Best Knowns Poems
*** OF AND ABOUT IT ALL ***
Life’s so much a-coming or a-going,
With hours of waiting or flowing
From now to next
While we step about, hopefully blessed —
On a quest for things major or minor to cherish
In our sometimes to come. We sojourn thence
From this place over to a rushing creek’s edged cliffs—
To linger, to draw some solace, some rest…
And there, we see suddenly manifest:
The sacred red rose, growing
Near, beautifully on high,
Surrounded by the flames of our worship-full prayers.
Life’s a range of highs and lows waving
Aside the roads that fork and lead ventures
Along moss-lined knowns
Or beneath shaded canopies of unknowns.
Our searching, dawn-to-dawn roamings
Carry life’s tales of getting and giving;
Suffering and forgiving;
Ever grateful for living and breathing.
Life brings mapped ways that vacillate
Over ranges of changes; lessons
And puzzles; ideas, moods and feelings
Immersed in working and dreaming of someday
Realizing true love — wondrous, sweet.
From birth and learning to stand, to speak…On to
Old-age dimming our eyesight as happens…
Even to such gifted artists as
Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and Claude Monet.
Yet, they went on painting masterpieces, nearly blind —
With God’s inspiration helping them to find
A new approach, perceiving and creating
With their Inner Eyes.
Life’s an orbiting
Between reality and imagining;
Between perchance and possibly —
Between the often said, “If-only’s…”
And the magical, “Look there
At what’s already appeared.”
Life’s a calendar of playing and celebrating,
But includes sad times and final wakes…T’is
Somewhat a dizzying dance of circling turns,
Of rounding passes for however long
Until that unknown day of going on beyond…
Taking our storied hours along,
Relating how we stayed
Alligned to God’s willed ways,
For the good of the All and Everlasting,
From our toddling time
To our leaping with starlit promises
To compose a delighting song,
Unfurl wings and fly —
Eternal
————————————————————————-
(c)sally young eslinger 11/8 /2022 - 1/12/2
Written to Bocchenini’s Cello Concerto in B-flat major
Thanks be to God…
Bedeviled by those pleading eyes
deep as the secrets they chasm
captive as the questions one must surmise
and I, for your deliverance the ransom
"never leave me, my love, my friend"
spoken feebly as a prayer of little faith
In angst your heart once more bereaved
for true love remains impossible to erase
Traveling the road of never-knowns
your world abhorring to let go
granting time - that your soul not die
reflecting back an impatience you see in mine
There bewitched I stand in awe
nay, bend my knees at the epiphany of thy need
Persuaded to ignore once more the flaws
like every detailed dimension of a dream
Dare I surrender my disbelief, and wholly succumb your divination
hold tightly to your second sight
your prophetic inclinations?
for already by your augury - given you my life
Why hold back unwavering faith
as if now it's loss could be greater?
Perhaps my fate is better weighed
if our odds remain in your favor
My luck in love a chain-mail buffoonery
made of broken links and sparse longevity
Like a devil mocks hypocrisies charity
he so crushed my heart with stealth dexterity
So let it be said... you need me more
and that your love surpasses
For the art of love wears a mask of war
camouflaged in the art of stanzas
Whatever the spell enchantment cast
It began with one look in your eyes
has withstood the storms of assurances dashed
and neared forever with another guy
You were my present, then past, full circle and back
voodoo allure, a loves black magic
Bedeviled I say, held by your craft
your sorcerer's smile is a cold damp draft.
