Best Outlining Poems


Premium Member Parallel

Parallel

Evening arrived scattering snowflakes,
I sought a solitary
Path
Through winter’s barren woods
Made magical this night
With glittering snow
Gracing every empty branch
Each twig
In the muffled silence of a downy dusk
And, thinking that I walked
Enfolded in the snowy twilight,
Only with myself,
I overlooked the footprints
Slowly walking 
Side by side
With my own –
Unnoticed in the rhapsody
Of the winter’s stormy
Forest celebration
Until
The path uncurled around a curve
Revealing in the gathering dusk
Another traveler,
Familiar to my heart,
Plodding
Through the windblown drifts
Bent,
Stooping beneath a heavy burden
Slipping side to side
With every step
Until the baggage
Pulled
The bearer to the snowbound path –
A solitary figure
Captured in the jealous grip of gravity - 
And so I left my reveries,
My path,
Crossing through the unmarked snow,
The snowy wall,
Between us
To lift the burden
Of my companion in the twilight
To follow in the footsteps –
In silence - 
And
Knowing 
I could not lead upon this path,
Nor walk within the chambers of another heart,
But only trace the tracks
Outlining the journey of my friend
In this brief moment of time and stars
Beneath a darkening sky
Till we would walk in parallel
Again.
Categories: outlining, friend, friendship, loss, snow,
Form: Free verse

Premium Member Fading

"Before a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more, in the leafless root there is no less" - Ralph Waldo Emerson


I'm a sunflower, 
dipped in honey of 
bittersweet bronze smiles, 
admiring its soulmate 
strolling around the sun, 
in sombre shine of 
eclipsed dawn, whilst 
these faes lure poisoned 
pollens with flaming 
ruby red ocean foams, 
And I see a peculiar 
patchwork on knitted 
canopies, which are 
sprouting clayey hearts 
out of crimson crooned 
willow branches. 

Crumbling to pixies, 
falling lifeless like fragile 
leaflets in autumnal carols, 
I believe, twin flame 
telepathy is a souvenir 
of roses and thorns, 
which emerges as wanton 
wildfire on the brim of 
ocean's moon-song 
in mellifluous mystery, 
outlining turmoil in 
turquoise land of trolls. 
For, magnetised feathers 
on matte lips always get 
soaked in ashey sighs 
of regret, whenever 
bewitching conspiracy 
of his amethyst eyes, 
befalls in dialects of 
forest's echoes and the 
brittle skin of basilisk 
slithers with a deadly gaze 
upon my mulberry heart.

Chasing seasonal winds, 
I became the fading mist 
that succumbs to the 
sheath of amber rays, 
infusing in my lungs, 
and suffocating my love for life;
Amidst these broken skies, 
you left shadows of 
pencil-sketched debris, 
that float like wisps 
of faulty daffodils, 
distorting my dreams 
and twisting thy truths, 
in hellfire horizon that 
sets our graves apart, 
beyond million miles of 
satanic soliloquies.
Categories: outlining, angst, dark, deep, emotions,
Form: Free verse

Premium Member Faithful Shadow

I saw a death shadow in the eyes of my infancy
a soft mercy with calm blue fancy,
in childhood, when free will asserted it's wild supremacy
we sang of star charriots and laughter loyal to hyperactivity,
I see a death shadow in the prime of my ascendancy
outlining my temple of truth, whistling thy words of wizardry, 

I hear It like the madness of morning's ending,
I taste It as if from the burning breast milk of a Dragoness,
I see It in the bleeding smile of my heart's kindness,
I speak to It when love's luster unlocks the lunacy of loneliness,
I feel the humble shade of It's jade justice in a world hot and hustling,

My death shadow has a surface sweet with patient purpose,
It is not rough with forboding frost that frights the fight of flesh,
rattling the scythe of doom and cackling for cataleptic crisis it does not,
It is not a grim God or a greedy Goddess, no taxing terror trumpeted,
It has never been an angel of escape or a demon of dour delirium, 
when suffering becomes a seduction of brute beauty I share in it's wise joy,
my death shadow follows the desperate yet disciplined form of my body battle
through life's plethora of coy poisons and possessive passions,
marching along side me with martial grace, sculpting my face with lion spirit -

J.A.B.
Categories: outlining, death, gothic, heart, introspection,
Form: Ode

Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry


Premium Member A Poet's Crush

I've seen you through a past sunrise; sunshine. 
You are like heat, warm to indulge in
Identify you, connect with you, and more.
Living in a world that is filled with poetry 
Opening the skies is possible with just one kiss 
Writing side-by-side continuously. 

