Best Lofts Poems
It has stood for decades along the county gravel road.
Skittering mice and barn owls now call it their abode.
What was once a stately building is now a shambles,
Surrounded by barren fields and prickly brambles.
Where once its weather-boarding was a bright cherry-red,
Due to the ravages of time, they're now a silvered-gray instead.
Yet can be seen a faded Mail Pouch Tobacco sign on its weathered side,
And a rusty weather-vane twisting in the wind, though a bit cockeyed!
Seasons of howling gales have striven to raze its sturdy oaken beams,
But they've held the old barn together though straining at its seams.
Its cavernous lofts once abounded with fragrant alfalfa hay,
That provided children a playground on many a rainy day.
It sheltered horses, sheep and cattle on frigid winter nights,
And for lack of electricity, it was lit by flickering lantern lights.
It was built when neighbors helped neighbors who were skilled,
At wielding hammer and saw and cherished great pride in their guild.
(The old barn of which I speak still stands on Indiana's Farmers' Pike,
Where I spent many happy times as an unassuming Hoosier tyke!)
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
Was Selected as Poem Of The Day by Soup 26 July 2016
Categories:
lofts, farm, nostalgia,
Form:
Rhyme
Hewn in verse and ancient lore,
It descends through an open door
To place its fingers on mortal souls,
On meager pleas on lifeless shoals.
Far below where creatures dwell,
Its surging scorn is born as rising embers swell.
Small shadows merge where thoughts collect,
And pierce the fog of day,
Murmured sounds rise to settle on unsympathetic play.
Cast aside each whimper lost within a chastening howl;
Hidden in burrows, mortals scurry
And feel the weight of worry.
Dark whispers mingle ravenous desires
From misty lofts in chambers forlorn,
From anvil thrones their cries adorn the morn.
From a heavenly palace, they scatter stones of malice;
Sparks of thunder pierce the night,
Then fade from sight.
Their cold embrace excites our race;
Unleashed hordes reap our toil,
And plunder our grace.
Categories:
lofts, metaphor, nature, weather,
Form:
Narrative
so tell me then illustrious men
who've wandered far beyond the ken
Of we who strive with words and pen
to tell the world of cock and hen
who roosted in the way back when
in lofts of thatch and wicker den
resting in the soggy fen
Or tending hind in mountain glen
Beside the hearths so plastered then
with ashes mixed in salted mud
to hold the heat of hand split wood
beyond the time of burning
well past the times of yearning
like cockled eggs and oaten whey
to hold us through another day
Until the long ships make their way
Into this mountain sheltered bay
to give us news of how they fared
so we may write and spread the word
far into times ahead of all our men so dead
who sailed the seas and conquered dread
while we who shiver in the night
and stubbornly record our plight
weaving rhyme and beating time
with words to be remembered
Categories:
lofts, historywords,
Form:
Iambic Pentameter
I left out riding my bike down
first street over looking the
wildly calm river artist's lined
bicentennial entrance way where
Thomas Edison Rockefeller
and Ford feasted on clams
my mind wandered about
the timing of the dem lights to
brighten the garden lofts above
the streets soft jazz from
Billie holiday rang out down
old Hendry street my heart strings
mingled with the Sunday drivers
passing by after mass fondly
trying to pick me up leaving
the shops it was noon it was
damp the sun peeked in behind
the gulf today a few children
skipped by carrying balloons
while the fishermen tossed nets
near the shore sand collected
beneath my toes as two boats
docked this was home my life
an yet the Caribbean whispered
to me waves slammed against
the stone walls I felt a few sprinkles
I quickly dashed into the book store
on the corner while the aroma of fresh
French bread gather all of my senses
luring me to a sit down with brunch
tiny raisin bagels diced mangos
inside a vintage wine glass
one thousand sparrows flew
backwards within the breeze
as I rest on the steps of St Francis
Categories:
lofts, home, inspirational, memory,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
Tempting balm tonics reposed fantasist,
Panacea liquifies mirage views,
Crafts allusive lofts energies persist,
Twain heart's favor lips a desire to schmooze.
