Best Evaporated Poems
Dawn slowly awakened to supplant the moon
Empty, the canopy where stars had been strewn
In repose, Luna slept after wandering velvet skies
and spider webs shimmered in the flight of sunrise
Dew drops evaporated upon the fragrant tuberose
as a playful breeze billowed my sheer nightclothes
Seagulls swooped and scurried along amber shores
A salty crew grappled with the sea on labored oars
Muscles pulled in rhythmic chorus, as if in lyrical rote
as surging waves rocked the hull of their fishing boat
They surpassed each crest and triumphed over swells
The sun's prisms painted the horizon in muted pastels
Inspired by the milieu of ruffled swirls across the sea
sunlight dappled over its surface in sequenced litany
I sipped a second cup as thoughts were being seeded
Poetry spawned inside of me; a birthing to be heeded
For as driftwood hastens down rapids to a new frontier
I needed to ledger my verses, ere they hie to disappear
August 13, 2022
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 12 Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney
The many winters I had seen
When once I was a teen
Gathered inside our small living room
Joy and simplicity our faces illume
Warm with laughter at striking stories
Light is the heart and empty of worries
My sisters and sole brother
The treasure of my father and my mother
Mum, our angel of the earth
The springs of our gaiety and mirth
Moving in the magic of her young age
Our hunger for hot food would assuage
Would even bring a piece of paradise
To us, if we dared ask, for any price
Dad, overloaded, would tread miles for our sake
Serene reassuring smiles while so much at stake
The nights echoed holy verses dad used to read
Developing a sense of belonging to his creed
Opening our hearts to the graces and blessings of the Divine
In my veins, a life of a tender love I’ll ever enshrine
*****
Many winters had passed
Still nourished of a so precious past
Confined to the tranquility of the night
The magic box would offer dreams in black and white
Stress and concern evaporated and lost weight
Soft whispers.. suppressed giggles with life pulsate
The quietest of corners I would always look for
My sanctuary, my home made bookstore
Ever my worlds side by side shaping the inner me
No single worry over the one whom I would be
Why would I when I was entangled in more than one story
Preened myself on my pen musing in my world of ivory
My younger sis who of English knew no word
Would grant me her patience and love for what she heard
Love and most of all contentment and gratitude
Deeply remained, the reign of my worlds and my soul food
The cold of winters, now, how can my words perceive
In my realm of poesy what of warmth willing to weave
The winter of our Life which many abhor
My wishes I will have the grace to adore.
Blindly..
I beseech you
for my eyes won’t adjust
to this shaded maze of despair -
neither the lantern’s flame
nor a compass rose can help me now
in disrepair I need to find you
with fingers outstretched I raise my arms
groping for you like a eyeless babe for her mother
..but you’re not there —
a cunning thief this despair
for stealing my sight for a way out
Why won’t the summer solstice light this darkness
nor warm this anguished atmosphere..
am I to die here where I lie?
my undressed soul exposed to the wind-chill of your loss
naked in biting throes beneath a stony sun
desperate to thaw ice dams lodged in my bloodstream..
the winter sallow of my heart’s shallows a skater’s delight —
a cunning partner this despair..
ice-dancing with my pain
Where is the air I need to breathe..?
it’s evaporated with you and the dreams we used to dream
the weaver a double-dealer stealer..
life no longer lives in my poker-faced lifestyle
nor in fantasies long gone from sleep’s clouds
moth-eaten desires and grit and tears
too holey and harsh to knit a warm reason to swaddle in -
just let me close heavy hope-chest-lids of empty eyes
and take my last shrinking violet breath —
a cunning spy this despair
for infiltrating my will to survive..
Susan Ashley
October 11, 2020
N/A
Premiere Contest: 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 22
Sponsor: Mark Toney
(reformatted)
~ First Place ~
Contest: Will To Survive
Sponsor: Silent One
Love,
where do you bloom, unseen?
Have you become absorbed
in a world, where I do not belong.
Once, when I sat upon your shores,
lost in the depth of infatuation,
I held you tightly in
the palms of my hands,
hoping promises of 'forever'
would not only be words
but you evaporated like a
cloud in the darkest night,
abandoning me within the
realms of recycled emotions.
I had read about you in poetry,
so I wrote a few verses to honour you,
portrayed your grace through artistry,
so I could gaze at your soft pastels,
yet, here I remain
devoid of your devotion.
Now I ponder,
from all the beloveds and
all the versions of love -
which one is for me?
Must I,
search for you among mountains,
or sandcastles upon abandoned islands.
Is there path I must seek,
is there a guide that I can follow.
Must you,
veil yourself behind metaphors,
whilst fusing through musical musings,
frustrating through lyrics,
still unheard to my soul.
I wonder
if you are only true in fairy tales.
And in your betrayal,
if the world really knew you,
would they still yearn for your complexities.
