Best Blotted Out Poems
Once, side by side, they walked the moonlit beach
in silence- each alone and incomplete
in disjoined worlds- linked only by the reach
of tiny, lapping waves upon their feet.
As silver beams of moonlight iced the ground
and blotted out the heat of sandy gold,
their warmth of humanness was hidden- bound
beneath blind souls that shivered in the cold.
Yet, on the sand, their shadows danced along-
a silhouetted couple synchronized
in motion- forms united clear and strong
against the blankness which the moon devised.
Dark shadow puppets sparked romantic light-
gave living souls new vision in their night.
December 18, 2014
Shadow Puppets
~8th Place~
Premiere Contest: Silhouette
Sponsor: Craig Cornish
Judged: 09/16/2017
Shadow Puppets
~7th Place~
Premiere Contest: Mid-June
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Judged: 06/15/2017
Categories:
blotted out, beach, inspiration, love, moon,
Form:
Sonnet
Here I stand before hundreds of moss grown graves
There is a mournful silence that extends
Through the weed grown path, no traveller walks
The place, some morbid warning portends
Hush.... hush is this place, here no bird sings
The wind here sighs in silent pain
There is a muffled horror all around the place
Even the leaves chant a sad refrain
Here, Death sits on his imperial throne
Mocking at the relics of human glory
Zealous with the task of deleting the old
To script a new chapter, a new story
In these ancient graves sleep the silent dead
Their toil and trouble ended with life
They must have been perhaps heroes of the land
No more are they part of world’s victory or strife
Nor its sad commemorations or triumphant jubilees
Though released from the shackles of oppression
Each dear presence has now become an absence
Here they lie anonymous, without a single possession
Did they perish in a battle or struck by some pestilence
However, their names are blotted out from life’s tome
They are knocked down and mocked by time
And they lie here uncared, expelled from their home.
Generations pass and their progeny comes
Unmindful of who lived before them
Neither thankful of the legacy left behind
Nor thinking that all comforts, from their toil stem
Vacancy alone greets my pensive eyes
Each life here is a volume shut down,
To be cast aside and eventually forgotten,
Or erased forever with no name or renown
With a heavy heart I stand beside these wrecks
Thinking I too shall lie here, devoid of all opulence
Leaving all my hard-earned possessions behind
With no trace, mocked by time and forgotten by the populace
Categories:
blotted out, betrayal, death, farewell,
Form:
Rhyme
In life, we often meet with ups and downs.
The unexpected waits to pounce on us.
In the wink of an eye life can take a u turn.
We must solve the conundrum of life all alone.
Tossed and shattered by breakers rushing upon
Sometimes we are ripped apart, torn asunder,
Landing in alien shores, in hostile situations.
The night of weariness may suddenly descend.
The lamp of life may be blotted out by sweeping gales.
Many a time we get shattered in the throes of life.
Life is often loss and pain, facing the unknown
We do not know where our journey takes us.
With masks on, we are destined to play our parts,
Even after the music is over, till the curtain falls.
As we stroll through this maze called life
We never ask ‘whither’ and heedlessly move on!
Categories:
blotted out, angst, fate, life,
Form:
Free verse
MINDFUL OF SOLAR ECLIPSE
He’s coming with his dark glasses
and dizzying smile
He’s stopping by for a minute or two
a minuet of manic joy
He covers the sun with his steady hand
she tingles with trepidation
Will she be blotted out from his employ
she wipes off sweat as he passes by
Merely a warning of end times
dark days of deepened sin
We watch with amusement
arm in arm on love boats
Standing in main line parks
finding the perfect spot
Would we find the perfect standing of our heart
a bond with the patient perfect God
When the cross covered the earth in darkness
men of old took note
When the stone rolled away from the sun
the eclipse was eradicated
Emblematic pain or joy of your soul
gaze up with future foretold
8/21/2017
An unrhymed couplet
Strand’s Standard Contest NO 30
1st Place
Categories:
blotted out, christian, nature,
Form:
Couplet
A hardened heart
closed the mind, so unkind
left the soul without empathy
struggling to understand
the joy in Christ's gift to man
Salvation of the soul
a reason to hope, to grow
in the light, the love, the wonder
of a grace that made life kinder
A hardened heart
broke through the dreams
coloring everything
in seas of blackest sorrow
left the thoughts filled with despair
carried the fear to the soul
where it kept joy from rising up
and leaving a promise of Him who knows
that faith can brighten the darkness
with sincerity and assurance
that joy comes to the One who listens
to the prayers of true repentance
A hardened heart
gorged by lies from the deceiver
Jesus adversary, the wicked one
who knows only to steal and destroy
love that flows into the light
from hearts who've learned to fight
the darkness, the hardness
with love that is gentle and kind
filled with faith that reminds
His light is inspired
His love is a burning fire
His grace is there for us
Salvation will always come
to those who pray from a heart
convicted by the Holy Spirit
who echoes His beauty in us!
