Best Hastens Poems
I wonder about her
as I shave suet and place thistle seed down -
once again
she reveals herself to the corner of my eye
a slight movement caught in the slant of a sunray
just enough to separate her shy form
from leaf litter camouflage
I turn to look at her
demure and just out of reach - yet
she seems to know I feel for her..
I regard her presence for a handful of heartbeats
before she hastens away in a certain way
head moving forward first then feet catching up
..rustling the earthy rust of gold;
fallen maple stars strewn beneath an arborvitae row..
a wing hanging down by her side
like a gate with a broken hinge
her gateway to freedom gone
she’s become a body bound to soft soil -
flesh and bones destined to feed the trees of life
soon her feathers - like thistle down - will animate aloft
weightless in soulful breaths of a swirled November wind..
pearls of muted beauty lost in innocence
given back to the skies
I wonder about the tender fragility of a tomorrow
in an air where mourning coos
are watered down by whimsical tears of gods
and stirred by a mortal’s yearn for return to natural flight
I commiserate with her silently —
for I am broken too
Susan Ashley
November 17, 2020
~ First Place ~
Premiere Contest: Brian Strand No 1175
Sponsor: Brian Strand
~ Second Place ~
Premiere Contest: 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 17
Sponsor: Mark Toney
Categories:
hastens, bird, emotions, fate, introspection,
Form:
Free verse
Dawn slowly awakened to supplant the moon
Empty, the canopy where stars had been strewn
In repose, Luna slept after wandering velvet skies
and spider webs shimmered in the flight of sunrise
Dew drops evaporated upon the fragrant tuberose
as a playful breeze billowed my sheer nightclothes
Seagulls swooped and scurried along amber shores
A salty crew grappled with the sea on labored oars
Muscles pulled in rhythmic chorus, as if in lyrical rote
as surging waves rocked the hull of their fishing boat
They surpassed each crest and triumphed over swells
The sun's prisms painted the horizon in muted pastels
Inspired by the milieu of ruffled swirls across the sea
sunlight dappled over its surface in sequenced litany
I sipped a second cup as thoughts were being seeded
Poetry spawned inside of me; a birthing to be heeded
For as driftwood hastens down rapids to a new frontier
I needed to ledger my verses, ere they hie to disappear
August 13, 2022
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 12 Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney
Categories:
hastens, poetry, sea,
Form:
Rhyme
fearless daffodils
awake to a brand new day
thrush hastens with nest
© Harry J Horsman 2016
Categories:
hastens, daffodils, nature,
Form:
Haiku
Her lust for you is fierce.
She spreads it out before you
as if it were a lavish bridegroom’s dinner
of caviar, oysters and shrimp;
spears of warmed asparagus and
artichokes stripped of leaves to dip in luscious butter;
truffles too with fragrant muskiness;
all foods of succulence - inciting appetite.
Her tender lips are moist - champagne to further whet desire.
Entreating you to take your fill, she whispers in your ear,
“Partake of me, my love. Take more and more.”
As you imbibe her and consume her,
your feeding frenzy peaks
when she offers from her fingers- sweetest fruit:
honeyed figs with cream, peaches, plums, and kumquats;
and one red well-ripened berry.
Utterly sated,
drunk from delectation;
motionless, you lie upon your bed.
And when your eyes move rapidly
beneath their heavy lids,
she slides her body carefully off yours,
slips back into her gossamer gown,
hastens on tiptoes to the door; turn the knob;
and without looking back,
steps into the blackness of the night.
You'll waken and want to feast again
but find that she has parted.
(to banquets such as hers,
one rarely is invited more than once).
And so you'll live and love,
knowing that you can never resume -
a coupling so completely gratifying.
Your passion was consumed in
your consuming of this goddess
who takes from men again. . . and again
But the nourishment that she requires
must always be fresh,
and that is what
eternally
sustains her.
A Revised Oldie for the Heart of Seduction Poetry Contest of Justin Bordner
Categories:
hastens, sensual,
Form:
Free verse
"The Sky Cracked Open"
One day
the Sky cracked open
the yolk of life
shined through
Splinters shifted
blooded angel quills
flew amongst the
black spots in the iris
20/20 vision
wild joy ensued
imbued clearly
rapturous ambiguity
Don’t look back
this read
coded in the
chivalric Quixote
ridden on a donkey's back
it’s all fried
Prophetic
suspended
in control
of nothing
ah dreams
soft pillows
lots lost
pillars of salt
stasis
genesis
(LadyLabyrinth / 2020)
"Low Five" Splinter / Sneaker Pimps
https://youtu.be/2IevyK68dgQ
"For still the vision
awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end -
it will not lie.
