Best Fastened Poems
He was my sun, my one and only son,
attired as a cowboy for the day.
And so I handed him a little gun
of fastened random sticks, for him to shoot and play.
Attired as a cowboy for the day
he searched for foes (with bows and arrows made
of fastened random sticks for them) to shoot, and play
the part of ‘Injuns’ in a mock charade.
He searched for foes (with bows and arrows made)
well written in his story books before he left for school.
The parts of ‘Injuns’ in a mock charade
were tainted with a crimson war paint, oh so cruel.
Well writ in history books before he left from school,
the tales (retold of victories that we’d won)
were tainted with a crimson war paint, oh so cruel.
The flow of paint was not to staunch when once begun.
From tales retold of victories that we’d won,
he learned to fight for God and country glory, though
the flow of pain, ’twas not to staunch when once begun
and bane to both sides (as he’d later come to know).
He learned to fight for God and country glory, though
the wounds of war were kept unseen (while nigh)
and bane to both sides (as we’d later come to know);
but still he stuffed a duffel bag with several things of youth, then said goodbye.
The wounds of war were kept unseen. While nigh,
the hours boomed, the clock struck 12 at last, his time to leave.
But, still, he stuffed a duffel bag with several things of youth, then said goodbye
to those who’d stay and even those who wouldn’t grieve.
The hours boomed, the clock struck 12 - alas, his time to leave.
They sent back body bags they’d stuffed with severed things of those who’d died
to those who’d stayed. And even those who wouldn’t grieve
with tears were stiff and masked like wooden boxes meant to hide.
They sent back body bags they’d stuffed with severed things of those who’d died;
his boots hung loose, one camouflaged in mud.
With tears, the stiff were masked in wooden boxes meant to hide
our children from the spilling of their blood.
His boots hung loose, one camouflaged in mud;
they said they’d needed him to help defend
our children from the spilling of their blood.
But can they ever see or really comprehend?
They said they’d needed him to help defend,
and so they handed him a little gun.
But can they ever see or really comprehend?
He was my sun, my one and only son.
Categories:
fastened, war,
Form:
Pantoum
"Sometimes miracles happen when you're least expecting them.
Quote by poet."
It was the week before Christmas; it was a cold, bright snowy day
Told the kids we'll go sledging; unaware a blizzard was on the way
They all got into my jeep, and on the roof I fastened the kid's sled
Then in the large trunk I secured, our Bernese mountain dog, Jed.
I drove carefully for about five miles to where there were steep hills
We were well wrapped up from head to toe, against the winter chills
The kids and even my wife took it in turns going downhill on the sled
Then with bone chilling winds the blizzard hit; it filled me with dread.
I thought we must go home now or we might struggle to get back
Others had the same idea and were already driving down the track
The family got in the jeep, but I noticed there was no panting sound
Nobody had noticed Jed was missing and he was nowhere around.
I told my wife to drive the kids home and I'd go and search for Jed
I waved them off but I had some foreboding thoughts in my head
The images in my mind as they drove off were of all the kids crying
And what if Jed had met with an accident and he was slowly dying.
I searched through the dense forest, but he was nowhere to be found
The light faded and was getting dark; fresh snow covered the ground
I'd resume the search first light tomorrow, after a good night's sleep
But I was concerned it would be quite risky if the snow was too deep.
I didn't sleep very much, and thankfully it had now stopped snowing
Then climbed out of my warm bed and told my wife where I was going
For nigh on five hours I looked everywhere, but finding Jed wasn't to be
I drove home feeling very depressed, wondering what I'd tell the family.
On Christmas Eve we walked to our local church for a carol service
The kids were sad and they weren't singing; I couldn't help but notice
About nine o'clock we headed off home, it was a clear but cold night
Everyone was real silent and I didn't know, how I could put things right
We walked up the long snow-covered pathway, to our house in the dark
Then out of nowhere our Jed bounded toward us and gave a loud bark.
Written on the 4th December 2023
Categories:
fastened, christmas, december, family, pets,
Form:
Narrative
Thrashed her life in that vicious fuscous night
Tattered her body in that mucky verdant site
Shattered her dreams in that bloody wicked plight
Four feigned civilized animals, enjoyed their bite.
They waited their turn to deracinate her
With ears and heart kept fastened for her prayer
With ineffable agony nature tried to cover
Her natural body with leafy little shower.
When tired they spared her for a midget time
And wrapped in a blanket to set a meacock crime
Wetted in fuel they fired the chad as a scheme
And disenthralled the soul of the decubitus dame.