If only there was a marketplace,
where I could barter and
purchase you for a fair price
but when has love ever been equal.
The horizons keep mimicking romance
and I hope those who follow the moon,
can eternally dance under its moonlight,
but every night there is a hidden
solitary star sparkling all on its own.
My heart fluctuates between
new sunrises and old sunsets,
hoping love will wait for me,
before my spirit fades,
so, I can have a love,
which I can call my own.
America the Free ~ America the Brave ~
Freedom with price Capitalism attacked
the many taken hearts broken still
one World try to rebuild
sadness and tears fall hard with fears
guilt by association many accused still
souls evaporated shattered dreams
tears fall on innocence left with anger
The proud fearless knew the inevitable
policeman fireman many lives lost
grieving does not stop 12 years later
New York city once proud & shameless
refusing to let fears in protecting ours
left in shock still question's unanswered
nothing learned nothing gained
ready to attack many left behind
anger greets denial anger meets rage
unacceptable still refusing new love
wanting days to rewind let us go back in time
acceptance allowing the victims leave in peace
the brave taken young leaving us sadly old
haunting dreams lost spirits dwell
no answers to hate never forgetting that day
Evil entered suddenly unforgiving fate
entering our City we stand with the fallen
How to fix how do we Change
This can be read many different ways ~ This is a poem I am so proud to write ~
The fact of losing you wasn't that much devastating. You evaporated too fast like water. And so it didn't give me affright. I know you're like water, you'll precipitate one day.
And so, that one day came by destiny. I was in my room when it rained pieces of you. I went outside and felt the touch I've missed for somehow a long time. I enjoyed your every drop, the petrichor and the moist.
I badly wanted you back. I longed for the water which drowns me in love. The water that gives me life every time I'm dehydrated. The water that forgives whoever I am. Only if I could collect all of your pieces and bring you back to my life forever, without you being gone once more. But I know, it will never happen.
For now, I enjoy your unexpected visits and perchance sojourns. I relish your every coming. In that way, I still manage to have you, even though I know you have to evaporate again.
In a world where we are constantly told how we should do this and that,
we must learn to thank them for their opinions…but, to listen to our own
hearts and THINK for ourselves.
There is a difference between guidance & being told what to do; where
opinions are sometimes, sadly, just glorified pre-judgments in hiding. In this
world today, more than ever, we must stand our ground and water our seeds
with our own heartbeats.
Because in the time one could spend listening to loud/louder/loudest opinions
of why one should or shouldn’t do it someone else's way, one could have
already done it their own way. Always move in the direction of time:
Forward
...
Another herd of evaporated soliloquies
Flashing warning signs of good-will
Unto the lost
The deaf
The mute
The righteously blind
They simply ask for a sip of strenuous cognac
To lighten regurgitated burdens
Yet, throats become condensed with
Good intentions
Under a cratered moon, afflicted with two-faced vertigo
How can one stand in the face of adversity
When our legs are kicked from the same foundations
That opinion’s high court built
How can I be told to write with syllabic serenity
When a rambunctious rhyme
Would be the socialized death of me
“Guided” by educated parchments, recycled without signatures
…
If poetry is freedom,
Why do critics scream in beer-battered rings of opulent contradictions?
If poetry is freedom,
How is one frowned upon for speaking the word of Life, the word of God
The same God who told us to speak upon epiphanies’ climactic pain
Towards the same “heaven”,
They swear,
They’ll arrive at.
©Drake J. Eszes
I was a happy little water droplet
Playing in a cloud
Until lightning struck
And thunder clapped loud
Stopping all my mirth
Dropping me to earth
Joining many others
Of my sisters and brothers
Bobbing wild and rampant
In a surging torrent
Towards a dam
Causing quite a jam
In a pipe so black
With no way back
Chlorinated pure
Like I’ve never been before
Jailed in a tray
With cells all the way
Frozen in a cube until used
Dropped into whisky
Making me quite frisky
To the sound of “Cheers”
I disappeared
Down a gullet to a stomach
Mushed to and fro
Told to go
To a loo full of poo
Down a sewer full of mice
That really was not nice
Finally to the sea
Where I was free
To have some fun
Floating in the sun.
Feeling emancipated
Zap!. Evaporated
Into a happy little water droplet
Playing in a cloud
Hoping not to hear the thunder clapping loud.
......a strange color, green
Become better informed, listen to your teachers,
educate yourself....which branch will the bluejay
survey from?
The hawk, circling, choose his best option?
Bleeding soldiers depend on doctors, rich men
depend on accountants, souls depend on preachers,
tap water depends on scientists and engineers,
nourishing the parched vagaries of citizens
and houseplants.
Words fall like acid-rain, seemingly harmless,
we thought we understood rain, it falls, it
nourishes, fills our reservoirs....then leaves a stain,
a clear outline of abuse, like evaporated salt, clinging
to our shirts after a hard day, sound bite upon bite.
