Best Preside Poems
Whispers at dawn I awaken near your yawn
Will you let me into your heart?
Dreams of passion I need your compassion
This will be our sensuous start
Falling in love all we need is a shove
Will you let me into your arms?
Breakfast for two your love I will chew
I’m drowning in your lucky charms
Side by side our love will preside
Will you let me into your essence?
Through forever always together
Within warming skies of iridescence
In circles of infinity we are divinity
Will you let me into your soul?
Through timeless space I will embrace
Our love sailing in a black hole.
Aug.16.2017
Let Me Into Your Heart
Sponsored by: Julie Rodeheaver
One night while stargazing, Dragon and I, got to see a falling star… descend.
I thought that would be great, so I told him he could make a wish on them…
But Dragon’s are really quite unique, and don’t always think, like you and me.
No, NOT at all! And you should believe, things began to unravel, immediately:
About to make that wish… He realized the moon descends every night.
And the sun descends, like the moon… every single day, at every Twilight.
Becoming horrified that so many wishes had gone by him, totally unused!
He decided to wish upon the star, that all past wishes, can now come, to be used.
There is logic here, I think, as Dragon hordes things; he’d do it with wishes, too.
When I tried to explain, that’s not how wishes work, they have to be rare and few.
With falling stars, it has to come from one, that came to ground, willing to share.
Now Dragon is a stubborn thing and decided, I wanted them all for myself, to snare.
He stomped his foot, as the 2 year old he is, crying he didn’t want to share not one.
So I patiently explained that there are bigger stars everywhere, bigger than our sun!
He was sure I’d done him wrong and had lied, after all, his eyes are very keen.
The bigger, the better, and our sun was the biggest thing, that he had ever seen!
It’s brightness has gobs of power, in fact, I’d said it powers all the Earth, he recalled.
So its wish couldn’t be small… he said it’s not nice, to not share, with him at all.
Now a tantrum was about to ensue, from our 2 year old who’d skipped his nap.
And don’t forget he’s a Dragon, too! It wasn’t a good idea to fall into this trap!
Some things are better to not go through. Why fight the battle, if you can stop the war?
In the end I took that wish… and wished I’d never took him on that wishful tour.
You know what? I did find that peace finally came back and did preside, in a wink.
As I got his blankie for his bed, and tucked him in so nice and neat, I paused to think.
Next year would be a better time, to view the meteor showers, after we both have…
A well-deserved nap. Don’t you think? When he’s a tad more grown up, I did add…
Besides my wishes, in the past, have served me well, as they brought him here to me.
And I ’d need one more wish this year, to help him when flying… to not hit the trees!
When two choose each the other
Having decided this, their fate
A bond, a pledge, a vow replaces
That which, unchosen, cannot wait
Even when it requires a warrior resolute,
Vitality deathless, and sacrifice continuous,
Eternal must the pledge be, or
Risk betrayal's scourge sinuous.
It is at the pit, against the fiery horde
That Absalom dulls the finest sword
This is what it takes to stand at my side
Antagony to injustice is my cause
Knell my soul to abandon, divide
Eidetically my failure would resound, preside
Sorcerous dreams expounding my flaws.
Indebted to peace, yet still facing war
Soliloquy sweet, punished yet more.
When the lashes pernicious slander my spirit
Have you the stamina to fight weaponless, naked?
Ardently ask the goddess Irit
That throughout the nightmare, you survive unwakéd?
Impassioned, immortal, immoderate, rhetorical
Would you, could you, if so, should you?
Illusion or real, my fight is defense
Leave destruction behind
Lose selfish pretense
Give willingly blood to the unjust blow
Impatiently wait the night for the dawn
Vicious dark creatures attack love's glow
Effervescent, they dissolve at the light, and pass on.
Because violence feeds violence, and hate cannot withstand love's rapture.
(Dedication: For Regina Riddle)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tree caterpillar crawling
Strong windy debris;
Blown over the bough
~~~~~~~~~
Violet blossoms
Vine decorations dancing;
Sun and breeze move
~~~~~~~~~
Joy wears a face:
Your smiles highlight;
Dazzle of morning
~~~~~~~~~
Hasty scribblings
Poetry in motion;
Grassy blooms unnoticed
~~~~~~~~~
Rose garden memories
Touch of rapture;
Thorny issues exfoliate
~~~~~~~~~
Sweet yellow guava
Pleasant tasty treat;
Oxford Road townhouse
~~~~~~~~~
This old Jasmine tree
Fondly remembers;
Our rowdy flower picking
~~~~~~~~~
Joy wears a face
Nature reveals seasons;
Change comes to all
~~~~~~~~~
Look to strange change
To re-jig feelings;
Afternoon rain respite
~~~~~~~~~
Be of good cheer
Bear with bad weather;
Dance with danger
~~~~~~~~~
Mid-autumn frolic
Peace in kind harvest;
Moon cakes and moonlight
~~~~~~~~~
Ghosts of lovers past
Touch of fond rapture;
Breezy plumeria garden
~~~~~~~~~
Voice in the wind
Fragrant with rain;
Black clouds threaten
~~~~~~~~~
Evening stroll
Hand-in-hand;
Plumeria flowers preside
~~~~~~~~~
So much to discern
Harmony trees here;
Gardens By The Bay
~~~~~~~~~
Evening serenade
Cicadas and frogs;
Sounds at nightfall
~~~~~~~~~
Orchard Boulevard stroll
Sense surrounds;
Fragrant touch sifting
~~~~~~~~~
Two yellow butterflies
Fluttering between shrubs;
Sky Bridge tower above
~~~~~~~~~
Haiku surprise
Or senryu moment;
Experience reveals
~~~~~~~~~
Observe dear heart
What nature shows;
See things clearly
~~~~~~~~~
Frangipani tree
Crimson and red flowers;
Walkway perfumery
~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
10 August 2014
Singapore
Many are the miles you snake along the hillsides, through the valleys,
conforming to the highways, partitioning pasture from pasture
neighbour from neighbour, friend from foe, son from father.