Now tell me the judgement of these cruel critters
Hang or guillotine their ugly little heads
Lynching or castration, anything you can propose
Sharpen your quills and the judgement of the case.
Honorable Mention in STRAND SPECIAL 12 ,any form ,any theme Poetry Contest sponsored by Brian Strand
Categories:
fastened, anger, death, emotions, heartbroken,
Form:
Rhyme
The tide worn and barnacled pylons
holding up the wharf wobble
on a sea swell like loose teeth.
Most of the decking planks
are missing. Those that remain
span joists with bones
of rotted wood fastened down
with rust. A chain wire fence
bars public access
and a large red sign
screams a message of danger.
I find myself looking through
the wire, asking who else
would stop by and perceive
a strange beauty here,
that in the wreck
of this derelict wharf,
something immutable
has found a home in the rot.
Its history
is not mine nor does it
conspire with a notion
to snare me with a kind
of enticing nostalgia.
What is here is more like
time chewed pick up sticks
stuck in mud.
And yet I don't know why
I am moved so, standing here
with all the reverence afforded
a relic of something almost holy,
why my pen should waste time
chasing such an elusive presence
around a page.
Perhaps what is here
is an essence of what my mind
cannot grasp, that other,
a mystery imprinted on a finite world,
a longed for sign of hope
in a language known only
to the soul - or is it simply
something more mundane,
slowly loosening the pylons
holding up my brain.
Categories:
fastened, age, hope, mystery, visionary,
Form:
Free verse
Violet
star stream
flowing
across
the
soullessness
of
mundane dream...
Whispering "everything's alright.
She's thriving like a spring fed rose in saintly gardens.
An angel brightly glowing.
...of this dream.
I staggered along a ragged path.
Through a battlefield of metal devils-called "quartered living.
Faith folding and unfolding.
Garnished with ogres slinging burning orbs of fire.
Halos of insanity...
This is when violet star sashayed in.
Soothing me
Shielding me
Her weeping rosary telling me.
That she loved and missed my heart.
Re-fastened our very being with a satin dream kiss.
That had tattered in the talon of time...
lifted me across the bloody broken battered fields.
...into the arms of forever
where the beat of pristinely only flies.
So fly my love, fly ever so softly into me.
If dreams mean anything
I know it won't be long.
till we dance the dance of butterflies.
Over green sprigs and lacy things in a warm summer wind.
In the heart pond of gilded tomorrows.
We'll gently drift about.
Make origami sunflower love.
High upon a gilded glade...
If dreams mean anything
death is just a splash
of black pebbles
in a violet starry stream....
If dreams mean anything,
Categories:
fastened, death, dedication, loss, love,
Form:
Rhyme
When I met you in the language of lonely war
three feathers fastened to your breast breathing sore
many graves of gentlemen knew your score and the devil deigned for more,
tears you had for all times rhymes and ribs broke from crimes making aching lore,
ink of fire you did pour, scold and scorch on skin red soft, truly poetry the maze and metaphor,
A feather you gave with each kiss and wound to savor
their texture smooth as silken vapor, tips cut cruel by sibyl's saber,
quills and spells I made of them, heaven and venom in every lash and letter
when love was innocent, revolutionary, rampant with rogue fight, rapid on soul river
with hawk's edge I wrote with might and flight, dominant on the flesh of firmament's blue leather,
Where the owl's point pierced the vellum of victory's scripture
antebellum affections covered our eyes with wings of damp wisdom and cool color,
together we took the touch of roses and razors, feeling the sting and arousal of friendly danger
as the nights knew more than days, secrets grew sweeter, dreams bolder, howls heavy and louder,
our zenith reached the zone quiet calm black, a raven's stem sealed the song of sleeping stranger -
J.A.B.
