Best Otherworld Poems
Dawn broke
The eastern pink sky
Drew across the stars
As they faded and lost to the night
I called the eagle
To guide me
Piercing whistle
That I learnt as a boy
Running wild and free
I walked in the company of men
High above, eagles flew
The wraiths are coming from the otherworld too
Carrying the angst and pain
That has no place and name
Here at Heartstone
The screeching and wailing
Increased hideously
The tattered cloaks
Scattering the scree
I stood, with the company of men
My bow ready
Arrows drawn
Arm, steady
I have trained to defend
Truth and love
Nobility
Chivalry
The wraiths gathered
The screeching and wailings
Piercing through
To our souls
We are ready
To fight to the end
To defend
All that is true
The flight of an arrow
Unleashed
Steadied by the eagles’ feather
Of brown and gold
It flew
Straight and true
In to the non existent heart
Of a wraith bitter and cold
It was this I slew
A bundle of rags fell
For it is not the metal tip
That killed
It was the feather of a Heartstone Eagle
Truth be told
That slew
A wraith, bitter and cold
The wraiths flew
From behind the mountain
The screeching and wailing
Tattered cloaks
Scattering the scree
They came in their hundreds
To fall
For, truth and love
From a feather
Of a mighty eagle above
Slew the hearts
Bitter and cold
Brown and gold glow
Flashing by
The flight of an arrow
The archers
Standing tall
The gleam of brown and gold
That flew
Deep in to the cold bitter hearts
Of stories now told
Of men of the longbow
I reached
I pulled
Many arrows to fly
Of a star
Of a longbow
Aquila am I
The longbow of dark wood
Felt my strength
As I clasped its’ bronze inlaid feathers
And reached
And pulled
Arrows of brown and gold
Deep into wraiths
Its’ purpose understood
The sky turned black
With eagles that twisted and turned
Of wraiths, slain
Felled by the longbow
Down they fell
In to their own stinking hell
The brown and gold aglow
Darkness falling
The fires lit so bright
In a company of men
That celebrated under starlight
Remember….
This day well
When the archers
Masters of the longbow
Sent the wraiths back
To their stinking hell
Of Aquila
Who slew
More than most
The flight of an arrow
That holds true
Sunday cockcrow nascent
aural essays reveal
laissez-faire raptures.
Enigmatic silken piece compost ushered in by
trenchant trademark tremulous signature.
Doe-eyed instrumentalist’s strident brass ensemble,
wakey wakey for the pier gazing loiterer whose blasé
sashay amble’s out of kilter.
Maverick antennae on a radio safari,
hawking hourglass heritage lodestone.
Closet Peter Pan’s astride transistor, literati goggle eyed and glued.
Silhouettes of wistful mint leaf tract,
navigating hoarse throat shellback allegory.
Earnest weekend welcome mat to madcap jester, laureate, bohemian.
Religiously the listener’s transported
from a humble tepee sanctum
to alluring levee inundation area,
far flung folly edifice,
nomad siren hymn sheet to mount Half Dome.
Long wave bounder in my dreams,
I limb skip oe’r fiction world simulcast entanglement,
snoop beneath rogallo-wing parachute in a Middle East plot,
“twin peaks” would be awestruck by this labyrinthine concourse.
One can flit invisibly round medieval black market cobblestone arcades,
ghost novelist’s ethereal penchant for pinch and pilfer retro-fit infringement.
Melting pot cinnamon dispenser, whiff stick fix antidote to kettledrum ennui
the blight of urban jungle setting and rural folklore.
Otherworld contortion with a shard of drama for magic carpet flight of fancy broadcast
Lineage derived from ancient epochs now assumed but for an inkling, icons I become with card shark sly booth legerdemain.
Maybe I’m that fictile clueless hiker, destitute, indigent
An evanescent bouquet of skewed briars,
is how a tinsel laden tawdry essence wickedly unfolds ,
scuppered signpost to a fetid human compost,
faint light pendant on soul crushed quantum migrant,
who might chortle at vivid veil flimsy vacuum,
skirt recklessly around bogus symbols,
peer behind the squalid limp sodden hedge,
mock myopic moribund mist upon boundary busting dawn chimera,
sneer at synthetic spectrum elastic in its irritating tidal wave surfeit,
cerulean fabric‘s milky way escape plot,
in a perilous quest for that eternal tape loop mantra,
the synaptic heart of that vainglorious horizon,
self-knowledge under charcoal moon and silver cloud veneer,
or feral waste rapid fire contagion,
the indecisive day glow dither on the margins ,
of fly weight feeble frantic dash,
that velvet shadow treason daubed pettifog,
known as tangential wanton cobweb fester creed,
the mind a bloated ripple vortex numbing in its scope,
golden mirage but faux fur real concoction,
against the banal backdrop of complex-ridden superficial eddy,
from floral garland poseur stricken en train,
some vox pop indignation mere shrinking violet showcase waver,
the gleam-hued truth has this dastardly demonic derailment,
that I brush aside as spiteful oxalic sting repost,
that deceptive mint green forest of chameleon cant,
sly nuanced molten maple syrup hint,
from out of kilter tree pierce otherworld,
unseen yet bliss-edged virtual garden of firm conviction,
not just from isolated enigmatic individual script,
such as torrid turbulence or mindless scattered rim shot,
when conventions can be altered in exotic prose,
human zeitgeist has this far too often penchant,
for silkworm rapt effervescent double speak,
whilst plain unvarnished uplifting utterance,
resides within the deep crystal spring well,
of us torch aloft emerald earthling sages,
please augment the rock buttress stark phrase,
whose bluntness is a carrier pigeon of candor,
devoid of muted gray cloud blind waffle,
aromatic sprig to giant spasm of bold pluck,
quandary of human race at hearth,
frightened cliques, hidebound yes men who yen,
to swim the azure gulf of august freedom,
to the Eden where lucid tongues herald pristine witness.
