Best Ostensibly Poems
I start my afternoon hike up a mountain trail.
October’s sunlight, the vestige of Indian Summer,
dapples my exposed skin with welcomed warmth.
Sun’s rays are gilded tendrils cutting through pines
whose needles’ sweet scent
I breathe deeply in.
I can almost taste the breeze as it rushes past,
waltzing through the many trees.
The sky, immersed in azure, is heavenly!
I imagine its clouds having been swirled by the wind
with which I wish I too were dancing.
Bright foliage surrounds me.
I am bedazzled by them as they ostensibly flaunt
hues of scarlet, rich amber honey, russet, and tangerine -
an ocean of windswept trees!
My destination is a pristine lake where new trees
shimmer - mirrored in its crystal blue.
One oak is so tall it seems like a steeple reaching upward.
Its limbs have formed an arbor which beautifies
the view that greets my eyes.
Acquiescing to enthrallment, I linger there
where tranquility’s quintessence abides,
inhaling October’s unique potpourri.
Dusk will soon swallow up the day,
so I begin my descent. Birds twitter; leaves whisper.
Seeing me, a timid rabbit scampers behind a bush.
Heaven seems fused with the terrain,
igniting my world with iridescence
as against a splash of persimmon, seagulls soar.
How I would love to glide home like those glorious birds.
Intoxicated by the rhapsody of colors,
I come to the bottom of the trail with just enough time
to reach my home’s comfort before night’s chill
envelops all.
Dec. 16, 2022
For Eve Roper's Still-Life Autumn Scene Poetry Contest
Categories:
ostensibly, autumn,
Form:
Free verse
A grey frame house and backyard swing
call out to me
from somewhere buried deep in time -
a memory.
A river front and 60’s band
are beckoning -
symbols of beginnings of
my reckonings.
Ostensibly,
I cannot travel back in time,
or I would be
there dancing, not making rhyme.
Oh, can it be
the parks and wooded spots I knew
now withering -
will cease to be when I am through?
Except in dreams!
Were folks and my old haunts the same
revisited,
then on no stone would live my name.
Categories:
ostensibly, death, destiny, nostalgia,
Form:
Verse
A sigh escapes still, immune to overt silence, unabashed...justified
Another teardrop enters the infinite pool of resilience, uplifting...reinforcing
Another hand empathizes--
touching, impulsively putting one's heart unto wounds, alleviating pain
enfolding memories into paper, ostensibly vigilant
Unborn dreams awaiting fruition.
empty streets, impacted pieces: occupied lives, unwavering spirits
Arighting the entropy--
"Not Impossible!" Heaves Obstacled Nation -- Untiring, Persevering!
A lone emboldened seed is planted, objectifying hope,
ushering life amidst rubble,
engaging tenacity inherently within overburdened, yet undauntable voices
Ardently surging, emerging from insidious waves of chaos,
ultimately touching azure
Time effortlessly moves, insensitive to ordeals
nonetheless, undoubtedly healing...
As wings echo distantly, irradiated winds oscillate
blush unfurling light...
Arise, Sun! Embrace the illuminated blossom. Orbit Love's universe.
0330040203042013
11th March 2011
**It has been two years since Japan encountered
such a devastating triple tragedy
of the earthquake in Tohoku, tsunami and
the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster...
They are still slowly picking up the pieces,
so much needs to be done,
so many are still displaced, uncertain of their futures, of their lives...
hopefully they are not forgotten.
It may take long, long years,
but I honestly believe Japan can rise over this, I honestly hope so.
****Thank you David for this enjoyable challenge.
It has pushed me to approach this topic in a way that
I would have never thought of on my own....
