Best Marram Poems
Dogwood,jasmine,marram grass
In flower ,as pressure fills the barometer glass;
Evening primrose in scented bloom
Fill Autumn with pungent perfume.
Sycamore seeds twirl and twist
Onto a fairy-ring fungus tryst;
Stink horn capped with slime,
As carrion beetles pass the time.
Bramblings feast on bountiful mast ,
As the Autumnal harvest dwindles fast;
Yellowed leaves drift and decompose
Into next year's cellulose.
Winter migrants with welcome calls
As the Indian Summer falters,and falls;
Nature's tempo tarries,then slows
As all creation begins to doze.
&fog forms ,at the close of day.
Abundant Autumn
Cooling air with colouring redder skies
Fooling landscapes upon marram lies
Fuelling frosted with dewed sunrise
Ruling leaves falling from revver highs
Deciduous trees succus leaving nectars
Mellifluous winds creating rotor sectors
Ambiguous pigments in sexes of hectares
Conspicuous colours within noon reflectors
Brown yellow pop orange magenta & blue
Countdown waiting Hallows Eve to Boo
Around hanging monsters of kook stew
Gown dressing ghouls amidst tenet view
Pies of pumpkins with evil olive inside
Skies Autumn puff up stretching wide
Prize setting sun top spot forever eyed
Rise blue heavens for we few of pride.
...much to my surprise, this Autumn Palindrome poem can be read backwards lol
...extremely difficult to compose, because of the restricting Palindromes
1.marram – a type of grass
2.dewed – past tense of "to dew", meaning to cover with dew
3.revver – someone or something that revs (an engine)
4.succus – any of various liquids excreted by animals or plants
5.rotor – something that rotates
6.kook – a crazy person
7.tenet – a belief or principle
A Palindrome is a word or phrase which reads the same backwards as forwards.
Sept.26.2018
Palindromes II Poetry
Sponsored by: Joseph May
Placed 1'st [2'nd of 8]
Pt I: The Pilgrims
1991
he’d pick ‘his’ path up as it fell
between the dunes toward the wood
and as the trees knew him so well
they’d all bow down right where he stood
and every day with time to pass
he’d walk and find his secret seat
surrounded by the marram grass
divorced from life’s hard grind and heat
and there he’d sit and watch the sky
feeling the calm he craved back then
- the only place that saw him cry
before he walked his path again.
2021
they picked the path up as it fell
between the dunes toward the wood
despite their health and age as well
they struggled on as best they could
now thirty years had come to pass
walking the route to see the seat
surrounded by the marram grass
where they sat silent in the heat
then just before they headed back
with one last look their will was done
they touched the seat's small weathered plaque:
"in memory of our loving son".
Pt II: Gethsemane
1991
the flood that drowned his will no less
were the tears that he had cried
while trekking through his wilderness
and the storm that raged inside
yet when the sky lit up right there
it ‘spoke’ to him at length
- the rainbow brought a purer air
and the clouds some inner strength
then in the cooling midday heat
feeling calmer than before
he stood up from his secret seat
to walk his path once more.
Pt III: Evensong
2021
a photograph that takes pride of place
"we tried to help and always prayed"
in uniform with a pre-war face
"he turned to friends but felt betrayed"
some polaroids of a young child’s smile
"the three of us when we held hands"
all neatly kept in a grey box file
"he loved to play along those sands"
a secret seat and a place of peace
"discharged, divorced - and yet still strong"
sunsets, psalms and pain release
"this parents' path is hard and long."
Kisses from the night,
Greet the awaited sunrays:
Glistening beachscape.
when respite was
deckchairs and picnics
on car blankets
behind
windbreaks
sand was blown
into sheltered spaces
behind
driftwood and
rock.
dunes
grew
as grains of sand
accumulated
over time.
then
winds and waves
ate away
at everything
in their path.
as resilient barriers
gave way to
the full power
of nature’s
destructive forces
the
erosion
cried out
for radical
intervention:
something
to keep things
at bay
and
buy time.
like
the big plastic doors
that closed behind me
inside the
promenade hospital.
like
the blue paper masks
and the blue paper hats
in
the theatre.
like
the antibiotics
and disinfectant
on
'o' ward.
like
the marram grass
on the dunes
at
ainsdale.
