Best Curtail Poems
I stand here by the lakeshore, and I smell
fresh honeysuckle as I kiss the rain.
A memory that I cannot curtail
wafts bitter sweetly to me, and again
it’s May. . . the night you came by the moon's light.
The air was permeated by perfume
from blossoms colored innocently white.
But now it’s summer; yellow is each bloom.
When plump upon the vines, sweet berries, red,
will be swooped up by birds - carried away.
I stoop to touch a stem. How soon has fled
my flowered youth, and now this day chilled grey.
I bow in downpour like the vines bent low
while raindrops - glistening with my own tears - flow.
Hand in hand, we fluttered like two butterflies
among the fragrant flowers of the field
and meandered, singing songs, along a stream.
No agendas to keep to; no schedules to curtail
the pure pleasure that we took
in consuming every lovely hour of our Saturday.
With our picnic lunch, we sat down on a blanket.
Later we lay looking up at clouds.
Transported to the wonderland of our imagination,
we named them fluffy mountain ranges,
bunnies, sheep, and Easter lily petals
until they morphed into lopsided bearded faces,
huge white polar bears and cotton-breathing dragons.
Unexpectedly, the clouds grew dark, and suddenly,
we saw and felt large raindrops splatter on our skin.
We fled our happy field, arriving home - two children,
wet and laughing, just as the spring shower let up.
How were we to know in the springtime of our lives
that the field and the rain from which we fled
I’d one day write about as metaphors for youth.
They chatted for so long
The day was here to meet
She was so excited
Feeling her hearts every beat
He was Scottish and oh so lovely
She thought he may be the one
She had looked for red flags
But there had been none
Meeting place was at the pier
The wind was blowing a fearsome gale
Her beautiful brushed hair blew wild and free
The gusts were steadfast with no intention to curtail
He stood there handsomely in traditional Scottish dress
She thought her heart had stopped
A mighty gust of wind then blew his kilt up
Thats the moment she knew…..she had hit the jackpot!!
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 21:25 NIV
Tell Me, Who Do You Say That I Am
The wind whispers of him.
Rocks long to call out his name.
Angels ponder this salvation.
Demons shake in utter fear.
The throngs were looking for physical food.
God of all creation, in front of them,
fed them fish and bread.
Heaven’s bread out of reach
They ran when he tried to teach.
To his close knit group, he’d ask,
and even they were perplexed,
their inner core knotted.
This man supreme
would curtail storms,
walk on the sea,
feed crowds with a handful
of seeds.
Tell me
who do you say that
I am?
This simple, humble, feet-washer
would spend his short life healing others.
This eye-piercing man would bore
into a woman’s soul,
tear her away from her shame,
be the cause of a rumbling fame.
The King of kings
sought her out.
This lover of freedom,
untwists the cords of slavery
that binds our souls.
Divinity longs to hold —
not stare us down,
nor strike us down,
nor trample us.
Love incarnate
knelt down to peer in our eyes,
surprise us with truth
instead of worldly lies.
Tell me
who do you say that
I am?
O Lord, let my every breath
be an answer to your question,
my every step, my every action.
Amen!
4/27/2021
Tell Me, Who Do You Say That I Am
Sponsor: Mystic Rose Rose
I been seeing my life through a cloudy veil.
Although it was my fault, my own sight I did curtail.
I believed in going with the flow, how could I fail?
Until my soul I taxed with a enormous bill of sale.
Hesitation became a crutch that I demurely hid behind.
Disillusionment concealed from my unconscious mind.
Instincts I ignored, to my ego, that was unjustly unkind.
Creating a hazy web of sorts internally, once all combined.
I lifted the veil and my vision is suddenly crystal clear.
Insight of self, promises an astronomical year.
Finally squelching the doubts whispering in my ear.
Thinking positively, I make a leap in my career.
Independence is now something I truly embrace.
Confidence is stronger, my fears I do solemnly face.
Life is now full of possibilities, no longer an enclosed space.
Lifting that veil, I can now contentedly say, I found my place!
Cecilia Macfarlane
Being a frontline health careworker
has us all consumed with fear
A nursing home filled with the elderly could
become a catastrophic atmosphere
If the Coronavirus enters their home
it would be almost impossible to curtail
Most have underlying health conditions
and are very vulnerable and frail
In trepidation we work day after day
In disquietude but with hopeful smiles
That none of us are Covid -19 carrier's
as uncertainty and stress stockpiles
Still we laugh and joke and try to keep
our wits and spirits high
Even though this impending world crisis
make us all want to cry
Understaffed and overworked will soon
become our new norm
May angels watch over all of us as we weather
this unexpected storm
We vow to stay upbeat and positive
to take each day in stride
We will continue our loving ways with the
upmost compassion and pride
April 1, 2020
our laughter
on the beach. . .
the darkening sky
One day our boat was demolished in a storm that came up suddenly on what had begun as a sunny July day. My husband had recently recovered from a nervous breakdown. Our boat had been his main means of escape on summer weekends, so this event, which would merely have saddened the ordinary guy, totally devastated him.
