Best Ordinarily Poems
Ordinarily I lie in my bed
mentally grasping for any slender thread of slumber
which I can possibly find to cling to!
But there was one time -
a morning of early April -
when rising from bed, I felt an unusual urge
to don my housecoat and walk out to the deck.
In the stillness of pre-twilight,
I stood there some time just gazing out
at the vast valley and distant lake
of my adopted homeland.
Slowly, a sliver of lemon meringue
began coloring the horizon.
Drawn to dawn, I let myself succumb
to the beauty of it all.
A chorus of birds in nearby blossoming trees brightly chirruped,
heralding Easter morning's illumination.
On this day symbolic of redemption, I swear I heard
the silence of angels’ song.
Jan. 10, 2019
for the 'Free Verse Style Only' Poetry Contest
of Emile Pinet and now for Richard Lamoureux Poem of the Day poetry contest
POTD 1/13/19
Note: I felt happy, of course, to win this award. A few times in the past I had gotten POTD for poems I really did not feel deserved it, so I was pleased that I got the award for a poem I truly had felt good about after I wrote it!
Not long ago, one midwinter day
The sky was bright blue, not dull winter gray
It lured me out, from my hiding place
For a welcome but needed, much change of pace
Heel-hound in tow, we made our way
into the woods, that clear winter day
The old path we knew, still cloaked in leaf
Lost gold dropped by, last autumn's thief
Hardwoods were sleeping, silent and bare
Fresh winter jasmine permeated the air
Large hawks were watching, small critters play
Each was enjoying their warm winter day
Through woods, through meadow, then 'long the creek
The harbinger song of a distant grosbeak
A rare flock of turkeys ordinarily at bay
Dropped in for a visit on that winter day
As the day and the sun, began to tire
My companion and I, headed for the home fire
Relaxed and refreshed, no longer blase'
We owed it all to one warm winter day.
1-9-2019
My being rises beyond hills or feathers gliding
deepened by silence immense,
where in peak of light anointed
through soul union--
the grail of non- resistance widens
Beyong boundless path,
a haloed center drifting on
A meditative space unmapped by this world:
I am at risk of a swarming flight into nothingness
shapeless, changeless: there is no finality
into this final release, only a blaze of discernment,
greeting the god within...that in the absence
of the. mind's overtures ,
an inner sanctuary divine wraps me quiet...
while I become nothing but whole.
This sitting takes me to an attic of raw light
bestowing foams of quiet glow for travelers
unyielding to a precise compass
of direction, a spaceless space nourished as it
were, losing the self to Bodhi-like clouds
and nomadic lotus spreads. I release this soul
buried in the kundalini to a congregation
of ambient tunes saying nothing,
taking flight unto a hymn of
unknown obedience moved by elemental
balance: no more weight or cities divided,
united by forms of one, one core.
My malleable flesh dissolves into tiny
breaths; it comes and leaves with
floating grace ascending the next chi ,
as I go deep, deeper… high, higher
centering second, fourth, seventh chakra
until this my body- mind- spirit marries
in a ceremony of calm traversing zones
unnamed by time, one with all senses,
bliss or regrets… the airiness of journeying
through this unshaped season fed by something
unbidden in my life so blessed.
I step outside my body, somewhere…
without a trace that realms chop my head,
searching for a mantra of stars… stillness fed.
* chi – life energy
* kundalini--a force which ordinarily
rests at the base of the spine.
