Best By Poems
When the crimson rose has faded
And our day at last is done;
In the forest dark and shaded
Blows the tempest, dims the sun.
When the night holds us together
Shall forgiveness mend the past
Will despair bring sunny weather
And heal our hearts at last?
If we hide within the shadows
Will you stay here close to me;
Will we walk forgotten meadows
Or sail a foreign sea?
In vain the hour must reap
What we gathered in the sun;
And love's harvest now will weep
For the battle never won.
Within the world's disgrace
In the hour of Nevermore;
Will there be another race
To a far-off fabled shore?
We promised love tomorrow
We preen with pride today
Now pride and love will borrow
The tears of yesterday.
Our pride we now confess it
Is a sin that couldn't last;
Our passion if we kiss it
Is like a dream now passed.
While fragrance scents the garden
And the misty moon rides high;
The wind whispers a pardon
When love goes passing by.
Enraptured by blue Sea, Sun chose a place
above Sea, on a cliff. To touch her face,
Sun then sank low; final radiance fell,
a lover's fingers on her mighty swell,
with passion's touch her cobalt blue to trace.
A last caress. . . and then with quickened pace
arrived dark night with sable and black lace
to softly drape the one he loves so well. . .
enraptured by the sea.
A man went to that cliff and pled for grace,
for he had come with heart ache to erase.
The sea, grown icy cold, still cast her spell.
He knew that only she all pain could quell.
Like Sun did too, he fell to her embrace
enraptured by the sea
April 21, 2022
Submitted June 12, 2022 for
Mark Toney's 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 1 Poetry Contest
Crystal winged hourglass flows muted gold sand
as time turns red dawn to pink dusk once more;
life’s tapestry fades as years so expand
but love in the heart gives youth to restore
when embraced with so much left to explore.
Crystal winged hourglass portrays such fleeting
finite life as time slips by depleting;
with love reborn, awoken from sleeping
so shall heavenly days be accreting -
when sand flows no more - just joy, no weeping.
~ for my fellow poets ~
as slaves to the pen
or our keyboard, more apt
this molding of words
in a word, holds us rapt
fine fancies or fears
take us places unknown
our muse and our craft
better focused alone
the voice of our id -
the bounce of our rhyme
thus, charming or edgy
depending the time
midst romantic puddles
and whimsical trees
we splash our ideas
casting love to the breeze
a danger or hope or
a scorched trist-or-two
occur mind-to-matter
with the lines we imbue
the light AND the dark,
they both hold allure
our child's heart within -
just a tad bit impure
for tho we adore all the
things blithe and bright
we also know beauty
blooms deep in the night
if somber or joyous
thru passage or pain
it’s creatively ordered
thru rhyme and refrain
it's not that we're allied
- that we always agree
it's how we can sculpt
all the wonders we see
so although we may be
as different as spices
we’re thrall to our verses
whatever that price is
for it's a rare language
that few can command
but we speak it together
with a pen in our hand
so you may be a person
whom I've never met
but the gift of your writing
I'll never ...
forget.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "What Do We Have In Common" Poetry Contest, Kim Rodrigues, Sponsor.
~ Poem of the Day ~ featured on Poetry Soup.com on May 11, 2018 - many thanks to those in charge for the honor.
I
when the world had no headsets
the sunbathing crowd
fell asleep to the sounds of
transistors played loud
while the deckchairs and windbreaks
kites, beach balls and more
formed the stripes, lines and circles
that painted the shore
and the longer I walked
on the sand to that sea
the more the sea seemed
to get further from me
and the crunch in my mouth
was that one grain of sand
in the sandwich I ate
with my sand covered hand
while the lemons and melons
and plums I'd watch spin
would stop short of a cherry
one click from a win
and the postcards we sent
from the end of the pier
had us writing such half truths
as "wish you were here."
