Best Catcher Poems
73 years ago
A kid my age steps off a curb.
And, in the motion of falling, he believes he can reach heaven.
He has the thoughts of someone
with an inverted ribcage
And he’s sick on cigarette smoke and hypocrisy.
A kid my age, 73 years ago, calls me a pervert.
Through the thin veil of time and space
We lock eyes.
I say “I see you.”
He says “You’re sick.”
But that’s wrong and he knows it.
I am not the sick one.
He is the kid with the killing hat
And the giving hands
That despise the people he gives to.
He is the kid with filthy thoughts and phony smiles
Who sees the hollow spaces between his ribs
In the innocence of a child’s eyes.
And despite the filth beneath his tongue
And the alcohol stinging his throat
I cannot bring myself to
Feel anything for him
other than
Pity.
Dream catcher
Blowing in the night
Steal away my fears
Take me gently by the hand
Lift me to the wind
To dance on floating petals
I glance into your eyes
To see the love of many worlds
Your lips brush mine
In a secret whisper
We float effortlessly into the sky
Soon will we become stars
DREAM CATCHER (for Andrea)
Lover of the sonnet she
And fond also of Etheree
Has her certain way with words
That one may catch semantically
I ken she is a kindred soul
Our lineal eddies mingle flow
And seek out those who listen close
That we all might dream-catching go
My Dream Catcher
By: Tom Wright
10/3/00
Don't idly lay supine upon your bed,
counting glitter,
that sparkles as the star.
Count God's blessings in your life instead,
praising Him,
for being where you are.
Then should you dream from sleep,
a dream,
you wish to share as true.
As with your soul, pray God will keep,
this dream,
alive and safe for you.
Labor not on dreams doomed not to last,
but dwell,
on dreams worthy of your day.
For all too soon in life our die is cast,
it's then,
that we're rewarded for our way.
Hers is the curse of a gypsy
Sedentary but never at rest
A wandering soul with planted feet
She lies with the envy of clouds
Catch up and follow, her mind taunts.
Go and see what they see!
Change your shape in an instant.
Be who you wish to be.
You need nothing in this life but essence,
it's only found in something new
GO!
If you gather as much as you possibly can
You will never lose your youth
Yet daydreams are her only solace
In a world that doesn't turn
Still is the night, quiet is the day,
nothing is her enemy
.......and the faint sound of a train
But you can catch up, her thoughts tease
follow the roar and jump with all your might,
there is adventure to be found.
The meaning of your life is in question,
do you enjoy staying tied down?
With ropes the finest satin
And a cage made of gold
Hear it whistle between the bars,
the voice of wind as it blows
Sounding the sirens of somber redemption
She listens to a choir of lost souls
Still, she's the epitome of oxymoron
a yearning all in vain
What else could you call a drifter that is forever in the same place?
Yes, she holds a raging spirit back
but tell me, for how long?
Once it escapes her body's defiance
There is no chance of catching up
Come to me by moonlight on All Hallow's Eve
rise up from the grave and let your spirit raise
coat me with frost breath, sing to me your boos
I am hungry for the past days of scariness and fools.
Come to me at the graveyard, soar above the marble
whisper to me of your life and loves, don't wait
for your proper turn, don't lie lonesome beneath dirt.
There's an ear for every sorrow and a promise of corn
if on All Hallow's Eve you find your way to my side.
There we'll drink spiced wine and toast past days
when bodies were a hindrance and our emotions raged
we'll wonder about starlight and planet scapes
and talk to three a.m, if you come to me at midnight
and touch my spirit to yours. The clock will tick as count
the oaks will zither a tune, the lowing cows and rats
rustle will speak of night's safety and an alternate way.
Tell me of your curtains, the end of your way of life,
tell me of your children, the last of your family line,
tell me of your lover's kiss, the last treasure you held
before you wandered free of the earth's reach
every all Hallow's Eve, every chance you were freed
and if you are lonesome or traveling a new domain.
