Best Park Poems
The Park Bench
I wish I was a poet
With magical words
To make people see all of the absurd
Tears fly, paintings in pastel die
When we look into our mirrors
We sometimes miss
What love dumps upon all of us
We shed tears, for we forgot to shed fears
I have no legs, nor any crutches
So my voyage has ended
I only observe
Sadness upended
When goodness is confused
When gestures are refused
When the kiss that could have been
When a poets tear seems obscene
The one who hears is often deaf
The deaf sometimes have nothing left
If I could give a kiss away
I would give it to lovers with hearts that sway
Drawing love on paper in may
Categories:
park, art, beauty, inspirational, philosophy,
Form:
Free verse
Summer's sweet swans share
white winged feathers
Wild and free as they bow their
long graceful necks.
Artistic as a poet's painting
of fecund flora,
Nature's lough at Coole, their
peaceful dwelling place.
These white majestic creatures
swim silently near shore,
Aesthetics adorn blue wondrous
waters in a white flotilla
As reposeful ripples evenly extend
to encompass the heart.
Coole's liquid sheen shimmers in
Lugh's luminous aquatic
Oneness, as mating pairs begin
their winsome waltz
On placid waters where swan
calls echo in stereo.
Lilac's sweet scent in breezes
serene and romantic
Elevate the soul as evening's
elysium visions enshrine.
6-27-20
~First Place~
Summer Love Poetry Contest
Sponsor Chantelle Anne Cooke
*Coole: ( Irish: An Chúil) is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland
*Lough - Irish word for a lake - a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
*Lugh-the god whose name means "shining one" was a Celtic sun god.
https://youtu.be/RsImDaZzDUQ
Categories:
park, art, beauty, bird, love,
Form:
Free verse
Harrison Park is large
It has a trailer park
The people camp out
They spend their summer
In this park is a restaurant
All the food is home made
This place is always packed
They are enjoying their meal
The park has visitors
Rain or shine people come
To visit the small zoo
To see animals
There are cages with birds
They are different species
A partridge waits to show
His pretty feathers spread
For evryone to see
he likes to display them
For everyone to see
To show off his colors
Categories:
park, animal, bird, summer, time,
Form:
Free verse
It wasn't because he brought her flowers....
It wasn't because he wined and dined her....
She loved him because he spent hours on the computer
trying to track down the 1970 Brooks Robinson baseball card
for their oldest son's birthday
She loved him because he played with their kids, even after a hard day at work...
baseball games in the big front yard...
cheering them on...
not getting angry when the youngest son
knocked a homer
straight through the living room window
Categories:
park, father, son,
Form:
Free verse
I spied a valley low
Across the road from the cemetery
A Columbus monkey swinging by
The trees of the vale
Stood tall and forlorn
Observing the crematorium
Covered in light gray smoke
As morning traffic streamed on by
Giraffe reached for the tallest bough
And I thought I heard the leopards growl
And by the road was a troop of baboons
As people walked on by
And a few yards away,
Was the army garrison
A regiment trooped on by,
As a sounder was grazing idly by
And people walked on by
Yes I spied a valley low
Where life carried on slow
Across the road from the cemetery
Where footsteps were dull and hollow
A funeral procession was going on
Yes the trees of the vale
Were tall and forlorn
The sun hung high and lorn
As were the clouds of dawn
As I drove along that road
Away from that valley low
Categories:
park, animal, funeral, people,
Form:
Free verse
I took a walk down Columbia Street
Back to the place where we used to meet
Where we played as kids until after dark
And hung out together up at Dutch Hill Park
Although alone, I could hear the sound
Of laughter coming from the merry go round
Sometimes we'd meet there in the early dawn
The dance hall, pavilion and the swings are gone
I saw those pine trees and I thought of you
And all the crazy things we used to do
Like sleeping out underneath the stars
Hanging upside down from the monkey bars
A swing made from a rope and an old tire
We baked potatoes on an open fire
Squirrel nut zippers and an RC coke
Transistor radio and we'd have a smoke
We walked in the woods and we climbed some trees
We scratched our faces and we skinned our knees
Never dreaming that it would ever end
If I could, I'd do it all again my friend
Those memories I have will never part
I carry Dutch Hill Park inside my heart
And all those memories of yesteryear
Heading back home now I shed a tear.
Categories:
park, childhood, friendship, life, nostalgia,
Form:
Couplet
Today I present an old poem, written at least a decade before "Doubts". What this poem lacks in poetic format, and style, it reaps in sentiment.
Enjoy:
the Girl Who Ate the National Park
I was picking apples, from polystyrene
boxes, when she held aloft a spiky
green football and her excited voice
asked, “What do you call this?”
She named it durian. I didn’t know,
and pulled a lettuce from its packing.
Harvested multigrain rolls
from bakery bins, and hunted
sandwich ham from fridges.
I laid our picnic mat down
amongst market gardens, and planted myself
to grow in her company. Uncorked
a shiraz in a vineyard, and savoured
her smile. Pulled an apricot from the cooler,
in an orchard, and hungrily
consumed her words.
