Best Admonishing Poems
Quietude endows hushed mystical space
Admonishing words have no role to play—
Look how in solitude its posture bends
Bowing in deference to calming intellect.
Listen to the utterance of wailing heart
Where grieved voices subtly resonate
In stygian echoes of aches and pain
As bawl of mortal life kneels down to pray.
Touch of gifted hands magically illuminates
Enlightenment of soul’s secret message
Setting aside obtuse incredulous images,
Silencing the whims of infuriating regrets.
Glowing in epiphany of truths ornate
Emanating from the heart’s regal reign,
Voice of divinity in conquest reverberates
Winning decisively dissonant arguments.
Gaining wisdom of supreme knowledge,
Free from shackles of ordinary, mundane;
Revelations disarm the earthly laments
Basking in discovery of heavenly solace.
March 2, 2020
Poem of the week on March 8, 2020
Placed 1st: Picture prompt poetry contest
Sponsor: Brenda Chiri
Placed 2nd: Your Best Free Verse 2020 Poetry Contest
By John Hamilton
In my vantage-point the vast oceans are warming,
The sea levels are rising, while today is melting,
Cracking thick ice-shields crowning Artic, Antarctic
And ferocious intensity is churning Atlantic, Pacific,
As yesteryear in rear view flashes blunt warnings,
And future is admonishing~ morrow is drowning.
Snow-white Alps, soon forgotten dreams of past,
Rockies, Himalayas, barren as dethroned crowns,
Productive farming lands, infertile lacking rainfall,
Breeze of winsome winds, belching carbon dioxide,
Elixir of life poisoned by chemicals in water supply,
Paradise on earth soiled by callous human assault.
Proponents believe it’s true, deniers claim it’s false,
It’s an inexplicable dialogue of a human paradox,
Some assert it’s here now, others are nonchalant;
Tomorrow is troubled~ warns the flipped hourglass.
God! here comes the flood, here comes the storm,
Here come the disasters, hurricanes and cyclones,
Here comes the famine, here comes the drought,
Here on our display~ are shortcomings and faults.
Raise your voice, shout aloud~ dares anxious heart,
Apocalypse now! clamors an ubiquitous time clock,
Time to act is now, commands a flipped hourglass,
Before shore-lands vanish and coastal towns drown,
Before the earth’s scorched, before life is parched;
Before the game’s over, before checkmate is called.
February 8, 2022
Placed 1st: Pick-A-Title, Vol 28 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Title chosen: Flipped Hourglass
To myself to I, to God I asked
what nature of sample shall I give,
the tribute must be something, already possessed
and not a thing to be acquired or easily accessed,
what type of treasure, what placid pleasure,
what measure of scintillating success should be expressed,
many feelings, dealings, winnings and blessings I have
like the menificent merchant of an ageless & melancholy market,
however I am disinterested in the buying & selling of impressive items,
something of my core should be present, priceless, respirative,
multitudes give Deity thick thanks in pompous prayers
or grim graveling of worship,
others offer animal immolation or coin from shallow pocket,
as does everyone I experience the panic of pain,
that terrible teacher of no remorse whose curriculum
makes carion of cowards,
but as a student of Life and thus a pupil of pain
I realised that my mind can be a calm cistern,
my heart a coffer of adversity's copious rewards,
the determination is made,
my proudest possession, enlightenment derived from pain,
enchanting and admonishing like the howls of hungry beasts,
a gift of character, a jewel of dreams manifest,
God accepted and said,
" Someone, somewhere, somehow is suffering to better feats" -
J.A.B.
Perceive each day as a gift!
A gift freely given “no strings attached”
With the added bonus of free will for spice
On this beautiful serving tray of life
Two choices regally displayed- The Light and The darkness
I bow, I choose the gift more profound
The gift of light, free and clear
From the God of order and mercy,
Daily admonishing "Take only what you need in life,
All excess be kind and share"
I taste it, I accept it, and I kneel in humble worship of Him
His promise-eternal life in God’s presence
Everlasting peace!
To choose the darkness where tyranny reigns
Temporal riches galore amassing
Pure foolery, as these gifts- none are ever free
All illusions, just as magic, will vanish - poof!!
