Best Hesitates Poems
Out in the freezing rain
Hesitates gray morning
Between winter's end and
Spring's early intentions.
Leafless barren trees
Lining up on my street
Glitter sluggishly
Tiny frozen droplets
Hanging from twigs and stems
Resembling white gems.
Until young golden rays
Reflect in puddles,
Exposing to my view
Growth of green buds
Emerging from nodes
Where moments before
I saw tiny white pearls.
March 1, 2019
Placed first: March 2019 week 1 contest by Brian Strand
Categories:
hesitates, nature, rain, sunshine,
Form:
Free verse
The cake which lay upon the plate,
I wanted it but was polite.
That was the one you grabbed and ate;
The cake which lay upon the plate
You ate at an alarming rate.
You said it was a sheer delight
The cake which lay upon the plate,
I wanted it but was polite.
Categories:
hesitates, humorous,
Form:
Triolet
He hurries home late from the office
and hesitates out on the lawn,
the mists are swirling like her dress,
the moon is frowning down.
The music in her soft blue eyes,
that hungry look upon her face
makes him tremble like a teenager
fumbling his first date.
Hoping she's gotten home safely,
beguiled by her lingering perfume,
his wife and kids are sound asleep,
he tiptoes through the family room.
Bedeviled by such fervent yearnings
full-compounded day to day,
a strangled heart, a tortured soul,
old love, new love - there is no easy way.
Categories:
hesitates, angst,
Form:
Quatrain
Between frosty cobalt-cliffs, cruise-ship hesitates to pause,
Amidst ice sculptures echoing cheers of spirited applause,
Mesmerizing enthralled sights evincing awe-struck trance,
Lauding vast gelid expanse, hypnotizing eyes of romance.
Buoying on inlets, flaunting aesthetics of sculpted designs,
Dark blue glaciers rise for miles, as our ship gently aligns,
Watching seals resting lazily, ruminating on blocks of ice,
Empathetic of frightened sparrow decrying the crowd-size.
Gracefully ship circles around, as if staging a festive dance,
When in enamored glance, caressing hints of romance,
We praise motifs on water~ floating white cotton balls,
Where shards chromatic fall from frozen-tall bluish walls.
Miles of crystals adorning yonder, glinting cerulean blue,
Stack mounds of white contrast on distant emerald hue,
As Glacier Bay begins to fade retreating in rearward view,
When ship's whistle blows aloud, bidding a fond adieu.
A journey we treasure now in albums of cherished past,
Where moments unsurpassed, coveting-forever last,
Embracing precious memories evoking paradise on earth,
Glamorizing place-idyllic, luxuriating in cadence of mirth.
May 28, 2023
Placed 1st: This or That, Vol 18 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Title Chosen: I Know A Place
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve lies west of Juneau, Alaska and can only be reached by plane or boat. Glacier Bay was declared a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE in 1979 for the spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes.
Categories:
hesitates, beautiful, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
At stroke of the dawn as the sun is rising
Birds are chirping to awaken the morning
From the trees that sway in gentle breeze
Breeze that whispers melodic greetings
Greetings that convey comforting feelings
Taking a slow walk with musings alluring
Humming the tune of romantic lyrics
Lyrics that mesmerize a beautiful dream
A dream that allures and keeps her waiting
Embracing falsity when truth is illusive
Ignoring a warning that he's just a fantasy
A fantasy that culminates in futile reality
A futile reality she must now contemplate
Between real and illusive she now hesitates
Not ever taking the blue-sky for granted
For sometimes it rains on a clear sunny day
August 1, 2018
Placed first in standard contest #155 by Brian Strand
Categories:
hesitates, emotions, longing, love,
Form:
Verse
you reach with clinging desires
and drunken temptations
brightly flourished promises
wrapped 'round petite
virgin white pleasures
yet trust hesitates around
too much beauty
hidden midst other scents
emotional flytraps while
Venus blushes
knowing if she waits
her hugs will be too painful
to escape
Categories:
hesitates, sensual,
Form:
Free verse
Frozen in his tracks, a white tail deer
hesitates to crack the gilded grass
_________________________________
11/21/14
Categories:
hesitates, animal, nature, snow, winter,
Form:
Crystalline
I hesitate to get my cool clean drink this morning.