Categories:
ostensibly, dedication, hope, tribute, universe,
Form:
Free verse
Lovely blossoms of bougainvillea
Under a moonlight serenade
Ostensibly I contemplate the root
Of the affinity drawing me to you
Abiding fighter and bounteous lover
Rendering your essence freely
For the love of the gift
Candid without a care
Asking for less than nothing really
A few drops of water enough for sustenance
You have no scent nothing to call your own
Or to flaunt your offering
Subtle faint understated and low-key
Waiting to be discovered
To be loved and treasured
Simply for what you are
And not for guiles ruses or ploys
Swaying silently you wait as I
In the moonlit summer breeze
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Submitted on June 22, 2019 for contest sponsored YOUR CHOICE FLOWER VERSE sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
and on March 17, 2019 for contest BOUGAINVILLEA sponsored by CRAIG CORNISH
Categories:
ostensibly, introspection, longing, love, moon,
Form:
Free verse
Aimlessly walking across the wasteland
of your mind,
you pick through the emotional trash
with random intensity
Crushed bottles of plastic thoughts;
half drank, half spilled on dozens of bridal dresses
Crushed cans of metal demands;
hard lemonade speeches, soft wine cooler caresses
And betrothed napkins
blow away in the wind
Rusted pennies for your thoughts
lay strewn on the sidewalk,
as you pick through the mental dumpster
with no sense of urgency
Scattering everywhere your intellectual debris
You find a good pair of glasses of never used honesty
Though you can see your true feelings better now,
you still try not to think too ostensibly
Walking with a more focused purpose,
still with your eyes looking down
and selectively looking around
For what? You’re still not quite sure
As you stroll, traversing the ruins of your mind,
you’re certain of one thing:
Beneath every barren ground,
there’s a treasure trove
of doubt
waiting to be found
Categories:
ostensibly, identity, psychological, truth, wisdom,
Form:
Free verse
‘Turn swords into ploughshares and nightmares to dreams’
I have not one plough and no shares in the market
Insomnia has taken over my nights the rest is illusion
Ambitions are exhausted and hope has no yearning
Freedom dangles on the rope of puppet-less strings
Vacuum reflects an echo of silent ear bursting rasping
Dissonance oozes from cacophony’s apathetic rattle
The heavy clanger of other’s fraudulent forge melts disowned blood
Into ice in my veins as a purulent mind oozes vile battles' cries
Muted by trench feet scraping bottomless mind-fields and apathy
‘Pull yourself out of catatonia’s core-less pits’
But there is no kernel of truth and fruits of desire have rotted
To the acrid stench of a Self carefully lost on broken branches
Snapped composure looms over a well-trodden treacherous path
Carved into an involuntary hermit’s cave by a cliff edged road side
It is grave in the cavern in which vacant vagrants jumble their bones
Disconnect their last possession and wilfully trade skulls and bones
‘This too shall pass and so many others have been stuck in the rot’
And yet suffocation in some muddy sludge is sinking
Slowly and excruciatingly tempting to join forces of evil
A dark rusty anchor floats high on the unreachable ceiling
Time I have endless measures of but the world is upside down
I am out of the picture that has faded memories for the future
Dislodged and dismembered I am a powerful union of nothing
‘Change your perspective and find solace where it is hidden’
So he who is I from the distance finally lets go of unwarranted grip
Descends as far from the surface as possible beyond expectations
And finds footing of the shackles where the ploughshare should be
The spikes pierce my soles and my soul ostensibly drowned in sorrow
At least there is pain and some place in between scars to feel emotions
That tentatively nurture rescue apparently beyond impossible salvation
‘Your advice seemed hollow but there is some loving space left inside my shell’
29th November 2019
Categories:
ostensibly, courage, depression, hope,
Form:
Free verse
My mind cannot erase the memory of Emmett Till
I often dream about his badly-mutilated body –
The fourteen-year-old Black lad mercilessly beaten
To death … for ostensibly flirting with a white woman.
A victim of the era in which he lived, he was lynched,
But the men who killed him were found “Not Guilty.”
Have we any reason to wonder why Blacks are angry?
The number of cases of Blacks murdered by police
During routine traffic stops, for no reason, astounds,
There is a twisted reason why our prisons are teeming
With young Black men and women, while they are
Only a small minority of the general population --
Prejudice and racism are rampant, indeed systemic,
In America, touted as the land of freedom and justice.
written March 1, 2022
Categories:
ostensibly, anti bullying, black african
Form:
Free verse
SHE DRIVES ME UP THE WALL
She drives me up the wall like a slave-driver
O yes, she does ! but even though she may wield
the rod in her hand ever so threateningly at me
At the slightest suspicion of insubordination,
Leaving me cowering with fear, I love her just the same,
Perhaps much more than I ‘ve ever loved anybody else before!
I may ‘ve become certifiable as a result, who knows,
But whatever the case may be,
pray don’t judge me harshly until you ‘ve heard me out.
I love her for the same farcical reason that Socrates
Ostensibly loved that cantankerous woman Xantippe.
By temperament and upbringing, I find a woman who
Stands up to a man much more appealing than one
Who’s obsequious and complaisant!
What happened to me, therefore, was no accident but a
quantum leap; I had no control what so ever over the turn of events
That got us this far in our fledgling relationship.
Ever since I met her, my life, which had hitherto been
Fairly peaceful and uneventful, has, all of a sudden,
Taken a dramatic turn.
And like a minx, she has so turned my head around
I can’t tell for certain whether I am coming or I am going!
Suffice to say I’ve been acting up silly and rather foolishly
For a grown up person (I don’t know whether or not I still
Have any semblance of an ego left, what with this
Attractive je ne sais quoi I find so irresistible about her!)
Oh no, don’t tell me I’ve been doing this all for the
Wrong reasons ! or that I am laying it on thick.
It’s only me who knows exactly what I am feeling.
Besides, I am not talking morals here, I am talking
About what it feels like to love somebody to a fault.
If she did walk out on me now I can guarantee you
That would certainly be the death of me!
I am sure that’s not what you would all like
To see happen to me just yet unless of course
You’ve been spoiling for my death while pretending to be my friends.
When all else is said and done, I’d rather be
Henpecked than let go of this maverick specimen of womankind
Who has lodged herself in my life uninvited,
Making it her home, and has since then never failed
To drive me up the wall like a slave-driver with her rod.
Not only is she good sport, but like a morning
Star she’s such fun to be with, I promise you!
