Best Guest Poems
Time marched ahead relentlessly,
While I was unaware.
I jogged around the corner and
Old age was waiting there.
I didn't want to meet her,
But had to be polite.
She said she'd like to stay with me,
Perhaps just over night.
I let her stay, " Oh, woe is me!"
She hasn't gone away.
She brought such heavy luggage that
I fear she's here to stay.
A satchel full of aches and pains,
A bag of moans and groans.
She is becoming so entrenched
I feel her in my bones.
She follows me around all day
And spoils my appetite.
If I escape to early bed,
She awakens me at night.
Take my advice dear younger friends,
Don't stop to tell her "Hi"
If you should catch a glimpse of her,
Just keep on jogging by.
On a beautiful picnic was I
with a wonderful gorgeous new guy
till breaking the mood
and spoiling our food
came a ravenous huge ugly fly.
We got up and walked to the pier
Then what of all things did appear
round our heads as we kissed?
That dang fly that sure missed
our presence and did persevere!
It kept buzzing and buzzing. Oh my!
Just couldn’t stand by and be shy.
So I thrust out my hand
with a slam that was grand.
Squashed fly tossed to river – BYE BYE.
Written Feb. 26, 2017
for Shadow Hamilton's The Unwanted Guest Poetry Contest
(After Langston Hughes)
I hadn’t known
my infertility was their problem;
The adult table contracts
from a toddler’s wide wobble
while over a gavel — I mean,
a rattle — and in between
chip resistant plates
advice is served, lukewarm.
“You’re trying too hard,”
says the pregnant one
who glows like a dim nightlight.
Another nurses as though
she was the one feeding off the babe
and why, why couldn’t the loud
suckling swallow her oblivious
“I get pregnant if he just looks at me.
I couldn’t even imagine
being barren.” A girl’s head gilds
jeaned thighs with the sweet
piercing of curls, but the mother sighs
“Go on, now" and to me quips
“I should just give you
one of mine.” Then the cake is lit,
another year has passed
away. Happy Birthday
to you and you and you —
It hollows me from the outside
in. Tonight soundlessly breaks.
The tot eyes the trick candle,
makes a wish. Wait and
wait and wait and...
2009 and the expenses scandal
Made Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, lament
So John Bercow, was appointed new ‘Speaker’
To be ‘The Commons’ new broom, was his intent
But he was faced, with an unlikely challenge
In his efforts to clean up ‘the house’
For running loose, in his official residence
Was a small, grey, furry, wily mouse
‘The Speaker’s’ efforts to entrap his visitor
All failed, with equal measure
So Sally, his wife, used her ‘Twitter’ account
To seek help on catching the creature
“Eeek, we have a mouse!” she did post
“And under the dish washer it’s run,
It’s Sunday, and the ‘mouse-catcher’s’ day off
Can someone tell me – what can be done?”
“My husband’s been ever so manly
But all of his efforts have failed,
Please can someone come up with a plan
To put this small rodent in jail?”
Suggestions came from near and far,
But all of them failed to succeed
The mouse still evaded the Bercow’s grasp
This led Labour MP, Gordon Prentice, to plead
To ‘The Commons’, “Why not have a resident cat
To rid ‘The House’ of the mouse population?”
But the members said, “No – that’s inhumane
We prefer control over eradication
This ‘House’ has stood for centuries, and,
There’s always been a problem with mice
But to bring in a cat, to kill them all
Well, the voters wouldn’t consider that, nice!
That’s why Parliament employs the ‘mouse-catcher’
To monitor and control the pests
So, until he can catch the Bercow’s mouse,
They’ll just have to live with their uninvited guest!”