I cant seem to find the happy
antedote to cool my negative
consequences--- malignant non standards
freud pennance desires to capitulate-re
the never know mores so the forni fun reins can be
pulled taughtly somewhere
inside lives a man who cares----simple
kind to all--pleasures akin to
mellow moon moments--get the
fish jist--uncomplicated---neurogladiolas
with leafs outstretched to catch
the morns love rays---fully watered
premise to a concubine wife unopposed
like all fetters released free to
abound under alcohol laden pods
in a swaying sequence water ballet peaceful in its
aloneness yet always ever seeking the never
true part ne'r so patiently ignoring---
Cancer quest staring you in the face
but cant be seen---know knows no
knowns eyes closed bloodshot--wishing
hard to overwhelmed joy visions of what could be--I know theres a palace in me that gushes being is a river raft of giving
tides unabated for the abandon quits warm of function
but in pure feet sense cant save
to swim in the same antidirection plan for a
single sec hard to find 30 days notice
self eviction would help but then whered i be
in the tunnel of soothing nonfixtures
riding on nosense syllables that
now sag to be a faraway foreign language
my own fault alcohol only a seed cloud
the deeper I think the more dense I look
in the wrong semidirection too quiet and
yet unyielding to promote a sick sense of
perserverance uncompounded like a gemstone past
its prime on the open market a bill past due
repossessed
folded catalogued drawn drawered in a
tightshell outcast lowbrow miniscule
catapult nurtured nonethe selfless retro
inconvenience breech birth brain divided
gray tipped shark heart profiled in opposite filling manikin lifestyles
It's like overhearing whispers
Above the rustle of fallen leaves and twigs
Breaking under two pairs of feet apiece
Of bachelors and spinsters
And remembering, it's the dead of winter
A mixing of elements. Go figure
You turn a pillow and sleep some more
But the beauty of it is that you lived
And dreams would have come before
People sitting under the shade of a tree
In the front yard, steadying hands
Over the flames of a sputtering fire
Swapping silent reminiscences
Over good times that could have been
But lost over wisps of nonsensical chatter
Brethren like thieves in the streets
In verbal subterfuge, flashing daggers
And hissing Judas pursing lips to make a kiss
Currents of had-I-knowns running deep
In the rivers of memories about the departed
When a log splits and makes a flare
You dare think it's because you stared
Unlike you, I wasn't there too, in the cabin
Not standing over a pan
But like you, I could also spin yarn
Tell the story of two mountain trout in the grease
Developing a crispy gold tan
And the girl, followed by the lugs
And, of course, hook nose
That hefty door of a man with a Greek name
And a sinister mane
Saying you should have stayed in your lane
Glowing like the early morning sun
Subtle like 12% alcoholic rum
Poco-a-poco, I didn't know what hit me
Until your love saturated me
I need you like a heart needs a beat.
You be the cure to my feat
Your love is all I need to feel complete.
No man contest, no man Compete
Come live in my heart and pay no rent.
Use all the space but leave no dent
place all your eggs in this basket, place a bet,
I'll contain you with no regret
Our love is a journey; of cause!
Starting at forever, and ending at never.
Twill take eternity to break us
I doubt if it even has the liver
I will love you until the stars go out
, and the tides no longer turn
Above you, still, like in a wrestling bout
KK. come over, it's your turn
The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.
The best person to grow old with is one another
We won't have to bother, our love knowns no borders
We could fly away on wings with feathers
You shark me like old wine
Knock me down like fever
You may hold my hand for a while
, but you hold my heart forever.
I am happiest when I’m right next to you.
Every time I see you, I fall in love all over again.
I may not be your first date, kiss or love…but I want to be your last everything.
I love you – those three words have my life in them.
Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.
Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me.
I flew over a vastness of sand,
ancient ocean withdrawn,
dessicated desert,
neither eternal nor pathetic,
snow dusted, the foot of the Hindu Kush,
even now,
as we humans,
such knotted desperate pieces of work,
loving disorder,
our root cause of violence,
livid hatred for truth,
stare balefully at each other,
as the g-force of a turn,
presses me into red webbing,
chop chop of thick air,
shadow light patterned flitting,
across cargo and armor,
all the knowns and unknowns,
our desperate finite time,
meaning all and yet nothing,
when the thwap of a wheel touches down,
sharp whistl'd adrenaline,
quick glance at smudged shadows,
dwelling in the corners of our eyes,
like dark chaperones,
always at life's dance,
waiting for the music to stop...
and briefly I think on
the strangeness of it all,
a vague sadness soon fills me,
with what could be but is not,
all of us flawed sinners,
wannabe saints,
too much nightsoil under fingernails,
as ringing and shouts,
snapping rounds like hail on tin roofs,
with a head ringing weirdly with quotes,
from braver souls than I,
who think those fortuitous,
who endure life with courage,
while I just shiver behind,
duty and gun oil,
and wonder how someone,
can know another to their core,
and still love them, truly...
and the dust tastes of copper and time.
known knowns
known unknowns
unknown knowns
unknown unknowns
relationships
unravelling
Collection: Experimental
Written: December 2019
Vaccine perfectives
revile DNA downloafs--
catastrophic knowns
Twenty-Seven Club--not open to all,
nor is joining top of most people's list.
