Best Astir Poems
The harvest moon appears behind the hill
In purest enchantment like so foretold,
As her radiant tassels glimmer still
Like embroidered lace of russet and gold.
From whispering of the ambient breeze,
A nightscape etches autumn’s moss and fir
Through lucent bowers of glorious trees;
Where dragonflies and owls reel on, astir.
How bold the prism of a cycle’s ray
While September’s moonrise adorns the earth;
Igniting bright pageantry on display
With holy graces from nature’s rebirth.
Till majesty of lit sparkle descends;
And once more evenings’ ceremony ends.
-----------
For John Hamilton's Your best rhyming poem-2
Posted 8.28.2016 Resubmitted 2.3.2017
-------------
Sonnet Form checked through
www.howmanysyllables.com
Categories:
astir, blessing, moon,
Form:
Sonnet
Of Dreams And Wings
I speak of night as though it were
a soup astir of lovely taste -
a kiss, no haste; bright stars our light.
I speak of love as though I could
have what I would, and where and when,
and who, and then be dreaming of
the one who'd come into my life
and be my wife - she'd never part
with me. Her heart would be my drum.
I dream of birds throughout the night
soaring in flight, above my pain.
Awake, I strain to find the words.
I speak of dreams as though designed
by my own mind. It soothes my soul
to feign control (or so it seems).
Can I release control of things
with soaring wings that I speak of:
birds, dreams, and love, and find my peace?
But then I learned the more I tried
to plan this ride or stoke that fire,
the flames grew higher and dreams were burned
until I heard a distant beat:
her drum, her sweet, pure melody -
our destiny: music meets words.
Our song's not through, though years fly by
I still sing my best memory:
that day when we each said, "I do".
Note - In this form, each stanza consists of three tercets in iambic tetrameter, with rhymes on the 4th and 8th syllable and the internal rhyme scheme of
A - B
B - C
C - A
written 11 July 2021
Categories:
astir, dream, flying,
Form:
Verse
This year’s been so long. So long to Winter!
With blinding shaft and bright bleeding of sun,
the limbs of trees, like flames, trust their tinter.
Unfurl the soulful buds, ye Holy One!
The soak of pomp at ground level unfurls.
Angelic, sonorous romance of Spring.
See tea cups and saucers — bouquets uncurl.
Astir your eyes to the rebirth God brings.
True garden grows within — reds, purples, blues.
The rose, tulips, and wildflowers — His gifts.
Forsake not light of brightest scent and hue.
Lean in, darlings, and pluck the sweetest lift.
To live is Christ! Adoration of life!
So friends, spur away Winter and its strife.
3/6/2021
Breath of Spring
Sponsor: Regina McIntosh
Categories:
astir, christian, spring,
Form:
Sonnet
Fragrance from your flute
Wafting in the air
Powder of morning in your hair
Robins in their throat
In your smile clouds float
Here and there
Golden alphabets stare
The river flows on
Sprinkled sun melts in water
Inflammation grows in laughter
Rush roar race reel recur
Empty boats wait for life
Stories seek a soft chapter
Your shadows grow longer
Polka dots on your blue shades
Tiny airy footfalls on grass blades
Pleasure returns in white sails
Boats are astir in water
Ripples and jingles join them
In the spread of the blue jays’ wing
A blue and white game
Sinking sun sprinkles softened sparkles
Dream like little orange splashes
Infinity in your eyelashes
Gradually unfolds the time of musk
Whether in shacks or in palaces
Whether in love or in malice
Sometimes a full moon
Sometimes a dark lagoon
Somewhere the stories in a glowworm fire
Somewhere in a sparkling dagger
Until the eyelids are heavy in the weary night
Descending into the cleansing dark
For another daylight
________________________________________
15/02/2017
Categories:
astir, life, time,
Form:
Free verse
The pierce, the flame of gypsy eyes, that roam
about your cheeks aflame, that throb at knees.
The negligee reveals bride’s honeycomb —
a poetry of bees, posthumously.
Recover not from burn of jealous lips —
Soft greed of ruby smooth, the tender slide,
the way she moves - compare to buoyant ships —
they trim your sails, so succulent and wide.
You must come down to earth — the dock awaits
its berth. Noncompliant lovers doth crash
against the water’s edge with crazy eights.
It’s much too soon to squash its tease and splash.
Her eyes astir — their closed next to your heart.
The wild rose of her hair — your counterpart.
2/28/2020
Categories:
astir, sensual,
Form:
Sonnet
Down through the thicket,
Over and across the forest bend,
A tail sways, as the wind lifts leaves
of red and yellow.