Again the machair blooms. Again these wild
Atlantic shorelines, battered but unbowed
as the marram grass, survive the wayward
blasts of winter, the silver sands endowed
with dancing colour, greeting the splendour
of the budding year. A close bound repertoire
of nodding harebells, celandines and thrift,
clover, thyme and tiny eyebright, near and far,
a sweeping backdrop to the wave-washed shore.
Sea campion, marigold and silverweed,
majestic iris, buttercup and mayweed,
bashful wild orchids, and a myriad more,
each in their order pays homage to the sun.
Bedazzling the eye, High Summer has begun.
There was not a "peep" among the trees in this autumn woodsy paradise.
The leaves were much "redder" than remembered in days long past.
An unfamiliar "pop" sound led my eyes downward, where I saw gray squirrel,
With his little brown "eye" focused on a walnut that had rolled from her tree.
A "hadedah" flew past, a rare bird for this magical place, a mysterious visitor,
Grass "dewed" to perfection, there was a crunch as we wandered further into the forest.
The "marram" grasses which bordered this paradise, were virginally left alone, unscathed
As the sun approached 'noon' we heard a renegade "peep", whose source is yet to be found.
The deepest part of the forest was a "wow" for me, I had never seen such beautiful vegetation.
My friend discovered a left behind "alula", probably from a blue jay judging from its markings.
I suggested we leave it here, "deified" in reverence by the charming protection of the forest.
We gave a sad "pip-pip" to the day’s end, as twilight overtook the forest, and we re-entered reality.
Written 10-3-2018 Contest: Palidromes Ii
Sponsor: Joseph May
the sand creeps
sand dunes grow... gaining ground
marram holds all together
desert mountains... dunes
imperceptible movers
yet always growing
on a windy day
a mile long sandy beach
not a place to be
sandy beaches
here one day... gone the next
hungry oceans
ripples in the sand
saltating grains form ripples
sand dunes nurseries
creatures of the sand
reptiles... insects... birds... mammals
oasis wildlife
September sun setting low,
Fall in all its golden glow;
Anticyclones hold transient sway
As mist forms ,at the close of day.
Dogwood,jasmine,marram grass
In flower ,as pressure fills the barometer glass;
Evening primrose in scented bloom
Fill Autumn with pungent perfume.
Sycamore seeds twirl and twist
Onto a fairy-ring fungus tryst;
Stink horn capped with slime,
As carrion beetles pass the time.
Bramblings feast on bountiful mast ,
As the Autumnal harvest dwindles fast;
Yellowed leaves drift and decompose
Into next year's cellulose.
Winter migrants with welcome calls
As the Indian Summer falters,and falls;
Nature's tempo tarries,then slows
As all creation begins to doze.
The clear celestial sky, so inviting this night.
Walking among the clumps of marram grass
Along the dunes and sandy beach, so lit up white
Wind embraces the seas briny scent and weaves
into auburn long wavy hair, a playful tangled mass,
and dress like ship-sail; skin tight.
The sweet silhouettes lit bright by the moon.
I watch her from a far
as she walks along the beach.
She has become an island of sadness.
A recluse in darken world and countless
enclosing nights as the world runs aimless.
3/2/2023
Staff rod in hand, and on my feet a pair of good hardy leather shoes
Set off onto the bight coastal track to a view of many colourful hues
In four score plus nine of my years; not a day to me ceases to amaze
Scattered along the ridge line, sheep idle away their days, they graze
As marram grass sways anchoring the sand brought by the sea wind
I listen to the deafening sounds of the seagulls their shrills ingrained
This land, my land as one of my forefather’s son’s, my claim of proof
As far as my eye can see and as far as the cattle can roam their hoof
A legacy given to me by God and by my hands my toil it shall remain
No false deceiver shall walk her, come proclaiming a lie shall he feign
Each animal upon her lives its life in freedom until their time is called
Before slaughtered with respect, and placed upon the table sprawled
With thanks and praises given to the bellies it is now given to nourish
Bones grounded down, and returned to this earth, in which to flourish
In turn the animals eat the greener grass its wealth to them unknown
This is the cycle of life, it by my forefather’s father to son been shown
A seal pup on the shore cries ardently for its mother it wants to be fed
Scottish folklore that seal Selkies as fill the shore fears folk with dread
Shep the sheep dog though not original in name scurries the dry grass
Upsetting the grouse and long tailed pheasants as they limber on pass
Pleasant is this land given in its wonderment and awe, its beauty score
As musical notes of each animal and creature in tune across this shore
This balance of nature cannot in anyway be understated, or be ignored
This certitude between heaven and earth, and its ever eternal life cord
Rests upon my shoulders, its weight, is more as embedded in my heart
As I idle the bight pathway of this coast, until it’s time for me to depart
My dried and cracked salted spray leather shoes shall be left then to lie
My staff left standing in the hallway and with my dog resting I shall die
She doesn’t wear shoes in the summer.
