Best Fortitude Poems
I eat upon a creaky table
and think in quiet realms,
sleep I will on some luminous cloud,
wonder where the seam of my labors
stitched what I have found;
I oft muse aloud the folly of the world,
yet dismiss the blemish of my brow,
the sin remains.....
The drear of the mystery is an old enemy
when death comes round;
I will try to smile then,
when he knocks with thunderclap,
make not fortitude a stranger,
perch life on its ruby throne;
As compared to my Creator ----
I am but a wee thing,
a wisp of smoke.....
a wave at its end come tide,
an echo in the breach of time;
The little rain-drops my eye does weep,
and sleep in moody seas,
I bleed a greater good,
if justice should have me;
to live a little longer.....
with wherewithal and ponder,
Drink thy Immortal Elixir ----
to feel love's strong arms
and bathe in its allure;
Not ails and old age ----
where strength of youth does fade,
but the sweet of aged wines ----
some wise child wild with first rays of life,
Yet, alas ----
will I try?
Oh earthy rock,
the savage man does not know,
neither does the learned understand
the secret to your existence.
You sit here, year after year
watching your adversaries screaming,
and swallowing their wrath.
You have aunthetic power,
I see you resisting their sharp arrows,
and when the competition comes your way,
you out-sing them with your song.
The floods tried to uproot you
the winds also failed,
the masses come upon you,
but none of them could prevail.
Oh solid rock, show me the way.
©2013 Christine Phillips
P e a c e is a language
spoken between
healing bougainvilleas
and bleeding begonias,
dripping dews of hope
through simple gestures~
like specks of sapphire dust
from stars sparkling
amidst bed-shaped clouds,
crawling through the horizon
many miles away,
stretching
beyond
the fogginess
that veils clarity,
stirring the
anchored odyssey
to sail through
twisted tides of turquoise,
facing the harshness of reality
like a mistress of
sky and sea~
u n b r e a k a b l e,
cloaked in opalescent shimmers…
Tonight, I feel the warmth of
inner light
rushing through
arteries swollen with angst,
for I am the dream
I’ve been chasing~
through the greyest of rays,
oblivious to the bluest blur
within violet haze,
lost in the coldness of
wicked waves
whistling woeful verses
to the sun that rests
in the arms of the marine nest.
Let me be the serenity
you inhale
when your heart
feels like a secluded vessel.
Let me be the solace
to midnight melancholy,
when darkness is
the comfort of a duvet
where
nightingales croon.
Let me float like
the softness of feathers
as I wish upon
unseen jewels of twilight,
for I will rise and soar
like a phoenix,
reborn in flames of fortitude,
allowing pain to be
the prompt
when ink suffocates in
a casket of
deceased dahlias
embalmed with
dulcet desires.....
I am the aura
of a waltzing wildflower,
rooted in the soul of your garden
blooming with graceful gladiolus
still soaked in the scent
of sun-kissed sands
homing everlasting evergreens...
and you
will f o r e v e r
be my 3 a.m. prose~
the peace I embrace in your absence,
when sleep is
a mere forgotten rhyme...
Don’t give in to adversity
Don’t accept defeat
Put your best foot forward
In any challenge that you meet.
Stick to your convictions
Hold your head up high
Know your limitations
Then you’ll be able to get by.
You can weather any storm
No matter how severe
It takes intestinal fortitude
Let me make that clear.
If at times you feel inept
And things have gone askew
Don’t wallow in self-pity
There’s plenty you can do.
Don’t give in to adversity
Don’t accept defeat
Put your best foot forward
In any challenge that you meet.
A
Chain
lofty
Reaction
Felt around the earth
By the cataclysmic earthquake
Hard to tell the earth from the sky at Shishiory river
Converting the part of island nation of Japan into a floating cemetery.
It was powerful enough to shift the earth on its axis one parking space to the east
To make their nation whole after tsunami
The Japanese need resilience
And the fortitude,
They have deep
Reserves
Of
Both.
It
Is
The only
Country on
The planet with a
Successful tsunami alert
300 sensors scattered in territory waters
What is more, the Japanese people do listen, when the government says to evacuate.
Dr. Ram Mehta
====================================================
Ninth Place win in:
Contest: Tribute to Japan sponsored by Debbie Guzzi
I will not hold back
My dreams have traveled
As far as the heavens exists . . .
And beyond
I have created my own dimensions
That I may dwell
In a certain certifiable solitudionous state
Where I visit
To reclaim my ‘Self’
And recover my divine balance
I have looked into the eyes
Of ‘Reciprocity’
And saw my self
Looking back at me
Examining my
Authenticity
I have spawned
Alternative lives.
Existences
That I have lived to their fruition
In but a
Blink of the eye
I saw you there
My heart has danced
To the undulating rhythms
Of concordant harmonies
Shared betwixt
The Waves of the Oceans,
The Moon
And the Mother of all things . . .
Earth
The pathways and the waters
Of Life
May be uncharted
But have I not been this way . . .
Before ?
