Best Florid Poems
INDIAN INK
Indian Accent, form the whispers inside
Chanting from long ago
Echoes come and go
Losing time in a soft eternal glow
A beautiful and delicate autumn mountain scene
Dry blue eyes enchanting melodies!
Voices fall from the sky, rising hymns release
ancient demons CLINGING to the SOUL!
Darkness dwells under - gentle moonlight
Ancestors of the Spirit World!
Weaving Native smoke into the barren air
Indian spirits haunt the muddy Earth
Moccasin makers rise from underneath,
While guardians of dream catchers - print the Universe
Smooth thread from the outer world.
Arrowheads, Ivory gems, feathers, and illusions
I stumble upon a florid kiss....... My veins!
Run cold, like ice through a desert night.
Winds of enchanted drums - cry out for rain
Hollow chimes mesmerize, my ties, my eyes
An ancient rage begins to flare --- MADNESS!
takes place among the sanity of who I am
The spear of perfumed buffalo scrapes my skin
I remove the veil that covers my eyes
The hands that cover my ears
Drying the scalp that bleeds on my face
KINDRED IN EVERY WAY!
Raven silk braids and feathers on my hair
Dancing in a horrid hallucination of Peyote,
Waking up from the “American Dream.”
Holding out my arms, I am free, I can fly,
I AM A BIRD!
Categories:
florid, abuse, autumn, death, deep,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
Underneath all the layers
Of tradition
Of religion
Of philosophy
Of reason and understanding
I smolder
In passion's pleasure bed of red
Paroxysms of pleasure
Emanate from my core
Searing the shroud
Flames of fantasy's feast burn
Yearning I yearn and lie in wait
In my ambuscade
with the relish to ravish ravaging
every fiber
Conceived in the throes of passion
My conception is my perception of life
Woven into my being
I’m prisoner to pleasure monomania
Obsession of desire hysteria
My cacoethes: gratification gratified
Thus, I scintillate sparks
Riding on my satin flares
They captivate your stare
You see me
Feeling the heat of sultry flame
You want to play scorch torch game
So your reach out to touch
Mere kindling in my blazing wake
You quake as I slake your florid fantasy awake
Convulsing in temptation’s torment
You combust to lust
Consummating till consumed
Eliciting my passion flower bloom
In opulent oriental room
You swoon
Exertion exhausted
Gratification’s glory gained
Having tasted my reign
Revived, you leave
Yet…
My image I’ve seared
On your flesh and mind
Branded, you’ll find
Your way back to me
Slave to my passion's decree
You’ll come to me
And I retreat
Enshrouded once more
In virgin layers
Of tradition
Of religion
Of philosophy
of reason and understanding
Biding my time
when sensuality sublime
calls me
to bloom in her red flame
~*~*~*~again~*~*~*~
Eileen Manassian
This is a repost that has over a thousand views. Just trying to remind myself of the glory days. I seem to be unable to write at the moment....and poets can be a strange lot. If you don't post...you're forgotten, at least by most. The feeding frenzy is for words..and if you're empty, you are neglected. I'm glad I have friends who visit my older works even when I'm not around. I need to cultivate this spirit in my life because I know what it's like not to be visited....
Categories:
florid, sensual,
Form:
Free verse
ROSES ARE RED
The flower’s crimson cerise hue
creates the petal’s grand debut
of love and memories to recall
my florid sanguine gift of all
VIOLETS ARE BLUE
Azalea breath with foxglove tones
embellish with an azure clone
herbaceous with a petal white
where insects set and birds alight
SUGAR IS SWEET
Bright butterflies on zephyr breeze
sip nectar from Sakura trees
I watch them dance from break of dawn
on flowers where their wings adorn
AND SO ARE YOU
You sent me a bouquet of love
drifting down from heaven above
Candy kisses sweet as fructose
on bended knee you now propose
06-22-17
Collaboration Jan Allison and Ralph Sergi
Categories:
florid, flower, nature, romantic,
Form:
Rhyme
A coloratura rises
from the suede-edged shape
as the gnarled grande dame
comes to light.. a vision
draped in sweeping evergreen
and a pale cape of kidskin haze -
a beguiling soprano in soft-
focus fools the guileless sunrise
with a diva’s deception --
for in the vaporous golden hour
she can still be breathtaking
the age of change
is beclouded - softened
in gray’s cashmere atmosphere
where blending and bending of
over-ripened perceptions
are smoothed with a dewy smudge..
