Best Descent Poems
There was a possum
of worldly descent
Gathering diamonds
and things it had spent
Chasing a catfish
down dragonfly row
Wanting to see if
it was someone to know
Laughed at an aardvark
with tangerine pants
Filling it's pockets
with yesterday's ants
Climbed up a staircase
that led to the sky
Waving at meadowlarks,
saying goodbye
Chewed on a cabbage
it found by the gate
Wondering if it was
something it ate
Sat down alone,
which was normal you see
Crying those tears
as it hoped it could be
Somebody's friend
that he never could find
Merely a possum,
just pay him no mind
He'll get along,
it's just something to do
And if he passes
in front of you
Maybe just smile
and tell him hello
He might be somebody
you'd like to know
Or let him be
without well wishes sent
For he's just a possum
of worldly descent
For the Dandelions Tiger Lillian and Bear berries Oh My Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Maureen McGreavy
Cunning seducer
Your presence beguiles
I taste your fever
My body complies
Good intentions die
Dare not touch me
For I shall fall
Where angels fly
And hell is nigh
Oh to taste
Faulted grace
Tempt me not
Too late
My fate
Flawed
Knowledge and wisdom are not found
in the chaotic crowd's cacophony of voices
caused by fear and frustration
They gather like swarms of locusts
on emotional wings of hysteria
Their beating sound swallows intellect
creating perpetual hate and anxiety
brought to them by their own failures and frailties
None...which they chose to recognize
or deem worthy of introspection
Crowds easily led by puppetmasters
who have spiraled down to the depths of depravity
as they pull on the strings of discord
tied to patriotic fervor
Exhumed in a kaleidoscope of hollow memories
from history...crowds don't remember
As they turn their anger into a coming apocalypse
where they sell their souls to their masters
as they did once before
When they called out " Give us Barabbas "
Let the Christ die with his last spoken words
" Forgive them... for they know not what they do "
9/25/17
contest 8 word challenge-4
Footsteps absorbed as maids descend
into the Delphi's cave they went.
Pellucidar is what they sought;
no thoughts of Dante's lurid hell;
questing an inner earth to dwell.
Down where the core a sun begot;
footsteps absorbed as maids descend
into the Delphi's cave they went.
Green life fluoresced where light was cast.
The lakes and waterfalls were vast.
Pendicular is what they sought,
down where the core a sun begot.
Footsteps absorbed as maids descend
into the Delphi's cave they went.
My eyes are wide open
But I have no mercy left to give
You'll be alone on your own
Learn to swim if you want to live
I won't preach another sermon
You never listened to me
I'm not the one who's confused
You're killing yourself. Why can't you see?
Curse me, curse me
It's what you always do
Put the blame on me
You don't have a clue it's you
I offered you my hand
Mercy and love I gave
But you refused and fell again
You deceive yourself; a fool I can't save
Go ahead, feast on your poison
Feast until it kills your soul
If it's death you are seeking
I won't watch you descend into that hole
Curse me, curse me
It's what you always do
Put the blame on me
You don't have a clue it's you
Let it course through your veins
Let it fill your mind with its kiss
You're drowning in a whirlpool
It's pulling you down into the abyss
I won't waste my time cursing you
You've sunk as low as you can
Keep asking for mercy until you die
I hope you make it, you foolish man
I should curse myself
For holding on so long
Holding on to the man you used to be
You turned your back on me. That was wrong
Curse me, curse me
Swear at me once more before I go
I won't hear you when I'm gone
You're just someone I used to know
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
May 3rd, 2016
Rob Carmack's Lyrics II Contest
Based on "Descending" by The Black Crowes
……Somewhere a lone survivor of a plane crash
A man of sound and reason
standing tall and proud.
But a voice of lies and madness
whispering words of doubt.
His mind a fortress sturdy
no shadows in the crowd.
But a path of doom and darkness
waiting to break out.
Delusions like a serpent,
coiling in his brain,
Paranoia like a venom,
oozing from his core.
Twisting truth and logic,
driving him insane.
The world a hostile army,
waging endless war.
Dissociation like a vise,
squeezing his soul tight,
A mirror of identity,
shattered into shards.
Lost within the maze,
his selfhood out of sight.
The pieces of his being,
scattered near and far.
Psychosis like a demon,
dancing in his mind,
The music of madness,
playing its eerie song.
Illusions like a spider,
weaving webs to bind.
As his grip on sanity,
was slowly being wronged.
Not working…..
He found a radio, a possible voice of hope and light.
…..Working
Then a change of course,
a turn of fate’s design,
A mind once plunged in madness,
now rising to the fight.
