Best Lay Claim Poems
I relinquish my pen before the storm
of her tears falling upon my bare arm
her gentle whispering breathed in my ear
Muse of mine, adieu to your wit and charm
With piqued reasons I have come to deduce
It's time to say fond farewell to my muse
She should seek a new poet and lay claim
for my words have grown utterly abstruse
Spare me sullen eyes, from cries in refrain
I shall not weep in sadness nor disdain
Bitterness does not become a recluse
My poet's heart weakens, I dare not feign
Time's drawn the shades in darkness of night
No candle flame shall glimmer enough light
in which I may be tempted before morn
to doubt seclusion and attempt to write
Cloistered without pen, I shall ever be
From thinking in rhyme I shall be set free
Poems half written on bits of scrap paper
I shall lock away and then toss the key
My hand has retired, this last poem now penned
No more idyll thoughts of mind will transcend
Bereft of rhymes and abandoned of verse
This poet knows her time has reached an end
Ink no longer flows through my tunneled veins
Expressed emotions in poetry wanes
And when interred, on my stone I shall read,
"Reclusive poet" over my remains
Categories:
lay claim, emotions, solitude,
Form:
Rubaiyat
With bending stem and shriveled leaf
another day of scorching sun
becomes an ache without relief-
a day where growth has been undone.
As baking earth converts to tomb
with thirsting roots, no fruit, no bloom
the end, its arid course has run.
But gathered clouds reveal a sign
of hope that death may not today
lay claim upon this life divine.
A trembled reach, a feeble sway
while droplets small and shy at first
then dazzle down in drenching burst-
delightful flood renews life's play.
Saraband Sonnet~
Categories:
lay claim, hopeday,
Form:
Sonnet
I wander within the flowers of my mind
following the paths blind footsteps find
amid the flowing scent of rise and fall
sweet mystery of nature’s siren call
for darkness shrouds the vision that I seek
as flowers paint in aromatic brush
upon love’s petaled winds as if to speak
of color that would cause the sun to blush.
Thus, do I sit in darkness bathed in light
tears of memory dappling silenced ponds
inspired by such color to take flight
lay claim to sightless vision without bonds.
To be at peace with darkness, let it be
and share with it a dream it cannot see.
John G. Lawless
©12/28/2021
Categories:
lay claim, dark, dream, silence,
Form:
Sonnet
They called her the Fire Woman
for wherever there was fire
she was there
In the Fall
when all
the brush needed clearing
in Spring
when everything
else needed to be burned
she showed up, smiling
beguiling flames
to her beck and call
Her tall, brown-skinned frame
'though lean and weathered
and stooped a bit
was still powerful and somewhat
imposing- not so much in
her physical presence
as in her demeanor
and the silent
sparkle
in her amber eyes
as if embers
from the flames
were in her spirit
and fire itself was in her soul
She was old
no one knew her exact age
or much about her
except that she loved
to play with fire
and it fell and rose
to her every whim
No one could lay claim
to controlling fire
but her...
and then him-
A strange romance
between the Fireman
and the Fire Woman began
a love that revolved and
flickered around
their common passion
for flames
one who started fires and
one who put them out
without a doubt
it was intense heat
that drew them together
But unlike young lovers
who easily get burned
they were slow and steady
patiently tending
their home fires
taking care to control
and manage the blaze to
gently keep it going, and not
let it get too cool or too hot, but
just right for a brisk, chilly night
Two old flames
burning toward the end of life
keeping each other
from the cold
Categories:
lay claim, age, life, love, people,
Form:
Free verse
Goodbye to the me
you thought I should be
My life is my own
not yours out on loan
I'm not what you sought
I cannot be bought
No guilt can lay claim
nor pressure nor shame
To bring me in line
with your selfish design
Start looking elsewhere
for somewhere out there
Is one whom you seek
so fragile and weak
I'm taking myself
from off of your shelf
Hello to the me
who's finally free
© Mike Wise
3/7/15
Categories:
lay claim, farewell, freedom, leaving,
Form:
Rhyme
If my love we must part
Let us part under shroud of night
Who I ask is afraid of the dark?
