Best Peninsula Poems
A fitting anthem for
an introvert like me-
Simon & Garfunkel's
scrumptious harmony
of “I Am A Rock”
spoke oodles to me
in its painful poignancy
bouncing buoyantly
on declarations
of independency
needing no one
utterly free
encased in fortress castle
with books and poetry
I was a rock, an island
a party of three
just I, Myself, and Me
Until he came along
and proved me somewhat wrong
as icy waters receded
I found that he was needed
an “island” no more-
I became a sort-of peninsula
with somewhat rocky shores
Yet, sometimes I still hum it
or belt it right out loud
“I Am A Rock”
ever my anthem
away from the peopled crowds!
Categories:
peninsula, feelings, how i feel,
Form:
Free verse
No litter, no rules, no society scent,
just peninsula pure soul content, ideally lent.
Awed and wowed with arms stretched wide,
I stand on Key’s narrow road, on narrow land,
surrounded by two sea gems and their sand.
This dream road sea-drowns, down south’s horizon
and thrills my innocence without even trying.
Western growth is dense and a fence in Gulf’s yard.
Her wave’s sirens are blue-salt diamonds
and I am mesmerized by their titan climbing.
East unfolds turquoise enchantments unmarred –
The playful, poetic Atlantic off guard,
bewitching and hypnotic in regard.
Dazzled, I sit in the sea, shoulders deep.
Powder soft ocean floor thrones me nicely.
I could sit the day in this sea so sultry.
Flirty, allusive, emerald joys leap
as languid, luscious wet meets sun’s glee,
sending my senses high where memories keep.
These expressive ocean blues and greens
are of patterns and ways, I have never seen.
Sensual and graceful, each sea touch is delight –
as soothing in feel as pleasure in my sight.
Before me spreads endless bounty of ocean glean.
Under Florida-kissed skies, I sit wet and serene.
Categories:
peninsula, appreciation, beauty, ocean, sea,
Form:
Rhyme
Ten mile peninsula in Queens, N.Y.,
nighttime jetties of moonlight white caps,
waves rising and ebbing.
My grandfather walking with me on the
daylight shore so many summers ago.
My dreams of Rockaway unfaded.
Watched the WTC twin towers being built
through binoculars.
Rockaway, in my soul's nostalgia
you still beckon.
Salted lips quenched by Coca-Cola.
The youth within me can still hear
the seagulls calling in the breeze,
and still see the amusement park
under 4th of July fireworks.
Dada, I miss you and Rockaway.
Categories:
peninsula, 7th grade, 8th grade,
Form:
Free verse
Love of truth
the very light of Greece
A peninsula thrust out
like a bony hand,
‘God-tormented Greece,’
Zeus exclaimed,
“I shall give man ‘an evil,’ as the price of fire:
They will clasp destruction with laughter of desire.”
The Gods live on-even though obscure.
Fate rules them too, as Zeus learns
the heroes must die; and the greater
the heroism the earlier the death.
Greece being, itself so divided
between the rational and irrational,
between logic and instinct,
between the scientific and the magical,
between the state of self possession
and that of being possessed,
and one can continue……
between symmetry and diversity,
between the recognition of limits
and the pursuit of the limitless,
between restraint and vaulting ambitions,
or hubris, Pythagoras in all his wisdom
could achieve no resolution or harmonia.
Of all these diverse elements, what was
greatest in him, and in Greece,
was the recognition of these conflicts
for what they were…….
that by grappling with them
a better order in life might then arise.
Categories:
peninsula, change, mythology, society,
Form:
Free verse
I owe so much to you
When you pulled at me,
Tugged me from my toiling,
When I was crouched low,
In the kitchen, blurry choke of tears
I saw the outline of your peninsula
Etched in florescent blue in my mind
A little red star on a map
Such a hard drive (for me and the Ford)
But I, swept into the arms of that gentle house,
Saw a clearing in the nettles, one that I could pass through
And those turned to violets that kissed me as I was waking up
And going to bed, listening to the healing black wind
Through the many cracked windows
Presque Isle with her flags and sea glass
The promise of going to Canada
Turning my head to look at the lake, that dark lake
Itself enigmatic- a sea but not a sea
I think about that, brush the snowy sand from my palms
Yes, in a way,
That could be me
Categories:
peninsula, image, inspiration, strength, summer,
Form:
Ode
My schooner eases
into the tiger claw
that an umber peninsula
juts seaward.
The carnelian bay
beckons like honey
as I aim
for twilight's tangerine
and sun's waning citrine
in amber haze.
Papaya clouds whipped
by solar winds
breathe the siren lure
of bronze oceans
in the scriptural future
to my restless golden heart.
6/30/2018
Categories:
peninsula, boat, color, ocean,
Form:
Ekphrasis
Please, Sleeping Giant, wake unto these loving eyes;
I hunger for your touch as you rest in peaceful slumber.
Longing for such love might well certain my demise;
denying heart’s desire, rather, brings incessant wonder.
I gently stroke each tender brow and press my cheek to yours.
The warmth of you induces sleep ~ we meet inside a dream!
