Best Flexing Poems
Hope is a song of bird
Reassuring forlorn dawn,
The nightmare is banished
And the dream is still alive
Hope is a Lotus flower
Drowning in the night
Yet, rising through mud
With ebullient sunrise
Hope is an autumn leaf
Gamboge on brown
That curls up and dies,
Only to bud again with
Spring’s verdant vibes
Hope is a glint of smile
On the face of despair
When helping hand arrives
Trekking by its side
Hope is a concert
Of euphoric hatchlings
Yearning first flight
Flexing freedom wings
It’s the elixir of living
Priceless for everyone
And everything for some~
Hope’s their only means
Hope is a prayer
Tolling of benevolence
In places of worship
Seeking in earnest
Triumphs over tragedies
Written: February 3, 2022
Submitted on November 2, 2022 to:
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 19 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mark Toney
Placed 1st: A Strand 1074 contest
Placed 1st: Hope Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mohan Chutani
Categories:
flexing, hope,
Form:
Free verse
Squalling seagulls sip the morning sunshine
Greeting new sun, spanning over vast sea
Wailing upon hills, watching freedom shine
Sprinkling over prairies echoes of glee
Greeting new sun, spanning over vast sea
Sailing air on pointed bills and webbed feet
Sprinkling over prairies echoes of glee
Grabbing fish, hunting crabs, feasting on treat
Sailing air on pointed bills and webbed feet
Circling green oceans, conquering blue sky
Grabbing fish, hunting crabs, feasting on treat
Reigning winds, above the cliffs, thrusting high
Circling green oceans, conquering blue sky
Traversing sunlit designs, boasting zest
Reigning winds, above the cliffs, thrusting high
Flaunting flexing wings of enchanting quest
Traversing sunlit designs, boasting zest
Glancing marigold scenes on amber arc
Flaunting flexing wings of enchanting quest
Eyeing gilded tides where golden rays spark
Glancing marigold scenes on amber arc
Wailing upon hills, watching freedom shine
Eyeing gilded tides where golden rays spark
Squalling seagulls sip the morning sunshine
December 10, 2019
Placed first: Seagulls poetry contest; Sponsor: Eve Roper
Ten syllables per line (howmanysyllables.com)
Placed 2nd: Strand special 9 by Brian Strand
Placed 2nd: Your best December poem poetry contest by John Hamilton
Categories:
flexing, bird, imagery, nature,
Form:
Pantoum
Tears of the past invoke frozen footprints
When fears rekindle flares of dire misery
Feeling the ache, straining blood streams
As wrinkles pop up swelling deep worries,
Holding dialogue with sustained poverty
Attempting to traverse shuttered streets--
Bent, but not broken, in grip of tragedies
Trapped in the pathos of agonizing grief
Building escape still, flexing meager means.
When in my solitude, these images I’ve seen
Awaken me hauntingly in frightening dreams,
Grudgingly I go there, where I used to be
And see a child deep in hapless poignancy
Bleeding profusely from veins melancholy
Revisiting relentlessly orphaned memories.
Time unconsciously releases those feelings
When ode to new morn happy robin sings
As sun rises gleefully from deep blue seas
And life illuminates in golden hued beams
Oscillating winds, gleaming through trees,
And I walk with pride on the bridges I built
And thank my bright stars that lit my path
Twinkling diligently to show me the light
When obscure was the face of my dark night.
Silhouettes of yesteryear are purging now
Cleansing dread with vibrancy of spring
And jitters of nightmares in aspiring dreams
Seeing new growth in parched winter land
Like flowers rise through remains of ashes
Confronting what was, with what could be.
I have staged my play to my own melodies
And the rhythms I set to my own music
No longer evoke the prompt life gave me
As I write new chapters, create new scenes
I’m planning the ending as I wish to see it:
The story that was past, my future won’t be.
