Best Drift Poems
writing as I drift
on the ocean's endless blue. . .
my soul over flows
Flair
of ink
spilling sweet
cloudbursts of thought
flare billows of young imagination -
daydreamers ride the mind of story-time
using wands of
enchantment
penning
worlds
Susan Ashley
November 28, 2020
~ Third Place ~
Contest: Double Tetractys 6
Sponsor: Eve Roper
Picture # 1
Poetry Soup Syllable Counter Per Line: 1 2 3 4 10 10 4 3 2 1
Total # Syllables: 40
In eighteen seventy nine; twenty second of January
Was the day of a great battle and for the Zulus victory
At Isandlwana the Zulu army showed no fear
Against British guns, armed with shield and spear.
Twelve thousand warriors from the Zulu nation
Wiped out the British, a total annihilation
With such a large force the camp was soon overun
With hand to hand combat, under African sun.
Nearly a thousand British soldiers died that day
A few played dead and managed to get away
Some headed for Rorkes Drift never looking back
Warning the soldiers there of an impending attack.
Not far from the battle stood the mission station
By the Buffalo river a tranquil location
Five thousand warriors marched on Rorkes Drift
A hundred and thirty nine stood ready to resist.
Dispite wave after wave the British repelled their attack
With rifle and bayonet; they pushed the Zulus back
The Zulus regrouped and moved in for the kill
An officer gave the command to fire at will .
The battlefield was covered with the bodies of the slain
With spears, shields and blood all over the terrain
It wasn't until the morning of the following day
That the Zulus retreated and went on their way.
Eleven Victoria crosses were won at Rorkes drift
For courage and bravery; shown in that conflict
Five hundred Zulu warriors paid the ultimate cost
Whilst seventeen British soldiers in battle were lost.
Against overwhelming odds the British held the line
And Rorkes Drift today is a museum and a shrine
Tour guides at the site will tell you the story
Of those brave British soldiers and their hour of glory.
(The Victoria Cross or VC is the highest and most prestigious award given
to members of the British armed forces for valour in the face of the enemy.)
Hearts do fall in life
Burst into storms of ardour
Drift against anchor.
Confine your heart to reason
When not ready for the tide.
I dream about a day that may never come,
I watch my life unravel, simply come undone.
My feet begin to drag as I walk across the floor,
Still I cannot wait for what the future has in store.
I go out for a walk as the sun is getting low,
The sky explodes in colors as I watch it go.
It kisses the horizon and then it goes away,
It seems to mark the end of just another day.
I stand upon a hill as the light begins to fade,
I think about the day, decisions that I made.
Light begins to falter as it all goes dark,
I feel this spark growing inside my heart.
I look into the valley as the darkness grows,
I see the sparks of fireflies they seem to glow.
I hear the birds sing they soon will retire,
I look up at the moon it appears to be on fire.
The stars up above look like diamonds in the sky,
I watch the lights on planes as they streak by.
I think of the darkness filled with all these lights,
They seem to be like beacons to guide me through the night.
I lay upon the grass and gaze upon the stars,
They sparkle so bright in a sky dark as tar.
I close my eyes and imagine I can fly,
Travel to the moon as it rises high.
The day has give way to the wonders of the night,
Everywhere I look, I catch another sight.
As time flies by, I wonder where it went,
A breeze blows, carrying a floral scent.
I climb from the hill it’s time to go to bed,
Visions of the night still dancing in my head.
Soon tomorrow shall become today.
The sun will rise and the stars will go away.
night touches wind, gold
buds drifting off from laced hems
in slow procession,
while twirl of frothy breeze cloaks...
my desolate autumn view.