where values at the centre of our being should blossom
Whispers of Light
Whispers of light caress
the edge of darkness’ reign,
rebellion, renewal, transition,
sweet gleam, golden delusion.
Awakening
in fleeting otherworld
the wings of fairy nymphs,
misted clouds of long past
dreams take form
stirred by breath of
siren’s call.
Lovers silhouetted
in the darkness of a light
not yet appeared.
Waiting on the edge
of love faded and love new.
Within the silent darkness
enchantment’s
whispers of light.
John G. Lawless
2/7/2014
He ruled his kingdom with an iron fist
all looked up to the earl of otherworld.
Women sighed over his handsome face,
his manly stature and his sense of humour.
His heir and son was cultivated and charming.
Yet the earl's wife was a fiery woman of red hair
with an hourglass figure she tempted and teased.
He was putty in her hands when she flirted.
His warriors would follow him to certain death
such was their trust in his leadership and skills.
His earldom was both strong and rich in arts,
jewels with bounteous harvests of fruit and grains.
His once many enemies were now scattered and few.
He gazed out over his kingdom and knew with certainty
that all was ready for the day he was no more
that his son would carry on capably in his footsteps.
He knew he would be remembered with relevance
that many would mourn his Rite of Passage
after all he was the patrician all he beheld
and he ruled all with wisdom and strength.
written 07/17/2015
contest Patriarchy
I'd been the fire in the rain
the sun in the storm
I'd been everywhere
and nowhere
my broken back arched
once in defiance,
a monk chanted and
the moon stood still
I told him,
don’t pray for me I am a
godless goddess
the white fire burns in me
and no other
through a tongue-less mouth
I screamed for release
into the otherworld
having a million words to say
I was speechless
~~~
the sun rises in me again
healing my wounds
the answer to my cries
I am free again to dream
my monk friend,
take my hands feel my faith
my broken back now healed
arches in exaltation
I dance on moonbeams
sliding the light of beauty
dream catchers spin with
the sound of my first word
I am reborn and new once more
only my joy will be the death of me
Fog rolling spirits astir
Halloween on way?
Thrills or chills?
The day when border of our world and the otherworld
Getting thin to let allow spirits to pass through
Maybe Satan, witch or the ghouls among us
Ward off harmful spirits by wearing costumes
To disguise as harmful spirit to avoid the harm.
Welcome to the Fifth Halloween Hustle of North Carolina
Get some treats, witch, Satan from above is watching you
Enjoy the race and a variety of other festive activities
With trail shoes, long sleeves, unless weather is warm.
10 miles marked route on tracks and footpaths
Some steep hills and some tough sandy sections
2 water stops en route, water and bananas
Spectators welcome with fancy dress for Halloween.
And then, loudly passes the procession of the town
Crowds drawn when politics and religion go aflame
Burgers filled with tender meat, colorful people
Drinking, laughing, singing, watching drifting by.
Ghoul’s hour past, mortals revert to their places
The moon returned normal sight smog lifted.
Goodbye my friends for another year for cheers,
And thank you for a night of love and passion.
+++
August 30, 2014
Form:Free verse
I fall
into the deep
uncharted otherworld
of untime. I can't hear your cry,
"Awake!'
The Ruba’iyat of Créteil Lake – Part Twenty
Trillion pin-pricks of the sticky mists surround the mosque’s turret
Shrouding the pallid angular slabs of the Faithfuls outlet:
Even the muzzled pit-bulls marshaled out in the cold winced.
At the sharp tweet of the Commandant’s whistle car-lights uplit
Like some otherworld Xanadu the mosque loomed ethereal
Floating on fizzing cloud mists in a sky turned surreal:
“Awake! And unbar the portals,” boomed the thick-chested Chief,
“Dawn’s disapproving face frowns down upon us in denial !”
Some penitent come for early fajr prayer called out in fear:
“Who art thou in armour-bound black hidden by helmet visor?
Is this some Garth Varda come to task? Or some Spielberg quest?
The cock summons not the day nor doves huddle in the clear.”
“We’ve come to serve a warrant for the arrest of a miscreant.
Go! Tell the Imam forthwith! Wake the Holy Incumbent!”
