Best Loped Poems
Fragile hearts
For many years romance blossomed covertly
Robert was the man of Ami’s dreams. Sadly
Ami's parents had promised her hand to
Giurkiran and the arranged marriage was to take place in
India. Ami rebelled against her parents wishes, she
Loved Robert with all her heart so they
Eloped and married in secret.
Her parents immediately disowned her and
Even when Ami eventually gave birth to
Ajar their first grandchild, they refused to see them.
Realisation finally dawned and day after day Ami’s
Tears fell. Unable to cope with what she had done
She died of a broken heart.
10~16~16
Contest Fragile hearts
Sponsored by John Hamilton
Written: February 17, 2025 for Contest by Joseph May
**********************
Stalking dark bloom at night
Quick, lithe out of sight
Prowling stealth, jump right
Hushed, no sound at all
Felt lost, loped through wall
Hared wild, can't be found
Strained, waiting rebound
Inked heart without sound
Charging in hushed hour
Blooms this dear flower
Deafening hush dour
Mistress of the Quill
Twists you to her will
Ink in hand looks still
Wings served the goal scrawl
Sounds whisper, thoughts call
They flew in bunches so big
it’s impossible to describe the enormity
of the clouds they formed in otherwise clear sky.
They would dance and bounce in unison
as they moved from one feeding area to the next.
And as they did, you could see the light change
in the cloud as they would suddenly shift directions.
It was like a wave moving across the group
from the lead to the last in flight.
How could they change like that, so quickly,
all together, and without a single bird loosing its place?
Their wings made a whishing sound
as they pushed their way through the air
and you could hear them chirping as they
rhythmically loped and paddled their wings,
preserving their position in the multitude.
I have walked for a mile
in her footsteps.
She
offers a cooling balm
for the heat of my frustrations.
Leaning against that solidness gives pause,
to stop and drink in
the shade of her wisdom.
And I
marvel at the juxtaposition
of her willowy to my thick;
her smooth to my rough;
my prickly attitude to her leafy logic.
How she
lends a new perspective on
an idea ripening, dropping and withering;
a heart left in a mulch pile or
a dangerous flicker of doubt to be snuffed out.
Mirth crinkles in the corners of her eyes
as she too
carries faded battle gashes
where love has loped off
a once extended branch.
Her grove collectively offers comfort
for fruit born of loins,
falling and nestling
within rolling distance.
No more soothing a sound can be heard,
than rootsy laughter of womenfolk
of trees of magashi.
Copyright © Sandra Sealy, 1999
*First published as Guest Poet @ Poet Whispers
http://poetwhispers.wordpress.com
The ol' saddle warn't much to look at but it was all Buck could afford.
He paid Billy five bucks fer it when Billy died and loped to his eternal reward!
The saddle fit his hoss Dan like an ol' shoe and sat Buck's buttocks mighty well!
Fer twenty bucks a month and found, Buck cowboy'd fer an outfit called Ruby Bell.
The saddle was scratched and gouged from chasin' steers through salt pine brush,
And stained here 'n' there with terbaccy chaw and splotches of muddy slush!
The other fellers made sport of Bucks well-worn saddle but he cared nary a tittle.
He'd jes' grin his boyish grin and loose a well-aimed stream of terbaccy spittle!
He rode many a mile astraddle fixin' bobbed war fences and corallin' stray cattle,
On night herd duty or on the trail in snow, rain and dust but he allus won the battle!
He rode the ol' saddle herdin' longhorns on the Chisholm Trail up t'ward Abilene,
Abidin' cantankerous trail bosses, rushin' rivers and many a perilous ravine!
He and Dan tried their luck calf ropin' at the annual rodeo down the road a piece,
But a wily calf busted the horn off'n the saddle, bringin' his rodeo career to a cease!
Buck found comfort usin' the saddle as his piller 'round the campfar at night.
He'd cuddle it like a dance hall queen he knowed 'til dawn's blindin' light!
