Best Diligently Poems
Tears of the past invoke frozen footprints
When fears rekindle flares of dire misery
Feeling the ache, straining blood streams
As wrinkles pop up swelling deep worries,
Holding dialogue with sustained poverty
Attempting to traverse shuttered streets--
Bent, but not broken, in grip of tragedies
Trapped in the pathos of agonizing grief
Building escape still, flexing meager means.
When in my solitude, these images I’ve seen
Awaken me hauntingly in frightening dreams,
Grudgingly I go there, where I used to be
And see a child deep in hapless poignancy
Bleeding profusely from veins melancholy
Revisiting relentlessly orphaned memories.
Time unconsciously releases those feelings
When ode to new morn happy robin sings
As sun rises gleefully from deep blue seas
And life illuminates in golden hued beams
Oscillating winds, gleaming through trees,
And I walk with pride on the bridges I built
And thank my bright stars that lit my path
Twinkling diligently to show me the light
When obscure was the face of my dark night.
Silhouettes of yesteryear are purging now
Cleansing dread with vibrancy of spring
And jitters of nightmares in aspiring dreams
Seeing new growth in parched winter land
Like flowers rise through remains of ashes
Confronting what was, with what could be.
I have staged my play to my own melodies
And the rhythms I set to my own music
No longer evoke the prompt life gave me
As I write new chapters, create new scenes
I’m planning the ending as I wish to see it:
The story that was past, my future won’t be.
December 7, 2020
Placed 1st: Catharsis poetry contest by Silent One
Peering beyond reach of human capacity
I revolve around the sun in a solar orbit,
Looking deep in space for origins of bygone
Going way beyond anyone has ever gone,
Exploring unknown world of astronomy
Searching light from first stars and galaxies
Traversing back in time where it all began,
Forming our universe after the Big-Bang.
Some 13.6 billion light-years my eyes reach,
Studying evolution, formation of galaxies,
Vast, colorful, mysterious shapes and sizes,
Eying origins of life and planetary systems
Probing, discovering, unfathomable infinity,
For one light-year equals six trillion miles~
A feat, only for the confidence of audacity.
I capture images spectacular to every sight,
Viewing light that is invisible to human eye
Locating nebulae, gas planets, dust clouds,
Collision of galaxies where stars are born,
Traversing back in time where it all began,
Probing galactic universe~ terra incognita.
No longer a phantasy, I am real as can be,
An eye of science and a mind of curiosity,
Intellectual tenacity and proof of ingenuity,
In acumen and wisdom of Astrophysicists,
I am the bold vision of infrared astronomy,
I am the flight vying hypnotic destination
Buoying on wings of scholarly inspiration.
Much is yet undone, for I have just begun,
Orbiting diligently until my work is done,
Until dreams become reality of my mission.
For insight into creation, I am the ray of hope~
I am the James Webb Space Telescope.
August 28, 2022
Placed 1st: This or That, Vol 13 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Title chosen: Terra Incognita
Note: NASA launched James Webb Telescope on December 25, 2021.
Images are being released starting July 12, 2022.
You can view the spectacular images at: Webb.nasa.gov
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners
European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency.
I am writing to you because I know you have a wish.
I have been thinking diligently about your wish. It is not
going to be easy but I think it can be done. First I am going
to break down your overall wish into many smaller wishes.
I want you to get that electric car you always wanted. That huge
backyard protected from unwanted visitors. I know you have a love
for life...do you remember when you told me - You should never eat
anything that once had a heart. I miss all those organic vegetables,
fruits, growing foods you use to treat me to.
I want you to be able to see the stars at night not hidden by the
crud in the air. Enjoy a sunset free of gaseous neon colors. Rid
the world of killing machines. Did you know there are weapons now
can kill hundreds in a few minutes, I know it would break your heart
to watch.
Than I want you to fill your lungs in the cleanest of air plumped up
with an abundance of oxygen. Drink from the oceans, lakes, rivers,
bays fresh thirst quenching water. Can you imagine all water life
free of cancerous tumors, fishies free of disease but I am off on
a tangent. I want you to play in the rain without fear. Have you
heard of acid rain?
