Best North Poems
In riming realms
of crystal contemplations -
frozen water-vapor meditations
and chilled flutes
filled with zodiacal-light musings
of ancient cosmic dust
dancing in the arms of Sol..
windswept operatic reveries
rise and fall
as her stirring soprano
tickled by the chanting of icicle chimes
gathers momentum
in strengthening sprays
of frosted musical notes adrift in broken chords
she bestrides
a clouded steed colored mother-of-pearl
flowing with fury
within which beats a blustery heart
surging at jet stream speeds
on the clattering beat of hailstorm hooves
from streamer-skies of the northern dancers
they fly aloft
on arctic gales of lyrical laughter
igniting the imagination
of her freezing fire
burning now with a blistering whip
and a frostbite nip
that sinks its tingling teeth deep
sailing
a supernatural stage
amplifying—
her aerated soprano soars
in polar vortex arias
as an avalanche of glazed trinkets
—descendants of her fertile femininity
skydive
in shivering sixfold symmetry
falling
in fierce flights of fancy
as she cyclones on consecrated currents
with wild abandon
escalating
in twirling trills
of glass beaded squalls
swirling her iced eiderdown skirts aflare
baring tempest thighs
storming with a Siberian sting!
..and as her electric eyes spark
luminous with lightning
she buries you in a blizzard
of opalescent mistletoe berries
and wanton whims.
Just as bees squeeze like watermelon seeds
Spit across apricot fields
My wife and I on Friday
Join the lines of highways up north
Pulled by hilltops to the Leelanau blue sky
Where lakes stir in the wind at the citrus rims
Of wine valleys below
And cherry orchards blossom in row after row
Like sheets of cupcakes spiraled with frosting.
Tonight we will sit tight around our lakeside fire
As petals closed upon this blaze of flower
With a Loon trilling her flute of bones
To the stars salted across the night
And voices bump from shore to shore
Murmurs softened beyond repair
The cabins flickering to a second life
In a fuse of fire lit around our lake
A tradition. We stop the car a ways away
From my mom and dad’s cabin
And let out our kids on the shoulder of road
To run like deer the final half mile.
Storm
Coming
Air is calm
The skies are gray
Winds are expected
To create the snow drifts
Temperature will be low
Standing in cold to see beauty
Preparations are done, time to wait
This is winter in the mountains up North
Heidi Sands
1/19/19
Native American people had a set rule of living
The men hunted and protected
The women, cook, child mind and made clothing
To maintain both was an accomplishment.
The man when it's time to forage for food
Got ready their spears, arrows, bows and knives
These were the tools of their trade
Bringing home the buffalo, turkey, deer, salmon to survive
Nothing was wasted of an animal
They created weapons with the bones
Stomach acted as a water carriers
Skin or fur would be used for shelter and clothes
They were farmers also, with crops to plant
In doing this it gives them a place to live
A permanent residence along with other settlers
Their roaming days are over, peace is all they want
These proud people who were persecuted by most
Have survived and learned to live in peace
Are they treated fairly, or are classed as lower citizens
Their land taken, no compensation given, hopes crushed.
The before and after of a Native American life
From people being in awe of the tribes
To looking down on them regarding them as worthless
To be rounded up like cattle and put in settlements
But they will survive,they have survived.
Penned August 8th 2015
an hour before docking
it was ice cold and freezing
as the vessel like scissors
cut clean through the swell
and the ship’s horn then sounded
and woke those still sleeping
startling the standing
and seagulls as well
and the door opened outwards
on a windswept and dark deck
as a lighthouse and headland
appeared to our right
while the radar was turning
mixing mist with the morning
as we looked over railings
still wet from the night
and the lifeboat above us
secured by strong davits
dripped north sea in droplets
from somewhere on high
and the noise of the engines
grew loud and then quiet
as the spindrift and windchill
danced wild with the sky
and the lights and the silos
of europoort holland
shone blurred with bright colours
as such paintings do
and we stood there transfixed
with our backs towards england
while dawn beckoned others
to stand and stare too.
NORTH STAR
My photo
-
-
Fidelity:
The north star of the soul
That
Helps the heart navigate
Over
The turbulent waters of temptations
And
Through the perilous reefs of lust
Towards
The serene shores of happiness,
But
Often unobserved remains by the many,
For
It is hidden behind the clouds of
Impetuous desires!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
20 February 2021
FORGOTTEN NORTH
My Grief is fog
The sea is wild
Head winds are still
And I am lost.
I turn to land.
The rocks too sharp.
I have no map
The road is gone.
Biting Rocks
Bleeding feet.
Burning Ice floes
follow me
In blinding void
I am lost.
The compass twirls
And East turns West.
The sky
is
black.
& I
am lost.
My North is gone
Forever
gone.
And I am lost
Forever
Lost.
Victoria Anderson-Throop
There was a venturous gent
Who travelled the earth’s extent
But at the North Pole
It took quite a toll
Deciphering their accent
It started when he heard elves
Discussing amongst themselves
Saying: ‘le’s make oys
For he girls and boys
And pu all his suff on shelves’
Then said: ‘beer wear warm bandannas
Visiing Monreal and Monana
Because we’re old
Is exra cold
So bring exra blankes for Sana’
Now this gent was truly confused
With the kind of language elves used
Yet he feared missing
So kept on listening
And flipped from anguished to amused
The elves resumed: ‘Is ime o sing
Followed by hiry bells o ring’
Well that sent the gent
Closer to the scent
Of the kind of slang they did sling
He then met the elves finally
With a hey, hello, and howdy
Then said the words right
Singing Silent Night
As: ‘Silen nigh’; with a silent T
Translation if wanted:
Let's make toys
For the girls and boys
And put all this stuff on shelves
Beter wear warm pajamas
Visiting Montreal and Montana
Because we're told
It's extra cold
So bring extra blankets for Santa
It's time to sing
Followed by thirty bells to ring.
