Best Festers Poems
Haiti, the home of voodoo practices
Seventeenth Century Spain cedes to France
Catholic Spaniards trembled when they saw
“Dead” men revived to wander in trances
A vile poison can make men appear dead
Revival requires an antidote
But perhaps there is more to zombie lore
An explanation to why these souls woke
Brutally treated slaves worked sugar fields
Captives from Africa known as “Maroons”
As French aristocrats sat and grew fat
Blacks sweated for “sweets” in the tropic sun
Buried guilt deep at night still festers
For conscience is God’s gift to each man
Some may suppress it for just a short time
‘Til magical night envelopes the land
Spirits of those who were taken in chains
Are given by God a chance to rebel
Stalking the living in deathly pallor
Haunting their captors with visions of hell
“Zombifications,” Maroons erected
Spreading the horrors of slavery with anger
Showing the French what their evil produced
And putting their sanity in danger
So please put the voodoo dolls back on shelves
The needle-sharp pricks of remorse can sting
Enslaved Maroons prevail in heaven’s court
Our Creator’s eyes aren’t missing a thing
Magic, black or white, God sees no color
Love is bestowed on men of all races
And those who question the Lord’s intentions
Should look in the eyes of living-dead faces
Categories:
festers, history, socialgod, men, night,
Form:
Quatrain
The strain of separation leaves a sore,
sorrow abides and festers in the heart;
two star-cross'd lovers smitten to the core,
despairing of the days they'll spend apart.
Spirit, soul and testament they share,
blind to worldly consequences, broken
by the distance in between, for where'er
their footsteps fall each retains a token.
Two rings confirm a union true and bold;
connubial bliss that will not e'er be still'd
though time and tide would try to break the mold,
a fire undying, passion unfulfilled.
The day will shortly dawn to soothe the strain,
and end their bleak despondency and pain.
Categories:
festers, writing,
Form:
Verse
let's not speak of it again
least it festers and takes hold
leaving despair in our hearts
let's dance among the stars
and shine among moonbeams
concentrating on our friendship
let's nurture each other,
facing a fresh new horizon with optimsm and hope
join me if you dare
Categories:
festers, inspirational, love,
Form:
Free verse
A frozen chunk..
his numb heart thumping against
the malady of raging menace
ears pressed on a twisted loop
his wailing scars defy imprudence.
Gasping as his skin festers
with decaying yellow leaves
awaiting his impending doom
on snow covered in blood red weapons
his drooping eyes imagine his existence
bidding farewell to the soldier
echoing memories of his beloved
rustling leaves wipe in Autumn's whirlwind
smiling faces beginning to dissolve...
Oh but what about angels?
Wouldn't they caress his last wishes..
How he listens to wretched silence
in desolate sounds of trampled twigs..
Envisioning fallacies of resurrection
warm his frozen courage
he succumbs to an eternal slumber..
~~~~~
Swaying in a hammock of ecstasy
he wakes up at twilight
away from the frozen battlefield.
The sultry aroma of electric waves
twirling to seduce him in azure blaze,
his beloved's fingers entwined
to trace sandcastles on his palms,
an albatross afar orchestrating
vibrating shades of dusk in rhythms,
dancing flames of haloed stars
on a galactic opera in breeze..
His carousel of Cashmere threads is a dream
that pulls him away from dark shadows.
He walks freely on a tranquil plane
immersed in oceans of his symphony,
his love gazes in awe of his courage..
Let his soul rest on his soft dreams
wavering like stars from heavenly willow,
slipping in pirouettes to streams of oblivion
he breathes in the silence of his anodyne...
Categories:
festers, analogy, courage, dream, hope,
Form:
Free verse
Love lost,
Is never truly gone,
No matter the rents cost,
Love lost lingers on.
She never truly committed to me,
Simply wished for a toy,
A heart of stone you see,
To the softness of a boy.
She was young as was he,
Yet her soul was full grown,
Her mind a tragic soliloquy,
Of what fate had sewn.
The boy was simply a canvas,
And who better than a pained artist,
To take his heart and encompass,
The innocence with a lusted mist.
He knew her as a saint,
She saw a den for sin,
He knew not of the paint,
She began to place within.
Now her ruse is complete,
His love is true,
Her trickery was discreet,
Now to turn brightness to blue.
Love is never lost,
It festers from within,
To the owner it bears great cost,
She lives on, as he lives broken.
