Best Invictus Poems
Hollow odes lament where waves crash depthless
Oh! How ocean lacking light spills woe so!
Lackluster grays wail unkempt longingness
Lone stander bleeds the dreams of times ago
O'er the screaming wind, a seagull's bleak cries
weeps of cloudiness usurping the day
Heaven's warmth obscured, and now coldness vies,
overwhelming where vast emptiness slays
Left purposeless, wavering dark takes hold
looping tight a lynch-like corrosive noose
Otiose life sucks vim where sharks enfold,
wrecked in sunless abyss of night let loose
But Sol, unconquerable, beams once more
and the lighthouse sings, full of birds from shore!
(6/10/18)
Bind my hands
Shackle my feet
Rain lashes on my body
Prick, prod, impale and crucify
You can impound my freedom
You can bludgeon me bloody...
Still, I stand tall
Proud, unbowed,
My spirit is yet free
I am yet, the master of my soul!
(Inspired by W.E. Henley's Invictus)
~Contest: A Freed Verse
~Sponsor: Brian Strand.
~"I Stand Here" contest
Sponsor: craig cornish
Here in my head, the chaos whirls -
Thoughtful impulse rips and swirls,
Black and white, from grays to red,
The chaos swirls, here in my head.
The world burns fast despite our aim
To check its spin and cool its flame,
And all the wisdom we've amassed,
Despite our aim, the world spins fast.
We bring to task the things we learn,
Some bridges built, while others burn ...
Each lesson learned that we unmask,
The things we learn we bring to task.
My spinning mind I've learned to slow,
Through fails and triumphs, as I grow,
And midst these lessons, come to find,
I've learned to slow my spinning mind.
Through self-control we give life peace,
And strive to make the madness cease -
To suffuse this order through our soul,
We give life peace through self-control.
~ 4th Place ~ in the "Swap Meet" Poetry Contest (Quatrain, Theme - Self-Control), Carol Connell, Judge & Sponsor.
I am the master
of my fate,
I am the captain
of my soul,
Shackled and bound
naught pensive mood,
Errant thy mind
unique ahold,
Gift naught against
thy solitude,
Further addressed
words oft betold,
Thine wounds convey
said blood doth shed,
Thine consequence
freedom commit,
Inscribed in blood
their conceits fed,
Thy testament
thee naught submit,
Thy body broke
thy skin be bruised,
Thy dogs licked wounds
thy name tainted,
Yet, albeit,
chose naught be used,
Nor to be
manipulated,
Annals of time
should fortune find,
Sorted soul
of true conviction,
Should paths be crossed
be thee unkind,
Thank the gods
thy valediction.
2020 February 02
Howmanysyllables;
18 lines x 8 syllables per = 144 syllables total
In the beginning, the Word stood alone,
A solitary witness to creation.
Its single nascent syllable was pleasant in tone,
But found itself in need of conversation.
In the beginning, the Word harnessed time,
Till language lit the darkness of existence.
It wove an epic narrative of meter and rhyme
For Echo to get jiggy with Narcissus.
In the beginning, the Word could be heard
To lend its voice to vendors hawking merch.
It sacrificed its soul to play the mockingbird,
Dispensing infomercials from its perch.
In the beginning, the Word was pristine,
But soon became corrupted by the Man.
Xenophobic buzzwords vented venom from spleen.
Political invective fouled the land.
In the beginning, the Word learned deceit,
Revealing innuendo like a stripper,
Commemorating Salomé’s sinister feat
With tropes and taglines framed as sacred scripture.
In the beginning, the Word stood in awe,
Aware of its potential for abuse.
It sifted man from superman by quoting Bernard Shaw,
Then authorized The Tales of Mother Goose.
I am a daughter of the sea
a sister to heaven
smothered in earth
an unknown scent
of fragrant nights
exists in me
and no other
I am one of many
but singularly unique
painted in no hand
but melded
by a multi-verse
I am legion Invictus
forever my march
streams
I am of the source
I am multitude
Battered to gray cold
Hidden until awoken
A rose grows from it
~ A poem on the given topic of a concrete heart
In turn we turn against the tide,
From life till death I ride.
For those I love and count on forever,
We stay and fight along side each other.
Once brothers in binds,
Now we are the eyes for the blind.
Laying down our lives for others,
We fight till the flames of the enemy smother's.
With hatred comes mistakes,
But controlled hatred helps the emotion that are fake.
While others are buried in the field of the dead,
Though we are alive our minds were scarred instead.
Though our brothers withered and suffered the pain,
We are all going through the same.
But we all must carry on,
The same devastating path till dawn.
Until death I will wait for the day,
And beg the heavens to stay.
Beneath the stars' unyielding light,
I tread the path, this waking dream.
Through tempests fierce, through ether mist,
Her echo whispers: 'This too shall pass.'
Not heaven's wrath nor fortune's past
Can quench the fire within my breast.
Though wounds may carve their lasting art,
Red traced the map of my loving heart.
My chains are forged of night and day,
And time chall grind the year's away.
No tyrant's will, no whispered lie
Can dim the blaze from which I came.
The night persists; its weight I bear,
Yet morning blooms within my sphere.
For I, eternal, shall endure—
A soul unbroken, fierce, and pure.