The first time we met I knew that you were the one,
one gaze into your eyes and I was done;
I was in love,
oh, your smile was like the bright sun;
your voice like sweet music.
You liked to talk and I do too- we would debate,
our conversations would grow and pulsate;
it was true love,
I would read you poems I create;
you would listen calmly.
You were my deep blue ocean and true north,
together as a couple we set forth;
a forever love,
it was just you and me henceforth;
oh, we had so many plans.
So, on Valentine Day I always buy a red rose,
to place on the cold earth where you repose;
eternal my love,
as sparrows chirp and wind blows;
and I kiss your name in stone.
______________________
January 03, 2022
Poetry/Rhyme/My Ocean and True North
Copyright Protected, 01-1418-624-03
All Rights Reserved, 2022, Constance La France
(Rhyme pattern aaxax bbxbx ccxcx ddxdx)
Written for the Standard contest, Forever My Love Valentine
sponsor, BJ Legros Kelley, Judged 02/08/2022
First Place
Submitted into the Standard contest, A Brian Strand Form
sponsor, Brian Strand, Judged 03/05/2022
First Place
North of sixty, you see the cold.
Big skies, and short days told.
Forests shrink, past big river.
Listen closely, hear them shiver.
Bison wild, roam free here.
Timber wolf run, moon light clear.
North of sixty, black raven flies.
Wise old bird, wing spread skies.
Mountains roll, to horizons edge.
Older than, our souls can pledge.
Great silence here, all is still.
Refresh ones spirits, reviving will.
North of sixty, last place on earth.
Pristine halls, of Mother Earth.
Before we sit, and watch her cry.
Mankind must, unite and try.
To find a way, to keep her clean.
Before we see, Mother Earth turn mean.
North of sixty, I know we can.
Teach ourselves, revive our plan.
Stewards’ oath, to keep this land.
Safe for life long, eternal plan.
Great Spirit too, we shall be true. Big skies, forever keep them blue.
SHM
Our friendship has always been my North Star
The guide to everything out there
And when we lost touch
I lost my compass
I sealed the wound with fire
And trudged on with desire
Trying to recreate what we had
The effortless close bond, over time becoming sad
People did not meet me half way
They did not grasp the world the same way
And so a small boat adrift I was
Alone bereft for me
And that became my norm
And a new me for a time was born
I did not want to be close
Relationships made me morose
Pleasure was all I sought
To dampen grief and doubt
And that way I existed
For a long time just sort of delisted
Artimus born
Few wants, no needs
Completely free and no nervous energy
It’s calm to withdraw
To view life as a brawl that you no longer engage
And then I hit tastes of want
And it became need
And I tried again
And did not succeed
So I settled and I slept
Most of me to myself I kept
And then once again you were here
And well with joy I could interact without fear
And so I started again to create
And life is not over, it’s not to late
And here we are
And here we are to my North Star - Artimus (C) Susan Manley 8/21/23 for Alan
To The North Pole Of Course (Part Two)
The farmlands, bridges and countrysides woosh by in a rush
then vanish before my eyes at a hundred and twenty six miles per hour.
My mind is traveling at the speed of Donner and Blitzen. It goes through a magical hourglass only to nestle inside a cinnamon scented wagon that is infused with the clanking of fine china cups. A peppery scent of hot chocolate perfumes the air and lands on my palate, sweetly.
While I am being ushered forth into Christmas, I sift through time, backpedaling swifter than Santa's mistletoe kiss.
I hear his rippling laughter and melt like butter.
My extra sensory perception picks up the echoes through the halls of my memory
and I say to myself, " I think I'm going home, to the North Pole of course."
Oh to touch your body just one more time
Two parts of your anatomy I have in mind
A bit south of your neck
And north of your knees by heck
These couple of places are absolutely sublime
Wolf of the north, I heard you howl
In the stillness of last night.
I heard you prowling around my door
On feet so soft and quiet.
Your frosty breath fell on my lawn
And turned the green to white.
Wolf of the north, I heard you howl
In the stillness of last night.
Wolf of the north, I heard you growl
In the midnight dark and deep.
The shutters trembled at your touch
And aroused me from my sleep.
How bitter are the winter nights
When through the land you creep.
Wolf of the north, I heard you growl
In the midnight dark and deep.
Wolf of the north, I know you lurk
Outside these sheltering walls.
I dread the chill of facing you
When daytime duty calls.
Your panting fogs the window panes
While swirling snowflakes fall.
Wolf of the north, I know you lurk
Outside these sheltering walls.
Oh, faith,
You, North Star of my soul
That helps me navigate over the
Dark waters of doubt, uncertainty, and
Skepticism,
I implore you to guide my heart through
The perilous reefs of ignorance and of falsity,
Towards
The serene shores of knowledge and veracity,
Where
The sun of our Lord's truth, eternally, shines!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
24 October 2022