From blackness to brightness,
a force of hope divine.
An ascent from affliction,
a story of great might.
As his grip on sanity was
slowly being restored,
Illusions like a spider
weaving webs to break.
The music of madness
playing its final chord.
Psychosis like a demon
dancing in his wake.
The pieces of his being
scattered near and far,
Lost within the maze his
selfhood comes to light.
A mirror of identity
shattered into stars.
Dissociation like a vise
squeezing his soul bright.
The world a hostile army
waging endless peace.
Twisting truth and logic
driving him to sane.
Paranoia like a venom
oozing from his fleece.
Delusions like a serpent
coiling in his mane.
But a path of doom and darkness
waiting to fade out.
His mind a fortress sturdy
no shadows in the crowd.
But a voice of lies and madness
whispering words of doubt?
A man of sound and reason standing tall and proud?
A lone survivor of a plane crash……
Line of inquiry:
“on an as is where is basis we choose
descent of consciousness into the gross
then we rise again following heart’s muse
higher than where stood, bearing love’s cross”- unseeking seeker
Few have been my conscious acts
of very high or low.
More have been the trials that
have disrupted my joy’s flow.
Some tribulations sent me reeling,
feeling like I was in hell.
More fortunate than some am I.
And this I now know very well.
The modern world lends comforts
to which we feel entitled,
while there are poor souls on this earth
where horrors reign unbridled.
My trials, mostly physical,
I’ve managed to get through.
Though life brings torments even now,
with God’s gifts I can still make do.
I thank the Lord that life has been
mainly kind to me.
No too-high mountains have I climbed.
No monsters have I had to flee.
From my ups and downs I’ve learned
everyone – my sisters and my brothers -
has woes to bear that I can’t know.
We must have empathy for all others.
What if I told you that I was weak
Eyes bleak;couldn't reach even the companion I seek
What if I told you I was insane
Riding in the pain; Bonnie and Clyde stunt till no part of me remain
What if i said that I was falling
Darkness calling; funeral dirges echoing from the night until the morning.
Space and time couldn't bring it down
Til you shot through the defence ;holding it by the throat snuffing the life it had.
The arrow I sent to the skies wishing it all the best
Has reversed with an increasing speed until it hit it in the chest.
Dim glow;blood flow
Eyes wide; soul go
On an as is where is basis, we fell—
down the elevator shaft of the day,
into the buzz of a fluorescent hum, the smell
of reheated takeout in cracked Styrofoam trays.
The descent began when the train doors jammed,
and I was stuck staring at my own reflection—
the stale grime of the carriage, the paper ads,
my face mirrored against the strangers, expressionless.
I finally made it home, my shoes untied,
the hallway dim, someone’s dog barking through thin walls.
The key caught in the lock, metal snagged on silence—
inside, a burnt-out bulb flickered above the sink.
Bills were piled high, half-shoved in a drawer,
an eviction notice crumpled at the edges,
yesterday's dishes stacked like monuments of failure,
and in the fridge—two eggs, a leftover apology.
Then I saw it: a post-it, bright yellow,
crookedly taped above the empty fruit bowl.
A scribbled heart, in a child’s writing, "You're the best,"
the 's' in 'best' drawn backward, rushed—
a small love, pressed into a square of paper.
That night, I folded laundry in silence,
shirt by shirt, sock by unmatched sock,
finding something steady in the rhythm—
the sound of breathing is as good as sleep
when sleep is nowhere near.
I climbed into that feeling, inch by inch,
with each minute stretched, each dollar exchanged
for time, each deep breath drawn. The city
buzzed outside, the cars skating down wet streets,
but here, it was the small clicks of our life—
turning off the TV, the snap of clean sheets,
the drip of the bathroom faucet needing fixing.
I knew it was enough—this climb, this small scaffold
we built to hold us up.
Now I stand, the city alive beneath my window,
swapping scar tissue out for the heat of the moment,
for the feat of staying—my laughter penetrating
the cracks in the walls—a song that makes each broken
piece of the ascent worth saving.
i saw your smile, then fell from grace -
plunged like Icarus out of the lofty skies
and traded that innocuous, frigid space
for the beautiful muddle in your eyes.
i watched my clean slate begin to fade;
the homespun, pristine virtues turn to dust
and fully embraced the holy wreck we made
out of a placid, fragile trust.
because heaven is a mere patient cage
of tediously slow hymns and blinding white
in comparison to this colliding rage,
this enchanting freefall through the night.
if planting my feet firmly against your skin
means that paradise is forever lost to me,
then, by all means, let my sentencing begin...
for I will wear the wreckage quite happily.
