Best Layering Poems
A field of wheat cloaked in dewy silence
the orchestra tunes up with avian arias
bullfrog basses and a choir of cawing crows,
xanthic sunflowers turning their heads to better see,
the daylight trajectory commencing with lazuline layering,
a breeze glissandoes on harps of oak leaves
tomorrow is now today,
and I am grateful.
An officer of the law taps on my door
my breath and heartbeat screech to a sudden stop
preparing for the next-of-kin speech, or
where-were-you-on-the-night-of-the-23rd interrogation,
instead she informs me my car is ten inches in the red
and with a smile suggests I move it before I get a citation
pulse resumes as oxygen reunites with lungs,
and I am grateful.
A mask sitting by the front door; my ticket to commerce
the media replaying riot scenes, lockdown measures,
sporting event cancellations, worship restrictions,
death tolls, closed restaurants, and drive-by graduations.
Yet I am virus-free, housed, gainfully employed,
surrounded by family and electronically socialized,
I have my necessities: I am well-fed, well-loved,
and I am grateful.
written 30 Aug 2020
Categories:
layering, thanksgiving,
Form:
Free verse
Realities Unbound
Thru realities unbound and transfixed
Elders open gates of Temporal Time
Layering Multi-Verses intermixed
Portals welcoming the new paradigm
Angelic voices transport thru the mist
Forging fires in dimensional drift
Creations of desires that coexist
Nebulous clouds of lust squeeze thru the rift
Orbs of passion set the pretentious pace
Planets of pleasure align with their sun
Celestial beings watchers of their space
Serving emotions spherically spun
Divinities send us back with a shove
As we master the mysteries of Love.
Sept.15.2018
Beautiful mystery Poetry
Sponsored by: John Hamilton
Sonnet form only. Ten syllables per line
Placed 1'st Premiere Contest
Sept.26.2018
Categories:
layering, creation, love, mystery,
Form:
Sonnet
Before you I am your canvas blank
Delicately to paint linear and in liquid hues
Dripping and splashing we two drank
Forceful stimulated strokes you use
Layering the colors upon my surface
With a precision your brush does flow
Emphasis laid on expressive purpose
As your artistic viewing eye grows
Articulate precisely what you paint
Evoking sensuousness as you drip
Vigorous sweeping technique no restraint
Finesse done with your own workmanship
When strokes become feverous and fast
To the last stroke felt with ecstasy
To add your very own lust contrast
Finally leaving us right here at ease
Contest; Metaphor of love
Sponsor: Bobby.May
Date; 11/1/2019
Categories:
layering, love, metaphor,
Form:
Rhyme
Every one’s got an opinion
We are entitled to our views
But, we won’t all agree the
Difference often times are
Huge
Somehow the simpler the
Problem harder the
Moot
Layering instead of issues
Open wounds
And personalized attacks
Are used
A point of contention is
The deliberate disguising of
The truth
Distorting facts
Figures assembled by rote
Really there are a lot to be
Desired
Having regards to the distance
Between what had first prompt
The opinion
And the reasoning that led
To this irrational tirade and suit
A stuck in a bog like situation
Ensue
Like the dreaded dream state
Being awake and can’t speak
Move or do what you want to
While the root rot
The debates rambles on
Unable to; save quip,
Get a grip on solid ground
Consensus pursuit
Categories:
layering, satire, spoken word,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
The fire crackled and spat out embers
that gleamed brightly in the hearth.
Yet unattended they soon died away
to become dull grey ash particles.
Just like a fire need laying and tending
so too does love to help it strongly flourish.
Careful layering of dry tinder and
a few wisps of newspaper tightly curled.
Twigs and small branches added next
then a flame is held out until it ignites.
Take care to nourish your love
and show them sweet tenderness.
Gentle fanning growing more vigorous
as all starts to catch with a happy roar.
Feed it well and soak up its heat
and watch as shadows flicker on walls.
Bank it up well so it slowly smoulders
throughout the night. Fan the embers
and watch the flames slowly revive
just like love does when cared for.
Bask together in its glow
as it consumes and flourishes.
Filling you with love eternal
as you grow old together.
Categories:
layering, fire, love,
Form:
Verse
My little room...my four walls.
