Best Bestrewn Poems
Golden-flecked bliss
of enraptured blown-kiss
stardust bestrewn
beguiling skies
Pleiades’ sequin eyes
shimmer in swoon
in midnight hours
from celestial bowers
lift blest voices
balmy hymns calm
serenity’s sweet psalm
saints’ rejoices
O, motherly
heartfelt heavenly night
lullaby my lustrous twilight
Love - swaddle me
in starlit cocoon’s blue
singing silk songs till dawn’s debut
ambrosial dreams
showered in jasmine streams
angels’ water
immerse in sleep
your virtuous well deep
baptized daughter
melodic sky
divinity’s stars sigh
spiritual
nirvana floats
seraphs’ musical notes
air's lyrical
O, motherly
heartfelt heavenly night
lullaby my lustrous twilight
Light - swaddle me
in starlit cocoon’s blue
singing silk songs till dawn’s debut
In this wondrous world, we are bound
to the silent realms of our poetic soul
Where white doves flutter and sighing words whisper
as dreams are dreamt with a heart's fervor
of unyielding desire which brightly burns
through the words of poetry
that capture the world's glorious glimmers
which slowly drip upon the page as poems
seeking a night's landscape
of wandering wishes beneath glittering stars
from a memory in fanciful flight
on the wings of perfection
where a sonnet shimmers in stardust bestrewn
as the moon serenaded fades into song
forgetting to rise and light dusky skies
lost in the magic of this intimate dark
as lips of a poet tingle the skin of a lyric
and brush with a breath thoughts soft as a flute
fantasy flies like fireflies from a jar
to drift to the depths of velvet horizons
reveries no longer long to be free
as the muse charms a pulse from the page
It's there in my heart's timeless space
I hear the poems of your soul
3/16/21
Thank You...Dear Friend, Dear Poet
In this wondrous world, we are bound
to the silent realms of our poetic souls
where white doves flutter and sighing words whisper
as dreams are dreamt with a heart's fervor
of unyielding desire which brightly burns
through the words of poetry
that capture the world's glorious glimmers
which slowly drips upon the page as poems
seeking a night's landscape
of wandering wishes beneath glittering stars
from a memory in fanciful flight
on the wings of longing perfection
where a sonnet shimmers in stardust bestrewn
as the moon serenaded fades into the song
forgetting to rise and light dusky skies
lost in the magic of this intimate dark
as lips of a poet tingle the skin of a lyric
and brush with a breath thoughts soft as a flute
fantasy flies like fireflies from a jar
to drift to the depths of velvet horizons
reveries no longer long to be free
as the muse charms a pulse from the page
It's there in my heart's timeless space
I hear the poems of your soul
Frederic Parker and Susan Ashley
(a collaboration)
March 16, 2021
~ Poem Of The Week ~
March 21, 2021
*celebrated on Frederic Parker's page*
Special note: it is indeed an honor to share in the wonderful recognition of Poem Of The Week with my inspiring and gifted collaborator, Frederic Parker.
Frederic, thank you for initiating this beautiful piece and for inviting me to create poetry with you. I cherish our fruitful poetic fellowship. That our muses shared in charming a pulse from the page is truly a special gift given to me.
Poet’s note: Dear Frederic, it was both a thrill and an honor to be invited to collaborate with you on this beautiful poem. Your tender, breathtaking artistry touched my heart and enchanted my imagination. The expressive talent of your golden pen never fails to inspire me. Thank you, dear poet, dear friend, for a stirring creative experience.
Doth thou Parle the night's
Vastidity?
Wouldst be thine haver of thy
Uneyed, thought-sickness strewn umoving
Travels?
Ratherst, it be that, it is thine
trade-fallen quarters; thine debt as
the Militarist is mete by the
Languish bestrewn on thine epochtic mind.
The morrow breaks...
Dreamer
ONE of my longings is that the stars above,
So bright and far they scarcely shine on love
Were not, out there, so distant from the moon
But trekked across the sky to love bestrewn.
I must not stay withdrawn but wish each day
Unto the darkness, stars would find their way
Onward through heavens submitting to the wind
And motions that one dreamer might pretend.
Never knowing that reality was lacked.
Nor that mere fantasy seems to be fact.
No one can make these heartfelt visions clear.
Nor hope relieve the thoughts I still hold near.
Stars, bestow brightly your light to love anew.
Let us, sweetheart, together vows renew.
© Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
January 12, 2010
Inspired by Poetrysoup member contest: A Romantic Longing !!
Sponsored by: Laura Mckenzie
Stone Mountain should die today.
Tomorrow would be fine.
But that raft of traitors eulogized, defaced
Would remedy an abuse of time.
The betrayers that love it still
Are awash from the American current.
The tattoo of turncoats on that hill
Long abuse our country's spirit.