Buck was as bow-legged as a pair of pliers from sittin' saddle fer many a decade.
He and Dan and the saddle had become mighty weary and somewhat frayed!
"Boys" he said, pointin' to a knoll, "When I come to the end of the trail and I'm dead,
Bury me beneath that pine yonder along with my saddle as a piller fer my head!"
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(c) All Rights Reserved
A cosmic clash of epic force
Split Tiamet like brittle thread
Nibiru hugged its distant course
Propelling moons to gnaw and shred
Kingu marveled at what was formed
Asteroids shed from that vast orb
The watery giant was transformed
Leveling as third to absorb
Many long elliptic passes
Tugged Nibiru over ages
Until those once noble gasses
Failed to impede starlight rages
Over this time the shard revolved
Taking shape as the oceans churned
The sun ensured the rock evolved
Microbes cracked until life returned
Expelled from the Nibiru throne
Alalu jumped to explore Earth
While he ventured the slice alone
He found metal of precious worth
At last the solution was found
To save them from the harsh daylight
Fragments of gold if spread around
Would shelter Nibiru’s grave plight
The new king Anu sent his son
To work his wisdom to flourish
Igigi ships loped as they spun
While miners jabbed deep to nourish
The Anunnaki soon rebelled
Their fate of hellish work and toil
A plan was hatched to force them quelled
New primitives should pull the coil
Enki tripped the genetic gun
Splicing the double helix code
Our ancient line had just begun
Demanding that we haul their load
At last the life goddesses tired
Of the chore of birthing the clones
Genetic changes were required
To allow our own labor moans
The Igigi succumbed to lust
Swooping down to mate with the slaves
Enlil pondered their breach of trust
This threat shall be deluged by waves
Graciously Enki warned one man
To gather the seeds of all life
Nibiru yanked our fragile span
Tossing the seas with driving strife
Once the flood waters receded
Kingship descended from the stars
Eager gods learned we were needed
Sinai rebuilt upon the scars
Marduk groaned with greedy power
Seeking to build a rival port
Enlil grasped this Babel tower
Condemning them in holy court
The gate of god was crushed outright
Striking our enlightenment down
Forcing Marduk to flee from sight
Till he seized his Egyptian crown
Sinai hungered the jealous god
With hopes to steal the path to space
So they launched a fatal petard
Baalbek wiped out without a trace
At last the minions awaken
To crush the repression they face
Amen-Ra remains unshaken
Even by our haste to erase
IF YOU PULL A LONG FACE : Part XII
IF you pull a mighty long face
Such as even Bollywood can't display
Put not the blame on the mixed human race
The fault most likely comes from animal DNA
Now if you go on pulling that long long face
People'll rightly think you're going out of your way
To attract attention to your you-think handsome face
And some might wish you'd look in the mirror right away
Yet if you insist on pulling that long-gone face
The kind Penelope pulled with suitors in Odyssey
While Odysseus loped with sirens on Scylla & Charibdis
You risk adorning some niche at museums in decay
If you can't resist pulling that long-tired face
Whenever your siblings marry and are whisked away
Remember Sita pining for Rama in Ravana's Palace
Even if some still wonder at Hanuman's role in epic play
So if you must still keep pulling that long face
Favourite sport with chicks watching films from Bombay
Just keep watching Beau-Boy Khan in tear-jerking DEVDAS
The all-time record at pulling faces in every love-sick way
© T. Wignesan - Paris, January 7, 2019
Every runner has a reason
Why he’s in the race
And each makes the decision
Of attire, gear and pace.
I stood out in the freezing cold
And watched them dash on by,
United by a goal, yet
Most unique in how they’d try.
Across the street, I saw some signs –
“Go Oz!” in big bold print
So Oz (whoever he might be)
Would catch it on his sprint.
Then suddenly a roar rang out
And it was what I guessed;
A shirtless runner came in view
With OZ spelled on his chest.
He loped along with arms aloft,
His face a beaming grin
As if, by seeing all his friends,
He’d gone and snared a win.