I sit in one of the four corners--
Like an embryonic sac, lifeless in a state of non existence...
Embellishing in the silence as I travel the deserts—of a dusty mind.
I now switch corners... deja vu, the walls are closeting in
Everything is the same except smaller—oh such a hell
To ponder without thought...a holographic Holocaust
A devouring reality.
Each corner of the four walls a prismatic prison...
A convoluted construct—my four walls of the apocalypse
I switch corners again...I see foreverness
An Asylum refuge-sheltering my layering lies.
What am I?...a pensive reject, a pondering fool,
A thoughtless thought... a disconnect of an ancient memory...
I get to the last corner...I see a speck of a thought
A microbial element within the diminishing walls...
Four Walls-contest
Feb.24.2016 ^WW^
Categories:
layering, absence, anxiety, confusion, identity,
Form:
Free verse
The lights have been turned on
in the attic
Someone has flipped the switch
exposing
cobwebs, caster oil, crutches
newsprint and cheap china
Which I'm hesitant to touch
least it falls apart in my hands or
cracks like the blue Robin eggs
I once tried to store in my pocket.
I know I should begin cleaning
but I dread the cobwebs
and I'm allergic to the dust (I tell myself)
that's been layering for fifty years
Undisturbed
I am
Disturbed
by the invention of
long lasting light bulbs, showing me around
no, they wont burn out anytime soon
and I will open a window
letting in the city sounds
that drown out the adults
fighting downstairs
distracting me from my chores.
Categories:
layering, solitude,
Form:
Narrative
[Verse 1 – Sparse piano, falsetto opening]
Sailing toward a horizon I’ll never touch
Whispers break me, it’s all too much
I’ve left the beach
The sun stood still, the breeze was kind
Now I’m adrift and out of time
I can’t find peace
[Chorus – Ambient synths begin layering, slow build]
Only you...
Even in the deep, I dream of you
Even when I fall, I fall for you
I reach for light, but it's breaking through
Only...
You
[Verse 2 – Light beat pulses in, tension builds]
The waves, they crash, they carry pain
Salt on my lips, it calls your name
And I'm to blame
My love has gone, and stars don't shine
Each tide I face pulls back my mind
To when you were mine
[Chorus – Bigger, higher range, backing harmonies begin]
Only you...
Even as I drown, I fall for you
Even when I’m lost, I’m lost in you
The tide won’t turn, but my soul knew—
Only...
You
[Bridge – Choir-like harmonies, ambient textures swirl]
I’m sinking low, the silence screams
You were the light inside my dreams
If love could breathe, I’d breathe again
Just one more chance to hold you then
Salt in my chest, your scent remains
A final kiss through liquid pain
If this is death, then let it be...
Where you and I still meet beneath
The waves...
[Final Chorus – Gospel-style climax, emotional peak]
Only you...
Even in the dark, I shine for you
Even as I fade, I burn so true
This heart won’t stop, it’s beating through
Only...
Only you...
You.
Categories:
layering, conflict, death, death of
Form:
Lyric
Around the corner and half a block away, the flavor would grab me, tie me up to some irresistible force, then drag my nose to the source of its home. The aroma that wafted in the air and up my whiffer was sweet and warm - rich with orchards of deliciousness and cascading with the buttery peachy-ness of what was to come. It knocked all other thoughts out of my realm and led me down a path of complete submission - surrendering like the energy of cold water on a hot skillet. With each step bringing me closer, my musing would swirl with the anticipation of that first ultra-luscious, gratifying juicy bite - the one that ever so longingly and lovingly would delightfully roll around on every palate of my watering mouth and lingering tongue only to succumb to gulping down the first chunk.
From the flour and water and salt
Her timeworn hands kneaded magic
A mystical mixture of love and fruit to concoct-
A pinch of this and that, nothing formally systematic.
This masterpiece was an untold legend that "rocked"
The socks off anyone and even rival the "Titanic"!
Her ritual was simple and deep rooted
As uncomplicated as a baby's grin.
"Easy as Pie" she mooted
And laughed while she hummed all the while.
Layering the rich sheets of goodness in a pan
From pie dough to peaches to butter and sugar
There was nothing in this world so simple or better than
My Aunt Grace's Peach Cobbler!
