Best Harbor Poems
The ship in the habor on silvery seas
Lay vacant outspread 'neath the glassy moon
Drifting in cold whispers of the night
Like a drunk man shriveled on clasping knees
In the loud echoes of the crawling winds
The brave ship nods its old head
Restless on the empty stage of the bay
When lonely stars bleed their light
On what was once earthly sublimity
Now silence and haunt lingers there
A graveyard of bones and sadness
Beside the desolate harbor
Rustling in the cold distance
Laboring with a haunting melody
That invades me in shivers of night.
Sadness defeats
The happy spaces of my mind
Then your sweet kiss would descend
Oh... your sweet kiss would descend
As a fragrant memory
Thawing the pain
In the frost of my heart.
My soul beckons your presence
But silence became my loyal friend
And Emptiness -
The sorrowing of my hours
That slithers through the night
As the brave ship nods its old head
Crackling and desolate
In silvered breaking waters
'Neath moon's limpid eyes
My hands descend
With crimson buds of April's flowers
To rest upon your tomb
Of eternal silence.
''Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.''
A ship is safe in the harbor,
But that's not what ships are built for.
Because in the sum of our human gleams,
We have created the vessel for our dreams.
Its purpose: to retrieve the alien shore,
To scout, seek, achieve and explore.
A ship is meant to fly and fly,
To seize the horizon and capture the sky.
And the few of us with the intrepidity,
To brave the virulent vortex velocity
We are the wealthiest of men ever to dream
And ever to combat a sea or a stream.
And the harbored ships that fritter away,
Slowly begin to rot and decay.
Never has there been a greater waste of a day,
Than that spent harbored,
Than those of us who stay.
Idle porcelain boats
are seagulls
floating
on a teal harbor
blond moorings
cast like kelp
Sails stiff
as egrets
glide slowly
toward
a cerulean channel
Atop turtle islands
pastel cottages
are pearls gleaming
on oyster beaches
umbrellas splayed
like starfish
on sandstone terraces
schools
of rainbow blossoms
wafting
in the salty air
3rd Place
Late June Premier Contest
Sponsor: Brian Strand
6/25/17
My soul is my canoe
sails me in a sea of verses
a poetic harbor is my destination...
For forty days and nights, a tempest strange
blew in; the lost unsaved by fortresses.
One shelter only from those winds of change:
an ark that sailed to rainbow's promises.
Elijah, fleeing from his enemies,
protected from an earthquake, fire, and storm,
was fed by angels heeding God's decrees.
The Rock of ages kept him safe and warm.
The fishermen knew raging squalls and throes;
one maelstrom caused their courage to be thinned -
when Jesus tells the storm, "be still!", he shows
himself to be the Master of the wind.
On stormy seas, when troubling winds arise,
sail for the harbor where true safety lies.
Written 23 Nov 2020
"Positano Harbor"
crown jewel of sea and sky
on blue Amali coast line
harbor landscape breathtaking
Italy's delight.
tiny boats sail ocean waves
brilliant water cascades shores
tourists inhale rare beauty
silver starred skyline.
lovers secret hideaway
absorb salty spray on sand
golden mounds warm from sunglow
paradise in peace.
Positano village loves
radiates in ancient world
masterpiece of Artist God
feel serenity.
*For Russell Sivey's Natural Dodoitsu Contest.
*Written by: Linda-Marie The "Sweetheart" of P.S.
*Nov. 12, 2012.
A light wind gently rocks our sailboat as
breezes begin to pick up on the sun drenched dock.
Cable wires rap and tap upon the mast as
daylight filters thinly through the clouds.
Egrets begin to peck around the gangway
foraging for scraps from bugs or grubs.
Great blue heron busily prepares her nest
high upon the eucalyptus tree.
I sit and daydream on the harbor deck
just enjoying the sea breeze, sights and sounds.
Kelp beds sway rhythmically with the currents
lapping the rocks at low tide, while
massive flocks of birds perch purposefully
near a lonely lighthouse high on the jetty.
Open seas spread toward the horizon where
pelicans busily dive bomb for fish.
Quarry rocks surrounding the harbor create
rocky protrusions, allowing ground squirrels to
spy sailors earnestly jibing on ocean water
tacking swiftly through the northwest winds.
Under the pylons and gangways
various starfish and mussels cling
with schools of fish swimming in tandem.
Xylophone sounds drift with music from a
Yacht club hosting a spring concert.
Zeal for the beauty of harbor life moves me.
Written on 2/11/2015
As she cups my fingers through sleep-time
Nurturing our cozy moments with delight;
Gaily, Aunt takes me to joyrides of youth
Each circus, fairy tears, or moon talk,
Lifts all seasons to brighten mad chuckles
Into a harbor of love where warmth glides.
Care-giver… delivering me at birth
A second mom, the first kin I cherish!