Intoxicated with illusions, swept away in seconds 
In a separate universe, a different existence 
I carry a pen that is a secret to my soul
Hidden in the recesses of thoughts. 
A small gap, but worlds apart. 
Two souls secretly filling a pool with thoughts 
Allowing ourselves to be swept away by words.

Dominating the mind to chase and suit my mood
Allowing myself to take pleasure in your addiction
Writing 'WITH' throughout the years
You are the crush I can write endless stories about. 
The rush of wild dreams, kind words, pouring like rain
Understanding and empathizing with each other's pain
Physically I can't hold you, but mentally, you hold a place.

You shine like a star when I'm in need
A simple hello opens the door, I've kept shut
Only you can intrude every year since we crossed pens
Imagine a lifetime captured by silence
Slowly trying to create words, 
Outlining the shape of your thoughts 
A crush, unwrinkled and without complaints. 

~~~ By P.D. 

Oh, that desperate ache
Each day that wakes
And that secret chamber of my
Beating heart occupied by your
Humble words were written for me
And captured my gaze

I see you across the painful horizon
But I still focus my eyes on
What my heart instantly felt
At the moment our connection melted
Into my searching soul 
And made me almost whole


So do I consider myself a stalker
A Gawker or just a shy talker
Afraid to show this crush
Just how much I crave to touch
What seems untouchable
Is it really meant for me

So still I silently hover like
Another unfulfilled lover
As I pray she glances my way
And that smile that's lost 
In all the weary miles
Breaks forth and blesses my day

~~~ Carl F.
Categories: outlining, adventure, appreciation, crush, cute
Form: Free verse

Premium Member Dark Night - City Streets - For Contest

Dark Night – City Streets


A dark night on city streets
soft yellow glare of streetlights
outlining slow creepy things.

Scents of cooling kitchens
and boiling excitement
tickled the deepening thrill.

A rising tremor of frightful glee
slinking through the streets
mocking the shadows lies.

City streets crawling with anticipation
window shades peeked through
doors held ajar in preparation,

For they would come – as  always
on this, their night, utter again 
the monsters mantra – Trick or Treat.

Flow in wicked waves of want
seek the lowly sustenance
of the sticky sweet tribute.

Short, weary legs of demons
tire easily - and slowly
retreat to comfort of warm lairs.

Window shades are straightened
doors closed and locked
streetlight shadows calmed

As monsters – cleaned and preened,
hugged and nuzzled in their nests
sleep, and dream, of Halloween.



10/24/2015
Categories: outlining, city, halloween,
Form: Free verse

Sleeping Machines

The harbor gave a dim illumination,
lampposts vaguely penetrating the dark water.
As waves like shades of wine drowned the jagged shore of stone,
I watched a fibrous complexion of steel shimmer from the water's edge.

Ships sleep, rocking gently on a resting sea,
machines of quiet obedience.
The moon, outlining the clouds above with an electric hue,
watched over the winds as they circulated the vacant wharf like ghosts.

The smell of an approaching storm;
the sharp, distinctive fragrance of ozone as it sailed the satin brine.
The sound of distortion upon the ocean's surface;
precipitation submerged beneath its aquatic magnetism.

I closed my eyes as raindrops kissed my moonlit skin,
tracing the alloy carbon framework of cargo ships and yachts.
Falling down my cheekbones like an aggregation of tears,
the harbor became lost in a nostalgic cloudburst.
© Kyle Costa  Create an image from this poem.
Categories: outlining, imagery,
Form: Free verse


Premium Member The person I used to be

As you start to walk out on the way, 
      the way appears.- Rumi  

Tonight, I speak to the moon,  
lunar verses echoing the piercing  
lyrics of an aching heart.  
Its crystal wings softly  
kiss the sea line in silence,  
releasing silver ripples  
of renaissance,  
while the sun awaits another  
dahlia dawn, graced by  
delicate symphonies of  
fairy-feathered fantasies.

Time is a treat ribboned  
with truth and testaments  
of melted monsoons,  
left as souvenirs of the past,  
on shimmering shores  
of fragile flowers.  
I was once a broken ballad,  
bruised and battered  
like an ornament left  
on a haunted island,  
where every breeze felt  
like the seething sounds of sirens,  
awakening demons within  
my chrysalis psyche,  
to cloud the horizon  
painted with pigments of peace.