December 7, 2020
Placed 1st: Catharsis poetry contest by Silent One
Categories:
flexing, deep, emotions, endurance, feelings,
Form:
Verse
E Pluribus Unum ~ Out Of Many, One
[Author's note: E Pluribus Unum is a traditional motto of the United
States, but the scope of this poem is intended to be of a more global scale.]
We are farmhands, postal workers, we are rich industrialists
We are pilots, sailors, warriors, mathematicians, scientists
We are doctors, nurses, dentists; taking care of those in need
We are teachers, flight attendants, moms and dads with mouths to feed
We post blogs, develop websites, we are software engineers
We are athletes, video gamers, we're retired volunteers
We are dancers, painters, sculptors, we are actors on the stage
We are clerks, construction workers, pay for night school with our wage
We are high school educated, college maybe, or hard knocks
We are barbers and beauticians, drive a truck or work on docks
We are clergy, civic leaders, wardens at the county jail
Roll in wheelchairs, use sign language, wear prosthetics, read by Braille
We are bankers, tax accountants, proud grandparents, husbands, wives,
We are activists who strive to give our children better lives
We are widows, orphans, childless; we feel sorrow to the core
We are social workers, advocates of justice for the poor
We make music or just listen, sing out loud or softly hum
We are common, we are special, we are those who overcome
We are poets and songwriters, we write letters to our kin
Sharing stories of our life, of where we're going, where we've been
We are those with beating hearts, with flexing muscles, red blood cells
Kidney donors, missionaries, we help dig fresh water wells
We praise God in mosque or church, in synagogue or kingdom hall,
In a temple, or in nature, maybe have no God at all
We are from around the planet, we have skin of every tone
We have short hair, long hair, no hair, kinky hair; we're not alone
We esteem diversity; you value me, I value you
Always with respect for those who hold a different point of view
This, my dream: to be united when it all is said and done
Though we may not be there yet, we share this journey -
We are one.
Written 1 Feb 2022
Categories:
flexing, career, life, planet, together,
Form:
Rhyme
“Not enjoyment, and not sorrow;
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than today.”
A Psalm of Life, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Because I live, I am me, avid voice among the free,
Flexing freedom, defining contours of my dreams,
Ambling life’s prairies, rowing life’s eager streams,
Braving challenges, eying serene, hosting sublime,
Purposefully furthering life, with every tick of time.
Curious, conscious of the mortal world, I am aware,
Amplifying empathy, nurturing amiability, I care;
Not prone to seek hurdles, when faced I will dare
Maneuvering around the detours on life’s highway
So tomorrow would shine, upon my brumous day.
Witnessing travails faced, wishing for a fairer way,
Vying hope of rising dawn, exiting night of dismay,
Resembling urge of spring rooting in wintry decay,
Aspiring to a kinder world, short of goal, yet I wait,
To pluck fruits of morrow, negotiating course of fate.
April 12, 2023
Because I Live Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mystic Rose Rose
Categories:
flexing, life,
Form:
Rhyme
Watch in action exuberance of life
As a toddler starts, stops, and falls,
Slowly but surely learning to walk
Questing ahead in poise of pizzazz
Powered by strength of inner voice
Taking first steps of will to survive,
Oblivious to clutch of circumstance
Sending some kids to refugee camps
Or seeking asylum, walking for miles,
Hope for them is a place to sleep,
Bread to eat, and freedom to live
Cognizant of borrowed air they breathe;
Some will make it, some will die
Some will shine in open blue skies
Flexing tenacity of wings they’ll fly
Like a tiny chick’s daring first flight,
They will rise from burned-out debris
Ascending like forest of new saplings
Sprouting through the remains of ashes.
When tears of fear grip their lives
Some do fold, yet some stay strong
As life-storms destroy their only path;
Those of fortitude build new bridges
Giving comfort to needy and weak
Taking them safely to the other side.
When spirits cower, afraid of strife
Some resiliently keep dreams alive
Though they know their life’s afire
Trusting new day meeting dark night
Will always glow in ebullient sunrise.
