Best Clanged Poems
Sometimes late at night as we succumb to sleep
We greet creative thoughts beyond those of counting sheep
It’s said Thomas Edison held coins in his hands
That clanged into a bucket noisily as planned
Stirring, he was intrigued by notions for invention
That seemed to emerge from a different dimension
It worked for him and if you enter an alpha state
You, too, may find this source of inspiration great
For it is this exercise of the mind unwinding
That serves to recount the day, subtle reminding
Of the joy you found when beholding a flower
And the thrill of discovering nature’s power
Or the touch of a hand from one who reaches out
When a vulnerable heart is mired in doubt
And the scent of loved ones’ perfume on a pillow
That permits our longing memories to billow
The sounds and tastes of each long day also emerge
As slumber takes charge and begins its nightly purge
So keep a pen and pad at bedside as you retire
Knowing that inspiration is likely to spire
Categories:
clanged, on writing and wordslonging,
Form:
Couplet
As dark clouds dashed and clashed in the sky
Thunder began to boom and rumble
Sensing an impending rain, frogs started croaking
Cows stopped cuddling and began to moo
Soon pitter- pat came down the raindrops.
landed on roof tops with a heavy thud
they broke and cracked into tiny droplets
gurgled and gushed through canals and drains.
And joined the brooks that babbled,
merging with waterfalls that whooshed.
Along with the rain, came the roaring wind
as it passed, the bells clanged
windchimes whispered, wires on poles whistled
doors slammed shut and windows creaked
grasses swished and leaves rustled.
Birds fell silent and stopped tweeting
When the pouring rain came to a sudden halt,
The rattle was over with everything falling silent.
Categories:
clanged, nature, rain, wind,
Form:
Free verse
He held his detached face in his hand as he trepid into the darkness of an
ungodly aura fermented from the
evil within him.
Masked with so much anger and pain
through his faceless face as it mirrored
into his face like the reflection
of his own blackish image.
Yet behind shut eyes he roared like a lion
sending signals to his comrades as
an invitation to the dance into the forest
of the pitch-dark night.
Fist clanged tightly and mysteriously
as he was trapped in his own wrath
and never to see the light of the day
for it was a dead end.
Now alone, his monstrous black hair
poured out in anger;
don’t drag me into my own hell.
Categories:
clanged, anger,
Form:
Imagism
The sirens and mermaids
called up from the deep,
untangled mesh nets
blithely held out by sleep.
There the first to emerge
were the sighs and the nods,
they sank then resurfaced
in clear Morphean pods.
I found myself wandering
on a wide stretch of beach.
My mind squeezed like a lemon,
my thoughts fuzzed like a peach.
When the sheet of fog lifted,
I walked through the haze,
what’d been transfixed by the night
now transformed into day.
Bands of green kelp
had encircled my feet.
Sand dollars tossed out
from the wallets of seas.
The tang in the air
by the water and brine,
awoke to my senses
other days hazed by time.
Sunk then in a sinkhole;
my heart now clanged a bell!
I was no longer an oyster
in a barnacled shell.
I kicked off the seaweed,
splashed through the shoreline,
feeling refreshingly freed
from that soul ravaged time.
I knew I’d still wonder
about Calamity Clam.
Had he hid from the onslaught,
become a sea star’s sea ham?
Ouf…no longer my problem,
I was no agent by rights.
Then I stepped on an object
and, out went the lights!
I hopped in frustration
with great hurt I did bow.
I bellowed out pain
like an angry sea cow.
With one mighty scoop
he was constained in my hand.
How to dispose of the despicable?
I felt seared by a brand.
Covertly I gazed
at this nemesis of fear.
Then I gave a smart tug
to his mossy green beard.
The thoughts that I harbored
were not of my decree.
I hurled him out, with three skips,
he sank back into the sea.
Categories:
clanged, fantasy, funny, sea, green,
Form:
Couplet
The Fall of the Onomatopoeian Empire
By Elton Camp
Onomatopoeia is a literary device
Appeal to the senses is quite nice
The comics often show us how
By using biff and bang and pow
The telephone loudly does ring
The cash register goes ca-ching
Mary’s heels clacked on the floor
Cook clanged the pans some more
The castle’s defenders were unarmed
Onomatopoeia no attacker alarmed
Behind the ramparts they did hide
Pow, boom and bang they cried
It was promptly overrun anyway
Despite scary words they did say
The conquest that was being sought
Easy, as weapons they had naught
Categories:
clanged, humor,
Form:
Rhyme
there once stood a man who in dungarees trained,
all his horses to run with his denim shirt stained.