Stone Mountain must die fast and sound
By dynamite, acid, or hammer.
That sad rock knows its whole bestrewn
Will solve shame to God that raised it.
It was granite first, bigoted statement second
An emblem of lawless, unresolved Reconstruction.
The stone cries out: Fuel the worst in men?
Release me now, come fast my full destruction.
Ruminating over a golden era gone by and over possessiveness filled me with nostalgia
Ultimate luxury of vying for a car as well as owning a chauffeur driven one was
Sadly for the migrated rulers who ruled over another dynasty across oceans
The massive Ford drove into grandpa's driveway in the early forties
Exactly thirty years later it stood dark, forlorn, inviting rust under the banyan tree
Devoid of its master whose ashes were bestrewn within the old British Raj bungalow
Benign weather peeled off layers of its glossy makeup despite its bare upkeep; our
Undulating frustration as it drank too many gallons; moleskin upholstery on bucketed
Seats laid bare its withered ribs, spouting foul smell in rain and sun; the rolling
Tyres busted for the wheels didn't spin down the familiar roads along the hill; our
Eyes got sore at its lost lustre while we heaved deep sighs at its opulent maintenance
Divine providence intervened to refurbish the vintage for glorious view in the Museum
Contest Judged on June 26, 2016
July 1, 2016
For Broken Wings
Contest: I Got Zero, Nothing, Nada - 1
*Migrated rulers refer to the British rule in India
Early days as a flaneur;
I recall the couple
On the Metro
When I was still innocent
Of its labyrinthine complexities;
Slim pretty white girl,
Clad head to toe
In new blue denim,
Wistfully smiling
While her muscular black beau
Stared straight through me
With fathomless, fulgorous orbs;
And one of them spoke
(Almost in a whisper):
"Qu'est-ce que t'en pense?"
Then it dawned on me...
The slender young Parisienne
With the distant desirous eyes
Was no less male than I.
Being screamed at in Pigalle,
And then howled at again
By some kind of wild-eyed
Drifter who told me to go
To the Bois de Boulogne to seek
What he clearly saw as my destiny;
Getting soused in Les Halles
With Sara
Who'd just seen Dillon as
Rusty James,
And was walking around in a daze;
Sara again with Jade
At the Caveau de la Huchette.
Cash squandered
On a cheap gold-plated toothbrush,
Portrait sketched at the Place du Tertre,
Paperback books
By Symbolist poets,
Second hand volumes
By Trakl and Deleve,
And a leather jacket from
The flea market
At the Porte de Clignancourt.
Metro taken to Montparnasse,
Where I slowly sipped
A demi blonde
In one of those brasseries
(Perhaps)
Immortalised by Brassai;
Bewhiskered old man
In a naval officer's cap,
His table bestrewn
With empty wine bottles
And cigarette butts,
Repeatedly screeched the name
"Phillippe!" until a bartender
With patent leather hair,
Filled his wineglass to the brim,
With a mock-obsequious:
"Voila, mon Captaine!"
I cut into the Rue du Bac,
Traversed the Pont Royal,
Briefly beheld
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois,
With its gothic tower,
Constructed only latterly,
In order that
The 6th Century church
Might complement
The style of the remainder
Of the 1er Arrondissement,
Before steering for the
Place du Chatelet,
And onwards...Les Halles!
Tryst edged ... Aurora whisper serendipitous saffrons,
e'er forging balms beamish strands to aerate crown's expanse, whilst bestrewn
lissome mists waltzes amongst errant gasp caught in rapture.
An ephemeral cloudburst evaporates on supine
silhouettes of the gods. Pristine manna with a sigh ... midst hollow
utter, guides dulcet zephyrs to petrichor arousals.
Purged euphoric realm steep in its prismatic solitude
poise, waft chimerical imagery effervescent caprices,
volley afar ... harks labyrinths mellifluous murmur.
Vesper, yon the zenith of Terra, breathe his claim toward
the cosmos, granting resplendent panacea a vestured vault,
... occasions an epiphany as moonglade o'er a lake.
Lo! Behold the morning with such beauteous delight.
See diaphanous filaments bestrewn with beads of dew,
sparkling their display of every shade of prismatic hue,
exalting the spider’s art, woven throughout the night!
Lo! See the wraiths of mist, slowly rising from the river bed,
whilst apparent rootless reeds, seen on either bank,
stand like ephemeral ghosts! The air though heavy and dank
becomes alive with a myriad of creatures. For the night has fled!
Lo! Hear the clear crystal sounds which bid the new day awaken.
The crowing cock, the raucous cawing crow, the mourning dove,
all borne upon the breeze, which routs reluctant clouds above.
Once again with the breaking dawn perceived, darkness is overtaken!
Lo! Give thanks for the wakening of a sleeping souls once more,
for having survived the unknown perils of the past night.