Categories:
festers, lonely, lost love, love
Form:
Rhyme
I am but an insignificant speck, in this expanding, never ending universe
My existence, nothing more than a good piss, into a vast ocean to disperse
My words, though at times austere, are not etched in granite stone
Nor, come from a fiery bush, atop a mount; for you to then enthrone
My life, a gust of wind, like a forced fart; an odour, unable to whisk up dust
A mere annoyance, which a tempest force has spewed, in disgust
I can but dream, that any meager accomplishment, could have any meaning
In this immense, never ending macrocosm; from which, I am still gleaning
I move no stars, heal no wounds, and erase no scars from this existence
A mere wretch, only scratching at the surface, trying to go the distance
But my will is strong, my faith, ingrained by loving virtuous ancestors
So I hope, that even a speck, will at some point, radiate, before it festers
BOEMS BY JA 596
Categories:
festers, analogy, feelings,
Form:
Narrative
Culling
Back in the ancient long ago,
We had the great Crusades,
Men with red crosses on their chest,
Used swords against scimitar blades,
Todays evil ones would murder all,
Is death a disease,
Does hatred of mankind, bitter gall,
Create such misery?
It is in man to cull the crop,
To trim the numbers there,
With 6 billion on the planet, stop,
Another, world slaughter, so unfair?
Murder is in the heart of some,
It festers, and the deed is done,
It’s enough to get you on the rum,
The bitter harvest there…
Don Johnson 23-aug-11
Categories:
festers, adventure,
Form:
Ballade
The strain of separation leaves a sore,
sorrow abides and festers in the heart;
two star-cross'd lovers smitten to the core,
despairing of the days they'll spend apart.
Spirit, soul and testament they share,
blind to worldly consequences, broken
by the distance in between, for where'er
their footsteps fall each retains a token.
Two rings confirm a union true and bold;
connubial bliss that will not e'er be still'd
though time and tide would try to break the mold,
a fire undying, passion unfulfill'd.
The day will shortly dawn when they will see
an end to their despondency and pain;
two star-bless'd sweethearts who'll for ever be
conjoined together, ne'er to part again.
Categories:
festers, love,
Form:
Verse
You find someone who intimidates you.
They have something that you want badly.
And therefore they are superior, the few.
You would do any thing to have the same.
Sitting in your dark world, festering now.
It is cold and quiet in the world you know.
A desire for something and wondering how.
To do what needed to be done to get the same.
If only you were like that person, all the better.
Why should they have something and you not.
You now feel jealous to no end and seem bitter.
Maybe this person is a friend or a friendly neighbor.
But that does not matter, they really should share.
What makes them any better then you anyways.
You do not want to cause harm but maybe fear.
Just enough that they see the seriousness of it.
You feel people look down at you and make fun.
Maybe if you had the same qualities as they did.
The more it festers and then you end up with a gun.
But does it have to be this way, why not just share.
They were the innocent one with no wrong doing.
But you just could not leave it all behind you now.
And now this madness has given you a new viewing.
Now you sit in a cell with nothing but growing envy.
Categories:
festers, dark, sin,
Form:
Free verse
What is this world coming to, I ask,
Where hearts grow cold, and hopes unmask?
A realm once blessed with unity's grace,
Now teeters on the edge, a fragile space.
Gone are the days of tender connection,
Replaced by walls, of isolation, protection.
Technology's grasp tightens its hold,
As loneliness festers, untold.
In the glow of screens, we seek a thrill,
But lose touch with what's truly real.
Fake facades and filtered dreams,
We find solace in virtual streams.
Where compassion ends and anger begins,
Injustice triumphs, morality thins.
Wars persist, tearing nations apart,
Could love ever heal these broken hearts?
Nature weeps, in quiet despair,
As greed consumes, without a care.
Species vanish, forests wilt,
The earth's plea, we've come to guilt.
Yet, amidst the chaos, a whisper remains,
For within our souls, a flame still burns,
A longing for peace, a lesson to learn.
So let's mend the fractures, one by one,
Bridge the divides, until we are done.
Embrace our differences, let kindness lead,
Rediscover the unity our world so needs.
Categories:
festers, deep, life,
Form:
Rhyme
More than a rose is my love for you,
so how can it be that your heart is less true.
Yet, deeper in me, stirs the passion of baalim,
while your burning flamed fire has started to dim.
The petals that fall from this bud to the ground,
what's left, the remnants of the love that we found.
In truth, my desire, a single red rose,
boldly festers my limerence as my yearning grows.
You spoke of our love as if it were wrong,
and the passion we had could not keep it strong.
Now you stand there weeping, all adorned in white,
don't think that your tears have belittled this slight.
You have made it clear while your feeling departs,
how my now broken heart is missing some parts.
To me, you are more than a bud, red and rosy,
but unlike your bouquet, I am less than a posy.
