Best Illume Poems
The many winters I had seen
When once I was a teen
Gathered inside our small living room
Joy and simplicity our faces illume
Warm with laughter at striking stories
Light is the heart and empty of worries
My sisters and sole brother
The treasure of my father and my mother
Mum, our angel of the earth
The springs of our gaiety and mirth
Moving in the magic of her young age
Our hunger for hot food would assuage
Would even bring a piece of paradise
To us, if we dared ask, for any price
Dad, overloaded, would tread miles for our sake
Serene reassuring smiles while so much at stake
The nights echoed holy verses dad used to read
Developing a sense of belonging to his creed
Opening our hearts to the graces and blessings of the Divine
In my veins, a life of a tender love I’ll ever enshrine
*****
Many winters had passed
Still nourished of a so precious past
Confined to the tranquility of the night
The magic box would offer dreams in black and white
Stress and concern evaporated and lost weight
Soft whispers.. suppressed giggles with life pulsate
The quietest of corners I would always look for
My sanctuary, my home made bookstore
Ever my worlds side by side shaping the inner me
No single worry over the one whom I would be
Why would I when I was entangled in more than one story
Preened myself on my pen musing in my world of ivory
My younger sis who of English knew no word
Would grant me her patience and love for what she heard
Love and most of all contentment and gratitude
Deeply remained, the reign of my worlds and my soul food
The cold of winters, now, how can my words perceive
In my realm of poesy what of warmth willing to weave
The winter of our Life which many abhor
My wishes I will have the grace to adore.
Categories:
illume, age, blessing, books, family,
Form:
Rhyme
they met, once upon a time-
her silky hand melds with his
for but a moment
an exchanged glance, fleeting
chocolate brown orbs
swimming in pools of milk
ebony hair dancing across her
backless gown as she walks away
walked away…
swirling visions fill his head
dreams of her upon his bed
spinning, thrashing to and fro
stars put on an astral show
future bride on horse so white
sparkling jewels illume the night
speaks his name so sweet and low
eyes that cast a hopeful glow
calling, begging for his love
angels dance a waltz above
off they ride into the sun
forevermore they’ll live as one
‘twas the night they met
her heart stolen-
tapered black tie suit, cufflinks of gold
matching his golden locks
momentarily awestruck, diving into
piercing deep blue eyes
was all it took to set her blood afire
his seductive smile teasing
it’s way into her heart…
late at night when the world is asleep
she’s up thinking about him,
secretly hoping he’s dreaming of her too
when she finally closes her eyes
she drifts off, and in a moment of time
she’s with him, ready to love him
bands of gold glimmer like starlight
her silky gown drops gently to the floor
Andromeda turns her gaze
lost in love’s embrace
they burn like the midnight sun-
forevermore to live as one
she glances his way
her heart smiling, believing-
meeting him was destiny
she walks past his desk
drinking in another fill of him
if only she could tell him…
if only he could tell her...
he catches a glimpse
from his lonely cubicle
the nape of her neck beckons
a tender kiss, well-placed-
before long he's lost in a daydream
An honor to collaborate with July Morning
Categories:
illume, desire, dream, longing, love,
Form:
Free verse
Our Midnight The Unseen Within
( Collaboration )
Silent unto our sense, yet musical
With eternal harmony, they move
About our darkened vision, the beautiful ones,
Angels of destiny.
Pale with the dawn, sun-golden with the noontide,
They mingle with our moments;
There is no sadness that they do not share,
No night they are not near.
Even as flowers that scent the roving winds
With fragrant incantations, - flowers unseen,
That loose the largess of their beauteous dreams,
Even so are they.
Bequeathing endlessly for our delight
The gifts we spurn, the secret revelations
Would make us in our needless misery
True kindred of the Soul,-
A holy kiss to marry us with light,
These sheens where cherubins loose their waxxen wings;
Shear the shadows where fear is oft found,
And quell doubt like a startled imposter
A righteous device to lead us home.....
A wanton wind to soothe the wayward ails;
A flame-cold but bright to illume every wan,
We sleep unbeguiled, where angels tread
What secret shadows skulk to maim?