A club of sadness and shock midst the pall
of last birthdays--twenty-eighth was just missed.
Many well-knowns have passed at that young age,
to a better place, fans and music gone.
Rock stars overdose, leave a darkened stage
fans lay sweet bouquets, and then they move on.
Many don't look forward to twenty-six,
so fearful it might be their farewell year.
Feeling doomed to join Joplin and Hendrix,
yet still infuse the drugs they hold most dear.
This presents a huge conundrum to those
who want to keep their cake and eat it, too.
Can we feel sorrow when it's they who chose
a life expecting they'll pay club dues soon.
September 2, 2022
for Anthony Biaanco's The Twenty-Seven Club contest
She was standing in the yonder- a silhoutte
ghostly yet surreal for the world that drew me in
the clouds billowed the doubts that had cast in din
the drops fell in thick and made hearts win
drawing a curtain that obfuscated all to brim.
Yearning and disturbed by the thoughts that had been crushed
by the burden of sins they had perpetrated on him
he was trapped in emotional web that injured him like a stab
some wound that was, that bled for hours sore and flies roamed like whores
she emerged like that nectar from the yonder making the rain curtain part.
The clouds parted white giving way to blue and sun shone
she demured the silhoutte path warm and strong
her visage was clear as the climate she brought along
wow! what a face and what a pair of eyes! that melted with a sigh!
her hands extended ,hairs flowing and lips half parted in love song.
She sank in the arms that had longed,she sewed the wounds that had bled
so nice and caringly that soul was returned from where it was gone
her parted lips completed the kiss of the life and made him whole again
he buried in her arms and she in his ,vowing never to part again
he had found her and she had belonged to him like woman and man.
LIfe is strange unknowns of yesterday become so dear and near knowns
you do not even notice that they had been watching over with love and fear for long
existing as shadows and ghosts waiting for the moment to arrive
the decency that they display in wait for to match your heart strings
make your affections go dry in some pipes-that were convulted and devious
and flow in those that were so smooth and inviting making lives green, full of sheen and
alive.
She is heavenly beauty incarnate and all that men could dare to dream. She speaks in murderous silence and causes echoes wherever she goes.
She does not walk no, no she glides upon the ground each step a blessing to the soil and the lining on the stream. Hearts pound and minds sing aloud to the whisper of greatness that each good man knowns.
The scent of her skin mocks the aroma of a thousand roses and the breeze longs to perpell her smell like heat in the desert.
And when she opens her mouth to speak her words, the melody and harmony in each word creates a trance.
Your left there trapet and agreeing to every gesture u see her make and full of life all you desire is her presence for dessert.
Lost and captivated, intreguied beyond saving and right as your mind and conscious fades away you remember.
The lonely nights and happy mornings the cold bed and warm heart you once had right before you are one word away from giving in you open your eyes and see.
You see all you ever wanted infront of you but all you need fading away in the background vapourising like a silent whisper and right at that moment you see the serpent of your ambition and the dragon of your desires.
As she leans of you to take away you last form of resistance you see all your hope and tranquility vanish and you know in your heart that you were amongst the fools who traded pleasure for destiny and then......your no more but a memory as significant as the morning dew.
