Best Criss Poems
. Hello Stranger
. stolen glances
. eyes meet
. smiles returned
. stories shared
. laugh freely
. curious wonder
. common passions
. finish sentences
. seek company
. growing together
. trust mutual
. always there
. we're together
. FRIENDS
. often apart
. missed calls
. ring voicemail
. replies delayed
. forgotten birthdays
. silences misheard
. familiar assumed
. doubt grows
. changes resented
. drifting apart
. pathways diverge
. awkward silences
. different values
Thanks Goodbye
Criss-Cross Apple Sauce
One memory I thought I lost
Alphabets and one two threes
First grade and go mimis
Kiddie snacks and juice boxes
Cookies full of chocolate chips
Playing kitchen and building blocks
Stolen crayons in my socks
Eating glue off snowmen in class
Teacher yelling we're laughing
Time-Outs and secret codes
Pee pee kids smelly clothes
Run around pushing kids
Acting like we're stupid
That was first grade hope you enjoyed
A memory forgotten
Now let me see your ugly toy
Criss-cross, what a loss
"Their baby girl is dead" the devil gladly said.
Oh god what a shame, but, ask me, who's to blame?
Another knife, yet another life.
But what's a little blood to a thousand pounds of soil.
What's a little cut, to an entire jar of scars.
Her story, pain, and blade quickly start to fade.
And as we pause we ask "Come to think of it...
...Are we sure she was really even here, that girl who disappeared?
Criss-Cross Acrostic*: Ai My Eye !
I Was Saw Eye
Eye Saw Was I
Eye Was Saw I
I Saw Was Eye
*Construe as “words” not as “letters”:
Lines 1 and 3 read alike reversed;
Lines 2 and 4 read alike reversed;
likewise vertically and diagonally
from up-down or down-up mode.
© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2013
Criss-Cross Acrostic: Ai My Eye
Criss-Cross Acrostic:
Note: *Construe as “words” not as “letters”: Lines 1 and 3 read alike reversed; Lines 2 and 4 read alike reversed; likewise vertically and diagonally from up-down or down-up mode.
"Ai Ai My Eye !"
I Was Saw Eye
Eye Saw Was I
Eye Was Saw I
I Saw Was Eye
Another Permutation:
« Ai Ai My Sore Eye !"
I Sore Was I
Saw I Sore Eye
Sore I Saw Eye
I Was Sore I
FURTHER PERMUTATIONS for SORE EYES
Eye Sore Saw I
Saw I Sore Eye
I Saw Sore Eye
Sore Eye Saw I
Saw I Sore Eye
Eye Sore Saw I
Sore Eye Saw I
I Saw Sore Eye
Eye Sore Saw I
Sore Eye Saw I
Saw I Sore Eye
I Saw Sore Eye*
This last quatrain diagonally reads as:
"Ai Ai Sore Eye" (phonetically): « Ai Ai Saw I"
criss-cross is criss-crossing the future
the future is a criss-cross of a future
the future is the future of a criss-cross future
time is time criss-crossing of a future
time is time’s time criss-cross
time is timing of a timing criss-cross
time is time of a timing criss-cross
the future is the center of a center criss-cross
a center is a center of a centering future
the future is a center of a centering future
time is time’s centering of a center
time is time’s centering of the future
the centering is the centering of time
the centering is the centering of the centering
time is time’s space of the future
time is time’s space of time
timing is criss-cross of timing
timing is criss-cross of space
space is space’s criss-crossing of space
the future is the future’s space of future
the future is the future’s future
The path of life is criss-crossed
with many intersections:
A fork in the road forces you
to choose a diversion:
Ahead Left or
Ahead right.
A T-junction has a Stop Sign.
Look Right, Look Left,
No way forward,
Choose one or the other.
The U turn offers a way back
to unwind and retrace.
The Detour is a diversion,
a time-out for reflection.
The Slip Road offers a way
into, or out of, the rat race.
At a Cross Road there are three choices:
Left, Right, or then again:
Straight Ahead,
Steady as she goes.
The Overpass is a cop out,
dodging the Cross Road decision.
Variegated azaleas, long brown stems,
criss-crossed in a tall glass vase.
Such a rush! I planted that bush.
Information superhighway bumper to binary bumper.
Stark contrast versus deserted macadam thoroughfares.
