Best Encounters Poems
Some people are just uncomfortable
She is putting on a smile
under her mask
I don’t know if it’s her
or it’s me
She’s nice, a little hurried
Even her son’s spirit
seems lost to the horizon
They are no strangers
Some people hurry
and still
make me feel safe
mask or no mask
There is a message
tucked away
behind one’s flesh
I can meet a stranger
even have a quick encounter
and feel kinship
The lady in the Santa hat
ringing her bell
at this time of year
as if she’s always been there
She’s warm
Her message says, “Hello.”
Nothing nefarious, truly kind
Don’t get me wrong
it could be me…
Maybe I’m too approachable
encroaching in an unwanted space…
Still the angel
that went to heaven
had wide open arms
it could be me…
I will always wonder
but then I’m too old
to be bothered
There are times, awkward
Moments when I question my own feelings
My ideas, thoughts, beliefs
The way I have been directed and the
Way I have lived
There are times, difficult
Moments when I don’t know the answers
My theories, contemplations, hopes
The memories that have given me promises
Of the light that I seek
The wonder felt in a dream
Beckoning me, protecting me, telling me
All that I have lived for – my faith
Is like a raindrop or a embrace
Not long and I’ll know His touch
The breath of His love
Against my naked spirit
The kindness that will lift me
Through every worry and temptation
There are times, tricky
Moments when I fail to feel sure, certainty
Colors me ambiguous and I wake to
A world of dark, dreary death
Blackness surrounding my silent wish
For purity, praise, prayer – promises of
The everlasting grace – hope and glory
Songs to enchant and embrace
Longings rich and vibrant, whole
Like a hallelujah
Sung breathlessly, with
Anticipation of holy help
There are times, obstinate
When I’m insecure
It is then that faith reminds me
Jesus is alive, a light
Living inside me, enlightening
Delighting, heartening
He only desires my trust
In His intimate, vibrant
Everlasting Love
I believe He is alive
A burning fire
Living inside
Where I only desire
To be like Him
I’m His child
And I am not an only child
Religion meets spirituality
On the edge of His brilliance
Embrace Jesus and live
On the caress of His spirit
Religion or Spirituality Contest
Unseeking Seeker
May 14, 2021
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
Wild Indigo...
Color of my third eye
Elevates my soul
To universal realms
Of blissful peace.
July 3, 2017
Baptisia Australis or Wild Indigo:
Has a mild toxin that makes them unpalatable to cattle. The Wild Indigo Duskywing is an insect that likes the flower because the flowers have a mild toxin in them which helps defend the caterpillars that are layed on them. The root system consists of a single taproot. Considerable variations of moisture are tolerated.
shall we dance...
the old dance of romance
between two lost souls
who have met by chance...
cool words, and quick wits
hide broken hearts, and loneliness...
fear the others intentions
test for damage prevention...
body language of meekness
eyes telling our secrets...
shall we dance
shall we dance
shall we dance
"How do you ease yourself?"
An older man once asked me
in a hotel lobby.
A strange thing to ask a teenager.
Later, on the Thames,
Douglas (a celebrated artistic failure),
drunk-kissed me on the lips.
He was sweeter
than the girl, I came aboard with.
The skinny lodger upstairs
dropped his pants in front of me.
He was just lonely.
"How do you ease yourself?"
Asks the cold wind of autumn.
I walk, I write,
I whistle like a kettle sometimes.
My father passed on nearly ten years before I got married. He was not present for my college graduation, nor was he alive when I finished high school.
My youngest sibling was nine months old. There was a period of grief at his passing, but then survival demands appeared and said, “Let there be life”. So I moved on.
At the time, his absence never bothered me. I learned to live without him; to leap from boy to man. I never accused or charged him for dying too soon;
OR DID I? I never blamed him for the pains and the wounds; OR DID I?
There were signs that he was becoming a better person to live with;
but I don’t really know how I would have differed had he lived longer.
Many years later I realized that I subconsciously shut him out; I SHOULDN'T HAVE. I angrily charged him for things he did and judgmentally accused him of things he shouldn’t have done. I SHOULDN'T HAVE. Without mercy, I prosecuted, sentenced, and banished him and all that he represented; BUT
I SHOULDN'T HAVE.
Subconsciously, I reacted to his negative ways and rendered him irrelevant.
There were things I did not know, and other things I never considered.