And, now, I know the truth... Love is everything and more;
I wake and rise to my new life; your love has set me free!
We meet here quite often to share our love untold.
Inspired and rejuvenated, we no longer yearn
for we are together, enlightened and so bold,
erasing the fierce hands of time in each attempt to turn.
Dead Man's Island, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
pasteljourney@aol.com
http://www.pasteljourney.com
Categories:
peninsula, desire, dream, freedom, longing,
Form:
Rhyme
FLEEING IRMA
spotlight moon, full, like an Old Testament cloud, leading
Floridians forth, not into the desert, but away from the wrath
of Irma. bumper to bumper, neighbors from pilot to caboose,
illuminated in each other’s flood beams. testiness and pride
put aside, as fleeing cars, in camaraderie, brave the calm
before the storm. like the Israelites, they leave behind the
homes they know, put themselves in the hands of God. many
have family and friends north of their beloved peninsula,
an unintended visit, a warm haven, not a picnic nor a vacation,
but each pulls themselves up, for our Southern neighbors
are not of the craven sort. those who choose to live near the sea,
with its beauty and fortitude, know how to batten down the hatches.
hammocks left behind will tangle, and hug palm trees, suffering
the loss of their occupants. hotels, with never ending vacationers,
takes a much needed rest. God believes in rest, sometimes
a seven year sabbath, even when the soul forgets its place. we
pray, even north of the path, in stillness, we must, in gratitude,
never taking for granted, lest we too find ourselves seeking solace
elsewhere. godspeed our tanned Peninsula friends. godspeed
and bless, with safety, tenacity, and love as we reel you in.
9/8/2017
Categories:
peninsula, car, people, religious, storm,
Form:
Prose Poetry
seabird flock squabbles
on safe peninsula shore
it beggars belief
Categories:
peninsula, bird, friendship,
Form:
Haiku
you like history here you go, a list of their history in short
740. BC The Assyrians cursed them.
579. BC The Babylonians fell asleep and remained for about 60 years.
70. The Romans suppressed their rebellion and destroyed their temple.
135. The Romans suppressed their rebellion and expelled them once and for
all.
626. The start of their expulsion from the Arabian Peninsula.
1080. Expulsion from France.
1098. Expulsion from Czech Republic.
1113. Expulsion from Kievan Rus (Vladimir Monomakh).
Since.. Hoarseness of them in Kiev in 1113.
1147. Expulsion from France (second time)
Expulsion from Italy.
1188. Expulsion from England.
1198. Expulsion from England (Second Time).
1290. Expulsion from England (Third Time).
1298. Expulsion from Switzerland (extermination of 100 of them by hanging).
1306. Expulsion from France (third time, hot. s 3000 of them alive)
Expulsion from Hungary 1360.
1391. Expulsion from Spain.
1394. Expulsion from France (Fourth Time).
1407. Expulsion from Poland.
1492. Expulsion from Spain (second time and passage of a law banning them
from entering the country forever).
1492. Expulsion from Sicily.
Expulsion from Lithuania and Kiev.
Expulsion from Portugal.
1510. Expulsion from England (Fourth Time).
Expulsion from Portugal (second time).
1516. A law in Sicily allows them to live in their own neighborhoods only.
1541. Expulsion from Austria.
Expulsion from Portugal (third time).
A law in Rome allows them to live in ghettos only.
Expulsion from Italy.
Expulsion from Germany (Brandenburg).
Expulsion from Novgorod (Ivan the Terrible).
1592. Expulsion from France (Fifth Time).
Expulsion from Switzerland (second time).
Expulsion from Spain and Portugal (Philip IV) (Fourth time).
1660 . Expulsion from Kiev (second time).
1701. Complete expulsion from Switzerland (decree of Philip V).(Third time).
1806. Napoleonic Alert. Padarja.
1828. Expulsion from Kiev (third time).
1933. Expulsion from Germany.
Categories:
peninsula, history,
Form:
Monoku
Indian peninsula is not unknown to you,
Not only land its sky is wonderful too.
Diverse in climate and culture and
Indians worship mother - nature.
‘Atithi devo bhav.’ is our code of conduct, this is what scriptures instruct.
My flag – The Tricolour.
Yummy cuisine.
Perfect ecosystem.
Rich religious growth and spirituality.
Incredible beliefs and customs.
Devotion and meditation.
Exotic wildlife and what not.
India has all colors of the rainbow,
Festivals, fun, love and respect have easy flow.
*‘Atithi devo bhav.’ means guest is god.
Dt: 08/04/14
Third place win in a contest sponsored by Kim Merryman
Topic - Tell Me About Where You're From
Categories:
peninsula, culture, home,
Form:
Acrostic
Abstract images to the debris of micro fibers.
Down to the Haitian survivors praying for Red Cross donations rather than meaningless
conversations and commotions,
Across tech tonic structures islands break off, continents sides of earthquakes, sizzling
millions of years with a side of ketchup as condiment
Natural bloodshed delicate as a cracked vanilla wafer moving and subduing natural
disasters with a waiver
1st born protected on the doorstep with lamb’s blood, a sanctified remnant of raiment
Oceans swallowing nations in containment.
