Best Paused Poems
Medication paused a day
the balm of urge then delayed
with a will to live without
if only for the briefest time
until the need comes again
sight unseen to other folks
yet more present than concerns
voiced for the abstinence
when that fix to ease the pain
sometimes a scratch or bloody gash
demands more than platitudes
even as they fill the void
between damnation and relief
the intermission feeds a hope
somewhere past the curative
is a life of more control.
Two months after graduation I dialed her number, 8 - 1 - 8,
I paused…
maybe Sue's forgotten me?
well I'll never know if I don't try
we spoke of our college days
of late nights cramming for music theory exams
of songs we wrote (together)
for her beautiful soprano voice
"Would you like to have dinner sometime?" I asked
she paused…
"I'm in a relationship" "Hey, I'm happy for you" I lied
and went on with my life
34 years went by
Oct 7th, 2016
I had just finished loading the dishwasher
she dialed my number
it was her 56th birthday she was alone
we spoke of our careers
of late nights watching classic movies
of songs we wrote (not together)
one of hers made it on the radio: 'Hold Me In Your Eyes'
Sue said she wrote those lyrics thinking of how I used to look at her
so intently, never looking away
she paused…
"Would you like to have dinner sometime?"
I paused…
"I'm in a relationship" "Hey, I'm happy for you"
Views For Poems Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Funom Makama
The following are to be included in the poem -
My most viewed poem: Hold Me In Your Eyes
Number of views: 818
Poetry form: Lyric
Date published: 7 October, 2016
she paused
in front of him and smiled
graduation day
Stone floors whisper of
waterfalls poured through
algae, moss, fern
sedimentary, limestone
layer upon layer formed
from steaming warm springs.
This same granite counter
once graced by
a gazelle - or on its bedrock
a jackal howled, a shy marten
scurried away. This same stone
cut square, smoothed, glazed
and laid in some ultra-modern kitchen
for imbedded fossils to shine
from fifty million years of nature-
a jaguar spirit crouching
ready to leap up,
brushing the
potted ferns
FIRST PLACE in the "Early March 18 Standard" Poetry Contest,
Brian Strand, Sponsor.
Our journey got paused
I insisted to the passengers
Let’s sleep on our way
We got to the Ibadan garage 1.05am
Then, we move on ‘morrow morning
Dissenting voices echoed diverse views
I offered to alight at the park
Couldn’t put my life at risk
Some of my co-travelers concurred
We paused at Abuja Park of Ibadan
For its of it good to be late than be a late.
Alayande Stephen T.
2.25am
21st November, 2007
It was written at the Abuja Garage in
Iwo Road, Ibadan on my way to her in Ado-Ekiti.
In a library where time has paused to rest its heavy wings,
two shadows float among the rows like phantoms lost in ink,
where smoke rises like memories of a forgotten dream,
two souls meet and burn like two stars in the endless night:
Your coat carries the scent of absinthe and dreams that drift in melancholy,
are you a poet or a shadow lost among pages of yellowed paper?
I am both, beloved Bard, a blend of life and despair flowing gently,
for my decay is an elixir that seduces and intoxicates wandering souls,
and you, with your daggers of words, have tamed shadows—what is death compared to this?
Do you rhyme to seduce, to embrace suffering, or to scatter it like a bell's echo?
I seduce through suffering, for pleasure is sweeter when sung at the sunset of eternity.
Your muse is a spider weaving dreams in the dark corners of thought,
mine is a drunken sprite whispering poems to the ear of night's silence.
And yet, our webs capture essences of different worlds, we weave in parallel universes,
yours capture kings and the shadows of power dancing in the light of old candles,
mine capture angels weeping with lines of ink running like rivers down their cheeks.
Shall we drink something?
Only if it's hemlock or sweet poison with honey, for death's kiss is a forbidden fruit.
Perfect. I'll summon the ghosts, you bring the cup of destiny and we'll dive into it.
