Best Jousted Poems
Daddy read another fairy tale and nightly prayers were said.
He tenderly kissed his little princess and gently tucked her in bed.
Pausing to gaze upon her sweet face lying in innocent repose,
He mused, "She's more beautiful than God's most magnificent rose!"
Moonbeams stroke her golden curls as through the panes they stream,
Also, lighting the way for pleasant things of which she'll later dream.
Mister Bear lies by her side - she clutched him in tight embrace,
He who will guard her from ferocious ogres that she might face!
Her toys leapt to life - in her visions they danced about with glee!
Miss Molly her dolly invited her to scrumptious scones and tea.
Mister Brown the silly clown staged a very exciting show.
Madame Katrina the ballerina danced daintily on heel and toe!
Brian the stuffed lion loosed a mighty roar joining in the fray,
Challenging Gus the hippopotamus as they jousted in friendly play.
Mack the Jack-In-The-Box performed his whimsical routine,
Trying to upstage the frisky puppets, Clarence and Christine!
Vince her prince carried her away on Rocky his rocking horse,
To a castle made of Lincoln Logs, living ever happily of course!
At dawn her dreams were over - she awoke to hug Mom and Dad,
Sleepily saying, "I'm kinda tired but what a fun night I had!"
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(c) 14 Jun 2015 All Rights Reserved
Entry for Thomas Martin's "Show But Don't Tell" Contest
They always made me happy,
The camels of the wise men,
The slowness of their footsteps,
Their self-sufficient ben.
Camels meant there was time,
For the three wise men to think,
To ponder upon their task,
To review their role as a link.
They were required to assess,
The child to be called god’s son,
To see if he could be a doctor,
To the poor, and to be the action.
Mary and Joseph were important,
To their question of universal worth,
So they prepared themselves well,
With questions surrounding his birth.
They understood that environment,
Is a factor in child development,
So endeavoured to contextualise,
The place of the baby’s commencement.
They predicted they’d be rejected,
By townsmen all along the way,
Spat at, maybe jousted with,
By loitering agitators arbitrarily.
Especially at the door of the inn,
There’d be jesters and jostlers alike,
People shouting “Don’t go there!
Avoid them, and get on another bike!”
And equally importantly, with respect,
They thought of their theology,
That their own actions may be vital,
To improving others’ sociology.
They considered their belief,
In an immanently coming messiah,
And renewed their vow to choose,
A protege who would take us higher.
So by the time they reached the inn,
They were very much prepared,
They could talk to each other freely,
About the saviour that’d been blared.
And the camels facilitated all this,
Preparation and consideration,
And gave the magi their pondering,
Upon seeing the configuration.
They enabled this baby to thrive,
Gave his family his manifestation,
And felt spent entirely at their visit,
Worn out by careful deliberation.
Daddy read another fairy tale and nightly prayers were said.
He tenderly kissed his little princess and gently tucked her in bed.
Pausing to gaze upon her sweet face lying in innocent repose,
He mused, "She's more beautiful than God's most magnificent rose!"
Moonbeams stroke her golden curls as thro' the panes they stream,
Also, lighting the way for pleasant things of which she will dream.
Mister Bear lies by her side - she clutched him in tight embrace,
He who will guard her from any dreadful ogres she might face!
Her toys leapt to life - in her visions they danced about with glee!
Miss Molly her dolly invited her to scrumptious scones and tea.
Mister Brown the silly clown staged a very exciting show.
Madame Katrina the ballerina danced daintily on heel and toe!
Brian the stuffed lion loosed a mighty roar, joining in the fray,
Challenging Gus the hippopotamus as they jousted in friendly play.
Mack the Jack-in-the-Box performed his whimsical routine,
Trying to out-do the frisky puppets, Clarence and Christine!
Vince her prince carried her away on Rocky his rocking horse,
To a castle made of Lincoln Logs, living ever happily of course.
At dawn her fantasies were over - she awoke to hug Mom and Dad.
Sleepily she says, "I'm kinda tired, but what a fun night I had!"
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Honorable Mention in Tirzah Conway's "Fantasy" Contest - July 2010
Placed No. 3 in Joe Flach's "One For The Kiddies" Contest - Aug 2010
Medieval times were a time of splendour
With gallant knights and ladies so slender
They jousted in the day
Lifted skirts at night... NAY
SURPRISE! Many were transgender
This piece could be, I suppose, a kind of "bucket list", but it's not about regretting all the things I wanted to do in my life and didn't, but, rather, it's about being okay with finally knowing that there just simply isn't/wasn't enough time to do it all. And also, I tend to get a little whimsical from time to time.
Well...
I never played tug-of-war with an elephant
Or kick boxed a kangaroo;
I never arm-wrestled a crocodile
Or won the lottery or built an igloo.
I never went searching for buried treasure
Or gold at the rainbow's end;
I never discovered the fountain of youth
Or had a circus clown for a friend.
I never ran with the bulls in Pamplona
Or croqueted on the lawn of the Taj Mahal;
I never drank wine from a young lady's slipper
Or made love 'neath a waterfall.
I've never zip-lined from the top of Mt. Everest
Or hitchhiked from Nome to Peru,
Or had a long erudite conversation
About how to decide when to use "whom" or "who".
I never played Hamlet, or danced in "Swan Lake",
Or sang opera with Callas or Sills;
I never wrote the great American novel,
And I think, alas, never will.
I never jousted a unicorn
Or read the dictionary from A to Z;
I've not romped in the rain on a plain down in Spain
Or grown a moustache, a beard, or goatee.
I never made money from stocks bought on Wall Street,
I just never could get the knack;
I never walked a tightrope across Royal Gorge
Or swam from Miami to Cuba and back.
