Best Constricts Poems
ALONE AT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
rose early in the morning,
indulged in a lovely quiche lorraine,
ventured out
alone.
silence has a sound of its own.
yes, there was the film, my first exposure -
Kristallnacht – the night of broken glass
S
H
A
T
T
E
R
S
the sterile space…
alone, i enter the “gas chamber” -
no one’s there, no screaming naked bodies.
the only fear is in my mind – i
must get out, feeling claustrophobic.
exiting and to my right, a setup -
a dummy behind a machine gun
my pulse quickens, throat is dry.
then to my left: hair cuttings, glasses, teeth, clothing -
my eyes hurt as i read – many children were thrown
into the ovens A L I V E.
the horror constricts my brain. horrible to imagine
one crazed serial murderer and this was an entire country.
cruelty has sharp claws, hidden behind breath and flesh
gifted by God. monsters have lovely hair, straight teeth,
families preparing dinner, friends cheering with
CLINKING CRYSTAL.
going home, they smile, swing loved ones around,
kiss their merry cheeks,
and they R E E K with death.
10/14/2016
Categories:
constricts, holocaust,
Form:
Free verse
I’d tell you my story, but where I’m from
it’s just a statistic
Life and death- same difference- it’s just ballistics.
So much suffering – I no longer pray for salvation
But say
‘Unharden our hearts, soften the indifference, please
let us not become animalistic’
I can’t drown – there’s no water
I can’t choose darkness – no light
I break my back- hospital full of counterfeits- bills left to pay
Work, work, work- greedy employers- overtime, what overtime?-
don’t bother them with linguistics
I fall asleep, dream in a loop- even my fantasies have become realistic
DON’T tell me it’s going to be okay- I’m not idealistic
And yet…something happens when I hit the poetic scene
There he is encouraging others, commenting on poems
Reaching out to new poets and just being optimistic
His words flow so fluidly, so joyously-tears prick my eyes
Gentle words, humorous words- my heart constricts
My face muscles contract
This feeling I get when I read his words is so foreign…
I wreck my brain trying to solve the mystery
Suddenly, my head bobs
My heart expands
My muscles relax
My mouth curves – it is called a smile
Your words are my balm – your goodness my hope –
your encouraging others my optimism
It is through you that I smile
so please try not to be sad.
Dedicated to Richard Lamoureux, he who makes me smile.
Categories:
constricts, happy, words,
Form:
Free verse
It was to meet; my eyes with his.
Why, he’s no stranger; do I know him?
Why is he staring? Something’s wrong with me?
Our eyes lock and my heart somersaults.
Now my loin constricts and my heart’s racing.
At the exit, I’ve no business to turn back.
But something’s burning my back;
Laser rays or his eyes…yes, he’s looking straight at me!
My hand shakes as I unlock my car;
I did miss the red light!
Thanks God, I’m safe home.
Some curses under breath bring back my senses.
But this night I’m not to sleep.
His eyes are not leaving me.
Gosh! I’m smiling and laughing foolishly.
My temperature’s rising!
I take a shower and refresh the wrinkled bedsheet.
First dawn, I sit staring at the fan.
Oh! I’m in love.
Heart longing, I’m there again
and again in the days to follow,
eyes thirsty, searching but for his eyes!
Placed 7 out of 10 for contest Free Verse about love by laura Loo
Selected as 'Poem of the Day' on 21/01/17
Categories:
constricts, emotions, love,
Form:
Free verse
I'm going to the hospital again.
I'll see some new and old friends.
The doctor must like me for he likes to see me,
At least once a year to attend,
To matters concerning my throat.
Seems it slowly constricts and I choke.
Food sticks in my throat, I strangle and choke,
It's a chore just to eat that's no joke.
But it's only day surgery you see.
By noon they will soon set me free.
We'll go out to eat, my family and me,
I can order whatever I please.
There'll be no soup du jour for I've had the cure.
I can eat whatever I see.
For one year it's just great, I can fill up my plate.
Till it happens again I'll feel free.
Categories:
constricts, inspiration, metaphor,
Form:
Limerick
Why must I hear
the tempting gurgle
Of the life giving stream
A sound wet with promise
Of refreshment
Why must I see
The alluring rush of movement
Liquid heaven
An enticing flow
Beckoning me to immersion
Why must I but lie here
Dying for want of water?
