Best Left Too Soon Poems
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the bridge isn't stone.
not iron latticework humming with trains.
not even that splintered wood plank
across the creek just beyond my childhood home.
It's quieter~
a slant of afternoon sun catching dust motes
in the attic of my mind.
I climb the stairs~
why did I say that?
why didn't I go?
if only...
each step groans with the weight of *what if*~
the handrail feels slick with polished regret.
halfway across, I pause.
below, the river churns with versions of myself:
the one who stayed,
the one who left too soon,
the one clutching certainty like a fraying rope.
the far shore gleams clear, impossibly calm.
I know what waits there~
wisdom, smooth as river stone.
but the bridge only goes one way.
I can't carry today's shoes back to yesterday's mud.
can't shout warnings through the thickening fog
of memory.
so I stand, breathing the damp air
of almost-understanding.
I watch the current swirl the past into patterns
that almost make sense.
Almost.
the bridge remains aching and empty
leading only to the place where I finally see
the shape of the hole my choices left behind.
Sunsets aren't quite as bright;
And the flowers are all dying.
Miss you, tall, handsome knight,
As autumn leaves are flying.
Searing summer now a memory-
Soon we'll be together again!
Hope you often think of me.
I know you're not too vain.
Didn't we dance golden days and nights away?
Didn't we kiss under the moon?
But sunny skies have now paled to gray.
Summer left too soon!
Seems I loved you forever.
You are my every pastel sunrise.
Said you'd love me always, whatever.
You are my heart's surprise.
As sweet summer begins to fade,
I must have grown lonelier, it seems,
But for the lovely plans we made,
In the days of dreams.
I never round-or-flatly disagreed
with Johnny Appleseed,
so red, so crisp, so...quite.
Never in the dawning, evening dawn
did I fly up or s*it upon...John James Audobon
in the evening, morning night.
Ah, I'd never be rude or eat the food
of the pulchritudinous Johnny B Goode.
How could I?
And why would I harm
odorless, flightless John Barleycorn
or give him Spanish flea?
I'd sail the vast untarted sea,
or play drums obstreperously,
with that flapjack, John Paul Jones,
but what kind of pancake would I be
if I revealed I was bigger than, by three,
that wunderkind, John Holmes?
Would I ask Johnny on the Spot
for a rag to wipe my snot?
Unindubitably!
Would I surprise him with mascara,
or do the backstroke in marinara
like a mushroom in a noodly sea?
I'd be on time for Johnny Come Lately,
and eat bon bons till I sat, oblately,
under the midday moon.
I'd tell Johnny Carson, "That's a wrap"
and neatly wrap my dog's crap
up with cellophoone.
What about John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,
that diaphanous, novelty hit?
Would I blast him with the guns of Navarone
under a sky that sticks like the glue
of a colorless, humid, hue?
Would I deny him a raisin scone?
No!
When Johnny Comes Marching In gets home,
I'd serve him grits and iridescent cornpone,
and sit him on my knee.
Then I give him a lavender shout,
and set up an appointment for my gout,
superciliously.
Would I ask John the Baptist to convert?
No, I'd offer him some camembert
and crackers!
And the sprightly John the Apostle?
I'd offer him a waffle.
and crackers
(for dessert).
Oh John Keats, dear clapboard poet - you left too soon,
before I could offer you a macaroon,
or anything that leaves a crumb.
There's a reason I asked you for tea.
Give me a sign. Tell me honestly,
do you think I'm a doofus - dopey, dippy, daft and dumb?
Would I pull the leg or make fun...or steal a tart, chocolate eclair, pineapple upside down cake or cinnamon bun
from the beetle, John Winston Lennon?
Nope, I imagine I wouldn't, in truth,
but I'd surely pull the tooth
of the weevil John Wilkes Booth
under the midnight sun.
I had a little friend who left too soon.
Acute leukemia struck at age five.
His mind was so blindingly bright.
This earth could not give it room.
He had questions in endless supply.
Every answer quickened another query
About stars, earthworms, seasons.
Even some adults struggled to reply.
In that era nothing could be done.
He was hospitalized for passive care.
I visited him one bleak, broken day.
His mother was sobbing for her son.
Losing a child—name a thing as bad.
I cannot conceive the anguish of it.
I cannot harbor a hurt so severe.
Years later grief drove the father mad.
And if perchance I meet the mother
A decade beyond her child’s death.
Seeing me opens an unhealed wound
And she tries fresh tears to smother.
His name was Brent, I see him yet
Dressed in all white in his casket.
I wonder at the why of his passing.
I wonder if God should a child forget.
