Best Obscurity Poems
All preparation had been completed
The big night was finally here
At three in the afternoon I went to dress rehearsal
Stood on the Gaiety stage for the first time - I didn’t have any fear!
Three lovely ladies
We were standing behind our microphones
Reciting our poems .. to an audience of ONE
Rows and rows of empty seats – tonight they would soon fill
Would nerves finally hit me, would I start to feel ill …
We had a few hours to kill before the show would start
Hubby and I went for a meal before I played my part
I dressed in my lovely frock – our act would all wear black and white
The theatre was a sell out, much to our delight
The performance kicked off at eight o’clock
Our slot was in the second half so we sat and watched the show
Joined in with the audience from spare seats on the back row
Time passed by so quickly once the show had begun
We rolled about with laughter the acts were such great fun
The interval came and we had to go
Soon the time would come for us to perform
It was freezing cold backstage I wore my cardigan to keep warm!
Our names were announced and we walked onto the stage
Lights shone down on the three of us
But the audience was a sea of faces in the dark
I was first to recite my poem
‘Seven men you definitely wouldn’t want to date’
Not a sign of stage fright at all
Di recited ‘The Fine’ and Irene ‘1958’
Then it was back to me with ‘Just Desserts’
It was the very first funny poem I’d written
Di’s ‘Night Nuisance’ and Irene’s ‘A Transcript’ poems followed
With poetry we are all smitten
With massive smiles on our faces we walked off the stage
Came back later to take a bow
The audience applause was rapturous – I can still hear it in my head now!
Last night I performed on stage at a charity event in front of 600 people … it was my first time on a ‘proper’ stage at the Victorian Gaiety Theatre and was the most incredible night of my life! The night raised awareness of Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's and raised over £6000 ($7410) from ticket sale alone - there were bucket collections too.
11~19~16
Dare one impose upon the primitive soul,
Revolving around solitude—a savant hold warmer than the sun
Entranced by every ideal—loving many and no one
Would they hesitate to break the sensational sway…
As petals of tiger lilies fall upon its sunset eyes
Tremulous sighs and exhalations—dedicated to wisdom
Looking to the sky…a vast wilderness of celestial light
Fixated in the center of star-drafted darkness
The wheel of its heart turns smoothly
Oiled with only the finest knowledge
With brutal truths seeping into the empty spaces
Not even the most charming can break its stance
Feeble smiles melt away into frustrated admiration
For not one could dare embark upon her spirit
Without looking first deep within himself
Tearing apart the pride that so recklessly razes
Ensnaring all that behold him
All but one
Had one selflessly walked into the midst of this fraction of heaven,
He would watch faithfully a sunrise on the legs of endurance
And the embracing, smiling arms of patience
If one only left their guard for the Sanctuary of Obscurity
The skies of white light upon dark would open in reverence
The lips that are so fixated upon moist discovery
Would have their gentle hold on mortal purity
To allow such a moment to exist,
Kindheartedness must coexist
And hovering humility harnessed deep in vicious sincerity
Cries of famine, torture and pain echo worldwide
A child who hungers, a family facing death
How can we live in peace until such ills subside
Injustices may linger till our dying breath
The chance to change the course of our world is still there
Though time appears to be running out as we wait
Join the peace movement now and let’s unite in prayer
To succeed in this quest, we cannot hesitate
We can’t erase violence by going to war
Such lessons we can learn from mankind’s history
If aggression is a tactic that you abhor
Lay down all your weapons to end this misery
Though a world of peace and brotherhood seems obscure
You cannot deny this notion has much allure
*Written March 3, 2015
"Pick a Subject" contest by Shadow Hamilton
Judged March 30, 2015
layers of fog
blanket the bayou
obscuring vision
the pungency of decay
assaults my senses
3/17/15
For Andrea's Tanka 2 contest
6th place
OBSCURITY
a lavender tree
obscures the face of the moon
geisha’s purple fan
8/7/2017
What is hidden?
Behind your smile on lips
Wet eyes revealing
Smile’s sunshine concealing
Both on different page.
Sintra, Portugal 22/01/15
Can any fonder love myself endure
Than self-regard bestowed upon a name,
Or for the cause of unrelenting fame
Become a thing unpleasant to inure
Myself, I think it wise, I must demure,
And savor all the taste of dignity
If takes the pleasure from my liberty,
Then I shall suffer long to be obscure.