Contest: 4 or 5 LINE POEM
Quiet taps on my old oak door
with a scent of lavender and honey
blown right past where flowers grow
swirls back in to a place she knows
In my arms I can feel her rest
heavy head and a broken heart
tear filled mist brought with the sea
seeping so slowly inside of me
Come close where I can comfort you
put to sleep all your deepest fears
hold my hand and be one with me
and together we can both drift free
Hold forth you winds of yesterday
live peacefully in my dreams
emerge in grace and beauty
a soft breeze blown in off the sea
Catch the Clouds
As they drift by
The moist mist kissed
In dream blue high
Catch the clouds in
The sweet salt snare of
A woman’s womb
A cozy room
Catch the clouds
If you care
Catch the moist seed
Plant it deep
Bring the moist need
From its
Dreamy sleep
Strange how it goes, they're waiting their turn
To flood my thoughts, these ideas to burn
Other times nothing, just rack my old brain
Get all pooped out, my attempts are in vain
Is there no place smack dab in the middle
Where rhymes reside and efforts are little
Why do we suffer a blankness at times
There must be a pill for starting these rhymes
Oh well, I'm really having the time of my life
Annoying struggles just add to the spice
We'd ALL be poets if these rhymes came easy
Wouldn't stand out with our words so breezy
Do you catch my drift, am I making any sense
Keep plugging away, don't be so damn tense
Rhymes will soon come, have ye no doubt
Flooding your brain, you'll stand up and shout
Lordy, I'm a poet just knew it all along
My heart doth sing a happiness thong!
© Jack Ellison 2013
Drift..
Going to unchartered grounds..
Bliss surrounds me..
Awakened I am to the ambiance of magnificence..
My soul is lifted..
Drift away I am..
Where there is no pain..
Only the glory of whom I am..
Interludes of euphoria arises..
As there is only I am and all..
All is one..
Unlimited visitations..
Flying high where one has freedom..
Racing with an eagle spreading its massive wings..
Drifting to a higher ground..
Where my spirit soars ..
Intoxicated with joy..
Enraptured I am..
Fulfilling a journey of a never ending life..
One lifetime ..
Just a tip of an iceberg..
A piece of dust blown by the wind..
Expansion grows as I am carried away..
My spirit glides ..
A sacred dance upon the skies..
Drifting to inner peace..
Captured by the beauty..
Going beyond beautiful I am..
In the stillness of now..
In the stillness of it all..
Life as we know..
Continues..
I am..
All while I drift away..
Our seconds- they drift by each day-
like little pieces fly,
and where they fall and where they lay
can make us laugh or cry.
Of all the little pieces, some
together, shape a form
on how our life will grow, become-
or vanish in its storm.
Our little pieces build up time-
from seconds grow to years;
so many- but they all entwine
to bring us smiles or tears.
And all our little pieces hold
the memories we keep;
like through an hourglass they unfold
our lifetime, in a heap.
Our little pieces we must use
to never waste a one,
for as they fly, so quick diffuse-
can never be redone.
Our seconds- they drift by each day-
as little pieces fly.
Each one shapes up our life's pathway-
from birth until we die.
September 15, 2016
~3rd Place~
Contest: Brian's Select 4
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Judged: 06/05/2020
~3rd Place~
Contest: All The Little Pieces
Sponsor: Constance LaFrance
Judged: -9/22/2016
Morning fog scrolls amid lonely hills
scarlet rays of wonder sultry bead
dissipating breaths mist in prelude
offering up a delicate canvas of need
drenched at attention mid stare
reflections begging to be revealed
all of life's secrets soon to bare
painted corners of blushed lips
curl, in the drawing of your way
hushed the half-beats of my drum
crave, welcoming in a new day
and when the moments lay dry
drift into the balance of my eye
These green and isolate continents,
set apart by oceans slick as glass,
post signs on high escarpments
to warn ships, sailors -- and loves that pass --
of seeming permanence, often met:
though earth seem solid and free from rift,
please beware of continental drift.
From where I drift from my old home, the roads
And places that I roam, I stay at peace.
Never can a word of a soul release
My care for the dirt, not even those loads.
Bumping along the sweet country, railroads
Adjoin the scene of beauty that won’t cease.
The sun shines through the window marked with grease,
I wish I could rehash these episodes.
My hair, oh, what a sad color of gray,
It’s no longer pretty, but rather thin.
I mourn that I waited till now, I lay
Immovable from my bed, yet I grin.
In spite of present hopes I will still pray,
To The One above who made life begin.
We drift softly together- -
hands glazing a window filled with stars
where row of flora bends its twirling hips
and curtains lift the fabric of breath,
until we become twinsouls in August's hours
that bless the garden of devotion...
and in the stillness of dusk
when all blossoms turn to virtues
deepening the fragrance of the sky,
we will find each other in a cradle
of one rose in the glade--
as a breeze disrobes our pores
stirring the ember of fireflies blazed,
that even moonglow crowns our love
amidst the glimmer of jovial kisses
undefined by any name, while we,
in a bright pastel of August's rose,
together... drift softly.