"Dreams do this, Catcher"
mystery in the heart
misleads the kiss
the kiss bleeds
like a somersault
backwards
into the comfort
of the dream
we find hidden notes
written in the music
we miss the heart’s
true translation
we turn the page
we get down
on our knees
too late the prayers
are taken in the plate
alms waiving
backstop
out of the park
the soft fall
shot hard
left field
right field
catcher
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
Blooming before us, like dandelions sprouting in the spring.
Rising above and beyond, invisible during the day,
Guardians at night.
Dangling up high as if it were puppets.
So close, mountains could give a kiss away.
The Stars dance and wiggle, as if putting on a play.
Clouds form a dark, grey, thunderstorm,
Clapping and roaring vividly, like an applause.
The wind glides along in appraise.
The moon shivers and squirms, it smiles upon the stars.
A shooting star evolves,
Leaving a trail of the dreams that sparkle in the dust.
Feeling pure joy, the
Moon erupts into a wall of tears.
Water breaks the bond of the dreams attached to the star,
It slowly sinks down into the homes, in the rooms,
Into the minds, of the beholder.
It has now lost its dreams.
The sun is rising, and the star at once must become invisible,
It now must start over and watch from above like a hawk.
It now must watch the lives of everyday people,
And become one with the beholder.
It now must take dreams and guard them with its life.
It now must take on its duty as a Dream-Catcher.
A dream catcher
I would like to be a dream catcher
to inhabit in the dream castle
I would pursue
each beautiful dream in my soul
and every night
i would come to you
and knock at the gate of your sleep
with a kindled smile
I would invite you
And let only you
be my dream mate
together
we will linger in
the singing and dances of mermaids
drowning in deepest dive
together
we will consume the freshest wild seaweeds
and live in imperishably young
within a home of eternal belonging
and if you love the adventure
I will catch for you another dream
and
another more
~ (c) Sukmawati Komala~
Jan 2014
Toiling in the dirt,
looking down as if the ground had all the answers.
Waiting for the wind-up,
Delivery is birthed like each throw is its own child coming into the world.
The lonely moment fleeting as the swish of the ball is cutting the air
punctuated by the Snap of the mitt.
Framing the pitch,
"Ball 1!" Umpire screams
Still framing the ball...
a sure sign of non-agreement
Defense of your pitcher.
Soft tossed back to the mound,
flashing a sign,
reading the game,
The base-runners,
The batter steps in
Talking to yourself the body shows the conversations highlight.
"Come down main street", the catcher sits up in her stance.
"No crazy dives into the dirt, runner on second" ...the mitt is open like a hippos mouth in water to show the target.
The Pitch,
The Mitt Snap
Soft toss back
Squatting behind the plate,
toiling in the dirt,
head down,
flash a sign,
read the game,
the situation
2 out, man on 2nd, 3-3 count
"Lets do it again"
The catcher kneels,
waiting for the strike!
THE SPACE DREAM CATCHER
Shaded particles of worlds, minuet fragments of space debris,
Cascading amongst the blackened vials of the solar sphere,
Tiny glittering remnants twinkling in a black abyss of isolation,
A cold field of starlight diamond dust.
At point zero’s inner flash point, lies the flat line of complete
Silence, a deadened zone of no return, suctions seductive
Realm a black hole in the center of banishment to existence.
Or is this the scientific interpretation of the end of our
Universe, nay feel the tribal feathers flickering in the
Vast void, releasing the winds of freedom liberation,
It speaks ever so softly, whispering in ancient ledges native
Tongues, of the sacred dream catcher, in the heart
Of our universe.
Layers of the textured timeless, sparkling finite tears
Of the infinite drifting in this special anomaly, what
Tapestry’s blanket could be more beautiful than thus,
Delicately woven on the looms of the angels of heaven
Themselves.
A spiritual illumination of tranquility's butterfly,
Soaring amongst the tidal rifts of time and space,
Fluttering wings of inspiration, imagination, uplifting
Igniting this Solaris cloak, awaking the eye of this
Sleeping dreamer, and oh how do the stars wink
With its brilliance of shine.
Light wave benders ushering, yielding to the swaying
Brushes strokes of gravitational artistry of the divine,
Art imitating life let it lives, the unconscious spiritual
Presence inhales, exhales, breathing in its uniqueness
Of refinement a beating heart, ageless.