Trust was an ink blot  
I spilled upon oceans  
of blue-black pearls,  
oblivious to the cracks  
and faded glows of opalescence,  
for I was a naive target  
of narcissistic daggers,  
caressing my skin with  
pestering perceptions.  
As I wore my wounds  
like corsets crocheted  
with crooked compassion,  
too eager to embrace  
wrathful winds~
bursting forth infernal flames,  
while drenched in the  
subtle dews of raging rain.

If I were to tell the world  
the person I used to be,  
could I write without  
my fingers trembling,  
without the weakened words  
of weariness that weighed me down?  
For I knew not what love was,  
and I knew not  
dreams of strength, 
runes of resilience,  or the 
unbreakable gravity of forgiveness.

Yet I rise, beyond faceless ghosts,  
soaring above nameless streets  
of pointless thoughts.  
I am now everything I was not;  
I am both shadow and light,  
seeking and waltzing to  
the music of my own magical fight.  
So remember, 
the furs and claws,  
the water and fire,  
outlining the garnet~
aura of my ambient existence.
Categories: outlining, deep,
Form: Free verse

Collecting Teardrops

Collecting teardrops
of little comfort or warmth
Shadowing the promises
of ribbon shaped clouds
floating silently in harmony
with my heartbeat

My mind drifts softly
The darkness comes
on a sunlit day, reaching with its hand

through this wood framed window
streaked in sadness
but transparent so that I may see
into the fabric of my memories,
desperately fighting the fears
that slowly form

Now I sit here collecting teardrops…
so many shed, flowing anguish
embedded of a loss,
outlining the cracks in my heart,
etched in tomorrows,
lost to yesterdays,
when today you are gone

6/1/2017
Categories: outlining, friendship, lost,
Form: Free verse

Midnight Sail On Massachusetts Bay

Releasing the rigid anchor line
Leaving the safety of land in our wake
Warm July zephyrs filling the sails
Resting even hands upon the tiller
As the bow broken waves drift slowly aft
Herring Gulls night songs hang as we pass
Violet clouds drifting in pinkish bronze dusk
Outlining the schooner adrift on the horizon
Dancing rhythm of the Highland Lighthouse
Gifts a moment of wine warmed lips fervor
Alone with the lights from distant headlands
Their essence illume the crests softly breaking
Gently swaying the craft in warm foamy brine
Faint guitar moments with my voice uninhibited 
Evoking past memories of love on the Atlantic
Aspiration caught whole in the sail as we lay
A fearless embrace in the ethereal darkness
Of midnight on Massachusetts Bay sails…
Categories: outlining, introspection, life, love, mystery,
Form: Free verse

Premium Member The Brain--Your Personal Computer

The brain is an incredibly efficient computer
Compressing trillions of bytes of information,
Registering every impression we encounter,
Analyzing concepts from formation to causation.

Compressing trillions of bytes of information
In milliseconds without hesitation, unrelentingly,
Analyzing concepts from formation to causation
Remarkably, it even functions unconsciously.

In milliseconds without hesitation, unrelentingly,
It processes the continual intake of our senses
Remarkably, it even functions unconsciously,
Outlining proposals, formulating our defenses.

It processes the continual intake of our senses,
All while regulating our involuntary responses
Outlines our proposals, formulates our defenses
Even evaluating the most complicated nuances.

All while regulating our involuntary responses
Registering every impression we encounter,
Even evaluating the most complicated nuances
The brain is an incredibly efficient computer. 

Written May 9, 2022
Categories: outlining, body, computer,
Form: Pantoum

Premium Member You Tease Me So Nicely

His interest awakens as a young woman
sauntered in the pub as he laid eyes on her bosom.
Enticing from the moment he saw her.
Her skin purrs of warm weather
copper honeysuckle, her eyes 
waves' deep royal blue skies.
She wears a black plunging neckline leather dress
hugging her form, outlining every wonderful
feminine curve. She's striking and beautiful.
His thoughts a blur while she leans teasing
with eloquent banter.
With a smile she kicked off her black patent five
inch heels, singing as the riff of the music came alive
filling the room. He sought her unable to turn away 
her teasing resistance and her friendly, bantering play.
He heard the rhythm trying his hardest to keep his distance.
Her wavy red hair loose a riot around her face
as she listens and dances across the room,
while the rest of her long locks fell down her back.
With the music going she closed her eyes
and did a little spin, there was a delectable teasing,
bright smile when she opened her eyes.

