Best Listlessly Poems
Trying to hide in conspicuous places
a night on the town in their false, plastic faces.
Sweetly they sweep through magnificent halls,
top-dollar galas and masquerade balls --
where always the wine is more bitter than sweet,
each girl wishing for love in her ruby-clad feet.
Perhaps scarecrows are thoughtful, and lions are brave,
and the tin-men know passion, such a boisterous parade
of hopeful young suitors, each waiting his chance
to find a young lady and win her last dance.
All tied up as prisoners with satin-silk chains
they listlessly dance as the hope from them drains.
A piano-man plinks only on the black keys:
pentatonic winds on a pentatonic breeze,
still not enough blowing to carry balloons
or to start raining houses from cyclic typhoons.
The evening draws on -- long beyond the moon’s rising,
a faint glinting of green from the city’s disguising
the envious looks in the eyes of the witches
and harsh threatening gales of the wind as it switches.
And no one is happy, none are finding their prize --
no one knows what they want, nor removes their disguise.
So the dancing is pointless, bravado is hollow
no wizardly magic can fix what will follow.
Shallow connections that lead nowhere, and quickly
the ballroom grows quiet, the witches grow prickly
the lions go fleeing, the scarecrows are clueless,
the tin-men don’t care, and that makes them the cruelest
For out in the public, among all the noise
some girls have gone missing -- and so have some boys
and in the dark shadows, all knew what occurred
but they whisper and gossip, and spread what they heard:
that it must have been mutual, it must be alright
they’re both grown adults, let’s not be so uptight.
And thus they all hide, in conspicuous places
enabling the culprits with false, plastic faces.
9/4/16
Categories:
listlessly, abuse, analogy, betrayal, dance,
Form:
Couplet
The Return of the Dragon Lord
Heart twisting in winter wind,
tripping through a water-colored dreamscape,
as if bewitched, she listlessly paces
outside his dismal, dark cave.
Peering at the distant gray hilly horizon,
she anticipates her Dragon Lord’s return.
With his golden reptilian eyes flashing,
and his mighty wings stretching across the sky,
she knows he's making his way back home to her.
Chilled to the bone, without her beloved
to cloak her in his masterful embrace,
she yearns to feel the magical warmth
of his breath lingering on her lips,
permeating her body, awakening her senses.
Consumed by an intense inner hunger,
she has totally lost her mind;
and must be completely his once more,
to quench these tormenting flames of desire
that threaten to combust from deep within
her heart, body, and soul.
A prisoner of his magnetic charms,
she's captivated by his familiar musky scent,
forever a slave to his alien mystique.
Oh, to be one with him again, to let his blood
run through her veins, transforming her.
Heart over-flowing with love, she'll wander along
these cold shores waiting for that joyous day…
when her Dragon Lord returns.
10-22-2015
Contest: Dragons
Sponsor: Silent One
Placement: 4th
Categories:
listlessly, fantasy, love, romance,
Form:
Romanticism
"Broken families beget culprits, and late remorse can never set things right"
~ By Poet.
Scenes reel back casting dark shadows,
Of the fated day I had to leave my home,
Handcuffed and guarded by cops on either side,
Despised by all as one so loathsome.
I had in me, then the heart of stone
All I could think of was my own gain.
Thoroughly swept by the rip - tide of illusion,
I had no regard for another's pain.
‘Drink life to the lees' was my credo,
So, I gambled to make a hoard of money.
Drugs and dopes gave me instant delight.
Initially my days were all too sunny.
But suddenly life derailed from its track
My wallet was like a leaking tank.
All its contents drained out in no time.
Gradually into dejection and despair, I sank.
Eliminated from life by my own misdeeds,
Weary of mind from stress and strife,
Hate grew and hardened within me as a rock.
Once I ripped my rival with a knife.
Convicted and caught red handed,
I ended up in this cheerless cell.
Within these dank forlorn walls,
I shrink like an oyster in its shell.
Everything here is dusty and rusty.
To get some peace as I attempt to sleep,
Marauding thoughts invade my brain.