Categories:
layering, family, food, joy, love,
Form:
Narrative
It seems, in truth, that I'm such a glutton,
For a pulsing, lighted or sliding button.
Christmas, for me? An arriving shipment,
Boxes packed full with musical equipment!
Nothing can compare with the digital glow,
Of rack-mounted processors, row-on-row.
Is there no surer proof of a world in order,
Than dancing lights on a multi-track recorder?
And how could you decorate a room any cuter,
Than guitars on the walls and a laptop computer?
Near-field monitors and microphones aplenty,
So, to whet the whistles of music cognoscenti.
Keyboards, amplifiers, drum machines, effects,
Mood lights to decide what track to add next.
Well, it may not sound like YOUR place to be,
But this shimmering scene is heaven to me!
And what's so fine about this electronic roost?
Well, it's a place where musical dreams ...
Are produced!
* SECOND PLACE in the "Meraki" Poetry Contest, Silent One, Sponsor. *
(I am and will always be, a musician/songwriter, first-and-foremost, and while performing is my second love, [and poetry a close third], there's nothing for me like the creative process - writing, recording, producing songs in the studio - laying down the tracks one-by-one, layering the instruments and voices, building and watching/hearing the song take shape, and mastering the final production - in control of every facet ... looking back at the incredible amount of time and work involved, and feeling proud of that musical piece of you that you can listen to and share with the world ... there is nothing like it, and the lights of the studio equipment are, for me, like a Christmas all my own, and the dancing pixies of a wonderland of sound and melody - my meraki, indeed!)
Categories:
layering, introspection, music, , cute,
Form:
Rhyme
L’Heure Bleue
Winter comes into early spring,
Patches of grey crusted old snow linger in the shadows under spruce sentinels.
Larches still bare-branches, only for support of their moss beards.
Scraggily aspen limbs silhouetted against the sky
Crossed by airplane signatures of travel above, to far away unknown places.
The wind now laid to rest as day winds down.
On the valley floor surrounded by ancient craggy uplifted mountains
Capped with snow and surrounded by green belts of spruce and fire.
Winding down, the golden eye of God
Moves silently, almost drawn by the horizon beyond the mountain ridges.
Welcoming, awaiting, dreaming, of l’heure bleue
As twilight gathers.
Layering of colors -peach, violet, magenta and purple.
Veils never distinct but melting, fusing into the coming darkening,
As light fades and chill comes.
The silence of lambs, the putting up of memories, the opalescent retreat within,
Gathering time and place as a cloak to keep warmth within.
Categories:
layering, nature,
Form:
Free verse
The storm was unrelenting,
Possessed of a fury unmatched by anything he had ever seen.
The wind blew the rain towards the ground in regimented and precise layers,
Legions of droplets descending on the earth like some vast army.
In stark contrast to the disciplined layering of the falling lifeblood of the clouds,
Sheets of water whipped violently about in intricate patterns on the path,
Raging and frothing forward in the manner of a screaming barbarian horde.
He stood in the midst of it all,
Watching gusts of wind propel walls of rain at him.
As they hit him they dispersed into their separate components,
Letting him feel the sting of each individual droplet against his chilled body.
All of a sudden the heavens erupted, spewing forth a bolt of lightning
With a peal of thunder mightier than the most glorious battle-cry.
He watched it race to earth,
Forcing the night sky to shed its dark cloak and reveal all in one awe-inspiring moment,
Captured in time and memory.