Strip our bones to sudden death?
Move they winnowed and tarried -----
Helpless to the winged, swift eye
A keepsake (say many) beat of feather;
Hope gives us peace in those hallowed hills,
Where the angels sing like larks and cry a tear of love:
(Our midnight)
Robert J. Lindley and Keith O.J. Hunt,
2-21-2016
Note:
First 16 verses written by Robert Lindley
Remaining 16 verses 16 written by Keith O.J. Hunt
Categories:
illume, angel, appreciation, beautiful, blessing,
Form:
Classicism
Upon Misty Morning's Fast Fading Glow
Upon misty morning's fast fading glow,
dance fairies on glittering silver wings.
Flying with fantasies flowing in tow
And sweetest joy such dancing often brings.
Above their heads the rising sun awaits,
its morning sun's time for shining anew.
If fairies are seen, man then contemplates,
dreaming depths of that rare mystical clue.
As dancing wings fast flutter to depart,
one ponders glistened myriads of fate.
Sadness beating in dreams of every heart,
with embellished scenes of day's opened gates.
Upon that vanishing flash time cries out,
woe to he that simply waits upon me!
Free living is what life is all about.
Life taking dire chances is living free-
In those windless breezes summer moon shines,
In the deep dark no more secrets to dread,
The grave beginnings we have all kept live ----
Weeping misery and ancient-kept death
The mountains moan, the mountains moan! ---- as babes!
Those creepy-crawly mists fade to fortune;
Wondrous winds in a panting night do tame ----
The fevered child once wan with vacant love
A horn Gabriel shall blow through pink clouds ----
And sleeping stars bring life with bright-night-light
A world to shine and illume all year round;
Broods of good company and simple delights
The morn shall pass and with it mad darkness,
The heavens death cannot roam freely so;
Old Lucifer, huffing and puffing red!
Upon misty morning's fast fading glow.
3-04-2016
First 16 lines written by Robert Lindley
Last 16 lines written by Keith O.J. Hunt
Categories:
illume, blessing, creation, destiny, giving,
Form:
Classicism
Scatter my ashes at Pemaquid Point,
Let the wind sail them home to the sea.
Cradle of life, be my cradle in death,
And set my spirit free.
Sun will warm the daylight hours;
The lighthouse illume the night;
Waves provide rhythm and gulls give voice---
Music to ease my flight.
Eternal rocks will form my tomb,
Sand my quilt shall be,
Protecting from shipwreck and raging storms,
And I’ll become one with the sea.
Categories:
illume, death, destiny, funeral, grave,
Form:
Elegy
I awoke to find the tall splendor of the world,
in those cosmic canyons,
shearing darkness ----
in the pallet of some ethereal night;
ancient with desire.....
to Illume the thick shadow of hades itself
Not death nor mortal doubt
couldst thou flee from me,
mighty as Aphrodite ----
Shooting thy silver smile
beautiful as heaven's promise!
In your shimmering I see hope,
for the heart which beholds thy majesty
the world could fade,
yet you remain.....
a friendly face if none should be found,
but you.....
that thou Creator dost reveal;
my soul,
ageless as thee
(am spun from the same loom)
Categories:
illume, beauty, creation, god, life,
Form:
Classicism
Silent unto our sense, yet musical
With eternal harmony, they move
About our darkened vision, the beautiful ones,
Angels of destiny.
Pale with the dawn, sun-golden with the noontide,
They mingle with our moments;
There is no sadness that they do not share,
No night they are not near.
Even as flowers that scent the roving winds
With fragrant incantations, - flowers unseen,
That loose the largess of their beauteous dreams,
Even so are they.
Bequeathing endlessly for our delight
The gifts we spurn, the secret revelations
Would make us in our needless misery
True kindred of the Soul,-
A holy kiss to marry us with light,
These sheens where cherubins loose their waxxen wings;
Shear the shadows where fear is oft found,
And quell doubt like a startled imposter
A righteous device to lead us home.....