Tiss I who fears the darkness when you depart
Times passing shall never lessen the pain within
I suffer so, longing for your poetry
Until
Until one day I dream of you
We are bound together, by words and prose
Desires bring back memories long faded
Final notice, seems so harsh
Your note of departure, a rupture
A love poem to say a whispered goodbye
I shall cherish the laughter and the pain
Declarations of unity made in passions heat
Alone in your satin sheets, do I weep
Delicate verses of our devotions
I sing and rhyme them, lost in my own illusions
Moments like this, I loiter in my solitude
Memories seeking comfort in your soft embrace
Eyes, oh how they burned into my soul
Eyes that used to kiss my very heart
Poetry shall never lay claim to the depths
Of our infernally burning passions
Forget me nots grow, in my forgotten garden
Forgetting is killing me so
Sublime and grey are many a mundane day
I wither and fade, for its moments like this
So close to heaven, so close to a burning hell
I have sailed the seas of desire, only to sink
My sunken footsteps lie below
My broken heart
Notes:
I happened upon a poet here, T.Nicole Williams, and below is a list of the poems she
has posted here. Something just clicked and I said wow, even her poem titles are a
poem!!! After reading a few of her poems, I quite enjoyed her style and expression,
and thus, I wrote a poem based on all her poem titles! I quite enjoyed this, as the idea
was so random and by chance, so I hope you all like this poem, as well as I hope
she is flattered to have inspired this little piece!!!
T.Nicole Williams Poems
A Love Poem
If We Must Part
Whose Afraid of the Dark
Time's Passing
Until
Bound Together
Final Notice
A Love Poem
Declaration
Delicate Verses
Moments like This
Eyes
Poetry
Forget me nots
Sublime
So Close
Sunken Footsteps
Categories:
lay claim, beauty, poetry, poets,
Form:
Light Verse
“If you cannot be yourself, do not take away the identity of another.” -D.J.E.
Why do you return in another form,
Another residual voice?
Did you forget the palpable scar you left
Through your romantic coercions?
We believed you.
We trusted you.
We even kind of liked you.
You knew this,
You cherished this.
Yet, with enamoring backhands
You crossed the boundary of someone else's heart
While you forgot to rediscover
Your own independent territory
All in the name of co-dependent epiphanies.
Blame the shameful animosities around you
As you hide behind atmospheric rainbows
And tectonic miseries
You reach for the loins of those in disdain
As your smile falsely proclaims
That it will stop their rain
Your stalker’s reign,
The only truth behind your crooked swagger
Verbally, your conjugated kiss could never complete my sentences…
…for I’ve already been sentenced to a lifetime of paradoxical complexities.
And no matter how many profile pics you lay claim to,
You malicious self-worth will always be defaulted.
©D.J.E. – July 5th, 2018
Categories:
lay claim, betrayal, identity, trust,
Form:
Free verse
Each new day my treasured thoughts you lay claim
As minutes stretch and I search for patience
Restlessness arrives and your love I blame
As it calls to my heart with reverence
Nothing collides with the world but you
As time becomes much harder to replace
This love shared without hesitation is new
Soon to pour into a river of grace
To hold this moment without care or thought
And keep it close as a gift now treasured
In love's place of rest, neither bought nor sought
The love within our eyes is not measured
As two follow the course of love's strong stream
They leave the old world for one with a dream
2/26/21
Categories:
lay claim, love,
Form:
Sonnet
I feel more than a little out of place
As if my trusty pen does deface
The paper, that lies stubborn, blank,
My words hang heavy and outrank
My thoughts, which battle to clear
But struggle in a fog of fear.