Categories:
layering, naturerain, rain,
Form:
Free verse
Dream Keys
by Odin Roark
A NY mantra
Rent the rentable
Move the movable
Key the keyable
Apartments
Four-wall-guardian of yesterday’s youth
Vacuous cellmates of old age loneliness
All part of a cyclic maze
All having a key
Urban life’s Rubik’s Cube turnover
Today’s the day
“Two rooms”
“New paint”
“Clean window”
“No-squeaky floorboards”
Superintendent loves to present
Move in
Keys
Entrance door
Mailbox
Apartment
Laundry room
All yours
A windowsill vase of plastic roses
Your welcome of faded memories
The window to the people below
Your traveled city as roommate
Through another glass darkly
Gotta love it
Pea green layering
Over cracked and peeling bygones
Your very own chipped-paint scrapbook
A giant shoebox of ghostly images
Once possessing your castle-keys
Settle in
Struggle
Dream
Survive
Stand at your window
Watch canyon updrafts
Swirl your make-believe snowflakes
Carrying them skyward
Mixing with sparkling darkness
Where every star is yours
Count the days
Where light to see
Will be owned by neighboring towers
Where former tenants came young
Left old
Where thrown cups and china
Christened walls
And confinement’s anger and tears
Found solace in an ever inviting empty bathtub
Where pounding fists
Rattled bathroom door hinges
While a child hid beneath a bed
Smiling tearful thanks
A wanderlust roach
His ever-faithful friend
All yours
Here
Where a Sammy Glick got started
And an undergrad
An engineer
A Radical leftist
A piano teacher
All touched
All turned
All once secured your keys
So
Add your imprint
Become tomorrow’s remembered page
The scrapbook knows no end
This is Manhattan
Scenes will erupt
Hysterics will rebirth
Life will live
Maybe live some more
Then
Your turn to pass the keys
Your turn to pile worn memories at the curb
Mattresses always appreciated
Stand across the street
Watch the ever-smiling Super
Hand the keys to the next habitant
And then…
Go
Never to forget your contribution
Leaving behind another preparatory memory
Allowing the coming year
Your next season of imaginings
To dream of another home
Somewhere
Waiting…
Gifted with keyless entry?
Loneliness gone?
Categories:
layering, dream,
Form:
Prose Poetry
Layering stroke by stroke
the syllables of filtered mist's breath,
eastern winds spin like a circle of tropical
fish and flower beds on a lattice...
and the soft tresses of this air pours
on wayfarers sort of crystal beads new.
Then another circle whistles
inside my flesh, a sponge... an oasis,
bathing loin towel of morn dawning;
how its flavor speaks and lifts
trinkets of jeweled drops
to lightly swirl away.... mid way.
Wind Contest: SKAT's
8/29/2015
Categories:
layering, magic, wind,
Form:
Light Verse
Unless…
by Odin Roark
Seems just yesterday the sun arced
Over precarious ice
The street’s one elm
Leaned its naked branches with the wind Bringing winter’s announcement
A Coney Island cat crouched puzzled
Gradual crusting snow layering
The boardwalk a ribbon of white awaiting the gray
Mister Cat sprung back into dumpster heaven
Closed his eyes
And returned to his lone-bird dream
The one always disappearing
Over horizon’s edge
A few blocks away
Anxious hormones kept rebellious teens
Of mere rip-torn jeans and NFL jerseys
Rubbing their friction memories
Into goose-bumped skin
Frozen leaves scurried left and right
Separated from their bark insulated origin
The once virile tree sap
Now but a cryonic life flow
Awaiting spring’s resurrection
Somewhere
A corner-park’s snowman
Bowed forgiveness to the stinging wind
Its shivering cold prepared girth and pride
For tomorrow’s collapse
Beneath Time’s Square lights
Heavy metal leapt from SUV windows
Igniting crystal air
Into a vortex of tribal dance sensations
Vibrations warming all in its path
Yesterday’s season-change
Like a surprise party
Thrown on a whim
Roared through the city’s trenches
Beneath skyscraper walls of protection
As if birthing another Also Sprach Zarathustra
Daring frozen tears to fall
Central Park’s tree branches
Clustered and embraced each other
Like mouths searching for lips of warmth
While a lone photographer
Adorned in raccoon coat
Pointed her camera at breathing drifts
Becoming icing for fantasy’s deep freeze cake
At city’s center
Twisting cables of struggling semaphores
Blinked for mercy
As the insistent primal howl echoed
Across pot holed roadways
And iron slabs of street repair
Above underground steel tracks
Awaiting metro’s ignited contact
As dawn broke
Veined tunnels continued swallowing
The rushing energy astride quickened steps
Running feet
Shoving elbows and shoulders
City dweller anxiety
Cascaded down entrance stairwells
Boarded subway cars
Merged into the city’s synaptic darkness
And awaited their stop
Most likely yet another insulated destination
Where nature happening
Might once again go unnoticed
Never to be recalled
Unless…
Categories:
layering, environment,
Form:
Free verse