Best Gathering Momentum Poems
“HOSPITAL HUMP”
(a tall tale – or not?)
The wind and the cold on the hill
they stood still
as two shadows arrived
near the peak
above what was known
as “Hospital Hump”
a devious, dastardly,
butt crushing bump.
So started the legend
a Grand-dad and Grand-son
who challenged the hill
“OH, just for fun!!”
The younger had shouted
“Papa, do the hump”
to which he replied
“it’s just one more bump.”
They stood at the top
no fear…..maybe traces
looked down on the horrified
frost frozen faces.
Thus the legend was born
of a daring descent
toward the “Hospital Hump”
and all that name meant.
Bright blue of their chariot
rippling with speed
gathering momentum
approaching the deed.
Then, as all of nature
and man stood aghast
they hit “Hospital Hump”
going way, way too fast.
Frozen in time
against pure blue-black light
Papa and Grandson
about to take flight.
The toboggan drew air
as the partnership crumbled
the younger continued
the older – he tumbled
back flipped and rolled
in the feather cold snow.
The toboggan continued
its arc o’er the trees
as the terrified crowd
fell to their knees,
the kid – now alone
looking down on the trees.
Grandpa was up!
Tracing the arc
wondering if
it would touch down
by dark.
The crowd gathered near
unsure of their place
straining they saw
two eyes and a face,
under the snow
an ice covered grin
shouted “C’MON PAPA
LET’S DO IT AGAIN!”
6/30/2016
submitted to – Tell a Tall Tale – Poetry Contest
sponsor – Jesse Day
She moves in circles, dancing and swaying across the tree tops
Serenaded by the thunderous symphony of dark storm clouds
Rain joins and embraces her, gathering momentum to fly toward the sky
She whispers and cries, soon making her way back to the tree tops
She embraces her relentless power and releases anger as destruction
Trees soon surrender falling at her feet, she has made her voice known
She is sleepy now, the sky appears calm and brighter, the trees are still
She disappears and retreats until the next unexpected stormy symphony
So many at the start
Jostling Elbows stuck out
Tempers a little frayed
My mind a computer chip
Reminds me I run alone
Other might be near
I run alone
Many yards do I pound .....Mind on job ahead
Forget all problems with life .....Concentrate
Am running in a small breakaway group
All ran yesterday 's race ...... Advantages not yet in vogue ....Concentrate
On and on we run......Feet now on fire
Heaving chest sweating profusely .....Concentrate.
2 more laps to go
Get into position for the breakaway .....Gather your awareness ....Concentrate
Round the bend ..... the bell will ring for me
Time to show them my worth.......Concentrate
Gathering my strength .....I stretch my legs heart now pounding
Gathering momentum .....Concentrate
Look up at the screen! .....Can see bodies hurtling behind me
Blind panic keeps me going ......Concentrate
Can see the finshing line .... Legs pound on
The bodies conserved energy in use .....Concentrate
Chest out, arms out behind .....I lunge for the tape
Three bodies near enough together, fall down with exhaustion
Wait for results ......All looking at screen
Here they come, I won , personal best ....Concentration no longer needed.
I ran alone.
Penned 12 September 2013
Too long for contest ......unable to reduce to 14 lines.
I want to relinquish this stagnant pain.
It has been lurking in my subconsciousness
and perforating my reality for too long.
I try to extricate myself from this servitude
but it sticks to my fingers like resin
whenever I try to discard it. Clinging to my memory
like a limpet to a rock: embedded in my remembrance,
and etched into my history. Niggling, annoying,
irritating, like a loudly-ticking clock.
I want to assuage myself of this recollection.
I have served my penance and paid my dues.
I try to escape this quagmire, but my shoes
capitulate to the quicksand, dragging, dislocating
me from the solid ground of familiarity -plunging me
into the slavery of remembering once more.
Let me relinquish this putrid pain.
It is disabling my forward motion.
I am trapped in the quondam of a past life.
Let me go! Let me let it go!
Stop calling me. I won't answer.
I can't hear you. I won't listen. Go away!.........
Oh blissful silence! Peace from the demolition
of future's construction. I look behind, one last time,
but the ashes of hated memoirs dissipate in my view.
Looking forward now, steps gathering momentum.
Safe from the past, and welcomed by expectation.
Free at last, sure footed in my pursuit of happiness
I pasted another dreamtime adventure,
into my mental scrapbook and
looked to the next ebony sky.
A traveler on a quest for life’s meaning;
I incubated another question and
disappointment hid from ethereal revelation.