If it seems slow,
wait for it;
it will surely come;
it will not delay."
***
“It's not that you should never
love something so much
that it can control you.
It's that you need to love
something that much
so you can never
be controlled.
It's not a weakness.
It's your best strength.”
***
Control
***
Freedom
LYRICS/ "Low Five" Splinter, Sneaker Pimps
https://genius.com/Sneaker-pimps-low-five-lyrics
1. Prophetic Dreams / You Tube (at Christmas, Home Alone....again, rolls eyes)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote
3. Control. Freedom.
enter piano...
These altered states and egos
Potential less than zero
Found God in San Diego
Nothing comes to mind...
Categories:
hastens, dark, fate, i am,
Form:
Free verse
Sometimes when I'm able,
I sit down at my table,
or better yet, instead,
I'll lie back comfy on my bed,
a pillow propped behind my head!
Often at this time it is at night
and I will think and try to write.
Patterns I enjoy, like those in classic forms, and so
I'll write perhaps a kyrielle or sonnet though
sometimes I'll even give free verse a go!
I settle on a certain length for my every line.
Or maybe I'll decide this time uneven lines are fine!
It might take a long while; then some
sweet words in rhyme might start to come
with the rhythm of a guitar's thrum.
All I need is paper and my pen
and my thoughts unfettered, for then
I can call my muse to come to me!
If she hastens with ingenuity,
I can say, "Hello, Poetry."
Jan. 16, 2019 for Silent One's Hello Poetry Contest
Categories:
hastens, poetry,
Form:
Rhyme
When my child hastens to her pillow,
To close her eyes and dream;
She drifts away with stars to play,
Where magic paints the scene.
Mermaids with their tresses wild,
Dance beneath the sea;
And dolphins sing their vesper hymn,
Among the coral tree.
Faeries dance in filmy gowns,
In woodlands dark and deep;
With stars to trim their silver crowns,
While blossoms rest in sleep.
She dreamt of a pixie painter,
And watched as the vision grew;
A violet smiled beside him,
As he dipt his brush in dew.
He painted all to please the mind,
The shades of earth and sky;
The buds of all the roses,
And a light in the bluebird's eye.
At last the dawn is breaking,
Rosy sunrise paints the skies;
My darling is awakening,
As she rubs her sleepy eyes.
Categories:
hastens, childhood, stars,
Form:
Rhyme
Mountains put away their winter caps.
In warm sun, soon they'll take their naps.
Rivers stuffed full of melting snow;
running swift to trim, then they will slow.
Brooks frozen silent, now breaking free
to babble on their way to warming sea.
Lakes throw back thick icy covers;
their warm waves calling swimmers and lovers.
Smoke, donning perfume of fireplace logs,
now wears a new scent of burgers and hot dogs.
Trees, that for months have been stripped bare;
knitting dresses of green, they're soon to wear.
Spring hastens in beautiful gardens to tend.
New lives begin at Winter's end.
01/16/15
Contest: Winter's End
Sponsor: Skat A
Categories:
hastens, nature, spring, winter,
Form:
Verse
Summer's passed on to meltdown
Nature sways in winds of change
A flowing cascade hastens
Woodland stage waits another dawn breaks.
© Harry J Horsman 2022
Emulating Robert Lindley's new form, 'Lind30'
Categories:
hastens, change, weather,
Form:
Verse
In times of retrospection we discover
The miles our vagrant compass trekked
Silent horrors from which we recovered
What be righteous or unworthy we assess
For to all children life is not toys and hugs
Or enchanting dances on daddies feet
But bitter realities of drunks and thugs
Eggshell walks and battering clubs
Bewildering the difference the years can make
And the choosing to which one is inclined
To follow the path with which they were faced
Or to carve a new path by need redesigned
They say that Rome was not built in a day
Stone upon stone is a sound foundation laid
Tethering twine pulling massive loads up high
Burying tears in abysses carving smiles from cries
Oh no, I'm fine. Concern yourself not with me
For I am the architect of my own design
Someday a pillar in the Temple I will be
My fortress not breeched nor climbed
My world hastens wisdoms patience
Compassion and mercy will abound
Fragrant love skilled willing agents
Through tenderness barbarians turn clown
Recreating the days of innocence
Forgiving those too weak to see
That some with all their pitiful ignorance
Have not the power to strip you of your dreams
There's a power of soul endowed to man
To walk by authenticity
Pities frown subsides as does vengeance
When taken hold of true humility
No promise of ease nor heart unbroken
To even one was this promise solemnly given
Though pain so deep to bleed is relief
It is friction that compels the driven
Though shadows past haunts you to fright
There is light to be found in its darkness
For shadows be slight illumination of light
The evidence of all you've accomplished
How far I've traveled from condemnation
My compass directs true north
On days my history taunts my persuasion
It's for loves sake I've stayed my course
Categories:
hastens, abuse, memory,
Form:
Quatrain
Some parts of this city I should not go
too few streetlamps dampened, wobbly wet walls.