roughened boughs
and litter-fall is obscured --
unless, you get up close
harsh lines become artfully coy
in the bosom of the pearl mist;
a bedimmed dreamy blur of
Impressionism masks her reality
with the sleight of hand and a mockingbird’s aria
Susan Ashley
March 8, 2020
~ Third Place ~
Premiere Contest: Brian Strand Contest No 1183
Sponsor: Brian Strand
N/A
Contest: 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 6
Sponsor: Mark Toney
*coloratura: runs, trills, and other florid decorations in vocal music.
A lyric soprano of high range who specializes in such music*
*aria: an elaborate melody sung solo*
Categories:
florid, age, autumn, life, nature,
Form:
Free verse
Underneath all the layers
Of tradition
Of religion
Of philosophy
Of reason and understanding
I smolder
In passion's pleasure bed of red
Paroxysms of pleasure
Emanate from my core
Searing the shroud
Flames of fantasy's feast burn
Yearning I yearn and lie in wait
In my ambuscade
with the relish to ravish ravaging
every fiber
Conceived in the throes of passion
My conception is my perception of life
Woven into my being
I’m prisoner to pleasure monomania
Obsession of desire hysteria
My cacoethes: gratification gratified
Thus, I scintillate sparks
Riding on my satin flares
They captivate your stare
You see me
Feeling the heat of sultry flame
You want to play scorch torch game
So your reach out to touch
Mere kindling in my blazing wake
You quake as I slake your florid fantasy awake
Convulsing in temptation’s torment
You combust to lust
Consummating till consumed
Eliciting my passion flower bloom
In opulent oriental room
You swoon
Exertion exhausted
Gratification’s glory gained
Having tasted my reign
Revived your leave
Yet…
My image I’ve seared
On your flesh and mind
Branded, you’ll find
Your way back to me
Slave to my passion's decree
You’ll come to me
And I retreat
Enshrouded once more
In virgin layers
Of tradition
Of religion
Of philosophy
of reason and understanding
Biding my time
when sensuality sublime
calls me
to bloom in her red flame
Eileen
Categories:
florid, identity, image, passion,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
To hear me would sound like a symphony of octaves –
played all at once with concrete fingers
on diamond in the rough strings.
To see me…O’, to see me you would have to turn,
ever so slightly sideways, to ensure proper exposure –
one would not wish to either scar his or her retinas
with too much light; or murder their spirits with silky
raven on a moonless night, darkness. No, no. That
is far too much for the eyes to bear.
To touch me would be like dipping warm fingertips into
a pool of liquid mercury; like the sun’s rays beneath
the water, touching the ocean’s deepest silver depths.
The scent of me would bring your waiting nose to a
dichotomy of frenzy – one side wanton, and as eager
as a schoolboy with a playboy – but the other side!
The other nostril would shrivel under scrutiny; buckle under
the burning scent of disgust and unrefined madness, as if you
were smelling your own death, not the florid scent of Eden.
And to taste me…to taste me would leave the tongue
as twisted as a winter apple’s branches; as torn as a wool
tartan from the shoulder’s of a traitor; and as confused
as a year without Spring. To taste me would be like
tasting every dream you ever lusted, and every ending
that ever broke you – like sipping lemonade in the void.
But…if you are the one; the only one in the midst of all
this impenetrable chaos who can sense me, beyond
the average man’s malleable stone-walled borders –
than I bid you come. Test the likes of this diamond
against your rough-hewn backdrop – try me on for size;
see if you have the stones to not. Get. Cut.
*Inspired by Nathan Leccese's Diamond in the Rough, contest. :)
Categories:
florid, natureme, me,
Form:
Personification
Winds were among first to notice
Fragrant air blowing fresh breeze
Stemming from your pristine vicinity
Extolling prospects of your visit,
Announced by the birds in flight
Message circulated far and wide
Into the emerging scenic twilight
Pushing far away the opaque skies,
Cotton clouds then adorned charm
Scattered in ways of scenic art form
In orange hues peeking from blue
Amid aerial vistas painted for you,
Sprinkling rays on mosaic colors
Layers of fabric spun florid display
Anxious for you to take your step
Into this arena of majestic stage,
But all that passion suddenly erased
Prompting egress of darker motifs
When sun plunged below horizon,
Dismayed that you never showed up.