The sandpaper of my lips
Not even welcoming
A tongue cracked
With not a drop of moisture
to bring relief
To assuage the grief
Or parched dreams
My throat constricts
contractions
that fail to produce
Life
I’m dying
My skin dry
I lie
Devoid of liquid to cry tears
Why? WHY?
Why Am I here
Beside this life giving stream
Tormented
Where is the angel
To lift my weary head
And gently pour this water
On my waiting lips
Patiently ministering
Again and again
Liquid healing
Waiting….
Till I’m somewhat revived
To carry me
Slowly
Purposefully
into waiting watery wetness
of heaven
Until I am baptized
In liquid bliss
I’m dying here
Here on the edge
I see
I hear
I can almost taste
Feel
The stream of your love
bathing me
quenching me
freeing me
healing me
Forbidden to drink
Forbidden to taste
Forbidden to touch
Forbidden to love
Forbidden to LIVE
But why?
Why must I die?
When the water of life
Is nearby
Eileen Manassian Ghali
Categories:
constricts, love, metaphor, water,
Form:
Free verse
The desperate man stands alone in the room.
He gazes around at the dust and the gloom.
The chair, it is old, and it creaks when he lifts.
The noose he has tied, it constricts as he shifts.
He rocks back and forth, and he moves to and fro,
He kicks at the seat, and time starts to slow.
Now the visions and voices cease to haunt me:
I am that man, and I'm finally free.
Categories:
constricts, death,
Form:
Free verse
The mechanical components, the valve that pumps my heart
The reactive nerve endings that serve a sensory stimulus
The tear ducts that latently only lend lubrication
The silly little practical necessary body bits, pieces and parts
I yawn & it reminds me… I should probably inhale & exhale
I smile because it is simply facial muscles that need exercise
I do mechanical muscle management to strengthen & maximise
Biomechanical body’s like mine don’t simply go frail..
My skin surface is stimulated, & sympathetically constricts.. it must be cold?
My mental function set to maintain a neutral base
My muscles, skeletal system, ligaments, tendons & bony structures
Encapsulated by a mechanised myofascial web, complete the outer mould
Organs operate internally as a well serviced engine, its all systems go
Emotions just pesky little hormone imbalances, from a time long ago
Where we as woman once needed in order to reproduce
Will evolution shrink our ovaries as they have outgrown their use?
My tongue embraces words, my tongue the sharpened sword
I trip stumble & fall and my senses heighten
My pelvic floor constricts & I feel it twitch & tighten
I massage the distressed muscles & release multiple rewards
It’s my body, it’s my temple, my vessel my machine
Not some sensitive, high strung weak inferior copy of a male
It is supple, soft and silky to the touch, all curves & contours
It’s my body, it’s my temple, my vessel my machine……
Categories:
constricts, beautiful, gender, identity, woman,
Form:
Light Verse
her tail twitches
her throat constricts with strange sounds
just beyond the glass
the wild birds in flight taunt her
the caged bird looks on amused
*Honey, the cat, sits at the window making strange, threatening
noises at the birds outside. ignoring the love bird in a cage less than a foot to her left
Categories:
constricts, pets, bird, bird,
Form:
Tanka
That is my wish for you
that you be young forever
No matter what age you attain
you keep a burning
to stay young
in your heart and soul.
This would bring happiness
to see you in life's glow
always maintaining a good attitude
of youthful effervescence
to get you through
turbulent, stressful times
It's this yearning
that will sear into your essence,
for years are just a number
that constricts the feeble minded
But you smile with delight,
keep the fire blazing
transcend the universe
with a serene, peaceful cascade
that reveals your true arrangement
with eternal wonderings.
Categories:
constricts, age, life, philosophy,
Form:
Free verse
Life so blue what have I done to you?
Your daunting frame constricts my days,
And I feel the air in my lungs dissipate,
Cuts so deep I bleed and I weep,
For more than one crushed soul beneath your heel,
Sitting here in my tiny box full of thoughts,
Watching your raging despair and relentless fury,
There is no God that hath made such imperfect savagery,
There is so much we know lost to echoes from the past,
So much we yet don't because our greed is fast,
Blessed with a world so rich and bountiful,
Cursed to be sucked dry by humanity's scoundrels,
When invisible masters tug at the strings,
Half the world bows down and sings,
We're only the architects of our own destruction,
Choosing to trust in stories resurrection,
Instead of trading today's hate for tomorrow's affection,
To live with the knowledge that countless will die only knowing misery,
Is only to hope that my own life will measure to some antonym of our history,
The universe shows us everyday how much there is to discover,
But we spend our time watching and fighting wars with each other,
There's a infinite sky speckled with possibility above,
But we hang our heads low and call this life enough,
This paradox is what drives me to empty pages,
Waiting to be filled with more empty proclamations,
No one will listen and no one will know,
Of a fearful boy's bitter poetry or prose.