Some succumb to inequities of fate
When despair mounts a colossal fight
Some persevere with innermost strength
Traversing miles of whatever it takes
Finding promise in flowers and streams
Shedding distress, empowering dreams
Invoking goodwill, believing its call:
Upon every roof some rain must fall.
October 14, 2020
Poem of the day on October 16, 2020
Placed 2nd: Will to survive poetry contest
Sponsor: Silent One
Categories:
flexing, courage, endurance, hope,
Form:
Verse
Beckoned by love, allured by memories,
Embracing missives of delightful dream
Engrossed in sphere of halo mesmerizing
Surrounding her aura in ornate gold ring,
She lifted-off gaily into ethereal, heavenly,
Way beyond reign of mortal melancholy
That gripped her soul in unbearable grief.
Enthralled she floated on feelings angelic
As she swirled, danced on magical wings,
Visiting lustrous nebulae hanging mirthfully
Amid magenta clouds’ resplendent motifs;
A kingdom of happiness, of eternal paradise,
An escape to wonderland fit for a child,
Just like her mother had once described
Where love always blossoms garden of joy.
Flexing exuberance, she queried the stars,
Until she came upon the brightest of all,
And recognized the most reassuring smile
Peering fondly into mother’s loving eyes
Nesting in her breasts, savoring her breath,
Longing every touch, reveling every pulse,
Blissful in endearment of realm sublime
Reconnecting enamored memories divine
Cradled in mother’s arms till end of time.
December 27, 2022
Poem of the day on December 28, 2022
Placed 5th: Beyond Reach Premium Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mystic Rose Rose
Categories:
flexing, child, dream, fantasy, imagination,
Form:
Verse
A spirited traveler, how curiously you roam, flexing your freedom,
Visiting places serene, from Atlantic to Pacific, Artic to Antarctic,
Hugging every exotic continent, kissing territories in between;
Exploring from shore to shore; thrashing, splashing, your rhythms.
Hosting sunsets of amber evenings and sunrises of purple dawns
Fondly you reflect ruby rays, charming avid glances of romance,
Illuminating in sun’s golden dust a fusion made of fervid dreams,
And designs of your vision artistic, sprinkled on motifs esoteric.
Custodian of precious resources, a treasurer of beauteous coral reefs,
A liaison for shipping goods, trading foods, marine mineral mining;
You are a daring warrior too, flaunting bravely your armored ships,
An environmentalist as well, facilitating harvesting of wind energy.
You are so charismatic, when leisurely you propel passenger ships,
Journeying to towns historic, luxuriating on heavenly beaches;
Yet, when your mood is perturbed, you are a monster, angry beast,
Stomping ferociously, storming destructively, churning latent heat.
Harmonious with the mystique of moon, mythical cosmic bodies,
Coast-to-coast you soar, alluring aspirations of dreams romantic,
As boundlessly you undulate, navigating zestful tides of passion;
Awe of admiration, you are the eternal, magnificent blue ocean.
Categories:
flexing, ocean,
Form:
Personification
on... Oh! Oh!
What? What?
Do you think of cats?
We have too many cats.
At least, they feast on rats.
Cats. (*) Cats! Cats! (*) Cats.
What do you think of that? I
have seen them with a mole.
Dead, pulled out of his hole.
A delicacy I once was told.
My cats are: Meow.
Some big fat- Meow!
Rat-eating cats. Meow!
I never see them eat a bat.
I guess at night, they sleep or chat.
Cats do not have wings. They cannot fly!
My, oh my, will they wish someday to fly?
At early dawn it is time to prowl. Not for owls.
Meow! They hunt for snakes, insects, some fowl.
Silently, sneakily, stealthy, spying, they P-o-u-n-c-e-!
It’s survival of the fittest, kitty cat style. Buy a bell.
You may see them on the ground or in a tree looking
down. Meow! Sometimes they will play in the sand.
Rolling, flipping around on every inch of ground.
Or you might find them upside down flexing,
Anticipating their morning prowl. Meow.
By and by, success is found.
