Best Pandemonium Poems
Of parrots and parakeets, no one knows
now numbering in the thousands
no longer Mexico's bucolic birds
new urbanized citizens migrated
to the suburbs.
If you travel to Los Angeles and county
where hobo avians flock to Pepperdine
hoping to matriculate to paradise..
Pasadenans know the raucous calls from palms
festooned in bright feathers and pheromones.
Should you wish to elicit a response
from a Red-crowned Amazon..
just ask any witch cat which hungers
with an acute accessory olfactory
rife in feline grin and purpose
eye'n the skies cheerfully.
And somewhere Marianne Faithfull warbles
'this little bird who lives on the wind,
this little bird that somebody sends.'
they're listening too, with a coo and squawk
o'er the skies of Silverlake
and Eagle Rock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Little Bird sung by Marianne Faithfull - Lyrics by J.D. Loudermilk 1965
Panicked people pour into the streets pushing past each other; they’re powerless
Against the awful atrocity unleashed by unknown armed assailants.
Normalcy has fled; so many in the debris are left lying dead!
Disarray, destruction, distress and doom! On screens around the world we see
Escapees emerging wounded from rubble. From everywhere, we keep watching
Madness made manifest by malcontents in the mountains of mutilated bodies.
Obscene and odious terrorism, now overflowing in the land -
Never before in my own lifetime has nefariousness felt so omnipresent, nor
Immoral acts so incessant and innumerable!
Ugly and ubiquitous, these evil deeds could be humanity’s undoing.
More noble souls are needed, else we become *All Devil’s Land!
Aug, 1, 2016 for John Hamilton's Pandemonium Poetry Contest
Oops, I had a typo on last line; hope I caught it in time!!
*All Devil’s land is the literal translation of Pandemonium
~ autumn pandemonium ~
unkempt piles of leaves
carelessly tossed from branches ~
autumn leaf debris
tangled leafless boughs
autumn’s hair in disarray ~
scattered frost crystals
messy season sighs
disheveled threadbare forests ~
rumpled cloak of fall
bands of color float
into shabby sable mounds ~
jumbled rainbow heaps
hollow winds discard
bits of fall hued confetti ~
autumn ignores brooms
unruly autumn
leaves remains of fall glory ~
pandemonium
Pardon skepticism, but it’s true
There’s too much ado about Swine Flu
Thirty-one deaths by May of ‘09
In 25 nations worldwide
Avoid all public transportation
And forego annual vacations
Protect us from the dreaded Swine Flu
By closing our schools and churches too
The government was slow to react
When HIV first left its tracks
On drug users, gay communities
Thousands died in the 1980s
But when the “pure of soul” met demise
With blood transfusions linked to lost lives
AIDS won interest from politicians
Lightning struck, they sprang into action
Swine Flu can kill, but what’s the fuss?
Other illnesses claim more of us
Look back to the Fourteenth Century
For true epidemiology
Black Death caused widespread annihilation
Nearly half Europe’s population
The Smallpox deadly legacy
Egypt-born, 1350 BC
Fifteen million had this disease
As recent as the 1960s
Eradication finally defined
December 1979
Return to Century Fourteen
To find the world’s first quarantines
Cholera ships confined to ports
But still this plague reached landlubbers’ doors
Regular flu in winter thrives
Each week taking 800 lives
Though common colds seldom spell doom
Thousands flock to emergency rooms
So answer this: Why all the hype
When Swine Flue takes a gentler bite
Newspaper headlines must be filled
Across their banners Swine Flue spills
Or could these reports be diversions
For something more foul in our nation
Are dogs now being wagged by their tails
As health hazards go, the Swine Flu pales
Hire Willie to write a theme song
But don’t expect us to sing along
Don’t blink, or Washington may think
They’ve succeeded in this hoodwink
With my recorder I pursued my quest
This assignment seemed like a courage test
That’s why my boss sent me
Knowing that fearless I’d be
Covering this race brought such happiness
Hundreds of hot air balloons in the sky
Conducted the interview one mile high
But now as I reflect
What I didn’t expect
Was the loud blast that made the balloon fly
I thought it would be quiet as we flew
Over Doak Stadium up in the blue
The radio report
Ended up running short
When the pilot spoke, the hot air did spew
Every thirty seconds or so -- a blast
Interview literally filled with gas
The edited version
From this fun excursion
Left our radio listeners aghast
But viewing Chief Osceola’s emblem
From high above the football stadium
A sight I’ll not forget
I have just one regret
Creating airwave pandemonium
* As a radio reporter I was assigned to cover the Tallahassee Annual Hot Air Balloon
Race. We flew over Florida State University’s football stadium and it was a great
view from the air. But I had to edit out each blast of air when producing the report
for Florida Public Radio. Talk about a choppy radio report. I should have
interviewed the pilot BEFORE we took off. Duh! Ignorance was my plea to the
news director -- I was later sentenced to ground duty.
