Best Faded Poems
By the serene riverside
I found a faded yellow leaf
withering blades portrayed
ferocious storms in the journey
I have been clinging to it
trampled patches of scars
a memento of grey veins
broken dreams embedded
somewhere in the midrib
frayed memories conjugating
along oscillating spine
still vibrating in pain
to undulating frequencies
I stop
this isn't how the leaf should be
so I plunge it into the river
glowering greedily to drown it perhaps
but those scars get washed away
vibrating veins attain equilibrium
the leaf floats to the surface
with faded memoirs to be forgotten
I pick it up gleaming in moist droplets
reborn by the gaiety riverside
I leave it there
and walk ahead
another journey awaits
the leaf and me
we turn pages
beyond borders of this river
Writtten: July 14, 2020
July NA or HM Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Constance La France
~HM in Strand Completely New (10),Any Form,Any Theme Poetry Contest
Judged on July 17, 2020
I’ve always been restless since I was a kid,
to settle near drives me insane.
I’ll just throw together the best that I can
what I own and be gone again.
Boxes long packed I had stacked in a shed,
are obsolete, so I feel that I have
to lighten my load for my road ahead,
then discover an old photograph.
Stopped in my tracks, I sit on the bench;
I look deeply into the face.
My eyes go all misty as I travel back,
to a little old weatherboard place.
Where I remember the warmth in the kitchen,
on those cold and wet winter nights.
Hot steaming soup; the open wood fire,
and the flickering kerosene lights.
How the family was close knit together.
We hadn’t even heard of T.V.
Chatting while eating our Sunday roast;
neighbour visits for hot scones and tea.
Bare footed we ran through the paddocks,
seeking out mud or a puddle.
If we came down with an ailment,
the remedy - a kiss and a cuddle.
Patched up were my breeches and socks.
Most ‘jumpers’ were ‘hand me down’.
I was so proud of my ‘new’ clothes;
showing everyone who came around.
Rabbit was our staple diet.
Trapped in the bush at the back of our home.
‘Chooks’ we kept for the eggs;
only eaten if we killed one of our own.
Blinking, I came back to earth;
took a breath and so pleased to find,
what I believed was forgotten,
is deeply entrenched in my mind.
Dormant I wait for the moment.
Something releases memories I have.
A tear falls and darkens a spot,
on Mother’s faded photograph.
"Fantasy creates an illusory domain. Riding on the wings of fantasy won't take you anywhere. But sure, it gives us mental relaxation and allows an interim break from the harsh realities of life" ~ By Poet
In the wee hours of a silent night,
In my sleep I dreamt a dream-
A lovely delightful whimsy dream
That took me to the land of love.
In my reverie, I had seen my prince before.
Now in my sleep, I saw him once again.
His contours, aflame with sparks of fire
His eyes, dewy with ardent love
His lips, quivering for a passionate kiss.
When I tried to draw his face closer,
Alas! he was no more there!
Was it hallucination or just visualization?
Now I know, the cruel dawn came down,
Sounding bugles across the hazy sky,
Spreading thick veils of separation
And tore his face from mine.
Come, Oh Night! Come once again
Driven in the chariot of darkness,
Flying swift on wings of imagination,
And bring him to the shelter of my arms
To wrap him in the warmth of my caresses,
To enfold him in the tangles of my tresses,
When the whole world in deep sleep lies.
Let me once more be blessed
With the dream of my heart’s delight,
And be lost in that magic spell
Of his enchanting, electric presence,
Which in the height of my passion
Was sullied by the light of dawn!
Within the cinereal swirls
of clouded skies
I hear the quickened beat
of my pulse, fall within my steps
and the echoes of mind
on these empty streets
as i walk alone, lost
beneath the shadows
of buildings that fall
from lambent light
of crescent moon
in its slow rise
I see the glimmer
of thousands of faceless stars
among night's ebony drop
as they trace the darkness
scribbled through fate,
the distance between us
is just as great.
