Best Leave Poems
I think of those I knew who’ve passed
And what they’ve left behind,
Impressions that remain engraved
In caverns of my mind.
Perhaps just an expression
Or some laughter we once shared
Or a reaching-out connection
Where our truest selves were bared.
I conjure up some habits
That endeared or else annoyed
Which, for reasons I don’t know,
Have yet to vanish in the void.
We write our wills, bequeathing
What we treasure to our kin,
But the best of us we leave behind
Is what resides within.
[A love poem for my wife of 43 years]
When I leave you...
it won't be out of anger,
it won't be out of jealousy,
it won't be for another woman,
and it won't be for freedom.
When I leave you,
it won't be with grace--
it will be hard, hard to do.
I could try to fight it,
but with what power?
Taken quick or slowly,
I'll still be taken--
out of this world,
out of your life....
Never out of your heart,
I know,
I'm planted there,
a Gibraltar till time's end.
Yet...yet I fear for the weight,
the heaviness on you:
all the times you'll need a touch,
or miss my breath
on the nape of your neck....
When the stars weep,
when songbirds die,
then, only then,
will my love be left
by your lonely side.
Do I yet know how much I love you?
Will my soul chant in mourning for you?
Will it long for this world,
this world of night and day
only because you are still in it?
Blue –
for your arm wrapped around
my clavicle. I thought
I would loose my breath.
Red –
for the cusp of our hip bones
struggling to pull the drunken color
from our orange cheeks.
and our sweat, our sweat, our sweat
evaporating
in the drenched summer air.
Our pants futile afterthoughts
Left crumpled on the floor
It is here I asked for your respect
And you filled me with it.
Orange –
for the musk smell of our blanket den. I would watch the way dawn light
speckled your shoulders, pale, white-blue
Iridium.
I would trace the ink
of your skin, fingertip hovering a half inch
from your bone.
Green –
for how my name would hesitate
on your breath in brief puffs
like dandelion seeds blown from
My wistful lips when I was
eleven
waiting for them to bring back my wish.
Black –
for my sleeveless dress, as we strolled from
your father’s funeral.
It was the only time I watched you cry.
There were little holes in the cement sidewalk.
They filled with rain, oil
And your tears.
I watched your face change through
their watery colored reflections.
Pink –
for the way your skin repels from my
Touch, quivers as though my finger-
print were a red hot poker.
You haven’t allowed me to touch you
In a year.
Purple –
for the color of her font, as she responds to you. It is an eager
Color. She responds with all the passion of an Eskimo kiss.
You left her waitng..always.
I have been special to you,
she replies to your
overtures.
Her letters
Who blush
like a maid
Who’s felt the hot moist
whisper of something naughty
tickle against her ear lobe.
White –
for the way your eyes punch accusations
sharper then your razor tongue.
They spit
blue crackled lightening,
like an angry alley cat.
My words cannot reach you here.
You will leave.
We will divide our booty
Words that once held my name like a piece
Of carefully folded origami
now hiss cold
devoid like the plaster of our empty room.
Grey-
for the morning
now knocking on my window.
I am livid in my withdrawal, tossing and turning
I can find no comfort
in
the tangle of these vacant sheets.
When I leave this world
It won’t be silently
NO, I will leave behind a note
A note of reproach
For the sin of humanity
In the inability to feel with…to feel for
To truly love
Another human being
Who has the curse of being….
Different
When I leave this world
My words I’ll behind
To a world that was unkind
To a world that only loved
Cookie cutter shapes and sizes
A world with a status quo
That couldn’t be tampered with
A world that embraced
The lovely
The beautiful
The happy….oh the happy
Those with perpetual smiles
With lilting voices of angels
And with beauty of the ages
Those worthy of love
Serene angelic doves
Who never felt despair
But were always bright and fair
When I leave this world
I will leave behind
A legacy for those
Who were unloved
Who didn’t have sound minds
Who struggled along the way
Who tried to be beautiful
Who tried to smile
Through ripped and aching hearts
Who tried to stay afloat
When others would just gloat
Those who tried to be brave
But longed for the grave
To those I will say
“You are beautiful
You are worthy
You are precious
You are priceless
Your mind though tormented
Is full of beautiful treasure
Don’t blame yourself
For not being able to fit
In this selfish and crazy world
You are not a misfit
The world is unable
To make itself fit
To the dazzling beauty of you
So, just do what it takes
Just do what it takes
To get through the pain
To get to tomorrow
Maybe, maybe
You’ll hear my voice
Whisper to you in the breeze
Telling you to make the world
A better place
A more caring place
Because of YOU!"
