Best Glade Poems
Lantern of the Shadowed Glade
In shadowed glades where spirits dwell,
Beneath the boughs of an ancient spell.
A pumpkin awaits, its fate foretold,
By tomes of old and tales untold.
Carved with care by children’s hands,
A toothy grin upon its face expands.
Yet, within those haunting, hollowed eyes,
Lies a deeper truth in dark disguise.
On Halloween, beneath pewter beams,
Wailing winds weave ominous screams,
The Jack-o’-lantern’s gaze ignites,
On ghoulish forms lurking in the night.
He sees the village, veiled in fear,
In costumes worn, yet souls austere,
For lurking ’neath the festive guise,
A darkness deep, where evil lies.
Children laugh with voices bright,
While shadows waltz in ghostly light,
Sinister secrets, whispers heard,
Carried on the wings of a devil bird.
But deeper still, the pumpkin knows,
The ancient lore, the forest’s throes,
For spirits rise on this cursed night,
To dance beneath the pale moonlight.
In solemn vigil, silent, and grim,
The gourd watches, a veil so thin,
‘Twixt shadowed realms of dark and light,
A sentinel of the Styx, in eternal night.
When dawn breaks o’er the ghastly glade,
The pumpkin’s light begins to fade,
In its heart, an ember of infernal lore,
A demonic lantern, cursed forevermore.
The valley is hushed before daybreak,
until the animals awake.
Fawns snuggle for warmth against their mothers
beneath leaves of aspen trees,
dappled in dawn's pale light.
In thicket and forest, dense with vines and shrubs,
there is a lake with cascading waterfall
where Mama Bear fishes for her hungry cubs.
The sun has reached its zenith as a fireball.
Flora are blooming; fauna sleep in the shade
of clouds that will soon bring an afternoon squall.
Crawlers on forest floor, scurry in parade,
as squirrels nibble acorns to their heart's content.
It's a normal day in this timberland glade.
As dusk hurries daylight to make its descent,
weeping willows shed tears of wistful lament.
amber horizon
sun submerges in the sea ~
wolves howl in the night
September 6, 2020
Writing Challenge - Nature Four in One
Sponsored by: Constance La France
* I chose valley, deer, forest and sunset in the order of
crystalline, kimo, terza rima sonnet, and haiku
Ere the princedom lies
‘Neath their king, old and wise
Waves of tribute and love adorn
The green grasses and dewy tears,
The elated whispers of morn
Sweep the lea’s awaiting ears
With cheers echoing to the skies
Drifting clouds passing by
Lend their shade the verdant glade
O’er head as is below
So peaceful flows the meadow
As within the blooming flower
With quiet sips the butterfly
Folds its wings as gently sings
The rill where flits the dragonfly
Pleased, the rustling of his leaves
Soothe the flowers and still the wings
As cradles the nests swaying gently
Where sleeps the feathered babes
Dreaming of flying 'bove the lea
In swoops and dives effortlessly
Cross forest, brook, and glade
In the heavens the sun is shining
Though in blustering reds declining
Atop the distant evergreen pavilions
Where in dusk await the millions
Of stars to watch over a weary king
A day in full, his joyous rule
And tomorrow a new beginning
As tonight, the cricket’s soft chirping
Usurp wakefulness for dream
REFLECTION
I have often found respite on woodland walks. I listen, look, take every image as a point of view. On reflection, I think you do too. Often smells tell tales of what has been, flowers beckon, smell me, please. A rustle in the undergrowth, I've found a blackbird scratting, a grey squirrel nutting. The cooing of a turtle dove, wooing its partner, is it in love? Then there is a tapping, a greater spotted, then a green starts laughing, woodpeckers both. Woodland happiness, its verdant growth. Like you, of nature, I make the most!
a woodland glade
warm the morning... long shadows...
last night it rained
Your tanka read, inspirational, in as much it nudged me to write this haibun prose of my morning walk. Of a woodland, my second home, but natures always been my neighbour. Quite often, like today, I sook respite, nature takes me by the hand, I ponder. What was it that closed your ears to the woodland sounds? Your footsteps, to drown out the songs of nature, your loss must be something you held dear. Forgive me, Heidi, I will intrude no further, remiss and rude, I beg again your forgiveness.
the light of day fades
clouds deny the sun freedom
a warm zephyr squalls
Heidi Sands with her tanka gave me a nudge to rewrite my today's (06/17/18), haibun, of which I dedicate to her. Thank you, Heidi, Mick
o'er the horizon
yesterday's imperfections
look,tomorrow waits
Inspired by Raul's photo
Twig twists intersect then spread victory
Receptors sprout cat waving paws
Fold fruit bowl foliage, branch tributary
Lump eye timber columns support
Steer me clear of thatch caged cluster
Cheerleader twirling ribbons sizzle
Shifted to soft focus forest, fairy dusted
In drifting dandelion seed celestial
Thrown down overlap of toasty tobacco
Crinkle constant joke cracked faces
Humour grants razor slim grasses tackle
Unused nests during seasons' phases
Basket interweave splice strap sun poke
Probes timid shade a radiating halo
Lathered limbs in blossom shampoo soak
Crown me neath ghostly citrine glow
Sombre trots towards her restful rotunda
Floating pollen fluff Snugglepot ego
Fingers spring flags of woodland wonder
Grip ant gazette trail to safe gazebo
6th March
Exists in the middle
In a far off field are dark green blades growing and a lovely daisy nodding,
In a far off meadow a king-cup stands there, with a yellow primrose so fair,
In a far off glade there is green grass growing, there I will rest my feet,
A warm bright sun shines in the sky and a warm breeze closes my tired eyes.