Thus, two centuries meet in a duel of words and echoes of silence,
a spectacle for those who would have come to steal verses from unheard whispers,
with Rimbaud on our lips and wine flowing like a river of forgetfulness through the vein of time.
There is a split, precious time where it is necessary to stop everything
And just stare into the hearts of the unknown
To really look in
Without a speck of fear to curl your way downwards
In a fetal position I avert my eyes to view the pumping organ
But all I see is space
As dust rises and falls
Into my burning, crying eyes
I need to stop what I’m doing
To shed some light
Because I am casting shadows all around me
Leaving everything I am behind
You need this festive light that you end up always hating in the end
On every floor I will step for you
On every wall my shadow will stand tall
Shedding its darkening light
Stopping everything in time
Lean against it and ignore it
Become it
There is always tomorrow
One little speck can destroy the entire universe
And that is why I must pause
To shed some light
Will you shine in return?
I need the warmth, not the burn!
And we will fearlessly walk into the sun
Lessons learned
Follow the road and you will see my shadow
And then…only then
Can I press the play button
-inspired by My Shadow by Keane-
The lady paused, it was not fair
That one should boast such raven hair
And ample breasts so round and flush
On waist an hourglass would blush
The lady paused, her mirror stilled
Reflection froze as her eyes filled
Was she as jealous as the queen
Of Snow White’s beauty, fresh and clean
Ashamed she was of her demise
So what, the girl bore big blue eyes
So what, her color rivaled rose
In every hue love can suppose
The lady paused, so she grew old
Her springtime stories had been told
Her memories were still intact
That raven hair was hers, in fact
Yes, she was jealous of herself
Her youth now pictures on a shelf
Will she find happiness inside
Where ageless beauty can reside
Doing what you want like u
some kinda star?
Idk who you think you are!
telling me that I'm not allowed
Does makin me cry make you
feel proud?
Why you out wit ya girls just
livin it up
I'm stuck at home feelin down
on my luck
Thinking of everything that you
might be doin
Where the eff you at? who u
might be screwin?
So I try to call to ease my mind
But You hit ignore n think it's
FINE?
I hope u don't think that love is
a game
It's a beautiful painting locked
away in a frame
something that you probably
should admire
But you pull out ya lighter and
set it on fire
Making me blaze and burning
my heart
Our love is a sweet work of art
It's 2 hungry dogs fighting for
the last piece of steak
Its pain and suffering lets talk
for gods sake!
A PAUSED GAME
It was a rainy evening of May,
We were tired of sitting and,
Gazing at the downpour.
Through the gaps of my fingers,
The roaring thunder did crawl in.
Tear stained window panes,
Waved wide in the winds.
At out the windows far,
Lay our ground wet with,
The cricket game half done.
And the bat that was aside,
Needed a bath for sure.
The muddy ball needed it,
As well, I reckon.
I wondered, when was the time,
That wetting in the rains,
Would no longer make us sick.
I always wanted to, but
May be they were true.
For I never wanted to be sick.
For being sick is of no good.
Still the rain was at it's best.
The corridors with no lights,
Were half asleep except for,
The tapping toes and giggles.
We ran to the old bookcase,
Reached hands and,
Got some stuffs down.
Tore the pages in haste.
Folded it over and over,
In turns till then the boats,
Were ready for a sail.
Side by side in the muddy water,
They made oars of their own.
May be they could know,
They were to sail all the way,
Down the winds, empty.
Empty to them, at least-
For us they were loaded,
With heaps of hopes and happiness.
And they never sink or,
That's how I remember them now.
And finally the clouds lifted,
The last drop was sooner swiped.
Sun rays were smirking at then.
Though knowingly they couldn't-
For longer keep them close,
The trees; big and small,
Held them, the fallen rain drops.
The sun torching lights by them,
Made them into diamonds uncut,
Hanging down from there.
