Best Dapple Poems
Orchard’s earthy mossy trails
Gray-brown bark like dragon scales
Crooked branches stretch to hold
Tender almonds encased in fuzzy fold
Leafy clusters filter sun
And dapple grasses newly spun
Bathed in tepid valley air
Rich soil echoes memories long grown there
Perfect crisscrossing rows align
Green canopy woven into tapestry fine
Nurtured seasons; pollinating swarms
Bare branches clatter in winter storms
Pale pink blossoms; fragile drapes
Fluttering down like blushing snowflakes
Prolific bounty once again
From a living sanctuary:
My orchard realm
I sit, my back against the black.
My thoughts a jumbled supplejack,
a wanna-be amnesiac.
Oh, autumn leaves a fluster,
the winds in tipsy bluster.
I’m weightless as I drift away
on whiskey wings, a moth astray.
My grief in ashtray where I pray.
The equinox is tilted,
my wispy body wilted
and in my stupor do I dream?
Are clouds I seek a false redeem
as sunrise bleeds through jagged seam?
Damn seraphim and serpents
and fantasy disturbance!
I keep my secrets like a sphinx,
my insight an elusive lynx
…a widow with a hard drink jinx.
Yet soul, a black-eyed-Susan,
still blooms in bruised seclusion.
Dawn’s dapple-gold flint-glints like stones.
As hard on eyes as nightmare crones
who rattled empty bottle bones. .
As half-light scries the mirror,
my pulse does bring me nearer
to burning on the altar of the sun,
my moonshine valentine…
Migrating southward, before Autumn dies;
flocks of geese split the air with honking cries.
And snow clouds dapple Winter's ice-blue skies,
as winds kiss the trees with audible sighs.
Dawn's first light ignites an ice-cold sunrise;
long-gone are the songbirds and butterflies.
Yet, some creatures have learned to improvise,
turning food into fat, they winterize.
Hibernating bears must bulk up their size,
not gorging in the Fall, would be unwise.
A long Winter could lead to their demise,
should the need to wake up early arise.
Inclement weather tends to brutalize;
for nature doesn't react well to surprise.
Fighting starvation and all it implies,
some species evolved to cannibalize.
Stealing light, Day had won,
grey clouds, evoke despair:
choking a waning sun.
A dullness dims the air,
as flower blossoms droop;
heads bowed as in prayer.
Bruised, indigo splotches
dapple diminished blues;
with dark purple blotches.
Flashing within the gloom,
lightning intensifies;
with a thunderous boom.
And its jagged claws scratch
the air high in the sky;
reaching for drops to snatch.
But its strikes are in vain,
for electric talons
cannot grasp drops of rain.
The future holds no premium
For a person brawling with their past.
There are no birds in last year's nest.
There are no rememberings to unmask.
Memories are the fruits of our existence
Where some bloom and some may die
When exposed to an aura of understanding
Life's lessons shall provide.
'Tis Human to learn from our mistakes...
Making bold of life's infections
Slathering a healthy dapple of forgiveness
As we sinners surmise a new direction.
We should freely right past wrongs...
Banishing past transgressions to the night
As the journey may task our very soul...
So it's best to travel light.
I no longer fear a backward glance
Or the breeze of yesteryear.
I have made my bed and here I lie
With a spirit crystallized and clear.
I ignore the minions who dredge my past...
Casting forth their hellish stones...
As I eagerly embrace one of God's greatest gifts...
Which is a future yet unknown.
The End
Painting You
Before painting, I first sketch you
In my mind’s eye…To compose
The lines, shapes, shadows and lights,
That work altogether to form a semblant sight
Of you for any relative, friend or acquaintance…
Next, I embrace the required courage
To face the blank canvas; to dip my brush
In sublime tones for my wild orchid wishes,
Wanting to stroke across the heavens
For reflecting starlights bright,
Which I’ll situate to split the darker places
Where the inks bleed and branch out
Around you, smudging your purest colors…
That I endeavor to recover
When illness tries to smother
You with a viridescent blanket for on-going days;
Cloaking the glance of your azure blue eyes;
Pulling gray and white from your skull
To streak through your forest brown hair;
Rushing flag red moments to your cheeks
When you growl, “No. Don’t—“ when I
Try any way to help you through the fevers
That hang dredged plum-violet clouds over
The sofa — away — where you stay sleeping…
While I sit crimson awake worrying,
Watching you breathe…And asking
Through faith’s golden prayers for your healing;
For our holy Lord to send some ministering angels
— With their glistening opaline feathered wings;
Who side by side, place hands on you ~ veiling
My first view of prayers’ answers coming true;
Lifting me to a bloom of rosebud gratitude.
I paint you never far.
I paint your ocean blue eyes opening.
I paint you always beside me in a sandcastle brown.
I dapple the air over us an effervescent pink.
I paint your prism presence close.
I paint your mid-night’s Arora Borealis dancing hues.
Our love is a stippled, rolling color wheel
Of our linked diamond destinies: journeying
Together on amber roads under sapphire skies.
—————————————————
(c) sally young eslingwe 10/17-18/2023
Glory to God…
Early this morning, the song of blackbirds
quell the swell of silence enfolded by night.
Dim light on a distant ridge: the sun returns,
freed from Atlantis, drenched in the cloak of life.
Soft dew-drop showers dapple the dusty
garden with pops of pastels like lavender,
lilac, tea rose and pink, from clouds that carry
cleansing tears of a newborn’s young mother,
the potter protective her infant clay.
She picks up her child, a fragile bowl, chipped,
frail from thirty years spent running away,
now run aground as a twice sunken ship.
Her hands keep a promise, one quietly spoken,
made long ago when morning had broken.
