Best Fig Poems
On the shadowed banks of river they sat together
Adulating setting sun quivering in rippling currents
Where golden filaments shimmered on blue water
Forming and breaking ephemeral circular motions
Undulating amber rays on eve’s buoyant emotions.
Her dimples smiled upon her visage of royal poise
Enticing him to probe her cheerful, enamored eyes
Mesmerizing as yet un-blossomed amatory dreams
As they raved of college, friends, late nights carefree
Exploring coyly maiden impulses of mature themes
Inflaming seductively, untrodden clues of fantasies.
Alas! those memories now~ dulcet still, but empty.
Never he saw her again on her side of the prairies
Strolling nonchalantly, engrossed in birds chirping,
No one standing there now to steal his glances slyly
Hiding behind notions of secrecy, at first meekly,
Though later, quite daringly, wantonly, frequently;
Elevating him unlike anyone else, before, or since.
Her last letter to him was cryptic, yet informative:
A rustic farm house, cow moos amid clucking sounds,
Boy and a girl, flower beds, and a dog named Duffy~
A simple life on landscapes lauding ancestral heritage.
He remembers well~ saying it, genuinely meaning it,
As movingly she indulged in life that could have been,
Awkwardly dropping hints, soon she’ll be married.
Yet, here she is now intimating, she too so loved him~
Validating his belief—though offering a mere fig leaf--
A vain gesture to convince him she honored his dream
Memorializing secret pact, living life in his blueprint:
Boy and a girl, rustic farm house, a dog named Duffy.
April 12, 2022
Poem of the day on April 14, 2022
Placed 1st: This or That, Vol 11 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Title chosen: Fig Leaf
Categories:
fig, lost love, love,
Form:
Free verse
Categories:
fig, beach, body, humorous,
Form:
Footle
"We're going to need a bigger fig leaf."
Proclaimed the teacher to her staring class
As the model removed the last of his attire.
A collective, almost silent gasp
and the clatter of a fallen brush on parquet floor
confirmed this to be true.
Among the downcast eyes of most
was an accusing glance from pink-faced girl
to blushing secret lover.
Others scanned the body top to toe;
some fixed their gaze;
not all upon the model's eyes.
The over-fondling of a brush,
the squeezing squirting of thick paint from tube
A pencil slowly rotated in a mouth;
gestures, lost of innocence,
in steamy, thickening room.
A closeted sigh.
A wistful moan.
The heavy silence broke;
"As you may have guessed," the teacher coughed
"The subject for your sketch today is Adam."
This or That, Vol 11 Poetry Contest Fig Leaf, placed 3rd
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
Date wrote: 31st March 2022
Categories:
fig, art, humor,
Form:
Free verse
Here's something I have been wondering
For so very long
If Adam and Eve wore only figs leaves
How did they keep them on
It couldn't have been a rubber band
And certainly not super glue
I just really have no idea
Do you have a clue
What did they do in the winter
When fig trees are bare
One leaf wouldn't last all year
I think there's a mystery there
If only Eve hadn't eaten that apple
If only Adam hadn't taken a bite
I wouldn't be trying to solve this
And I'd sleep better at night
Categories:
fig, funny, mystery, people, eve,
Form:
Rhyme
Our fig in January, entirely denuded now
like my heart in your absence, is but
more beautiful, if possible, in its seasonal
solemnity than in summer's exacting extravagance.
The trunk, grown massive in manhood, is a citadel
of strength supporting the curving bowl of its
branches as they bend back into themselves, becoming
the bare black sculpture of winter trees Hemingway
described in Paris in the Jardin of Luxembourg
where we used to walk, following in his footsteps.
These prayerful branches, grown as large as
the beanstalk giant of storybook lore, cup
the sky, making a sieve through which rain filters,
better for unobstructed passage to its
earthbound blessing, clearer for the distillation.
Above ground two massive roots, more visible
in winter definition--veins from the beating heart
of the tree--though siblings still, sprawl out
in different directions, then disappear wherever
they are traveling, who knows where? Not
climbing skyward like Jack on his leafy ladder,
but earthward out of sight toward a Southern
provenance, toward Provence, perhaps,
as if impassioned for home.
HAPPY NEW YEAR FELLOW SOUPERS!
Categories:
fig, naturewinter, winter, new year,
Form:
Narrative
Innocently, I peeked outside of Eden's gate,
curious to the outcome of Adam and Eve's fate.
Shocked when I saw him wearing a large fig leaf,
a precursor to men's underwear, called 'the brief.'
