Best Manes Poems
I dance upwards;
below me,
the waves slap the cliffs
and beat the rhythm.
Wind whipped clouds gallop
with flying manes
across the blue plain of the sky.
The wild geese resent
our intrusion;
honking displeasure,
they swoop a warning:
we are guests here.
Amid the cedar fragrance
of summer and freedom,
I lean back
into the arms of the world.
a rhyme for the spring equinox...
the hills are growing green beneath the snow
white horses, shake the winter from your manes
the spring has come, the wild wind told me so
cold ice be gone, and warm sweet water flow
come, crocuses, and flower on the plains
the hills are growing green beneath the snow
grey gulls fly high, and clouds of blossom blow
come, laughing crows, and dance within the rains
the spring has come, the wild wind told me so
soon summer, and so many seeds to sow
come, sun, spill down the furrows of the lanes
the hills are growing green beneath the snow
bright gorse ablaze, and alder tops aglow
come blood, and flood the burrows of the veins
the spring has come, the wild wind told me so
dark night be gone, long days of light to go
come love, with all your mysteries and pains
the hills are growing green beneath the snow
and spring has come, the wild wind told me so
© Gail Foster 17th March 2018
Oh goldenrod how bright your blaze
though blooming sunrays bittersweet —
your tint the hint of crisper days
when dusk arrives on hastened feet
amidst the green tall grass you gleam
oh goldenrod how bright your blaze!
gold dust the stuff of Nature’s dream
rich sprays of flame the monarchs praise
a beacon’s beam in humid haze
a rocket flare in atmosphere
oh goldenrod how bright your blaze —
a torch for summer love to bear
as solstice fades no longer spry
and sun-dried skies brown manes of maize
beneath the aging daystar’s sigh
oh goldenrod how bright your blaze!
Susan Ashley
August 17, 2022
~ First Place ~
Writing Challenge - X'd Poems Second Chance Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Constance La France
*N/A (X'd)
*Contest: Hint of Autumn
*Date judged: September 3, 2022
Rhymes verified: Rhymezone
Syllables verified: howmanysyllables; 8 per line
Photo: Gardenia.net
They thundered across the fertile plains,
Those hardened hooves, those tangled manes,
But now the Buffalo can't be found.
They thundered across the fertile plains.
The long grass has vanished from the ground
Where cities and highways now abound.
They thundered across the fertile plains,
Those hardened hooves, those tangled manes.
Sly low tide sneaks up to smooch the smooth shore
that holds old footsteps left behind us
and lends itself to sand castles
standing guard until high tide
plovers dart on fleet feet
across sodden sands
spindle-legged girls
hunt conch shells—
starfish
found!
Blue
waters
glistening
aqua appeal—
white-horse sea magic
spindrift manes rise from crests
awakened from lowest ebb
high tide arrives on thunder hooves
body-surf Neptune’s steeds to the shore—
my wet hair dries to sun-bleached beachy waves…
Written: March 28, 2024 For Constance La France Contest
Quote: (The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.) Marcel Proust
__________________________________
Slumber unwinds within crinkled cellophane,
Enigmatic visions come to life and sustain.
Geometrical shapes skin to pyramids, expand,
Cruising fairies sing through shimmering sand.
Hey, Captain! Ferry sails across any hurdle,
A searing streak splits the sky as a starved squirrel.
A prize is won, dock shuts, and crowds cheer,
At night, memories of you come back so near.
Delicate spiderwebs hang as stars in the sky,
Mozart hands waltz ivory piano keys sigh.
Galaxy emits a lambent, milky-white light,
Tapestry Highways sails by my a quilted sight.
A cosmic queen embarks on a cynosure journey,
Slicing over a glistening ocean during night mercy.
Colorful pathways in the sky are formed by sea swirls,
Mermaids glide fluffy waves of glistening pearls.
Behold a sturdy sail, a tough and bold ship, oh heart!
As bleak as the gnomes at dawn, it's time to depart!