A wanton wind to soothe the wayward ails;
A flame-cold but bright to illume every wan,
We sleep unbeguiled, where angels tread
What secret shadows skulk to maim?
Strip our bones to sudden death?
Move they winnowed and tarried -----
Helpless to the winged, swift eye
A keepsake (say many) beat of feather;
Hope gives us peace in those hallowed hills,
Where the angels sing like larks and cry a tear of love:
(Our midnight)
First 16 lines written by Robert Lindley
Last 16 by Keith O.J. Hunt
Categories:
illume, angel, hope, love, senses,
Form:
Classicism
Upon misty morning's fast fading glow,
dance fairies on glittering silver wings.
Flying with fantasies flowing in tow
And sweetest joy such dancing often brings.
Above their heads the rising sun awaits,
its morning sun's time for shining anew.
If fairies are seen, man then contemplates,
dreaming depths of that rare mystical clue.
As dancing wings fast flutter to depart,
one ponders glistened myriads of fate.
Sadness beating in dreams of every heart,
with embellished scenes of day's opened gates.
Upon that vanishing flash time cries out,
woe to he that simply waits upon me!
Free living is what life is all about.
Life taking dire chances is living free-
In those windless breezes summer moon shines,
In the deep dark no more secrets to dread,
The grave beginnings we have all kept live ----
Weeping misery and ancient-kept death
The mountains moan, the mountains moan! ---- as babes!
Those creepy-crawly mists fade to fortune;
Wondrous winds in a panting night do tame ----
The fevered child once wan with vacant love
A horn Gabriel shall blow through pink clouds ----
And sleeping stars bring life with bright-night-light
A world to shine and illume all year round;
Broods of good company and simple delights
The morn shall pass and with it mad darkness,
The heavens death cannot roam freely so;
Old Lucifer, huffing and puffing red!
Upon misty morning's fast fading glow
First 16 lines written by Robert Lindley
Last 16 lines written by Keith O.J. Hunt
Categories:
illume, hope, mystery, time,
Form:
Classicism
Rising from within my quill
Waves of ink crest and crash
Upon the papered shoreline
Riding in and out on the tides
Of yesterday found…
Sullying the once untainted
With both the rash and tender
Of the restive poetic spirit
An autonomous symbiosis
Of today’s moments…
Endlessly seeking identification
Ink scrawled candle flames illume
Scratched out paths into tomorrow
The journey of the minds eye
Of tomorrows chance…
Each penning a new step forward
Into our own intangible dreams
Our elusive target moves ever further
Where no direction can lead us on
Of our poetic hopes…
Categories:
illume, introspection, on writing and
Form:
Free verse
Releasing the rigid anchor line
Leaving the safety of land in our wake
Warm July zephyrs filling the sails
Resting even hands upon the tiller
As the bow broken waves drift slowly aft
Herring Gulls night songs hang as we pass
Violet clouds drifting in pinkish bronze dusk
Outlining the schooner adrift on the horizon
Dancing rhythm of the Highland Lighthouse
Gifts a moment of wine warmed lips fervor
Alone with the lights from distant headlands
Their essence illume the crests softly breaking
Gently swaying the craft in warm foamy brine
Faint guitar moments with my voice uninhibited
Evoking past memories of love on the Atlantic
Aspiration caught whole in the sail as we lay
A fearless embrace in the ethereal darkness
Of midnight on Massachusetts Bay sails…
Categories:
illume, introspection, life, love, mystery,
Form:
Free verse
***I am reposting this poem as I think it is my finest poetic creation. I feel the imagery of the piece and its 'fabled' characters are cohesive to create a positive environment that reflects the star's light of hope; the 3rd stanza and the poem's final lines provide a natural summation of metaphysical realities that incur from human emotion and suggests that we all come from the same mold and thus we are not the cause of ourselves; 'a theistic natural priori in the belief of God through the poetic endeavour.'
I awoke to find the tall splendor of the world,
in those cosmic canyons,
shearing darkness ----
in the pallet of some ethereal night;
ancient with desire.....
to Illume the thick shadow of hades itself
Not death nor mortal doubt
couldst thou flee from me,
mighty as Aphrodite ----
Shooting thy silver smile
beautiful as heaven's promise!
