Best Carouse Poems
I can't recall exactly when
Life swung and hit me on my chin
I"m ashamed to say, it knocked me cold
When I came to, I woke up old
While I was out, I had a dream
Of juggling on a balance beam
While jumping hoops, upon one leg
And one wrong move, cost one nest egg
Was it yesterday or the day before
I had it all but wanted more
When days were long and fears were short
Carouse by day, at night cavort
Yesterday, less was more
It must have been the day before
I wish I'd seen life's sucker punch
'cause now my memory's out to lunch
by Daniel Turner
I shook my head
Knew the day’d be messy
Some poor sap
Was marrying my Aunt Bessie
She’d slept with half of Brooklyn
Flaunting her exploits all through town
The mayor, the banker, the deli clerk
Even the birthday party clown
A wedding gown, so fitted
Her bellybutton showed
Boobs shoved up high enough
To violate building code
Minutes before the shindig
She pulled me on the roof
Snatched a flask from her garter belt
Downing one hundred ninety proof
She wanted to call it off
No way she could comply
To promise for all her life
To only screw one guy
I told her she could do it
Like many other people do
She finally calmed down
And made her wedding day debut
She stumbled down the aisle
Tripping on her gown
Her daddy kept her steady
‘til the pastor stared her down
She blushed but pulled together
Long enough to give her vows
After the ceremonial kiss
Everyone went to carouse
Letting loose at the reception
She danced with all the boys
Twirling, flashing, grinning
Making all kinds of noise
I’d like to say things ended well
That monogamy she would master
But before the night was over
She got naked with the pastor
For Andrea's "Show Me the Funny" Contest
Farther than mantles of a pewter night,
Comets reel in their own immeasurable world
Past earth's sky, gloaming through lattices
Woven by celestial bands... a grandeur
From a multiverse illumined with other heavenly forms
Like asteroids unknown to human eyes, mirrored
Only in a roulette of divine Infinity : Out there,
With the bursting spiral from gas, fire, molten rocks
Twirls a dreamy carouse within a hub of Life Source.
My heart aches to greet them beyond zone's limit
In star-studded cast of aureoles...a poetry in motion,
Which alights into Borealis songs, their haunting lore.
And through sacred Mystery , I connect with this force
Designed by one Galactic handiwork-- moons, stars
planets circling around Milky Way, ever vibrant...
And to bestow a natural pace
of night and day,
Season upon season, I see myself as one
With creation reaching ---out for God's light.
...............
Re-post 6/28/2019
Contest of John Hamilton: Best Free Verse 2019
Originally written 2/20/2019
A marionette to the mind,
Whispering fading schematics,
Deluging the heart and soul, in a
Juxtaposition of good and evil,
Betwixt Heaven and hell, amidst
Snowdrifts that swirl before my eyes, while
Spiritless shadows restlessly carouse;
Discordantly, far from reach,
Vagrantly ambling across
Deadened Arcadias, glimpsing
Floating embers, in wake of
Vivid firestorms, swallowing me whole,
Faltering with every step I take,
Decelerating towards the escape I seek,
As it rhythmically scars my timorous nature,
Awakening the monsters hidden deep within-seeing red-
Bleeding out miasmic toxins, as noxious
Spores erupt, immersed in a haze of austerity,
While it seeps and saturates, throughout
Malignant wounds exposed, undulating between
The storms of push and pull, as daunting
Tasks, of rippling sequences, splits my
Chasmic core.
Soulless footprints are all that remain, as
Moon tides wash ashore, ebbing away
Towards dystopian depths.
Swift bee, the gilded messenger of bliss,
Begirt with golden stars of Heaven’s span,
What draws you to the clover’s gentle kiss?
Sweet nectars, that the strongest drinker can
Carouse with dreams and dizzy waves of sleep,
Or mocks the freshest breath of summer’s clime?
Swift bee, a flame-plumed star of black and gold,
Why do you with your mouth, completely reap
The liquors that each golden bud does hold,
And lulls with somnolence the might of time?
Oh, bee, you spread the tufted pollen clouds
Like nebulae of opal stars crossways
The delicate, soft digitalis crowds,
Which passionately garner sunbeam rays
Within their coral shells. I can’t express
How much your toil’s worth to coming spring,
And how so passioned glide your wings around
The purple, gentle harebell’s loosened dress,
And make, through pretty hums, spring’s hopeful sound
Oft too profaned by your most fearsome sting!