02/06/2021
Categories:
festers, jealousy, lost love, lust,
Form:
Couplet
Beauty bleeds through skin
Infecting all which festers
So deep within
The skeletons cary such secrets
To disgrace and shame Gorgeous
Saying it no longer forgets
We both know what's going on
Spare us the pain
Please, just walk away
You're like a magnet and I'm the steel
It's surfaced and reared its sinful head
Would I partakein this temptation?
Beauty leaves me scrambling,
Reaching for anything firm
Safety net's burnt
My closet's filling and going quick
I shouldn't have let myself fall for you
It's time I just quit
Categories:
festers, angst, teen,
Form:
Free verse
A dagger’s kiss is cold and clean, But betrayal carves where none have seen.
It does not bleed, it does not scream, Yet haunts the soul in every dream.
A wound that festers, black and deep, A secret ache the heart must keep.
The hands once warm now twist the knife, A silent end to faith and life.
The tongue that swore in silver tones, Now drips with venom, sharp as bones.
A promise shattered, glass in veins, A love undone by whispered chains.
The eyes that swore they’d never stray, Now watch as hope is stripped away.
A wound unseen, yet felt so raw, A phantom claw that grips the jaw.
For daggers rust and wounds may close, But betrayal lingers—no one knows.
It wears no face, it speaks no name, Yet burns the soul in silent flame.
Categories:
festers, betrayal,
Form:
Couplet
Vula Amehlo (open your eyes)
"Vula Amehlo"is Zulu for "open your eyes"
Vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
though eyes aren’t needed to behold
the flowing tears of those of us, left out in the cold
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
the time to turn your back is long gone
no time now to pander and no time now to fawn
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
we the people are hungry, angry, and our skin is torn
though we say it loudly, unbowed we are, and not forlorn
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
we may be invisible and tucked away far from you
but we are here, still, waiting for the promise of freedom to come true
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
you see us sometimes, though you avert your gaze
come on now, compatriots, awaken from your complacent daze
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
we are the open wound that festers on your ostentatious display
band-aids won’t do anymore, we are here, and we are here to stay
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
as you roll down your windows and toss us some coins, look in our eyes
we are your slumbering consciences, we are the famished proof of your lies
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
forget us not as you tuck your pretty children in, and turn off the lights
we too are the children whose mothers, fathers fought for all our peoples’ rights
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
don’t think that we are bitter and livid for no reason or cause
we have been waiting and waiting, for days and a decade, without any pause
vula amehlo
sisters and brothers
vula amehlo
mothers and fathers
vula amehlo
brown and white and all shades of this rainbow so bright
we repeat what we said, we are not going to melt away into the night
vula amehlo
one and all
our patience is being tested from day to day, year to year
we have listened to your promises and we now demand that you hear
vula amehlo
open your eyes
and see us, and hear us clearly, and hear us today
band-aids won’t do anymore, we are here, and we are here to stay
vula amehlo
open your eyes
Categories:
festers, black african american, courage,
Form:
Although gay women are attractive,
Can their love be counted on,
A chemistry that’s non-reactive,
Oligarchs of Amazon?
They face perhaps same traps that we do
Think of men as only drone,
An inverse baby kind of voodoo
Makes weak labeled sex to groan.
Where all good jobs are matriarchal
Confident they know what’s best,
A standing joke the patriarchal,
Litmus test for world unrest.
The thought’s out there this might be right on
Most know men have lost the race
Is ‘Women Better’ just a long con,
Bankrupt hyssop’s sexist’s face?
Misogynistic choices kill love
‘Death to men’ no better prayer,
While teamwork puts the hand in glove,
Seems to matter both are there.
Are women victim’s of man’s error?
Most men raised by woman’s side?
Small boys ignoring all their terror,
Little men, their country’s pride.
Men seem to rule, but die in battle
Block what festers deep inside
Then led to slaughter just like cattle
‘Free’ state purchased with their hide.
A girl I loved once had obsession
Wanted more to be like man
A mom at war with her depression,
Made this seem a better plan.
I can’t report she had much luck though
One girlfriend would beat her up
A flower dressed in man’s tuxedo
Life remained a half-filled cup.
But is it nature, is it nurture
Leads us to our confused art?
Heed dying gasp of cloaked John Bircher
Even Bible plays its part!
If life for others is what you choose
This can’t guarantee you’ll win
For life in faith means you could still lose
Doing good can still be sin!
A pig, a poke, that’s all you get,
Some joy, calamity, and yet
If God is dead, get real, get hip,
There’s sure release in death’s strong grip
As poet, I see humor in
This tale I spin, the life of men
God’s presence in man’s history
And Grace that spices mystery
For human love I know exists,
In spite of pain, it still resists
The certain coming of death’s call,
Though life be short, it is your all!
Brian Johnston
February 5, 2015
Categories:
festers, life,
Form:
Rhyme