July 20, 2011
Entry for Francine’s “Happiness is a Balloon” contest
Written by Carolyn Devonshire
Political upheaval broke our peace to pieces
Absolute monarchy and aristocracy was our big curses
Neglected by our own rulers we struggled
Dictators and merciless killers ruined us from soul
Emerged The French revolution
Momentous event to unfurl poor's life
Orders to establish equality liberty and fraternity
Nationalism suffered a death blow
Inhuman we turned by sending elite to guillotine
Unleashed our own trapped rights and dignity
Marched towards a bright future after " The reign of Pandemonium "
27 July, 2016
Pandemonium Acrostic contest
P ain devastation engraved on townsfolk’s faces
A s vile earthquake raked homes, claimed lives;
N othing but trauma lashed this chaotic scene
D eaths numbering ten, forty, and hundreds rose as
E mergency aid dragged from crushed infrastructure.
M inutes after, a city once rich endured shock-waves
O f confusion, famine and loss... each groan unbearable;
N ameless bones piled under rocks of torment… O children
I n a stupor, looked for their mothers freezing, pining,
U naware of a 7.2 grill flattening a paradise to the ground…
M isery! Misery only nature can tell, but she answered not.
8..04..2016
John Hamilton's Pandemonium Contest
~ The 2013 Bohol earthquake in the Philippines was one of the
fiercest disasters to hit the country since 1990. Famous landmarks
and attractions were destroyed, with 671,103 families affected. ~
Peril lurks around our children
As they play and walk to school.
Nighttime's goblins have a rival;
Daytime's just as bad a ghoul.
Evil's names are myriad,
Murderer and terrorist;
Others--racist, rapist, hater . . .
Neverending is the list.
In this time of chaos rife,
Unrelenting fear and strife,
My prayers are for a peaceful life.
September 14, 2016, entered in Brian Strand's Contest Number 202 (any form or theme, 12 lines max)
Peace has never been given beneath the withered dust of steadfast war
Armies gather in unity fighting for disagreements of what we’re here for
Negotiations have been sacrificed for the loyalty of a forgotten country
Democratic and republican parties forget the reasons we need to be free
Entering a new era of racism and conflict, no union can be easily found
Men and women proudly on the front line so we won’t become homebound
Opportunities for jobs await while the world worries about their tweets
Nine eleven created an outbreak of anxiety to walk the city streets
Isis is in France with suicide bombers creating slaughters of the masses
Underneath bridges lies starvation, let us pray this poverty passes
Maybe with proper leadership we can try to rid the world of fascists
Date Written: July 27, 2016
P andemic parasites of man have spread
A bandoned Angels the skies have shed
N ecromantic necrophiliacs playing with the dead
D emonic desires of witches and warlocks wed
E vil runs rapid in the wasteland of deception
M onuments crumble for the demons reception
O ppression overtakes the mild and the weak
N octurnal neverland of death does reek
I mmense immorals within the blink of an eye
U ltimate destruction till death do us die
M other of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
July.26.2016
Pandemonium-Acrostic - Poetry Contest
By John Hamilton
Beyond the leggy palm trees you can hear them calling out
Through the diffused light and thin curtains called home-
Are a people in need
Brought to there knees with infelicitous faces-
Filled with confusion and doubt
Broken hearts in broken places, loss of life-
In an atmosphere of raw humanity
Through there dusty desperate lives they plea for substantial means
Tested beyond their capacity resting in squalid conditions-
Praying into their Christianity
No mortal man of compassion could stand by
And be witness such devastation
Sparse medical means in a land crumbling from the inside
Many impoverished brave men waited by the loud white gates
For a voice a glimmer or hope from their leader guru
To the victims the questions remains why?