Categories:
fastened, dark, gothic, i love
Form:
Epic
Invited into Her circle
of five points,one for each
of the qualities She crystallizes,
truth as fire, earth as nourishment,
body in water, lights in air, and ether as love,
in Her center a sacred thought having origin in primal purpose,
we embraced as immortals do,
mouth to ear and song to song,
mind to memory and wish to wisdom,
connecting with the ease of melody on morning's hope,
frollicing within the gamble of a galaxy grown mad from curiosity,
the path of the Prime Mover performs a pounce along our venerable vertebrae,
She widens a door which illuminates a portico,columns white marble and red veins,
tempered flames in low tremble make vigil to the death bed masks of ancestors,
who made glory a partner against multitudes of dangers,such as living without loyalty,
encouraged by Her gravitas,Her need for a hero,I stared into those vacant eyes
on the pedestals held upright by iron frames,and I heard them chant I must for Her,
made so lovely with a crown of moon glow,
I kissed this Woman's hand,heaven in my sight,
my oath to vindicate Her from profane might,
I awoke facing a mirror,believing in Her dearly,
my headgear fastened and plumed,
feathers of a hawk and eagle divinely sprout atop,
from then I only knew Her words,and a dreamy picture,
however,I trusted Her affection,I could live on Her meaning -
J.A.B.
Categories:
fastened, devotion,
Form:
Romanticism
THE BLUE MOON
Shimmer does it not this inspirational ivory opal,
Lightly dinted with a thin sheen of aquatic blue,
Illuminations elliptical transparent veil, a drapery
Suspended by heavens orbiting web called gravity!
Shingles tacked in by star nails, fastened against
The back drop of a vast blackened universe of mystery,
A mystical painting ever changing, a masterpiece
Created by the divine everlasting, the mood ring
Of inspirational thoughts glittering in the timeless
Sea of space!
Melting frozen ice jewels collide against the fire Rudy
Of the inner suns blaze, as the showering solar dust
Bursts forth falling into the cup of the big dippers crystal
Alignment, amongst the opulent elegance shown in the
Brilliance of the blue moon!
Let tranquilitY's cooling pools runith over in softness
Peace of serenity, I’ll bath within its optical illusions
Of beauty, a transcended spirit seeking freedoms
Dream escape beyond mine own earthly foot hold
Of reality!
A spinning cosmonaut existing in a lunar environment,
Dangling in a spiritual orbit of the heightened experience,
Destinies castaway swaying within the universal pull of
Brilliance, a mystical rose captured within a comets
Tail end of discovery!
Hail that man in the moon, for I wish to be consumed
Within this elliptical titan for which he lives upon,
So close almost to be able to touch by mine own
Mortal imagination, yet by reason the distance
Is just too great, I’m unable to bridge this vastness!
Inspirations muse this prisoner of the earth bound,
Let the shades of illusions not past me by this night
Of elliptical excellence, merging this transcend
Beneath the waves of light, to flex and bend
Unto space itself, drowning within the depth
Abyss beyond!
Oh to become one drop of polar frozen ice,
Floating within this bio-sphere of elliptical beauty,
A tears silent frail hush, to fall against the face of the blue moons
Passionate shine of night, in this single moment of liberation
I’ve found
The true peace of tranquility at last.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
Dedicated to Mystic Rose whom
Inspired this poem with her picture
Of the blue moon!
And Kathy Ling my moon gazer
Categories:
fastened, adventure, beauty, fantasy, imagery,
Form:
Free verse
When the rising tides of the storms of life assail,
My hope abides fastened secure to the Rock.
When the chilly waters cause my strength to fail,
My heavy anchor and God’s eternal love interlock.
When the blasts of fear come near my soul,
And the tempest my confidence can defy;
My anchor in the daring straits securely hold,
And firmly embraced in God’s loving arms am I.
My anchor keeps me safely moored in the wind,
Strongly tied to the Rock that commands the calm.
It keeps my vessel’s hull secure and me within,
And never drifts into the waves of a dangerous storm.
And when the floods of death make cables strain,
The hand of God holds tight against the wave.
So my faith in my Savior can fully intact remain,
And my hopes I retain secure and my anchor I rave.
Categories:
fastened, christian, gospel, hope, religious,
Form:
Rhyme
(the sequel to A Christmas Story Told By The Dog)
Twas the night before Christmas just one year ago,
When we had that commotion outside in the snow,
With reindeer a-runnin' this way and that,
And a strange obese man in a red suit and hat;
Who'd snuck down the chimney of all the strange places.
Guess he thought that way he'd leave fewer traces.
The folks were at church, they were gone for the evening.
The house was empty, at least it was seeming;
But I and the cat had been left on guard,
And when he entered we brought him down hard.
I fastened my teeth 'round his ankle and then,
The cat screamed and scratched him from eyebrows to chin.
He screamed and he scrambled back whence he came.
As I grabbed his bahunkus he called me a name.
He made it to roof and jumped in his sleigh,
And the reindeer took off in a fast get away.
They hit some old lady out in the street,
Swooping low for momentum for a speedy retreat.