Arising to witness another day graced by Dawn’s early light,
we are aware that the awaiting day invites us to come; explore!
Rhyme. August 23rd, 2016
Something about the month of May
Through early dawn unto the day
From dusk to night's twinkling play
Of all nature's beauty on display
The Star's own star shines on so bright
Like the sparkle in her eyes alight
I chance to catch her downcast sight
That sets me lost in love's delight
The day brings colors atop the trees
Magnificent blossoms sway in the breeze
With flaming crimson and fiery red
That fall to form a flowery bed
And upon this path together we tread
I'd pick a flower as on we walk ahead
Put it gently upon her ear to stand
Then carry on walking hand in hand
Across the petaled floral land
her presence lets the flowers look grand
Maybe it might attract some bees?
Who dance around and buzz and tease
I'd hold her tight in a protective squeeze
Even long after the creature flees
Short lived lilies bloom on the side
Blue bell creepers gape with awing pride
Pink blossoms deck the tree like a bride
All I wish is to have my angel beside
The scents tickle my senses astray
How I delve deeper each passing day
Dearest dream lets run away
When the sun streaks its final ray
When squirrels have long finished their play
The birds sing farewells melodious and gay
And the blossoms along with us shall sway!
We'll waltz till our worries wither unto nay
Silhouetted against the twilight sun's delay
The nights are as warm as your touch
The moon up high is just too much
Your smile makes the heart stop as such
The soul deep love can't loosen its clutch
Of all the beauty that graces Spring
Of all the treasures this month does bring
Of the only reason the birds could sing
Was merely me and mother nature conspiring
For setting up your dimpled smile
To listen to your soothing voice a while
As you calmly sing a nostalgic tune
Pleasant as a warm sun on a winter noon
The song softens and your eyes close soon
And a few chestnut locks lie bestrewn
Tickling my neck as you ease a place
Upon my shoulder in a dreamy daze
I look askance to catch your gaze
As I glance upon your cherubic face
To meet your loveliest eyes that steal
The words and thoughts I don't reveal
They hold me with their magical appeal
As our souls swim into love surreal
We close our eyes and like a feather
Float gently into dreams together.
Never needed LSD,
seeing things that could not be,
rejecting my own ESP,
I swim the Sea of Apathy,
traverse the Desert of Ennui,
emotions under lock and key,
internalize the wild banshee.
Toddler's rolled up dungarees,
bemuse the double-amputee,
heart bestrewn with life's debris,
none of us get off scotfree.
Handcuff life's evacuees,
so tender is Humanity.
©Danielle White
Beyond yon roof, of sod and thatch
Beyond yon door, of wood and latch
Beyond the reach of man's morals
Beyond yon hedge of thicket Laurels
Dwells a creature in forest veil
Dwells one, that lives, beyond the pale
Dwells, who takes victims with care
Dwells, who with, blank eye does stare
Watch, it does, from beneath the moon
Watch, it does, from shadows bestrewn
Watch, it has intent to bespell
Watch and feel its brace impel
Whilst, I hold, dreams sempiternal
Whilst, I invite, days be final
Whilst, I take last, sweet breath
Whilst, I embrace my lover....Death
Lo! Behold the morning with such beauteous delight.
See diaphanous filaments bestrewn with beads of dew,
sparkling their display of every shade of prismatic hue,
exalting the spider’s art, woven throughout the night!
Lo! See the wraiths of mist, slowly rising from the river bed,
whilst apparent rootless reeds, seen on either bank,
stand like ephemeral ghosts! The air though heavy and dank
becomes alive with a myriad of creatures. For the night has fled!
Lo! Hear the clear crystal sounds which bid the new day awaken.
The crowing cock, the raucous cawing crow, the mourning dove,
all borne upon the breeze, which routs reluctant clouds above.
Once again with the breaking dawn perceived, darkness is overtaken!
Lo! Give thanks for the wakening of sleeping souls once more,
for having survived the unknown perils of the past night.
Arising to witness another day graced by Dawn’s early light,
we are aware that the awaiting day invites us to come; explore!
Rhymer. February 19th, 2018
I saw the wonders of creation
In the simple straight striation
Of a frangipani flower
But because you were not there,
There was none with whom to share
Its magic and its power
I’ve felt the presence of divinity
In the star bestrewn infinity
Of a deep dark desert night
But because you were not there
I was left alone to bear
The full burden of the sight.
There is so little pleasure
In hoarding, like a treasure
All the measures of our lives
For what life is there in living
Without the gift of giving
Of oneself to one, one loves.
Then I saw in one child’s birth
All the beauty that this Earth
Has ever yet brought forth.
And your being there to bear it
And my being there to share it
Gave the moment all its worth.
© Barry Freeman - November 2004