Countries bruise, ail, and swell.
Broken, body bones, normal day vertical swing parallel.
High land separating bodies of water and 3 sides of the peninsula .
Drowns, in the brown decay of metamorphic rock and hardened clay.
Day after the tomorrow, tirades un-tranquil in sorrow.
Statures of broken individuals in full robust
Feed the struggling souls
On the television reveals reflections of us
Categories:
peninsula, natural disasters
Form:
Rhyme
Hmm...What Discursive Poetic Theme Shall I Write About...
Today (a rather brisk, chilly,
and otherwise sat
tiss factory twirly delightful
December 18th, 2018) matte
her of fact quite
refreshing noontime, while this fat
tend plot of Earthen surveyed terrain
situated over scat
herd modest suburban tract,
(actually yours truly some watt
urbanely sprawled out) at
Latitude: 40.2538 Longitude: 75.4590,
where I sit pat
and think to write
about some reading material flat
touring my "FAKE" status
as king of agitprop for chat
hurrying class gussied up with
artistically crafted rat
tilly done up snazzy razz mutt tazz
(approved by Willard), this expat
lapsed Peterson harried tailored script,
asper previous peculiar
swiftly styled idée fixe
literary unnecessary, rat
tickly tawdry superfluity)
interspersed with dollops of splat
hard logophile, nonetheless gentle
on the eyes, yet feeling totally flat
and devoid of meaning, and quite
convincingly desperate idea this pratt
tilling far amore in the dell doth
expatiate, expound expressively, gnat
cheerily witty, (i.e. hint- please
pretend these humph fat
tickle lee meandering, rambling,
and warbling words) taxing
on mental faculty as bat
tan gruelling death march
physically, when circa
April 1942 Japanese forced
76,000 captured Filipinos,
and Americans Allied
soldiers to march about 80 miles across
Bataan Peninsula (province
in Philippines), where they died
enroute to...during World War II
on island of Luzon, espied
as a spiritual sanctuary hosted
by a knowledgeable tour guide
named Matthew Scott hood dons
genuine (musty smelling)
Tory wig to hide
as an alien alias (from the outer limits
of the twilight zone) incognito
even to himself, and especially the bride
of Frankenstein, who evinces a strong crush
toward said nondescript gentrified
vested gentry groundless thinker with pride
though, dirt poor (at least on the surface),
but deep down rich with
Schwenksville well watered
history harkening back to 1684,
when hoodwinked, jilted and lied
Lenni-Lenape Indians got fleeced
then taken for a ride
this land ceded to (stolen from) William Penn
nestled along the Perkiomen Creek.
Categories:
peninsula, abuse, allusion, america, analogy,
Form:
Bio
Visits long ago
to the Blaskets Islands,
to untouched areas
on the Dingle peninsula
came to mind
on this sleet winter’s eve.
The peninsula,
nestled in heather mountains.
The coastline,
tongues of lonely white sand.
waved rocks,
drenched in blue mussels
tide pools,
alive with shrimps and periwinkles
A sea-salted life
unspoiled and free.
Only marine life remains,
but I still hear the music
our native language,
the voices of Seanchaí
the ballads, sean?s,
Peig Sayers
who shaped our school years,
her renditions of island life
her mad pise?gs,
handed down
from generation to generation.
Stories of
Islanders huddled together
under thatch,
open turf fires
cooking pot on a hook,
the sweet air wafting
of clay pipe tobacco
a pinch of snuff
sniffed from a silver box,
nursing a glass
of neat Poitín, uisce beatha,
the strong smell of tweeds
and geansaí báinín.
I think of times lost,
changed forever.
Cottage ruins,
where goats roam free,
An Blascaod Mór
my history, my heritage.
Gaelic words in this poem
* Seanchaí – storytellers
Sean?s – singing without music
Peig Sayers and her mad pise?gs – A Gaelic writer who we studied in school and her mad superstitions.
Poitín, uisce beatha – very strong alcohol made from potatoes, called the water of life.
geansaí báinín – strong sheep wool sweaters usually in a cream colour with complex patterns.
Categories:
peninsula, childhood, family, history, life,
Form:
Free verse
Limerick cochetés: Our great uhr-Father from Africa
Our great uhr-Father from Africa
Hallowed be Thy fame in high Valhalla
The Asian walk-about
Down backbone coccyx snout
Who didst Thou mate in Peninsula Malaya
To produce orangutan Malaysia
Did our great uhr-cousin Gorilla
Chimpanzee when in doubt
Precede Thy walk-about
Swinging from tree to tree to Australia
To judge by great life in Southeast Asia
Smoke-filled lungs from HAZE in Sumatra
Death penalty for tout
With drugs- Hell for khalwat*
Is there doubt who preceded whom from Africa
• khalwat: (a Muslim – all Malays - religious law)
According to which, no Malay may marry a non-Muslim nor be found in close proximity giving rise to suspicion of promiscuousness, law enforceable by religious courts whose officials are empowered to spy on offenders and report their activities to the relevant authorities
© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2015
Categories:
peninsula, africa, allegory, conflict, discrimination,
Form:
Limerick