I never fought dragons or tilted with giants
Or found a cure for the common cold,
And I've never been able to quite figure out
Just why it is we grow old.
Most of my list is pure fancy, of course,
If I don't do them, I won't feel frustrated.
I can honestly say I've enjoyed growing up,
But in my estimation, growing old's overrated.
WAS IT WHAT IT WAS?
It was a time of temperance for a temper tamed
It was a time when, on beauty, was mournfulness and belligerence blamed
It was a time when a recently birthed masterpiece was smudged
It was a time for a liar to finally be judged
While a man jousted with a beast who would not be budged
A deity who held power in her hand with which that self-same deity gave the man a nudge
That nudge was to advise the man of meekness not to hold even the grain of a grudge
It was a time when torment meant meaningless embraces and unkind kisses
It was a time someone with more insight than I intentionally misses
As God and Satan are both taking pisses
While the Pope put the pious in a confessional booth bastardized by all the sacrilegiously self-possessed
Sinners all and all sinners self-confessed
As I was sent by Satan his most sordid and grievous guest
A woman who suckled at the breast of duplicity
A lady lacking a scintilla of pity
It was a time when that woman drained me of blood drop by dreary drop
It was a time when I wished time would stop
© 2012 copyright PHREEPOETREE…~free cee!~
W
MENTAL INSTITUTIONS SHOULD PLANT FLOWERS TO PASS THE HOURS
Dead daisies,
deceased dandelions
torched tulips birthed to be torn and tragically tormented
And those daisies and dandelions died due to being deemed demented
Maples were made miserable,
evergreens were ever sad,
and fir trees were forced to become forlorn
Those evergreens and firs were sorrowful for all of them having been born
Morning glories are in mourning,
daffodils are decaying and decrying the dawning
and chrysanthemums were cruelly created to cry
lovely lilies were living a life to lament
As violets vied with violence,
and roses were required to repent
Forget-me-nots were forgotten,
hydrangeas weren’t high on danger
as junipers jousted with an unjust June
Lilacs lied,
petunias pouted
while marigolds were made mad due to the
moon
The sage were relegated to rage,
as a carnation prayed for an alternate incarnation
and the wisteria suffered hysteria because of insipid information
The iris had a virus
Chrysanthemums went crazy
Marigolds went mad
While wisteria went wild
And for this garden’s ailments there is no sensible solution
Except to send all the plants and trees to an orna-mental institution
© 2012 copyright PHREEPOETREEE …..~free cee!~
Christmases come and Christmases go, with them comes the thought
Of all the childhood memories that the passing years have brought
Sugar plum fairies, winged Angels, circling the snow swept skies
Broken heart, tear's and fears, crooked smile's, disguised his demise
Eldest sister fondling, dressing him up in her favorite doll clothes
Tasting memories, suckling all, down to her sweet soured toes
Stinging searing ice fire numbness, jousted through the enema hose
Humiliated bent broom stick pleading, God's deaf ears on near death throes
Longing to share the secret compulsion, always forever to smother
Inhibitions released, adorned in silk n lace, hiding it, undercover
Ending in fate most all his traits grew into a life long style
Surrendering to the obsessions, a transvestite pedophile.
MENTAL INSTITUTIONS SHOULD PLANT FLOWERS TO PASS THE HOURS
Dead daisies,
deceased dandelions
torched tulips birthed to be torn and tragically tormented
And those daisies and dandelions died due to being deemed demented
Maples were made miserable,
evergreens were ever sad,
and fir trees were forced to become forlorn
Those evergreens and firs were sorrowful for all of them having been born
Morning glories are in mourning,
daffodils are decaying and decrying the dawning
and chrysanthemums were cruelly created to cry
lovely lilies were living a life to lament
As violets vied with violence,
and roses were required to repent
Forget-me-nots were forgotten,
hydrangeas weren’t high on danger
as junipers jousted with an unjust June
Lilacs lied,
petunias pouted
while marigolds were made mad due to the
moon
The sage were relegated to rage,
as a carnation prayed for an alternate incarnation
and the wisteria suffered hysteria because of insipid information
The iris had a virus
Chrysanthemums went crazy
Marigolds went mad
While wisteria went wild
And for this garden’s ailments there is no sensible solution
Except to send all the plants and trees to an orna-mental institution
© 2012….copy write PHREEPOETREE ~free cee!~
Anxiously anticipating annual activity
Blissfully bound by bravado
Consuming cold contagious concoction
Dizzily developed devilish desire
Eagerly expecting ego's enlightenment
Feverishly foraged familiar fraternity
Garnished gowns graciously gathered
Hopeful heralded hithered happenstance
Instantly intimated identical ideologies
Jointly jousted jovial juxtaposition
Kaleidoscopic keepsake kept kinetic
Longing languid lustful longitude
Miraculous marvelous momentous movement
Nursing nocturnal natal namesake
Observing others obstinate opinions
Preparing precious paternal post
Quickly quietly questing quarters
Radiant reared remained rambunctious
Stifled stern stayed sturdy
Transmitting tantalizing topical teachings
Understanding umbrage utilizing unity
Vital vibrant visceral visions
Watchful wonderful whimsical wishes
Yonder yearning youthful years
Zanily zigzagged zesty zenith
The bare branches were shaking,
twigs rattled like ill-fitting teeth.
I thought:
'any moment now
the coal black lumpiness of them
will break a bough,
and all tumble down or up,
creating sky-slides of avian tumult'.
They jousted at each other,
clattering their sharp quilled feathers
like angry Black Knights.
The very air shook as they bounced,
up and down
imitating hooligans on a drunken spree -
rowdy 'caws' assaulting all ears.
Then,
in a sudden spray of alarmed confusion
they scattered, wheeling away,
in every direction.
From behind a thick-glass window,
someone must have muttered:
Shoo!