II
from the end of the pier
through the stiff breeze
and spindrift
I can still hear the tunes
of the promenade bands
and I can still see the stripes
of the deckchairs and windbreaks
and the box kites
and beach balls
that painted the shore
and I can still taste
the butter
- warm like the canned ham
and the crunch of that sand
in the sandwich I had
and I can still hear the djs
laughing and talking
spinning hits of the sixties
from transistors
played loud
and I can still smell the onions
frying wild in the fairground
to the sound of the claxons
and the lemon. click. orange. click. melon.
click. click.
and I can still breathe the deep smoke
swirling in sand dunes
from the benson and hedges
and
player's no.6
and I can still see those grown ups
staring at mirrors
- their bodies distorted
like the dreams
they once had
today on the pier
the rain that's now falling
falls from a same sky
on a same sand
and same sea
and a same me
- yet this air
this air
is not the same air
as that air I
once
breathed.
If you can keep calm when all around you,
Are frustrated, and angry with you,
Always believe in yourself, and be true,
Don’t be too proud, be positive with others too,
All good things come to those who wait,
Don’t ever listen to lies, that’s a fact,
Try to avoid being hated, don’t ever hate,
Do not show off, and from yourself distract.
Dream, but do not let dreams absorb you,
Put all to thought, and exercise this through,
If you succeed, become befallen too,
And meet these dire opposites at their game,
Stand up to truths that you believe in,
They know not what they speak, they only shame,
So jealous of your hard earnings, a twin to sin,
They try to mimic, to no avail, they do not gain.
Put all you have achieved to one side,
Knowing who you are, believe in do or die,
You might lose, begin again, with it abide,
Tell no one of any loss, reach for the sky,
If you can use your strength, and soul,
To carry on, as grace helps you to become whole,
And try everything within, to reach your goal,
Tell them I’ll carry on, not dig myself a hole.
If you speak with others, to thy self be true,
Be proud, never lose sight of who you are,
If friend or foes have no ability to scar,
If they agree with what you say, but not with all,
Be forgiving, don’t think you're better, and then fall,
If all you say is sound within sixty seconds,
You have achieved your worth, which always beckons,
And - indeed more - you’ll be a man my son!
POTW - 8/12/2022
FOREVER ADELINE
Acknowledgement:
A big thank you Sam Scott from our Poetry Soup Community,
for your splendid narrative contribution.
Synopsis:
A story of unrequited love that began in childhood.
Despite the passage of time, his love remained hauntingly
painful even after she fell in love with another.
Aloft on wings of rhapsody, together spirits soar
Wild, untamed and sensuous, just like a lion's roar.
HOW LONG AGO IT SEEMS THE TWO OF YOU FIRST MET
AS TIME IS RENDERED MEANINGLESS
OR TIMELESS, BETTER YET
Though in that Timeless moment, along came winds of change
Love swiftly rearranged, but what it WAS, remained
Oh, Adeline, so fair and bright,
Eyes, like stars, shine with delight,
Oh fickle heart, now you await
your new love's sweet embrace
Blinded by the callous cad, you foolishly don't resist
In the quench of love's allure, Time does not exist
His loving lips will not reveal your new love's promiscuous charms
Intoxicated, unrepentantly, he sways to others' wanton arms.
Across the bronze Sienna shores and blissful sea breeze skies,
He ever trails your hungry heart through
his own saddened eyes.
Oh, Adeline in Twilight's Hush,
where shadows dance and play,
A tale of love and longing
When Night succumbs to Day
Oh, Adeline, will it be
mere friendship, he would fain?
To be just a deliverer of love notes,
a job he will disdain
Oh, Adeline ~ Sweet Adeline
At every glance - a secret shared,
his every word - love unsaid,
In every touch - a fire dared
HOW LONG AGO IT SEEMS ~ THE TWO OF YOU FIRST MET
AS TIME IS RENDERED MEANINGLESS
OR TIMELESS, BETTER YET
Chansons ne sont que chansons
Quand on écrit de l'amour
Comment d'écrire des chansons
De la femme qui est l'amour?
English translation from above:
Songs are just songs
When we write about love
How do you write songs
Of the woman who is Love?