Elixir defines the gist of lovers,
Exposes the length of listed measures,
Hearts and souls, supernatural pleasures,
Cascade gifted juice as meant lips puckers.
Charts a course of innumerable sips,
Bottled refinery impatient lips,
Passion extremes supple to its excess,
Forward sweethearts immortal kiss access.
Tinctured herbs ripen souls remarkably,
Drink-filled lovers strengthen eternally.
2019 October 15
Rhyme scheme; abab, cddc, eeff, gg
howmanysyllables;
14 lines x 10 syllables per = 140 syllables total
Categories:
lofts, deep, desire, fate, magic,
Form:
Sonnet
The desert ships plod across the dreary splintered sands
Their sinking hooves paddle wearily in the tan of dunes
Shoving a daunting mist of dust
That lofts to hatch a ceremony of omens
The desert speaks, the desert plays its harp
Every step pulls the thin fabric of survival
And the dying travellers remain tensive
Their yawning will to survive starves
And the riders gutter down every calorie into its mouth
Feeding their sinew to cling on.
The herky-jerky of the saddle
Irons flat their leathery palms
And their grip blisters
The pride of lions living in the camels' snorts
Gush a din of anguish with every roar
The desert speaks, the desert plays its harp
The wilting souls speak an ocean tongues
Yet all understand the one language of the desert
The scroll is spread and its tan await ink
Each camel writes its story
Footstep after footstep, line after line
The grains of sand are filled with memories
And soon the desert storms will lay flat a fresh page
To embrace the succeeding authors
Categories:
lofts, africa, boat, voyage,
Form:
Free verse
Outside these walls that trap me deep inside
Freedom was amiss, time lofts in a ride
I seek the highest heights, up and beyond
Before me is the moon, sending its charm
I explore this intriguing moon I see
Simple and with a great solid beauty
Dragons take me to the upper limits
I must ride with them, I’ll not ever quit
The sky is my ruby isle, great delight
Harping over what was beside our sight
The moon was blue, which allured us to fly
Cool as the midnight winter air so dry
I left the walls of boredom to the sky
Escaped with the dragons not knowing why
Russell Sivey
Categories:
lofts, moon, sky,
Form:
Sonnet
Because-love exults eternally, universal
peace, and so I say Love- in its benignity ...
recuses all ... ~and perfect- and servant
in their fervent manner;- integrity,
receptivity- and amenability
illustrious and moreover
devoted in their richness,
breed thy greater influence
of peace throughout the years,
sanctifying themselves forever in
their innocence, becoming the
fortunate prize ... an altruistic
offering, and humble sacrifice,
given for all to embrace through
faith, a certain repose;- and everlasting
liberty. While- clemency, oh Thy generous
clemency, emancipates-knavery's tomfoolery,
and suggested to me, and granted as a wonderful
opportunity, grace ... is the universal proposition
dancing through time hand in hand within the arms
of love; relishing in the promotion of her deliverance,
and so I say, when this hope of my days reprieve ...
has come to pass ... beckon me on- to know
this- simple delight, and hold me in Thy
loving keep.Yes bring me Thine heavenly
Kite to greet me. Secure me there, and lay me
down then-under the assurance, and gentle
comfort of her wings. Yes raise me up ... and
hear me oh Lord in my plea I pray. (("Oh liberate
me",)) ("Carry my soul off with her to Thee".) (("Let
thy love shower-down (over me".))) So I may
embrace for myself, again, thine tender arms,
of mercy ... . Precious-tears-offered in-faith ... fall,
God-catches them places them, within His Soul's
heavenly-amphora, and with a sway of His Mighty
Hand, plucks-up His eminent-Knowledge-honed
by Holy Quill. Upright and looking strait into
His vision for us of the new day. Offers-the
many consummate opportunities riding high
on the fringe of His promise, granted in welcome.