The house was a shambles, the front yard a mess,
And I'm sure that old lady felt less than blessed.
I sit here remembering one year ago,
And all that commotion outside in the snow.
All of a sudden I heard a sound,
And the cat hit the window in one mighty bound.
He let out a screech that sent chills up my back.
I can scarcely believe it but that sucker's back.
This time he skipped us and went next door.
Just wait till he meets their black labrador;
For he still remembers that terrible night,
And you can be certain he'll put up a fight.
Merry Christmas, Y'all
Categories:
fastened, christmas, dog, funny,
Form:
Quatrain
Not long ago our destinies aligned
and of all the people it had to be you
your fragrance in the wind is left behind
as you walked by as i held the door for you
we wined and dined and hoped to outshine
the glittering stars of the night
you came at me in the midnight and held my hand
with no constrains you took me away
hand in hand amongst the sleepless souls
Side by side through the half empty streets of mainz
our brilliance playful act of love felt so alive
Sitting down spacing out to thoughts and memories of you
uncertainty overshadows every dream of you
piggyback rides and lingering goodbyes
of the same mind tonight i hope we could be two
mesmerised by the sparks between our eyes
passionately yielding to this sensation you and i shared
with fastened lips and no words to spare
the essence of love was in the air in a surreal like dream
time stood still for you and me
Sitting down spacing out to thoughts and memories of you
uncertainty overshadows every dream of you
an unseen dramatic contraction
of what seemed to be a lasting attraction
Unanswerable questions are left in wander
Unquestionable answers are left to ponder
Words of love and poesy used to quickened you
bittersweet traces is all that I now leave you
Silence is all that remained that only a wonder can break
To enlighten your heart and brighten your smile like a summers day is my aim
Categories:
fastened, april, beautiful, cute love,
Form:
Lyric
When I was a kid, home remedies were the thing!
No trip to the doctor for a cold or bad cough..
Mama had a fix for near every hurt, big or small
or in between. The worst, the most dreadful, the
run and hide treatment..the Mustard Plaster!
Some flannel cut into big, big strips...Cover with
mustard until it drips..into the oven to get
steaming hot..then slap that sucker on the spot.
Around your chest, fastened tight..must keep
it hot..althrough the night...It burned, it itched, and it
smelled to high heaven..Who knows if it helped at all..
but I do know that we learned not to voice
minor discomfort..it had to be a real disaster..
cause if you complained.out came the Mustard Plaster!...
Categories:
fastened, childhood, funny
Form:
Light Verse
“Esse est percipi," said the man—
"To be is to be perceived." You see,
Existence is a product of the mind
Where only senses cause reality.
So what's behind all fastened closet doors?
And what becomes of things in dark of night?
How much is really there, or just a dream,
Conjured by smell or taste, touch, sound or sight?
"Esse est percipi," said the man—
"To be is to be perceived." I fear
That when I am alone and no one sees,
How can I know if I am really here?
Sandra M. Haight
~1st Place~
Contest: Reality
Sponsor: Nayda Ivette Negron
Judged: 05/20/2016
~1st Place~
Contest: Humor
Sponsor: Carol Eastman
Judged: 01/28/2015
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"Esse est percipi" means "To be is to be perceived."
Philosopher, George Berkeley, 1710
Categories:
fastened, humor, philosophy,
Form:
Verse
Zurrip Zurrip
rip it, pull it, yank it free
peel your velcro heart from me;
stick it to lashes
stick it to hair
stick it to a love that's barely there.
Zurrip Zurrip
fine job you did to zip me in
a velcro heart plays to win
loop it in my mind
lock it on my tongue
hook it on my love, then I guess you're done.
Zurrip Zurrip
the bristles break
the more a velcro heart does take
unstick it from my future
unstick it from my past
rip it from me openly be sure to do it fast.
Zurrip Zurrip
the taste of love is is never so tart
until you find yourself fastened to a velcro heart.
Categories:
fastened, heart, love, me,
Form:
Rhyme
For your love, I would gladly beg or likewise crawl.
I would build expectations tall and let them fall.
Yes, with assured glee, I would sacrifice my all
to couple navigate life’s unmapped, ziggy sprawl.
With you, I am willing to crash, burn out or stall,
as your passenger, heart-hand fastened, by your side.
I would build expectations tall and let them fall.
For your love, I would cruise lost or maintain a glide.
Color me crazy bent if crazed so shades love’s intent.
Categories:
fastened, devotion, love,
Form:
Rhyme