Eileen Manassian Ghali
Leave me alone, I yelled to the kitten
The almost adult one that stood on my head
It’s four in the morning and where is it written
That I should wake up when you wish to be fed
Leave me alone, I called to his brother
Who walked over me as I struggled to rest
Why don't you leave me and bother another
How can I breathe when you stand on my chest
Leave me alone, I say when I’m eating
Nobody told you to mooch off my plate
You better know as I watch you retreating
That was my food that you carelessly ate
It doesn’t matter that I may be sleeping
Eating or resting or doing a chore
These are my cats and they never stop creeping
Over my dishes and in through my door
Funny to know that whenever they bug me
They like to purr just as loud as they can
They show affection by how they are happy
Knowing I love them as their biggest fan
Leave me alone, is a phrase I am using
Spoken more softly and always in vain
What is the point when I know that I’m losing
Leave me alone is like stopping the rain.
Written and submitted November 12, 2021
To the "Leave Me Alone" poetry contest
Sponsored by Mystic Rose Rose
I want to leave
The next world holds more hope
As this life seems lost in circles
Both worlds filled with virgins
Untouched
I want to leave
And escape the daily routines
Of strangers who say hello
Then walk away forever
I am to be crucified
On the alter of love
And rise not ever again
No one will treasure my shroud
I want to leave
For I am human
Shrouded in the coldness
Of being always alone
I want to feel the kiss of a lover
A warmth to blanket my soul
How sweet would this be?
Poetic words however are not real
I want to leave
The illusions of the heart
How?
Reality sends a cold chill down my spine
Words are the arrows of poets
Blood soaked in verse
I return to fantasy
In the moon light night
From the beginning of time
Where dreams were considered divine
Here I rest a heavy heart
An unfinished painting
Collecting dust
Inspired by Eileen Ghali who wrote a poem with the same title.
Gentle breeze come my way
release your secrets held at bay
I'll leave the window open
even just a crack
in hopes your winds
ever slightly blow back
into my never ending dream
Gentle breeze set me free
carry my worries out to sea
I'll leave the window open
and pull back the curtains
in hopes her scent wafts
aimlessly upon my
storm tossed pillow
Gentle breeze bring me solace
guide her thoughts flawless
in through my open window
float past doubts and apprehensions
into an inner sanctum
bringing a whole
to a fractured soul
Always leaning against the sycamore
Where leaves and shadows play upon your face
Standing solitary in evenings's softened light
You touched me once
In the midst of siren sounds and steel
You summoned and I refused your darkness
Yet your breath brushed my face gently
And your presence promised a quiet peace
Since then I have seen you
Near a friend's thinning frame
Heard you gently tap on hospice windows
Whispering do not stay to bear the pain
Yes, a time will come when I long for you
But you must me leave now--go away
I am too young to feel your heavy certainty
I wish to walk free and feel light again
To watch the newly born leaves open and dance
In summer's sun and jasmine's sweet perfume
Contest entry
I push open the creaking iron gate
and follow a winding road that leads me to you;
The wind has taken my hair and is pushing me forward,
as burnt orange and yellow leaves are whirling.
The air is cool as it whispers in the ancient trees
and roses are decaying on the graves as I pass.
I can hear my own breathing- in this silent dead place
then, I am standing at your engraved stone.
I did not bring you flowers on this cold day
as my forever love is all that I have to give you.
My darling, not a single day do I not ask why, why
why- all I can leave are my tears . . .
__________________
May 19, 2017
Free Verse/I Leave You My Tears
Copyright Protected, ID 902773
25 Lines Contest
Brian Strand
First Place
I walk into the night
And leave the world behind,
The fading of the light,
The stumbling of the blind
I seek another path
A road that has no goal
But the semblance of the truth
The yearning of my soul.
The moon holds centre stage
Beyond the trellis trees
The city lights engage
But can no longer please
A mind grown tired of life
A heart no longer strong
Tired of this world of strife
Return where they belong
The wind picks up the leaves
And gusts across the park
Where silent shadows heave
And vanish in the dark.
What held us here so long?
What fantasy prevailed?
The plans we lived among
Have long since been derailed.
And so I take my leave
I say to all goodbye
There is no call to grieve
There is no need to cry.