Categories:
constricts, adventure, hate, life, love,
Form:
Free verse
Grief that constricts my heart,
Cages its screaming walls,
Grinding its bars roughly into its flesh…
Where they meet, blood oozes,
Life does what it chooses,
Heart shies away from the pain of its mesh.
[unsure as to whether to continue]
Categories:
constricts, death, depression, family, loss
Form:
Double Dactyl
Broken Column
wrapped in female form
split down the centre
more than femininity exposed
Breasts capture the eye
Her softness
Confusing
Arousing
head held high
Her long black hair flows
cascades across decades
immortalized
Tears streaming down a saddened face
Doves crying to be understood
cheerful colors confuse the minds eye
What thoughts lie beneath that unibrow
Beauty within painted distortions
Who is her oppressor
Look deep
Emotions overexposed
Is this her living nightmare
broken yet standing tall
Immovable moving force
demanding to be seen
Silent yet speaking volumes
Metal corset
binds
holds constricts
White flowing gown
What is hidden beneath
What does she wish to shield from our prying eyes
Yet if you look deep she reveals all
See beyond the physical
the manicured
the lovely
crimes nailed to her being
cutting
pushing
splitting
exposing
A heart pierced
hidden from sight
Immovable contemplations
reacting with the unseen
Barren landscapes
contradicting female form
Symbol of all women
givers sustainers of life
Fertile
powerful
spiritual
eternal
Rising from the ground
our foundation
We build upon her soul
Free her
celebrate her rise
Without her we fall
we fail
we cease to exist
Do not allow her to crumble beneath the weight of our iniquity
Cyndi Macmillan's "Women who paint contest series:Frieda Kahalo in Free Verse."
The painting I chose was "The Broken Column"
Categories:
constricts, betrayal,
Form:
Free verse
Anything but spring
I've no time for frivolity
and the increase in daylength
constricts my nocturnal emissions.
The snow is almost gone,
white replaced by mud,
and the red bird's cheery call
curdles the cream
in my morning coffee.
Yet as catkins emerge
from budding willows
and the wind softens
inevitably
comes the time
to break from hibernation.
Categories:
constricts, spring,
Form:
Free verse
The fable of the two snakes in the grass
There were two snakes in the grass,
buried in the pit of life,
now bemoaning their past,
with hisses, coils and strikes
she constricts
he restricts
venom spewing out
she thwarts his advances
and he thwarts hers
stubbornness seeding,
in the pot of mystery
In the rock bottom
garden of life,
... there they were
continuously watching their every
movements like lovers
but in this case like adversaries
like snakes in the grass
her eyes would pierce his
his eyes would send chills down her back
on and on,
on and on
these two battled
battling night and day
then one day
and once upon a time
story has it a huge earth quack hit
it hit faith
it hit destiny
it hit the rock bottom garden pit
sending the pair twirling around
twirling around on top of each other
like a washing machine
and when the tremors stopped
the cycle stopped
the pair was still on top of each other
their eyes soften
their coats insulate
the heat felt good
they nudge closer together
sniffing Heaven for once
changing their venom to love
being pregnant with happiness
and soon a nest of little ones, too
so cute
that even the two snakes in the grass are beaming
beaming a new found purpose in life
olive branches of tremors, fate
a fortuitous bounce
connie pachecho
3/16/17
Categories:
constricts, fate, love, , cute,
Form:
Free verse
OH! change change; then.? change again!
it has been like this since i don't know when!
one minute all is going well, then chug splat chug
theres a problem spell, ..you know its never even going;
(smooth) but win & win, or lose lose lose, yet i'll persevere
and change my tack, so.. once more in rhythm and back on track."
then the kalidoscope constricts in the frame, lo.. and behold, I've
missed again, when...hold..on one minute! i've just been told..! that
opportunity could be spotted..away out west..! not waiting for the
wrong footing moment to get my best, i am off regardless in my
underpants and vest, i am going hard like i was running for gold."
Then when i round that corner..! it was like i had been told.. a large
Feline spotted black on gold ! and at i would say about 7ft long oh.. i do
Hope (my opportunity) doesn't come on.. too strong...!.
Categories:
constricts, animals, funny, change,
Form:
Rhyme