Something is different. The cold air is the same.
The water is still, I do not sense danger.
There is a lack of sameness however.
I look at my brother and shake my head as he
Starts for the water. He hesitates, his ears come up.
He is listening. I realize for the first time how many points he has.
I had another brother with points like that. Proud, until he was not.
He paws at the ground and gives a rough cough.
I give him a sharp glance. He looks down, shyly.
Not as proud, and I feel ashamed of myself.
He is my little brother. Do I dare let him go first?
The last time I did that, I lost a brother.
With a cough, I let him know I will go first.
Something is wrong; not danger, but something.
Man? I am not sure. If man, a young one.
I step out and take a cool drink. Put my head up.
Sh! Did you hear that?
A loud noise crashes through the meadow.
A searing pain goes through me.
The last thing I see before my eyes close
Is my brother's white tail as he hops over the fence
Back toward the safety of the trees. He does not look back.
I smile, knowing I saved at least one of my brothers.
Categories:
hesitates, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form:
Personification
Do you remember the first heartbeat,
can you feel the fire echo
upon the wings of your violet velvet intellect
as zero zimmers into the sums of your senses,
a spectrum of semi precious salts
hums to the success of your dramatics
while Destiny demands your rarest diamond,
Time running from Numbers hunting the Future
looks to you for leadership,
Age hesitates in the mirror for your smile,
God becoming intimate in a ubiquitous moment
kisses your hyper mind
a flame looking to warm the world
as love suffering
excites ultra awareness,
when will God realize
that you're not a child chained to eternity
that you're ready for the war whips,
You summon sophistication
on the alter of Youth
by burning primrose promises
atop lavender coals,
Libido listens to the locks of loneliness loosen
your nipples tighten for the truth of temptation
ego moans in flames on a winter wasteland
this is the place where hopes land,
the thick fact of Fate
throbbing against your hot cheek
tells you that self pity will be punished,
a wild snowfall feathers your face,
eyelashes tickled by the purring of a tiger -
J.A.B. 2020
Categories:
hesitates, leadership,
Form:
Epic
Bent fingers trace embroidered leaves
on satin and long lacy sleeves.
Blush roses, twenty-six she counts--
A French word she can't now pronounce.
She blows dust from old envelopes
tied with blue ribbons and her hopes.
The letters penned by her true mate.
Over his name, she... hesitates.
A trunk in attic soon became
her refuge from days all the same.
Photos dwelling midst her daydreams,
and keepsakes of sweet seventeen.
She thought he'd walk up Dusty Lane;
he might appear, along with rain
and wash away her endless tears;
bring summer nights and happy years.
A wedding date that came and passed;
memories cut like broken glass.
A heartache like the roaring wind,
returning nightly without end.
She lived alone among the ghosts
of dances, laughter, champagne toasts.
Altho eccentric, she was bright;
looked forward to impending night.
Aunt Agnes passed at ninety-three;
still wore her ring for all to see.
Memories left for wind to tend;
they have beginnings but no end.
Categories:
hesitates, age, clothes, emotions, engagement,
Form:
Couplet
Just outside the window
a row of coned shaped trees bend their foolish heads
for her attention...
She can have her way with them...
yet, with such a wily nature, she passes over them,
and softly treads a path through the garden gate...
Her steps are light as dew, making not a sound...
as she hesitates to wake a slumbering rose...
and timidly brushes past a trellis of sleeping morning glories...
She peeks in, then slowly slithers through his open window, while he lies sleeping....
The angle of her glance makes his closed eyes flutter...
and he smiles....
Her appearance casts shadows on the far wall, as she stares across the room at him
She tarries for a moment
A reflected image on the mirror spreads her silken white cloth...
He feels her move over him...
He is kissed by this welcome intruder, ...hypnotized by her charm, and her cool breath...