There were fresh jars of liquor and bushels of wheat.
There was a cowbell that clanged:" Time! Come and eat!"
There once was a girl who rolled free in the hay.
Then she saw a packed loft on her wedding day.
There once soared a fire that brought cries of: " Help!"
There was a whipping out back of a brazen young whelp.
He once had a large family. They left him, one by one,
as the red barn was peeling in the long summer sun.
There once was a prize mare who had pictures and praise.
There once stood a red barn. It was here in those days
There still stand two stones, where this man and his wife
became one with the land to which they gave their life.
Categories:
clanged, allegory, cowboy-western, dedication, lossred,
Form:
Couplet
In an Old West Town of no repute
Came a rider on a horse as if in hot pursuit.
Into the saloon he ran and shouted aloud
"BIG RED'S COMIN' "...which brought down a shroud.
Out the doors and windows they were flying
Even some sturdy men were seen leaving crying.
So now there was dead silence to be heard
With only a small man behind the bar, shivering and scared.
The huge figure came riding on the back of a Buffalo
No saddle needed, for this gunfighting pro.
A thick stubble covered most of his face
And the oversized sombrero keeping the sun in its place.
Double bandoliers crisscrossed his chest
Which was so swollen, you could not see his vest.
Two big revolvers hung at his hips
While the scowl spelled doom as he pursed his lips.
The big spurs clanged "KA-CHING", "KA-CHING" as he crossed the wood
Then stopped abruptly as before the saloon doors he stood.
With one fell swoop they came unhinged
As he came through and the barkeep cringed.
"Gimme a Whiskey" he said to the guy
Who was afraid to move, let alone try.
The big man reached across the bar and grabbed his throat
Bouncing him off the walls and ceiling as if he were a coat.
He threw him back behind the bar to his dismay
And repeated himself, "I said Gimme a Whiskey"!
With shaking hands the barkeep put a bottle up
Watching and cowering like a poor little pup.
Grabbing the bottle with little more than a frown
He broke it open on the bar and "GULP", "GULP", "GULP", the contents went down.
A big slurp could be heard as he wiped his face on the sleeve of his shirt
Quiet at last, and no one really got hurt.
In his frail little voice you could hear the barkeep say
"DDOOO YYYOOOU WWAANT ANNNOTTHERR?"
The Big Man answered, "Nah, I Gotta Go...I Heard 'BIG RED'S' Comin' This Way"!
Categories:
clanged, fear, humor, identity,
Form:
Couplet
...leaving starched shirts and neckties in my rearview,
mission accomplished and to The North, I bid adieu.
I set fire to a Panatela and answered the call - "ALL ABOARD!"
The Cajun Queen was southbound down The Mighty Mississippi - MY REWARD!
The whistle blew, the bell clanged and that big paddle wheel slapped the muddy
water in perfect three quarter time.
Two summers had past since I left home at Oak Alley
seemed much longer since I held my sweet Scarlet O'Malley
Good to home in Dixie.
Categories:
clanged, america, character, devotion, history,
Form:
Free verse
Yesterday,
when jingles clanged into your compound
Directly from my papa's kraal
Were you not the young woman
Who later swore to stick in sadness, joy and...?
And today,
As we walk out of divorce court
Do you smile
When our children give us torn looks?
Today, and yes, today
For tomorrow is misty
Ahem! Why can't we just forget,
That this is a scar that only the grave will heal?
Categories:
clanged, family, lost love, sad,
Form:
Free verse
Everyone knew her as Lady Summerworth,
A title she had assumed from mother earth.
She was rich, did what she liked, spoke to no one.
She'd have her breakfast and left when she was done.
Then she would walk slowly to the far garden,
If she would forget the birdseed, beg pardon.
It was her delight to scatter crumbs and seeds.
Sterlings, chaffinches, thrush and blackbirds each feeds
Until they were well-fed with the fare she gave.