The grass in the glade is sweet and long, softer better than any noble bed,
And the sweetness of the grass and the warm sun made me dream many dreams,
Then suddenly awakened by the low roar from from a waterfall from far away,
I realized it was raining and the noise was from a thousand drops on leaves.
Now standing under a tree the rain is soft and gentle, gracious and warm,
New life came into me as I stand beneath an oak tree listening to gentle winds,
The steady rain wets meadows and mead's, down through cracks in the peat,
It travels underground meeting the other raindrops to flow as spring water.
Clear springs are feeding the runners, swelling brooks making its way to rivers,
There are silver drops on the glade flowers and trees, far away faint rainbow,
The sun returns, the bright beams reflects from the wet grass as little prisms,
And a bine of crow's-foot entangled in the branch of an elder tree, glistened.
gently touching hands
strolling barefoot by a stream
a timeless romance
And the grass won't pay no mind.
Written and performed by Neil Diamond.
9 / 2 / 2019.
sun gilds the glade…
ducks take a quiet respite
nesting in tall reeds
Dancing in the shade
Of the celestial glade
We're moonlit pioneers
Who overcame our fears
Bravery not knavery
In a cosmic soup so savory
Beauty is in crystalline flowers
And monolithic towers
Remove inhibition and take a tour
And enjoy the universe's greatest score
And realize after awhile
Nothing is as beautiful as a smile
And it might assuredly astound
But that is where the universe is found
True courage is to be unshackled from sorrow
With joy we're the saviors of tomorrow
The pain we endure is not in vain
Sit with me and watch the shadows wane
Every smile is a beacon for the sun
And promising days of fervent fun
We're sunlit pioneers
Who overcame our fears
Watching the darkness fade
In the celestial glade
Take me to the willows
Pull my heart away
Rest my spirit in the grass
May I ever stay
Beneath the sky so cloudless
I rest here at the glade
From my depth, I breath in
Peace beneath the shade
Battles filled with glory
Hold less than they take
Wash the feet so tattered
Bathe me as I wake
Reason doth consume thee
In thine ever-fading glade
Of subtle dying beauty
Of frozen silent play
The sadness underwhelming
Compared to the cascade
Of screaming, which is nothing
Next to this rotting cage
Why ever did we let go
Of all that we could save
When valour is so lacking
And nobody is brave?
Will thine effigy incorporate
The silhouette of broken glass
As the pieces start reminding
That thine effigy is masked?
And so riddles doth consume me
In mine ever-silent tongue
With the speech of all that’s screaming
From thy ever-bleeding sun
And when sadness can forget me
I will awake to say
That all of this was nothing
In a golden phantom glade
The maidens face, fair and pure
The Devils will, sinister and obscure
She runs gracefully among the oleanders through the glade
Deep below, evil lurks, above light begins to fade
Darkness stretches across the land, spurring the young lady’s imagination
Rushing to the surface, Satan hides behind her nervous elation
Devious thoughts of goblins and witches dance through her mind
He feeds off of the desires and urges that tempt human kind
She falls asleep under a great oak tree, intoxicated by her vivid dreams
In her slumber he speaks to her, gently whispering “Not everything is as it seems.”
Springing to her feet she sprints back through the trees
Silently he watches her as she flees
We took a path through yonder glade
Beneath the mighty beechwood’s shade
A clearing sparse where sunlight played
Upon the moss where we once laid
Our souls entwined in deep repose
My love and I the place we chose
To seal our love that summer day
A promise kept till yesterday
When I placed her in her resting place
To wait for me to share her space
Till then I’ll walk this lonesome track
And often think of coming back
To visit where we once laid
Two lovers joined in sun-filled glade
We walked through fields of flaxen wheat
Crossed country lanes and ancient stiles,
We forded streams in joyous mood
It seemed we walked for miles and miles.
Way afar church bells rang out
Calling the flock to come and pray,
We listened to those plaintive peals
And with lifted hearts went on our way.
Through the woods we picked a path
Which to us was not unknown,
Yet to those who knew it not
It was but wild and overgrown.
Then towards our secret glade
A place of happiness and bliss,
Where the sweetest of our memories dwell
Where my love and I shared our first kiss.
Entry for
STRAND COMPLETELY NEW (21) ,any form, any theme Poetry Contest
12/8/2020. Placed=1st.