I want you to get each and every single wish that I mention.
Delivered to you by the most gentle of breezes. In the frozen
fingers of the icebergs. Some in the whirlwind motion of the
smallest of tornadoes. Others through the hairline cracks of
the best behaved of all earthquakes.
I love you with all my heart. I know so many have changed
without remorse. They are so busy looking for the pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow they no longer notice the rainbow.
So many wishes you yearn.
I wish for you mother, at the very least your children would
stop raping you, sodomising you. Mother Earth we your children,
us the humans live here by your grace...well my wish for you
mother is that your children would stop all the denial, all the
arguments, the rationalizations...we have all the excuses for
what we do to you. I wish what you wish mother. I wish your
children would show you the respect you deserve. Just that
no more, no less.
Love, Always
Maurice
20~12~2014
Sponsor: Isaiah Zerbst
Contest Name: My Wish For You
Should we desire to imitate our Master, we must diligently study to know His heart.
As an orchestra should desire to play Beethoven with perfection, they too must
seek to know what he was thinking and feeling – the air he was breathing in and breathing out; playing the thoughts that turned his story into a beautiful symphony.
So we too, though broken fragments – individual and diversified, come together in unity, study our Master who fills us with His Spirit, that we may know Him, imitate Him; learning the symphony that He has written.
Let us breathe Him in and breath Him out, that the world might desire to intently listen and learn to know Him, then desire to be a part of worshiping the One who has written His symphony on our hearts.
Self-gratification is the fruit of one's love,
making the artist's delighted face glow...
when every vision has been achieved,
and each intention joyfully revealed.
He will envision the shape and colors,
then transfer those images to canvas;
and with the gentles strokes of his brush...
real faces will appear and suddenly blush.
Thinker and dreamer, let passion and imagination flow,
don't be distracted by worries or external sounds below;
work diligently with your brush, transcending your own credibility...
but later, it would be too hilarious to scream out your insanity.
Self-gratification is the fruit of one's love...
that enduring, timeless legacy hard to ignore;
when others show admiration, you'll be so pleased
and motivated to add more laurels to your prestige.
Copyright 2009 by Andrew Crisci
Hold still and be quiet as water while you search for thoughts inside
shine like the stars sparkle like the sun but in this world, be bonafide
Life is clamorous and its message very often is loud and in your face
hold still and be quiet as water, join the flows of it's liquid Grace
Love quite often does not make a sound so live in the hour of its gift
hold still and be quiet as water, enjoy the journey and the lift;
Justice is a silent partner to an honest life join the noiseless force
hold still and be as quiet as water, live diligently without remorse
Courage can be found in altruistic words other times in silence
hold still and be quiet like water, if the pain needs guidance?
know that water can be fluid, yielding in a world of solid matter
hold still and be quiet like water when in doubt, take the latter
be as quiet as water.
She carried a bag full of dreams
Too afraid to lay it down
Too afraid to open and see
What lies hidden inside
She had lost it once before
Along with the rest of her nation
They had lived a nightmare
Of someone else’s stolen bag
In the eyes of this child refugee
Her purpose unfulfilled and unknown
Her bag torn open and emptied,
But still on her back...
So she protects her dreams
Patches up her bag...
Stitches up any tear
In case the bag ever gets stolen
She develops each one diligently
And the bag is getting heavier
And heavier by the day
Yes, she's still a dreamer
blackbirds in the rain
walking among the fallen leaves
under the old mango tree
with dripping leaves
bathing the grass below
blackbirds diligently lifting
the rain soaked fallen leaves
peering underneath for insects
and worms
flushed out
by the drizzling rain
pausing to gulp one down
then scooting off again
searching for more
sitting under the shed
with raindrops playing their music
on the galvanised sheet roof
with a beat
that resonates
within my inner being
putting me in a trance
connecting me to the rain
and the puddles on the ground
with the raindrops
gently tapping the water's surface
creating rings that collide
with one another
disrupting their individual shapes
creating a dynamic new pattern
reflecting their unity
and bubbling with energy
in the drizzling rain
O what a deep feeling
of peacefulness and serenity
with the rain
the dripping leaves
and the puddles
serenading my spirit
with the eternal song of Nature
and merging it into the
Unity Of All Things
It was raining today. There was a constant drizzle for hours. I sat in a shed attached to the house, watching the blackbirds in action in the rain, searching for their food. The constant rhythmic sound of the rain on the galvanised sheet roof of the shed and the gentle drama playing out in the backyard with the blackbirds was a spiritual experience for me connecting me with Nature and the unity of all things as mentioned in the last verse.