I silently, without fuss or fight, without sufficient evidence, shut him out.
Yes, I rendered him unimportant and irrelevant; anything positive was blocked out, never rising to an appreciative level. It would take years to even realize this. Yes, Father was dead physically, but he deserved a kind memory. However, for years I was as if silent and frozen, unable to remember anything of value.
But then it happened!! Twelve years ago at a family reunion, a younger sister spoke well of our father and sat me straight. She spoke of things I never knew of the man whose memory I had crushed, and whose influence I thought I could live without. She spoke of a man I never knew and painted a portrait of a man that was kind, caring, and sensitive toward others.
It was like a reunion with my long-deceased father; and as if I was
given a second encounter with him. I tell you, I forgave him and consciously let his influence and memory back into my life, and I am the better for it.
07112015
Tornadoes blizzards
thunderstorms and hurricanes.
Clouds with attitude!
Hot
Sweaty, sultry
Yearning, tempting, loving
Emotions, desires, push, hate
Freezing, chilling, turning
Icy, frigid
Cold
In the aftermath of birth to my last child, a procedure was
performed the next day, intense breathing, anxiety and
overwhelms me. code blue announced over the intercom
I'm having respiratory distress caused by the anesthesia.
The electronic vital sign monitors beep, I'm flatlined for
30 minutes after loss of consciousness according to medical
staff, I'm revived and hooked up to a ventilator. Out-of-body
encounter, I'm amongst the clouds looking down at the medical
is staff working on me am I in heaven or hell? I was suddenly
approached by a male image, the face not seen gave me a
hug a kiss on my right cheek, and said I'm not done with
you and I were awakened on the third day. Out-of-body
encounters.
I jumped on my bike as fast as i could
but not fast enough, it did me no good
The bully kid was big and mean and acted very tough
laughing all the while he quickly knocked me on my duff
Rubbing grass in my mouth, slapping me in the face
him laughing at me, me feeling so disgraced
He punched me so hard then left me crying on the ground
I slowly stood up, was there no one else around?
I gathered up my books and jumped on my bike
and pedaled straight home mustering all of my might
"What happened to you, son?" Mom was the first to see
I cried as I replied "i got beat by a bully!"
"I'm so sorry for you son, I'm so sad that you were harmed"
just then my dad walked in and immediately looked alarmed
Dad quickly asked me "Son, did you give him back the same?"
I sheepishly said "no" re-experiencing the shame.
Dad just stared awhile then said "I don't like what you're becoming.
Next time you better fight, give the bully what he's got coming!
First you punch him in the stomach then you hit him in the face
He won't hurt you any more, when you put him in his place!"
i slowly nodded as he left, Mom quickly gave my cheek a kiss
"I'm so proud of you son for not fighting with your fists
The Lord's servant doesn’t fight but should be gentle instead"
"Yes ma'am" i quickly said as conflicting counsel twirled round my head
The next 5 years when tensions flared i was a gentle talker
but as a bully approached my sophomore year i threw him against his locker!
Thank you Mom and Dad!
***
October 26, 2019
F T I series 9 childhood
Brian Strand, sponsor
Ghost hiding in the
House, Playing tricks and making noise
On the
Staircase walking up and down, activating them,
Toys.
Laughing crying, screaming
Yelling, knocking on the doors.
Evil and good, dark and light shining on the floors.
Never knowing what to expect on
Countless endless nights,
On the water in the woods they take great delight.
Under branches on their stones, buried in there graves,
No one can imagine the energy that
They crave.
Endless dreams of them visiting, loved ones from the past,
Remembering them is easy to do but dreams they never last.
Someday we will be a ghost, a spirit in the night, screaming yelling telling stories
Shining down our light.
In the corner of my left eye
The full moon
In the corner of my right eye
Someone familiar
On front of me
The pavement, a concrete conveyor belt
Confusion of the city obscures
Annoyingly
In a blink the moon and the someone familiar
Disappear behind things
Other thoughts are conveyed to me
I wonder onwards
©dbyrne May 2014
laughter breaks silence
coloring worlds in kindness
lingering on lips? a kiss
breathing dreams awake
will love like this ever fade?
joy lights up the dance of life
Ni (2) Katuata Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: William Kekaula
I used HMS Syllable counter
July 11, 2021
Buddleia's blossom
indigo butterflies mate -
intrude passions hold