On deck, the skipper is fierce and red-dripping,
Meanwhile, my soul lingers in frigid buds snipping.
Captain! Rise and hear chimes; to you, a flag raised,
You gained fights and flights, and doves amazed.
The ship has sailed safely and fulfilled its voyage,
He gulped distance, sea, time, and buoyage.
It was a time of jubilation and feelings of love,
During spell hour, they shone brightly from above.
Dived in the chaotic bliss of love, this waned,
In a misty past, the spirit soared and stained.
Rivers rush down slopes, and peaks loom tall,
Rafters ride via waterfalls as bridges never fall.
Deer graze in fields, and craftsmen, work away,
Sweets and meals sizzle on burner, made to stay.
Chili, pasta, beans, and maize are all we need,
The Alpine guy eats grits, Angus, and meat, indeed.
Riders hold on tight with flying manes and fish dives,
West Virginia alpine star twinkles and jives.
Swaddled in frozen silence
In a weather so dolorous and damp
The pores of her mind sweat painful memories
Which take a headlong flight
Faster than the beams of light
At times shaking their fearful manes
As unbridled steeds, they come
Raising dust behind
Making all sanity blurred.
Often, they rise from their indulgent stupor
And spill over, submerging all extant thoughts
They never care to stand in queue
Jostling each other with no manners
They bump on one another, breaking all decorum
Like an unruly mob on impatient wait
Caught in the vortex of a whirling current
Her poor body begins to lose its equilibrium
And she plunges into the bottomless depth
To be choked there in whirling gloom!
My Grandmother said, when she was just three,
she’d seen the white horses ride in from the sea.
Now I stand at the lighthouse and see the white manes
stream behind horses that run without reins,
racing each wave and rushing for home –
to reach the gold sand where they melt into foam.
Hooves of aquatic thunder these white steeds
Of wonder, slamming against the coral reef
As hail storms rage, set us free their voices
Softly speak through the seashells littering
The sandy beach.
Enchantments cursed beast of purity’s beauty
Trapped within the foam and spray, touching
Almost the land then in sorrow’s undertow
Driven back is this mystical herd of wild
Mustangs.
Poseidon’s sacred water horses, surfing
Within the frothy s riptide of mermaid tears,
Clashing their silvery horse shoes, against the
Rocky edges of the under currents tidal surge
These titans of the fathoms deepest depths.
Lightening immortals shimmering, bathing
Translucent beneath the hued blue waves,
The last unicorns beg for release, to run
Freedom trails once more, to feel the
Mountains breezes of liberation flowing
Through their milk white manes again.
But silence is the reply from their capturer,
Unmoved is his trident of power, sitting on
His ivory thrown Poseidon watches these
Wonders of myth, and relishes in their
Spectacular beauty, vowing never to
Set them free, thee belong to me, my
Sacred water steeds of the bluest deep.
Within the seashells hear them weep,
These creatures of the mystical realm,
Crying out, release us please, can thrust,
Not hear us.
Out of the water, to feel mother earth
Beneath our silver hooves, we give our
Horns of crystal power, or the shimmering
Shine that beguiles our under sea father.
Out of the water, we’d roam in the wilderness
Wild, roll amongst the sandy duns of the desert,
Climb the mountain tops heights, and breath
The sweet air of freedom within our lungs.
Out of the water, for just one single day,
We sacrifice all that we are, or were in
Mysticism mystical realm, just to be free!
Hooves of aquatic thunder these white steeds
Of wonder, slamming against the coral reef
As hail storms rage, set us free their voices
Softly speak through the seashells littering
The sandy beach.
Wind drinkers flow with strength and grace.
Thunder pounds from their hooves.
Run wild Mustang, Run.
As one they "run" across parched earth,
born free and "wild" from the time of birth.
Their manes flow "as" water, in the wind.
Hooves dig in, "the" desert floor, they rend.
Full moon at "midnight" leads their way,
while in the night "sky" their ancestors play.