I feel hidden from life
like the last leaf
on near naked trees
beneath winter's frigid touch
yet i cling beneath the winds of time
ungrounded, yet untouched
Hell itself cannot burn any brighter
No faster than stars fuel the sky
I follow them all in search of heaven
But it’s us on Earth feeding that fire
They all fade slowly from existence
Spreading out right under my eyes
Not because they obey a command
In truth, there’s so much space to hide
I watch distance stretching on forever
As human intelligence restricts my mind
Nothing stays in the place it begins
Perceived certainty, or just plain lies
And I’ve many grave misgivings
about rockstars that chose to die
Did they tap into a secret chord
to find it was always background noise
Oh, I curse this whole damn cosmos
for creating such an impenetrable void
It knows nothing of fixed boundaries
Only how to dim despite all our sighs
Thoughts how they fade from white to gray,
and the memories we made,
turned to dust just today.
Ashes we smoked and the dreams we dreamt,
all DIED in your arms and I wept...
-and wept.
Please forgive me- believe me when I say I am sorry-
I feel sad for you but not as sad as I feel for me.
Self pity is a disease,
but it puts me at ease,
and I just wish these flea's,
would get off my bleeding back.
If I could paint you a river, I'd swim to your shore,
mend all I tore...
...now it's you that I lack.
It has always been you...
ALWAYS been you...
you were my envelope, you were my flu,
you cut me apart because you made me whole,
I'm sorry I stole...your heart...
-your heart...
NA in CONTEST NO 204 any form-theme max of 16 lines
Judged September 17, 2016
For contest: Screwed XVI
Date Written: September 26, 2015
I was here once
But now I'm one of the forgotten ones
I faded away slowly
Imperceptibly
Like the once vibrant blue of blue jeans
The edges frayed
as I walked along the road of fleeting popularity
I felt my fabric thinning
until I became comfortable
It made me kinda cool in a way
for I was worn almost every day
it felt better than okay
Paired with shirts and sweaters
until a time later other clothes seemed better
My holes became too noticeable
instead of somewhat perceptible
The day came
when I was sorta just a bit out of style
So you washed and folded me
carefully put on me on a shelf
After all I was a favourite
no one wants to throw a favourite away
Right there in the closet I stayed
Next to all the pretty new things
waiting
until the day
You might wear me again
But somehow
like sometimes
things just are what they are
faded old blue jeans
inexplicably disappear
If you ever do find them
You smile and remember
how they made you feel
But sadly
when you try them on
they don't fit anymore...
Tear drops fall
between silent lines
carrying the tune
of this weeping melody
written on my heart’s
faded sheet music
Scales cry in sharpened flats
twisting treble clef sorrows
Candelabras drip pain
on withered fingers
roaming ivory slivers bleeding
out of tune syncopation
Unheard choruses
in three quarter sadness
wasted on black and white keys
played long after
the lid was closed
on our love
Where is that sustain pedal
when you need it?
And leaves faded old are flying,
withered red, burnt orange and gold:
and the birds in trees are crying;
the mornings have a hint of cold !
Autumn is weeping, weeping rain,
and leaves faded old are flying:
garden flowers decay and wane;
tomorrow they will be dying !
Autumn hues intensifying,
with chill days when the sun is bleak:
and leaves faded old are flying;
even the droning bees seem weak !
The wind now like a waltzing dance,
swirling, twirling mystifying:
the beautiful scenes a dream trance;
and leaves faded old are flying !
______________________
August 13, 2022
Poetry/Quatern/And Leaves Faded Old Are Flying
Copyright Protected, ID 1479-793-13
All Rights Reserved, 2022, Constance La France
POEM OF THE DAY - August 15, 2022
Written for the Premiere contest, A Hint of Autumn
sponsor, Regina McIntosh, Judged 09/03/2022
Fourth Place
A faded leather notebook filled with lines he'd never read
Was never far away from where he slept
The book that she had written since her love was but a seed
A book so full of her he always wept
She never let him read it and he teased her every day
But now he held her poems as he missed her every way
Each page is filled with all her hopes her love and yes her dreams
Each verse is filled with him in every line
His life is now an ancient suit that's split in all the seams
Each day another step on his decline
She was the only reason that he woke up every day
The woman that he loves and now he misses every way
He tried to read the sonnets that his son said were so sweet
But never could he read beyond the first
For all the lines were tortures his endurance could not meet
With every word he thought his heart had burst
She had written in the notebook at the end of every day
And her poems are the loving that he craves in every way
And now the leather notebook lies there clasped in lifeless hands
He'll never read the verses of her heart
But his mourning son beside him has a soul that understands
His father never had the strength to start
He will treasure all the poems that were written every day
They're the story of his parents whom he loved in every way
FADED
I was visible once
but now one of the forgotten ones.
