Ricky got into the lower bunk. I could tell Ricky was scared about what was under the bed. I have to admit I felt much safer being over here on the window sill. If it had not been for the giant stuffed St. Bernard that he took to bed with him, who knows what those monsters might have done to him. His companion's name was Bully and I could tell they had been friends a long time. As Ricky was begining to sleep I felt this falling sensation and he jerked awake. I can't express how that scared me, I thought I was falling and that would not be good, after all I am made of glass. Thankfully a few minutes later Ricky was fast asleep and I drifted along with him. It had been a very good day. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
If you are enjoying this tale let me know and I will continue on with it. Thanks for reading it.
A bloom breaks out afresh from its swollen,
green bud and then stretches skyward into
the sun-infused sky. A feature of nature that's
timeless and perennial, it faithfully flowers and
adorns its surroundings like its predecessors.
Never alone, and joined by its floral neighbors
of its own kind in fragrant numbers, it suffuses
the atmosphere all around with a heavy, yet
sweet stench of lavender and honeysuckle. The
thick odor attracts and entices the flower-
borne bees, hornets, and yellow-jackets nearby
into a steady, rhythmic pulse of continuous,
busy labor over the perfumed blossoms and
vibrantly-tinted petals. From an adjacent pond
the over-abundant and majestic beauty of the
lily-of-the-valleys add its distinctiveness to
the already rich and vibrant, floral landscape,
now teeming with the vibrancy of spring:—
so lush with fulsomeness of life and movement!
If you should search for knowledge
To answer the riddle of your self
All the books found on every library shelf
Might not relieve your puzzle a smidge
Because ‘h’ is the difference of self from shelf
Search within and you’ll see without eyes.
Things happen in a test tube
That we can easily observe and explain
But anywhere outside of it
It’s not quite the same
That’s because it’s out in the open
Where there’s less control and closure.
Some advise taking only two steps
Once into and once out of water
Supposedly while you’re watching
Perpendicular to a flowing stream
So firstly you get your feet wet
And then you get them dry.
Or you take the opposite length
Over the adjacent length
Then every measured distance
Makes each tangent different
But if trigonometry was used at Pisa
That’s not why the place is famous.
So if a princess was in a tower
And let’s assume she was a prisoner
At least she should have a window
Because horizons offer a fine view
Then the next time the witch calls her
Rupunzel throws down her chair.
The stargazers got together
and spread a blanket out on the grass
of the lush and opulent lawn
Here, they all huddled together
astronomy addicted
they gazed as comets blazed
sad to see them fall
shooting stars
caught their eyes
but on the stars in the skies
constellation sewn
clustered or alone
The stars shone...
On these, they fixed their eyes
as they "oohed" and "ahhhed"
Celestially seduced- draw
It didn't matter
that some stars shone brighter
they all felt lighter
just being under star dusted canopy of night
This was their delight!
The starshooters were there
on an adjacent hill
they lost out on the thrill
grumbled and brewed
fumed and spewed
profanity at the lights
hanging high in the night
heaven's chandeliers
too bright they seemed
too dazzling and near
they were filled with fear
that the heavens would explode
so many stars...a heavy load
and so the star shooters
gathered their troopers
and aimed at the stars
Hoping to make them combust and fall
This would fill they with mirth
As stars collided with earth
Little did they know
stars couldn't be shot
Not by any old lot
They were meant to shine down
beauty and light
embellishing the night
with their wondrous light
a celestial delight!
The stargazers...now they
Well, what can I say?
They watched starworks at play
till night turned to day
and they then went on their way
Filled with delight,
What a sight!
Stargazer or starshooter
Tell me...
Which had it right?
Eileen Manassian
The term Starshooter is not my own. A super souper shared it with me the other day....I quite like it. Thanks!
I feel so proud when I see our national flag raised
and sing our Anthem ‘Oh land of our birth’
This island is not the place where I was born
but there’s no place on earth I’d rather be
with mountains and hills, a patchwork of fields
and the ocean which caresses our shores
I love eating Manx kippers, see cats with no tails
view the famous TT races, and ride horse trams on rails
We do not bow down to ’the Adjacent Isle’
that’s how England is known to the Manx
Our Tynwald parliament's made laws for over 600 years
Elizabeth’s our Sovereign and long may she reign
I’m not Manx but the Island’s my forever home
and my final resting place overlooks the blue sea
Whitman-Inspired Uplifting Poetry, old or new Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Carolyn Devonshire
1/6/20
The trepidation of dread released my haunted dreams.