His finish time’s a mystery
But surely such support
Helped both Oz and all the racers
In the spirit of the sport.
February and its much-vaunted chill
comes down with vengeance, and does what it will,
this lake that in summer jams full with boats
is now frozen over, nothing can float.
Most people stay home at this time of year,
and a whole new set of sportsmen appear,
seeing as I walk, the snowmobile tracks,
patterns in the snow, absent where it lacks.
There are lots of trails in the nearby woods,
lots say the sledding around here is good,
I see them out there, riding towards the sun,
a pack of black wolves, having lots of fun,
still here the hum of engines blaring far off,
I think I’d try it, if not for the cost…
A few yards ahead sit a small shanty,
a man drills the ice so vigorously,
uses a hand-augur, this guy’s old school,
looking to find fish in waters so cool…
he has three lines out, now it’s time to wait,
drink beer with his friends, shoot bull half the day,
hoping to see what his efforts will bring,
only the steadfast go for ice-fishing.
Beyond that are tracks, coyote from the looks
the lake now a highway, free of the woods,
you see where they loped, crossing back and forth,
to field and forest, always seeking more...
more rodents hiding beneath the white snow,
the ice makes it much easier to go.
In the distance a town, by the lakeside
blocks of ice formed in a castle do rise,
cut from this same lake, for the festival,
the kids run around it, so life’s not dull,
and by that rises the toboggan chute,
its outrun is the plain of icy blue,
every year folks go down, sometimes quite far,
then walked back, amazed, by just where they are.
I can understand that, making my trek,
as I walk along, I must crane my neck
to take in the mountains, brilliant and clear,
unobscured because no trees grow out here,
the broad, sweeping vistas that we all love,
for me the feeling of that is enough,
most folks stay inside, but I love to take
long walks out upon a well-frozen lake.
...The two toughs turned, both their eyes went wide,
then as one they stared in laughing,
“Look at this fool, he thinks he’s a cowboy!
I think his head must’ve taken a rapping.”
They advanced with their blades, not worrying,
from the look of him they judged him insane
Maxon had seen this often before,
modern folks often saw him this way.
He took aim at the thug on the left,
and fired a slug straight into this knee,
the enforcer went down, screaming aloud,
the other thug froze in disbelief.
Maxon pointed the gun, carefully took aim,
the thug dropped his blade and sprinted away,
behind them both the beaten man arose,
he sputtered, unsure of what to say.
He looked at Maxon, his horse and his gun,
his white hat and his vest and his spurs,
he said,”W-who are you? How can this be?”
Everything about it struck him as absurd.
Maxon said,’I’m a man who had many sins,
committed so many years ago,
but the Man Upstairs thought I was worth saving,
so this is the life that I now know.
“This is what He chose to be my fate,
Mm way of paying back all of my debts,
I know some day He will say it’s enough,
but that day has not happened just yet.
“You are not the first that I’ve had to save,
but I warn to you to make better choices in life,
because in fourteen decades of doing this,
I’ve never saved anybody twice.
“Get out of this town, away from those thugs,
from the vices that have taken their turn,
most criminals don’t end up like me,
they just get tossed in the pit to burn.”
The young man just nodded, too stunned to speak,
then scampered off past Maxon’s horse,
he prayed to God that his words had hit home,
then with a heavy sigh, altered his course.
The burning in his gut had subsided,
no more shooting would be done this night,
so Maxon loped off on his ageless stead,
to continue his long, ordained ride.
IV.
As the werewolves all funneled to that narrow gorge,
the brush was pulled away, revealing a cannon’s bore,
the beasts were to furious to see they were caught,
Bob pulled back on the cord, fired silver grape-shot.
Small spheres of silver shot out like a big shot-gun,
carpeting the eight monsters in their frantic run,
the beasts were thrown backwards, the silver cutting deep,
only one of the monsters managed to keep his feet.
The rest all went down, with painful howls they died,
the survivor couldn’t walk, but he desperately tried.