OLIVER MUKEMU
Categories:
ostensibly, adventure, age, anniversary, art,
Form:
Ballad
Onto peaks the setting sun has splashed its brilliant red.
Clouds cavort in the twilight's cerise as geese soar overhead.
Trees along the mountains’ ridges, trembling in the breeze,
Ostensibly flaunt leaves bright scarlet, tangerine and gold.
Beautiful and bedazzling, and the mundane now flees.
Eventide’s extravaganza, such bliss to behold -
Rhapsody of colors! Fall has me in its hold.
For the Colorful Fall Poetry Contest of Nayda Ivette Negron
Categories:
ostensibly, nature, seasons,
Form:
Rhyme
Standing high atop a canyon
wall, a rising, thermal current
warmed my weathered face with gentle,
smoothest, invisible fingers.
Overhead a lone eagle glides
effortlessly, circling, dipping
downward, ostensibly playing.
His iterate screeching echoes
loudly through the narrow chasm.
Genuine freedom on the wing
but unaware how free he is;
and I who deems to be as free
knows that it’s only an ideal
one that can never be achieved.
Categories:
ostensibly, freedom,
Form:
Verse
A four piece string ensemble competes
with fluted crystal glasses harmonizing
to the tinkling of fine silverware
underpinned by the purring whispers
of well-to-do's and their hobnobbery.
Buttery lobster and rib-eyed supper in
opulent gravies and exotic spices;
cornucopia fruits on sterling platters
all floating about the ballroom on
white gloved tuxedos.
There’s a thick pretense in the air;
a high browed notion of superiority
reflected off each gold-fitted gemstone
amplified when ostensibly viewed
through a monocle lens.
I suppose it’s a lonely company they keep
esteeming each other as conquerors
by cordially extended handshake;
dodging and redirecting questions incessantly,
so as not to be rude, no doubt.
All the lavish excess of the night
is surpassed in every rise and fall
of her chest, as I contemplate silently
what fate has befallen that life, no more
beaming behind those sapphire eyes.
Empty sockets abound, lifelessly
betraying boisterous expressions of mirth.
Dancing corpses swig their Dom Perignon
forgetting for tonight, at least,
the toiling lilies of the field.
Preston Graham
(Grahamburglar)
08/16/15
For Contest: Puttin on the Ritz
Hosted by: Judy Konos
Categories:
ostensibly, beauty, celebrity, class, clothes,
Form:
Free verse
Denied
With early sunset, the heart descends,
veils of dusk and inconstant eyes,
Set to return home, but one last flight,
as darkness tears and stains vibrant vibes,
My denied emotions ostensibly pretend.
Written Oct 27th, 2015
© Dr. Upma A. Sharma
Contest- any sad poem
Awarded 2nd place win
Sponsor- broken wings
Categories:
ostensibly, betrayal, emotions,
Form:
Rhyme
let's start straightforward with an A
and always be cool and demure that way
whisper nonchalantly what we have to say
of alpha to omega between bourgeoisie
'cause cool is cool 'n' hip-hop is hip
even if the straights can't get a grip
and pointedly roil with pointless guilt trip
to turning feng shui and sipping green tea
the patricians will try to be your killjoy
but play it cool boy - don't be a stool boy
you can be yourself here - sit back 'n' enjoy
picking fruit from your own berry tree
'cause the world has always been that way
old versus young with new lines to say
but it's really the same old verses to play
all bring experiences to life's tree
you sit, maybe stand and take in these words
maybe muse, WTF, the whole notion's absurd
the slope of your slant is patently heard
in your own sensibility to a tolerable degree
the universe is full of universal unknowns
yet naturally, we try to clone our own zones
still my mind is mine alone, ain't no bones
but everyone's here to live life ostensibly
so we work a way through our shared alphabet
and glean from our lives, all we can get
experiences and desires, our appetite to whet
always returning to what will be, will be
© Goode Guy 2013-06-16
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/240206
Categories:
ostensibly, imagination, introspection, rap, social,
Form:
Rhyme
a Pondering Moment
in the sensual hours of day...or night
can horrendously ache the mind
for every passing thought
leaves a sense of humane torment…or delight
they can ostensibly liquefy the heart
a split second of silence leads us back to the days
that we love so very much…or hate
and oh! how they tear ourselves apart
But we need them
These moments…
Keep us alive…or dead
Categories:
ostensibly, imagination, inspirational, life, passion,
Form:
Free verse
Powerfully pandered not pondered and plotted
Ostensibly organic not overtly originally spotted
Liars lipping lethargic lies lavishly construed and truly
Ire inducing ignorance imputing irresponsible foolery
Terrorizing timid tepid taxpayers to respond fast
In an impatient ill illegal inconceivable idiotic mad blast
Callously cold and cantankerously conniving bastards
Assiduously aspiring and aggravating masses mastered
Low lying lingering and living Luddite like lumberjacks
Limping 'long labored roads ludicrously lacking facts
Yet yearning yearly for yuppy snacks
they wouldn't even know what to do with it, nor deserve it.
Categories:
ostensibly, philosophy, political,
Form:
Acrostic