I could liken this calamitous day to the worst part of living with a person who suffers from “managed” depression/anxiety. Days can be sunny, but when the storms strike, even the best pharmaceuticals can curtail neither the sometimes disastrous effects on the mind of one who suffers depression nor the entire family’s feelings of isolation and debilitating despair. That day at the lake would top my list of the many times in my life that I would choose never to have to relive.
the children’s cries
mingled with my helpless pleas. . .
his vacant stare
For the What I Wouldn't Want to Relive contest of Black Eyed Susan
(the actual story of this day at the beach was told with more details
in a past haibun of mine posted Oct. 1, 2013 and named Fickle Nature)
joined up writing
joinedupwriting.
It follows on and that's a fact.
Tuesday from Monday and that then from Sunday
and what may I ask has that got to do
with anything?
but you have an answer
you always do.
if I sleep it's to keep the dreams safe from dying
lost to the world in a world full of people trying
to stretch out their days and long past their sell by,
why then
follow on?
Politics like Sticklebricks are catching.
Vote for the one and others follow on
Peter and John,
Matthew and Luke all read from the
new manifesto,
new seeds in the fields where our men grow,
growing to where it is men go.
I'm rambling again and need coffee to curtail
this pain, but I fear sleep is the only release.
you yawn and no one sees
he yawns and drowns out the world.
Can't they understand that its just too much
You post or tweet but what you write you watch
Bullied by lawmakers into censoring one's post
Exactly the thing that we hate the most
Reason flew away when they made this law
Carelessly ignoring that it has a flaw
Reminding us of the days of Proclamation 1081
Ignorant lawmakers forget that those days are gone
Mindless of the freedom of speech that it would kill
Entirely forgetting that this is against Juan's will
Lawmakers who passes law but does not think
Adieu to you for your careers will stink
Wait for the next elections and watch your vote count sink
A new law against cybercrime was passed in the Philippines and it took effect last Oct.3.
This law includes a very vague section against libel and in effect it is going to curtail online freedom of speech or expression. Filipinos are against it and are clamoring for an amendment. If you are wondering about the name juan which was used in this poem then I'd like to inform those from different countries that Juan refers to the Filipino people.
JEB
A Good Clean Slam
Let us investigate the process!
HOW…..HOW…..shall we make
a MUD PIE……without getting dirty???
We shall polish up the words,
buff them to an acceptable finish,
weave them into an undecipherable web
of double entendre, tongue in cheek malapropisms,
drape it sensually in Freudian Slips,
conceal its intent in a Slamming Trojan Horse.
We shall protest – but not too much,
Shout – but not too loudly,
We shall rant – but briefly
stay within the confines of the PC Police lines.
How then shall I tame this rage,
this hard boiled anger?
Contain these tears of fear,
smooth the edges of my life
into a gentle, inoffensive, song?
Would you have me ride into battle
on a doe, carrying a feather?
Offer flowers to those who need cold steel?
Must I rein in my vitriolic vengeance,
curtail my caustic tongue,
creep – snake-like….hissing - balloon-like
spewing my venom in lost droplets,
burning an already scorched soul??