These are those parts that one ought not to know
perfect settings where dark danger befalls.
My mind has morphed the city I knew
quickens my pace from sly shadows behind.
Now meeting people who I stare straight through
turning corners to streets I cannot find.
Not belonging here only feeds my fear
searching for a near nook, safe place to be.
Far from silent steps behind me I hear
striving eyes dart, hoping no one shall see.
Tell me why, did I, venture out this day
prime pulses pounding, one hastens away.
Colored Pencil Illustration by G. Gaul
8/26/21
Categories:
hastens, city, dark, fear, places,
Form:
Sonnet
The smoldering sun shines incessantly
Until the earth’s humidity hastens
The forming of cinereal clouds calmly covers
The spacious skies above and suddenly
Gentle rain soft but steady
Begins to fall, splattering and wetting the soil.
The pitter-patter pronounces a petrifying tune
Upon the roofs, amorous rondel tunes.
Oh, how I love the fresh feeling of the rain.
I feel like singing in the heavenly showers
I get dishevelled and drenched.
Yet I will sing a symphony of love,
For I am happy even more.
Love is in the air.
Thank God, no lightning spoils the sky.
Yet it rains even more.
The grass is even greener now.
It sparkles with dewy drops,
And sheds its pleasant petrichor,
A harmonious and happy fragrance
In our vast verdurous vale.
Meantime my Mary joined us in the melee`,
We dance a Dougie under the deluge,
Until tired we went in for a warm shower…….
Placed 2nd
Categories:
hastens, rain, summer,
Form:
Free verse
She lies in the breeze,her long tresses flowing.
So lost in the canopy of her mind.
Her soul sparks a flame and it sends her glowing.
Traveling on to see what she can find.
Nearby stands a garden of elegant measure.
Musical whispers float by the sweet blooms.
She hastens to gather each colorful treasure.
As she dips and glides into nature's rooms.
Seemingly effortless,she slides away.
Watching for sunbeams to light up her trail.
She dances the moment and soaks up each ray.
Her arms filled with bouquets that she can inhale.
On the wind now the petals are drifting.
Moonlight sonata begins to unfold.
Sun bids farewell as the starscape is lifting.
She's homeward bound with such tales to be told.
written Monday January 21st, 2013
By Deb Wilson for Gail's contest
Categories:
hastens, flower, woman,
Form:
Rhyme
“The fog may come on little cat feet”*
But Autumn eschews silence
The thick crunch of crisp fallen foliage
Hastens the homebound honking of gaggled geese
Soft whispers of falling rose petals
Fade into the haze of hoarfrost
Cold winds whistle wildly through naked Maples
Flags snap loudly to attention
A brutish barn cat recoils from the touch of snow
Squawking ducks slowly slide across an icy crust
Chattering children board a school bus
Winter awaits its curtain call
Categories:
hastens, autumn, environment, sound,
Form:
Free verse
In those days, when we feared the truth
not for ignorance of it within ourselves
but for the dangers posed by speaking aloud
against the prejudices of masses too well-tutored
in lies and hatred, we kept our secrets
and hid among the crowds, assuming
their rabid colorations, spewing the same
evil venom, spreading all the same lies,
pretending that the past was better
than the present, that regression
to our yesterdays, the years gone by,
could create for us, anew,
that Eden we all lost, that sanctuary
from our knowledge of the world, of evil;
and, our regained ignorance
would restore the bliss we lost
with our innocence. That, the biggest lie,
feeds our growing xenophobia --
hastens humanity's ultimate demise.
Time does not flow backwards in this universe;
and there is no "us versus them" --
we are all crowded here together
on this fragile planet, all in this together.
We must be kind, and love one another, or die.
Categories:
hastens, america, anti bullying, community,
Form:
Free verse