Like a line of red ants, they listlessly creep.
In my ears fall the sobs of my loving mother,
Now in dumps, orphaned by her drunken husband,
I could never love my father, a true rascal
But I feel heartbroken as I think of my mother so abandoned
Categories:
listlessly, addiction, angst, depression,
Form:
Rhyme
My summer break. . . I’ve slept in late;
I wake to find a yellow glare
of sunshine through my open blinds.
And night of rain has left me heir to lethargy,
for once I’m dressed,
I barely make it down each stair.
I trudge out to the patio
to lounge in my umbrella chair.
I cannot sit there very long.
My clothes stick to me everywhere.
Humidity has made her play
for Mr. Sun, and their affair
is heating up to maximum.
Their passion now has robbed my air.
Listlessly I rise to strip
down to bra and underwear;
I figure since the yard is fenced,
what the heck! My top I’ll bare.
I set the sprinkler on me too
and sit, eyes closed, without a care.
I hear a sound; next thing I know
my eyes meet those of a frightened stare.
Giggling comes from above my fence
while I grab a shirt to hide my “pair.”
In air so slow, the boy runs fast,
and as he flees, I’m well aware
that I just played a major role
in neighbor boys’ Truth or Dare!
(by the way, pure fiction, did I fool anyone?)
Categories:
listlessly, funnyme, me,
Form:
Rhyme
Panting in low moans
Meandering through dense brush
Shrouded by evening sky above a forest
Crystallized by frozen branches
Oaks, maples, pines
Coffin wood encasing icy earth
The amber-eyed predator’s fur
Damp and matted
No prey in sight as hunger grows
While creatures huddle with their clans
In feathered nests and sheltered lairs
She trekked on frozen leaves confused
Longing for the comfort lost
She couldn’t understand her plight
Life had once been kind
As dawn dispelled the sandman
A cry I heard outside
Weak and wanting tones of desperation
A child lost? A babe who strayed?
Anxiously I donned my coat
Fearing what I might find
On this late December morn’
Listlessly she scratched and sobbed
The glass door kissed by thick ice
But when I turned the knob
And pushed the panel forth
Her tragedy bit hard and sharp
Her tender paws, raw with dried blood
Infection had sealed one eye shut
A bony spine, frostbitten ears
So fast I took her in my arms
Cradling this wayward soul
Reaching for a blanket, sharing salmon
A faint purr was my thanks
For warmth and love and food
Peering at her one good eye, I wept
Overcome with pity and grief
I realized the selfish act
That led this sweet one to my yard
College youths on Christmas recess
Left her on a nearby road
Before they joyfully headed home
I found their tiny cat today
Abandoned, nearly dead
Stung by an act of thoughtlessness
Fear not; the one-eyed cat will live
A refuge I’ll provide
But do not ask me to forgive
The sin that made her mine
For P.D.'s Pet Contest.
Dedicated to Katie Cat, my pet of more than 20 years.
Categories:
listlessly, animals, sadcat,
Form:
Narrative
I stand-
gazing at the weathered door-
beautiful the knob is old brass
foliage dark and green
protects it
an assemblage of butterflies
lilt and move musically all about
fluttering and it's
lovely
at the weathered door beautiful
and I look behind me at the whispering
foliage dark and green
a labyrinthine of twisting memories
a long path strewn with tears
woebegone and sorrowful is my journey
as I
gaze
at the weathered
door-
beautiful
and the knob of old brass beckoning
from
foliage
dark
and green
that protects
and I
step forward to open
but tangled vines
cling to me-
around my legs and arms
holding me back
and butterflies
lilt and flutter musically
a beautiful assemblage encouraging
and the past
is whispering and hissing
surreptitious
of a manuscript written
where I languor listlessly and weary
oh the murmuring memories
that hold me locked in the past
my journey to the door a struggle
but oh I love them the memories
each one
weeping I must break free of the tangled vines
of the past so I take each beautiful
tendril off each clinging vine
and lay them gently on the ground
with a kiss
and step forward frightened and quivering
placing my hand on the old brass knob
and
I open that door
the weathered door beautiful
protected by
foliage dark and green
and step through
that assemblage of butterflies
flutter musically through the opening to
a lush and green sumptuous beginning
and I follow
them
into a future
mellifluous
________________________
June 18, 2015
Free Verse
Written for the contest, ...And then I opened THAT door.