Galloping within the nights of her innocence
he raced around the field fire chasing the heat of equine glee,
the horn of his head, a wizard's weapon and a witch's wish
with which a poison may be whimpered and youth enriched with longer laugh,
rose gold gilding on the supernatural spike ribboned with ribs of silver spells,
sensing the magic of her intuitive love the beast of God's bridge halts,
her eyes pretty in patient approach, his alert with admiring admonition,
they tresspass upon each other by exhalation of warm airy awe
whirling from their mouths, measuring the elation of frienship newly carved,
although invited to mount, the Maiden rubs her chin along his velvet nose,
fingers glide through the mane like breeze through willow branches, he huffs from joy,
in a gesture of supplication she kneels to the Unicorn's lead leg, one arm around
and a hand of healing pressed against his ripened chest, be restless and alone no more,
nibbling her ear in acceptence she giggles at the thought of adventure's anxiety,
leaping like an angel possessed with purpose for playful liaisons,
his back forming a saddle of supple security for her healthy frame, they join naturally,
she names him Azyerbel and he rears in rejoice at the grip of her knees,
riding into hinterlands of history unborn, they share courage known only to legends -
J.A.B. written in honor of, and for PD.'s Unicorn Birthday Contest 2012 -
Happy Birthday my Sphinx -
Awakened before dawn, I gasped for breath
A sound of dark foreboding breaks the still
Outside, the unrelenting, "song of death"
That soul collector, singing, " whip-poor-will"
Before twilight, he lands high in the pine
His feathers tan and brown, his neck plumes white
In repetitious cries that chill the spine
He calls lost souls to him before first light
And though no souls may come, he sings his song
So maddening, it makes the weary weep
His tax upon the living until dawn
The only payment he accepts is sleep
I hope the morning finds him a new tree
Someplace, far, far away, from sleeping me
June 30-2017
Any poem contest
The shady wood I came upon
Was so adequately blessed,
I determined I would tarry there
If only for a rest.
The trees were as cathedrals
And the floor was mossy green--
While the scattered beams of sunlight
Made the site the more serene.
The cool and misty morning air
Did my worries quickly dim--
It was a sanctuary of a sort;
The breeze was as a hymn.
And I thought I saw an angel,
Though it may have been a deer--
Still God was then less distant
Just as heaven was more near.
That shady wood I came upon
Was by God so richly dressed,
I offered up a prayer of thanks--
A most inspired guest!
I don't want a flimsy daisy chain love
one the slightest breeze will sever apart
Their blooms are as pure as a turtle dove
I won't play childish games with my heart
Plucking flower petals, I would never do
for he either loves me, or he loves me not
Cupid drew his little bow and an arrow flew
He missed but I consider it a warning shot
Love is seldom simple. I'm aware of that
Unless built on honesty, it will surely fail
The man I will love must wear a white hat
not some scoundrel who carries a tall tale
The truth in matters will someday be told
So I'll not pluck daisies and strip them bare
One day my heart will discover and enfold
the hero searching for me, his own lady fair
July 7th, 2017
*Thank you, Marti Sutherland, for writing in tandem with me.
Brain spatter smacked me in the face
Blood was everywhere, so thick I could taste it
I rolled to the left and with blurry eyes aimed
Eliminating the sniper five seconds too late
I wiped off my face with the sleeve of my shirt
And looked at my friend that lay in the dirt
Headless now, only his tags to ID him -
An image my mind refused to believe in
This jungle would be his makeshift grave
No cherubbed headstone for Henry Mave
Nothing to tell of the soldier he was
The best friend I had, or the son who was loved
I buried his body beneath leaves and vines
Then I went hunting for Viet Cong lines
I killed as many enemies as I possibly could
Like a kamikaze, death was understood
Somehow I survived and went back to New York
Where the horror of war bled into my work
Lost my job, my house, friends, and family
Trying to forget the engraved memory -
I always knew I’d be a permanent guest
Because the instant he died, I became homeless
**Susan Burch**
*Won 8th place in "World of War: Vietnam" contest
There's a tiny monster gliding in the air
Whoever you are, it shows no spare
Swiftly quaffing the earth's unstained blood,
it resolved to bury a raft of bodies under the pleading mud.
Missiles are aimed at an eclipsed enemy
Trying to discover home in this endless journey
Warriors are rifled with
rigour
Not caring for a cut or a blister.
School drums went dumb
Town fairs said no welcome
Smiles and lives are masked
Tears and fears are hiked.
A son was buried while his mother quarantined
A husband died miles away leaving his wife estranged
The empty stadiums engulfed the players' sky-high spirits
Innocent lives are turning to dust every few minutes.
It's transient my child! It's all transient.
Short-lived are these strong winds
Ephemeral are these hot waves
Cry not in the dark night
Smiles re-bloom upon winning this fight.
Every bud blooms after the rain as a norm
It's time to be an eagle and rise above the storm
The picnic was set for today:
A cause for two hips and hooray.
With Split and Blueberry,
Their time would be merry
That’s if nothing got in their way…
The deviled eggs had to come first,
‘Cause a picnic without them’s the worst.
They proceeded to beg
The hens for some eggs,
And boiled them when they were submersed.