Time is always virgin in its mother womb
Caravan of crossing never knows stoppage
On its attachment all come step by step
This morning came back everything like before
Old existence I wanna not to forget
But today everything is mixed up
I gave leave the old to greet new time
In my wine glass watermelon surfs
Came to me the colorful prosperous rally
Came to me the rapturous country lyrics
Came to me the summer sun with hotness
Came to me new year's beautiful dress
Came to me god, holy books, prayers
Came to me poems, last years scripts
Came to my window sill the sparrows to eat rice
Came to my coconut tree the crows to awake
Came the beautiful girls of boishabi festival
This morning came to me many knowns-unknowns
No; I did not want these; I did not invite
The god, the holy books, good advice;
I did not arrange the stage for poets,
for the hilly beauty to splash water gladly;
I no need anyone even the cloud shadow
This morning I gave leave you o my bed darling
I gave leave the old everything with you
In this sick world I gave leave the God
I gave leave every poets, king and queen
I gave leave all disqualified humans- beliefs
Today I wanna welcome to the ill earth
Happy Bangla New Year 1427;
Today I wanna welcome
The scientist and assistant of inventive knowledge,
The researcher physician and nurse
and today I wanna welcome those
who work for humanity and beautiful universe
14.04.2020 (Chattogram City)
They inject their venom into my endless harmony
Killing me softly, I’m the walking dead, slowly towards my ceremony
You wont bury me because geographically, I’m a globe
Where my mind wonders, my pen will probe
The United Nations has uplifted my spirit
But this bleeding pen knowns no limits
Or is it the Mandela sprit in me?
Simply wanting to be free, or just plain lunacy?
Still there are some borders I dare not transit
Subjects beyond my comprehend I dare not debate
But these fangs don’t make it easy, they drive me crazy
Leave me empty, like vampires feeding, drained and drowsy
They strike especially when I’m busy
Leave with a huge chunk of my soul, they want me lazy
So I work endlessly, tenaciously
And walk nonstop to the very top intentionally, purposefully,
But sometimes, I find myself stumbling straight into the lion’s den
I write a ladder straight out of that black hole then (or write an antivenom)
To escape their callous, ravenous stares
Jealous critiques - hope you crack those fangs and succumb to your own venom - feeding on my flaws
06-10-2015
BITE ME!! - Poetry Contest
Sponsor John lawless
Der TrumpenFuehrer! Der TrumpenFuehrer!
All hail to our glorious TrumpenFuehrer!
To the USA’s newly-crowned royalty
We pledge our complete abject loyalty,
To the great man of history, our Dear TrumpenLeader!
To Der TrumpenFuehrer, Der TrumpenFuehrer!
The truth is whatever he tweets today,
No matter the truth tweeted yesterday.
Say goodbye to our so-called democracy
While we welcome the coming kleptocracy
Of Der TrumpenFuehrer, Der TrumpenFuehrer,
Who’s really real smart and knowns all the best words!
His thugs will corral all the liberals in herds
And send them away to some faraway lands
Where they'll never make fun of the real tiny hands
Of Der TrumpenFuehrer! Der TrumpenFuehrer!
He’ll solve all our problems and ease all our pain
And if he doesn’t, Obama’s to blame!
He’ll slash all the taxes of those rich enough
To buy private islands and mansions and stuff
From Der TrumpenFuehrer, Der TrumpenFuehrer!
He watches the Fake News all the day long
And gets real upset when it says he done wrong.
He fondles the maps of where his voters abide,
For his glorious victory gives such great pride
To Der Trumpenfuehrer, Der TrumpenFuehrer!
The newspeople say that he’s weird and insane,
Corrupt and a fool and just inhumane.
But we care not a bit and repeat the refrain:
Seig Heil, Seig Heil to Der TrumpenFuehrer!!
Loving you feels like trying to keep unattainable things locked up,
kisses on jars,
touches saved on empty containers for later,
your laughter described in detail
on hundreds of pieces of paper.
Or the look in your eyes
in golden picture frames on my walls.
It feels like chasing the wind,
breathing you in,
and when I breath you out you run,
abandoning me,
leaving me breathless,
heartless, hopeless,
leaving me with nothing.
And I can't help any of it,
my resolutions dilate on your skin,
as you make it sound so sweet
when you take everything from me.
It feels like you're doing me a favor,
when you lie as you put me down,
for sacrifice or worship,
I can’t never guess which will it be.
I let all of you take all that’s left of me,
under the moonlight that’s sneaking through the window
shining white and cold dressed for the occasion,
like it knowns all those things that I keep denying
the mistakes I keep on making,
my heart that continues to go on only for you,
and your eyes that have no intention
of saving a single part of me.