sponsor, John Lawless
First Place
Categories:
listlessly, future, introspection, life,
Form:
Free verse
Verily verily you are not all alone
Unfairness has stayed with us history has shown
Injustice to anyone is injustice to me
I lament any injustice to those yet to be
Everyone is part of the universal soul
For whom the proverbial bell truly does toll
Across our globe intolerance moves listlessly
Through compassion we find Blessed Community
I mostly worry about what I cannot see
It is on us to secure our own destiny
In united lands of the indivisible
A strong siege rages over the individual
It takes but one wise being to add to us all
One defining link between our victory and fall
Once this epic battle has been finally won
Thereby it will certainly be all said and Donne
Tribute poem to John Donne with further reference
and accreditation to Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ
and Buddha
Categories:
listlessly, america, blessing, destiny, earth,
Form:
Couplet
Allow me explain
Brethren gathered here for
Custom dictates
Due process prevail
Exaggerated much
Flaws mine-as may seem
Granted the providence of evidence you see
Highly placed the source-allegedly
Inconceivable the idea that falsehoods they be
Jury decide-be it she or be it me
Kissing and telling discretely-of course
Listlessly I will you tell this tale, you see
My wife's mother's brother's valet-who doubles as mine
Noticed a queerness about this chambermaid fine
Opulent her head with silky tresses
Perfect her skin as nothing else is
Quenching a thirst as non I ever knew
Repugnant as I found the idea,true
Sacrifices always must be made for
The greater good of humankind sake
Ungodly as you all will agree this meeting between her and me
Vestments would not keep me away
Witchcraft! That's what we suspected for how else could I a Lord be so blinded
Xylophone music was all that I heard while headily begging for her hasty embrace
Yet how was this Lord ever to know that
Zealotry was for chambermaid's too?
Categories:
listlessly, addiction, society,
Form:
Abecedarian
Beneath cool green shade
we roil in inner undulations--
a fever of hands, a pox
of sunlight glinting
high canopies of summer trees.
Creeks crackle, clear
water molding speckled
pebbles as laughter
churns cooling shade
slipping past memories,
holding moments briefly --
white seeds of cottonwood
spinning in sun, settling
listlessly on a skin
of stream.
Categories:
listlessly, life, love, passion, seasons,
Form:
Free verse
On the wind-swept Nebraska prairie sits a building in wretched shambles,
Surrounded by a sagging fence and overgrown with prickly brambles.
It was once a bustling one-room school house, abandoned long ago.
Its weather-beaten clapboards, I judged to be a century old or so.
Atop its cupola, swaying listlessly in the wind, was a rusted weather vane.
Eerily, at the whim of the wind, the school bell still tolled now and again.
Two ancient oak trees stood sentinel seeming to provide a guard,
To ensure that trespassers like me would value its past with high regard.
I warily opened the door, its rusty hinges protesting, to take a look inside.
Mice skittered across the dusty floor and cobwebs I had to brush aside.
There were well-worn desks, a blackboard and pot-bellied stove for heat.
To muse about its past and the ghosts of scholars of yore, I took a seat.
I pictured the schoolmarm who taught readin', writin' and basic math,
Who struggled to maintain order with imps who suffered her fearful wrath!
Little girls looked so prim in their pinafores and gingham frocks;
The boys wore knickers, buckled boots and gaudy argyle socks!
I could hear the droning recitations of pupils whose attention would digress,
To the ticking of the school clock anticipating the merriment of recess!
I noted relief on the teacher's face when at last the kids were released.
I sensed that she felt she had been nurturing a horde of wild beasts!