The meaning, is in the being;
all-in-one and one-in-all;
one looks around the house of mirrors, to see all.
The only deception; the ego.
The great karmic ball, gathering momentum,
can crush it to dust; but it’s up to humans,
to push it and initiate the roll.
Dreams lay the foundation for each life;
that life, builds a heaven or a hell.
Beware the karmic ball, it sees what you build.
Once in motion, it decides its own direction.
Sweet memories swerve
As winds of destiny massage into moments, times
Lullaby scents linger following the streaking trails set by memorial reunions
Unfurling moments of childhood in tomorrow
Clouds wither tears in seasonal dew
Following the waters along the templates of hollow winds and silver slides
Whistling twirls glide along passionate wings of times pleasantries
Rearranged in patterned confluence
Curling over suspensions of infinite intuitions
Gaining and gathering momentum in infinite dispersions
While designing congruence in affluence
Propelling shores off course
Resonance reverberations vibrate, rewind, collide, regenerate and stimulate
The release of translucent intellectual norms
That slowly settle on subtle charges surging in order
Gradually residing on the serendipitous labor of love
That lingers selflessly caressing the eternal seat of every source unknown…
MY NEIGHBOR KOFI
LOCATION: Mazamaza, Lagos, Nigeria:
My neighbor kofi,
The computer scientist
At 34,
He crisscrossed, jetcrosed, redcrossed,
And hobnobbed around the globe:
Kathmandu, Acapulco and the Galapagos
He dined and wined
Like there was no tomorrow
He dined and wined
With Kings and queens;
Cuban cigars, dom perignon 59, Cabernet Sauvignon;
Lamborghini Gallardo, Rolls Royce and Ferrari
He saw the world
Through,
Rose colored spectacles
He jetted North, then South
He jetted in Sommer, then in winter
Then,
He jetlagged....
His battery drained
And,
His computer crashed
Then,
The speck fell
From his eyes
He,
Drank garri without sugar
Ate wild mushrooms
And drank bitter lemon.......
He googled his front
And ogled his back
In his minds eyes
He saw a knotted gray tie
And a pregnant woman
He heard a cock crow
But saw a thick blanket
Of darkness cascade toward, over him
He could not discern
Beyond his nose......
He saw the clouds gathering
But no rain
He saw the palm trees sway
Almost to a breaking point
Then,
He saw the harmathan
Gathering momentum
At the lower troposphere.....
He felt the cold
North East trade wind
Hit his face.......
He mounted his green horse
Named: Don Longhorn
Adjusted his helmet
Then,
Saw a thick haze
Of dust behind him......
It tumbled, rumbled, crumbled and cracked,
It thundered, hissed and clappered
Lightening flashed around him
But,
Don Longhorn and Kofi
Forged ahead...
Into the night....
Into a blanket of darkness......
She had so little
Bread crumbs here and there
Few coins
One lamp for warmth
Few clothes
One pair of shoes
A pack of sour juice
A can of stale cookies
Some honey in an old wine bottle
A jerry can of water
It was Christmas
The season to be jolly
The season of love
She had created a meal schedule
Five cookies per day
But she saw them out there in the cold
The little ones
They looked so lost
Poor little kids
Kids begging in the cold
Her heart went out to them
She shed a few tears
She couldn’t bear it anymore
She gathered the bread crumbs
Her can of cookies
Some water
Her cherished pack of juice
And an old quilt
She put them in an old shiny paper bag
And off she went
Out in the cold
With a heart filled with love
A paper bag of goodies
And an old quilt
She handed them over to the little ones
They smiled so sweetly
Bear hugs
Tears of gratitude
Off they went
Their little feet
Shuffling
Gathering momentum
Off they went
Out in the cold
To a destination unknown
With a smile of contentment
She went back home
Back to her old house
Alone with little or no food
Just a lamp for warmth
A jerry can of water for thirst
Some honey
And a smile on her face
She knew she had nothing now
But she was glad they had something now
No hope lost
Shoes under her bed
She cuddled under her old wrapper
And listened to the carols play in her head
By Sylvia Chika
sylviachika@gmail.com
http://sylviachika.blogspot.com/
http://sylviachika.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sylviachikablog
Twitter:@sylviaoz
© SylviaChika 2015
All these emotions
they linger in the dark
close enough to hold
but you never know where to start;
Left wanting to get closer
but you let me slip away;
I don’t want to be disappointed
but I know it’s the truth;
Nothing will ever feel as good as you;
You’re a painkiller;
It’s no wonder I constantly want a hit;
Stop asking me to admit it;
You already know what you do,
so don’t deny me what I need;
I don’t want to be disappointed
but I know it’s the truth;
Nothing will ever feel as good as you;
Coming for me you took my hand
gathering momentum built a deafening silence;
With an outcry the screams
began to tumble into peace,
plunging faster and faster into a crescendo;
I don’t want to be disappointed
but I know it’s the truth;
Nothing will ever feel as good as you;
It’s a welcome free fall you talked me into.