*chakras-major centers of spiritual power
Roy Jerden’s Religious Poetry: Non-Christian
Buddhism
10/18/2014
The mind holds terrible things
We wish no one could see
It tells a flattering story
As flattering as can be
Deep dark secrets fulfill
This space of air
When we think we are loved
The mind says; I don’t care
In this empty space we
Somehow call our minds
Deceive a person’s heart
And somehow keeps them blind
We will never know
The inner thought
Buried deep within
In a selfish twisted mind
That somehow has no end
In a quiet place is when
The mind works best
It always distinguish itself
From the boundaries
Of all the rest
It sees things that ordinarily
Shouldn't be
It feeds on overload and
And why, we cannot see
You thought lies, envy, jealously
Always come from the heart
It always starts in the mind
The utter most selfish part
There are two things in life
You will never ever know
How the mind functions and
And how evil in the heart grow
You would be surprise all
The things the mind occupy
And all the dark evil to
The heart it can supply
It buries things you simply
Would never and cannot see
It’s like a silent hill and
A hundred year old tree
So never underestimate
The power of the mind
It somehow brings out
The worst in all man kind
Nothing was any different.
Ordinarily I would have expected it to be,
but everything was oddly the same.
My desk. The office.
All was unchanged
but for your presence.
Handsome and tall
and young as I'd known you.
I followed your disappearance
swiftly down an unchanged passage
and through an unchanged door
into the unchanged reception.
I asked incredulously after you
and to my surprise you were confirmed
by the changeling at the front desk.
I looked left
up the unchanged stairs
and right
into the unchanged parking lot
and further down
another unchanged passage.
Maybe if I was quick enough
I'd catch you
before you reached the car.
4th October 2018
Today, it is a sunny Thursday morning in April, and my body
aches like it does when a rainstorm hits, and I am regrettably
bitter about it because in this very moment in time,
I am still waywayway too aware
of this world.
My horoscope tells me that it’s about time to get rid of some of
the baggage that I’ve been lugging all around town with me.
But (apparently) I haven’t quite
figured out where to
put it all yet.
And it’s times like these where I try to fool myself into thinking that
I’m actually good at things – regular things that other people
are especially and typically ordinarily good at.
Like, writing poetry or scrapbooking, or bigger-deal-things like
showing up to work on time.
And I’ve been waiting to tell you this without blinking for once,
and I’ve been actively searching for that relief everyone keeps
saying is buried deep in that one place that’s also hidden
underwater somewhere. So if you could feel the
blood in my veins, you’d know what I mean.
I’m anxious to feel the exact moment when the morning sunlight
hits your cheek and your irises slowly dilate with the rhythm of
your heartbeat, and I would memorize it all so perfectly,
you would’ve thought it was just a simple feeling
to give away.
But it’s impossible to sneeze while keeping your eyes completely
open and I may be just a little pessimistic about some stuff
every now and again, and I know that it’s been
a really long while since we’ve touched,
but you still look the same to me.
Life is a gift, but death is seen as a curse,
Heroes are ordinarily born but give their lives for other to live,
Tell that man that fold his arm in the mist of injustice,
That one day, very soon, if he refuses to take up the challenge,
The life he protects will be snatched from him.
Wake up the slumbers to the duty calls,
Tell the idles that there are so much work to be done,
Look into the eyes of the wicked ones and dare him,
Now is the time to act for tomorrow may be too late,
Rise, oh rise, men of justice.
(c) 2014
Like tipper tapping tiny feet toddling
I watched your mirriard of droplets
stream down my car window
Night sky like the backdrop of a show
and the lightning strikes adding to the mood of the performance
where ordinarily it might highlight or cast creepy shadows
Several crashes of thunder the only sound affects
breaking the deathly silence you could have sliced through
Stormy air and the countless hairs
of the body anticipating action
was the change in atmosphere of any such production
Yet for all the familiarity of yet another down turned weather front
something was amiss
I sat there trying to will my merry-go-round world to stop
to let me off and set me free once more
that I might strike out loose and run wild once more
like a horse loose of the reigns widly galloping away
alas I couldn’t budge
just sat their frozen to my seat
despite needing my home comforts around this hour
Knocking every ounce of confidence from me
breaking me to a point
where my tears were but one with the evenings downpour
No chocolate or ice-cream treats for pick-me-ups
nor interval for refreshment here
which would have been at least a little concillation
No, right now the world stood still
as our relationship played over from start
until someone knocked on the glass
concerned as to whether or not I was alright
Black and boggle eyed from wet mascara and numerous tears
like something out of a horror film
I turned to see who dare break this spell
Nodding to say I was fine
but not stupid they could see far from it
They pulled me out into secure arms
You could have been anyone
but you were gentle and understanding
A raging fire warmed by chilled bones
with simple hot sweet tea and the warmth of a blanket
your eyes soaked me in drawing out my story
you listened intently
I poured out my soul
You drank me in
Bringing me out of myself
you turnd so much sadness to humor
putting another chapter of life to bed
opening another as day broke through
I am now thankful for what passed
for without that part of life
we might never be making our own sweet music
creating future ambition and drive
Nesting and nestling as one together
Souls on one ship we sail new seas
The tulips and daffodils
have bloomed en masse,
in the surrounding fields.