So hollered the Commune Chief’s barrel-chested Commandant.
“Grand Officier of the Légion d’honneur, pray be patient!”
Silhouetted against shiny walls stood the stout robot force
Not an arm stirred though eyes stayed peeled with ears to the boss
When into headlights strode the jellaba-draped Prophet’s servant:
“What heinous crime hath brought the Caliph’s wrath down upon US!”
© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2014
these demons
are like easy people speaking
with glossy tongues
making sure that you feel
good about
the transaction in front of your
face while
the wobble of the edges of the cone
produce the indelible memory
concerning a tell-tale image
demonstrating the true
inexact picture
spend your
money
spend your
time
jump through fire rings
run from the otherworld
saw off the connection
dive into the river
all just to purify
yourself
from these
selfish souls
so deranged and starved
for the quest of
anothers
excellent life
Tantalising shadows
taper moonlight lovebirds
tender coo and sigh that
trace heartbeat neap tide verve
tango tingled eye beams
tease nocturnal haunt’s oath
to otherworld eros
Date written : 27th April 2021
Contest : Pleiades T Poetry Contest
Come Halloween! O Halloween!
We hide in the shadows no longer.
For this is our time to revel and rollick
in the fast-slipping twilight
and don the cloaks of hallowed ones
who have journeyed before us
at the end of the harvest
and the thinning of the veils
between the Otherworld and ours
that shake the souls and frighten the hearts
of those unwilling to welcome the night
in which the sacrosanct and profane
duel unrelentless in their unseen and spiritual bouts
from minute to hour, from door to door
from field to forest, from fire to ashes
stirred by the wind and pummeled by the rain
until all is melded and finally dissolved
into the darkest dark of the night
without stars, without moon
without the flicker of candles
lit over and over against the blackness of space
fearing the knock on the door, the rattle of the window
the shaking of the floor, the shadows on the wall,
the tingle on the flesh, the creaking of the stairs
the rap on the table, the howl of the unknown
the sound of voices whispering ethereal words
that echo like ripples on a hidden stream in a hidden dale
beyond the reach of all who await the approaching dusk
to revel and rollick and don the cloaks
at the end of the harvest and the thinning of the veils
when we do say, Come Halloween! O Halloween!
It is not the fault of the stars to shine.
Glimmering over the darkest hearts.
Neither you are the dark nor the light,
I am always be with you. Eternally.
Because the sky is everywhere.
I won't wait for a second chance
to chase the sky to fall,
in the village of mourning,
waiting for a murderous being.
A being that kills my Panther heart.
I fear nothing,
even the quest of falling debris of sadness.
Even after I talked to the pouring rain.
After the darkness fell
in the broken windows of betrayal.
I am no innocent man,
listening to a whispering dead heart.
Through the silence of the sea,
I can hear your heartbeats.
It never lies of truth.
The truth of an open secrets.
I could be a master of the otherworld,
a dream walker, and a magician,
narrating my world in the book of life.
Never I go back to pick the pieces of ill heart,
fell from the hell. And every bit of my loneliness,
I wanna spend to praise Him.
Only Him.
Harbour Mall, Sandakan. 301215.2:00PM.
Have we not awaited, danced under the surface;
Awakening the sleeping spirits, and warmed the hearts of the cold?
Are we not Everlasting; were never born and can never die;
Ever circling the sacred groves, and the Land of Old?
Have we not fought battles; in Light and Dark alike,
Created Elemental creatures, others arising with own Mind?
Have we not closed our Circles, Past with Future through the Now,
Passed times anew, and places; to awaken memory of greater kind?
Have we not walked shadows; In Otherworld and Under;
In realms afar and near, and within seen forgotten faces?
Have we not, I ask,
and silently, I wonder
Are we not the masters; teaching wisdom which we hold;
Guiding the lost to their Light, the awoken to their Truth?
Are we not the whispering voices; words spoken from the Source
Weaving silently the patterns of the Stars and the Journeys of our Souls?
Are we not the flames of Old; forgotten sparks to the Ever-going
Awaiting the Rise of the Sun, and the Emerging of the World?
Are we not, I ask, in this Time of Gathering
Awake, dear Ones, in this Time of Unity
It has Begun.
“Love weaves a mysterious magic spell”
Enchanted heart light pulse no rein can quell
Moonbeam frenzy rippling through souls entwined
Dark midnight hour gasp a charmed sleigh bell
Golden whispers permeate our hub aligned
Pearl-eyed lustrous jinx free oath undersigned
We bare toe dash at wishful madcap pace
As eros leaves its comet far behind
Early red dawn passion etched in sheer lace
Spring day mystic zenith, her glow tone face
Closer to nirvana, deep first blush team
Eternal heaven, haunt, or secret space.
Breath of sky rapt tender link’s heady stream
Otherworld amidst engagement ring theme
Doves that skim and coo silver froth afloat
Bright souvenirs en route unveil a gleam
Sensual laughter spurs hypnotic note
blithely fosters harmonising fond quote
Erotic fervour cast your lucky shroud
O'er honeymooner’s trance on dream boat
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