I struggle for the loss of all that’s me,
When ego flees in search of undue pride
And leaves an aching heart bereft with tears
While my emotions, hopes and dreams, do flee
Perhaps what’s left behind inside of me
Are nothing more than strains of devilish fears.
written December 7, 2021
Our lives are but a breath
so minuscule in the vastness
of time and the cosmos
that insignificance that dresses our life
is barely realized by those
seeking to define what is being self
and the paths of humanities dichotomy
desertion of all worth and depredations unconcealed
to superfluous self exaltation
its a wonder the species
has survived even to this time
a continual examination
of embedded frailties that are self defeating
but in whose apex
will surrender one’s own life
in order to preserve another’s
and not meaning the kind a government demands
also the ability to sleepwalk through life
with so few moments of clarity
that Jesus could pronounce
“Let the dead bury the dead ”
One atom alone contains enough energy
to obliterate a multitude
of cities upon its release
yet our bodies contain billions
of those little energy factories
but the amount of all that energy
in the cosmos is beyond all comprehension
I should be moving at the speed of Light
but I prefer a snails pace
Or how easily our ability to think
submits itself to ideological shackles
imposed by the self appointed masters
of the bastions of a caste system
that plagues every strata and path
and highway threading the lives of “humans”
A species so full of darkness
where the divine spark is nearly dormant
you are what I Am
Go and learn what that means
Look! You have made my days just a few;And my life’s duration is as nothing in front of you.Surely every earthling man, though standing firm, is nothing but an exhalation.
Surely in a semblance man walks about.Surely they are boisterous in vain.One piles up things and does not know who will be gathering them.
Psalms 39
COPYRIGHT © 2013 C Michael Miller
via Duboff Law Group LLC
Promiscuity
self-indulgence, did you wreak
you, did judgement seek
I don’t need to be told what I’ve seen
whether it’s real or a sinister scheme
I need a world where I know the rules
which we call wise which we call fools
Where the lines in the sand are a lot less hazy
and people agree on who people call crazy
But the lines in the sand have gone every which way
from the truth of obscurity growing each day
We’re a nation of leaders who’ve lost their way
where all are consumed of crescendoing fray
skulking in darkness on weakness we prey
leaving in question what’s lighting our way
This dreariness some are beginning to feel
the mental fatigue of discerning what’s real
Confusion and chaos have run us aground
far from the winds in our sails we had found
I don’t need to be told what I’ve seen
but I fear what I’ve found that remains of the scene
folks with no compass no maps and no guide
colliding in wastelands of deepest divide
Where is the ground upon which we can stand
steady behind the lines drawn in the sand?
For what shall we fight still united as one?
For what shall we die when it’s all said and done?
~Jeannie Cronin
Love can feel like an uphill race,
yet, win or lose, you can't abstain.
And only time can ease the hurt
of a heart hollowed out by pain.
Fledgling wings clipped by betrayal
can't take off in pursuit of truth.
And every cut gets less discreet,
as they harden the hearts of youth.
When reality gets revealed,
Hope defends the lies love clings to.
And as happiness disappears,
life seems surreal and untrue.
Tears hide behind a mask of smiles,
concealing the pain you're feeling.
And yet, you feel devastated,
for broken hearts require healing.
Tempted by sexual urges,
innocence lost its purity.
And so, in this uncaring world,
your dreams die in obscurity.
Drench me in the hues of ocean.
The sky in my bosom quivers
while the dark clouds shadow the birds.
Lost in eternal darkness
heart ripped off by this separation
Insanity mollifies the baffled mind.
Devoured by bleakness
the soul rejoices in complacency.
Unwritten chapters of poetry
hidden mid brick-wall blank
pages 'tween lines of history's
past grievances and faux pas,
relentless whispers of tenuous
echoes chanting unintelligibly
whilst abstruse inky passages
fade further intangible obscurity
Here I stare
And sketch myself living
Timing every breath
But the clock remains still
Not a moment passes
An entire existence to spare
One complete
And nothing
Nowhere or time to go
Trapped here
In this ominous setting
Afloat in this once purgatory
Then once more and again
Impalpable designs charcoaled
Shading my ambit in silhouettes
Every turn I take muted
By the shadows of obscurity
If I wrote it all down, would you know it?
Could you see what I want you to see?
Would you think me a clown or a Poet?
If the words flowed in tempo from me?
If I showed you my soul would you wear it?
You should know what I'm trying to be
Would you care it was me if you knew it?
If I looked you in the eye would you see?
If I hand you my heart could you hold it?
You should see it drip into obscurity
(chorus)
drawn on the page of obscurity
gone from age of what was you and me
drowned in the depths of eternity
turn another page of hostility
drawn from the pages of obscurity
of obscurity
If I sang it out loud, would you hear it?
Could you hear the song inside of me?
Would you think me a fool and deny it?
If the words were a melody of me?
If I shout in anger, would you bear it?
You who screams another’s destiny
Would you share my love or just ignore it?
If I gave would you give it back to me?
If I took love away would you know it?
You should feel it fade into obscurity
(chorus)
drawn on the page of obscurity
gone from age of what was you and me
drowned in the depths of eternity
turn the next page of impurity
drawn from the pages of obscurity
of obscurity
drawn on the page of obscurity
gone from age of what was you and me
drowned in the depths of enternity
turn the last page of impurity
drawn from the pages of obscurity
from obscurity
obscurity
written by
Warner Baxter and Kathryn Alley
One Knight Stand Productions
all rights reserved