Oh, pretty hummer! Hearty worker! Bee!
I see you roaming round the garden’s bend,
Where sweet, white daisies wreathe a canopy,
And make you but a hearty, cheerful friend.
Swift bee, the aching, swollen heart of mine
Desires comfort where pain knows no ruth
The buds hold, like rich garners golden grain,
Ambrosia of the gods, dream’s honeyed wine
So bring and let dear bee, such moisture stain
My lips and warm my heart with spring’s bright youth!
© 2014 Gleb Zavlanov
How bright your eyes of cerulean blue
Look out from your porcelain face my dear
I saw those ivory teeth and I knew
That crimson blood would be flowing right here
Your cloak matches your obsidian brows
Absinthe is the green the grass we lie on
Love burning like charcoal as we carouse
Making our love last way before the dawn
Your sable hair reminds me of honey
And I crush my lips to yours oh so soft
I know that this is better than money
But do you agree? I noticed you coughed
Ash of roses the color I evoke
Before leaving you in a puff of smoke
On frost chilled night twinkling stars wink through misty shrouds
as miniature monsters in drunken sugar trances carouse the twilight.
Good pious folk stay hidden with candy alms against the fright,
while the swollen Halloween moon whimsically grins down at such a sight.
10/08/15
Creeping, crawling the time is calling,
night has come and the dark is falling.
Slinking, slithering the twilight moves,
as the squirming creatures hit their grooves.
Beneath the leaves the beetles advance,
while the worms break free to join the dance.
Their bodies swaying to and fro,
in cadence with the lightning bugs' glow.
Every creature big and small,
begins to stir 'neath the yellow ball.
Singing songs their date approves,
they woo there mate in microgrooves.
Tiny spiders take the chance,
in hopes their lovers crave romance.
But deep inside they all know,
soon they'll be dining with their widowed beau.
The insects carouse through the sleeping flowers,
they won't wake, it's after hours.
Dizzy Lizzies stretch and yawn,
curling petals, they await the dawn.
Tiny feet tickle their leaves,
as nits traverse their tendril weaves.
Only the Fly Traps join the rant,
to make a meal of a passing ant.
The tall grass sways like lofty towers,
as mantises use their magical powers.
They hide on the stalks of the sprawling lawn,
in wait for creatures to prey upon.
Petals glow white in their final reprieve,
to be quickly replaced by new Crinum leaves.
As creatures retreat and the dawn wakes the plants,
The Spider Lily waits, the night to supplant.
It’s clear after this perfunctory bout,
I’m packin’ your things and you’re movin’ out!
On our first day we both made such grand vows,
now I hear you’re stepping out to carouse.
That Megan teen’s “preggers” and they say it’s yours;
how fast can I toss your butt through the doors?
You promised to love (in good times only?)
Megan’s folks are movin’; guess you’ll be lonely.
Think you’re the gold ring on all carousels?
Stick around, I’ll muster a few more decibels.
I’ll toss ya a bone; go fetch it Fido.
Keep running, don’t come home. That’s a no-no!
I’d expect loyalty from “man’s best friend”
Now scoot! I need a laugh from your back end.
*Written for Susan Burch’s “CHEATER, CHEATER” Contest.
October 24, 2011
Take my senses away
Make me crazy,
Stir some memories
Make a story;
Oh, Love me to death,
Give me a life then kill me.
Show me the way
Then lead me astray,
Enrich me with love
Then waylay me;
Be my friend, betray me,
Be my God, bedevil me.
Let's congregate in a tavern
Worship in this safe haven,
Follow no faith
Pander to no priest;
Let's hobnob with the angels,
Befriend the demons on the sly.
Drag my soul through the desert
Then carouse there in an oasis,
Set me ablaze with your passion
Then douse it with your sweat;
Let's sleep on a bed of cactuses
And thumb our noses at the heavens.
Ha, let's grow up
And just kid around,
Lie down in a grave
And wake up in a cradle;
Let's usurp the world from Atlas
And rattle the hell out of its core!
~A Strand (1047) contest
~Sponsor: Brian Strand
Words slip from your cracked lips unbound,
spilling over my chest without a sound.
My limps then writhe with a flair,
teeter-tottering, feet bare.
