Best Derive Poems
Sounds of Splendor
Some say songs soothe the savage beast
On gentle melodies I feast
Sensual pleasures increase
Swing me, sway me, elevate me
Joyful psalms can jubilate me
Your lyrics stimulate me
Rock, classical or jazz
Reggae, soul and blue grass
Music always resonated
Wind songs man has emulated
Across Earth unabated
Primitive tribes made drums and flutes
Melodies traced to early roots
Angst is quelled, anger dilutes
Harmonies reign in grace
As all cultures embrace
The beauty of song unifies
Turning enemies to allies
Play set chords or improvise
All arts bring beauty to our lives
Song styles change but music survives
So much pleasure we derive
Singing in unison
Tunes from the musician
*for Catie’s “Focus on Syllables” contest (887, 887, 66 repeated three times)
Categories:
derive, happiness, history, musicbeauty, beauty,
Form:
Rhyme
Who am I not to excuse and forgive
when the Solo God, His mercy would give.
Rage inside, I plead to God to erase
though much of pain has on the face left trace.
All the seasons barged into Springtime
and the Rose has to keep her scent sublime.
The birds would chirp and hail a rising dawn
as night would echo the woes of a swan.
Mind and heart are forever friends and foes
heart sins and mind reasons, one to dispose !
Sweet bitter life! blest to taste and survive
The Mighty, Beauty from Him we derive.
Categories:
derive, anger, beauty, blessing, feelings,
Form:
Couplet
One day I decided to aggregate what I own
Realizing soon enough I couldn't count it all,
Though I never thought I had all that much
What I had was oddly beyond simple math.
Determined I was to know what I'm worth
And I knew the formula for how that works
So I added all assets and deducted liabilities
Yet, never could I derive the right answer.
My assets were tangible, so easy to add up
But when I thought of lives I had touched
And receipt of generosity they bestowed,
I could not appraise the value of their love.
Swiftly I subtracted what I owed to others
Feeling proud of self for I didn't owe much
Till I took account of much that was given
Not expecting from me anything in return.
When I finally accepted futility of my effort
My worth resembled faces of my loved ones,
Not susceptible to any numeric computation
Well beyond the bounds of ordinary cognition.
January 3, 2019
Placed 2nd in Food for thought poetry contest by Silent One
Categories:
derive, perspective,
Form:
Verse
When gusty winds blow, riling my troubled dawn in gelid woes
Squall of my throes dissipates in scented whiffs of budding rose.
As brazen fog shrouds mind, heightening my grief, poking fun
Defyingly I step out in glinting rays of the dawning golden sun.
Refusing to surrender when my tears dominate indignation
Joy I find on the vibrant horizon, blazing sunset’s ruby elation.
Verdant paradise appeals to pleas, adorning my shamrock hills
Appeasing cry of stygian echoes storming from mountains of ills.
If night reigns moonless and nightmares soon rage my dreams
Comfort I find within soothing zeal of spring’s giggling streams.
While strife of life endures in raging summers of unending heat
Readily I seek blue oceans, surfing rhythmic tides’ buoyant beat.
As laments of the world drown humanity in hapless deep dive
Strength of nobility rises, helping weakened hands to survive.
When the rancor of disillusionment exudes ambivalent sigh
Autumn’s scarlet imprints eagerly vie, healing souls in russet dye.
As hindrance of the ordinary distresses progress of mankind
Delighted I am to see rationality unite, to defeat the unrefined.
When sullen is my heart aching in the anguish of ashen skies
Solace I derive from serene vibes gleaming your tranquil eyes.
At times in my life, I encounter the black-holes of opaque space
Yet, the light of day gets through in sanctuary of your embrace.
August 19, 2020
Placed 1st: Sanctuary Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Silent One
Categories:
derive, angst, endurance, feelings,
Form:
Couplet
Democracy is what we do
and breathe together
to empower ourselves.
Some would say the same of prayer
and holy communion
and secular communication
and healthy relationships.
Democracy seems like an empowering experience
of equality and interdependence
before it became an anti-royalist political philosophy.
Which may serve as a humbling reminder
that great abstract theories
so left-brain universally fascinating
derive from whole mindbody experience
of individual egos,
healthy or other-unwise.
If no ego-experience,
then no ecosystemic consciousness
of democracy
or autocracy
or kleptocracy
or plutocracy
or oligarchy
or capitalocracy
or theocracy
or patriarchy
or even warm accompanying matriarchy.
Multiculturing democracy,
a hybrid of egalitarian aspirations
and interdependent respirations,
requires organized
stable
win/win ego/theo-logical communication,
health wealthy ecological relationships.
Disorganized communication
is an oxymoron,
like enriching divestment
and disturbing attachment
and democratic capitalism
and resilient win/lose compassion.
Democracy is what we win/win breathe
do
develop together
to empower egohealth identities
and wealthy ecosystems.
