Best Florida Poems
No litter, no rules, no society scent,
just peninsula pure soul content, ideally lent.
Awed and wowed with arms stretched wide,
I stand on Key’s narrow road, on narrow land,
surrounded by two sea gems and their sand.
This dream road sea-drowns, down south’s horizon
and thrills my innocence without even trying.
Western growth is dense and a fence in Gulf’s yard.
Her wave’s sirens are blue-salt diamonds
and I am mesmerized by their titan climbing.
East unfolds turquoise enchantments unmarred –
The playful, poetic Atlantic off guard,
bewitching and hypnotic in regard.
Dazzled, I sit in the sea, shoulders deep.
Powder soft ocean floor thrones me nicely.
I could sit the day in this sea so sultry.
Flirty, allusive, emerald joys leap
as languid, luscious wet meets sun’s glee,
sending my senses high where memories keep.
These expressive ocean blues and greens
are of patterns and ways, I have never seen.
Sensual and graceful, each sea touch is delight –
as soothing in feel as pleasure in my sight.
Before me spreads endless bounty of ocean glean.
Under Florida-kissed skies, I sit wet and serene.
Blending in so beautifully in the endless everglades
The heron waits patiently
The warm wind ripples the water
He waits regally
Standing still like a statue in silent blue waters
He waits hungrily
Catching his first fish of the day
No more waiting - he dines like a king
Inspired by Majestic Pose
3~11~15
Contest Florida Nature never judges
Submitted to Premiere Contest #13 sponsored by Skat
Where settlers came in search of gold,
they found instead a golden grove.
Trees burst with fruit, for sun is bold
where settlers came in search of gold.
No precious ore, but wealth untold;
rich landscape is the treasure trove!
Where settlers came in search of gold,
they found instead a golden grove.
Inspired by Robert Butler's "Golden Grove"
Written March 5, 2015, for the Florida Nature Contest of Rhonda Johnson-Saunders
~South Florida~
(Free Flow )
The temperature is rising
We're in the hottest days of summer
Heat and humidity in the air are soaring
Sometimes for days the rains are just pouring
This is summer with all its days full of sun and fun
People strolls the beach, and swim far beyond the sand
Beachcombers spend there their time till the sun goes down
Surfing and sunbathing is all a big part of their fun
You see children running and playing
Some are so happy building sandcastles under the sun
There are people of all ages, sexes and shapes
Some are sitting, eating and laughing till the day is undone
These are the hottest days of summer right where I live here
Living in Florida for so many people can be a lot of fun all year.
Dorian Petersen Potter
aka ladydp2000
copyright@2005
May.03.2016
I am Florida ,paradise
look around and realise
dreams come true
beneath my skies
azure seas ,a life serene
egrets wade beside the stream
peace surrounds you like a dream
sailfish and the dolphins leap
toward the moon out of the deep
wishing stars will always keep
promises made on the fly
shooting stars in summer skies
kiss your lips and whisper sighs
come to me where seashells sing
tales of abalone wings
bright coquinas,magic things
Seminoles and Everglades
Salofcatchee,healing blade
Chitamico in the shade
I am paradise.
Don't speak to me of summer storms
I rule winter,keep you warm
and you love me for my charm
for I am Paradise.
The sun emerge from its hide, smiling bright and it glide
Promising a fine stay, for those who toil by the day
Oaks surround the landscape, as ferns add in to the grandeur
A heron’s displaying majestic pose, the farmers toil with ardor
The placid stream that flow, bearing success into the future
A land that God has blessed, with serenity he suture
The grassland spreading far and wide, down the country line we trod
Wheels turning and a group so old, no place we haven’t rode
Of sunshine state I speak to thee, its heritage and splendor bold
As we turn a bend in road, of beauty that my eyes behold.
We arrive at the marketplace, with stalls lining the street
It’s the day of harvest, where a merry crowd will meet
The stalls full and brimming, with the fresh produce
Homemade things in display, of those the villagers use.
Cheese, honey and pastas, that makes our mouth water
Pickles, meats and soaps, are also things they cater.
At night the moon peeps out, of promised passion sought
And a few but lingers, to feel the cool breeze float
From the cottages flow the sound of mellow laughter
of happy wives and kids, who are well looked after.
Santa and reindeer's were very tired,
they had one more area left to do.
This last place was very big,
it's name was Florida.
They must come in over land,
hitting the water they will make a huge splash.