I faded away slowly
imperceptibly,
like the once vibrant colour of blue jeans.
My edges frayed
as I walked along the road of fleeting popularity.
I felt my fabric thinning
until I became comfortable.
It made me kinda cool in a way.
I was paired with shirts and sweaters
until a time later other clothes seemed better.
My holes became too noticeable,
instead of somewhat perceptible.
The day came
when I was just a bit out of style.
So you washed and folded me
carefully put me on a shelf.
After all, I was a favourite.
No one wants to throw a favourite away.
Right there in the closet I stayed,
next to all the pretty new things.
I waited
craving the day
you might wear me again.
But somehow,
things just are what they are.
Faded old blue jeans
inexplicably disappear.
If you ever do find them
you smile and remember
how they made you feel.
Sadly though,
when you try them on,
they just don't fit anymore.
Faded Painting
From the moment that first we met,
I dipped my brushes to keep them wet.
I filled a large canvas with you and me.
I created the painting I wanted to see.
But I didn't paint a clear sky of blue.
Not even when our love was new.
I couldn't fill in a calm turquoise sea
Because we were living in a fantasy.
I wanted to think our love was real
But there was something I could feel.
Something wrong that I could sense,
So upon my canvas I painted a fence.
Each of us stood on an opposite side.
We knew we had something to hide.
I confessed my secret before too long.
You remained silent; that was wrong.
The fence grew much taller after we wed.
I painted a broken heart in deepest red.
Stained by tears, was my canvas of sorrows.
Smeared like my dreams of our tomorrows.
One day I painted us out of the scene.
Fairytale ended with strokes of dark green.
An abstract of colors I hurled at my art.
Palette in one hand; in the other my heart.
My life is shadowed. I am void of all feeling.
The canvas is stored, now cracked and peeling.
A faded painting in memory of you and me.
A canvas of a love that became a travesty.
Just on a whim I took a walk,
following the trills of a lark
Along new trails did I embark,
not recognizing a landmark
Fearing the worst, if truth be told,
along unknown paths I had strolled
The air touched me with frigid cold
Sunlight faded to tarnished gold
Cicadas sang as they took flight
'neath lavender skies of twilight
The path back home was in my sight
Before the day turned into night
Moonlight cast a soft silver glow
I smiled as it began to snow
The sun went down before mid day.
And left me just walking away.
To feel the darkness cover me.
And wonder if I'll ever see.
The light of day has a new shade.
Since that dark day that the devil made.
A momentary lapse of love.
Where angels couldn't see above.
The clouds have covered up my view.
I now feel that I have lost you.
And once again I search my soul.
To learn love's lesson's and it's toll.
Bridges to where you didn't choose.
Emotions that leave you no clues.
An end result that just went wrong.
And now it's just gone on too long.
Roads back sometimes just disappear.
When reason fills your heart with fear.
Afraid to challenge what seems sound.
When evil brakes up solid ground.
Down and out feels too familiar.
That place inside where you can't feel her.
A losers sense of common sense.
That emptiness of recompense.
Civility, now lost sanity.
Where love knows no humanity.
Is where I now must find my way.
Back to that place where I can stay.
Significance can't be measured by what we can
see or hear
Or what never reaches our eyes and ears
to contemplate
Nor that of a universe that decides
our fate...
What of we, who bathe in our own praise
and condemnation ?
Waiting for another failed experiment to be erased
by extinction!
Does the ruling "civilization" decide what
is civil?
Or, does god choose when a "terrible lizard" is choked
into silence
By tossing a celestial rock into a
once tranquil sea
Wiping the slate clean once more
and still~
The sun burns through, emotionless,
and shrugs,
Its energy will warm another seed,
a new cell.
I follow faded stars ~ or is it they
who follow me...