The heat was high and rising
A shower came, but left too soon
The temp was quite surprising
It wasn't even noon
They thought it was a mirage
As they stumbled upon a spring
The backdrop created a beautiful collage
Their hearts began to sing
Steady hands unbuttoned her blouse
Desperately he dove under
Trying to distract that he was aroused
Hungry eyes, full of wonder
He was just a boy, at the brink of manhood
Had never felt a women's touch
Wearing nothing but a grin, on a rock she stood
He never wanted anything so much
She nonchalantly tied back her hair
Took each ginger step with intention
It seemed as though she wasn't scared
Deep breaths relieved his body's tension
Once immersed, she giggled with a shiver
He tried rerouting his imagination
The closer she came, his efforts would wither
He couldn't deny her artistic creation
He discretely put distance between him and his desire
As she ignored their humbled skin
Their mutual emotions bore an invincible fire
This flirtatious chase soon came to an end
She experienced a moment of shame
As she traced his pure skin
She knew their expectations weren't the same
Searching for youth, she was committing a powerful sin
She convinced herself that she was doing him a favor
To put her guilt at ease
Though his parents should have signed a waiver
He was the first to please
He placed his fingers in just the right spot
First time was the charm
He knew much more than they both had thought
Intensely, she clinched his arm
To both of their surprise, he came to power
Forced her to land with slight aggression
Took her body for just shy of an hour
It was a forbidden love making session
She lie in his arms in disbelief
Forgetting the summer's heat
To think, she thought that she was the thief
Now hooked, it was his defeat
Particles borne
from the entropic; the eventual.
The inevitable death
brings life.
Annihilation is not death,
death rides a continuum.
A wave always knows it is the water,
it rises and then ceases; continuation.
The loss of life can be
such pain, such tragedy.
But it does not have to be,
If one thinks of energy.
Particles
pieces of you, whom I love.
I can't call a particle when I miss you.
Shall we ever meet again?
Particles
Pieces of me, you took with you.
When you left too soon.
My father, my friend.
Lover,
I feel you deeply within my heart.
My particles of life stream out of me
And rage against the dying of the light.
I shall never leave your side
until the end of my life.
We can share our grief and joy,
As husband and wife.
Particles.
Bound by growth, death, love and pain.
Bound by truth, never to falter again.
For Jesse.
I wasn't ready to let go of you, no not yet...
I'll hold your memory I promise , I won't forget...
I swear that I'll pray - every little single day...
I'll always remember you , so pretty , so funny , so honest and kind...
There will never be a replacement for you , your so rare to find...
I want to be strong but I can't , you know I have a weak heart...
You know that it was crumbling and your death crashed the remaining part...
I keep hearing your screaming sound...
But how can you hear me when your sleeping inside the ground ?
Is it cold - are you scared - do you feel pain ?
I swear whenever I close my eyes I see you and I feel like I'm going insane...
Do you remember when we use to sing Christian's Aguilera ( hurt ) ?
We use to sing it cause we love it , now I sing it cause I can feel it , my heart has been burnt...
It's not fair that you left too soon...
Why you had to pay the price my shinny moon ?
Do you feel a lone ?
Does it hurts to lay your head down on a bellow made of stone ?
I keep praying for you but I don't know if you can hear...
I asked God to illuminate you from every little fear...
Dedicated to my best friend sadeem , rest upon your soul my dear one.
My Best Friend
Poem by: Flor Ramirez
To busy worrying about me
So depressed I had to flee
I ignored you when you said you were sad
I didn’t know your life was that bad
Wishing I could see you, hear your every word
Now every night, for you I pray to my lord
Both going through a rough path, going through a thing
Now if only I could see you again, so much it would mean
When it happened I felt so much sadness and anger
How could I not know your life was in danger?
I was really mad at you for leaving
Even more mad at me for not believing
Difference between us was that I reached out
But now you’re resting in peace without a doubt
Not realizing the storm that was left behind
Your mom said you are all that’s on her mind
We tried to suck it up say it was okay, even though it was a lie
You were her baby girl, my sister, how could we not cry?
I think about you every day since you been gone
I just wish I had known something was wrong
One time you told me “when I’m older ill find me a real man”
but now we couldn’t even host your sweet 16 as we planned
You left too soon, you were only 15
Your daily life of pain was a routine
One time suicide was mentioned
Oh why did I not pay attention?!
2 months later here I stand in front of your grave
If only i had stayed but I wasn’t that brave
You didn’t deserve to live in fear
You didn’t deserve to shed all those tears
But now it’s too late
You chose your fate
The smell of your paper.
The smudge of the ink on your crinkled edges.
The words I scrawled on your surface
You knew all of my secrets.
And I knew you wouldn't have told a soul.
You had a home in my backpack.
You lived there.
Day in and day out.
I took you out occasionally,
Making sure you were okay.
One day,
I left you out too long.
Right in plain view.
She came in
And Snatched you up.
And with a blink of my eye,
My whole world had disappeared
But you, you knew I would be okay.
I've tried remembering you.
But I couldn't.