Oft she claimed: was she the Lady or the slave?
The nursing home clanged its bell. She went for lunch,
Alas, a heavy rain drenched her like a punch.
She spent many days with an ugly bad cold.
She was old now more than seventy years old.
Yet every day was visited by her friends
All the birds came until the lady's life ends.
Categories:
clanged, bird, feelings, rain,
Form:
Couplet
His mind lay prey to mumbled threats within,
drawn to perch upon a twig-thin edge
slung between a gauze of blatant dreams.
Like some homeless bird come to make a nest,
it yanked discarded bits of skin and hair,
from bins of vain memory's hoard,
then joined to form a place where
a brain might rest and preen.
Once settled, he drank
Not from the stilled rummaging
but the distilled rum in his hand
and sang discordant notes that clanged
above the cough of fractured words.
“The mind is myth. And so am I."
Categories:
clanged, adventure, dark, goodbye, obituary,
Form:
Imagism
Our foes languish by our feet
For their obstinacy erased every thought of retreat
On and on they kept coming in a huge fleet
Our gallant soldiers they were ever ready to meet
Swords dangled and clanged in mid-air
These fools failed to reckon they were in the lions’ lair
Screams of hurt and pain as sharp edges caused deep wounds
Their blood oozed with every bite from our wild hounds
Now their stubbornness vanish like the fading harmattan
Their surviving cowards take to their heels and ran
Their plan for battle was archaic and vintage
Plus, we were heavily favored by territorial advantage
Categories:
clanged, adventure, war,
Form:
Rhyme
The sandpiper seemed innocent enough,
as it trailed the water’s edge.
She followed, keeping her distance.
It was a beautiful day in April,
when the unspeakable happened.
A warm sun and gentle breeze
comforted her busy mind.
Patiently, she followed the bird,
feeling the mixture of sand, pebbles,
and broken shells beneath her feet.
As a flock of seagulls lifted in flight,
Her eyes returned to the sandpiper.
It had stopped, so she did the same.
She noticed that the bird had frozen in mid-step.
How cute, she thought.
Then a strange feeling passed over her.
A deep, mindless fear crept into her mind.
She slowly turned her head,
her eyes leaving the sandpiper
and looking back up the beach.
She immediately noticed
people frozen in place.
EVERYTHING WAS FROZEN
EXCEPT HER
Two men and a woman behind her
frozen in time, arms in mid-stride, mouths open,
as if forever in speech, eyes staring into nothing.
She looked back to the sandpiper.
She felt compelled to walk toward it.
Standing, looking down at the lifeless form,
she reached and picked it up.
The feathers were soft,
but, the bird felt hard and solid.
Turning it over, her long nail
clicked on the metal patch beneath.
She turned quickly and faced the figures behind her.
She threw the fake sandpiper at the woman,
it clanged off her still head.
She turned and ran, tears flowing from her eyes.
She began to scream.
At that moment, a dark shadow appeared over the beach.
Categories:
clanged, science, visionary, bird, bird,
Form:
Free verse
Down the drainpipe the water clanged,
flowing in loud torrents,
pit-ter-pat-ter the metal sang
a sad and sorrowful lament.
The sky had burst with tears of woe
and sparrow fled to nest.
The butterflies where did they go
when all of us sought rest?
So long, the earth was drowned in rain
that ducks swam on the lawn.
No dry beds, no solace from pain
just the pat-ter, forlorn.
Tears ran silent in sympathy
for the losses yet unknown.
Ah, for bright sunshine’s harmony
and kindnesses once shown.
Pit-ter-pat-ter the drainpipe plead,
on and on it muttered,
certainly, it was time it said
for kinder bread and butter?
Date: 9/26/11
Poet: D. Guzzi
Categories:
clanged, caregiving, introspection, life, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
he stood over the mare
a braising sable dancing
throughout the fields
of arlington heights a harness racing
thee annual competition
his eyes grazed the stallion
apon entering the arena
silence aboded
as pete climbed aboard
his frail bones clanged harshly
breathless painful panting occurred
while the crowd roared
the brown mare
had galantly won the race
and dropped to the floor
while her soft brown eyes
turned a bright shade of red
why to her surprise the jockey was dead
Categories:
clanged, adventure, business,
Form:
Blank verse