.
Out of the ether once came a small child
who hoped to one day fly thru the air.
Diligently applying herself, learning a style,
performing higher leaps, tapping the rare.
She performed somersaults, all in her stride,
with greater and more intelligent ease.
Winning honors and gold medals worldwide,
winning hearts with technical expertise
She became the world's new daring upstart
"sensational, uncanny, never fails,"
They didn't care that she led with her heart
and began to believe all of the tales.
As heroes may do, she took a misstep
and stumbled as the world was looking on.
the fault came not because she was inept,
the world on her shoulders became too strong.
A lesson to be learned: tho brave they are
some athletes just barely more than a child.
We expect all heroes to be bright stars
so we can foster their dreams for a while.
We forget they're human, just as we are
with mightier longings and goals, perhaps.
We must forgive occasional dimmed stars,
help them stand if they sometimes collapse.
Mute
but immutable.
Unmoving, unmoveable;
timeless, yet tireless.
Solitary stalwart sentinel
surveils undulating horizon.
Aberrant, achromatic clouds
pock-mark the skies, as distant
rumblings herald his adversary's
latest gambit in their age-old conflict.
The wrath of a thousand crashing,
clashing, thrashing fists batter
against the beleaguered sentry.
Ceaselessly, remorselessly,
the maelstrom assails him.
But the foundations are firm and
noble gatekeeper stands steadfast.
Single-minded of purpose, placid
custodian morphs into combatant as
his luminous, voluminous blade carves
luminescent arcs through chthonic cloak.
Tenebrous tendrils wither and dissipate,
impotent under intense lambent onslaught.
His victory is only fleeting, as vanquished
foes are summarily supplanted by more of
their ilk in a seemingly continual surge.
Again and again, over and over, tormentor
presses the attack, exploiting any weakness.
Over and over, again and again, valiant warden
repels the barrage and despatches his enemies.
And so the pattern repeats endlessly, unabated,
as these eternal opponents jostle for position
in a perpetual cycle of aggression and defence.
Until eventually, finally, ultimately, the stale-mate
is broken; when Tempest's tantrum is tamed and
Blizzard's battalions have been banished, all is calm.
Tranquillity is able to reassert herself and order has
finally been restored; at least for the foreseeable future.
Obligations fulfilled, the triumphant Guardian can now rest.
Until the need arises again, until he's called upon once more,
he will wait patiently, watch diligently, in unflagging vigilance.
Forever resolute, a beacon of sanctuary, a symbol of hope, his is a
thankless task, but the Protector of Mariners will always be needed.
-----------------------------------
(C) John C Michaels, 27 July 2017
For Eve Roper's "Lighthouse" Contest.
(1st Place)
Ode to the Unsung Hero
I salute the devotee of his craft
who diligently pursued perfection
with no recognition
but remained true to himself
and trudged along but lost
to the dynamics of politics and the bottom line
He was not in his time and space
of Fame
I lift my glass to her , the Fool
who trusted them with her better idea
only to lose it anyway
but remained true to herself
she knew not how to play
the devious Game.
To the saints unselfish
who cared for humankind
but were overshadowed
by fanatics religious, emirs and kings
Heaven was not theirs
to Claim
The writer not read
and the artist well dead
the writers of music
and the musicians who longed
to play their songs
and share in their glory
but not to be.
So let us applaud them loudly
they remained true to themselves
let them bask in the sunshine
if for only a brief time
or at least until
the sun goes down.
Mid Summer Standard Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand
July 18, 2017
For: Scavenger Hunt
In Honor of: ~Constance~Rambling Poet
Rambling around in a traffic jam,
Poetess naked and on the lam.
