Best Flared Poems
Dance of the Firebird
Rosita, sultry enchantress,
dazzling Andalusian firebird,
erotically she twirls, proud
like a phoenix flashing across the sky.
Flared ruffled skirt swirls,
in hues of red, orange, and gold,
like a sunset in the throes of Autumn.
Her olive skin glistens with sweat,
as she chases away her demons with
handclapping and a pair of castanets.
Beautiful dancer lost in her dreams,
she’s an exotic flamenco queen.
With campfires reflected on her face,
finger snapping, her tempo heats up,
and she’s afire with passion and grace.
In an essence of exuberance,
she’s possessed in a trance,
swaying like a summer breeze.
She undulates hypnotically like a cobra
seducing its unsuspecting prey.
In a stream of her own thoughts,
a gypsy in love with the dance.
Crushing red rose petals she stamps her feet,
to the guitars’ entrancing beat.
Her sinuous body pulsates sensuously
to the music as she dances unabashedly.
But she’s untouchable as the fire god she serves,
baring her soul to none,
for her heart belongs to the dance.
09-23-2017
Contest: Poems that Paint a Picture - 3
Sponsor: Silent One
Placement: 1st
How fondly he recalls when doting moon stared
Blush of her radiant smile gleamed opaline skies
While cuddling stellar vibes love they declared
And embracing her allure he venerated his prize.
In womb of romantic night passions-grand aired
Exchanging fervent vows, longing dawn of sunrise,
When revealing prurience every intention bared
In rhapsodic titillation euphoric feelings surmise.
Alas! soon emotions hid—dispiritedly impaired
When blissful times saddened hearing her cries
As souls, deceptively beguiled, no longer cared,
Silence between them grew stoking sullen guise,
For rise of whimsical day, woefully unprepared,
Shadowed glamorous arc, deeming fate unwise,
And upon sanguine horizons stygian storms flared
As the pledges of forever, destiny chose to revise.
She pleaded to forget the love they once shared,
Its flame was extinguished by whim of disguise;
Dreams they dreamt could no longer be repaired
Once the spark of aspirations abandoned her eyes.
Suppressions of emotions left them bereft, unpaired,
As lovelorn inhibitions roared, to spell their demise
Exiting prized fervor, forsaking dreams unrepaired,
Trapping unrequited love-vibes where passion dies.
May 10, 2022
Placed 1st: Pick-A-Title, Vol 30 – Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Title Chosen: Internal Inhibition
I saw her in the sky this morn
ghostly pale and forlorn
She couldn't even wink at me
display her craters or her seas
I turned away, then hurried off
my over-sensitivity to quaff
When a spark inside me brightly flared
~ The moon's still mine to view up there
Part 3: AT HEAVEN’S GATES
To set Her free from destiny was far from my design,
but, though unplanned, I touched Her hand to give Her peace of mind.
She told me then, and then again, that providence Divine
had cast a curse, and even worse: despised by all mankind,
She walked alone, unseen, unknown, Her soul incarnadine.
To break this spell of living hell, of loneliness enshrined,
and end Her days within the haze, a sole redeeming deed
would give reprieve and maybe leave our destinies entwined -
Her final quest be put to rest if only I agreed,
but no surcease nor perfect peace nor hope if I declined.
The shadows, shawled in silence, crawled, the night Her fate was sealed
as vespers tolled across the wold beneath the muted fog.
The heavens cracked and sorrow slacked as chimes of children pealed
while in the hills (where midnight chills) there wailed a daemon dog -
with no delay I lead the way, the path to Potter’s Field.
Her weathered face was lined with Grace, Her eyes shone emerald green.
With me as guide She stepped inside to grieve and mourn Her loss,
and thereupon, though pale and wan, the night took on a sheen.
With weary eyes as Her disguise, She placed a wooden cross
upon a mound (unhallowed ground) and whispered ‘Sibylline...’.
A falling star flared in the far and burst, a bolide flame -
beneath the light, the Final Rite no longer hid undone.
And kneeling there in silent prayer, we seemed to share the shame
but could atone if left alone, forevermore as one.
Before we both could breathe an oath, I asked Her once Her name.
Through lips, pale red, She simply said ‘Some called me Abigail’,
and neath a birch where white doves perch, I took Her for my bride,
beheld Her smile a little while, but all to no avail...