Acts 3:19 - Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
My first book... please leave me a review on Amazon if you read it and God bless all of you!
A Light in the Darkness
Categories:
blotted out, heaven, inspirational, jesus,
Form:
Free verse
"The buds on my pear tree will become florets this day,
prettily unfurled a creamy white." by poet
On leaves of green streams down the gold
of a radiant April dawn,
and blotted out is winter’s cold
because sun’s here to warmly smile upon
the pear tree that is posing on my lawn.
The first day for her blossoming has come.
White pearled clusters now adorn my favorite tree.
A lovely fashionista this day she has become.
Can any other tree be more beautiful than she?
Categories:
blotted out, april,
Form:
Rhyme
On a beautiful afternoon, crisp and sunny, I set out on a trek to the nearby woods. Except my camera, intentionally picked up, I hadn’t carried with me any other goods. All along, I saw wild flowers and strange herbs and paused to take pictures, but kept moving. No doubt, it was a rewarding experience. The lure of the unknown seemed bewitching. From the cluster of flowers on a sprawling tree, the wind wafted a rare exotic smell which I inhaled to my heart’s content. All along, I heard the twitter of chirping sparrows and some other birds and could spot large squirrels with striped designs and bushy tails. Proceeding further, heard a gurgling sound. It must be a small cataract, I did suppose. My guess was right. It fell off a rock and ran into a stream with murmur enough to lull one to sweet repose. The whistle of a quail fell in my ears and the rhythm of the tapping of a wood pecker and the creaking of dry leaves under my feet…all familiar sounds to any forest trekker! Feeling happy over my progress without a hitch, listening to the soft cajoling of birds and the confused drone of honey bees, I walked playfully stamping on the weeds.
woodland paths unwind
bringing multi scenes in row~
joy to heart and soul
By the time I reached half my way, the forest fell into darkness much
earlier to sunset. It shattered my peace and blotted out my sight, that I started running wild feeling violently upset. I knew I had strayed off the accustomed path, saw the dark sky above and heard a foreboding owl’s hoot. My path was severely obstructed by a tangle of creepers. I felt so puzzled that I could hear the loud thump of my heart. Under a thicket, covered with brambles, I saw a sudden movement as that of a beast and was afraid to look over my shoulders. My teeth chattered and my knees smote. I swooned unable to think or act, hear or see. For how long I lay there in a trance, not sure. When I woke, I saw myself lying at the foot of a tree. To my great relief, I saw the sun beams filtering down and an orange tint streaming across the foggy sky. I couldn’t say if I saw heaven or hell. Better to say, I experienced both.
unexpected turns,
life takes, landing us in angst~
yet, add to our strength
Categories:
blotted out, appreciation, beauty, confusion, happiness,
Form:
Haibun
Turning over in a ruffled bed,
stark red numbers sear 4 a.m. into bloodshot corneas.
Nothing but darkness creeps through threadbare curtains, frozen in place.
A desolate silence becomes deafening, as birdsong no longer crescendos—
what would have been the breaking of dawn.
It's been six years now since our brightest star was thrown out of orbit,
exposing the frozen side of the sun.
No longer does our planet experience the warmth of its radiation,
nor the glow of its solar flares.
Within a fraction of a second, humanity was plunged into an everlasting night.
Temperatures plummeted; mass hysteria was at its peak.
Crops perished within hours to days,
as the new icy tundra eclipsed once-thriving farmlands.
The birth of a perpetual Ice Age was at hand.
Power grids crystallized and snapped.
Cities crumbled; small towns were blotted out,
disappearing off the map, never to be seen again.
Death's gelid hand spared but a few souls—
holed up in a scientific research bunker in the Arctic.
We are but the unlucky few who get to “live” in this glacial purgatory,
wandering aimlessly forevermore.
Categories:
blotted out, dark, gothic, natural disasters,
Form:
Free verse
"Times Square was magnet to rejoicing
hearts, as mine was on that day the victors
came. With roses, red, as were perhaps,
my cheeks, I vowed each bloom for
every home-come valiant there I'd see."