April 12, 2018
Placed first in contest 515 by Brian Strand
Categories:
florid, longing, love, passion,
Form:
Free verse
Maple in red wears her mantle with ease,
Ravishing crown with geranium sheen.
Teasingly tossing her mane in the breeze,
Spring until autumn she's dressed like a queen!
Ravishing crown with geranium sheen,
Swishing in whispering florid attire,
Spring until autumn she's dressed like a queen,
Sunlight does kiss scarlet petals afire.
Swishing in whispering florid attire,
She's lofty, saucy and flaunts savoir-faire.
Sunlight does kiss scarlet petals afire,
Her pageantry fits her Majesty's flair!
She's lofty, saucy and flaunts savoir-faire,
Teasingly tossing her mane in the breeze,
Her pageantry fits her Majesty's flair,
Maple in red wears her mantle with ease.
Susan Ashley
July 15, 2017
Categories:
florid, imagery, nature, woman,
Form:
Pantoum
In the deep silence of the night when perplexity
Confuses the mind, I feel your power descend upon me,
Surrender becomes inevitable
As I become malleable under the hammer of love.
I view you, approach mid sea, alone, resplendent
In the pale rays of the dazzling moonlight,
As if you were an enigmatic ghost drawing near
In a flimsy wisp of a whirling nightly mist,
Treading the waves, splashing your body with vigour.
Come closer, come, I'm not afraid,
Sing an echoing mermaid song for me,
Or slide into an enticing dance of love.
I thrive upon such inexplicable endeavours,
Where nocturnal elfin whispers and dreamy antics,
So pleasing to the sensuousness of the mind,
Combine to please the florid sensitive nerves
Of this old, tired and jaded mind.
Categories:
florid, sea,
Form:
Free verse
Sunlight or Moonlight - Moonlight on Meadows chosen title 8-21-24
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Moonlight on Meadows
Moonlight lays with meadows
Splashing auroras of platinum mist
On midnight
As lupine enters Luna’s corona
Dressed in veils of silver blue.
Light’s fingertips spread wide
Taking in the silk caress –
Hypnotic lavender and clover.
The silent silver flute song
Parts tangled nests of moonlit shadows
Sinking deeply into the crucible of light
While florid breaths of tuberose,
Leave an argent kiss
In moon pearls of satin dews.
Garlands of scented leaves
Undulate in polar wax and wane
Swaying
Holding close arching moonbows of sterling.
In full splendor of lunar madness
Sweet midnight ambrosias explode
To dust the moonlight and meadows
With crystal bits of silver glitz.
Categories:
florid, magic, moon, nature,
Form:
Free verse
the flutter of little wings
pulsating in a windless dusk
as i watch the setting sun
glissade across the florid sky
its cerise glow reflecting prismatic
burst of colors on this little bird
as it sips the last of nectar
before darkness arises
my thoughts drifting
into night's allure
as the full moon rises
above tangerine tipped trees
the last fades of day
flushed against obsidian skies
my memories linger autumn-like
falling like the mist of night
my thoughts weigh heavy in this air
i struggle to breathe within remembrance
of your wingless flight that august night
i lose myself within the expansion of time
as day fades off like life in the raven of night
August 8, 2019
Categories:
florid, autumn, bird, death, night,
Form:
Free verse
Florid hues of soft petaled flowers
cast satin rose splashes of pastel colors
that move within the cool morning shade,
as the brilliance of the smiling sun reflects
its warm beams of life from each delicate bud.
Rhoda, so fragile, stands gazing for hours
watching the stains as they dance in the shadows
cast before her like captive souls of forgotten dreams,
her lonely heart betrayed by a single wet stain
left drying as the dew burns slow from the mud.
The day advances past Phlox and Cornflowers
when she spies him near, alone in the sun,
a new friend she hopes yet he seems out of place,
with exotic movements and hypnotic grace
which stirs, anew, an emotional flood.