I beseeched Mother Nature for a gust of wind
and prayed that would not be considered a sin,
but all she delivered was a gentle little breeze.
That was enough to make me fall to my knees.
A flash of his verile manhood was all it took
to make me sigh and then take another look.
Suddenly, I was filled with libidinous desire,
gasping when the wind lifted the leaf a bit higher.
I held my breath, trying not to make any noise,
but I've never been a paragon of grace and poise.
"Who are you?" he said, "What do you want?"
I'm just admiring the fig leaf you proudly flaunt.
No, I didn't really say that. I couldn't speak at all.
I simply admired his physique. Gosh, he was tall!
My cheeks grew warm from the heat of a blush,
and I yearned to touch his bronze skin. What a rush
that would be, but I just stood there like a fool.
I mumbled something silly. Something about a tool.
What could I do after disgracing myself like that?
I offered him a fig leaf, saying, "Thanks for the chat."
If there's a moral to this story, it shouldn't be told,
at least not until I'm either senile or insanely bold.
No man I've ever met since seeing Adam's worth
has measured up to him, not in length nor in girth.
I shouldn't share my tale, but it was a sight to see,
and if you'd been there, you would have to agree.
I planted a fig tree, and through years gone by,
no leaves were large enough to cover Adam's guy.
April 2, 2022
This or That, Vol 11 Contest
Sponsored by Edward Ibeh
Fig Leaf Theme
Categories:
fig, humor,
Form:
Rhyme
I stand here beneath a beautiful fig tree, all filled with it's tiny flower blooms. I am looking for it's luscious fruit, the delicious pear-shaped fruit upon her branches. Ready to pick makes my mouth water, I cannot wait to eat. I love her figs cooked with meat, jam on warm toast is just a treat. Fig honey, is truly heavenly. Now for it's large leaves with three to five lobes, I want to make a fig dress for me to wear.
Date Written:3/28/2022
Categories:
fig, clothes, food, heaven, sweet,
Form:
Free verse
at times the soul gets clenched
in an unspeakable grief
in a demoniac grip, it chokes and wriggles
the pain of being stung by a dozen scorpions
or hacked piece by piece by an axe
tremulous grows the heart, over love that is spent
seeks in vain to revive the joy that is gone
strains to lift the veil that shrouds the soul
wrestles to come out from the desolate cave of black solitude
the more it struggles to wade through the mess
the deeper it plunges into the morass of despair
clung on talons of excruciating pain,
wailing a long wail of never being understood
the mind goes berserk
whirling and churning.
anytime the volcano might erupt,
emitting pyroclastic cloud
with the asphalt lava spilling out,
blowing life with its violent breath.
yet, have succeeded in putting on
a merry visage during day
laughs with the laughing crowd
but retires at night to the solitary cell
to release, in agonized sighs, the stifling anguish
and soak the pillow in a flood of tears
how long can one seek to hide oneself
in the cover of vapid cheerfulness…..?
why try to save the face when there is no face to lose?
sure the fig leaf will one day fall off
to stand in stark nakedness before the world aghast
April.2.2022
This or That, Vol.11.Poetry Contest
Topic-Fig Leaf
Sponsor- Edward Ibeh
Categories:
fig, angst, conflict, depression, lost
Form:
Free verse
What does autumn sunshine gloriously reveal?
When the sun sets too swiftly in the west keel
When a breeze said, "Sweetheart, I admire you."
Now moan the dying chords of the gloomy view?
The cold that begets each blurred leaf moans,
It clangs inside the veins and blisters the bones.
I loathe the mellowed tones of the clock thrum,
The hallway of time strikes a brilliant hoodlum.
I'm ridden that the fig's fallen leaves can't be undone,
I queried, yet has been unfit to mend the core bone.
Those dreary addenda appear to float on the vein,
And reflect my adamant dismay to me within.
He was fraught before dying startlingly,
A load of the burden of debt is crushing loosely.
Then, he learned a lot from this position,
Judge people who have plaid in fiscal coercion.
Hide behind the fig leaf, in the shadow,
Hide behind it your heart's calm to follow.
Never trust that fig leaf; it has a bark
Snack and taste from my oozy limp mark.
It's the fabled stint to delve into the spurts of life,
Lacking a fig leaf, you might swap bare in strife.
None left after the last leaf fell on the ground,
Also, each one saw it clearly, but no sound.