Everywhere in every corner tears pooled into hands
Contentious people begging for water and pointing to their bodies
I was brought out to the edge of my chair from what I viewed
An act of God has taken some many lives and left me in a state of stupor
I said a prayer for the people of Haiti
Palimpsests of smoky cone-rolled pages charred black from the lead of hatred laced pencils,
Assemblages rewriting peaceful philosophies from behind the blindness of fire-flooded eyes;
Nourished underground rivers of stiff minds that hang coarse like dried laundry on the line,
Demolition derbies of personal agendas colliding like sticks of dynamite beneath a cool bath;
Endowed schools of thought mindlessly led back into troves of blood soaked barren lands,
Mellifluously singing the cash register's melody for drunken bankers and bankrupt diplomats;
Once upon a time our minds only pregnant think-boxes of shooting stars with no prison bars,
Now palpable petals wilting beneath the graffiti drenched petrichor that chokes our senses;
In years smarter tonic will pierce our hearts with the healing strike of medicine tipped darts,
Until that time we can work to smolder beneath the sun-kissed rituals of knowledge and love,
Making our futures bright and golden, leaving this pandemonium as history, for our children;
August 2, 2016
Dark falls and savagery creeps watchfully like a royal tiger stalking its prey
Deceiving its unsuspecting victims
Put under a spell by its glowing, powerful eyes
A soft soul
Sparkling eyes full of intent and wisdom
The true nucleus of eternal goodness
Honey-coloured beams of light flow fluid around him
All-embracing
His nature as pure as the crystal emerald waters of the nearby coast
A pristine stone of charisma and virtue
Like the glimmering waves ebbing on the gritty shoreline
Amid darkness
He is the moon
Radiant and wholesome
Essential for survival
He is far from the surrounding conflict
But takes refuge in an ethereal dimension
A mystic galaxy of ethics and empathy
Yet
Turmoil and chaos erupt like a spiteful volcano
A blazing inferno of wicked inclination and corruption
A battle of diabolical forces
Trapped between morality and depravity
The essence of civilization
Slowly wearing
Loneliness and unease cloud his mind
Loss of judgement paves way for blind emotion
Like heavy rain extinguishing the luminous flame of the candle of virtue
Violence ruthlessly devours every last golden drop of innocence and humanity
Diluting the reason and humanity inside
And the once-noble heart succumbs to scathing malice
Fading the sparse areas of light and warmth
To cold frigid darkness
Parliament in Canada came to a stop in October 2014 (no place is safe)
and in the end Corporal Nathan Cirillo was dead, shot in the back three times;
Nathan was on duty at the Canadian War Memorial (oh the tears),
dead because a lone wolf terrorist went on a rampage, shot 34 times dead.
Earlier in the month, Warrant Officer Vincent was run down by a lone wolf,
men who killed because they embraced radical Islam, its crazy, horrible;
on the news everyday are scenes of terrorist attacks all over the world,
now, it seems France is an ISIS target, attacks heartbreaking.
In the United States gun violence is out of control, so many deaths,
until control is achieved innocent will die (I cannot fathom the beheadings);
mass killings daily, today in France, a priest was killed in the name of ISIS.
____________________________
July 26, 2016,
Poetry/Acrostic/Pandemonium
Copyright Protected, ID 811-775-0
All Rights Reserved. Written under Pseudonym.
For the contest, Pandemonium
sponsor, John Hamilton
Fourth Place
Peaceful was the gathering of the multitudes
A gathering of saints and common humanity
Nirvana sought or perhaps only interludes
Driving their demons, seeking some sanity
Every twelve years the Great Kumbh was held
Making this the largest confluence of souls
Offering themselves with Godhead to meld
Nascent whispers arose of mischievous moles
Irrational panic soon was ignited
Unknown fear raised its ugly head
Mighty stampede leaving many dead
~28 Jul 2016~