Best Painstaking Poems
It's so dark outside, my eyes can't distinguish where sand meets water. Somehow, dusk has come and gone, plunging the evening into darkness.
But even as my eyes yield to this opaque absence of light, my other senses heighten. I can hear the crash of waves as they abuse the shoreline, sending foaming water up the beach in icy streams. I'm lulled by the sound of polished pebbles colliding like marbles as they recede with the waves. I can feel the sea's cool mist against my face, taste its salt on my lips. The scent of seaweed drifts on the breeze in gentle wafts - and then, slowly, the faintest whiff of smoke.
I glance over my shoulder, where a tiny dot of light penetrates the darkness. It's a beacon on this cool night, and I walk slowly toward it, digging my toes into the soft sand with each step.
dim moonlight
peeks through thinning clouds--
fire crackles
He's still there, stoking the fire, feeding the flames until the heat is tangible. The air wavers between us like a veil - a line I want to cross. He stirs up clouds of smoke, stirring feelings within me as I watch his busy hands. I wait patiently for him to notice my approach, and when he does, my breath catches.
rainbow flames
burst from seasoned maple--
blue eyes sparkle
I watch golden light flicker across his skin, softening the lines of his face. He abandons his task, moving around the fire until he stands before me, smiling as if he knows my heart is thundering in my chest.
He waits for a painstaking moment to pass. Then he kisses me with toasted marshmallow lips, pulling me down into his lap to watch the sparks rise like fireflies into the breathless night.
Categories:
painstaking, love, nature, me, light,
Form:
Haibun
I read my obituary
Accolades run afoul to lighten the souls of the living
Trite clichés, forgotten kin, melodic tributes
Boring and meaningless
Upon a granite stone etched for an eternity
I was but a ‘A faithful husband,’
‘A good father,’
And ‘Never Forgotten’
They have it all wrong
If they had read my sonnets
Mystical offspring scribbled on napkins
Consuming stale coffee in late night diners lit by neon lights
They would have known
Had they paid heed to my limericks
Nonsensical rhymes of fairytale fantasies
And polka-dotted panties created to amuse only me
They would have known
Had they inhaled my free verse
Painstaking hours spent
Creating worlds of exquisite harmony
Carrying the reader on endless voyages
Guided by the inspired lyricist through emerald forests
Royal seas, white-capped mountains
And never-ending dreams
They would have known
Had they met my only mistress
One called Haiku
A quiet damsel
Her beauty lies in brevity and endless seasons
They would have known
More than a husband
More than a father
More than forgotten
I am a poet
I read my obituary
I should have known
Categories:
painstaking, death, poets,
Form:
Free verse
The lake was still sleeping
a light mist rose above,
a weathered dock could be seen,
its aged wood; full of memories.
The air crisp, breeze light,
trees majestic; watching all.
Squirrels busy scampering,
as a flock of geese soared above.
Way over yonder
clear across the still lake,
shining brightly were yellow shutters,
on our cabin; our special place.
We had toiled the garden
planted yellow roses with great care,
we had painted the old wood shutters,
yellow paint; speckled our hair.
The roof we re-shingled,
one painstaking nail at a time,
we even counted the ouches;
when our hammers got out of line.
With nothing but smiles
on our weary, aching bodies,
we held hands, and went running,
into the still of the lake; giggling.
We swam out to the dock,
it was a race; he won,
my hand he took laughing;
as he quickly scooped me up.
Our toes dangled playfully
sending ripples in the lake,
as we gazed at our cabin;
yellow shutters; fresh with paint.
The trees swayed slightly
as if nodding with approval,
for our cabin by the lake,
was our private sacred jewel.
As we cuddled together
warmth filled our souls,
for our bright yellow shutters,
symbolized, our love's blossoming growth.
It was on this very dock,
air crisp, breeze light,
when he gave me a yellow rose;
and asked me to be his wife.