Categories:
derive, community, earth, environment, health,
Form:
Political Verse
"THE PRAISE OF ROSES.
If Zeus had willed it so/ That o’er the flowers one flower should reign a queen,
I know, ah well I know/The rose, the rose, that royal flower had been!"
-John Addington Symonds (inspired by Sappho's "Song of the Rose")
Poised on the precipice of springtime
are ornamental trees and flowers soon to bloom.
But it is with the utmost anticipation
that I await the blossoming
of my precious roses
which unfold themselves so beautifully to the sky.
I will exit my house one day
and there she will be in front of my porch -
my first dewy-faced darling of the season.
Most often she appears as a ruby red.
But sometimes it’s the blue rose
that first presents herself.
Like a queen is the lavender-hued rose named Blue,
for she sits high above all the bushes surrounding her
wearing warm May’s sunshine as her crown.
Her humble subject, I cannot help but admire her
each time I arrive home, pulling up onto my driveway.
How I hate to see my fair queen
f a d e a w a y
But happily her delicate, pretty sisters come along -
more and more and more of them crowding in
to take her place among the bushes, offering their nectar
to the worshipping bees and occasional hummingbird.
What pleasure I derive in catching sight
of that perky hummingbird!
From spring – through summer -
and even toward the end of chilly fall – they reign,
coming one right after the other in regal fashion.
How splendidly my roses do beguile me.
Will they come early this year?
And which will be the first one this time
to take the throne -
the royal Ruby Red or the towering sovereign Blue?
Only time will tell!
March 13, 2021
For the Flower Or Flowers In Imagism Form - Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Constance La France
Categories:
derive, flower,
Form:
Imagism
Tease me my dear so nicely
Gently and seductively
Soft moonlight across the sea
Grant me wings, a breeze, a kiss.
Warm lasting, a touch of bliss.
Sweet treacle lace upon me
Gently and seductively.
His beryl eyes tease, away
Where a billion stars astray
Mirthful summer windswept day
In a waltz, a will to stay.
Tease me my dear so nicely
Tunes unfurl, indulge in the thrill,
Whilst swaying body fulfill.
Passion aflame my heart still
Flutter weak into his will
Gently and seductively.
In the rhythmic riff till five,
Of music that comes alive
Breathless sensual derive
My eyes reaching for the sky.
Tease me my dear so nicely
Gently and seductively
3/23/2020
A-Muse-Sing Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Richard Lamoureux
Categories:
derive, love,
Form:
Rhyme
In realm of love when passions stirred
Song of romance fervent hearts heard
In tenor we knew, rhythms that woo,
Strummed by music our desires spurred.
Oh! how that realm blooms love so true
As tunes of warmth birds sing for you,
From woods that sway as soft winds blow
When moon scripts clues on skyline blue;
Of dreamy night that gleamed with glow,
Of stars that waltzed to stage our show,
When we vowed beneath lambent skies,
Sprouts of love~~ shall forever grow;
While glance of joy thrills cheery eyes
Where love-flame kindles, never dies,
And dreams cherished, long to revive,
Nights we rejoice, snug in love's prize.
On life’s hurdled streets where we drive
From wheels of hope strength we derive
While we climb steep high ways of life,
Hand in hand, we steer fate and thrive.
June 1, 2022
Placed 1st: Rubaiyat Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Sotto Poet
Eight syllables per line (HMS.com)
Rhyme: aaba, bbcb, ccdc, dded, eefe
Categories:
derive, life, love,
Form:
Rubaiyat
The slow progress of a wandering mind.
With quiet ambition, too swift to humble.
I should not fall, will not break,
I fear that I will never give up my quest.
It's strange now that I search,
Never knowing what for, or where to look.
I feel the years drawing in.
Impatient to be grown,
Careful to stay young.
Not too soon,
Take life slow.
So I do, and no pleasure do I take.
What pride do I derive from a shallow life?
A slow life, lacking depth and texture.
It used to be deep, it used to be hard.
But then, in those days there used to be sunlight.
Oh how I miss the sunlight.
Now as winter draws in, pale and icy,
Lacking substance, just as I do.
It makes sense that a slow life should be hard too.
The conflict in my natures, one to fly,
One to sink. For now the latter wins.
Dissatisfaction, a simple artifact of dreaming.
A girl once young and free,
Now resides within the chains of society.
For the time being I must seek focus,
But am constantly distracted by the ghosts I miss,
People that fell aside as life ploughed on.
All I know is that I miss you, my sunshine,
I never want you to fall out of my sight.
Never set, never fade and please, never burn out.
Categories:
derive, lifelife, life,
Form:
Free verse
Bold Nietzsche declared, “God is dead,”
Humans have killed him, so he said.
Enlightened men, all widely read,
have purged his being from their head.
God decomposed and left a stench,
That human genius cannot quench.
The promise of enlightenment
Instead of light has brought man blight.