She took to the park's paths
like shopping aisles. Selecting ingredients
for a salad from green foliage shelves.
She chose a duck dish
as it flew above us, and decided on a fish,
as we watched it swim
beneath the waterfall.
Then as we left, she created a desert
from the trees.
Her touch stopped me. Rooted
me to the spot, where we ravenously
embraced. Our feelings blossoming
around us. Forming a canopy
which we took shelter under,
and bore fruit, that we ate together.
Our appetites sated.
Categories:
park, love,
Form:
Free verse
(Please read The Park -- Part One first ...
This is a continuation from Part One, due to space limitations)
Yes, kids at play are bold and wise
with flashing smiles and knowing eyes.
Children tire easily of grown-up prattle;
thoughts turn to cakes, to toys that rattle.
They think that Belles and Bills tell lies.
Tme is a birthday gift or a new surprise:
games to play; a windy day for a kite one flies;
coins that shine; toys that squeak;
a trip to the zoo at the end of the week.
Belles and Bills persist in their story.
Some even mention forgotten glory.
Children go home to eat, to sleep,
as Belles and Bills their vigils keep
then wearily drift back to flats
to listen to the rustling rats,
to sip their beers or gins or rums --
to wait until the morning comes.
They stand and stretch, look all around,
surveying the world to which they're bound.
Then they shuffle away with airs of sadness
at being always on the verge of madness.
They'll see once more the sun's first ray,
the birth in the park of another day.
Eyes are glazed and minds are dazed;
the atmosphere grows dim and hazed.
An eerie echo of an unheard bark
reverberates throughout the park
amid falling leaves and a darkening sky
and the nightly proof of the chilren's lie.
Categories:
park, nostalgia, people, sad, time,
Form:
Rhyme
Sitting On a Park Bench
As I’m sitting on a park bench, my heart does quench for you
Watching the birds fly, in the corner of my eye there’s a view
A soft light a soft voice, I make my choice that I always knew
You made your call, tried to break my wall your right on cue
I still need you Lord; I’m onboard to see your love come thru
In streets of gold; I behold infinite wisdom within eyes of blue
I still need you Lord; to mold my broken heart and start anew
Your light is my sight; help me see amidst the darkest avenue
Like the Sun needs its day...I need you
Like the flowers need their sway...I need you
Like the blackness needs its gray...I need you
Like the aroma needs its bouquet...I need you
Like the mountains need their sky...I need you
Like the leaving need their bye...I need you
Like the birds need their fly...I need you
Like my tears need their dry...I need you
I’ll never forget that memorable day...
Sitting on a park bench with the Lord I began to pray...
Lord, I need you, now more than ever...
I never meant for our love to sever...
And the Lord said...
From time to time you have abandoned me...
For through out all of time, I shall never abandon you...
Even through out eternity...
‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.’
Aug.23.2017
Why Do I Need You Lord
Sponsored by: James Edward Lee Sr.
Categories:
park, jesus, love, spiritual,
Form:
Free verse
ROWNTREE PARK
I have found green here
bordered by white lines
that meet then veer off
into infinity, perfect symmetry,
peppered by flashing yellow dandelions.
These, and more, colours
I have found here.
I have found dreams here
in the bats that sing for singles
and scream for homers,
in the cleats that pound
a rhythm as they slap the ground
with mercurial delight.
Oh, the sights and sounds
that I have found here.
I have found the cycles of life here
in the grass below and the sky above,
in the safe and the out,
I have found peace.
I have found youth here,
for here I am not an old man
barely able to walk,
I am forever ten
as I round the bases and slide
headfirst into home,
the feel of dirt in my face
and the smell of death in the tag.
Categories:
park, allegory, baseball,
Form:
Free verse
Luneta, I used to almost venerate you once
but glassy skyscrapers have put you away…
still, I kept the fragrant lawns deep in my bones,
with Muppet tricks and hazy star-gazing.
Although recollections pump on my mind,
you’ve transformed, you’ve changed...
I buried you away till on mellow, rainy days
memories pass …just like kites in the evening
or those riotous, girlish escapades
igniting shadow-plays to all come out…
and everything is drowned in retrospection.
Tonight, I visit your new ponds and clinch my hand
because for all my affinity to remembrances,
it's the shadow of childhood, of impish friends
that make the most languishing stories.
2/20/2016
Contest of Craig Cornish: The Park
*Luneta (Rizal)Park ~ one of the most historic
areas in our city
Categories:
park, nostalgia, places,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
Like my fondest memory of it, the park of my childhood still remains -
with its garden of roses near the entrance and its verdant rolling hills.
On its eastern street, It had a tiny zoo our step dad took us to.
Gone now are the monkeys, the snake house, the zebras, the giraffes,
and the elephants with wrinkly greedy trunks reaching out
for the leaves I waved excitedly in my sweaty palms.
Across the street, the swings, see saws, slides and springers beckoned us.
Dizzy with excitement, on the merry-go-rounds we spun.
Then from one thing to another, laughing, we’d all run.
When did the train and the miniature roller coaster disappear?