The tourists who came to
enjoy them, have gone away.
March and April brought
excitement to our ordinarily
placid lives, but we are glad
to get back to normalcy.
May is almost here and will
undoubtedly bring warmer days.
Our gardens will take over
the spotlight and the big fields
will be populated with large
farm machinery busily working
up the ground and with famers
planting other, less exotic crops.
It is a relief to be able
to take a quick dash to town
for groceries or supplies
without being held up by
clogged roads from the
cars of expectant visitors.
Our spring was exceptionally
early this year and many of
the flower hungry tourists
came too late to see them
in their highest glory.
Indeed, some of the blooms
had been topped already
by the diligent bulb growers.
In our yards and gardens,
lilacs are in bloom,
rhododendrons and azaleas
are coming into their full beauty
and perennial and annual baskets
are decorating our homes.
Peonies and Asiatic poppies
are blazing in the sun.
Our valley is still beautiful
and you are invited
to come again for a more
relaxed and less frantic visit.
Written: 4/25/16
I'd like to dedicate this Acrostic to you.
Now you I appreciate, but here's a clue.
So journey with me to a place of pure bliss.
Answer my poetry, and I'll give you a poetic kiss!
Notice my creativity comes from mi corazon.
Enter heaven with me, and I'll never leave you alone!
Remember, love is the ultimate truth, all else is a lie.
Ordinarily it would take more that a woman's words to satisfy.
So unselfishly I give you a nice piece of me.
Eternally we will be, if you just follow the words in my poetry!
Haphazard chaos became the norm.
Attention Deficit Disorder brought the storm
Throw in a little hyperactivity and boys.
Rip roaring commotion and a disarray of toys.
Every action challenged serenity.
Drama pierced peaceful woodlands rowdily.
Never did their pain elicit such hatred.
Every shout was hurtful, unthinking, and mean.
Vulnerability increased; love lost its sheen.
Endless name-calling wrought two boy’s punches.
Respectable young brothers forgot to love.
Family split asunder by parental blunder.
Excruciating pain filled their children’s brain.
Love was offered; rejection brought hate.
The children cried; victims of the state.
Social services skillfully dismantled parental bonds.
Ordering a gambit of activities; family love absconds.
Guilty or not, it did not matter; love was marked.
Opportunity to hate had opened every door.
Ordinarily, the boys had been happy and respectful.
Dismantled; hatred never felt so good.
Copyright March 10, 2014
Written for Poetry Soup Member Contest: Love or Hate pick a subject #2 –
Sponsor Shadow Hamilton
Form: Acrostic with Rhyme
February fourth nineteen ninety nine...
Signified birth of our second bundle of joy
whereby linkedin chromosomes betwixt
the missus and I intimately expressed ourselves
and me would alloy
courtesy meiosis the miracle
of human reproduction would deploy
distribution of genetic material.
Full term newborn occured
Suburban Mercy Hospital birthplace
(2701 Dekalb Pike, Norristown, PA 19401)
nine months after spermatozoon gave chase
to ovulating ova
(cue all around the mulberry bush...
pop goes the weasel),
the former latter did embrace,
where sonogram revealed inchoate face
courtesy yours truly burst into
singing amazing grace
adoring newborn exquisite
as finely wrought lace
a biological daughter frisson
snap, pop, and crackling within myspace
automatically, immediately, and ultimately
ingratiating special place
within mine heart of darkness.