I have sang along
With many different types
Of birds
Emulating their charming
Chatter, chirping
And the characterizations
Of their presence
And congruity
I have peered
With my naked primal eye
At the Sun,
The Moon
And the Stars
Embracing my endless possibilities
And all that may be
Can be,
Will be
And is
I saw you there as well
I have thought about things
Until I was high on them;
I have thought about things
Until I believed
There was no way out
Of the abyss
I created
From my own consciousness
I have even though about things,
Until my head began to hurt,
And my spiritual zeal
Wilted
Like the dated and
Unnurtured flowers
In the Gardens of Hope
I live mostly
With my heart on my sleeve,
But from time to time,
There are vagrant weeds,
Fears
And doubts
That visit my doorstep
Hoping to claim my abode
As a home
And share space
Along with my ego
And it’s un-founded esteem
My ‘Soul’ is of all things
And all things are
Of my ‘Soul’
And the truth of ‘it’
And all of its darkness
And grandeur
Can be found
‘Right Here’
In the ‘Singular’
We call ‘Now’
Will not you sing along with me
As we skip through this journey of wonder,
Wandering here and there
With no particular agendas . . .
But love
I see you there . . .
Me . . .
I will not hold back
© 6 january 2018 : william s. peters sr.
www.iamjustbill.com
Here I was then and there desiccated by deterioration
But now, here I stand ignited by determination
Fortitude, you have nourished and cradled,
And cured a disease of the heart,
That has forever been so fatal.
Fortitude, you come bearing uplifting gifts,
A spark of inspiration, a blaze of motivation
“I believe in you”, you whispered one night,
And with this I held you so tight.
To a tortured soul you became so dear!
Filling up holes of long past years.
I stand no longer alone,
I stand no longer in the terrible cold.
Tears I no longer shed,
And hope I no longer dread.
For you have taught the blind to see,
A little bird to finally flee,
A heart of stone to finally sense glee,
And Hushed! The mighty sea.
Alas! Alas! A heart is finally at Rest!
Alas! Alas! A mind has finally fullfilled its quest!
~ M.M.M
Tear charged riders
Above the sea
Born and chosen,
To rise and clean
Air, and water
Our hills and valleys.
They help filter
UV rays streams
From brazing earth
That all receives
The sun's power
To hold it burn free.
Tear charged riders
Raised by light beams
For earth, like father
Joined by breezes,
Dancing mother
That life we may breathe.
Hands together
Might that is feared
Teams of silver
Their fate quite sealed
As they're propelled
Death, in drops of tears.
Tear charged riders
Above the sea
Your sacrifice,
A price quite dear
For salvation
That all, may know peace.
By CarolineCécile
Copyright © 06.14.11
Virtues gained through faith*-fortitude
Values shared with godly gratitude.
*Galatians 2:20 …I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
June 20, 2019
edited on July 2, 2025
3rd place, "1394" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; Judged on 7/7/2025
I slaved all day to make our first anniversary dinner—
and you didn't tell me that our relationship or marriage
didn't mean anything to you.
I cried myself to sleep.
I began to see why my father had some reservations
about you.
I guess that I should've listened to him—
but, of course, I allowed my heart to overrule my better judgment.
It is too late to undo my mistake
because I will make you to see you why you married me in the first place.
I hope that I have enough fortitude
to pull it off
because it would be the greatest achievement
in my life;
I hope that I won't have to do anything like this again.
Please, God, help me.
Braced by praise-filled gratitude
My spirit exalts the Lord for His mercy’s latitude
Upholding faith toward ministerial altitude
Buttressed upon His compassion’s beatitude.
I then repent from vanity-driven aptitude
Beseeching God’s grace against hypocritical attitude
As my heart yields to Christ’s omnipotence-magnitude
For blessed loving service of thanksgiving* fortitude.
*2Corinthians 9:11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
November 10, 2019
2nd place, "Writing Challenge - December 2019" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Dear Heart - Wiishkobi Ode; judged on 12/8/2019.
A revolation that takes place
within the depths of her soul
never siezes recognition
once she grasps the threads
to which it holds
I told her as she whispered
"all in all, I feel bewildered"
you must not step aside,
stand impervious to all
that fears you
let the strength of your mind
luminize
Rise up from calignosity
take your place in the light
notice everyone stands 'round you
to admire,
your new found dignity
Do not be a damn fool
Helping all just like that
Please change your rule
Then, joy you can get
None bothers about you
As all are self-centered
None will offer any rescue
Mainly greed has entered
You may move a big mountain
Or cross all the seven oceans
Still may criticize your captain
Showing badly bitter emotions
The best remedy, you will show
To extricate your whole group
This help, all may come to know
Still may arrange for your coup
Your mother alone will love ever
Like a perennial pleasant spring
She only will ever be a believer
As to you peace that may bring
So please take my word dear
Help all, but expect nothing
Preserve your own cheer
And be your own great King.
Keep your eyes open
To get best prompt decision
Care cut to listen.
A two toned rose
Of white cream and red-
Bestowed,
Reflexes beauty of the truest of hearts
A wildflower found-
Of purple and yellow,
Is beloved,
Reflexing passionate strength of a surviving will
When one combines the two-
One may find a sight to behold
Of a creature with a will of such fortitude
To endure battles of small and large
And have the tenderness
As that of a brush of air- blown against one’s arm
Yet having asperity-
Like that of a sharp leaf cut to the skin-
And the strength of ten bears-
Yet be nimble and sure-footed as that of an athlete