Do carouse me on this merry-go-round.
upon hard grey streets of asphalt I drive
through morn’s muted orange glow
white headlights shine, red brake lights blink in time
with changing signals red, yellow, green
disoriented city visitors a hindrance to the flow
why at seven a.m.
now stopped two cars back waiting for green
a woman in a minivan ahead primps methodically
striving in effect to give herself a perm.
the man beside is engrossed in the news
early edition of today’s tabloid spread over the wheel
will he know when it’s time to go
behind, a husband and wife, I assume
each talk animatedly on their phones
while obnoxious unrestrained children carouse
a movie playing on the DVD
an ancient pickup stopped in the suicide lane
right turn flashing “let me in!”
green, the light changes, yet still we wait
one, two, three and horns start to blare
shaken are they from hypnotic states
virtual hair salons, libraries, and phone booths abandoned
traffic moves once again in earnest
until the very next crowded intersection.
Hey! You! Why are you demolishing our scenery?
Turning spellbound city to old monuments
Why are you causing unforgettable trouble?
Making such a big disruption and war
Homes are destitute, in great disrepair
Why did you carouse the emblem of hate
Hey! You! I'm talking to you!
Why did you caress racism so much?
Why did you adjacent the life of people to death house
We are all Nigerian why making us as a stepping stone
Why did you take malice as your precious job?
I'm talking to you! Yes you!
Why are you so corrupt?
Embezzlement of all sorts
Why are you so full of vileness?
Making life discomfort to your own citizen
We are all Nigerian
Hey! I'm talking to you! Yes you!
Your conscience should baffled your throat
Why did you connive in the dark?
Point dagger to your own kin?
Hey! You dictator why did you take despot has your habit
Why are you so reluctant to austerity in the country?
Why are you beckoning to tumult?
Hey! You, I'm talking to you
Why did you eat off the country profuse?
Like termite eat the wood
Making nation suffocating
You are an ultra-vulture
Why are you famishing us?
Why can’t we be what we want to be?
We are all Nigeria
A young woman named Meredith
took a cook’s job on a great ship,
raven-haired and dark of eyes,
she stood slender as a whip.
For five years she traveled wide
across the ocean’s of the world,
seeing so many exotic places,
an exciting life for any girl.
Now Meredith, she was no prude,
she had the run of the ship,
and when it came to the crew
she always had her pick…
Then one trip she met a man,
who meant more than a little fun,
they spent many long months together,
she knew that he was the one.
The sailor, he felt much the same,
and they started making plans,
Meredith would have a restaurant,
the sailor would be the barman.
But there was a minor hitch
when it came to their contracts,
the sailor had signed for another year
after which he would come back.
Meredith settled in Providence,
bought an old diner by the quays,
spent money saved over the years,
fixing it up in the right way.
After six months she opened it,
serving good food with no fuss,
the locals came to love the place,
she called it ‘The Wailing Walrus.’
And for the first few months at least
it seemed to play out smooth,
then on a bright, October day
she turned on the network news.
It told of a container ship
that had just gone down,
swamped by a giant, rogue wave,
all crew aboard had drowned.
Meredith fell to the restaurant floor
and screamed out in agony,
her fiancé had been onboard the ship,
their life together would never be…
I met Meredith forty years
after that most tragic of days,
I worked a fishing boat that docked
near the Wailing Walrus’s quay.
We’d all go in after a long trip,
it was a great place to unwind,
Meredith’s chowder was renowned,
both the New York and New England kind...
We’d toss back beers and carouse,
as men like us are wont to do,
I never passed up the chance
for a bowl of her lamb stew.
Behind the bar a photo hung,
framed up in clean plexi-glass,
showing a man, quite tall and young,
dressed from a time long past.
CONCLUDES IN PART II
SERVITUDE TO PRIDE
See,
Our love that once
Like an inferno burnt,
Now, like an ember smolders,
And beyond kindle by pride has become.
Our psyches by pride wreathed, in loneliness
Our hearts writhe and our mirth into myth retracts.
Without,
A serene heart we feign.
But within, our hearts by dusk of pride
Blinded, for each other grope and to the
Melody of the dirge of our fissured
Hearts pride spitefully dance.
For
A faded memory of you
All night i carouse yet for
Your caress I yearn.
Photographs of you and i, my roses
To you, as a sedative into the mire you threw.
But, how come out of your heart you could
Not throw me?
The
Trees of pride, it is palpable,
A fertile soil in our psyches had found,
And under the arbor of their leafy boughs,
Etiolated our hearts berth and for
Sunshine seek.