Best Lei Poems
A rainbow took my breath away
Whilst on a train one summers day
Her vibrant arc I was in awe
Though folk beside me never saw
With heads bowed low they missed the show
The screens their windows, don’t you know
All Mother Nature’s flawless gems
Score well below the latest trends
Written 28th December 2019
Lay poetry
8 lines ~ 8 syllables ~ AABBCCDD
POTD - 29 December 2019
Contest: LAY IT ON ME 8X8
Sponsor: Charles Messina
1st PLACE
Contest: Strand Select 6
Sponsor: Brian Strand
HONORABLE MENTION
1st PLACE in Best New Poems
16th - 27th January 2020
Published in a previous Poetry Soup Anthology 2020
is love to be a wilted rose
to fade beneath the winter snows
to pierce itself with its own thorn
its beauty hide in death to mourn
i watch it bloom from tiny seeds
a spark of lust from passion bleeds
unfold itself within a kiss
then fade within the dying bliss
December 30, 2019
Having been alone for Yuletide
On New Year’s morn, she stared outside
Neighbors were packing lights away
To place in storage, where they’d stay
For such décor, she’d lost her taste
As celebrating seemed a waste
And she knew well this was her last
Her heart belonged to Christmas past
December 28, 2019
For Charles Messina’s “LAY It on Me” contest
Let's celebrate Lei day today
In pageants with a King and Queen
In flowers of each island's hue
A day in which we extol spring.
A day of Aloha's spirit
Where music's shared in hula dance.
Children wear each island's colors
In long satin gowns that enhance
The royal court displayed in schools
That's honored the Hawaiian way.
Let us not forget the May pole
Of other lands on our Lei day.
Take this garland of sweet flowers
Please wear it 'round your neck with pride.
Let us capture the Aloha spirit
Of love in which we all abide.
© Connie Marcum Wong
Happy May Day and Lei Day to everyone!
Note: On May first...May Day is known in Hawaii as
Lei Day. It is a celebration of Hawaiian culture, or the aloha spirit. People commonly celebrate by giving gifts of leis to one another. Schools also put on plays[2] and elect a Lei Day court of Kings and Queens to represent the different islands.[3] Each island has its own symbol that is composed of a color and a flower. Hawaii (the big island) is red, Maui is pink, Oahu is yellow, Molokai is green, Lanai is orange, Kahoolawe is gray, Kauai is purple, and Niihau is white. In the same order the flowers are lehua, lokelani, 'ilima, kukui, kauna'oa, hinahina, mokihana, and a pupu shell. Niihau is the only island without a plant as its symbol. The link below has more information about Lei Day.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Day
We sail away beneath the sun -
vows made. Our journey’s now begun.
We glide till twilight’s tangerine
drips into ocean’s azure-green.
To shore we’re led by June’s light breeze.
You give my hand a little squeeze.
We wait for time most opportune
for honey underneath the moon!
Jan. 5, 2019
for the Lay It On Me - 8X8 Poetry Contest of charles messina
rhyme pattern: aabbccdd
Passion for Plumaria
Oh you glorious Plumaria tree
With rich blossoms of pink or gold and white.
Your sweet ambrosial nectar pleases me,
Your lei placed 'round my neck is a delight.
Tropical fragrance wafting in the breeze
Favored flower by each Hawaiian guest,
Grows in abundance on our floral trees
So, with lei makers they become a quest.
Their softest velvet petals grace the face.
Wedded, denotes blooms worn behind left ears,
A local code for those who share this place
In tradition that goes back many years.
A blossom so revered, yet rife
Which is known to express eternal life.
7-23-18
Your Finest 2018 Sonnet Poetry Contest
sponsored by Mark Massey
Sunsets melt in a forest glen,
and a white horse rests in the Zen.
A blue wren on a rock perches,
and mingling are leaning birches.
Bright and colorful wildflowers sway,
and water lilies twirl and play.
A swift stream of polished stone turns,
and I am lost among the ferns !
__________________________
December 30, 2019
Poetry/Lay/Into a Wild Abyss
Copyright Protected, ID 19-1213-662-02
All Rights Reserved. Written Under Pseudonym.
Written for the contest, Lay It On Me
sponsor, Charles Messina
Second Place
No Niihau friend
To see forbidden Aden
Where the time stands still
=======================
Fourth Placement
Contest: Tropical Treasures
a lei
warmly undulates in the harbor,
scented blossoms in the surf,
welcoming each voyager
with frangipani, plumeria, shells and
haku mele. the ukulele and current
gently pulls with mellifluous undertow.
a garland aloha and hula hips
enhance each Polynesian hug
in passionate sunrise and sunset hues.
8/7/2018
haku mele — weaving a poetic text, chant, or song
Whole people know my story
Feel terribly not so sorry
Made a crazy poems about myself
Just want to put them on my shelf.
Here’s another poem from my lips
Giving lessons from my trips
I’ll keep on writing till end of the day
Though I’ll not receive any good pay.
I can write thousands of words
Write something about your precious Lords
Spend a time right here at my side
My mind is writing from my deepest inside.
It’s not about glory or fame
A passion burning that is so hard to tame
Whether I have good poems or bad,
It’s only way for me not to get sad.
They called me incredible “Lei Strauss”
One who keeps trying and bagging the cross.
I won’t be blinded by your light
All I know my poems are getting to right
I‘d love to view the northern lights,
a stunning sight which brings delights
Dark skies awash with vivid blues,
with pinks and green or yellow hues
A rainbow in the evening sky -
this spectacle would catch my eye!
To see these lights would make my day ...
must visit Iceland or Norway!
Checked with how many syllables – 8 per line
LAY It On Me - 8x8 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Charles Messina
1/3/20
I saw her first on windswept plain
Her gold hair shone like sunlit grain
Her skin as fair as cloud above
A form that spoke to me of love...
She dainty stepped; I held my breath
My heart did gasp, a gasp of death
For she was lame, as lame could be
Would love still fain join her with me?
December 29, 2019
LAY It On Me - 8 x 8 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Charles Messina
+ STRAND SELECT 5 Contest, any theme any form
Sponsor: Brian Strand
I trapped my yodel to you, in a conch shell
Then threw it in an ivory well
Yodel-lei-hee-you, what-did-I-do?
I made a wish to get it out
But the un-wishing well had no doubt
That in its arms, was where it should stay
With the rest of the shells I’ve yodeled away
I-keep-missing-you, yodel-lei-boo-hoo
I should be thankful an echo hasn’t escaped -
I can imagine the smirk it would put on your face
And I won’t give you that smug satisfaction
When all this is, is a delayed reaction
Yodel-lei-hee-smirk, you’re-a-cheating-jerk
Soon I’ll stop yodeling for you, and when I do,
I’ll seal the well of yodel-lei-hee-hell, and reinstitute
Forgetting you - yodel-lei-hee-who?
7/20/11
For "Sounds of a Cry" contest
Mum sent me off to Sunday School
To learn about the Golden Rule
But Satan said,
"Look! Ilene's shed!
What shall we do for May Day Fool?"
I gave a glance but did she see
Then she glanced, and looked at me
Instantly I sensed attraction
Tho' the look took but a fraction,
For happenstance, it paved the way
Ensuring that we met that day
So here am I, in love with you
I now believe... dreams can come true.
Entry for
LAY It On Me - 8x8 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Charles Messina
29/12/2019. Placed=1st.