She likes the way the ground feels
In the creases of her curled up toes
She hooks them into the sand
Beneath the marram grass
And stands
An arrow pointing to the sun
The wind runs a wrinkled hand through her hair
And I watch her from the path
Feet pushing five inch spears
Into the rocky ground.
Heaven’s Servant
The grass of the earth The King of Heaven generously gave
People to enjoy Kentucky Bluegrass nice lawn, nutritious hay,
Timothy grass highly cultivated and seed easily harvested
Stock cattle, sheep, and horses healthily eat by day in sun’s ray.
Long ago Yeshûa? sat 5,000 men, besides women and children,
on grassy comfortable ground
Enjoying bread with fish on perhaps Buffalo grass ‘Bulbilis’
or Festuca sheep’s fescue,
Maybe Velvet grass growing in coast regions carpeted the banquet of
truth lovers;
Or was it Orchard grass adapted to drier soils The LORD of the vineyard
gave rescue.
The lion shall eat straw like the ox; will it be young and tender
‘Hordeum’ Squirrel-tail grass?
Perhaps the lion will like the 15 foot or higher Reed grass to jump and pounce,
Meadow Fescue grass could be the lucky one to grow green
for the king of the jungle,
Teosinte tropical plant related to corn ‘maize’ may be the one
relished every ounce.
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass,” and this is nice
Ornamental grasses grace beautiful gardens, striped variety of Reed,
Bamboo Ribbon grass and Ravenna grass of Italy graceful show,
Pampas grass of the Argentine pampas, ornamental grasses give the lead.
Coastal grasses grow comfortable in sand, ‘Ammophila’ beach grass
sand-binding,
Canadian Bluegrass sand binder pasture grass on sandy loam soils, holds tight
Shore grasses warm the hearts of beach combers looking at marram,
Beachside craggy bait shop enjoys uneven beach grass, as a kite
flies in beautiful height.
Job’s tears ornamental grass shows remembrance of Job long ago,
Beauty now radiates from Coix lachrymal-jobi inspiring life enduring living,
Alive cheerfully Uniola exceedingly graceful most beautiful of the grasses,
Zizania wild rice grass most striking in appearance happy in giving.
Vanilla grass Savastana odorata sweet grass fragrant mats and boxes
Wonderful to smell and hold useful for storing wheat to save for vanilla cake,
Various grasses grow for our sake, millet, Redtop, Bermuda, Avena,
Johnson grass, Italian Rye grass, and many more grasses, a beautiful world left in its wake.
A constant charging and retreating,
leaving behind the soaking sand,
is the ever changing of the tide,
pushing the sea against the land.
And all along the changing shoreline,
Pacific Gulls glide on patrol,
seeking out the ocean bounties,
of washed up departed souls.
There’s flotsam and old cuttlebone;
driftwood finally makes the shore.
Stints and waders chase invertebrate
stranded along the sandy floor.
And up above high water mark,
there is the victims of wild gales.
Dead sea grass in drying windrows,
meander below sand dunes in trails.
New Zealand spinach thrives and spreads.
Marram grass has stabilized the dunes,
and here and there is native spinifex,
among the burrows of communes.
These communes arrive in early spring
in thousands to the burrows each year,
so it becomes a special time,
with mutton birds returning here.
And constant charging and retreating,
leaves behind the soaking sand,
in the ever changing of the tide,
pushing the sea against the land.
You Wishing
You
on the spring shore
where waves applaud on sand
where marram grass resists
Here lives the coldest wind
and no one else is there but you
Staying to watch
with arms braced
watching a world
drown then reborn
You
imagining
devising the improbable
you
silent
wishing the impossible
you
with cold fingers gracefully
cupping an orchid
in hope, in soft hope
silent words
falling from your lips