I try hard to shake the demons out,
I will not sink to harbour doubt
Or turn to lay claim to fragility,
Fractured phrases mar ability
And jumbled lie and make no sense,
Cause rifts to form in competence.
I want to leave an inscribed trail,
To succeed where odds are set to fail,
To make a difference to the world
And use my pen with fingers curled
To hold the precious gift and savour
Writing truth without fear or favour.
I hope my words will fill a need,
Defend all of our freedoms, that lead
To providing power, to build, renew
And abandon weak words; join the few
Who have learned to wield a mighty pen
That defeats the brutal acts of men.
Evil might not be specifically based
Its head emerges when something’s erased
That leads to censoring our creations
It’s not linked just to religion or Nations.
At first subversive it rises and shatters
All I hold dear - and to me this matters.
Categories:
lay claim, evil, fear, freedom, power,
Form:
Rhyme
The hour matters none ... for the energies have exhausted.
In the year of our Lord ... nineteen hundred and twelve, April fifteenth.
Writes a future living star ... wish their joys so he may shine.
'Tis to be a deliberate endeavor ... they call life.
An unaccountable ledger of sums ... know he the worth of it.
For in that great beyond is an opened book ... ere his youth.
There'd be certain measures that wretched body ... once unmasked.
Natures of a retired validity ... that aloof vainglory.
Tarries an elusive shell ... the semblance of human sorts.
A cub sponged in denizens hound ... the spoils of settled earth.
Masques of the poor scores yon ... and indifference spared them from their kind.
Their pain slices him whole ... in this grand finale of truth.
The role he crawl from under ... frees a den's claimed orphaned cub.
He conformed to their ways ... indulgence begets an awakening.
De-sands a timepiece from Giza ... transforms the silent lamb.
Qualities of Osiris ... no longer foxes kinsman.
Without manipulative truth ... mainly defines reality.
Loss crept e'er so close ... as circumstances affront him now.
The iniquities ... recorded in that hallowed ledger,
He lay claim to its authenticity ... 'twas him who'd inflicted;
upon those who were of wickedness ... and the righteous few.
He included self ... in self-afflictions of great numbers,
wherever the blame may lie ... be it concerning his existence,
thereupon points those sharpened fingers ... deserving of it.
Repentance for his sins ... subjugated through crying eyes.
His life for another ... sans a name or a face in lieu of tears.
They shared the deafening silence ... two muted distinct smiles.
One in tears looked onward ... to a face of blessed assurance.
The last boat edges off into the dark ... desperation arose.
A great clamoring ascends ... into the bitter abyss.
The hymn, "Nearer My God to Thee," ... the chaos stops to song.
Ships officer calls out, ... "Abandon ship, every man for themselves."
Lost lamb hopes his roll's called up yonder ... as his last words read ...
Categories:
lay claim, anxiety, courage, death, emotions,
Form:
Sijo
a storm rages outside.
sky, overcast with clouds
fearful sounds echo,
through mountain crannies,
like that of shrieking bats in flight.
trees shiver under wind's might.
everything around,
presages an impending doom.
the least pressure may
tilt the scales and tip the balance.
sitting in my dim lit room
with all the windows shut
unable to drown the emptiness
afloat in irrepressible buoyancy,
I glance over the balance sheet
of my life. There’s no surfeit,
only deficit…gross deficit!
once I was something, now nothing
utterly broke, I lose my balance.
when falling down, there’s no one to hold.
my chest feels heavy.
my heart sinks into pitfalls of sorrow.
I wonder when this will end?
while trying to make an escape route,
I sink into unsettling thoughts.
memories torturing,
destroy what’s possible.
I know when stuck in the past,
I can’t focus on my present
or plan for my future.
life is a test of mettle.
I must make the right decision.
choose the right thing.
I will continue my inner fight.
lay claim on the eternal light.
accept defeat and obliterate my ego
and resurrect my inner child!
I know, I will be tipping the balance
with every right decision I take.