Still, we wade through flooded streets, hoping the
tides will descend, rhetoric return to sanity, our lives
safe, from future floods.
after the elephants parade through every mind
the straw left behind
collects promises dumped in the streets
polled, polished,perfumed
ready to sweep it all up on election day
hit pause... wait four years
repeat
wait four years
repeat
09/08/12
6:09 pm
One day, not long ago, I was careening
like a kite on the winds of happiness
twirling through spaces of days that shone through all dark clouds.
Muddy puddles were beneath me, but they were far beneath.
My Sunshiny days evaporated the puddles,
yet always mud remains,
and from the mud a shadow form took shape.
It never seems to fail. . .
I’ll have almost reached the summit of my bliss,
a loopy kite somersaulting through blue sky
when by and by. .. the shadow form I’ve managed to pretend
I do not see has risen from the mud, awaiting me.
Bad luck, like a thunder clap, attacked my happy sky.
Joy’s buoyancy lost its grip on me. I slipped
plunging to the frigid ground -
again to be in disappointment’s shadow.
Written 10/6/2015 By Andrea Dietrich
For the Dancing with Description Poetry Contest of Casarah Nance
Her man was woven into love spell
By another woman, not of her smell.
Bewitchery, she will not tolerate
To the perfumery she’ll calculate.
Apothecary had the perfect answer
An exotic earthy whiff from vetiver!
Happy she was her man found her erotic -
But, alas, it was only episodic!
She spritzed the air with essence of rose petal -
Then a reminiscence of the betrayal!
Love and romance the attar generated
Very soon enough it evaporated.
Memorable scent of basil she wore next,
Pleasurable things her man not to forget,
In vain, it was she who cannot forget -
In her mind fresh the err her man had make,
Scent of her rival made her green with envy,
Scent of betrayal made her very angry,
Desperate but hopeful, she went to a lone edifice;
Temperate and humble, the scent of water brought her peace.
7/14/14
Don’t Speak
Close your sweet lips
So I may whisper wine drops in your ears
Close your eyes
So that I may wisp you to magical delusions
Where the scent of love
Wraps around your essence
Your nectar enticing and perfume captivating
You need no words at all
For the love above shall embrace us all
Together, we shall dance in all kinds of weather
Me and you
Love letters bashful and vineyards that grow
With each whispered word
Let me wrap my arms around you
Love has fermented in eternal caskets
The bonds shall keep us together and free
No one can hurt us
Eden was be quested to us
Our paradise until we turn to dust
The stars in the sky
The raging fire warming loins below
Angels massaging our seductive dreams
Do not speak; hear your heart and ponderous desires
You know you are a flame on fire
Scream for me
As I shall conquer for you
The love within the heart
The love never to be
Do not speak
For teardrops have spoken
The sadness within awoken
Do not speak
Our love was to keep
Inside the bowl of teardrops
Evaporated
magic
fermented smiles
touching
clouds
evaporated
mock?
taunt?
troll?
negative?
insult
provoke
stoke
in Chatham
or
love
breathe
lend a hand
lovely and grand
storms
negative vibes
no more brandy
only wine
sour grapes hide
A king
Harif
soothes all my voices
even if both cry
rainbows
ignore the rain
dance arm in arm
sunshine shines
wisdom speaks
for
whom
is
kind
sunshines
My love has gone to a distant dawn
For the stars only come out at night
In a soulful song my will pulls along
Whispers weeping in the moonlight
My love evaporated as I have waited
For the stars only come out at night
My love deflated as heaven dictated
For I have truly tried with all my might
My love a silhouette as shadows forget
For the stars only come out at night
Love’s dying duet we’ve become offset
Two soaring doves in a different flight
My love abandoned a sorrow branded
For the stars only come out at night
The tears I’m handed deeply saddened
And vanquishing flames try to ignite
My love is jarred and forever barred
For the stars only come out at night
Love is scarred for I’ve battled hard
For the stars cry on this starry nite.
This was written in July...was saving it for such an occasion...this is the first time posting of this poem.
I would also like to dedicate this poem to my friend...Connie Marcum Wong...not because she cry's when the stars come out at night lol...because she is a beautiful enlightened soul...and I thank her very much for her support, along with others...but for now, just her lol...thank you, Connie...
July/31/2017
Best rhyming poem May-July 2017
Sponsored by: John Hamilton
Comes and it goes, sometimes more than other
times when you don’t want it to be there for you
and it seems you‘re never destined to cover
the possessions you don’t need to but you go through
so much pain just to remain innately insane.
Today I thought I saw the zenith of my dreams,
foolish me, as if the blind man can attain
visions of evaporated rain shaped like raceme
still stained on my window left from morning’s tears.
Life hangs heavy on this half-lit horizon just beyond
the glass separating me from all that I’ve feared;
to turn all those small puddles into big ponds
containing something uncontaminated with doubt,
maybe those coming clouds can end this drought?