Paula Swanson
For the contest: Middle Of The Road
Sponsored by H Garvey Daniel Esquire
Placement: 1st
CHARIOT OF FIRE
I stand in silence and behold the sight,
staring in wonder, waiting for thunder.
A chariot of fire travels through the night.
The white-winged horses gallop in full flight
pulling at the reins; flowing are their manes
I stand in silence and behold the sight.
Where are they going? There’s a shining light
leading all the way, so they will not stray.
A chariot of fire travels through the night
amidst the heaven where in pure delight
resides the Master, the sweetest lover,
I stand in silence and behold the sight;
Blessings whisked to amble slowly with plight;
heartbeats race to sway, courage on display.
A chariot of fire travels through the night
armoured by God’s spirit. They ride like knights
fearless from pain; victory, their peak gain.
I stand in silence and behold the sight;
a chariot of fire travels through the night.
©O.E.Guillermo and P.Callus
Written last 5:07 pm, November 17, 2014
thoughts
wander
in the mind
like wild horses
they prance and gallop
with flowing manes
till worn out
they seek
rest
___________________
12th October 2015
Contest: Ninette
Sponsor: Silent One
Placed 3rd
Zany Z’s
Zany zoo of zaftig zebras,
Zarnder manes, zebus with ziffs,
Zip through zawns, zigzag with zest
Wearing zories and a zoster
From too much zimstern, zabaglione and ziti-
Zucchini, zwieback, zeppoles, and zeps;
Zillion zitherns of zirconia
Zinging on zephyrs for the zazzy
Zemni zealous zeal for Zambonis,
Zeaxanthin zaps zinc zombie zones,
Zoographer’s zest for the zygote Zen zenith -
Zaffer zecchino of zebra finch in zamia,
Zorse in the zoysia with zinnia zepplins
Zimmers ziffs filled with zindandel zeatin,
Zorillas in zoot suits zoom like zodiac zircons
Zebrafish zithers and zorse zoology
Zippity-do-da - ziplining zorros
Zero in on zonal zapateados zip codes
Zydecos zing with zuppa and zibibs
As zany zoo zonks out to zanza zills of Zzz’s.
12-12-20
11-25-22
Contest: Mile 21 Poetry Marathon
Sponsor: Mark Toney
20 Lines
All "Z" words authenticated in Merriam Webster
I stand in silence and behold the sight,
staring in wonder, waiting for thunder.
A chariot of fire travels through the night.
The white-winged horses gallop in full flight
pulling at the reins; flowing are their manes.
I stand in silence and behold the sight.
Where are they going? There’s a shining light
leading all the way, so they will not stray.
A chariot of fire travels through the night
amidst the heaven where in pure delight
resides the Master, the sweetest lover.
I stand in silence and behold the sight.
Blessings whisked to amble slowly with plight;
heartbeats race to sway, courage on display.
A chariot of fire travels through the night.
Armoured by God’s spirit they ride like knights
fearless from pain; victory, their peak gain.
I stand in silence and behold the sight.
A chariot of fire travels through the night.
--------------------------------------------------------
Collaboration: Paul Callus & Olive Eloisa Guillermo
November 2014
A poem written for my friend Anna
You, special magical, you!
Did you just see my tears of pain,
How I in vain
tried to?
I want to...
I sit here hiding, in the rain.
No discrimination between
that one moist or the other.
Don't smother.
Where've you been?
You are so warm, I've never seen
You before, are you my mother?
I rest my wounds on that cool horn,
Can you please cure me?
I'm born,
Forlorn...
Will you look at me and see?
Make me whole, I'm so torn...
You are my legs, my life, my all.
A strong back to replace mine,
Please be my spine.
If I fall,
Don't call,
Nudge gently, so I will be fine.
We wander off to distant land.
You carry me, I you.
You too.
With caring hand,
Caress your manes, use magic sand.
Styx and Acheron we'll plough through!
***
January 27, 2017