Aside a pond kissed with moss,
we take a long walk on a clear day,
crawdads and minnows astir.
With hind quarters stiffly creaking forward,
he pants and sniffs at vibrant life
before stopping to rest and regain.
At the edge of the lake,
he laps the fresh water,
his fur glistening, hot to the touch.
Back home, he gets a warm bath,
the fragrance of his fur calling to mind memories
of previous days.
And as he sleeps, that labrador of love
on four legs, I am thankful for the
leash-led life.
Categories:
astir, animal, autumn, dog, nature,
Form:
Free verse
Summer comes and goes with this guy's timely presence
The kids chase after the van much as dogs after a cat
Elusive though he is, we swear to run him down
For a few simple dollars money does buy happiness
His age old chimes ring the friendly bells
A welcomed euphony however short it is
The reminder of oral ecstasy start kids pleading to their parents
For five dollars they can bring their daddy back one too!
Tantalizing tongues going around town with his music astir
Making us drool in the same Pavlovian way
A mid afternoon snack for the children so good
And a promise they'll eat spinach at five o'clock
Passed from the man in the white shirt and hat
To the children who stand on tippy toes for ice cream cones
As they struggle to reach over the table between the two
They count their blessings when it doesn't spill
Two scoops of heaven and celestial sounds
Traveling countless areas of interest
Even his portable freezer cannot keep
Our hearts from melting for him
Categories:
astir, life, love, children,
Form:
Free verse
The whole of a journey still to be traveled
is much like a novel begun
with threads of the story not yet unraveled
and windings of plot to be spun.
We’ve myriad paths to meander, assess.
The hours are long till midnight’s chime.
It seems like eternity, nevertheless,
‘tis only a twinkling in time.
The wise old mysterious owl, unsurpassed
at vigilance during the dark,
in the lore of the past could events forecast,
though lacking the song of the lark.
Still future tomorrows are anyone’s guess
when we’re in existence’s prime.
It seems like eternity, nevertheless,
‘tis only a twinkling in time.
Our lives stretch before us as endless array,
neath skies bright with starry wishes,
of vast possibilities all on display
or feast of enticing dishes.
To life’s great adventuring we acquiesce.
We’ve many a mountain to climb.
It seems like eternity, nevertheless,
‘tis only a twinkling in time.
The universe also has spans of ascent
(or multiverse, as some prefer,
having ‘bubbles’ in space of dimensions bent
with heavens discretely astir),
together with cycles of cosmic regress,
midst empyrean spheres sublime.
It seems like eternity, nevertheless,
‘tis only a moment in time.
On this earthly stage where we mortals play out
our shenanigans, seldom wise,
getting backed into corners with no way out,
till at last we open our eyes,
let’s endeavor our noblest selves to express
ere we bow out of pantomime,
for while seeming eternal, nevertheless,
‘tis only a moment in time…
~ Harley White
Categories:
astir, adventure, future, journey, life,
Form:
Ballad
Tears... how brittle in the ruin of this heart
Like dampened weeds burned into cinder ,
When maple trees turn ebon and droop
As laughing winds do not return… nothing moves,
Not even the sky in its hazy curves.
* `
)
I watch my own body… it becomes a stranger,
Melting into an anonymous phantom
That enters the dark through crushed wails…
But no one comes , not even a barn owl flapping
While a eulogy of sudden demise goes unsung.
*
* ~
And midnight tears wash over me vanishing,
That I gaze at the maple leaves slowly astir
The way he would fix them in a vase, especially
On this our anniversary… but cry I must, alone
Waiting for a tender ghost-kiss to put me to sleep.
Re- posted 1/4/2018
Free Verse: Winter Blues Contest for Laura Loo
Categories:
astir, absence, bereavement, tree,
Form:
Free verse
I love you without surmising 'why',
your passion sets pon dusky distances
betwixt & 'midst quartz glass spaces,
where scented phases astir moon glow
and impassioned fireside involvement
madly erupt above obscure air castles,
beyond a swept away briny rendezvous
of crystallized darkly essential marrow,
like wildflowers penchant for Spring
blooming 'tween summoned fiery March
snowdrifts' lashing bout ignitable flurries
amongst wind's orgasmic undressing,
farthermost indulgent sundown piques
regaling its worth with naught but those
magnificent moments in timely conception,
whence endearment yearns to be evermore
Inspired by Pablo Neruda - - Sonnet Xvii
Categories:
astir, dark, destiny, love, passion,
Form:
Prose Poetry
She was smart, beautiful and a perfect host
Yet these god given attributes don't explain how she became adored
By most,
With no hate mail in the post.