OH, ADELINE ~ SWEET ADELINE
by Maria Williams ©
Background garden images taken on our recent visit to the amazing
Hunter Valley Gardens, Sydney, Australia
Musicians
Harp - Rolando Cristaldo
Violins: Fátima Benítez
Celeste Osorio
I am spellbound and perfectly misplaced
in frozen arms of a broken spring
where garnet gaze of sage wood sun
is envied by the pale moon
convincing rose quartz stars
that changes arise
whilst lilac lines
sail across
silken
lace
of
pearly
reflections
from lunar beams
descending swiftly
As eclipsed metaphors
draw darkness across grey dawns
draped in specks of daffodil dreams
for an earth soaked in aquamarine
Yet, jealousy sneaks in and chains blind hearts
I watched them gather round
The warmth of your flame
Like campers at campfire time
Huddling close to you
Pushing and jostling
For the best place
I saw your warmth
Dancing off their faces
Small cinders escaping into the night
I followed the sparks drifting up
On the chilly breeze
Riding high…disappearing into the stars
I was cold
I was alone
On the edge
And yet…I dared not go near you
Though your light invited me
And I wanted so much to be warmed
By you
Yet….how could I find a place
By those encircling you
Watching the mesmerizing display
Of your orange and yellow flames
There was no place
Among the gathering of....
The strong, the beautiful, the insistent
So, on the outskirts I stayed
Tears trickling down my cheeks
Cold
Alone…
I waited…I held back
Until they all left
One by one
Some bumping into me
Not even aware that I was alive
I waited until you had almost died out
No longer on display
But a warm glow of embers
Still orange and glowing with desire
And I approached
Shyly…
Longingly…
Needing to see you dance
For me….only for me
And I coaxed you
In my clumsy way
My fingers cold
My heart ablaze
Suddenly....you burst into flame
A pillar of fire
Miracle of love
For I had not added any kindling
But my little heart
And yet it seems you had waited
Knowing I would come
And my slightest touch
Made the flames spring to life
Voracious flames
Flames reaching the high heavens
Your heat overpowering
Consuming
I almost threw myself into you
Wanting to reach the center
Of the heat and warmth
Of your beauty…
I spent the night
Out under the stars
Lying naked
Yet not cold
Naked
Yet not ashamed
Naked
Yet not shy
For your glow was my covering
I let myself be touched
Time and again
By licking fingers of fire
By the burning flames of your desire
For….ME!
For Gail's Contest
Touched by Your Flame
May 27, 2013
I sit here and ponder the days that have past
The many loves that I had, that just didn’t last.
One really sticks out, wish I had another chance
Treating her so differently, I’d show her romance.
I loved once a man, who just wanted to play
At being romantic .life was just foreplay.
Thought a kiss would be enough for his turtle dove
Not thinking about feelings, whether I wanted love.
We would start a family, having a baby or two
We’d live on the hillside, with a beautiful view,
We’d grow old together in the home that we build
Giving my life meaning, I’d be so fulfilled.
He now thinks that he wants me, I am the one
to fill up his heart to make me his own.
Promising me a home on a hillside with a view
Yet he hasn’t vowed that he would be true.
I’d hold her and cherish her til the day we depart
I’d profess to her my love and give her my heart
Romantic nights on that hill gazing up at the moon
Our days filled with laughter, frolicking in the lagoon
Sure he now promises me love for ever after
A life of joy, happiness and full of laughter
On that hillside we’d sit, watching the world go by,
A family, two dogs at our feet, kissing loneliness goodbye.
Penned by Tim Smith and Seren
And should my life, a flower be
Each petal, of a memory
I’d find a stem of envied bliss
In lush of hue by rainbow’s kiss
A bloom of full and rich delight
In gratitude, so soft and white
Abundant as a garden grows
I think back now as I suppose
It’s not that thorns have never stung
It’s just that song, I haven’t sung
For what reflects in morning sun
The softest petals, moonlight spun
And when my life, as flowers do
Begins to fade, not to be blue
A lifetime gifted by the Source
Will carry me with no remorse
POTD - 25th September 2024
Synopsis -
A bitter-sweet, hauntingly romantic and heart-wrenching ballad that follows her journey of sorrow and longing, as she searches for answers to a love torn apart. Watch as the story unfolds, revealing the depths of her heartbreak. Thank you for watching.