Constance’s very neat trick,
Behind a thin chopstick,
In the buff, dreaming a bluff, dream scam!!
Though diligently she did try,
`T was a failure to dignify,
By her most classic stance,
For without any pants,
Did lose her chance she had to buy!!
Note: From Constance's Poem "Traffic Jam"
Jesus Christ Has the Power Over Any Addiction!
I often hear of people who battle addictions.
This often leaves many scars and afflictions.
There's counselors to help, "a dime a dozen."
Their patient could be a friend or a cousin.
As many battle lives filled with "pollution."
But too often, God is left out of the solution.
Many who need help are given little help at best.
Why they cope with fear, anxiety and stress.
The one who can help the most, is often left out.
As many miss what the real hope of life is about!
The very God who created mankind, knows all about us!
He sent his son Jesus, because he loves us!
We can trust him for his cleansing power!
He can meet every need! This very hour!
If you're battling an addiction and are losing!
Won't you let God be the one that you're choosing?
He’s powerful! And wants to help you so much!
Your life can be forever changed! By his touch!
Come one and all! Your needs, God shall supply!
Come and drink of his water which shall satisfy!
The sins and scars can be a thing of the past!
As you enjoy an abundant life, that'll always last!
The painful addictions can be healed this moment!
By the power and resurrection of Christ' atonement!
NOW can be time to lay your worries beneath him!
God shall restore those who diligently seek him!
Glory to Jesus! The victory's already been won!
All honor and praise to God's anointed one!
By Jim Pemberton 08/22/14
I work in the retail sector
and everyone's gone mad.
It's really very amusing.
It's really very sad.
Toilet paper and sanitizers
have flown right out the door.
Though everyone is asking
we've no idea when we'll get more.
The face masks of every type
are hoarded like they're gold.
Even the ones for dust or painting.
But those hoarders can't be told.
The painters and the contractors
are getting pretty mad
since the ones they need for their jobs
are no where to be had.
Panic is setting in
and everyone's afraid.
But off to work we go
because we just need to get paid.
The N-95 face masks
( the ones they really need)
are limited to six per customer,
a lot of whom can't read.
We wipe the counters diligently,
the keypads and scanners too.
We don't want the coronavirus
but we understand it's just a flu.
Wash your hands, don't touch your face.
It doesn't seem that tough,
and if you're sick, just stay home.
We can't emphasize this enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~
12/03/2020
Then ...
Where were you?
Don't you know how diligently I looked ...
How I begged for fate to pity me?
Every face, every curve, every eye glint and crimped grin
I sought for that spark ... that flicker
That attenuate shimmer to the eye that would pull me IN
Deep and close and warm
Every laugh or whisper that tickled my ear
I listened, rapt ... examined, intently
For the precise affect that bespoke a rarity, pure
For the musical tone that breathed to me a song of fire
That stoked my ambition with a hunger, hot
And a craving, cold ... and keen
How many, the gazes measured and met?
Countless, the unspoken prayers for the next lover
To hold that sublime, laughing magic
That unique knowledge of what was but silliness to others
Those tiny, secret, utterly romantic musings
That ever spun in my mind and passions
Those sexy things I wrote with my fingertips, (in cursive)
On every warm surface of moonlight-swathed skin
That swam the sheets with me at night
In vain pursuit of that most precious and elusive ...
Soul mate.
Where ... then?
Now ...
In a place where it can NEVER be
You stand before me
Perfectly imperfect ... in all the ways that define me
In every aspect that I can imagine
Or that I have ever dreamed and hoped
You. Are. The. One.
Yet you are the one thing that dashes all
That plunges my conceptions to the rocks
And turns true love to hopelessness
Oh, how I wish I'd known you
Then ... when I was young
For now you are the one thing I can not accept ...
The only thing that could now crush me
Another's.
~ 2nd Place ~ in the "That Was Then This Is Now" Poetry Contest, Silent One, Judge & Sponsor.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Wish I Knew You When I Was Young" Poetry Contest, Julie Leigh Rodeheaver, Judge & Sponsor.