No, we have to look elsewhere for the reason,
That no matter what the season,
She could appeal to our reason.
Was it the way she talked,
Maybe it was the way she walked,
Or the way she looked at you when she smiled.
No, that was not the reason she was such a hit,
Because like us all she could still throw a fit
And upset a little bit
Could it have been how she treated everyone the same,
Or that she did not use voice or words to shame,
No, these are not reason enough to explain her fame.
To be fair, the reason only becomes clear,
When you have had a hug from her
One that sets your emotions astir
And gives your heart cause to stutter.
Even while knowing anything more is reserved for another.
Many is the time I have seen a hug go to the undeserving,
With genuine feeling,
When the rest of us would have resorted to behaviour less
Appealing.
To think that most of us have yet to grasp the fact,
That a simple hug freely given can change the way others act
And give us all a reason,
To look forward to another season.
Categories:
astir, beautiful, beauty, care, character,
Form:
Romanticism
Astir the divining of earth.
The sea is alive and gives birth.The sand gives a sigh
And waves are so high.
The beaches all filled up with dearth.
A freak — oh its mock and its girth.
The tsunami cursed all its worth.Some beachcombers die,
As rest of them cry.
The island deprived of its mirth.
Categories:
astir, death, sea,
Form:
Limerick
His black shadow forever in elongation-
Still thrills the fans to adoration!
Yet with power to enthrall,
He walks the vacant hall.
The road cuts sharply to the west-
But, the music already has progressed.
In the sunset days, we feel warm rays;
His memory's alive when the music plays!
Spans two dimensions-the future-the past;
Hardly it seems an age has passed.
Rapidly was breathed the word "Legend."
At times legend's without end.
But, how wild it all seemed-
When the women fainted and the girls screamed!
Yeah, shook up is what we were...
When he set the world astir.
His life was brief, intense.
His shadow is immense.
And despite the date of the calendar,
Can't dream it's over...
Categories:
astir, age, celebrity, joy, music,
Form:
Rhyme
As New Lovers Wake To Meet Dawn's Awaiting Treasures
Waking in Love's glory, he felt and said:
With heart swollen, bursting with love for her
with her sweet, wonderful smile gazing back
With sun casting glow in her waking eyes
with soft, tender words uttered as she rose
With new adoration, his heart astir
with teasing treasures seen at her bare pose
With gentle touch, of that first morning's kiss
with solemn vow, he shouted- "I Love You".
Waking in Love's glory, she felt and said:
With immense bliss, praying they never part
with eager want, beating in loving heart
With sight of his exiting hot shower
with promise of his sexual power
With true glory in new day's welcomed start
within realm of his ivory tower
With that gentle touch, that first honeyed kiss
with soft solemn vow, she cried- "I Love You".
R.J. Lindley
April, 17th, 1973
Rhyme, ( Romantic scene, first morn after Love's first sweet feast )
Note: Presenting an old romantic piece.
My second presentation of romance, passion and the treasures of love.
This is a newly edited version of an old poem from forty-six years ago.
Categories:
astir, appreciation, emotions, happiness, love,
Form:
Romanticism
A moonlight silhouette ... of a sleeping mountain.
A living forest ... tall trees in fullness.
Underbrush heavy laden ... a patchwork of paths.
The moon is hiding ... the stars are hiding.
The night air stays cold ... light touches of frost.
All creatures are in stillness.
Unnatural noise awakes ... mountain forest creatures flee.
Darkness astir to bright light.
Chaos tangles a forest ... tall trees and brush full of pain.
Heard by dazed small life below.
Burning light shows the horror.
Moaning, groaning, crying screams ... most are unable to move.
Few hanging in trees ... subtle movements here and there.
Bodies of living and dead ... scattering midst the debris.
Time is of no use.
Many cling to life ... many more to hope.
Desperate prayers for help.
Cold, the enemy of life ... reckoning befalls.
Heartfelt prayers for loved ones.
Devout ancestral prayers.
Many sleeping peacefully ... prayers swept to memories.
Opens a book to scriptures.
A time of Oneness.
Descendants join ancestors.
In a place far, far, away.
Five hundred twenty ... are joined with their ancient past.
The realm of a Dynasty.
Four holds on to life.
Fate chooses for you.
Categories:
astir, anger, angst, anxiety, confusion,
Form:
Lyric