For my full playlist, and your entertainment pleasure, click the above 'watch on' YouTube icon which will take you to my YouTube channel - Poetic Rhythms.
Love Hurts - Bound by Love Broken by Fate
(Extracted from my Poem ‘The Train’ and made into Lyrics and a video.)
Mesmerised by the candy-coloured rainbow
Coy behind the fairy floss clouds
Through shimmering sunbeams, we gazed
My senses in overdrive
As memories surface
And hover back to
That one day
Boarding this very train
Squeals of joy
As cloudbursts unleashed rain
Chorus
But you left me
You took my heart and locked away the key
Squeezing into one seat
Wrists caressed and kissed
Floating to that intimate space
Sensual lips taste
Whispered promises
Sparking bright eyes
And blushing rosy face
Softly against my ear a hum
Our song
Fingers daring to trace
Burning paths
Through shredded threads
Faded jeans
Breathless on the high line
Us, giggling teens
Chorus
But you left me
You took my heart and locked away the key
Speeding through fields of wildflowers
Sparkling like diamonds with the fallen showers
The train hooted in joy
Through the rain splattered window amazed
Mesmerised by the candy-coloured rainbow
Coy behind the fairy floss clouds
Through shimmering sunbeams we gazed.
Chorus
But you left me
You took my heart and locked away the key
The searing sun has long been a revolving revelation of angst,
repelling songs of the skies, sung by the strings of the wings.
Pallid, poised only by muscle memory - a compositional backdrop,
past the point of revival, yet something inside me still ticks.
A trembling truth that never drifts,
these broken blues: a silent shadow with loud hues.
The bones of me, tunelessly picked out,
until I'm the aching hollow of unamplified sound.
Where do breathing colors of me sleep,
when deadly nights of the air eclipse upon the web once woven by whispers?
Death just a dropped chin and averted eye,
the slow slump of a sinner's stagnant dirge plays out.
Let those cobalt stones cease writings from vicious veins,
where wilting roses dip their thorns in starry puddles with no name.
Now begging for exsanguination of my pain,
the measure of a man captured, still, in expired offerings of disdain.
an impression of the world
stands before me
Left is right, and right is wrong,
and the mirror reflects a melancholy song.
i the mirror
not
the babbling brook,
or
the rippled river
whose images tell harmless lies.
i
the mirror,
who was once held in the
weak, shivering, hands of a life nearing its end
now lay
on broken, crushed bones, crumbs
and i
one thousand shards
the cracks
the jaded moments of my life.
i
an unintended semblance in the raging waters
crashing against the killing rocks of the rushing falls.
never utter the curse
"it can't get any worse"
the serpent swallows the swollen cow,
swallowed - the farmer's wife,
swallowed - her son,
swallowed - the thorny toad,
the black widow spider devours them all!
i the empty frame
the bits and bites of carpenter ants.
my world
a perverse facade
of
what should of been
of
what
is
of
what
was
or of
what? WHAT?
less?
i guess.
NEVER utter the curse
"it can't get any worse"
whose voice
will bring me peace,
whose rapier
will deliver me,
who will
burn my body whole
or
dig me a deep hole
or
throw me void of soul
into
the waters of the screaming ocean
who herself dies a slow painful death.
Dec 20 2015
armand
with a major contribution by
Joseph May
Friends come and go, but some have passed me by
as swiftly as the sun that lights my days.
They wave goodbye; I give a little sigh.
It seems I barely had them in my gaze.
Sweet friends I knew from youth. Where have you gone?
My bonds with some of you I felt were strong.
But journeys that we each embarked upon
divided us, and now I write this song.
Its lyrics tell the longings of my heart -
to see and be again with each dear friend
who knew me when and shared a special part
which cannot be retrieved nor has an end,
for memories are shadows cast by sun
which haunt me even when my days are done.
4/5/2012
For Mark Toney's the '2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 11' Poetry Contest