Categories:
painstaking, happiness, inspirational, love, me,
Form:
Free verse
I begin as a covet, dulcet demure
pure in play, unbound to a dogma or tablature, a luscious lure,
I find that nerve of passion's verve nestled 'neath narcissistic comfiture
a covey of tingles taunting the ambition you serve, swift and swill I swerve,
in you I introduce a tempo of truth trailing a kiss along your spine's curve
a persuasion of perversion purring patiently in almighty allure,
reaching your pinnacle pulse I assure,
Entwining myself around your libido with nibbling nurture
binding you to the alter of painstaking pleasure I relieve with analgesic swelter
hoodwinking your will with a delicate dominance I am the prima donna capture,
embellishing the envisage of eros, I burnish organs keen with aphrodisiac welter
you become a devout captive to me, the divine dominator,
I am the matador confronting your impulsive power
the target of your sexual tremor,
spear tipped with warm vigor
into you I pound a wonder,
vice and virtue surrender
to principle superior in passionate plunder, for you become the conquer's lover,
taking my spirit from specter to flesh victor,
I will make a woman the vessel of volcanic velvet,
revolutionize female thighs, simmering the sighs in eyes,
make the wrap of a man's arms a hearth of healing heat soul felt,
his tongue a torch pinging with paced pause within mouths magnetized,
A coup de tat taken to your Shangrila,
weaknesses my wayfaring, strengths the servants of my junta
my sweet magic of mayhem laid upon your lithesome lips, the coup de grace -
J.A.B.
Categories:
painstaking, desire, lust, passion, spiritual,
Form:
Epic
A child's view:
"Why did you leave us dear mom and dad?"
"Did we do something to make you mad?"
Tears on our faces, as we see you drive away.
"Please come back, we'll be good everyday!"
Our foster mother hates us, we don't know why.
Maybe she hits us, because all we do is cry.
My sister tries to protect me, but she gets beat instead.
It's hard not to hate her, she raps her knuckles on our heads.
But I'm just 3, my sister barely six.
We don't know what happened...how do we fix?
"Where are our brothers? We miss them so!"
"How can you love us and just let us all go?"
An adult's view:
Scars of abandonment haunt our souls.
Self confidence battered and full of holes.
Hate and resentment learned so young.
Our spirits crushed, our sorrows unsung.
Trusting of others is extremely hard.
Self protecting.......eternally on guard.
Escaping the past, we run away.
Coping mechanisms always in play.
Failed relationships in abundance.
Struggling against all compliance.
Memories buried in recesses of the mind.
Lessened only by the passage of time.
Categories:
painstaking, emotions, life, pain,
Form:
Rhyme
Sing, O Goddess, of my petulant wrath.
That which I’ve failed to address for so long.
Speak and guide my hand to express
The words of extremity needed to voice:
Passions of violent nature performed.
I have such strange verses to bare.
My hands are quaking with unrealized strokes
Of genius that may yet flow forth from I
My tongue is wet with wanton wanting,
Breathing, believing in all I deplore.
I forefront this painstaking proclamation
With pretenses of seduction and sweet
Manipulation. I hope you get my meaning.
I have strained and sullied my own name
To achieve a stage of pure expression.
I pray to the goddess of art and music
That she may pluck my strings as her
Kithara, her disclosure, her discord.
Perhaps this line will liberate me.
I could stop this senseless seduction
Of myself to share my mind in this message
Of either vindication or virulent codependency,
With either pretense my name is upon
The dotted line, cosigning this dissent.
It matters not where my influence lay.
Who listens, and who may do as I say.
My only concern I to briefly appeal
To some vague aesthetic ideal that I feel.
And I think it may be important.
Because I feel it. And it is so alive.
Categories:
painstaking, art, beauty, blessing, for
Form:
Classicism
Before… I beheld her quivering, shirking---
suffocation gripped her with my envelopment;
breaking free from the gentleness I exuded
she would scamper wailing…
as if scorched by my belongingness’ warmth.
After painstaking therapeutic sessions
offering my compassion-propelled embrace
I witnessed her, gradually yielding to me
succumbing to my love-blest invitation…
devoid of resistance.
Graciously overcoming
grievous traumatic hug-pressure
she confessed that she’s healed
from domestic violence, by the mercy of God*…
Who rescued her against lustful and incestuous hugs.
Now… with serenity's bliss
she’s cheerfully reaching out to others
letting them feel kindness-driven hugs
sealed by care, concern, and comfort...
precious blessings of earnest bonding.
*Psalm 52:8 ... I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
June 6, 2020
8th place, "Hugs" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Craig Cornish; judged on 6/14/2020.
Categories:
painstaking, blessing, christian, encouraging, faith,
Form:
Personification
Leaderboard paradox
Bard, crank or chatterbox
Irreconcilable
Most undeniable
Two titles possible?
Can't have all three
Flourish and elegance
Meter and relevance
Grasp of the elements
Sensitive delicate
Post the best poetry
For all to see
Building community
Post with impunity
Dishing encouragements
Never discouragements
Attaboy lunacy
Nice job! Spondee
Magnitude, quantity
Content moronity
Quality suffering
Sputtering, stuttering
Faster through brevity
Haiku for me
Where is the paradox?
