Best Elegy Poems
I walked in darkness along the shore
seeking only solitude and nothing more
Thunder drummed from somewhere far away
like foreboding timpani as clouds began to play
They competed with the roar of bally waves
crashing to the beach in rhythmic laves
Everything was out of reach for me
the moon, the stars, the depth of the sea
Echoes of a nocturne were swirling in my head
Lyrics left unsung, but spoken instead
My soprano continued; the falsetto stopped
Too weak to stand, on my knees I dropped
My footprints had been erased by an ebbing tide
No longer able to run. I chose not to hide
Blind in the darkness, my loneliness daunting
a flash of lightning, then another more taunting
I lifted my eyes to the sky, to the falling rain
its sting delivered in a medley, staccatos of pain
On the edge of the sea, I waited for the end of me
My tears an ensemble, an elegy in requiem plea
I ignored the orchestra when I heard the ocean call
louder than kettle drums or the storm's howling squall
No encore would this night be able to reprise
When the flowing tide encroached, I closed weary eyes
A chorus of waves crashed like cymbals in concerto
stealing the baton from the hand of the Maestro
The moon and stars were out of reach for me
I wept as I was swept into the depth of the sea
August 28, 2022
2022 Marathon Mile 13 Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney
Shine as a source of endless light
whose rainbows of colour deter the night
where daydreams are gentle as doves in flight
and sleep the sleep of angels
Shine like a shower of soft moonbeams
Inhabit the sea of a thousand dreams
where laughter and love are timeless themes
and sleep the sleep of angels
Shine like the sun in a golden sky
On warm, sultry evenings, a fragrance, a sigh
an echo of summer as life passes by
and sleep the sleep of angels
"If I could have put you in my heart,
if but I could have wrapped you in myself,
how glad I should have been.
And now the chart
of memory unroils again to me.
The course of our journey here,
here where we part." D.H. Lawrence
Sunset descended behind the willow trees
Into the sea, it seemed to sink and drown
Alone and grieving, hair tousling in the breeze
for one there is no comfort to be found
as he sits staring at the gathering clouds
Lost in memories, overwhelmed with despair
Tears rain from weary reddened eyes
He's an abstract painting of desolation
brush strokes in shades of somber blue
No sunlight appears to brighten today's skies
Only darkness that comes from sad au Revoirs
No words of bereavement can he speak to express
the doleful depth of wistful loneliness
nor the solemn fathoms of elegiac emptiness
Melancholy looms half past midnight's darkest hour
There's a bitterness he swallows, acerbically sour
"This too shall come to pass," I remember to say ~
"In these days of forlorn sorrow
the world must seem hauntingly grim
each time you close your eyes and think of him"
I feel his angst from such an emotional loss
Against it his mind must be raging
Death has no compassion for the young of age
the kind ones who never hurt anyone
the bright ones whose light should never fade away
Weeping for Hazza, he lamentably grieves
watching storm tossed waves roll over angry seas
I hope there's truth in believing broken hearts mend
for the one who's been wounded and bleeding
as another sunset descends behind the willow trees
I’m tired
I’m Physically and Emotionally tired
I don’t want to be the strong one anymore
I can’t this time
I don’t know what to do Daddy
I need your help down here
I can’t get back in control of my emotions
I’m having a hard time dealing with your absence
I’m having a hard time standing by myself
I need your help Daddy
I’m broken and lost without you Daddy
I need your will to want to carry on
I need your strength to over come this
I need your strength to stay standing
Your courage to fight back again
I need your help
Please Daddy I’m at a loss
How am I suppose to do this
I need your guidance
I need you to guide me back
To whom I was before
I need your help Daddy
I need your help
Alone in a meadow in the pouring rain
I find the stone that causes all my pain,
As I stumble through the fog in disbelief
I fall down upon my knees and sob in grief
The fog horn cries her mournful sound
As my heart falls down, beneath the ground
Crying out to God for mercy all in vain
To take away the stone that bears your name
Author: Elaine George
Chill breath of autumn
Sears the poppy scarlet red,
On his memory'd cenotaph.
Tears trickle in the furrowed
Faces of young comrades
.....now long dead
And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art
situate at the entry of the sea, which
art a merchant of the people for many
isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus,
thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty
— Ezek. 27:3
Libertas,
she who is of perfect beauty
Roman goddess,
situated at the entry of the sea
You hold a torch
that burns a cold flame
From the South Pole to the North,
everyone on Earth knows your name
America,
America
She reincarnated your ancient fame
America,
America
Her prideful beauty became her shame
Libertas,
the fame of your beauty everyone wanted to see
In the presence of a goddess,
all people from every nation worldwide wanted to be
You hold the dovetail tablet
that inscribes the progress of liberty
From the North Pole to the South,
they flock to the land that stands in the midst of the seas
All hoping to reach your shores, dreaming to be free
America,
America
You now reject those who seek haven within your buxom border
America,
America
The Holy Scriptures thus declare: Set your divided house in order
Libertas,
graven goddess greeting poor souls
seeking the bond of assimilation with one another
America,
merchant queen selling plastic rainbows,
you look just like Tyrus, your ancient twin brother
Your picture perfect beauty
is rapidly fading away
You always took pride in your nudity,
now an ugly portrait resembling an aging Dorian Gray
For those who observe Good Friday, may God fill your heart
with the hope of the resurrection
The crowd is mixed -
some on their knees,
some raise their fists,
some sob their pleas.
Who is this man
whose flesh is torn...
what was his crime
to cause such scorn?
Why do sharp thorns
torment his head
when only words
of love were said?