In their kitty bowl... Meow.
Smiles! Meow, Meow, Smiles!
Copyrighted on January 27, 2010
Categories:
flexing, pets,
Form:
Concrete
Quote: Know your value. Confidence breeds success. Act like the person you want to become, and people will start seeing you as that person.
Mark M Ford
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Those who embrace, avid ambitions of heart,
To them shall the reigns of future belong;
From charted path of passion, they never part
For earnest is the promise treasured for long.
O, how they strive, aiming for heavenly skies,
Flexing audaciously to conquer higher highs,
Fixated on life’s goals with purposeful eyes,
Focused mindfully, primed to win the prize.
On might of confidence when achievers roar,
On strength of willpower their dreams soar
Employing fortitude resolutely brought to fore,
Sailing to shores, dreamt in travails of yore.
Glumness they defy of shroud and sorrow,
Planting seeds of hope in despair of woes,
Aspiring bright horizons on dawns of morrow
Overcoming hapless shadows cast in throes.
O, the doers and believers instinctively know,
Hurdled with failures is the road to success,
As they drive dreary nights to mornings aglow,
Fueled by aspirations, dreams revered possess.
Categories:
flexing, confidence,
Form:
Rhyme
Genesis: God’s plan unfolding
Father, with the Word, creates;
Spirit on the water hovers
God, how great and wise you are!
Caterpillar - slow, unwieldy
Daily tied to earthen bonds
Weaves a tomb of transformation
God, how great and wise you are!
Chrysalis - still small but growing;
Like salvation’s scarlet thread
Silken fibers knit together
God, how great and wise you are!
His creation full of mystery
Tides and seasons, death and birth;
All things change but the Almighty
Only constant One on earth.
Full cocoon - now breaking open
Folded wings untried, unsure,
Now unfolding, flexing, flying;
God, how great and wise you are!
Butterfly - now soaring, sailing
Free at last from landlocked chains
Picture of the resurrection
God, how great and wise you are!
All in Christ made new creations
Old things gone, the new has come,
Praise the Father, Son and Spirit;
God, how great and wise you are!
Categories:
flexing, god, jesus,
Form:
Quatrain
The Fountain
Where have you been my love
Did the hours slip from the pools of your thoughts
To go wandering heights in vacant skies
Did they capture their images on high
As you floated through the siphoned mist of your dreams
I stood on the golden rim
Where comes this shimmer quiet in your eyes
Did the blessed heavens kiss away your sadness
Flushed you seem with a new coy brilliance
Coquette by your demeanour disregards my question
I drank from a sacred stream
This sleeping softness sensual pressed to warmth
Pervades the corners of your mouth; teasing brigands
Have those loose moments retaliated their freedom
And gathered the snippets of lust once again into ragged ball of passion
I lay naked in the dust
The tip of your finger is playing upon a pharyngeal string; my love
Purring cat you are stretched bare skinned on a Persian rug
Your playful whispers intone in those exquisite curves
Flexing white porcelain opening of slow swan wings
And I held the source spring of my heart
Impatient now edges the tangled slides of your auburn curls
This gesture turns your shoulder; from behind lowered lashes you look
A predator’s toy in scratching claws lays its throat willingly bare
Ready to be devoured by a single word; of love
I stepped from the golden rim
Your palms carry the visions you have seen entranced
Coursing through your touch with eclectic imagery
There is a moment of succumb, of slavery, in you, my love
Relinquishing all but dignity, proud, honest, capitulation and senses devastation
I drink from the eternal fountain
Categories:
flexing, love, sensual,
Form:
Free verse
An odyssey through hurdles, yet a blessing it is to dwell on earth,
Aiming for destination beloved, chasing sweet dreams of mirth,
Through successes and failures, amid joys and woes, since birth,
Life can be hurricanes and storms, but living it justifies its worth.
Sometimes life beams with hope, sometimes despairs in throes,
Navigating peaks and troughs, undulating with highs and lows,
Yet, unyielding to reign of angst, life rejects doldrums of sorrow,
Aspiring boldly to sunny horizons, hosting endeavors of morrow.