Chatter and atta-talks
Raising poetic stocks
Moving up leaderboards
Elevates all their scores
Best that you just ignore
All your competitors'
New poetry
Elegant, painstaking
Beautiful, time-taking
Longer time finishing
Numbers diminishing
Falling so rapidly
Not even on page three
Drop productivity
Maybe you finish a
Poem or three
Status? ridiculous
Leaders? superfluous
Seek to equilibrate
Advocate, animate
Irreconcilable
Paradox schmeradox
Sharing delightfully
Cranking productively
Poetry supersedes
All rivalry
—————
For the “This or That, Vol 10” Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
Title: Irreconcilable Paradox
Date written: 02/17/2022
Categories:
painstaking, community,
Form:
McWhirtle
She endured trauma as a child, that shut down her mind
Without safe adults, there was no security to find
She played outside and pretended to run away
She prayed and God answered, he heard what she had to say
She learned about good and evil, at an early age
When her soul with a facade, became stuck in a cage
She was lucky to have natural talents to help her survive
God granted her what was needed to stay alive
She was given strength to endure things, beyond words can say
When she was older, it was time for her to speak and find her way
She investigated the past, fighting to stop others from being hurt
She learned to watch her back, be streetwise while on alert
After 14 years, justice failed with deep corruption, that started back then
Finding the closure she wanted was no longer a matter of when
Family outcasted her, while more losses and deaths came about
The silence of the past had turned into a powerful shout
How did she make it through such painstaking times?
She created in many ways including things like these rhymes
She was granted many good things through so many years
Friends who care, pets who love, much comfort that erased fears
She yearns to love and give to all who may have pain
She will offer to give the sun to anyone, after the rain
I say all this because there is hope in life, through good and bad
- smiles do return from the depths of being sad -
Heidi Sands
12/22/33
Categories:
painstaking, deep, hope, inspirational, life,
Form:
Rhyme
(Our differences are like the pieces of a puzzle called life)
What does humanity want from life, it’s puzzling to know
Peace signs, Daisy cutters, find Jesus in the afterglow
Seek out seventy two virgins, priming fuses to blow?
Come together in jannah, with a godlike libido
Write painstaking poetry, devoid of human ego
Kill every known disease, have a chat with a mosquito
Build a chocolate empire, watch fatty deposits grow
Start a protein only diet, get ripped from head to toe?
View b movie stars at night, (censure) the matinee show
Have no more hangovers, enjoy life utterly blotto
Bring back prohibition, replace it with a pink benzo?
Smoke marijuana safely, vaporise tobacco
Play chess at home with the wife, or away with a bimbo
Give a hand to starving wolves, then go howl out the window
Let a child get carried away, not by some wild dingo?
Set the bar high enough, flambé for a life of limbo
Categories:
painstaking, life, people, perspective,
Form:
Monorhyme
Each morning dawn brushes paint across the sky,
pastel colors to herald the rise of sun's golden eye.
He warms the earth. Dew's moisture he'll dry
before the world is waking.
Reflections of pink, and gold on heaven’s floor,
a hint of memories that came millenniums before,
and the radiance of God’s glory, eying from behind the shore,
is a new dawn, for our taking.
Sunrise lights the world as if it were enchanted.
Beauty surrounds us but nature is taken for granted,
marred by opinions, biased and slanted.
Hostility is of mankind's making.
Memories of soldiers as they marched off to war,
Some never returned, and others living with the encore
of battles fought and lost, wondering what it was for.
Nightmares that wake them, shaking.
But with each morning arrives glowing rays of hope.
Glimmers a new day brings and with it a way to cope
with life's hardships that make us walk a tightrope.
It's a painstaking chore: peacemaking.
The day will come when there will be an end of strife
in a world where corruption and fear are rife.
There will be no more war. Men will sheath the knife
Life will be idyllic, for which hearts have been aching.
Categories:
painstaking, hope, sun,
Form:
Rhyme
10
I sprint as I cry in pain
Coach yells, “ RUN, PASS, SCORE”
9
Blocking out all the screaming
And the chaotic noises
8
From the sidelines
I dash through five tough defenders
With everything that I have got
7
Out of breath I devour the last of energy
I can use to score the winning goal
6
Ball zigzags in between my bright orange cleats
As I fly through many obstacles that
Get in my way
5
Five seconds left in the game
Will it make it in I think as my fingers are crossed
4
All the pressure is on that ball and I
As it soars over the field where I am myself and
Flies to high for the other team players to get
3
The ball tears through the goalie's gloves.
