Best Afterglow Poems
Autumn Afterglow
As halcyon summer days
wave goodbye
Bucolic trees seen from
an autumn sky
Become a cynosure
of colored bliss
So heat of summer days
we will not miss.
When dawn's hoarfrost gleams
on gossamer seams,
As diamonds are bestowed
by sunlit beams
With pastiche of rainbow
hues in tall trees,
Leaves begin their dance
when cool zephyrs tease,
Imbued with beauty and
susurrus sound
A wayward wafture before
touching ground.
7-19-22
~7th Place Premiere Contest~
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 8 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Mark Toney
10-30-18
A Personal Favorite Poem Written in 2018~First Place~
Contest Judged: 12/12/2018 4:26:00 AM
Sponsored by: Carolyn Devonshire
EARLY NOVEMBER 2018,ANY FORM,ANY THEME,UPTO A MAX OF 20 LINES
Sponsored by: Brian Strand ~First Place~
SEASONAL OR UNSEASONAL Poetry Contest~5th Placement~
Sponsored by: Kim Rodrigues
Categories:
afterglow, autumn, beauty, october, seasons,
Form:
Rhyme
When the
glacial sun slips
in softened womb
of the scarlet
spheres at dusk,
yearning for
hibernal rebirth
as a lustrous
morning star,
it radiates
golden beams
like lakes of sunshine,
flowing over
chiming starlit bells
in our hazy haven;
and I scrap
frosted flakes
off the bittersweet
pamphlets that
whisper our names
in the misty winds
of 'Us'.
Calming the
coalesced chaos
within my
infernal pulses,
his warmth drapes
this enchanted soul
with daffodil-
smudged days
of hot cocoa amidst
a wintry wonderland.
If I could bloom
like an arctic
afterglow's heart
on bare alpine trees,
I would only
choose him to be
my daylight-
perfumed violet
scent, evermore.
I can never
stroll away
from the shimmering
silverine memory,
when my muse's
trust breathed
hailstorm's poesy in
my solstitial lungs
and kissed the
fractals of a bruised
poet's spirit.
Dreaming of yuletide,
I achingly yearn
to become the
silken apricity of
those soft lyrics
that swing in his
thundersnow thoughts
and frostbitten flesh,
re-writing the jaggery saga
of twin-sanguine-lovers
in beige brushstrokes
of foggy 'We'.
Sometimes,
I forsake to
surrender and
ask for a peaceful
nod from the
'Lord of Soulmates',
can I be the
honeysuckle ink
for my beloved's
watercolor feather,
always nurturing
the snowy twists of
our tale within fate's
untold wisdom?
When I desire
to wander in
black-iced myths of
insatiable agony,
will he become
my bejeweled healer
and fight off those
sombre silhouettes
of Jack Frost's
saudade, like a samurai?
For, I take him
as the gift of
my last wish,
forever inhaling
the chilly secrets
of our lantern-
lives in my
subconscious visions,
that keep me
alive upon
crestfallen sleets
of intuitive icicles;
I want to live forever,
in his pearly eyes' abode,
which coruscates
with glossy lustre
of fireflies and
makes me flutter
my hiemal
white wings like a
spellbound fairy in
grey-orchid sonatas.
Categories:
afterglow, dream, emotions, first love,
Form:
Free verse
T i m e ~ you are the spark
that tips the scales
of lovestruck heartbeats,
ricocheting glyphs of fairness,
etched with gold and silver.
Yet seasons of smoke fail to
trace the unexpressed emotions
woven with ultraviolet beams.
Perhaps the ticking truth of intoxicated haze,
is a resonance of pained pulses:
a poem without a title,
a sonnet without a rhyme,
a melody without a rhythm,
a palette without a dream,
cosmically tied, yet torn by space,
pondering:
what if these implicit metaphors
heal the beautifully bruised,
paint the scars with flares of serenity,
turn bleeding wounds into sterling specks,
and draw hope with swirling sunflowers?
As I am a wordless wanderer,
facing the heat of sultry skin within starlight,
tasting the milky flickers of quartz
as they seep into the warm arms
of blushing twilight.
These fingers curate chronicles
from archaic archives,
scintillating souvenirs,
like a forest library with shimmering shelves
touched by sunlit rays
and mauve memories merging
with evening mists.
For I am the mistress
of your amethyst afterglow,
engrossed in the ambrosial luminescence
of soft-spoken verses,
as alluring auroras emanate
burning thistles of thirsting galaxies~
the delicate dews of dancing diamonds
caressing the silk of stars to drizzle
one last drop of your pining poetry,
while I await the return of
Romeo’s rhapsody,
like Juliet on the tantalizing tip of throes,
counting Cupid's jewels of nightfall,
wishing upon the dusk of craving.