From the god of chaos and lies, beguiling
"Take! Live, the world is yours! You deserve all the best!"
All this for your immortal soul
But comes a day when the bill comes due!
No grace period, no mercy, and to be paid on demandl!
I decline! I reject! this god of chaos with
His promise - eternal separation from God
Everlasting anguish, suffering and pain!
Sometimes, life seems so unfair
that your heart loses all hope.
And from a pit of despair,
you struggle merely to cope.
Life is a fantasy dream,
interlaced with nightmare thoughts.
And feelings are oft extreme,
tying your stomach in knots.
You try to rewind life's tape,
and yet, it seems stuck on pause.
And there's no way to escape
the suffering, or its cause.
Abuse morphs into self-hate,
guiding the blade on its path.
And admonishing your fate,
you let its edge purge your wrath.
Every cut exacts a toll,
unleashing a scarlet flood.
And yet, the pain in your soul
is numbed: by the flow of blood.
Damn me ...
Damn me straight to hell ...
All this time ... all these many miles ...
All the masks and tears and self-flagellation ...
All the changes and promises and lonely nights and dreams ...
All the YEARS that I haven't so much as heard your voice or seen your eyes ...
All the others that have come and gone and come again, admonishing ...
All the poems full of my essence and bitterness and confessions ...
All the songs written and sung and cursed to dirty silence ...
All the rattled screams to the gaping wound of heaven ...
All the cursed, forsaken ghosts drowned in my blood ...
All the phantoms sacrificed to hell for your sake ...
And I am still that silly heartsick boy ...
I. Am. Still. Your. Damned.
FOOL.
Bony knuckles raking gloomy halls
Chambers echoing fate’s footfalls
Slumping shoulders and deathly grins
Recounting on fingers, countless sins
Shuddering, shivering in godless fears
Admonishing my guilt, the end, it nears
Cowering in silence, holding my breath
Smelling foul odors of impending death
Grasping and groveling a final chance
Embracing, mating, in fatal romance
Facing my fears in a sorrowful stare
Fingertips gracing my tendrils of hair
Ghastly screams erupt pouting lip
Into the darkness my soul does slip
my friend,
beacon, bright ...
how you have bewitched my years,
dancing on the wall of my room since my first memory,
a warm sweep of security and steadiness,
never failing - ever true ...
blinking me to sleep each night like a prayer -
"I'm here! - I watch! - You're safe!"
I wonder ...
are you really a warning?
Or do you wink your sparkling eye
only to taunt the unwary prey at sea?
Schooners, barques, cutters, and frigates,
wagging their masts like bony fingers,
admonishing you for your questionable intent.
How many have fallen for your treachery in ages past,
turned to driftwood and terror by your crimped and craggy skirt?
Not even Neptune's raging ire can affect your flicker,
for you have stood, steadfast and bold,
through the wickedest of gales ...
splitting the beastly billows with dire disregard,
and turning the tempest's tides
to naught but foam and spray.
But your days are numbered, old friend,
the world spins far too fast these days for your kind ...
your lights being snuffed by digits and dials,
and the indifference of technology.
But I shall remember you ...
your pulse will live on in my mind,
and in the hearts of all those who knew you -
all those who survived for your sake ...
and numbered your glinting gaze.
“I love you, dearest daughter.”
Sweet melody of my mother’s care
Along her nurturing, comforting concern
Still reverberates in my heart… always inspiring.
“I love you, darling girl.”
Assuring lyric my Dad voices out
Harmonizing with his lingering presence
Echoes memories of family fidelity, devoid of dissonance.
“I love you, blessed sister.”
Uplifting affirmation of acceptance
Blends with belongingness’ crescendo
While siblings’ cheer prevails as glad reunion-refrain.
“I love you, my Mommy.”
Blissful sound of pleasant staccato
My special son mumbles with triumph-glee
Midst his sign language rhythm of pure affection.
“I love you*, my child.”
Such is eternal music to my ears
Indeed, a gracious song from God, my Father
Soothing my soul, admonishing my faith, empowering my spirit.
*Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
February 14, 2019
2nd place, "Music to my Ears" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Silent One; judged on 2/16/2019.