No one can drop the confidence level I have just received
2
The ball collides against the net, and I have caught a joyous victory
That exact moment pays up for the backbreaking, painstaking work I've put in
With every goal I score, I rule the world
1
That’s why I am the Power Player of the team
I don’t give up because I’m all determination
For my love of Soccer
Categories:
painstaking, adventure, celebration, devotion, dream,
Form:
Free verse
There she sits, a "Black Bird on a wire"
On wings repose "she sings of light"
"Broken People" gather beneath her
People who have seen the "Faces of Storm"
Accused, Yet "guilty of innocence"
I become an "Unaware Witness"
"Forever by your side" I will remain
Perhaps you can teach me "the art of understanding"
For you let the "Butterfly Rise" with grace
One of many "miraculous secrets"
After all these years "I am still waiting"
Searching for answers "behind cryptic doors"
I sit in the silence of "Solitude's Embrace"
Leaving me with more "Observations of ponder"
The dark was such a "Seductive Predator"
Why do I feel alone, is it a symptom of "my lacking"?
You my dear Blackbird- you are "Prettiness Defined"
"The Sowing" yours, it defines you.
"Yesterday you were my Garden"
Together we discussed many "painstaking views"
I remember taking a breath, "bewildered of all you emanate"
"Black Bird on a wire" tell me your secrets!
As I look into your eyes, our "hearts converse"
"I want to know" am I really here?
A"Midnight Butterfly" Beating my wings for you
"Make Love to Me"
Let us fly to the sky, "Discovering Forever"
On our way to "a reachable happiness".
It is done!
Thanks to those who contributed
Mystic Rose
Kim Patrice Nunez
John Lawless
Jan Allison
Broken Wings
M.L. Kiser
Rotten Apple
Catie Lindsey
Debbie Guzzi
Eve Roper
Yanny Widjanarko
Cecilia Macfarlane
Tim Smith
FJ Thomas
Casarah Nance (special honor, part of title!)
Peter Duggan
Olive Eloisa Guillermo
Julia Ward
Eileen Manassian
Eileen sent a soup mail with her title "Make Love to Me".
Our Queen of Passion was trying to stump me.:0)
I think it adds a bit of ooh la la!
Categories:
painstaking, baptism, beauty,
Form:
Free verse
In that meteoric moment
she exhibited eternal qualities of wonderfully wrought womanhood,
calm,disciplined and candid,
adorned with few distinctions from the rest behind her
the loving leadership was projected in painstaking posture,
brutal perfection,a suffering of diligence amounting to total serenity,
she being a gem amongst stones,
for inexperience a cure,
synchronicity simple & symetrical like ripples in a river,
the troupe twirls & turns as leaves whirl gingerly in pools of water livid,
their torsos taut like trunks of young & vital trees,faces flowers,
brilliant when in cold morning view,
hands impossibly curved on extended arms,hearts placid,
without looking the dancers drape their faith
upon the integrity of her warm luminosity,
the lead lioness quietly commands their orbiting obeisance,
in her hushing eyes the sparkle of a rich race communicates confection
to the contemplative congregation,
she is a Godess in the midst of nymphs,
something dangerous,calamitous,manifested mutely in the expression
of a posterior dancer
whom strangely stares at the back & soul of the leading lady in stance,
this suggestive & supportive figure embodying dispassionate envy,
strategically laying seige
to the gloriously innocent leader of this cultural romance,
a reminder reminiscent of Eve's two children
in the forgotten fields of antiquity
where success was hunted savagely by the weakness
inherent amid imps -
This poem is premised upon a photograph of a traditional Cambodian dance troupe -
J.A.B.
Categories:
painstaking, angst, integrity,
Form:
Didactic
it has passed time I mean
the mere panting chanting
of love songs why healing
has occurred after meaningless
processing emotions in a bottle
awaiting a more fitting time
to explore the clocks again
the hour glass the pocket watch
the mere coo coo clock chims
over city hall the ball dropped
the rocket exploded in mid air
explaining gravity through
painstaking memories left
dangling on a light string
revealing the ticking heart
counting down life's long
energies of love laughter fear
face to face with a shiny new year
Categories:
painstaking, new year,
Form:
Classicism