God’s substitute, goddess reason
The symbol of man’s high treason
Has not engendered human good,
As humanists believed she would.
History and experience teach,
That man cannot perfection reach
By mere intellectual means
For evil exists in his genes.
The two world wars that men have fought,
defy claims of rational thought.
The truth is clear, mankind is flawed,
And badly needs the help of God.
The moral mess mankind is in,
Is evidence of human sin.
The death of God has brought a curse,
And made the plight of humans worse.
That God did die, is indeed true,
But from a different point of view.
God in man’s flesh came down to earth,
To live and die for man’s rebirth.
God is not dead, He is alive,
From Him humans their lives derive.
If you enlightenment desire,
Embrace God and make Him your sire.
Categories:
derive, christian, god, humanity, irony,
Form:
Rhyme
Use it or lose it, but try not to abuse it.
Confuse it, amuse it, but you should not refuse it.
Lick it or stick it, but you should never pick it.
Deny it, defy it, but I know that you'll try it.
Take it and bake it, they say that's how you make it.
Fake it or break it, but no need to forsake it.
Shell it, repel it, hell, you can even sell it.
Define it, refine it, but don't you take it's mine it.
Prefer it, defer it, it might even be her it.
Forget it, regret it, but the odds are that you'll bet it.
Prepare it and share it, but you should never spare it.
Baste it and taste it, but you should never waste it.
Say it, don't spray it, but you can still display it.
Love it or shove it, put nothing else above it.
Contrive it, derive it, take control and drive it.
Hike it or bike it, what ever way you like it.
Categories:
derive, adventure,
Form:
Rhyme
In the midst of a barren land,
Where the scorching sun never fades,
I wander alone with nothing in hand,
Only my dreams that my mind creates.
My eyes search for a vision to cling,
A glimpse of hope, a chance to survive,
But all I see is a cruel mirage,
A false oasis that I can't derive.
The heat of the sand blurs my vision,
My tears mix with the salty sweat,
The pain of thirst, the fear of extinction,
Haunts me like a lifelong debt.
The mirage taunts me with its beauty,
A paradise that I can't reach,
It teases me with its endless duty,
A lie that my heart can't breach.
The wind whispers of a distant life,
A promise of a greener land,
But I know it's just another strife,
Another mirage that I can't withstand.
The hope in my heart slowly fades,
As the mirage disappears into the air,
I fall to my knees and pray for aid,
For a miracle that will show me care.
The tears in my eyes blur my sight,
As I embrace my fate with open arms,
But suddenly, a drop of water ignites,
A spark of hope that the world disarms.
A river flows, a miracle unveiled,
A vision that was once a mirage,
A dream that my heart had hailed,
A promise of a life without sabotage.
The storm in my heart calms down,
As I embrace the reality that I see,
The mirage of hope is no longer a frown,
But a memory that will forever be..
Categories:
derive, dedication, deep, depression, desire,
Form:
Bio
They always said there was no feeling like it
No words could describe,
Now I know exactly what they mean
My heart melted inside.
From the moment I heard
I was smitten,
Then when you arrived
In the stars it was written.
Like the perfect medicine
You have been described
Changing so many lives
From heaven you must derive.
You are the promise of brighter things
You are our antidote to the past
You are our princess
You are our everything
XxxX
Categories:
derive, devotion,
Form:
Free verse
Soon the forest would reveal its dark secret
Poems are written. Music is composed. Ballets are staged.
In enacting suspense-filled plays, each creature is engaged.
Mysteries, like petals of blossoming flowers, unfolded.
As sketched by nature, the shapes of plants and trees are moulded.
Midway through the brawl for existence, the fittest survive.
From Mother Earth, life-giving nectar, all creatures derive
Do trees pay tax as per their heights, and do beasts as per strength?
Which creature has measured the forest's height, breadth, width, and depth?
What serenity between drops of the flowing fountain!
Isn't there a transmission of peace between each mountain?
The food cycle and water cycle roll like the planets.
Prey and predator eye each other in forage facets.
Owls, bats, hawks, frogmouths, and nightjars share nocturnal secrets.
Some feed others. Some feed on others. There are ruts, no riots.
The gentle breeze soothes the soul, though the gales disturb
Love lives long, between the strongest tree and the weakest herb.
Doors of forests, yet, like puzzle-filled caves, are numerous
Amidst sunshine, unknown nooks in it are voluminous
Categories:
derive, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
Love Repeats A Kiss
Lips kiss the petals of the nether world call
Flowers derive their scents from fragrances
Fills the air with wonder
Blue skies and passion in your eyes
Green grass on the soft low valley of your soul
Eyes fill with color by the warm sun glow
Flesh blossoms slow as passion grows
Love comes in the low lands on a breeze
Leaves imagination to ponder
It never leaves
Love repeats itself with bliss
The reminder of a kiss
Categories:
derive, beautiful, care, desire, feelings,
Form:
Free verse