No greater purposefulness
exists than to behold thee alive
bearing witness regarding thee
exiting thru birth canal ye did dip and dive.
Tethered to umbilical cord
analogous to astronaut
linkedin to mother ship
bobbing and weaving
once forced out the womb
thru metaphorical fjord
inconsolable offspring crying,
no matter papa implored
though nonreligious, nevertheless
ofttimes paradoxically invoking lord.
How quickly orbitz around the sun sped away
crawling and climbing in no time
atop highest ledge utmost goal without delay,
which might help explain
mine premature hairs of gray
and your dare devilish more frightening
than being hunted down courtesy janissary
(or so I imagine) above exaggeration, I may
beg poetic license and pray
ye anonymous reader enjoy
reading about our precocious Shay
(Hebrew for beautiful)
progeny, who though developmentally challenged
frequently ordinarily calm, cool and collected dada
uttering stronger epithet than oy vey.
Now, one score plus two years
astride planet earth ye attest
to mine wide eyed opened amazement
buzzfeeding, snapchatting and livingsocial
(shutterflying a pinteresting life)
more so than me at twenty two,
no matter I did detest
living under same roof as parents,
cuz yours truly felt like
most unwanted guest!
with noticeable burgeoning bosom in the offing, ahoy
this baby faced blubbery bosom beastie boy
fast becoming a bra man,
and might hire himself out
as a male wet nurse for employ
ment, cuz when stark naked on shark tank,
I behold two bopping, brewing, busting
flap jacks in search of a frying pan,
which change in my physiognomy doth annoy
but, suddenly spurring,
this ordinarily calm, cool, and collected chap
positing even a more radical income idea
changing ma name to Chester, letting hooters
get suckled, though,
methinks they qualify as milk duds
tit two siamese twin guys christened ell and roy
offering accompanied with serving of cookies,
where adipose floppy blimps
rank popular as novel cheap toy
where art though washboard stomach,
where brestworks didst sprout
as if overnight a markedly increased
from flat “Joe” six pack chest did an about
face, with squishy, mushy, and doughy
sprang up without doubt
suddenly forcing a sexual identity crisis,
which freaky phenomenon makes me wanna pout
for weird, wicked woebegone
affects the psyche of this lviii aged lout
wondering what other transitions,
this fellow may indeed be on the look out
feigning to traverse (in me mind) badgering
rugged hormonal secretion terrain akin to a girl scout
on the prowl targeting a peeping tom,
whose foolery demands clout,
thus this imposed unfair punishment,
as some half assed irreversible decree
maybe hints of other surprises,
yet tubby revealed, which haint no fallacy
possibly being brewed up by a brood
of bruiting imps of the pervert with glee
some bot sized microscopic
anti bosom buddy hood stolen the genetic key
analogous to a pesky malware,
virus, trojan horse secrete lee
scheming to transform the sexual identity of me
perhaps waking up tomorrow minus
my little peppy ***** , and behold a pussy
should such an outcome prevail,
where media papparazzi
stake out this freak of nature re:
doubling efforts erecting fortifications
in a big old sassy tree,
especially if the press
(i.e. particularly meaning Wikileaks)
discovers ability to experience infinite orgasms
converting sexual predilection into electric utility.
Ordinarily,
haiku is of nature’s realm;
so, I add a leaf.
Beauty and Pride you have gotten even when the road is rough
Oh! Ordinarily, I can’t hold it because you are indeed a substance of emulation at your age.
Seductive and glamorous which other words can I use
Elegant, your taste is high and I love it
Dedicative, you are not workaholic but you take care of everything to avoid lapses
Eminent, your presence is like that of a crowned queen. My princess you are a rare gem.
I love you.