They could have stayed longer,
If I wasn't there,
To pluck them apart for self.
Busy playing then I was,
For they had already began,
The game without me.
And it was dusk falling down,
Had to halt the game till dawn.
It was joyful,that evening,
As long as we never knew,
How thrilling it would have-
Been playing in that rain.
To think of; being sick a day,
Or two was okay, but,
Will we ever get a chance to:
Have a shower in that rain?
Or may be it's late to be that
Great kid again!!
Ruffling the feathers
Of your expectations.
Rilke to the left.
The portrait of Alf
The back of my left ear.
What unconscionable theives,
These Time Czars,
Where we live with the scars,
As joy bounces on the crevices.
I see you in the dark in some cave.
Let me be your bombastic populist.
The Strong Arm of the Soul.
Play in the light of least resistance.
My garden grows in the garden of your heart.
My every breathe is your eternal existence.
Bite the doughnut.
Press for hugs.
pieces
tattered
broken
bloody
I fell apart
fell silent
sat still
it's what you wanted
me to stop
now you see
this is what happens
I stop
and I fall apart
the thoughts attack
ripping me apart
my body shakes
mind screams
I rock back and forth
hug myself
tears stream down
you wanted me to pause
step back and look
don't you see it
it's how I coped
I kept moving
my mind had to race
if I stop then it tumbles
my carefully constructed walls
lies I told myself
I had to stay together
a whole body formed from pieces
no one seeing the missing bits
where is the heart
shattered into pieces
bloody
broken
tattered
The textured page holds my finger
Swift memory steals the pause
Here I’ll sit and so long linger
Again, I’ll wonder who she was
Moved as if by a magic wand
To soles and autumn leaves
Carried back to Walden’s pond
Amongst observant trees
Its here I held her young hand
And wondered what might be
There we walked the storied land
Now how does she remember me
If tomorrow we never speak again,
I hope you still carry the softness of us in your heart.
Not the silence that followed,
but the warmth in our laughter,
the comfort in the way I remembered every little thing about you.
We are not enemies,
though it aches to see you drift into someone I no longer know.
We’re just two people who loved too carefully,
who chose peace over pleading,
distance over desperate apologies,
and silence… because the noise between us hurt too much.
You will never know the war I fought within —
to stay just your friend
while my heart whispered your name in every quiet room.
You will never understand
how many times I typed “I miss you”
and backspaced it into dust.
If I could go back,
I’d still want every second with you —
your bad jokes, the sleepy late-night chats,
the way your name made my world feel less lonely.
But I’d rewrite our friendship
and delete the part where I fell in love with you.
Because that’s where it all broke.
That’s where I stopped being your safe place
and started being a silent burden.
You didn’t ask for my heart —
and I gave it anyway, hoping you’d notice,
hoping love could bloom quietly,
hoping you’d feel it too.
But I loved you in silence.
In stolen glances.
In the pauses between your sentences.
In every "good morning" that meant more than it should have.
And you loved me… maybe not the same way.
Maybe not at all.
And I didn’t want to lose you.
I just wanted to love you gently —
without expectations,
without ruining what we had.
But the truth is…
my heart outgrew the friendship.
And yours stayed exactly where it was.
So now we’re just a story that never got its ending.
A book half-written.
A memory I hold onto when the nights get too loud.
And if goodbye is the only chapter left,
let it be tender.
Let it bleed softly.
Let it wreck me —
but don’t let it erase us.
Because we mattered.
Even if only to me.
Even if only for a while.
— To the one who never knew they were loved like this.
lanky lusts leering
fostering felon fits
damp draw drooling
draped over dances
voluptuous veils vying
saucy veins spanking
hanky panky hoisting
falling fallible feelings
severed surges smirking
eerie emotions nauseated
squashed capillaries cremated
pulpy pukes pirated
lurching labium limbs
paused, party pissed.
'20:01:29:18:14