Painting a Holy Journey,evolving amid a certain
solace and freedom. Moving on into veracious days
with Him lasting on forever. Exiting beyond higher lofts of earthly
skies and rolling lands advancing in humble reverence descending
down from the openness of the Heavens. Rewriting yet again; another-story
in person for each individual. Yes for all life; far-greater-and-even greater
still ... than the others gone before.
Categories:
lofts, uplifting
Form:
Prose Poetry
I vomit sheets of bile
from a pit of transgression
lazy in splendor
behind glassy pages
laminated by decadence
while craving any space
away from the hero-machine
and the fashion of scant
that lofts opinion
into the stratosphere
to lope with the garbage
circling the globe.
Spent cycles of promotion
line the pen I sequester myself
within until every whim dangles
disposable in function,
another reminder of the
transparency of flesh
strutting so confident
the eye strains to find
marvels of creation divine
tangled in the dynamic
code of existence.
Only in the negative
wisp of velveteen darkness
does a whisper of pattern
beyond word or image
reveal more than superficial
slogans calling the pure
towards the galleon assembled
without the vantage of dream
to bombard all genius towards
self-desecrated loathing
for the senselessness
of this naked plight.
Is it any wonder
I can't relate to you
when buried behind
such garbage?
Categories:
lofts, confusion
Form:
Free verse
I come to you,
hands surrendered, open,
full of heavy wounds.
Oh the drips of precious life,
those you gather in your breath,
to nurse your blackened heart.
I say you are a civil servant,
You think I mean saviour.
Whatever you are,
it is a gateway,
a tightrope.
You cross unknown voids,
air does not move you.
It erodes you faster because you do not sway.
I have the idea to show you my gums,
as if this means I pose no threat.
Not sidetracked by pearly whites,
you tell me I reek of failure.
I find us hidden under floorboards,
swimming in dark pools of unknown fish.
No longer ignorant.
I push you into lofts of darkness,
you confront the monsters alone.
I knew they were there,
claws,
scratching through my ceiling.
I sought this hell,
this
oblivion,
now I am here,
there is no place like home.
Here,
the windows only open
when our eyes close.
Categories:
lofts, dream,
Form:
Cunning charm cheers
Flick fickle fear
Rest rustic rhymes
Coin constant chimes
Be beyond base
Face fleeting face
Fixate fond feel
Hidden hurts heal
Treasure tough times
Reap rapture's rhymes
Wonder wets words
Happy hurls heard
Calm choice cryptic
Mind moves mystic
Touch tangent taut
Niche nimble nought
Sighs screaming soft
Lewd laughter lofts
Touch tickles terse
Voice veers vile verse
Light lingers long
Speak sanguine strong
Leon Enriquez
08 June 2015
Singapore
Categories:
lofts, change,
Form:
Alliteration
When summer is gone
Clouds start their move with a scurry
As if to attend to some urgent work
Taking their move as a harbinger,
Birds and animals reset their homes
And preserve foods in secret stores
Get ready, the farmers, with ploughs and processed seeds
Men take out their umbrellas from lofts.
Mothers wait eagerly for children’s comeback from school.
Children look like heavy weight champions with waterproof jackets.
Youth rush to restaurants to relish hot and yummy savouries.
The poor old men try to patch up their thatched huts.
Villagers offer reverence to gods for good rain
A huge locomotion everywhere
Pitter-patter rain drops
Come down with flashes and splashes.
Placed: 1st
Categories:
lofts, rain,
Form:
Free verse
~ Precious-tears-offered in-faith ... fall, God-catches them places
them, within His Souls heavenly-amphora, and with a sway of His Mighty Hand,
plucks-up His eminent-Knowledge-honed by Holy Quill. ~
~ Upright ... and looking strait into His vision for us of the new day. Offers
the many consummate opportunities riding high on the fringe of His
promise, granted in welcome. Painting a Holy Journey, evolving amid
a certain solace and freedom. Moving on into veracious days with Him
lasting on forever. Exiting beyond higher lofts of earthly sky's and rolling
lands advancing in humble reverence descending down from the openness
of the Heavens. Rewriting yet again; another-story in person for each individual.