Hurtling clumsily through dark layers of sky --
Unwelcome residue of engorged, menacing clouds --
Gathering momentum, bulking up as they descend
To stab the helpless ground with their frigid edges
Few brave this nasty turn of events -- by which
Peaceful cityscapes are transformed into cold infernos
Of fiery ice -- to greet them, to acknowledge their
Triumph over once-soft, once-pliant 'Mother Earth'...
Like bullets from b-b guns or darts from tasers
They burrow into the earth, into snowdrifts, into
Snowbanks, slashing their way -- howling through the
Clogged arteries of a grating metropolis, grinding her gears
When winter’s icy hold, has started
to withdraw
And new life’s first emerging and
snow begins to thaw
And icicles start melting, forming
droplets as they go
To gather on the ground beneath
and slowly start to flow
Trickling gently down the hillside
with barely any sound
As they weave and wind and merge
making rivulets on the ground
Growing larger by the minute as they
quicken up the pace
Getting louder with their chattering
as they rush to win the race
Tumbling into streams that run
murmuring around the blocks
Babbling and burbling, coursing
swiftly over rocks
Gathering momentum as they hurry
along the course
Getting ever stronger, with more vigor
and more force
Now a raging river, both mighty
and so wide
Rushing to the ocean, to meet
her rising tide
Streaming over heights of a sheer
steep, rocky ledge
Thundering and a roaring as it topples
from the edge
Steaming and a spraying as it hits
a deep round pool
Crystal clear waters that are fresh
and clean and cool
Surging further on, as it reaches
to the sea
Gentle as an angel or as wild
and fully free
I can't concentrate in church
My hard heart is beginning to clutch
The transparent porch
Of the image of the girl in church
My fingers would freeze on the piano
As my eyes catches a glimpse of the rainbow
Moving graciously in a row
Of the singers of soprano
A little while my heart is at rest
And suddenly beats with sorrowful zest
As if a higher force is making jest
Of me or is it a test?
Why won't she just go away
To a faraway place and stay
Until the lions eat up the hay
And my heart has no more a day
Should mount Everest be at sea level
And my heart becomes a castle
I would be free from this evil
Lingering torturing and consuming the strength of my heart's cradle
Why has my heart become a fertile ground
For the seed of lust which abound
In its midst and mound
Of desire gathering momentum around
I should be glad if I become free
Of this shackles lingering for eternity
Yanking off the chains with alacrity
I will be glad I am free
5...4...3...2...1...0...
Ignition...Rockets firing...
Lift-off...We have lift-off...
The three-stage rocket strains upward
gathering momentum each second
Firing away on all cylinders now
gentle palm trees melt down in her wake
All systems go... the capsule's on its way
to the far side of Jupiter some day
to explore rocky promontories
and sizzling-hot lakes of molten lava
to take photos and grab dirt samples
for 'all that' this project's cost ~ ample
It started life as a teardrop
Slowly running down your face
Gathering momentum
Picking up a pace.
This turns into a trickle
Over the soil as it flows
Giving life giving water
To the roots as it goes
A trickle becomes a stream
Cant believe how big the teardrop has grown
Children and dogs love the glistening water
Storing memories of happy days known
Now it is a mighty river
Crossing borders in its path
Not a thought of king or country
No one questions its turbulent wrath
Now I am an Ocean blue
Used for so many things
Travel, play, worship
In the sunshine my heart sings
The moral of my poem is:
Nothing is too small
Whether its a prayer
Thought or deed.
It gathers and increases
In lifes throes.
Gathering momentum
the blossom unfolds itself to reveal it's fruit
as it clutches onto the branch
in frail revelation
then sun comes up to spread it's delicious rays
upon the ever growing seed
and both day and night
it is rocked in the cradle of the wind
Sun goes down and the rain invites itself in
showing the fruit with liquid love
that is also nurturing to the fruit
each tiny cell
moistened and held
in a fluid embrance of living water
Gathering momentum
that would leave a person breathless
blossom to fruit
to quench our earthly delights