Written: March 28, 2022
1ST Place Contest Winner
This or That, Vol 11 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
Categories:
fig, analogy, appreciation, bereavement, character,
Form:
Rhyme
Flimsy fig leaf camouflage,
subterfuge reveals montage,
mind games at play everyday,
as conscience to rest we lay.
Enacting oneupmanship,
demons of mind we worship,
anchored in hypnotic trance,
enticed by dark desire’s dance.
Engaging in acts feral,
we find our soul’s in peril,
yet we wear the fig leaf mask,
making weary earth life task.
Naked one day before God,
our lower mind’s overawed,
for the web of deceit spun,
needs by us, to be undone.
By our hand, committed theft,
we find ourselves love bereft,
thus reincarnate again,
to erase our soul’s dark stain.
Harking to the divine call,
seeds of love sown, we stand tall,
same inside out, transparent,
vibrant in the bliss current.
28-March-2022
HMS
This or That, Vol 11 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Categories:
fig, spiritual,
Form:
Jueju
When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves,
for it was not the season for figs. (Matthew 11:13b)
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you,
when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
(John 1:47-48)
----------
Two interesting passages, one fairly harsh lesson:
A tree without fruit reveals unbelief.
A fig tree will fruit first, before it leafs out,
so a tree that has leaves should have fruit underneath.
Fruit underlies the outward appearance;
at least that’s the way it is supposed to be.
And how true this is of the human condition:
to say we’re a thing when we’re not is deceit.
When I say what I am, and I am what I say,
then I’m like Nathanael: a man without guile.
When Jesus first saw him there under the fig tree,
He knew he’d bear fruit; about this, no denial.
Our fig leaves conceal us on Facebook and Twitter,
daring the world to see what is behind.
We're fearful our flaws will soon be discovered;
our facade and its shallowness, others will find.
And so we beguile and we weave and deceive;
naked, ashamed, we hide in those leaves,
not trusting the one who tore back the curtain,
purchased us broken, in anguish and grief.
You may not recall, but shortly thereafter,
at this deceit, Jesus levels a curse.
He returns from the temple with his disciples;
the fig tree is withered, unbelief is judged worse.
A blessing is given to those who admit need:
a dwelling place readied, with many a room.
But woe to false pretense and to the deceivers,
whitewashed and empty, alone in their tombs.
----------
for the This or That, Vol 11 Poetry Contest
sponsored by Edward Ibeh
on the subject of 'Fig Leaf'
written 04/02/2022
Categories:
fig, truth,
Form:
Quatrain
Peek Freans Fig Roll
You make me laugh
You think that the evil humanity does
Has nothing to do with you
And your excuses
And your prayers
For salvation
Merely continue the blindness
Of your refusal
To take responsibility
For the actions of your world
You have a comfortable retreat
In the bible
And comfort in believing
In a saviour
And you refuse to see
That the saving of your neighbour
Is up to you
You make me laugh
With your bible quoted platitudes
With your simple minded
Ineptitudes
To take control of your conscience
Your fig leaf
And your Peek Freans fig roll of sweetness
Empty
And wrapped in so much easy buy
To fit your mouths desire for something sweet
You cannot connect
You are as empty as all those possessions
You place so much esteem upon
You are the worst case of human evolvement
And evolutions greatest impediment
You are slaves
Slaves to religion
And slaves to God
Sightless in your slavery
And slaves to a system
Of capitalism
You are a poor excuse
For the rationalism and rebellion
That was once
Your ancestors right
And their history
You are all
Nothing but
Slaves
Nothing more than superstitious cavemen
Trying to explain the dark
And afraid to stand up
And be counted with the stars ( as in suns )
Categories:
fig, hopeme,
Form:
Free verse
blossoming unseen
within velvety soft walls -
an enclosed garden
Categories:
fig, fruit, garden, nature,
Form:
Haiku
(God's Patience with Sinners / Final Judgment)
LK 13:6-9
And he told them this parable: "There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, 'For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. (So) cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?' He said to him in reply, 'Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.'
Reflection
People make mistakes
Fig tree is like a woman scheduled for abortion
President Obama mandate is to take care of them
Leave it for this year
It will develop and bear fruit in the future
Categories:
fig, depression, education, family, tree,
Form:
On an autumn day a pig
Digging hardly in the ground,
Suddenly found a big fig
Weighting about one half pound.
"What a lucky pig I am "
The fat pig said in his mind,
"Of course, I will make it jam
And share it, because I''m kind."
Categories:
fig, fun,
Form:
Rhyme