Rudolph must see the tall lighthouse,
a bright light lighting their way.
It was a hard landing on the sand,
the sled broke.
Sunny Florida with warm temperatures,
a great place for Santa to be stranded.
Santa in Florida
By Elton Camp
In Florida, Christmas ain’t so grand
Santa’s sleigh won’t slide on sand
And not many children there stay
Most of the folks are old and gray
Santa’s thick, red suit will be right
To keep away the mosquito bite
Children have to leave him a Coke
On its foul water, he would choke
In land that’s so flat and swampy
The old elf just has to feel grumpy
After Florida, Santa’s not seen later
He got swallowed by an alligator
While walking in the white sand by the seashore,
The seashells were many.
I liked collecting them,
There were shells of all shapes and sizes.
I was given a lovely shell,
Beautiful blue and green.
I collected shells of all shapes and sizes,
You could have a sand dollar which brings you luck.
There was a conch shell,
A large shell where you could hear the roar of the ocean.
What a good memory of Florida,
I put them in a basket at home,
There was a starfish,
Starfish,starfish in the sea.
What do i think of thee,
There were flat shells, fairly common.
The memory of our beautiful holiday in Florida.
The friends we met there at New Years.
The fire works that we viewed from the porch,
What a beautiful evening was had by all.
Author: Gwen von Erlach Schutz
You can almost swim across large parts of Florida, swim and
walk a few steps and then plunge again into the cool sexual
embrace of yet another blue swimming pool.
You can almost cross the peninsular of Florida by using the
fairways, the greens, and the links of the many golf courses.
In the everglades and other swampy parts a dragonfly can flit
from one half-submerged alligator head to another flying
miles in that hopping-stones way.
Florida has backwoods cracker-holdouts where native
Floridians sit on lawn chairs where there are no lawns. They
rest and watch the snowbirds arriving on passenger jets that
never cease coming. The folks that live out there may often
pull a 'cold one' from a cooler and spit in resigned disgust,
that copious spittle seeps into the the earth to nourish
earthworms that delve and wriggle creating minor upheavals
that occasionally weaken the subsoil forming sink holes
elsewhere. You can travel from one sink hole to another;
navigate a way around sunken cars and homes by following
the ever breaking news and ‘road-out’ police reports.
All these observations are a mighty huge exaggeration and
a rather shaky hypothesis for sure but so is the notion of
Florida.
Florida exists in the heat of the moment where all things
merge into a Disney Fantasy one often displayed upon front
yards, where ubiquitous flamingos preen; plastic garden
adornments that in Florida are a protected species.
EASTER BUNNY OF FLORIDA
God sends gifts to sensitive hearts.
My grandson left his pets behind
as we travelled from familiar parts
of Georgia to Florida. God is kind.
Muffin, given the first name of Stud
by my grand’s dad. A small bunny
in the tiny yard, was the color of mud.
God’s gifts, better than money.
The cottontail posed under the palm.
My grand wanted to take Muffin home.
The rabbit was his after Easter balm.
Then away he hopped as we drove home.
Grandson returns to his bunny, Buck,
and to his feral cat, Lily, who oft’ hides
under his parents quilt, surely awestruck
at the return of their family. Love abides.
I shall return to Florida
In late autumn, a driving trip
When blooms have lost their stamina,
And I shall need to get a grip.
Surely before the first cold spell
Settles in, ere the first snowfall
I shall find a small place to dwell
Near the seashore where I can scrawl
Short verses on sandy beaches,
Where children collect fresh seashells
And play well above the reaches
Of the tide, I love ocean smells.
A watch on the skies I will keep
Lest a storm strikes while I'm asleep.
written July 23, 2021
Lit up snowmen on the lawn
In weather warm and sunny;
Dolphin Santa in a sleigh
Flamingo-drawn, so funny!
Christmas decorations change
Depending on location
And likely, there'll be many forms
Of festive celebration.
No matter where you choose to be
As holidays draw nearer,
The universal need for joy
This season gets much clearer.
Breeze teasing Palm trees,
Turtles sunning by the pond,
Lovely winter day.
Groves,
parallel patterned rows
(hardly higher than bushes),
dot and stretch up hillsides,
looking from a distance
much like cornrows
on the tight tan scalps
of hip young New York
subway riders.
Luscious fruits,
at closer range,
mimic setting suns
boldly drawn in crayon:
oranges evoke essence,
name their own color.