For in your absence,
I am but a poet with no abstract speech,
but doleful desires,
longing to kiss the final phase of Luna’s sigh
catching crooning comets,
lost in the hypnotic moon-gaze
of immortal love...
Categories:
afterglow, deep, emotions,
Form:
Free verse
The fire logs glow, flickering to and fro
in her eyes he sees champagne dreams of love
the soft adagio plays a velvet tune of jazzing blow
right atop the hearth, she's fitted like a glove
Red hair flaming, ruby lips untamed her rubicon
a blush, acclaims her cheeks await the dawn;
Each dancer holds on cue precaution to the wind
style and grace in every move "amour est bleue"
with burning eyes of here, go rescind ,
a love is built on arcs of passion's queue;
Scarlet thoughts roseate skin enflamed a marathon
of amoureuse, bending arching longing one on one ;
Her hair a crayon colored Autumn proffers romance
and all the philharmonic musings of a lovely dream
together they loop meandered agile as a water dance
rushing towards each other skin to skin seam to seam ;
Wine colored kisses taking in a world of bless
garnet hearts of shine never to confess
they once lay dormant in the crook of night
now fired, ready to ignite....
Contest Name: SEASONAL OR UNSEASONAL
Sponsor: Kim Rodrigues
October 22, 2018
Categories:
afterglow, romantic love,
Form:
Rhyme
Written: March 31st, 2025, for contest, Sponsored by: Kai Michael Neumann
************
After basking in yesterday's afterglow,
I divested my vestments
to shift in cognitive mindset.
I stroll toward the horizon.
where the azure sky
embraces the vast sea blue.
Waves dance.
With silvered clouds,
Creating an orchestra
The wind and light are present.
Sallow shadows scintillate.
In Moonlight Melodies...
As dusk settles,
casting a shimmering awe that echoes of
The splendor of the galaxies abounds.
In every breath,
A promise resonates,
to the dawn
that dwells within me.
Gliding on golden wings
a sovereign among the kings
As light swirls beneath the Milky Way,
The cosmos shines brilliantly.
In a pearly gown.
Angels slide,
Unleashing their power
to restore their lost throne.
With flickering wings,
Wield the sword of stone
their footsteps inscribe
a path of golden light,
As they conquer the onyx depths
of an obsidian night.
Loving blasts their souls.
angel wings shake in sadness,
where grief and despair are hefty,
seeking an aerial citrine nirvana
I recall it sharply,
as if it were yesterday,
Tears mar the silky pillows.
as honeysuckle
It oozes from eager lips. —
There is a longing for satisfaction.
Lipstick etches its mark.
He left an imprint on his bare skin.
Even now, those intertwined chains
of Memory ensnares me.,
As well-oiled fingers traverse
the curves of the sensuous body,
ordinary yet glowing in the sunlight,
filled with a relentless passion.
Nervous tension shattered,
striking, akin to a diamond on ebony velvet.
As her body warmed and became silky,
Her lips melted and tasted delicious.
They expressed love ardently.
and hugged fervently.
swept up in passion and longing,
wishing the moment might last forever,
cocooned in each other's arms,
and felt blissfully pleased,
Polishing words into gems,
dusted garnet, with sunset slips
In citrine clouds cast
There was a ray of magenta skies.
I wish for unending delight.
and utter bliss in the afterglow.
Categories:
afterglow, analogy, beauty,
Form:
Free verse
Sails an evening when breaths lay quietly
On obscure places fluid as winds,
Where afterglow of joy becomes a
hammock
lulling frayed veins with lemongrass tea.
Sails an evening allowing surrender
its hypnotic intoxication
The exchange of matter and being--
A silent play of sutra glances
heaving along red moonlit air,
as two palms ignite a charmed lure,
kama passion pure:
For across the distance sails a glow of evening.
Categories:
afterglow, celebration, devotion, love,
Form:
Light Verse
Awaken, white and yellow daffodils
Entice the honeybees and butterflies
Bring back the blue birds to my window sill
So I can hear those spring time lullabies
Arouse oh robins, welcome in the green
I long to smell the scent of fresh cut grass
Just splash some color, nothing too obscene
A harbinger that winter soon will pass
Arrange the sun, that it may tilt just so
upon my shoulders warm as summer's eve
The spring ensues the winter's afterglow
And brings with it a touch of sweet receive
Let colors dance together in our dreams
And bathe with love's ensemble by the stream
Written by Mystic Rose and Daniel Turner
Thank you Vie for collaborating with me on this sonnet.