I carry nightmares of long lost apprehensions bleeding into
your core. My essence, you have shattered and your essence I have
protected. You threw me out on the clothes line and forgot
my name once again. How many times do I need to learn?
I have failed in the area of romance and I have failed at
keeping you near me during cold nights. I was your cold nights
and you were my warm days. Please think about this one
more time…I needed you like breath and I broke for you like
loss. Your loss was me and you could care less. My loss will always
be you and I will never break free from my inhibitions. You restrain
your words out of spite and I hinder the love we could have had.
Too deep inside a disaster yet too surfaced to remain adjacent.
Obstruction has begun and it will never cease to end. I have suppressed
all the good moments because you prohibit me from remembering them.
One mournful goodbye has cremated my aspirations. I loved you
like roses and said goodbye to you like nevermore.
Written By: Laura Loo
~Date Written: April 7, 2016~
Nothing seems to make sense here,
If there is such a thing as 'sense' at all.
No way to tell the time of year,
Morning doves hoot and owls call.
The day appears to meld into the night,
Shadows lurk with no one to follow.
No way to perceive by the amount of light,
Is it today or is it tomorrow?
The sun is setting with the moon adjacent.
The tide is coming and has already been.
Sitting beneath a maple, I am complacent.
Waiting for the rain to rise again.
The air feels cold and warms my core.
No way to tell where time ends or begins.
Animals wake only to sleep once more.
Falling stars rest in clouds made of wind.
There I sit patiently trying to find my way,
Flowers walk and leaves roam along.
In this place where the night melds with day.
In this place where the clocks are all wrong.
Accessible,adjacent,adjoining
Akin and alongside-
A man made for us.
Close,connected,contigious,
Neighbourly and nigh-
A man made for us.
Mentor,mediator,moderator
'Twixt and between-
A man made or us.
Advocate and honest broker
Intervening interceder-
A man made for us.
I am located in a park, where I am contemplating adjacent trees.
One tree in particular has caught my attention.
With each thought I feel ever more at one with this tree.
How can I contemplate trees without becoming one?
Just think what happened to Narcissus, who turned into a daffodil.
Or the nymph Daphne, who became a laurel tree.
What's so bad about being a tree anyway?
Is not it a good thing to put down roots?
But what about the loss of mobility that would follow?
Trees have carefree lives, though.
No taxes, rushing to work, paying bills.
On the other hand in my present state
I need not worry about woodworm, acid rain, being pruned,
woodpeckers or serving the needs of leg-lifting dogs.
And family affairs? Hmm.. Do I want my kids to be nuts?
It's all very well to branch out - in metaphoric terms, that is.
Oh, that board meeting! It’s time to go.
Hey, my limbs are stiff.
I can’t move my trunk. My fingers are green.
Silly thought, no one turns into a tree these days!
Aaaaahhhhh!
Swish, swish. Rustle rustle..
last night I heard the moon whisper in a hush so tender,
“love…
yes, ‘tis love-
as we laid to surrender in a gentle moment of splendor.
we sat and counted stars until there was no more
existence to gaze upon (embraced in affection)-
indulged in cosmos and saw the water treading upon
venus with ease (bodies adjacent in warmth).
I thought of how you loved me without condition,
hands held without caution, only care and concern.
the sun rose and replied to the moon,
“love
yes, ‘tis perpetual love-”
and with promises of radiant yellow we shined into the
morn glory, encompassed in dewdrops and the opening
of white and tangerine lilies.
for I am your undying ignited candle blazing on into the
constellations we call home-
"yes… ‘tis love,
‘tis love."
August 18, 2018
a yearning of alabaster guilt given birth
from this mouth of words mesmerising
like rings of Saturn, behold encroached
by your retort, cutting if not comic, life
adjacent to corners of some death, you
lit fires with a tongue and let them burn
reeling in oceans, as salamander heads
lined exotic craters of timely eruptions
yet honey melts heaven in a single kiss