Her cloak and cape, and shrivelled shape lie empty at my side...
for now She waits at Heaven’s Gates, not far beyond the Pale.
Upon a grassy hill, so long ago,
there stood a lovely 'castle', tall and white;
was built in eighteen eighty-six, aglow
with cozy rooms and firesides burning bright.
So charming were the winding stairs that flared
'neath grand cathedral ceiling's chandelier.
Outdoors, a rolling lawn and gardens shared
a rippling stony brook, so full and clear.
This 'castle' on the hill from long ago
became a fairytale- no more to see.
Now, only precious thoughts that come and go
can bring to life my fading memory.
My childhood 'castle' on the hill is gone-
our home- torn down to build a bridge upon.
Abuses hurled and Alcohol gurgled,
In the vortex of confusion
And blurred vision.
Intoxicated pleasure from surreal leisure.
Fooled senses and numbed conscience.
Wiped existence of love and kindness cuffed.
Lashed at the one he once loved.
Cringed and clung to her faint faith.
She and her cursed fate.
Exploding paroxysm of hate.
Her whipped ivory skin and bleeding lips,
Eyes with teary tinge,
Has the harvest moon singed.
Stillness of the night, pierced
By memories of bitterness-sodden years.
"Hurt me not", she trembled with fear,
"let me live for my girl, dear".
The cries colored skies crimson.
Just one reason--Her little girl.
As her daughter stared
With flaming locks and eyes that flared.
By Angom Amy (15)
In ghostly dreams the horse will come
And feed on my forbidden cereal
Meant for my recalcitrant healing
That filly came a-prancing stealing
O shrouded mare so misted white
Thou bleakest horse ,this blackest night
Untethered and untied
Noble creature -"NOT"- I cried
A pallid stare through tousled mane
Treads the core of my hidden pain
So obvious now for all to see
My fear complies to jellyfied fragility
Hope drifts lost in catatonic misery
As does my scream in muted agony
Nostrils flared in malarial trembling
Gasps aloud from injurious dreaming
Departing tail of comets flight
Leaves me such a prophetic sight
Lips dance,
flirt together -
romance.
Sweet breath -
language of love
‘til death.
Hearts flared -
poetic words
declared!
By Rhonda Johnson-Saunders, 11/25/14,
for Nette Onclaud's Whispers of a Muse - Poetry Contest
Winged Steeds of Mist
Out in the vales of freedom,
of rippled hills and plunging canyons,
there is nought but wind
to carve through the wild horse
Light mane, nostrils flared,
veins like sacred rivers;
heart with a hawk spirit
flight strikes music from
bright pinioned hooves
Coats of shimmering autumn,
pied shadows, blinding snow
Time and mist have scribbled fear
into the sinews
Winged at the first breaking
sounds of intrusion
fear of capture awakens a scream
far older than the sound it emits
escape,escape
pound,strive, wild horse
snort fire and acquire
the secret of flying
I was just sitting there writing when I saw her stroll in,
I wasn’t alone, all eyes followed those curves sashaying
as if she owned the place and maybe she did. . .
if a heart can skip a beat, mine did a somersault.
Obviously cut from a finer cloth
than these eight dollar trousers ever found in their pockets,
the fit much better too, a warm hug on a cold December day
lingering in the moment
She sat down at the crescent shaped bar,
ordered a martini, neat, pulled a crisp twenty from her clutch
and brushed a few stray brunette hairs from her face,
the mirror behind the bar happily reflecting her beauty
Raising the drink to her ruby red lips
I found myself wishing I were that glass,
smeared in her favorite shade, kissed by a sighing sip,
caressed by porcelain fingers wiping sweat from a glistening neck
A jewel in this dingy joint, shimmering in the dusty haze,
breathing some class into this oblong shadow
that had seen better days, but none like this, like her.
She was out of place like fine wine in a shot glass . . . but didn’t seem to care
She lifted a cigarette to her mouth, I was quick with a match,
watching as tobacco embers flared and smoke rose upward, swirling about freeform.
Putting her lips together she blew out the flame
with a whisper of breath that made me weak in the knees, “Thank you.”
I stared, forgetting the spent match I held between my fingers,
tongue tied or mesmerized, take your pick, both answers are correct.