Categories:
afterglow, daffodils, spring,
Form:
Sonnet
Day fades quickly into night.
I try, but cannot fight.
Life wanes with no respite,
I pass into the light.
Far below, I hear the roar
of waves that brace the shore.
I pass the lofty eagle’s soar.
God calls, I am no more.
Instead, I pass with awe and grace,
through time and finite space.
I am a form, no shape, no face.
Yet, not alone in this strange place.
Within myself, I feel god hover.
I am my wife, my child, my brother.
I am the love of father and mother.
I am myself alone, yet altogether, one another
© Feb 20 2010 Charles Henderson.
We all wonder about God, death and an after life. These are some of the answers I have
reconciled in my musing.
Categories:
afterglow, faith
Form:
Rhyme
Autumn afterglow
Amazed at autumn's splendour
maple leaves rest in grandeur,
It's a stunning morning twilight
compliments the garden vividly bright,
Yellow and brown, winds sway
Crushing sound of crispy walkway,
I sit on bench after brisk walk
as friends gather for little talk,
Gracefully the preceding exfoliate
so abreast the boscage rejuvenate,
Green mellowed into colours of fall
Picturesque beauty takes the stall,
Outsets in daylight saving tempo,
Mesmerising autumn afterglow.
Written Nov 6, 2018
Sponsor- Kim Rodrigues
Categories:
afterglow, beautiful, blessing, day,
Form:
Rhyme
Autumn Afterglow
Pristine blue October skies are flowing
Falling leaves a’ waltz upon the air
Tapestries of woven destinations
Painted in a colorful affair
Apple pies in open windows calling
Woolen jackets hung beside the door
Frolicking through wayward pumpkin patches
Hand in hand, now who could ask for more
Pinecones rest along a winding pathway
Sparrows sing in barren trees above
Dreaming in the afterglow of Autumn
Nature’s beauty shared with one you love
10/23/18
Written for the Seasonal or Unseasonal Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Kim Rodrigues
Categories:
afterglow, autumn, love,
Form:
Rhyme
My longing lips~
shriveled by the saffron sun
waiting for your summer kisses
were like ivory jasmine
waiting for a drop of rain
to land on her petite petals.
Ah, to kiss you once again
how could I hold off?
The first delicate drop
of summer rain was sweet~
as sweet as your rosy lips
engulfing mine~
making me live again
amidst scorching light
making August
a summer splendour.
Now it's September
but still I feel
the warm ember
as I watch birds fly
in the early autumn sky
imagining your sophic silhouette
meeting mine~
in the afterglow of day.
5 September 2020
COMPLETELY YOUR CHOICE(3) any theme any form
Contest Judged: 9/4/2020 9:34:00 PM
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
1st place
Categories:
afterglow, longing, love,
Form:
Free verse
Silence,calm and peace
When two have become as one
A single heart beats
Categories:
afterglow, love, peace,
Form:
Senryu
On a far off, lonely hillside
a living spectacle awaits
where aspens spin their golden crowns
and sleepy maple trees awake.
A place where winding paths are lined
with multicolored canopies
where gurgling streams are tickling
frogs and fish and buzzing bees.
A swath of pumpkins in a patch
in varied shapes askew appears
a hanging scarecrow’s crooked smile
fails to raise the raven’s fears.
As autumn’s sun fades wistfully
a crisp cool breeze sways branch and leaf
a lone horned owl is hooting low
reminders that fall’s days are brief.
As sun’s soft rays in beams surround
kissing fields in copper tones
stillness comes as dark descends
and hugs warm Autumn’s afterglow.
Written on 10/22/2018
Categories:
afterglow, autumn, beauty, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
orchestral stars played
moon and shadows did a dance
cat purred in cadence
11/5/2024
Categories:
afterglow, beautiful, cat, imagery, moon,
Form:
Haiku
The Ocean
I hear the ocean beckoning
she calls for me once more
"Come and lay your troubles down"
"and walk along the shore"...
"I'll whisper sweetly to your soul
my words will ebb and flow"
"The waves will clear the cluttered mind
and leave an afterglow"...
"I'll call the wind to soothe your face
a breeze to brush your hair"
"A shell that you can listen to
and take it anywhere"...
"I'll help you find the answers here
bring clarity of thought"
"I'll numb the pain within your heart
that life and sorrow brought"...
Categories:
afterglow, ocean, sea, senses, water,
Form:
Quatrain