- For my mother who sang me Cat Stevens'
Morning has Broken the day
I was born.
Moving ridges - blue, green salty de-bree
Lightly, sweep the beach;
As inland rolls the sea
All species, shapes shells' species,
Tumble to shore, scoured by wind, by sand
Frothed, hi-lo crests, toss, create odd creases
Ocean sounds, subdued to loud
Galaxies twinkling, twinkling, over sandy shore
Moving ridges - blue, green, salty de-bree
Limicoline birds probe of tiny beaks
Cerripedes cling - of rock jetty walls
Tumble to shore, scoured by wind, by sand
Dephinidae family-play, chirrups avow
Perceived near silted edge
As inland rolls the sea
Blessed - this Shangri-la
Peace, quiet soul
Creation, presented us
Euphony, miles around
Tunes linger over moist earth
Moving ridges - blue, green salty de-bree
Humility - our
Ever-so-ever thankful
Peace, quiet soul
Waves' tumble, night does endow
Loose sand - wet clay
As inland rolls the sea
Visons 'cross vast waters
Ruffles of promise dapple there
Ever-so-ever thankful
Righteous melodies heard
Moon casts it's shadow
Moving ridges - blue, green salty de-bree
As inland rolls the sea
Placidity drowns fears
All shells, shapes, species
Ruffles of promise dapple there
Frothed, hi-lo white caps, toss, creates odd creases
Citrus
Christmas
Prais'n
Rais'n
Dandy
Candy
Dapple
Apple
My mother and father told me when they were young that sometimes on Christmas there might be an apple, an orange, some candy and some raisins..Poverty was rampant in our country..Is it still that bad????
Soft, pastel-pink, aqua, sepia
Turning sharp, gold, striking
The sky is a willing canvas
Waiting to be kissed
By the palette of colours
Multi-shaded layers dapple the heavens
The pace of life is set to slow
Announced by the sleepy, restful sun
Her dying rays cast playful shadows
Open to interpretation!
Liquid gold outlines the classic oak tree
So near, and yet so far!
The firefly dances with excitement
Her luminous tail aglow
And the songthrush folds down her wings
Relaxing in the still warm air
Soft peach clings to the buildings
While strong apricot dresses the windows
From liquid gold to burnt orange
Now a mauve sheet covers the horizon
The crisp silhouette of the tawny owl
Graces the evening magenta sky
And the crickets begin their shrill song
Heralding the arrival of the long, dark night
Seductive winking stars and the creamy moon
Commence their clandestine romance
Wildlife dare not relax
Predators lurk in the jet black ether!
Gradually, the backdrop loses its ebony
And the scenery takes on an intense cobalt blue
The gentle dawn is slowly approaching
The softest lilac bedecks a fresh morning sky
Irridescent speckles espied through the laurel bush
Dewdrops like glass drape the orchid
Reflecting the fiery citrus blanket above
Before turning warm, cheerful lemon
And powder soft azure blue
This kaleidoscopic carpet starts its journey
On a never-ending cycle of wonder
To tango with a mango;
now that would be sublime;
much sweeter than the bitterness of lime.
With a sticky passion fruit
I did try to make it merry;
and, once, the innocence of unpicked cherry.
A banana in Havana
I tried, but once beneath the skin
I found it just a little soft, and pale, and thin.
A passion for papaya
gave me all my daily C;
but too much of it did not agree with me.
To moon with a prune
I thought I'd give it a try;
but found that a little wrinkly and dry.
A dapple with an apple?
But taken once a day,
soon become a little tired and gray.
So, I tango with a mango,
I do it all the time;
I tried once with an orange but couldn't make it rhyme.
A Merger With Food Poetry Contest, placed 1st
Sponsored by: Natasha L Scragg
Date wrote: 9th May 2022
How did I not see this before?
The green of the trees
with their cornucopia of shades
Layered and punctuated periodically
with a unique dapple of light
Amid the litany of man's failing
concrete towers
The leafy giants stride imperceptibly
towards notoriety
Saving the planet
one gramme at a time
As the humans race past.
The leisurely somnambulants
biding, stretching, organically
rooted in their dancing
to the alternate tune
of Nature's longevity
choleric clouds, suspended
over the leaking lake
the rebellion of a teenage face
cross-eyed, ferocious
bereaved by a split pancake
baffled by life’s inconsistencies
a vortex peeks out of darkness
ready to ripple and run her mascara
suddenly swans, as the sun vanquishes the storm
a rare epiphany twirls in her mind
graceful snow wings dapple the outskirts
of time
playful and daring to proliferate
a smile across the freckled face
she embraces the curvature of a poet’s neck
and spreads her august wings
the wild and homeric transformation
of an ugly duckling
she amazes her friends
4/6/2019
Suddenly Swans Poetry Contest
Sponsor - Maureen McGreavy
SLOW MOVEMENT
Move out from tall trees - to wider scene now
Tympanic rhythm - andante theme
As footsteps beat on - path of the Ash beam
In diverse prospect - wet levels gleam
Look to the surface - life is reflected
Now mirrors brightening - skies cerulean
See over there the - new view surveyed now
Past tawny grasses - strewn by wind laid
Birch saplings dapple - hazel and apple
Amber the dry fern - dashed now with jade
Where silver stems - surround sun-bright vale there
Small stream descends in - glistening cascade
Over above In - slow closing distance
Land rises to - overlook languid fen
Our destination - draws our steps on to
Reach barrow slopes - fields of wider ken
So measured pace continues ‘til then
While spirit moves to hilltop ascend
Outside the classroom
Sun and cloud dapple the vale
Thrush rehearses triple phrase
The while overhead
Lark ascends in descant stream
Studies the Elysian scene
2 May 2019
Contest: Bite sized poem No.4