Categories:
listlessly, nostalgia, school,
Form:
Rhyme
SHELLS
sea shore
ocean calls
saunter listlessly
temple chimes serenade
emerald waves roll away
"each shell hides an untold story"
June 4, 2022
Followed format for Clarity Pyramid
Categories:
listlessly, sea, solitude,
Form:
Verse
Taking my place in your gazing blue eyes
Who stole the glow of my dawning sunrise?
As defiling your virtues you obliquely lied,
Pounding my heart till I died a little inside.
When a brilliant sunny day said goodbye
As lightening arrived to thunder blue sky
Storming my life, you left me teary eyed
Exacting high price by forfeiting my pride.
Reluctantly I disclaimed your sweet smile
As your blatant animosity put me in exile
And adulating ill-will you ceded to hate,
Trampling on destiny you altered my fate.
On my horizon cried your reign of disdain
As you rejected goodwill again and again.
Remnants of aspirations no longer claim
A desire of passions to reignite our flame.
Meaning of love soon indelibly changed
Revoking your name from souls estranged.
Hurt still remained, woefully pacified--
Lingering listlessly, till I died a little inside.
February 9, 2019
Placed first:Early March 2019 contest by Brian Strand
Placed second:I died a little inside contest by Silent One
Categories:
listlessly, betrayal, heartbreak, lost love,
Form:
Rhyme
As daylight ebbs comfy folds of colorful quilts wrap around the land
sending it into blissful slumber.
Sunset nods listlessly its orange glow stretch and yawn before receding to
distant shores.
Mountains shrink to grotesque shapes as a playful moon skips high into the sky
teasing shapes on the earth below.
Night creatures rejoice setting up a cacophony of sounds
that urge us into a place of peaceful Neverlands.
Tree shadows stark against the darkness weave a drunken path in eerie
silence to the sound of their own befuddled music
while the moon flings these unwelcome guests against houses and
skyscrapers on high.
Old buildings creak with weariness brittle joints bowing under the weight of
daily toil
Airplanes drone weary to the bones eager for rest on the runway 's breast.
Neon lights flit and swirl a disco rythm throbbing heartbeats in the night
while light bulbs doze under dusty shades.
Later yet the snore of man strikes the final gong long before the wake-up tap
of the rising sun.
Categories:
listlessly, peace, moon,
Form:
Free verse
I Into the void my eye peeks,
N Never faltering from it’s path.
C Cosmic dust
E Exudes etheric bliss, as I float
L Listlessly, into quantum bliss.
E Each soul is pure energy;
S Suspended in space in a
T Timeless realm
I Intrigued by
A Astrological myths among the stars,
L Longing to stay forever among them.
L Life here among the planets
I Is true euphoria; I am one with the all;
M Many-particles, energy
B Blending, bonding, with the all, the
O One.
8-21-19
"Pick A Title, Vol 8 - Acrostic - Poetry Contest"
Edward Ibeh
Categories:
listlessly, philosophy, poems, poetry, psychological,
Form:
Acrostic
She looked at the mirror
She took in her swollen eyes
Puffy from last night's tears
Swollen eyes
Reflecting her swollen heart
Swollen from too much scar tissue
Swollen from the surge of emotions
That had expanded its walls to near breaking
She listlessly dabbed at her eyes with some water
Eyes that had been called beautiful
Captivating
Bewitching
Enticing
Alluring
Now….an awful mess
She looked at her face
Sighing
She crawled back to her bed
To nurse her pain
To regain hours
Stolen away
From last night’s sleep
And somewhere there
In her swollen heart
A little fissure appeared
Imperceptible to her
And the overflow of emotions
The overflow of blood
Found release
Drop by drop
Bit by bit
A growing trickle
While she slept
While she wept
Her life drained away
While she cursed the day
She was born
Not realizing
That she would not live to see another morn
Her little heart would rest
Her little eyes would close
Swollen eyes
Swollen heart
No more....
Her beauty restored
In a land where
Betrayal would be no more
Eileen Manassian Ghali
Categories:
listlessly, betrayal,
Form:
Free verse