In a forest dim with paths untold,
"The Road Not Taken" did unfold.
Robert Frost, with gentle prose,
Asked which path a traveler chose.
William Henley's "Invictus" pride,
In darkness, strength will never hide.
"Unconquerable," his soul's refrain,
Through trials, resilience does sustain.
Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata" gleams,
With timeless wisdom, guiding dreams.
In silence, peace we often find,
In storms, seek calm within the mind.
José Rizal's "Mi Ultimo Adios" soars,
A final farewell, as freedom implores.
In the face of martyrdom, courage and grace,
For love of country, in death's embrace.
"Footprints in the Sand" reminds,
Of a presence, in our toughest times.
When we see one set alone,
It's then we are not on our own.
Mary Oliver's "The Journey" calls,
To take the path when your heart enthralls.
Choices abound, with courage embraced,
A journey of self, in the choices we faced.
In every step, a choice anew,
Victory awaits, it's up to you!
Embrace the power, bold and bright,
Our destiny's crafted, with each choice in sight.
Six voices, each with stories grand,
Guide us through life’s wondrous land.
A symphony of words we sing,
In life's grand adventure, let joy spring.
*Inspired By Nelson Mandela
Out of the Pitts of Darkness, In the Absence Of Light
where even the faintest smile Glistens, In Spite
there I give thanks to the Higher Power Abode
That I, have Inherited this INVICTUS Soul
Despite the Heavy and Unjust hand that's dealt
I, have not Give In amongst this Fiery Hell
the flesh Bludgeoned far through the Gale
Yet, my Soul Untouched, My Soul Prevails
Undaunted by the Nights, Black as Sackcloth is
I, have Endured and Conquered this ship
even amidst the Horrors and Pains of Day
I Live On, Undaunted, Unafraid
Matters Not how Crooked or Narrow the Gate
I Press forth with Courage, Hope and Faith
For, I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE
For, I AM THE CAPTAIN OF MY Soul
It can feel like 'Fox' News is invincible foe,
Loves to salt news with pyrite to trick you, although
Like a thief that's just dumb, at the crime scene too long,
Greed can make them quite careless and mangle their song.
'No lunch ever is free,' keep this lesson in mind,
But the ax that Fox grinds, to the poor isn't kind,
Infrastructure has cost, but without it, we lose,
If the devil's in details, still man's right to choose.
When the poor lose all health care, the rich laugh at laws,
There's a wolf in the hen house I know this because,
I see rich getting richer and poor left behind,
Disadvantaged not aided and wealth not confined!
Rich invite revolution, not great for your health,
A flat playing field just one more victim of wealth,
Does rape victim love rape, do the destitute smile?
Take off rose-colored glasses and bike for a while!
Christian virtue seems missing; your brother's not you?
Nepotism's a virtue when talent's in view?
Adult's murder the planet, their children die too!
The days Fox doesn't scare me, it still makes me blue!
Long Tooth
June 12, 2018
Invictus
The stories that shows the resilient spirit,
against all odds and rationally is empiric.
It is not where the hero is seeking attention,
it’s the nameless person providing redemption.
The living urge in purity of spirit, without we could not exist,
only by lost egos continuously resists.
Walking on dreams, prayers and whispers clearly spoken,
solitary spirits changing everything what is broken.
The vale of the nightingale profound,
the stranger giving all in joyful chant.
Where the song of praise has no ending,
giving texture of serenity aiding.
Words of wise council is the currency,
long after all with certainty.
We all coming with a purpose in this world,
only fears establishing that paradox mold.
All one knows does not change the situation,
especially when one is worried about a reputation.
Some sacred text mentioned, not to give false witness,
more even to one’s own truth in brightness.
When the system is blinding your eyes immune,
its time to take real fortunes into tune.
Playing with the remote from the couch of ignorance,
will have its handicapped forced consequence.
In the darkest depths, without my sight,
A soul unyielding, endless is the night.
Through trials fierce, I stand, I stand alone,
With spirit unwavering, when free I roam.
No matter storms that fiercely rage,
I find solace within, a hole unfilled.
In the clutch of fate's unyielding grip,
My spirit soars, my soul, my ship.
Beyond the shadows that cast doubt and dread,
A flame burns within, steadfastly fed.
I am the master of my own immortal fate,
Defiant, unbroken, no priest without saint.
With head unbowed, I forged my destiny,
Through struggles faced, my spirits path.
Invictus, in the face of life and all it's pain,
I am unconquered,
And I am and so I shall remain a man.
I = I think and feel, I touch and see:
I firm goodwill, I claim beauty.
N = Now and here dare, now and here live;
Note journey's fare, note how to give.
V = Vouch for my deed, vouch for my play;
Verse form I feed, verse rhymes I say.
I = I am a man, I am a soul;
I work a plan, I sense one whole.
C = Choice fits my style, choice frames my poise;
Charm serves my smile, charm plants my voice.
T = Truth comes to be, truth comes to show;
Truth helps me see, truth primes fond glow.
U = Urge can now ground, urge can be heard;
Utter thought sound, utter the word.
S = See sacred norms, see success cheer;
See sacred forms, see success clear.
Leon Enriquez
03 Mar 2014
Singapore