But when Bat and Gat started to pack,
Their picnic plans went off the tracks.
It was almost Bat’s fault,
Since the pepper and salt
Hadn’t made it yet into the sack.
The only thing they had to do
Was to pick up their friends Split and Blue.
With a rabbit and goat,
And their deviled egg tote,
They could hike to the overlook view.
Well, the eggs made a pretty nice spread
When added to Split’s honey bread.
But, sitting down eating,
An unwelcome greeting
Then filled them with terror and dread.
’Twas the sound of a huge rattlesnake;
What a racket that rattle did make!
Though none could find him
Out front or behind them,
Poor Blue and Split started to shake.
Then Gat sprung away like the breeze,
And spied him from up in the trees.
She pointed to Bat
Where the rattler was at,
And told everyone else to freeze.
Yikes, the snake tried to strike at his knees;
Bat evaded his strike with great ease.
Quick did a side-stepper,
And doused him with pepper,
And the rattlesnake started to sneeze!
Well, that was the end of the battle;
They all could now safely skedaddle.
The pepper, in fact
Brought such an attack
That his sneezes set off his rattle!
They all walked home in the sun,
And all had turned out to be fun.
An eggcellent day!
Yes, hip, hip hooray!
Bat and Gat, hero cats, number one!
Death
whispered
Lustrously
Now you are mine
Why to take me now cause I am just Nine
I have years to live and still want to shine
Never touch me
Callously
Heart still
Beats
But
Your blood
Invited
My cancer cells
Soul alone exists your body is pledged
15 July, 2016
Triple tetractys contest
Harmless guest
Underneath Zoom chair
Some small creature fleeing in confusion
Ah ha, a brown lizard, harmless four-legged guest
Hiding and scared, aren’t you?
So am I
Please do not visit me in bed tonight
Mi-casa-su-casa
prey on insects and spiders all you want
and Thank you
for house cleaning service
Mi-casa-su-casa
Enjoy this big playground
hanging out in small covered spaces
under any couches, chairs, desks, bookshelves, or tables in the house
Closets, vents, baseboards, cushions, and potted plants
unlimited places to hide
One early morning
A two-legged guest picks up his underpants
Surprise!
A four-legged guest skydive dropping onto the ground
fleeing in amusement
At the sound of the gong you appear
to seek some welcome refreshment,
dear guests to be greeted right here
with a cuppa is our sincere intent.
There's a flask of filter coffee
and a pot of tea, a fresh brew,
there are also other infusions.
Now what shall I pour out for you?
You may choose decaf coffee or tea,
perhaps camomile or peppermint,
maybe some barley cup – gluten free,
green tea with lemon, mango or mint,
or green tea with jasmine accents,
'revitalising lemon with ginger',
'pure fennel – all natural ingredients',
or 'wild apple cinnamon with ginger'.
Earl Grey comes in various styles,
vanilla chai or rose lemonade
and assorted red bush bags in piles.
It depends on how you'd like it made.
Then I should mention liquorice too.
You could sample 'blackberry and nettle',
or into the garden just for you
I could fetch lemon balm plus the kettle.
We've 'red berries infusion caffeine free',
hot chocolate, horlicks or ovaltine –
but these need more preparation than tea.
Oh, there's a lonesome bag lost in this tin.
To whatever I've brewed for you
I could add sugar or saccharin,
maybe milk (or soya in lieu),
then lift out the bag or leave it in.
Next time you come over to stay
your preference I'll try to remember
but I suspect there'll be some dismay
with yet more choice than November.
Now I have come to the washing up,
that Yorkshire tea is still in the pot;
filter coffee I've poured not a cup,
so into the sink I'll empty the lot.
How blessed are the green hills below
Upon which doleful eyes are cast
And the quiescent river flowing by
Contented each day going pass
She is barred from being in his company
As she belongs to another
Yet, love is alive in her elaborate dreams
Where they are free of her brothers
In dreams they are riveted in discourse
Of love in hearts and all it brings
The run down old windmill is their cozy home
Where white doves courting nest and sing
Soon, time draws nigh when she must wake
The thick, distant fog rolling fast
It hangs like gauze over the face of the sun
She is saddened her dream can't last
Her eyes flutter open, they fill with tears
In vivid recall there they stand
Deeply conversing on the threadbare deck
His eyes reflecting love so grand
~*~
02/22/13
Note: For Isaiah's Edward Blair Leighton's Painting Contest-"The Wind miller's Guest"