I must undertake the precarious tightrope walk,
in utmost caution without losing my equilibrium.
Categories:
lay claim, angst, destiny, endurance, growth,
Form:
Free verse
Oh, let us write of gentler things
Still wondering why “the caged bird sings”*
Or rise upon a thermal shaft
Of feathers drawn upon first draft
Or watch the sullied surf subside
As clean-up crew of ocean’s pride
Oh, let us dull the razor’s edge
And loudly sign a silence pledge
Deny the forest’s right to live
While sharpening the traitor’s shiv
Or are we but a single voice
Muted by the rising noise
Oh, let us cloak our metaphor
In words both good and bad adore
Hone it with sarcasm's wit
So both sides will lay claim to it
And chuckle as our pens run dry
Our ink the tears that poets cry
Categories:
lay claim, poets, silence, writing,
Form:
Couplet
A. W. Nutter
In the darkness is where I love to dwell
Atrocities performed will send me to hell
A ladies perfume assaulting my senses
My mind visualizing the sensual caresses
She walks alone on a moonlit night
Unaware of the demon hidden out of sight
Grabbing her quickly, muffling her objections
Excitement builds as I gain her submission
No hero to save this damsel in distress
As the blade of my knife shreds her dress
Naked and vulnerable, I tie her to the stone
Many have died on this sacrificial throne
Pleading for mercy only fuels my desire
My passion building with an internal fire
Only one way to quench the erotic flame
To her body and soul, I must lay claim
Holding her tightly, I gaze into her eyes
The cold steel slowly piercing her side
Advancing toward the girls racing heart
Needing to be ready when her soul departs
Writhing in pain, my lady meets her death
My lips on hers catching the final breath
The soul acquired, sexual release attained
Falling from the stone, physically drained
Dawn shines a light on my transgression
For a lingering moment I ponder salvation
I feel the perversion rekindling the flame
Powerless to stop this erotic game
Categories:
lay claim, angst, death, imagination, sensual,
Form:
Rhyme
The howling of the lone gray wolf
His fingerprint sound waves
Reaches out to his alpha female
And to enemies like staves
His hunt unfruitful this night
No ungulates found alive
Few scavenged tidbit pieces
Barely enough to survive
His alpha mate heavy with pups
tucked into the warm den
Hunger gnawed away at her, weak~
dreams of a fat tough hen
Maybe fate would befriend her mate
At least a deer he'll kill
And bring home a lean hind quarter
An empty stomach fill
Sixty days or so the liter carried
Must be many large pups
Maybe four or even seven
Seven pups a deluxe
They'll be delivered just in time
For the deer, elk and moose
To give birth to their fawns~ easy prey
Food source hidden in the spruce
Hunger will recede through the summer
They'll be plenty of game
Maybe at least one pup will survive
To the future lay claim
Contest: Canis Lupus The Wolf
Sponsor: Shadow Hamilton
Written: April 06, 2015
Categories:
lay claim, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
The harshest lessons of the past teach—you need the beast.
The wilderness of future tells you to feed the beast.
Renounce the shackles pulling you down into the mud.
Be as the mud and thrive, embracing the greed, the beast.
Because the nature of the world is contempt; inspire,
and revel in that fervid pit, they screech, “Bleed the beast!”
Granted, it's a lonely road of thorns and oozing wounds.
Life begins and ends in desolation, speed the beast.
That piece of earth you have sweat on is yours to lay claim.
Morality is contribution, don't cede the beast.
When love does come, remember not to squander the choice.
Rise to magnificence with one of your breed, the beast.
Fate may give comfort to those who seek, opines Tashir,
For harbingers of progress, self is the creed: The Beast.
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Form: While the form of the poem is ghazal, the theme of it is closer to that of didactic poetry.
Date: 20 / 11 / 2016
Categories:
lay claim, confidence, future, growth, happiness,
Form:
Ghazal