In your shimmering I see hope,
for the heart which beholds thy majesty
the world could fade,
yet you remain.....
a friendly face if none should be found,
but you.....
that thou Creator dost reveal;
my soul,
ageless as thee
(am spun from the same loom)
Categories:
illume, creation, god, hope, life,
Form:
Classicism
STORM ELECTRIC
Over there
in the hills
There’s a flash
Giving birth
To a sound
Like a pulse
In the veins
of the Earth
Echoing
From the crags
As a drum
Beat ahead
The condemned
On his walk
On the morn
He would dread
Then the fire
in the sky
As it comes
ever close
With a crash
and a roar
Turns a tree
Into toast
When you walk
through a storm
Head held down
Is it dum
To survive
Taking care
Not advice
From a nun?
If you’re one
Who is blest
With a top
Like a dome
Thank your god
That your not
One of those
With a cone
Million volts
Coming down
from the sky
To the ground
Will select
To anoint
Pointed shapes
Never round
Crises come
And they pass
So all storms
Will be still
As the sun
Shall illume
Linen clouds
Wrap the hill
Should we fear
Tempest break
In our world
Bringing strife
Or perhaps
Lift head up
Rather dread
A bland life
4 March 2020
Categories:
illume, storm,
Form:
Rhyme
The mist in Regent Gardens air
awakes a single rosebud there.
Her scent drifts past Trafalgar Square -
England’s summer has begun.
The rising sun above the Thames
shines brighter than a crown of gems;
peeks through the panes of Buckingham
until the day is done.
Saint James Park invites the dawn
as sunbeams nudge the regal lawn.
Grass blades spread their arms and yawn:
"Good Morning, Summer day!"
Big Ben chimes a fond embrace
whilst daybreak warms his noble face.
Tower Bridge can sense sweet grace -
Summer’s song is on Her way.
Chiffchaffs adorn the royal parks
as children’s voices trill like larks.
Blooming dogwoods deftly bark
in praise of Summer’s song.
Purple lilacs perfume the breeze.
Lombard's merchants aim to please.
Harrods unfurls green canopies
to shade the heated throng.
Piccadilly Circus burns so bright.
Vibrant neons illume the night.
A merry moon beams with delight -
enthralled by Summer’s spell.
Bells of St. Paul sing me goodbye,
as o'er the River Thames I fly.
My heart begins to sigh, as I
bid my London Summer - farewell.
Inspired by:
Summer Enchantment Rhyming Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Karen Neary
Categories:
illume, nature, sea, seasons, upliftingsummer,
Form:
Rhyme
“The earth laughs in flowers.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
A hummingbird feeds upon bright Spring blooms,
wings fluttering away.
As zinnia colors illume,
this warm Spring Day.
A butterfly appears in the garden,
With wispy wings in blue.
Hoping the hummer will pardon,
blessing it through.
Zinnia flowers gushing with color,
blooms dancing in the breeze.
Petals shaped in round half dollars.
Blossoms appease!
1/8/23 -
Writing challenge- zip, zig, zag, zing poetry contest, sponsored by Constance LaFrance.
(rhyme zone & howmanysyllables used to check poem)
1st place
Categories:
illume, beautiful, bird, flower,
Form:
Rhyme
The preordained forgathering
An ineffable Dayspring by Night
Of the King's subjects...
Children of the Light
A convivial convocation, fervent & true
Eternal & ardent princely quietude
The Kiss of Life from the Depths Above
Unremitting, interchanging overtures of Love
Concurrent convergence in the midst of the impasse
Only to gaze upward through a sea of opaque glass
Perfect laughter; resounding illume
Radiance magnificently imbued throughout His inner room
Lofty din; unstained by sin
The movement of His Spirit transfigures yet again
This moment will be inscribed;
Yea, it shall even be outdone
Nevermore to see through a mirror dimly
Eternity yet to come
Categories:
illume, faith, inspirational, visionary,
Form: