Best Incense Poems

Cinnamon memories catch my soul in snares

    as I trace in anguish the curve of your lips

      in a photo stained sepia with my tears;

a thousand words... spoken through my fingertips.


Susan Ashley 
October 14, 2020


~ Second Place...

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    "Incense Infuses Autumn Air"



aromatic incense infuses
brisk winds billow golden leaves dance
sweet potato pie baking
scent of chestnuts roasting
marshmallows graze flame
Autumn cupcakes
chilly breeze
delights
air.

air
inhales
pumpkin bread
wood burning stoves
charms harvest in bloom
kissed by frosty breathing
smells haunting Autumn decor
as Angels dust atmosphere sweet
intoxicate petals crisp cool air

fragrant...

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Incense burns fiercely permeating us
With sweet smells calling us closer to it
Stare straight in the flame and be mesmerized
Fascinated and placated 
Meditate and self-medicated, sit 
Enjoy the soothing atmosphere and wait
Light one, two, three, as many as needed
A big room we light four; intoxicated
Like drinking...

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Embellished saris glide with hot winds
as the clatter of  bright anklets  varnish
female  heels rippling  on New Delhi's trails:
pungent waft of curry permeates
through a local mart —betel, cinnamon
and mint leaves flaunt their skin—
kohl for Oriental eyelids,  ambrosial herbs
rousing  elder men--...

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The love is killer; but sweet
 Like the fragrant incense 
Of fire...

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Dark Mother of the fullest silver moon,
Once more I call upon thy hallowed name,
Beneath thy light I mark the sacred rune,
As in thy blessed hands my spirit’s tame.
By the burning of candle’s amber flame,
All through the night unto the golden dawn,
Inspire my voice; invoke thy...

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This baby born in Bethlehem
to intervene in history,
two thousand years His diadem
still glitters gold with mystery.

Birthed in a stable to a maid -
this baby born in Bethlehem -
bound in swaddling, not bright brocade,
of Jesse's root, eternal stem.

Scorned by her doubting countrymen,
how did she walk those...

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To my nose she was a stick of incense.
Filling me whole, her eyes.
The ashes fell,
Spacing her walk.
With smoke closely trailing.
The sun quickly set.
There's no where in the world I'd rather be.
An empty room filled by you.
A hint of spice mixed with something sweet.
The steadiness of...

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Praise My God.
Rise up and shout for joy.
Make everything worthy of Him.
To sing a song and praise Him.
The scent sends a sound to my mind of Him.
I am thinking always to make the day go round.
The smoke is spirit and not the flesh, and here
I...

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Eager her love's palms cupping, my warm breath..
Gently kneeding, fragrant fingers caressing dreams
Curtains drawn a mirror turns she speaks they arrive
Beautiful ladies adorned in silks perfume; natures bliss
Slowly removing her hood flaming red hair mesmerizing  
Heights fiery eyes crystal sapphires about turquoise tides..
Spellbound this...

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If my head wasn't glowing hot
like jade dragon incense
I'd drink half that handle of Jack
And lament the endless repetition of history.
The calousness with which
Men go to their deaths
Loving others little,
but loving themselves so much.
This reality is the broken heart of the poet,
given eyes which won't...

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Solitude of Iris Incense Nightfall

Still solitude drips saffron in sunsets
Twilight tinsel tames tangerine tempests
Lilac lullaby lilts lulling lyric –
Diadems of daydreams dulcet delight
Offers ochre cheerful companion of calm
Unruffled ultramarine universe
Ebb of eventide in ebony escape

3-29-21
Contest: Solitude in Seven Lines
Sponsor: JCB Burl

Seven lines.  Ten syllables...

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INSOLENCE AND INCENSE

I was perplexed and vexed by a pretext
It was from incense to insanity
A pretense insolence invents
A predominant part of impurity
A prediction of obscurity
A predilection to rejection
A palpable piece of imperfection
A preeminent portion of distortion
A preface to preferential displeasure
A prologue to a monologue of...

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clouds
of
incense~
inhaling
exotic
dreams



AP: Honorable Mention 2020

Posted on December 13, 2019...

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So, now, you all are positive 
Ted Osprey is a fugitive,
That his last name is not Osprey:
A smart corruption of Godfrey
While his 'Ted' First should have been, Fred;
Some would rather he's called 'Red'...

And you're also quite positive
He was no clean operative,
Rather working for evil men
Soon...

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