"I see her still despite the sixty years,
a taintless angel clutching there a bunch
of roses, red, as were her lips, a pair of
magnets that had drawn me close and
closer yet, and in a flash, the kiss."
"The kiss, a flash of light, and all from
senses blotted out, save for warm, tender
lips on mine, my body backward bent
in sweet surrender held by arms, the scent
of roses crushed between our breasts."
"Our breasts thus pressed, the roses in
between; how long did we remain thus
still in time? For but a span of breath
commingled, held? A moment's measure
of twined heartbeats kept in trance?"
"In swooning trance, then rudely snapped
out from by surging mass, rejoicing river
crowd, there wrenching him away, and me,
still stunned, forgetting there to hand him
but a single, breast-pressed rose."
"A single rose, if but to press to lips, or
in between the pages of a book held dear,
a keepsake from an angel kissed but with
no name to call in sleep-failed nights,
for failing there to even give my name."
"My name, I wish I had the sense there
but to whisper to his ear then yet so close.
Perhaps, it would have been the key
to worlds away from lonely wards and
wakeful nights with just the sick with me."
"With me is but the memory of lips, their
warmth the years have deftly dimmed;
that kiss, a quick-eyed lens man stilled, now
wrought a lifelike replica of vanished time,
one budding love rose crushed by fickle fate."
Categories:
blotted out, anniversary, history, introspection, nostalgia,
Form:
Blank verse
They lie asleep
With no wheels ajar--
No turning of the sky
Awaits their doom.
Rusty is the color
Of the painted steel.
Long lost to beauty
But yet a certain charm
Reveals them to pleasure
Of the eye.
Born to support more than
Their own; lofty it seems
Above the roiling water.
Old bridge-wood knew
Rolls and rolls, uneven
Tires and spikes of steel.
Have you heard the rattling
Of the bridge through time
And times evolution being
More than clock?
Walk no more here
Where paths no longer cross,
And barefoot boys
No longer fish with worms.
A certain flood came down
Muddy and swirling,
Logs afloat and rolling,
Bumping like friends.
Such dents appeared as to
Surprise the passerby
Who appraised the steel
And rubbed the wood.
The river was raging, raging.
Time was passing, passing,
Rolling with a certain humility
Toward uncertain breathing.
They plucked the planks
And cut the steel with fire.
They hauled away the years
And blotted out the span.
Categories:
blotted out, history, metaphor, time,
Form:
Free verse
When life seemed so pointless Jesus was the Source of Great and Lasting Joy
When my soul was lost and straying like lost sheep,
Jesus restored my soul offering hope and peace.
When everyone else turned around and left me
Jesus stood by me and guided the direction and made my path easy.
When I faced trials and temptations
Jesus gave me strength and comfort
When I was filled this emptiness and loneliness,
Jesus gave me the meaning, value and purpose.
When I was sad and hurt
Jesus wiped away my tears and took away my despair.
When I was troubled and persecuted by others
Jesus reminded me that for the sake of righteousness I am blessed
When I was weak and tired
Jesus encouraged me and gave me rest.
Jesus blotted out the stain of my sins with a great compassion
And sanctified me, cleansed me with his blood and made me Holy.
When I was sick and afflicted with diseases, Jesus Touched Me and Made Me Whole
When I am hungry and thirsty, Jesus gave me food and drink and supplied all my needs.
When I was scared Jesus gave me courage for overcoming fear.
Bible is God's Word helps us to defeat the devil, defeat the enemy.
It is the word of God which keeps us away from sins and hell.
For Every Problem In My Life Jesus Is The Answer.
Jesus' love has never failed me
He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Categories:
blotted out, bible, encouraging, faith, miracle,
Form:
Pastoral
When life seemed so pointless Jesus was the Source of Great and Lasting Joy
When my soul was lost and straying like lost sheep,
Jesus restored my soul offering hope and peace.
When everyone else turned around and left me
Jesus stood by me and guided the direction and made my path easy.
When I faced trials and temptations
Jesus gave me strength and comfort
When I was filled this emptiness and loneliness,
Jesus gave me the meaning, value and purpose.
When I was sad and hurt
Jesus wiped away my tears and took away my despair.
When I was troubled and persecuted by others
Jesus reminded me that for the sake of righteousness I am blessed
When I was weak and tired
Jesus encouraged me and gave me rest.
Jesus blotted out the stain of my sins with a great compassion
And sanctified me, cleansed me with his blood and made me Holy.
When I was sick and afflicted with diseases, Jesus Touched Me and Made Me Whole
When I am hungry and thirsty, Jesus gave me food and drink and supplied all my needs.
When I was scared Jesus gave me courage for overcoming fear.
Bible is God's Word helps us to defeat the devil, defeat the enemy.
It is the word of God which keeps us away from sins and hell.
For Every Problem In My Life Jesus Is The Answer.
Jesus' love has never failed me
He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Categories:
blotted out, christian, christmas, faith, fathers
Form:
Free verse
Call it alliteration or pun or something else you are free,
Don’t make a brouhaha out of this ,broer!,
The brevity of my blizzard of words cannot be
Blotted out, even after a breathalyzer test.
I’m not drunk or having down’s syndrome
but infected with cytomegalovirus which
makes me talk like Cockatiel or Cockatoo,
this is why I’m cockahooped over this.
I love weasel words mixed with whimsical quality;
Many have morbid fascination for violent
Which can put them in a quagmire,
While some appreciate peace ,political stability,
Selfless service and accountability without strangulating
the downtrodden and opulent indigents.
As a sentient being ,it seems like speaking semblance
of nonsense but it’s not sedo.
I vibrate for I’m sick of oppression,
nepotism ,covetousness and egocentric attitudes
Of our leaders, which is worst than worst;
Infuriating and nauseating.
‘Oh charity! When are you going to be accepted
fully by man?’
‘Oh grace! ,are you still among us?’
‘Oh peace!, do not turn your face from us’.
‘Oh mother nature!, help us and forgive our wicked deeds.’
Categories:
blotted out, allegory, life, political,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
III
Once a pilgrim bound for a distant land
Was standing at the parting of three ways,
He asked a crone which, the right hand,
The left or middle way led before day’s
End to the hospice lying in the vale.
“The middle path,” said she,” yon poplar tree
Marks its entrance.” Along that trail
He walked with haste, while yet was time to see.
Scarce a brook was crossed than darkness fell
And blotted out the red dusk’s ember glow.
He heard aghast a tolling distant bell,
Moved not by hand, but as the wind did blow.
O'er dry sticks his wandering feet did tread
And he did feel dead leaves caress his head.
II
At forty a man is like a pyramid.
His four decades have lent him some solidity.
Both east and west he faces with facility,
Being neither young nor old. Married,
With children, a house and the ability
To be squarely based on terra firma
And convinced his life is – despite that murmur
About taxes, the crime rate, and the mess
Government or unions have us in – not pointless.
He’s proud for seeing things from every side,
By summer's heat, by winter's cold, well-tried.
He builds in blocks of hard square stone,
And moon by moon pays back his mortgage loan,
Freeholding Pharaoh, immobile with lands tied.
I
Babe new-born, aspersed in blood and water,
Eyes dazzled by the first light ever seen.
From one a half, and from a half a quarter,
Division cuts with scalpel fine and keen.
One breath, the hour-glass is upended,
The first pure grains pass through its orifice.
Time, you Saturn! What art e'er mended
Ills sown within the bed of life? A kiss,
A mother’s joy escapes the roll-scribe’s glare.
His eyes peer through his glasses crystal-clear,
Who takes each entry down and makes his figures square.
Who renders tribute in the coin of fear?
Or shall the hand that once has turned the glass
Not turn again when sands have ceased to pass?
Categories:
blotted out, birth, death, life,
Form:
Sonnet
I had a dream where nothing
was what it seemed.
It was dark and then too bright
and all my words left my mind.
I saw a bright beam where
everything was what I’d
deemed.
The darkness fell over the
shadows and swallowed
everything that was kind.
The light fled and tomorrow
was a treasure I just knew I
had to find.
Yesterday was lost and
everyone stood with a great
amount in cost.
It was sad and it was glad, but
everyone threw it up for a toss.
Passing through time with
glimmering bright lights,
Where were the dark lonely
nights?
Flash-backs timing the tracks
as most folks fell through tiny
little cracks,
Each one flashed back on top
of crumpling down broken old
stacks.
Then it was cold and then it got
hot.
Today was here and being
blotted out like a tiny black
dot.
Flash-backs and flash-backs
sending millions tracks of light
to never forget me not.
®Registered: 2003 Ann Rich
Categories:
blotted out, adventure, allegory, hope, imagination,
Form:
Narrative