John G. Lawless
5/24/2014
For A Poet Destroyer
Slamming Season contest
A little ways north of Mill Creek
the beach runs round
to a single wide arcing swath
Where the tide stems landward in shattered segments
fast against the open mouth
of sea and sand and barnacle
There is also a cliff near the free stone rising
above the under-base of a million waves
throttling a darkened face
Somewhere out of sight
from landlocked eyes
salt water still churns
And churns for a million years
oblivious to the damage
inflicted on the crumbling mass
It's as if the big bass drum
of agonies from time immemorial
strums a one note dirge
And thereby summons the shelving mist
to curtail the pitiful death
from the tired eyes of a dumbfounded poet
Who loiters in the wet hiss
like a reporter in search of tragedy
and finding none, returns to home
In my perfect world let me ponder my thoughts
And tell you what should be, a world that's not fraught
To live side by side all colours and race
Before we implode and forever loose face
Protect all our children as they are our world's tomorrow
Appease their hurt and diminish their sorrows
Determine a sentence if your prepared to take life
Why should you live and leave others in strife
If the punishment declares that you live behind bars
Innocent animals are caged they never left any scars
Curtail the conglomerates who believe they are higher
Ceiling their profits and limit their acquire
Before they mine, deforest or drill
A down payment to be paid to compensate any spill
Health care to be made free for one and all
For those without Dollar why should they fall
To have to pay for a child knocked down by a car
It's a disgrace in our society that it's come this far
Schooling for all from kindergarten to graduation
Even University no pupil donation
If our country desires to prosper for it's future grow
Our working taxes should be suffice to allow it to flow
In all our cities, villages and towns
Keep our kids of the streets before they become clowns
For every population ratio, community centres to be built
By conglomerate profits that fester their guilt
Jobs to be created for many tasks to be met
Like coastal corrosion and border control to be set
There are many vast lands on our planet we call earth
So much space to be used, so deploy it for it's worth
Why can't we build pipelines bringing water to parched lands
Run by the government, creating jobs with these plans
Go down the green road using what nature creates
Wind farms and wave energy and become her soul mate
The above could all happen because we voted them in
If they don't do what they say, it's political sin
For my perfect world I have shared my thoughts
Please enjoy my words to your table I've brought
I’m sorry that I had to rob a bank
To buy your lavish aquarium tank
Starkist rejects share a cell
And Charlie’s begun to smell
Our debtors’ prison is bleak to be frank
If you can find a way to make my bail
Criminal activity I’ll curtail
I’ll acquiesce to your wish
Bid adieu to this foul fish
And worship you like you’re the Holy Grail
I’ll never mention the credit card fees
That swelled from your holiday shopping sprees
You’ll find I’m truly contrite
For snoring all through the night
And inadvertently cutting the cheese
Can you forgive me? I don’t deserve you
You’re the cream of the crop; I am just pooh
Thank you for pointing this out
Let’s put an end to this bout
To make reparations, I’ll ingest bamboo
Is this world made only for males?
Even History talks about 'His' Story only,
But I am the creator,
The creator should rule her creations,
I am the Master of this magnificent world,
Not a slave or serf to the feudal men,
Power never goes with gender,
Your prowess lies only in your cognizance,
Facing Dictators for years and years,
I have learnt to write my own fate,
This domination and suppression for ages,
Has sculptured my thoughts sharp,
Though manist needles stitched my mouth,
And tied my tongue with despotic credo,
Nothing can stop my hubristic thoughts,
Never the dry winds can swallow the mighty ocean,
Denial of self respect is denial of life,
Why confine me to a scullery?
When you can eat why not cook?
When you can wear why not wash?
When you can force why not follow?
This celestial sphere is boundless,
Immense and unfathomable,
My dreams are same,
Measureless and undefined
Your arbitrary chains can never pull my aspirations,
When you curtail, an inch grows more,
Discrimination for generations,
Pricked by Rape, Dowry and Adultery,
Wounds and sores all over burn,
But never the heads of male chauvinists turn
From time immemorial I was ruined,
Female foeticide and infanticide always rule,
Tradition and custom hinders my way,
Antiquated and rusted walls erected all around,
My cry for freedom hardly touches the blind ears,
But the gravel hearted men always begrudges,
Disparages and denigrates me,
Am I so inferior in your eyes?
With my muliebrity I brought you to this world,
With my muscularity I can bring this world under me,
Who are you to reserve my rights?
Now I Emancipate myself from your clutches
My wings are wide and extensive,
They are not to flap and fan your royal slumber,
I wanna fly high,
Across the boundaries,
Reach those alluring skies,
And shout “ I am the most powerful creation of all”
I am The Women.
A winter white blanket melts turning Aspens verdant green.
Buds sprout on mountainsides in a sunlit golden sheen.
Clouds like fresh-picked cauliflower sink low and drift on by.
Distant sun after her show takes a bow in purple sky.
Each eager bear escapes its hibernating cage.
Frozen waters thaw flowing to shores of sage.
Gift of welcomed warmth rids us of icy skin.
Happily we hike the trails, feeling like nature’s kin.
Iridescent dew drops cling to shoots of leaves on trees.
Joyous sparrows sing of birth, building their nests with ease.
Kaleidoscopes of color blossom, grow and softly sway.
Lifting to the heavens high, our spirits soar today.
Miracles of spring’s renewal, God creates for us each year.
Nights curtail and days extend as bustling young appear.
Open fields expand brightly; in the air, fragrance floats.
Poppies, peonies and petunias cover meadows like a coat.
Quizzical eyes peer at us from a shadowed hiding place.
Rabbits romp and hop together through fields of English lace.
Spring reverberates with humming birds and buzzing bees,
temped by sweet nectar of wildflowers on the breeze.
Under mounds of driven snow, earth’s waited to tumble green.
Victorious in her grand arrival, spring’s beauty grows pristine.
Watching from steep ridges, wolves save their howling song.
Xanthic petals mesmerize as we alertly walk along.
Yesterday’s cold winter pales with every step we take.
Zealous spring day warms the soul, our senses stirred awake.
written for Shadow's Abecedarian Contest, 2/13/15