I seek another path
A road that has no goal
But the semblance of my truth
The yearning of my soul
Inspired by the song "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam
You had just gotten your first car, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air,
We were only seventeen years old and neither had a care,
You came over after school and asked me to go for a drive,
We longed for freedom of the road, we never felt so alive.
Always the gentleman, as you opened the powder blue door,
But, after tonight you would be doing this for me no more,
I remember how the moonlight shined off of the chrome,
When you picked me up and I would never return home.
I cannot ever stop thinking about and replaying our past,
I still remember your soft kiss, and it would be our last,
Because, this tender embrace would never happen again,
There was no way that either of us could've known it then.
The impact was so sudden that I felt almost no pain,
As the car swerved out of control into the other lane,
It all happened so fast, there was no time to scream,
Now my existence is a nightmare, just some bad dream.
My body grew cold fast, but I could still feel the heat,
Of the warm blood dripping down onto the leather seat,
I lay there silently, nearly lifeless, held against your shoulder,
It was then I realized that I would not be growing older.
The radio faded away as I closed my eyes for the last time,
What happened to me was an accident, and not a crime,
I will wait for you on this spot, by the very same tree,
Where most people don't notice, but some of them see.
It's an anniversary, it will be 58 years around midnight,
The misting rain and lingering fog will keep me from sight,
As the headlights go flying by, shining from modern cars,
I'm hoping one of them will be you to take me to the stars.
When I do leave this world, side by side we will stand,
And this bad dream will finally be over as you take my hand,
I am waiting to go to heaven, only you can bring me there,
In your brand new, powder blue 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air.
I leave you a kiss
On the pillow where you lay your head
Since I cannot, it must kiss you instead
And I hope it will whisper sweetly
The words I have folded neatly
In its lavender scented weave
That I cannot say- because I must leave
I leave you a kiss
In your silverware drawer, on a spoon
Hoping it will kiss you sometime soon
With your honey and cereal for breakfast
Or a bowl of ice cream's frozen mist
When you catch a moment's reprive
But try to forget I had to leave
I leave you a kiss
On the pocket of your shirt
In case you ever get hurt
Or to ease your broken heart
In the time that we're apart
Every time you chance to grieve
When you remember I had to leave
I leave you a kiss
Just hanging in the airyou
Walk by and it will meet you there
Just stand by my dresser and kiss it
Or if you happen to miss it
It will sweeten your dreams at night
Making them pleasant and bright
Making you almost believe
That I never had to leave
{By Isaiah Zerbst for the contest The Poet II. Submitted on 9/10/14. Theme: Leave You A Kiss}
The Day I Leave
The day I leave, I will go quiet. no one will be there
to say the last goodbye. When I came here - I came
alone and that's the way that I will go.
The day I leave, I don't want tears. I am not dying
just moving on. You won't see me - yet I'll be there,
until I go to my resting place.
When I have gone - please celebrate, because I will be
in a better place. Life won't stop because I left - it will
go on and that's a fact.
Continue your life and live it well, for once it's gone
there is no spare. One day your life will end without any
notice. Like the tick of a clock - your heart will stop....
07/22/2013
Written by Lucilla M. carrillo
I love to see you snuggled up in bed.
Beneath your pillow I leave you a kiss.
It’s maternal instinct by which I’m led!
I love to see you snuggled up in bed.
Then before I go, I kiss your forehead,
leaving chocolate for my sweetest miss!
I love to see you snuggled up in bed.
Beneath your pillow I leave you a kiss.
Theme: Leave you a kiss
Written 9/9/14 by Andrea Dietrich
For the Poet II Poetry Contest of gautami phookan
Just stop thinking about it,
Don't bother losing yourself to it,
Stop getting your mind overclouded
Don't overthink about it.
Past's not gonna change
Present's in your hand,
Future's awaiting you,
So does it take that long for you to realise;
Time always flows like river,
Everything that you wrote in sand of time,
Now flies, all erased.
Heartaches and smiles never will fade
Cause this present will become the past
So don't rewind back in memories
It's time you stepped out of the past , grab your present and run towards the future.
Take all the twists and turns,
It's fate, following your addicted brain,
In its fabulously misguided taste,
To that unordinary life you seek.
Time will record your past,
Actions will define your future,
Don't worry about the leap I am taking,
Cuz I feel like I am losing myself ,
Losing my mind,
Losing my mind,
But I love this wild ungrounded feeling,
Of losing myself to the unforeseeable future