Sol turned and looked down, at predators turned to prey,
and saw the last survivor wore the vertebrae.
Sol turned to Bob, motioned to the dying monster,
said,”After what this fool did, none would call in murder.”
Bob took out his gun, and with his heart thumping fast,
sent Alamo Rick to hell with one mighty blast.
And in the moonlight they saw the bodies returns
to the forms of men who had met the fate they earned.
“Deals with the devil always seem to end like this,
it all starts out with power, then leads them amiss.”
It was the next morning when the town all came out,
the sight of ruined bodies snuffing out all doubts,
some thanked Sol for his courage, but some were afraid,
some called him a mad killer, while others just prayed.
For several weeks after Sol remained in town,
he slept with the line-girls, drank lots of whiskey down,
until one day a post-riders gave him a small slip,
he frowned and prepped his horse for a very long trip.
But before he left, he came up to Bob Harney,
said,”Write to this address if you ever need me.”
Without another word his horse loped down the road,
Bob watched him, not knowing where the man might next go.
The reverend found him their, and saw his confusion,
said,”It’s his job, and he’s done it for a while son.
Did you think only evil can flew its power?
That God would leave us alone in our darkest hour?”
He clapped Bob on the shoulder, and left him to his thoughts,
pondering what he’d seen, and all that they had wrought.
Bob folded the address, slipped it into his vest,
and headed back towards his house, in need of some rest.
In the dark of the night, on an All Hallows' Eve,
as I lay down my head and got snugged in the bed,
'twas a shadow that bloomed, caused all senses to leave,
as a huge hairy spider crawled, eyes gleaming red!
Out in front, a large sack that she shuffled along,
so I watched as she loped with that load full of gore,
like the beat from a dirge or a horrid old song,
da-duh-DUM, da-duh-DUM, as she moved 'cross the floor.
Shaking hard, to the edge of the bed, silent crept;
There she was, hairy legs, abdomen bulging fat.
Sweaty palms, frazzled nerves, in the darkness I lept,
closed my eyes, held my breath, threw my slipper - Kersplat!
and as she scuttled off, protecting precious eggs,
I wondered how she'd sound with two more dangling legs.
---------------
for the All Hallows' Evening Poetry Contest
sponsored by Craig Cornish
written on 10/19/22
using anapestic tetrameter for the first 12 lines
and iambic hexameter for the last 2 for effect
(howmanysyllables.com incorrectly reports line 3 as 11 syllables due to the ')
Autumn rainy noon and the showers pouring high
A perfect fervent moment that lit both the hearts
Sounds of the downpour roared all above, but
Never could it beat the thunder of the hearts!
Wind took a blow to drench toe to top
Glance of the eye and quivering of the rims
It’s hard to repel from the strong call of lust…
To not to relent, to not to cherish, when the
Dear one is near, takes a lot sort of nerve
Nevertheless, for you and solely for us
The chords of lust never loped ever
The virtue endowed and the content lasting
Makes us realize that love is above lust!
Date : 11/1/2017
Contest : Choose A Topic
Topic Chosen : A - Love and Romance
I was rolling along
just fine, thank you
until I came across you
Like a nail in the road, you poked a vicious
hole in my heart, and I went flat
And it was a rough ride
for a while there
and noisy, too-
ka-WHUMP
ka-WHUMP
ka-WHUMP
my heart pathetically
loped along
hoping you would return
to fill the hole you’d made
But now, it’s through, I’m over you
I have a brand new heart
and a much more
careful driver
at the wheel
You loped into view
And my senses awakened
Your energy leapt out, and shook my dormant heart
Even before I spoke my name
I’d given up on ever finding you
You only lived inside my mind
In dreams of wolves and seeing-eyes
One who could take my mind gently by the hand
With eyes to see my soul
and warm it by the fire in yours
You’ve known me from birth to this moment
Your soul’s breath flows now in my blood
Your touch has flooded my mind
Leaving me stunned in your presence
My heart has found its home
And every beat belongs to you