My mind
was not capable of remembering
Your beauty.
You left too soon.
I can still feel your presence.
You make me keep going.
I know someday,
I will write something
That will hopefully come close to you.
As soft moonlight shone upon the maiden,
She pulled her dark hair away from her face.
With fresh flowers, her garden was laden,
And around her a nightingale did trace.
The bird then quickly vanished from her sight—
She regretted it having left too soon.
The strong wind led the bird on its high flight,
Over the water reflecting the moon.
Near the brook, it found some sticks it could use
To build a nest closer to her homestead.
The bird began flying back to its Muse,
Spreading its wings, from the water, it fled.
As the nightingale took time to linger,
The lovely maiden awoke with a yawn.
With the nightingale upon her finger,
Around her garden, she walked in the dawn.
As cathedral bells in the distance rang,
The nightingale on the maiden's hand sang.
It was a gorgeous summers day today,
not a cloud to grace the skies,
the cobalt blue that held my gaze,
while I envisioned my lovers eyes.
A radiance warmed my hair and skin,
from the ochre sun above,
my heart leapt but sank back deep within,
as I remembered you my love.
Time passed by and the light was done,
while the horizon swallowed your hair,
those golden locks of angels sun,
I still find loose in my lair
The darkness engulfed the afternoon,
in its deep and cold embrace,
it stirred up the fact you left too soon,
it was a metaphor for my empty space.
The stars began to prick the sky,
reminding me of that huge spark,
we would feel as we passed each other by,
and the time we both made a remark.
Afraid to dream I sit here awake,
and I stare to the night for some respite,
but its blackness defies me and watches me break,
and I break, and I break in the night.
True love was a lie, a cruel torturous trap,
which has me snared as it's garotting my soul,
I blundered in wasted but through no mishap,
yet I fail to comprehend it's goal.
Dawn surely breaks and birds sing their song,
as I'm crying and dying and sore,
I hope that this day my heart melts away,
and I feel nothing for no one no more.
Take me deep into the night
Give your soul felt feelings sight
Comfort me, make my heart light
As I embrace your vocal plight
Sitting alone in my bedroom chair
Forgetting all of my worldly cares
Close my eyes, you're standing there
Disrobing my conscience, completely bare
In your voice I feel your pain
Food for thought left not in vain
Telling my story in each refrain
There are no rules to this sad game
Carry me to our special place
Strum your words across my face
Dry my tears, leave not a trace
Revive those dreams I've laid to waste
You're the one I always choose
I can relate, I've worn those shoes
When daily life starts to confuse
You heal me while you sing the blues
Strike your match, relight my flame
Enrich my life, relieve the strain
You left too soon, It's such a shame
Rest in peace, Sweet Etta James
an originaal poem by the "poemdog" Daniel Turner
A year has passed since Bobbie dropped,
Leather and lace with riding crop,
She left too fast, left too soon,
She left many like me behind to swoon.
Her words of comfort never faltered,
And our minds she always altered,
Stories of sexual glitz and glam,
Simply saying 'this is who I am'.
Never afraid to speak out,
That was what Bobbie was all about,
Barely a day has past since I last thought,
Not ever forgetting what she had taught.
Now and then I admire her past,
Ensuring her memories will forever last,
I'll never forget that starry night,
When she announced I was such a delight.
Nothing turns back the second hand,
To bring back her warmth to our hand,
But her words of love will never impart,
From our fragile and broken hearts.
(C) 2016 PJ Bayliss
My little fella
I held you softly against me
For only a few minutes
Staring into the horrified eyes of a nurse
Who saw death
Where I saw love in an ocean of bitter sadness
My little fella
I gave birth to you
Alone and terrified
Under the blinding darkness of a silver neon sign
Following a failed anaesthetic
Under the hurried footsteps of a panicked nurse
My little fella
I was able to give you a name
I was able to give you an official place
In this silent, frightened world
Where every time there's a blunder
Preventing a well-deserved place
My little fella
Free yourself from me
Fly away
To other joys
With a light heart
For a beautiful illuminated life
Fly away, my little fella
I'll always be there for you
And for all those who left too soon
Without hope of a happy tomorrow
Leaving waves of unfulfilled love
That return with each generation in the hope of happy days.
Your voice all quiet now
Your laughter never to be heard again
And yet it still echoes in my head..
Your smile still plays in my mind’s eye
Feathery kisses blown from above
Floating around brushing against my face
The sadness sometimes overwhelming
When the wind blows and the flowers dance
Their multihued colors magnetize even the butterflies
Just like you always use to do…
I can’t help but smile,
remembering your love for them.
When I look at your daughter,
She reminds me about you
Even though you left too soon,
you taught her well...
At the age of thirty five,
The battle were no longer yours to fight…
Contest : Reflection
By : Wilma Neels
7th Place