Why do my nails
now splinter hands
that brought compassion
to this land?
Where goes the sun
in midday rain -
as though the heavens
weep in pain?
Where are your friends
(as cold winds blow)
who hailed you king
five days ago?
Why not apply
your godly power
to save yourself
in your dark hour?
Yet as I mock
he looks at me -
no guile nor hate,
just sympathy.
This cold wind chills
me to the bone,
and yet his warmth
has found a home.
Where goes the sun
in midday rain?
I pray this Son
will rise again.
Written 14 April 2022
There was a time when the world was beautiful
and we were destined to be lovers forever
nothing brought us sadness
we were devoted
like sunrise is to morning like sunset is to the night
now all I have are memories drifting through my soul
I cry for your last whispered breath
days mean nothing, tomorrows are gone
our lives vanished like a passing wind
sweeping away time...sweeping away growing old
we meet in my dreams
where we still dance and I bring you flowers
dreams come and go...pain stays...pain stays
so I cry, needing to dream
dreams are not what I need, it's you I need
to see, to hold, to kiss again
I fall to my knees each time I visit your grave
and cry until I can't cry anymore
Why...were you taken?
you were the beauty, the light, the paradise
we would have filled our tomorrows with so much love
that its glow would have blinded the night
What now love, what now? My heart is yours
my soul is yours, to be shared when we meet again
so we may be lovers in the heavenly stars forever
the snow
undissolved
amid my heart
wanders eternal
as does my avidity
its difficult to accept
“to move on to forget”
six feet yet unreachable
how will this feeling melt
my everything lost tomorrow
‘we’ wander, separate, absent
as I hang by the blistering icicle
I want to accept but never forget
will a 'farewell' do me as to liberty
my tears frozen yet sentiments warm
let our memories perpetual we coexist
as you’l love in summer and I will in winter
* * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
* * * * *
* * * * * *
* * * *
* *
* * * *
* *
* *
*
* *
*
I had yearned for it all my life
That simple gesture
That finally healed
The open wound
That for years
Bled
In a silent stream
That fell Between
The cracks in
You and me
When with a gentle sigh
You looked
Into my eyes
Held my hand
And kissed my fingertips
The day
Before you died
The last gold leaf hangs on the bough;
summer is just a memory now.
You, too, have gone, my golden friend;
our summer days came to an end.
We said goodbye; our chapter closed.
How I will miss you no one knows.
On eagle wings you split the skies;
your spirit soared. You had to fly.
My earthbound soul will bear its grief
severed from you on mortal reef;
but returning from yonder shore,
your love in waves will wash me o'er.
You've gone before, my trusted love;
I wait behind, your mourning dove;
yet, from across the great divide
your voice to me in dreams confides.
No, I think not that dreams they are;
but communion of the near with far.
On such sweet songs I stake my claim
to know and love you once again.
Copyright, 1987, Faye Gibson
. Beneath a blanket of earth
With a pillow made of stone
Her child eternally sleeps
~~~
. While at the foot of his bed
She stands alone
And weeps! And weeps! And weeps!
. Written: November 20th, 2009
Refrain
You shimmering waves on the ocean blue
Dance not again, he cannot dance with you
You weeping forests where the winds wail too
Let your bright tears fall in the pool of dew
The world of pop will never be the same again
The king is dead, and life is a dream so vain.
Do you ask me why does my sorrow flow so
Endlessly for him? Is he not gone the way
Of men that many went before? O I do know
My time may not be long, and lessons delay.
Who do think was the man in the mirror? did
You see us there, did you know it oppressed him
When like wanton dogs drugged and rabid
Went heedless along the callous way being dim.
Look at the dance videos again, tell me
You see the what he begs to beat it. Off the wall
Are shadows falling like an inner expose
Where he internalized the world, and yet did call
In many songs - his troubled world was us
But now the king's sun set to dust, and we
Remain to heed and weep the vanity of lust
The tangled truths of out tentacled history!
Michael was God's gift to our season, and how I
Wish he would dance for me across the tribal plains
Of Africa again, where warriors ride in the sky
Through the fire make us brothers without chains
A global oneness where dreams deny the child
Nothing again. O death, what oneness beyond this
Can we find? Treat him kindly there, be mild
To him who in this troubled life knew no bliss.
Michael I miss you; O genius, sleep now in peace
The storms of life are over, the lightning ends
And droughts will come again, but I'll never cease
To proclaim your virtues to foes and friends;
Sleep beloved. Your glory stream in summer's eye
And Harlem's street are filled, old men remember
And old women interrupt their planning to cry
Farewell, Michael ... the grandest star is but an ember.
I remember the day I got the call.
My world fell apart.
I had lost it all.
I remember the day you were taken from me.
I knew your beautifull smile I would never again see.
They said it was a mugger and you put up a fight.
I should not have let you go out that night.
It seems like just yesterday we fed eachother our wedding cake.
When I remember that memory my hands start to shake.
I sit in my cabin on this mountain with the sky so blue.
I won't leave. This's where I spent my honeymoon with you.
My family wants me to go back into that world, so cold.
I'm not leaving this mountain.
It's where I'll grow old.
They say your gone and will never again be.
Well, I hear what your saying. Yes, I know your talking to me.
You sit in the chair and drink my tea.
My heart swells up when you smile at me.
They say I've gone insane and see things that aren't there.
If I'm on this mountain here why should they care?
I love you more then I did when we first found this place.
I remeber everything about you, your ellagince and grace.
Why am I not in that world full of anger and fear?
I want to be with you on this mountain here.