“You’re welcome”, I stuttered like a school boy in braces, “new around here?”
“Kind of”, her voice as chiffon is soft, “I heard I might find a poet here . . . ”
To be continued . . .
Please check out parts 2 and 3 if you get a chance.
She did not have to guess.
She felt it in her bones.
Unfaithful he always was,
Unfaithful he'll always be.
She knew where he would be.
Anger flared in the pit of her stomach,
A heart-wrenching in the ache of fire.
What could she do? Revenge?
She rejected such thoughts
Knowing well enough
She was no match against him.
Why couldn't he love only her?
Why did he leave her dehydrated of love?
As in the Fall, her love-like leaves
Fell down, turned brown,
Definitely to be lost forever.
She'll do without him, come what may.
Thus she lay on her settee, love choked,
Folded herself foetus-like,
Relishing the darkness of her abode.
Another lonely night, cursing her dreams.
A wave of nausea gripped her soul,
Knew she'll have to take her medication
Before she really turned sick.
She swallowed the two pills,
She would not please him and have more.
But she could not resist
Drinking ruby red dry wine.
She felt confused. Did she swallow her pills?
Doubt after doubt after doubt.
Her bottle seemed empty.
So she drank some more.
Finally, she slept
Alone, abandoned on the settee.
On summer nights
Nostalgia's muse revives
Scent of jasmine
Fig tree fragrance fuses
Memories meander
Minty ice cream flavours
Add sweetness to hungry kisses
Star gazing to cricket symphony
Roof top whispers of love's infinity
Days drenched with salty waves
Sun flared skin soothed
In joint showery sprinkles
Summer days, summer nights
Surges of joy, exquisite delight
Looking back, I sigh, I cry
You entwined with my summer high
And now...
Autumn in here and you are not
The nagging rain will not stop
Yet I take a walk, soaking up this misery
The smell of dead leaves turned to rot
Instead of those forget-me-nots
Fills the air
How can I not care?
What happened? How? When? Where?
A memory sleuth, I search every moment
Empty... no clue of love's demise
Rain tears flow from my eyes
Your sensual summer vows
Forgotten somehow
And now....
I wait a brutal winter blight
with no promise of spring
Eileen Manassian
I heard the birds sing, felt when the breeze blew
for you as sunburst sky flushed your face in hue.
How adorable you were to me you had no clue,
if only you knew.
After the morose night in your garden I found me,
how brightly I’d sparkled like the pearl of ecstasy,
being on patina of your luring rose a drop of dew,
if only you knew.
From the eternity I borrowed the time we’d shared,
like blazing sunset sky my yearning in reverie flared.
How keen I was to see the day my dream came true,
if only you knew.
In blue firmament of your eyes my fervor had flown
to the charming nest I’d built to become our own.
How fondly I sheltered my memory as storm blew,
if only you knew.
Sound of your voice rippled the silence of longing,
filled with melody the void of my lonesome being.
How complete I became when you made me new,
if only you knew.
When drifting on the trail of melting mirage you left,
like dry sands of caved-in dune I felt deserted bereft.
How sadly my unsaid words ‘I need you’ I heard rue,
if only you knew.
When your essence remained within me as a shadow,
fused with the darkness of abyss of my heart hollow,
how many candles my love had lighted there for you,
if only you knew.
___________________
August : 25, 2019
For A Brian Strand Rime Contest
yellow-eyed grass
the flared exuberance of
short-lived pleasure
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Haiku Captcha Poetry Contest
Hosted by Harry Horsman
My Captcha was Y26
Placed 5th
7th August 2018
May your days be filled with happiness, joy and laughter
Always know I love you, a poem is what I’ll gift forever after
You’re in my heart and soul, as a child and as I mature then grow old
I cherish our memories, your motherly love, from sunrise to sunset
forever more
My mother’s eyes of ebony, sparkling stars
Carefully, she tints her lips gypsy red
A cascade of flowing ringlets, her hair shines from afar
Muscatels quaint yellow ribbons a lovely corona spread
Slipping on an elaborate Norteño style flared dress
Exquisite ruffles swirl and billow before her rapt audience
Instructor of folkloric dance, a god given talent unique no less
Her blithe unbounded spirit, free as a mariposa
Images of her forever I keep, radiant and hermosa