Life, a realm of virtues divine, resounding endearment of love,
A benediction, an endowment, a gift from the heavens above;
Its paradigms and precepts reverberate from temple of soul,
Echoing sapience of enlightenment, teachings paramount toll.
On strength of sheer endurance, aspirations of dreamers soar,
Flexing willpower of ambitions, resolutely they bring to fore,
As life rewards strenuous efforts, striving for its worthy goal,
Fulfilling purpose of tomorrow, triumphs of achievers extol.
Life toddles, stumbles and falls, enduring as it learns to walk,
It stutters, it babbles thoughts, yet persists as it learns to talk,
Cognizant over time, sorting good from bad, right from wrong,
Obeying tenets of morals and values, guiding humanity lifelong.
Categories:
flexing, life,
Form:
Rhyme
WTF burning bright with pondering ink.
Graceful swans or blackbirds skedaddling
across the vast and empty space. The think
kerplunking into cavernous link.
The quill flying…descriptives diving
onto the writer’s canvas…surviving.
WTF, loud and clear, dear John…
the calligraphic rend of relationship…
The salutation is a haunting paragon.
Parisian-perfumed paper is withdrawn.
The ebony of the crow’s feather, fitting.
His abdominals are eternally splitting.
WTF, wet with mascara tears. Joy
at the indoctrination of its mirth,
bearing personalities of a girl and boy.
To induce was another cousin’s ploy -
joining in on the birth experience fun,
flexing his muscles, nearly triplets spun.
WTF, wading in pools of grace, prayerful rest
of folded hands - serenity glides over vellum.
The ink, so gentle, melodic, transfigured, blessed.
Saint’s swan lyrics - God’s glory expressed.
Whisper of angels, feathers like baby’s-breath.
Resurrected quill in pall of Christ’s death.
Categories:
flexing, angst, birth, death, joy,
Form:
Rhyme
In the heart of the blackest abyss, down,
Down, in fathoms deep crypt, where light
Does not penetrate, and the structured protective hauls,
Of men, are crushed beneath pressures massive
Weight, of the oceans deepest depth.
This is truly inner spaces aquatic zone of the
Unknown, a realm of stilled silence frozen
In the icy currents of the barren straights.
Where prehistoric giants dwell, amongst the
Tidal flow, ambush predators, forgotten beasts,
From long ago, living krakens whom devour
All life, hidden within their dark domain.
In Poseidon's mighty anger, the waves answer,
To his fists of fury, hurricanes wrath of vengeance,
Gives birth to the perfect storms rage,
Vessels rise and than fall in the tidal surging
Waters.
Nay do the sailors cry out to the Lord God on high,
For redemption's salvation, but the sacrificial altars must
Be appeased, by flesh and bloods sacred offerings.
Summons does the mighty lord of the seven seas,
To release the last of the ancient Leviathans.
Two thousand hands, of a thousand dead men,
Heave and pull at the tethering heavy chains,
To this devil of the depths cage.
From within interments vaulted keep,
Captivities living spawn from hell, is
Unshackled and released, to reek havocs
Devastation above.
An aquatic spider, a maritime widow maker,
Flexing and in-flexing, its body’s motions,
Towards the surface, in pulsations rhythmic
Orchestrations, the gray giant is ready to strike,
With its killing arms extended wide, to grapple
At its unprotected prey, to engorge itself with
All living matter that it surveys, within its icy reach.
As bubbles shoot upwards breaking the waters
Surface, suction cups and talon claws are drawn
Outwards, aligning his eight legged tentacles of bone
Crushing death, behold the Giant Squid, instrument of
Lethal torture, a living killing machine from the fathoms
Deepest depths.
For it is the beast, the true essence of evil
Incarnate, and none survive its destructive wrath.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
Categories:
flexing, boat, fantasy, halloween, history,
Form:
Free verse