Tammy Reams' Acrostic on Mother's Day
Dedicated to my aunt- nurse who treasured me
as her own child till her death... I was 22 then.
3/28/2015
In my thoughts there floats an island tranquil, warm
That is sometimes sunny, sometimes sweet with rain
Sound, the harbor that's my refuge thru each storm
Where my hopes, like flowers, bloom to ebb the pain
Through the darkest gloom, that shelter will transform
All my nightmares, grim, 'til naught but dreams remain
When I yearn to taste that breeze and count its sighs
I'll hoist each day's cares and gently ... close my eyes.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "April 2019 Premiere 3 Any Form, Any Theme" Poetry Contest, Brian Strand, Judge & Sponsor.
~ 3rd Place ~ in the "My Place Multi-Part Easter Prizes" Poetry Contest, Carolyn Devonshire, Judge & Sponsor.
(Syllables 11/line, counted @ HowManySyllables.com.)
The brightly colored houses lighten my emotions.
The cobblestone streets encourage by shaking the worries away.
A town on the ocean's edge, aware of the power of nature
yet at peace. Time undulates and ebbs with the tide as life is carefree.
Historic restoration, reminds us that living has not changed really.
Life, birth, death and taxes continue along with joy and sickness.
Passion and love are old as time. The river meets the ocean and the ocean never
overflows. Seagulls and pelicans stay by the salty spray; dining each day on fresh
seafood. Seagulls run and play on the sand dunes for fun.
Tourists come and go leaving behind a few dollars to keeps the town thriving.
The tall tales grow each year for pure pleasures sake. It is alright with me,
charming stories make my return more interesting. There is a melody of enjoyments to be had in the city by the sea.
For Charles Melody
Mother: God’s harbor of love where souls anchor, before setting sail for life’s turbulent seas! *
© Demetrios Trifiatis
7 MAY 2016
* TO all mothers of the world! Happy Mother’s Day!
I watch the harbor through the falling snow
the sky and sea form one vast, gray tableau
the sun is nothing but a weak, background glow
the scene draws me, as if hypnotically.
Five mile’s lighthouse warnings go unvoiced
its strobes not lashing out, so what’s its point
it stands majestically but disappoints
replaced electronically
A tiny lobster boat makes its landward way
towards the inlet from the wider channel bay
a powdery blizzard is underway
which melts into the mirror sea.
Ospreys still hunt round the lobsterman's pride
snowflakes stain them as they soar and glide
other seabirds huddle side by side
shivering and crowing lividly.
Through the narrows the lonely boat steams
past icy Luddington Rock and East Breakwater's breech
its berths and moorings, within minutes reach
and sadly, it’s time for me to leave.
.
.
Songs for this:
Far Far Away (Charles Tone Mix) [feat. Brenda Boykin] by Tape Five
Hypnosis Theme (feat. Marina Quaisse) by Wax Tailor
Laying down in this comfortable hospital bed with blue
and candid linen sheets that cover my strong legs,
I harbor no anger for my illness;
I can't blame God for my woe!
Bitterly and deeply saddened by a slow clock,
I'm looking with awe through a sun-kissed glass window
from the tallest building on Lakeville Road
with an awesome view of New Hyde Park;
it's November and the birches turn bright gold...
a joyful choir emerges from the small church below
as the young tenor sings virtuous notes:
everybody adores him and stands up from the pows!
In there, parishioners are fervently praying
for a divine miracle beyond human comprehension;
is someone praying for me with folded hands?
I'm confident that many have done that for my healing;
it's so absurd that we only ask our Lord for compassion
when a tragedy strikes...we are hypocritical humans!
I harbor no anger for my illness;
if most youth is so stubborn and rebellious,
and doesn't consider sickness:
here's the woeful proof of being reckless!
New ambient light taking hold of that which was once darkened by time.
New thoughts eluding desires and all answers to the questions at hand.
Laminated emotions taking the places of the empty spaces inside the mind.
Feel the love from behind the reinforced glass? Didn’t think it was possible.
Now the age of reasoning comes into play, now is the time for deep thought.
The devil calls for pain, in waves that crash on this body like water on rock.
No visible damage but over time it wears it down to nothing, little by little.
Plunging into the deep end surrounding the mind and clouding the vision.
Breathing is impossible, gasping for air only brings water into the lungs.
This feels like dying. This feels like numbing. This feels better than living.
P Propelled into the war after tora, tora, tora.
E Escalation arrives in Oahu, paradise explodes.
A Amorous and hula skirts set aflame at once.
R Reveal of a takeover plan, pot shots extreme.
L Lucid nightmare lit with oil and screams.
H Hear it! Smell the scent that still reminds us
A About the cost of freedom; the belch of deep
R Roustabouts who have settled into their sleep.
B Bust out! Ring the knell until it comes alive.
O Odor lingers! We must bring it to the surface.
R Round up the freedom fighters of the deep!