"Phil," he says, his hand reaching for hers
as smiling petals rim her lips,
too quickly her heart is lost to new love,
and together they enter a beautiful bliss,
as she dreams of sharing his name, if she could.
Time passes by into gentle warm showers,
the golden rays peek through to dry each leaf,
then their lonely shadows lengthen to one
and together they revel in their new found love
in the darkness of this lonely, bleak wood.
Betoken breeze blows cold through the bowers
as a cloud passes by and his shadow dissipates,
Rhoda and Phil Odendron, she whispers their names,
and she looks, and he's gone, and her poor heart breaks
past the smiles, past love, he's now gone for good.
06/14/2017
Categories:
florid, loneliness, lost love,
Form:
Free verse
I'm sensing something familiar as a lost memory
coming back and revealing itself in realistic form;
glancing at the rose-covered gate without a worm,
it looks different, somewhat newer; its color was gray
and roses that now cling weren't there...it's so enchanting!
Looking closer, I perceive another feeling of elation slowly rising.
An old house with long florid windows stood there,
beautiful flowers waved on windowsills looking out to the daisy-draped lawn...
that was the only beauty it had, then Erica ran down
and met me and gave me the most gorgeous sunflower;
I couldn't resist the lovely smile in those eyes color sapphire...
she was burning like the dry desert sand and asked me to quench her fire!
I recognized the passionate gleam in her enamored look, yet fearful as a deer;
she led me through the rose-covered gate with unbelievable rush, her fair hand
was much warmer than the blood in my bursting veins, we had to explode
in passion and emit moaning screams that only the serenading bluejays could hear.
There it laid: a bed made of lilacs and jasmines...strong was the aroma I breathed,
I pulled her down as someone too desperate to devour and satisfy with eager eyes;
and too happy to lose myself in that ecstasy, I became the wild man she needed...
chimerical as dreamers, we clung to each other and sighed in our splendid Paradise.
Categories:
florid, beautiful, desire, emotions, fantasy,
Form:
Rhyme
Word-painting, they say; or painting with words,
In charm, it's charmer than most charming birds;
Feeling, for many, is its first foundation,
Expression, in words, brings affirmation;
Sentiment and muse must fondly marry,
Verses should flow-grand rhymes and rhythms carry...!
Does my work, yet, picture of life portray?
Do all colors intertwine, like sun-ray?
Do joys evade the scene when pains flourish?
Does bliss its jubilant psyche nourish?
Do feelings of fear, anger and surprise,
Find: it's impossible to compromise...?
What's the inner-flow of my florid words?
Are they merely beautiful flocks of birds?
Flimsy butterflies that flutter around?
Cats, rats, geese, cattle and horrible hound?
Do beasts of the woods and reptiles well-blend?
With their hitting and killing stories end...?
Do they paint pictures of human struggle?
Or stop just with some selected snuggle...!
The deaf, dumb, blind and the lame, who, in calm,
Add, to this futile life, tremendous charm...?
Young, and old who're, forever, deserted,
In my poems, with honor, inserted...?
Composing poetry, is not mere fun,
A divine mission, with this, is inter-spun;
Painting of actual facts should pave way,
Toward opening of a small headway;
Life without struggles is unfeasible,
Dissensions, yet, could be made peaceable...!
26 April 2022
POEM ON POETRY MUSE Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Beata Agustin
Categories:
florid, poetry,
Form:
Rhyme
ROSES ARE RED
ROSES ARE RED
The flower’s crimson cerise hue
creates the petal’s grand debut
of love and memories to recall
my florid sanquine gift of all
VIOLETS ARE BLUE
Alzea breath with foxglove tones
embellish with an azure clone
herbaceous with a petal white
where insects set and birds alight
SUGAR IS SWEET
Bright butterflies on zephr breeze
sip nectar from Sakura trees
I watch them dance from break of dawn
on flowers where their wings adorn
AND SO ARE YOU
You sent me a bouquet of love
drifting down from heaven above
candy kisses sweet as fructose
on bended knee you now propose
* A collaborative poem with Jan Allison
Categories:
florid, flower,
Form:
Rhyme