Even that fun pool in the park’s center with its outdoor snack shack was removed -
to be replaced in a new spot by a new pool, bigger and now with water slides.
Are the picnic tables where we gathered for wonderful reunions
even in the same green spots where they used to be?
I try to see Weed Park whenever I revisit my home town,
first crossing the quaint bridge above the pond where we could ice skate in winter.
Leaving it, I cross the street to where my fondest memory of the park remains.
There I see myself sitting on a swing, legs pumping air, as higher and higher I fly.
My father, the other one, whom I rarely see, has come to visit me and my sisters,
and I’m shouting gleefully, “Look at me, Dad! Look at me!”
Written Feb. 2016 for the contest of Craig Cornish
Categories:
park, nostalgia,
Form:
Free verse
Christmas Eve Mystery
The sun had set, and it was Christmas Eve.
Dear Santa finished up and packed the sleigh;
made sure his Reindeer were geared up to go
before they'd have some time outside to play.
Now it was time to go to North Pole Park,
for there they'd snack on greens below the snow,
and run and prance to loosen up their legs
for galloping through space 'neath moonlit glow.
There, Santa rested on his favored bench;
'tween nodding, saw them romping everywhere.
However, Rudolph proudly stood on guard
beside him watching with protective care.
But soon enough, except for one, they'd fled;
whichever way they looked, none to be found!
Rudolph and Santa surely seemed upset...
yelled out each name in hopes they'd come around.
Before long, darkness fell upon the park.
Did Santa's deer come back to join the team?
Yes...every precious gift arrived on time.
'Twas only Santa's 'forty winks' bad dream!
December 10, 2018
For the Contest, "The Park Bench At Christmas",
sponsored by Sara Kendrick, based on Picture #3
Categories:
park, christmas, mystery,
Form:
Iambic Pentameter
I'm a park bench put here for people's well being. I don't sing or dance, talk or walk, but simply wait. I have been placed near a Christmas tree for many to see. They always decorate and light up the tree and maybe even me. There's beauty all around, but sometimes needy people swing by. Like this man, many homeless ones have come to sit and think about their plight or about their many childhood Christmases, and start to cry. I sit and wait for them to recline and rest themselves from themselves because it's not always what others have done to them. And I don't quiz them about their lives and adverse circumstances that may have treated them coldly. Through rain or shine, sleet or snow, whether male or female, adult or teen, I am here for them. To me, they will often come, discouraged and tired, so trusting enough to fall asleep on me. As they sleep, sometimes in the cold, many will pause and stare but will not give even a care. Still, others will dare to stop and say, "What a shame, but what can I do?", and walk on by. But there are those who will inquire and lend to them a helping hand, showing a little love. Anyway, I just wanted to say, "I'm neither Miss Liberty nor Santa Clause; I'm just a Park Bench for you when you need someone to lean on.
11222018PoSoupContest, The Park Bench At Christmas. Sara Kendrick, Picture #1, Man sleeping on a park bench. 1P
Categories:
park, christmas, love,
Form:
Personification
Wow is this for real, my boy lollipop,
My best ever destination, da, da da da,
Is a trip to the park
I love it when it gets dark,
Da da da da,
My boy lollipop.
I want to see the big five,
Then adrenaline will pump,
On which I thrive.
I love it, i love it, I love it so,
Da da, da, da, da, da da da,
When i see a star constellation,
And clear skies,
Even the milky way,
I want you to know,
This feeds my always
Active imagination,
Da, da, da da,
My boy lollipop.
I have missed the roar of the lion,
In the early morn,
We get up, shower, that was our alarm,
Am I right my boy lollipop,
And the gentle, long lashed giraffes,
Da da da da,
I long for an elephant’s trumpet,
Da da da da,
My boy lollipop
Hey sweet hubby lollipop,
For you I desire,
Hope we see buffalo in herds,
And a Dung Beetle carrying turd,
Da, da da da,
You always set my heart on fire,
My boy lollipop
The soar of the fish eagle by the river,
A leopard chasing its kill
Hey my boy lollipop,
He carries it up a tree
And eats his fill,
Da, da, da da,
Oh, how I love the Kruger Park,
From my first visit with you
I fell in love
My boy lollipop.
Will we see hyenas or wild dogs,
Da, da, da da
Will it be sunny and hot
Cold nights or not,
Tell me my boy lollipop
Will you be wild with me
We are in the wild so let it be,
My hubby lollipop.
Da da da da.
Wart hogs are so cute
They squeal with delight or fear,
And rhinos, surely
We’ll see lollipop dear,
Once remember, we saw two
Baboons fiercely fighting,
There’s so much more,
Let’s wait and see
Da, da, da da, da da da,
Will you buy be some candy,
If I promise you, clothes
Will be scanty.
Have my silly cap on, tomorrow going to the Kruger Park.
The da da da’s is the background music.
Inspired by the song my boy lollipop sung by Millie Small,
A hit in 1964.
Big five is when you have spotted elephants, lions, rhinos
Leopards and buffalo.
Categories:
park, animal,
Form:
Free verse