You tease me     so nicely.

2-3-2018
© Eve Roper  Create an image from this poem.
Categories: outlining, romantic,
Form: Free verse

Stay

If I am to describe beauty,
if I am to describe the beauty that I have found in you, then I will start, saying...
Lilies are beautiful, the most beautiful of all flowers that i have ever seen.
Peacocks are gorgeous, the most adorable bird I have seen.
The bead-like snake is amazing and fascinating that
none of its species could match up to its radiance and splendor.
The rainbow no match with its carefully selected colors, outlining the sky.
Yet, I have not seen anything as beautiful as you or everything that you have made out of 
me 
from the day you have come into my life.
I do not aspire to be perfect anymore because in you i have found perfection.
I shall not aspire to be loved anymore because in you I have found Love in the excess of it.
All I just wanna say to the whole world is that you are loved.
If the elephant wishes, let it go into the jungle.
if the snail pleases, let it forget its shell and walk naked
When the talking drum travels, let its jingles follow it wherever it pleases.
All can go away and I will not be shaken as long as you are not going anywhere,
I am more than pleased..
Categories: outlining, inspirational, love, passionbeautiful, beautiful,
Form:

Premium Member The Rooftops of New York

Here, in the heart of New York
locked within the concrete maze
of buildings, avenues and taxis,
I hear the perpetual cacophony
of noises echoing all around me. 

Looking up, a taste of freedom
Freedom from the masses that
move relentlessly along the streets.
Hints of greenery peak out along
the sides and edges of the rooftops.

Man made gardens are up there, 
hidden among the water towers
built up around the chimneys
A retreat from the insanity
of the city.

By day, sitting up high on a
New York rooftop, listening to
the rat-a-tat blasts of road workers
or the loud shouts and horns
I am grateful to sit quietly
by myself, in a temporary oasis 
from the madness.

By night, the coveted New York
rooftop becomes a sky lit wonder
My eyes gaze at patterns of lights
outlining and tracing the bridges
lighting up with color the great
Empire State Building, known 
by sight throughout the world.
Triumphant displays of lights
can be see from One World Trade Center
and a host of lesser lights
shine brightly on that 
famous skyline.

Oh, to escape to the haven of a
New York rooftop. Of all the sights 
to be seen in this mighty city of 
cities, nothing quite compares
to being on an ordinary rooftop.
Looking out, I can see downtown,
uptown, midtown, the East River
and the Hudson river. 
It is a quite a marvel to stand  
and gaze out from a lowly 
rooftop in New York.
  


2015
Categories: outlining, beauty, city, usa,
Form: Free verse

Spring Is In the Air

Can you smell the sweet fragrance of spring in the air 
New beginnings are upon us and together we'll share 
Long walks, holding hands with fingers entwined
Seeing buds springing forth, only by nature defined
Nourished favorably by the freshly melted snow
Feeling the spring breeze, setting our faces aglow.

Can you sense the connection that is uniquely ours
More poignant and sweet then a mountain of flowers
Watching the swell of the creek which threatens to overflow
Not unlike our love which continues to magically grow
A cloudburst of showers leaves us soaked and chilled
Outlining body parts that leaves us pleasantly thrilled.

Can you feel the passion that only true love can bestow
Unbelievingly lucky is this belle and her beau
Love making more intense than lightening and thunder
Memories made and what we share no one can put asunder
Love as strong as the mighty oak tree that weathers any storm
So incredibly blessed with a special bond that is beyond the norm.

March-03-2013
Categories: outlining, love, spring, sweet, spring,
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Political Scatology

Thankfully, the mid-term elections have come and went.
Thankfully, we'll suffer no more TV ads related to that event.

Thankfully, we'll not receive any more phone calls from politicians.
Thankfully, we'll receive no more mailers outlining their positions.

Thankfully, the prognosticators will find something more productive to do.
Thankfully, we'll hear no more political twaddle for another year or two.

Wouldn't it be novel if the promises made by those shysters came true,
Or will it be politics as usual and 'twas only undiluted scatology they spew!

Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(c) 2014 All Rights Reserved
Categories: outlining, humorous, political,
Form: Couplet
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