Yes for all life; far-greater and-even-greater still ... than the others gone before. ~
~ Carrying within it ... the treasures revealed of Him strewn about found soaring
aloft the reality of Him granted and awakened devout of their surrender. Whispering,
of the latter days grateful of the many gone by. ~
~ As tender kisses resinating from-His heart of-mercy, grace-the folds-
every-nook-and-cranny-of the-lands. The-fullness-of His-consciousness-
the very-presence-of His-greater-hope ... has-placed-its-sweetness-rising-up-
in its-essence. Within-lowly-laying-effervescent; droplets-glistening-in the-
light, of His-joyous-rejoinder. Given for all; in love. Carried-in the-honest-
taste-the-freshness; of the precious morning-dew, and-in her-innocence;
truth; e'er-aware; and-seeing this-and being-fond of-His-presence thriving-within-
the-relative-ease and-dancing amid-the peace, emanating-from the-perfect-fruition-
of His-love. ~
~ Moves-to-cherish too, the-pureness ...
of-the-union ... ~
~ While rising, in-a blaze-of His-Glory; from the ashes of the past. A
new-day budding in the-wake of-its-freedom. Amid royal fields-growing-
still-fragrant more brilliant elaborate; of lavender. Has felt the-pleasure
of-His passion too, and-given the true-warmth and goodness-He has-always
been-open to provide. ~
~ Pausing-amid this beauty seen still rising in-spite-of-this out-of-the-ashes-
of-the-hate of the days of our past.
His-love remains, abides-for-us.
Why not-we-too all-move, to-look-to-cherish this like the-innocent; in their
freedom are-always striving ... to-do? ~
Categories:
lofts, inspirational
Form:
Prose Poetry
I wish our story never
faded away like a dream
and lost its meaning in reality.
If there was love there,
it was ghost-like and soundless,
and lost maybe in my hope
somewhere—bouncing—
off of the walls we have
built to protect ourselves.
Into the night that hope
went—seen no longer—
expected no longer—as the
dawn loyally lofts.
Categories:
lofts, anxiety, conflict, creation, deep,
Form:
Free verse
Stone Spires
Stone cathedral spires rise
Sharply
From freely flowing waters
Birthing rebirth -
Lifting up unto the eternal
A psalm
A canticle
To celebrate the seasons;
Singing celebration in Heaven's waiting ears;
Reaching down to lift up
Majestic mountain praise
Through hallowed red rock halls
With lyrics of the hawk
And meadowlark -
Walls decorated by leafy banners in many hues
Of whispering
Aspen leaves
Fluttering in perpetual praise
Robed in crystal cleansing rains;
No prodigal peaks
Sneaking away
From the thanksgiving song
As rounded stepping-stones welcome enter
To capture adoration
With stars that glitter -
Celestial fugitives -
Chanting formed
By melody
Heard from lofts of crags
Exalting,
Highland descants
Following the harmonies
Of renewing waters
Sounding then resounding,
Call and respond,
Captured then released
Vibrating through the sanctuary stones;
Worship choruses,
Breathes with the breathless
Waiting
For a cradle song,
- Vitality renewing -
In newborn cathedral strains
Rising up
On wings
Of stirring sunlight
Matins
A cosmic shimmer
Awakening
An evensong
of waning light
Eternal beating
Rhyme
And
Rhythm
Stretching up
For majesty
Into a bottomless sky
Stanzas touching winter storms
Mantras tickling stars through moonlight
Pulsing through the flowing winds
And ever wending waters.
Categories:
lofts, mountains, music, nature, prayer,
Form:
Free verse