Best Fray Poems

Forgive intrusion in the fray
I'm making comments today
Tom's limericks, three
were cute as can be
But of Kim and Jack, I must say.....

We all know how well Kim can write
She graces each page of the site
But limerick queen
Jan is a machine
There's no cause to argue or fight...

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Above the pristine, blue lake mountains stand
Shrubs and yellow flowers surround on land
Could this be heaven?  Garden of Eden?
Reflection in water is of God’s hand

I visit here to cast the world away
An inspiring way to spend the day
My pad and pen are toted to...

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i read indulgence mid scripted words

breaking all the rules and then some,

what be greater than gutting & swallowing

uttermost concentration of language

critically consummated or otherwise,

communing within written ideologies

something profoundly reverent or

perhaps deliberate liberating nonsense,

nonetheless commonsensical compunction to 

the discerning foresightedness of poets

& enduring escape artists 'tween...

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Inspired by the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight" by Dylan Thomas and the following quote by William Shakespeare:

 “When he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world...

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I have withstood this austere year
Waiting on skies which never clear
Shadows away

Fingers restless for an hour's peace
Scrapes gold flakes from a drying crease
of papier-mache

Random resistance too refined
Leisure, a luxury consigned
To yesterday

Now, tart impatience I require
Passive manners swiftly expire
Against delay

In rushing tempo, I rejoice
Straight-held shoulders, marching...

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Here I sit, diving into some wits, 
 my mind over, at this time 
Looking for some intellect to jot down 
Then, I came across these words in my mind. 

It is with the muse, that comes to take up,
With my pen to these words,...

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From humanities onset,
Before consciousness and intelligence met
Or our ever-present, fear-ridden fret
Of our own self-induced, war-torn threat,
Unseen by eyes unobservant,
There’s been an eternal cosmic war event.

Aloft let eyes stray 
To the grounds of the bloody fray
Between the entities called night and day.

In the battle of dawn
Day...

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Death’s Fray

Enemy troops discover.
Young soldiers find cover.
Fear of death’s fray hovers


© Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
January 26, 2010

Poetic form:  Englyn
Poetic Form: Englyn Milwr (The Soldier’s Englyn) REFERENCES follow:
 http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley/entry/the_measures_of_1/
http://jpicforum.info/types-of-poetry/englyn-milwr-680.html

Lines: 3; Syllable count per line: 7,7,7; Rhyme pattern: A,A,A...

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Nutter Butter. Almond Joy, Mounds Bars, and Cherry Mash.
Those candy manufacturers know how to name to get their cash.
We contenders scoff; we snicker and sneer.
The toymaker crazy idea brigade has just arrived here.

Someone throws out, Betsy Wetsy, Tiny Tears,  Shrinky Dinks!
The contest is on,...

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Enter madness
enter sadness
two hearts colide
in a beautiful divide
eyes begin to tear
now the end is near
soulless wispers in the dark
lifeless lovers invade the ark
it has to end now
but we cant find a way how
we have to get out
or oblivion will come about...

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Looking back past this blink in time....
Finding his innocent child; had we known
How to save a life I lost a friend, somewhere
Along the way amid life's bitterness silently gazing
Purity's eyes...

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I'm feeling so cold,
I take it in with each breath I hold.
As I sigh to exhale all this pain,
But my soul has strayed.
Now I walk alone towards brighter skies,
With just these tattoos engraved by my knife,
The same one I used to make myself bleed
Just so...

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Beneath a willow, children play
Sun shining brightly, a fine day,
Observe our lovely neighborhood
So peaceful and calm, all is good
Problems? We live above the fray. 

Written May 23, 2022
Submitted to "Bite Size Poem No. 45" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Line Gauthier...

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Sickness incredulously slipped the noose
wormed its way past healthy constitutions
and lodged spear like into Adams’ rib

Tenaciously Life held back 
marshalling the frontline
lymphocytes funneled nutrients
from Mother’s soup
into the societal fray....

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The sparrows and cardinals
squabble -
hedgerow turf wars.
Sudden low evening rain.
Do the trees weep, or does the sky?
Anger seeps into drywalls
fills eyes with a restless acrimony. 

Yesterday the sun was a brightness
on the wrists of small boys.
They played out a violent video game,
a shrill virtual savagery;
strife...

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