Dazzled by this embrace, he tosses the quilt, in restless dream....
She caresses so softly, filling his heart, and making him sigh...
He basks in her love, and lies in sweet gratitude in his sleepy state
enraptured with sweet contentment
Soaking up and drunk with the intoxication of her shine
Outside, a lonely eucalyptus tree is jealous...
Impatient and longing to feel such affection....
It's branches clamor against the glass, hoping to break her spell on him...
But, woefully....
angry clouds intrude to steal away the moment...
She runs and hides!
No longer does he feel the kiss,...the sweet lunar incandescence of her breath...
The seduction of her glow...
Coolness and disappointment envelop him as darkness returns again...
And he is once again alone in the shadows of the dark
He must pull his blanket up, and dream of other lovers.....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Dr. Ram Mehta's contest..."Luna... Goddess of the Moon"
Categories:
hesitates, imaginationsweet, longing, sweet,
Form:
Personification
*Image of Patronus by Wizarding World
The White Doe and The River Of Life
Comes a white doe, quaint sight a wandering,
Murmurs, her head swerves about, hesitates,
A snow owl offering sky, pondering,
Nibble's green herbs with care then elevates,
Hooves paves a path, my blue being, surges clear,
Alert nose take air, head bent back, above,
Unaware, her head drops, tickles my sphere,
Cast her spot of me, blanched soul feel her shove,
Tempt, I tide my being, yet pursuit was keen,
The full breadth of her trots to my chilled beat,
She alights her weight to level her being,
Trots to shore, genteel flow, dares to repeat,
Perchance another day of challenging,
Comes a white doe, quaint sight a wandering.
2019 May 12
*1st Place*
ALL YOURS(JUN 8)
~~Brian Strand: Judged 2021 June 08
Categories:
hesitates, 10th grade, allegory, animal,
Form:
Sonnet
Fingers toy with my nearly worn out bank card.
Not too confident, I hold onto my nerves, hard.
Ahead, petty items in her trolley hold me slowed.
The cashier stops, lengthily examining a bar code.
I glance around at the growing queue, blindly.
I bump into him, behind me, and I apologize kindly.
I let him precede me, my morals climbing high.
He hesitates with three items, as if not sure which to buy.
I tend him a basket which he aloofly ignores.
Disconcerted, my eyes divert to the store's doors.
The cashier waits for the cash, visibly well trained.
He fishes in a pocket then empties another, unrestrained.
Some coins roll and find the cashier’s impatient fingers.
But she waits with smile fixed as he lingers.
At last he finds his notes, all bundled.
His shaking hands proudly tug one crumbled.
He peers at it and slowly returns it back to place.
Another he places, unsure, in hand tended with grace.
Suddenly he pulls it back, deciding it was not the right one!
Now this, he checks carefully; it is a larger one.
He gave it away, not looking very happy.
The cashier’s patience is waning, visibly.
But she amounts the cash and helps him as he packs.
Then he gets annoyed as his long bread roll cracks.
He halts and decides to break it into three; it goes into the bag.
The cashier turns with a bright smile to a queue in lag!
Categories:
hesitates, age, society,
Form:
Rhyme
You ask me what I see
How can I tell you the sky is red
Large strokes of blood color the sea
Collide with a firm horizon
You ask me what I hear
How can I explain what I hear is
what I see, swirls in myriad colors
and music dance before me
You look in wonder
and ask me if I speak in tongues
or metaphors. I don't, this is
what it is. Sound dances, colors are heard
The sky is red, your voice hesitates
between yellow and blue, your mood
orchestrates its color. Your questions
uncertain dark in my confusion.
***
July 20, 2017
Copyright © Darren White
Categories:
hesitates, color, sound,
Form:
Free verse
night is spent
dawn hesitates
selah
between heart beats
silent cesura
holy hush
belief
amid doubt
stands still
a moment
twinkling spark
of recognition
infinitesimal
but
undeniable
September 29, 2019
(Yalto)
Categories:
hesitates, faith,
Form:
Verse