Fly forward sacred butterfly, deliver our tribal
Message of enlightenment unto the Great Spirit
On the heights vast divide, feel the winds of liberation
Beneath thy wings currents, and merge beyond,
Limitations dreaming realm.
Shaded particles of worlds, minuet fragments of space debris,
Cascading amongst the blackened vials of the solar sphere,
Tiny glittering remnants twinkling in a black abyss of isolation,
A cold field of starlight diamond dust.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
In those eyes you threw
your sudden love,
like a ball thrown hard
at a catcher’s glove.
And I felt it and waited,
stunned,
un-mistaken,
wondering how I’d return it
unshaken.
To lob the ball
was all to do.
My arm was poor,
but my throw was true.
You left the mound.
You turned your back.
Had you forgotten
your turn at bat?
No bases run,
No striking out,
No popping flies
or balls that fouled.
An empty diamond.
Home alone.
My hand still stings
from the ball you’d thrown.
February 16, 2017
National Pastime Contest
I am the whispering misty shadow, the dream catcher
You will sleep at night while your dreams I bring to my master.
Shadow of your dreams I see come floating in the night air.
Navajo web I choose to gently catch it before it becomes a nightmare.
Sandman joyfully receives your dream with wonderful delight.
Sprinkling his sand of magic over your dream to remove this fright.
Sand swirls with glowing and sparkling rainbow colors.
He peers through the sand and into your dreams and wonder.
He pokes his finger in your dream, stir it until he sees your smile.
Master hands your dream back to me in his glorious style.
I rush back to your bed and drift this dream into dreaming world.
I watch with awe and wonder as I see your happy dream swirl.
You stir and stretch as the sun begins to rise.
I notice the brightest smile as you awaken with a surprise.
You notice me here as a shifting shadow in your room.
The aura of life is radiating from me to dispel your fearful gloom.
You honorably bow to me as if you know who I am.
Then I realize that your dream was you with the sandman.
Dear Friends , Last year end , while reading about the Red Indian Tribes of America , I got
inspired to write this simple poem about the
Dream Catcher ! Hope you like it .
THE DREAM CATCHER : A RED INDIAN LEGEND !
(I)
The continent of North America during those
ancient times ,
Were inhabited by various Red Indian tribes .
The Delawares , the Mohawks , the Choctaws ,
The Dacotahs , the Omahas , the Blackeet ,
The Camanches , the Ojibways and the Apaches !
They inhabited the forest , the prairies , the marsh
lands ,
The great lakes , the mountains and the fen-lands !
They lived close to nature and honored their Gods ,
With the spirit of Nature all thing were fraught !
If we recall the story of MacKenna’s Gold ,
The ‘Shaking Rock’ and ‘Canyon del Oro’ ;
Of human greed - breeding death and sorrow !
Which in celluloid has often been told ,
None could take away that Apache gold !
( II )
Today I narrate a legend of the Chippawa tribe ,
Of their ‘magical net’ for a peaceful night !
An old medicine man of this tribe ,
Wove a magical net with gossamer strings ,
To catch the dreams as they float by !
He hung this net above the bed up high , -
To catch the dreams as they float by !
This wondrous net trapped all bad dreams ,
Letting the good ones pass through its netted
seams !
And as the bad dreams got entangled in the net ,
The good ones descended upon the sleeping bed !
So should you come across this magical net ,
Never argue about its price , -
Just buy the one of your bed size !
Then hang the net high above your bed ,
For there is nothing to be afraid !
Since dreams shall never ever cease ,
Have sweet dreams always , with a good
night’s sleep !
-Raj Nandy
New Delhi
Rest awhile,
the day is at its end and you feel broken,
and as tomorrow too seems hopeless,
I will open up my arms to hold you,
so close your eyes,
pillow me,
I'll be your dreamless slumber,
I'll revise your revile,
spill your secrets to the moonlight,
kiss goodnight the tears worth while,
and carry you through dawn,
but if you tomorrow too should crumble,
do so within my arms,
so you don't lose a piece of who you are,
then close your eyes,
pillow me,
I'll be your dreamless slumber