Magnification rendered visualization coronavirus
alias covid 19 courtesy electron microscopy plus
sundry computer technology yours truly (popeye
Olive Garden variety generic layman) breathtakingly
held spellbound, née utterly transfixed vibrant
spectacular design regarding inexplicable dynamic
forces wrought creation (albeit - alluringly beautifully
charming, deceptively eminently fascinating, and
globularly highly intriguing biochemical cellular
denizens - indubitably jackknifing kindred livingsocial
man/womankind now outstripping Buffy the vampire
(weakened immunity system of the down) slayer
kickstarting pandemic induces *****sapiens to
experience extravagant fancy feast humble pie
(just desserts) necessitate quarantine to minimize
transmission, whereby (Gogol Ling) dead souls
agonizingly writhe within purgatory tests mine
Unitarian/nonestablishmentarian credo, never with
me wildest imagination intimating detrimental fatal
impact avast swath terra firmae, aye attest dominant
primate species, not necessarily lost cause, nor
civilization and discontents forsaken, but buzz
feeding foretaste (think while leg propped atop desk -
armageddon), of end times nonetheless triggering
linkedin helter skelter, wrenching economy (globally
webbed) doleful Lake Woebegone citizens haphazardly
remaining approximately six feet between another
human beings scrabbling, scrambling, scrimping, saving
international decree obligating painstaking handwashing
absolute zero socialization (comprising no more than ten
people), said groupon crowdsource commingling verboten,
yes tis moost ideal for solitary fellow (me barely a Yogi)
yabba dabbling playing online solitaire, chess, listening
to deep sleep music, meditating, reading, and/or writing.
CRISS-CROSS
Hill was criss-crossed on net- work of tea plants.
While walking, I observed long queue of ants.
Ants to cross road from one side to other.
People coming, crossing, did not bother.
I am to watch minutely for minutes.
Being disturbed by steps, for moments row splits.
All disciplined to form prompt a new row.
Odor of ants is signal to follow.
I took a little leap to cross the queue.
A dazzling dew drop came into my view.
It is enjoying smart behavior
of wonderful species, being admirer.
Curiosity-appreciation
rejoiced to meet at a cross-connection.
Third place in 'Cross' Contest
First Place
'MARCH WEEK 1 2019' Contest by Brian Strand
'Rhyming Couplets' Contest by Janice Canerdy
Criss-crossing the skies and land
From mountains to meadows
From rivers and lakes to sand
Trains, cars, buses, planes ~
Liberation from hometown chains
Halfway along a train of thought
a single passenger, just you,
as nimble as a soft-pawed cat,
stepped out onto a deserted platform.
Out of my heart,
a great rocket of desire raced away
into a half-dressed sky.
It may have been your floppy hat.
and your pink shoes that caught my attention,
yet it was you, your appearance
between the hat and shoes
that caused my mind to gasp
like a swimmer coming up for air.
I think we were both surprised,
both caught off guard like that,
both bemused and aroused
in the same timeless vision.
We had only moments to smile and wave
before a flash of gunpowder blooms
derailed us both,
but it was so worth it.
. Something Somewhere
. thoughts gel
. shadows stir
. murmurs echo
. outlines sharpen
. details settle
. features emerge
. eyes meet
. trust grows
. voices confirm
. stories shared
. trust deepens
. purpose anchors
. holding firm
. HIATUS
. fingers slacken
. threads wear
. voices soften
. replies linger
. silence deepens
. questions fade
. meaning queried
. memories scatter
. colors drain
. edges blur
. horizon recedes
. breath releases
. letting it go
Something Elsewhere
. Quite often
. Inspiring prompts
. Are offered
. Brain waves
. Work up
. A storm
. Crashing towards
. SPONTANEOUS
. Outbursts of
. Creative expression
. In exultation
. You ride
. The crests
. Celebrating your
. Impulsive poetry
. Project Defined
.concepts expanded
. ideas multiply
. features added
. layers stacked
. options expanded
. exceptions accumulate
. patches applied
. workarounds accepted
. complexity compounds
. functionality buckles
. monster grinds to halt
. It's a dud It don't work
. intricacy dethroned
. Emperor no clothes
. CREATIVITY
. Dump The lot
. clutter discarded
. gems rescued
. embers saved
. the rest binned
. swallow pride
. take a break
. embers reignite
. vacation dreams
. sleepless nights
. new shoots emerge
. Ah-Ha!! That'll work
. Get up Write it down
. It's so obvious
. Elegant Simplicity