“All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Childhood's magic once cast spells of wonder.
Wildwood berries turned to pirate's plunder.
That bright hummingbird, extraordinary,
in flight, became a wish-bestowing fairy.
Then, imagination made a carpet fly.
Men were heroes, never falling from the sky.
I miss that genie spell that lasts but twenty years.
I kiss childhood goodbye as it disappears.
It was the day I wanted the most
Yet dreaded as the worst,
Seeing the jumpmaster’s eyes
Way up there in the sky,
Waiting for the scream
“This is a paratroopers’ dream
Stand in the door—lean and mean!”
C130 paratrooper’s Jet, 1500 feet above earth
M16 Weapon by my side, ready to hit the dirt
Knees bent as a dog’s leg on the ledge
Crackling nerves on screeching edge
Cotton dried mouth like a Sahara’s wedge
Soldier before me threw up his lunch
Stomach flipping—fear gripping
Paratrooper’s static lines scraping, moving
Shinny brand new paratrooper’s boots
Shivering to a shuffling groove
Trembling to its new roots
Cold palms slippery from sweating
Camouflaged face twitching like electric shocking
Eyes like a road map dredged with red
Boots shuffling towards the elliptical edge
Heard the jumpmaster’s words
“Go, go, go—jump soldier!”
I felt like a lonely hanging leaf
Growing from the side of a cliff
Just dangling in the breeze
Like a trapeze with distance in between
The moment of truth arrived
Saw the green paratrooper’s light
Heard the Jumpmaster’s voice—“Go!”
Cannonball leap into the rushing breeze
Wings of angels—still praying all the more
One thousand…two…three…four…
Parachute opened above—“Puff!”
Then I knew from the Lord
As I descended safely below
I am still His beloved!
Once I tried
to embrace a cascade
A steep descent of a slim river
With a soft
regalia of steps
but she sprinkled scantily on me
But I was
aroused, flushed and reddened.
Enjoying her warm and soft impact
Before she
became a cataract
with strong undercurrents and deep holes.
+++
October 31, 2014
Form: Parallelogram de Crystalline
Dr.Ram Mehta
Fifth Place Win
Contest: some form of crystalline by nette onclaud
descend from the clouds
while blasting enemy lines
Ahhh!—paratroopers
© Joseph, 1/20/08
© All Rights Reserved
Comments: I wanted to be an air force fighter pilot when I inquired into joining
ROTC in college. I didn't have 20/20 vision at the time so I could not. So guess
what? I became a hard-charging paratrooper! Since they would not let me fly, I
made the decision to jump from a perfectly good airplane while in flight.
LOL!!! “Airborne—All The Way.” “Then Some!” Ahhh!!!
I fall a raindrop from stratus to stratum
birthed from clouds pregnant with thunder
a lion’s roar —a pride in the sky— fierce!
armed with lightning’s rip and slit
the scythe of claw and tooth finds its prey
knifing sunset’s skin desecrating cranberry rays
it’s red demise fills my see-through-eyes
Sun’s canvas shredded
I fall through tattered pages of watercolor-layers
accumulating dust and blood of the slayed day
I arrive not a predator but a peace-maker
my raiment fleece of lamb not mane of beast
I come to rest
a drop of rain who clings to a windowpane
… translucence transforms me
inside a room I see myself with my possession-pain
a swaddle-bundle I rock to soothe
pain held against my breast like a newborn
crying to be fed
nurtured with lemon-squeezed tears
and sticky sick-sweet milk of revenge
my fingertips trace my descent down the glass
I pray not to let the dark moon be my doom
I know myself like turmoil-seas know the shore
let the salt-sea’s seethe meet still grains of sand
abrasions cleanse one of crime and grime
I know myself like the night knows the morn
let the night be a knight
and capture rapture with light-swords of dawn
I know myself
the games I played with leather fringe and lace
his Marlboro face the Moët taste
the magnet attraction pulled my limbs apart
I am a tear liberated from the storm
free to fall free to fall oh I had to fall so far to be free
fall from heights where lust-wishes glisten
slip the stardust handcuffs
fall from nimbus find the limbus of self and soul
find a way to rise above black seams
and wanton scenes of my scream-dreams
translucence transforms me
I let go of the windowpane
and die to myself casting off pleasure of pain and sin
I fall to silent-sister soil inhaled to be exhaled
on dizzy wind-whimsy-warmth of first light
I fall a new drop of dew wet with sky light
as I bear Love's cross like a white lotus bears its muddy birth