As depression dominates your thoughts,
the weight of love's absence grows acute.
And while your stomach twists into knots:
love, morphs into the forbidden fruit.
Cringing inside, your life feels unfair,
drowning in your tears, you struggle to cope.
For suckling on the breasts of despair,
Reality has drained you of Hope.
When childhood memories include rape:
trust dissipates into nothingness.
And you find that you cannot escape
that feeling of utter emptiness.
Admonishing life, you curse your fate,
as the blade's keen edge scratches a path.
And self-abuse morphs into self-hate,
as cutting begins to calm your wrath.
Purging the hurt from your tortured soul,
starts with a tiny trickle of blood.
And then, as each cut exacts a toll,
crimson drops fuel a scarlet flood.
Purging the hurt from your tortured soul,
starts with a tiny trickle of blood.
And then, as these cuts exact their toll,
crimson drops fuel a scarlet flood.
Where ... oh where
Are you??
Do I sink the darkness to find you ...
Clamber the divide?
If I plummet that black of oblivion
Will you be there ...
Waiting?
Admonishing?
You HAVE to be somewhere
I can't see you, hear you, touch you
Anymore ... any
Weeping countless bouts
Screams in blathering silence
But never an answer
I NEED an answer!
You can not be just this ...
The dust and pieces in my hand
Not you ... larger than life
I scrape sense from the floor of this ... cage
Bound by breaths to life's prison
While you soar unfettered
Where?!?
I want what never wanted me
Still a child ... callow
Craving a touch
A care ...
That will never come.
Tribute to Sam Kauffman
Jubilant!!! Indeed reigning with serenity
her earnest words exalt the Supreme Almighty
“Breathe of God” “Giving Godly Grace” surely proclaims
“Lord of the Morning” --- “Resurrection” verity.
Triumphant!!! Such expresses her hope so gracious
midst “Agape” showing “Joy of the Lord” --- precious
from “Eternal Emmanuel” “Our Bountiful God”
oh, “Amazing Grace Inspired” healing the anxious.
Radiant!!! Her poems shine along great Saviour’s glow
affirmed by “Redeeming Faith in God” of trust-flow
with her reliance to HIS “Eternal Embrace”
as “Prayer Warrior Blessings” she knows will follow.
Vibrant!!! That marks her sweet relationship with Christ
echoing “I Thank my God” since she’s well sufficed
filled by “Treasures of my Soul” she does testify
in her “Psalm* of Joy” lyrics, wholeheartedly priced.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
May 26, 2021
2nd place, "Title Wave" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Richard Lamoureux; judged on 6/28/2021.
Your Heart is
Big and Mysterious,
My charming Husband.
Beating hard on a bike ride
Pulling our family onward
You listen to your earphones.
Besting me, admonishing me
Yet believing in me... Your faith
is Jewish/Buddhist/Christian.
Amused during thrillers
Belittling the monsters I fear
Sarcasm is your weapon.
Breaking stride, you smile
I know what you want
You're my patron.
You're my person.
I want it too
Just as much as you do
The ability to live and dream dreams
Of one day rising above this hatred
Whose origin we know nothing about
Same way our fathers knew nothing about
But which they endeavored to pass down
Admonishing us to do same
The reason why when in Kano
I dare not say I am Igbo
Same for which my brother is still single;
Because he dares not bring a Yoruba girl home.
In our own country;
Some places are not save for us
We can't sleep with both eyes closed;
Afraid that death might be closing in on us
Here I stood, drenched with idiosyncrasy of evil rain;
Utterly dazed by what was said to be brightness,
Yes! I was poked in the eye by the dazzling lights of the terrain,
And I kept on swimming in the withered waters of wilderness.
I gave myself in, and was being smashed on an anvil just to go wasted.
Admonishing instincts gave me a cavil, but the fan for life, I really wanted.
Everything was okay, but the air, was it really soothing?
Oh no! I believe there was no fun to it at all.
What there was to it was really making me appall.
Now, I am overwhelmed with joy for I am king.
I was made king when He tapped me on the shoulder with affinity;
When I gave in and admitted it was all vanity.
He never cast me to doom though I was a slave of doom.
A new day I have seen, and will never get intimidated by gloom.