a face unperturbed…
one inhaling scenic grace
spring chattering birth
Sanctuary to winter flock shelter for the beast,
many characteristics embraced within your tenacity,
while countless shapes formulate your strength,
crag face monument a testament to this place, stone the essence.
breaking dawn’s sunrise …
golden threads breaking the mist
surfing nether clouds
Many years you’ve stood against sweeping rain, hoarfrost nights,
the heat of summer, the inane rambler that mounts your very strength
rests wearily for a while, never a thought for whom created
you, from out of the very ground you now preside over.
there are no concepts…
only seasons to embrace
and generations
© Harry J Horsman 2022
QUESTIONS OF BALANCE: A JEREMIAD
Why is it at 70 politicians are still underage
To assume political offices
And at 30 youths are overage to begin a professional career?
What divine strength hath a leader at 75
When a mandatory retirement awaits civil servants at 65?
Why should the government empowers the youths with $75 in 2 years
And expects them all to have own businesses
But civil servants who earn over $300 per month in 30 years
Are finding it difficult to own a garden or a store?
How is it our politicians could expend billions
To defect, campaign and give kickbacks
But would wait until the World Bank borrows them some millions
To provide a borewell drinking water?
How can they say the national treasury has collapsed to employment
Yet billions are looted and millions wasted on foreign fantasies?
Why should the achievement of our political endorsement
Be signed to MOUs as though we lack understanding?
Why should our lawmakers make laws that hound the masses
And not against their own chronic excesses and excuses?
Why should the wealthy politician vote a project for the poor
Assigned the execution of the project to himself and loot the funds?
Why do our lawmakers never make laws to free the masses
From poverty and political swindlers?
Why should the agency that fights corruption be corrupt?
Why should gluttons preside over the meager meals of the masses?
Why should the leader not serve today and the servant lead tomorrow?
Why should professional bandits be our bankers?
Why should 5% of public servants consume 60% of the nation’s wealth?
Why should a politician be a party leader, counsellor, chairman, governor, senator… still desperate to lead
And all behind his trails are poverty and anguish?
Why should a politician with obscene wealth hidden somewhere
Tell his people that their poverty and problem is Hausa, Igbo, Christian, Muslim, APC, PDP…?
And why is our nation over-laboured by multiplets of cultural, social
Political, religious questions awaiting caesarean responses?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind!
Many a mile you snake,
along the hillsides, through the valleys,
conforming to the highway,
partition pasture from pasture
neighbour from neighbour,
friend from foe
son from father.
Sanctuary to winter’s flock
shelter to the beast,
these many characteristics embraced
within your tenacity,
while countless shapes
formulate your strength.
Sweeping rain, hoarfrost nights,
the heat of summer the inane rambler,
yes I share your sufferance.
Yet! Many years you’ve stood
in testament of this place,
a monument to my forefathers, who
created you from out of the
very ground you now
preside over.
© Harry J Horsman 2000
I. Myth
A giant, I thought, fondly,
one that brought power first;
then, too, love, always love,
then, too, justice, wisdom;
you commanded the supplications
just as surely as your gods;
I thought it would reside in you
and preside over me forever.
II. More
Far more, I thought, fondly,
and gifts of bounty at hand;
then, too, power, always power,
then, too, justice, wisdom;
so, then, more the reward of good
and more the power of the reward;
you were sure it was yours
and divinity would surely follow.
III. Less
No less, I thought, fondly,
it was always these, I assumed;
then, too, those, always those,
then, too, less the malignant seed;
but assumption is deepest folly,
and greater exactitude held sway;
gone the lesser virtues,
less than the virtues pledged.
IV. Of And Or
I surely walked into a hemisphere
darkened by my own design;
but perhaps you walked, or lurched,
or clumsily something elsed;
perhaps into a hemisphere darker,
unwittingly darkened by folly;
I won't know until I get there,
and even then I might not.
27th June 2020
A falling leaf, etched in gold
Followed me this morning
And as it floated to the earth,
All the while adorning
I remembered many reasons
Of why I love the fall
It’s the tapestry of color
That I dote on most of all
With hues approaching scarlet
Golden ochre by its side
A resplendent matrimony
Will once again preside
So with each leaf of umber
Carried by a rustling breeze
I relish nature’s beauty
In its seasonal reprise
There are such days I’d love to hide
I’d feel indubitably justified
Locking all doors to stay inside
In total silence were I able to decide
I’d sit and write now that’s implied
I’d let the ideas sizzle and collide
There is one dame I would want by my side
I so cherish her affinity with much pride
At any given time her intrusion I’d let slide
Her interruptions I have not once denied
Welcoming interventions in wholehearted stride
Doors wide open to let my muse in for the ride
I’d not waver to see her step up and preside
In her I’ve always felt free to confide
That I’d be happy writing day and night until I died
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
posted on February 14, 2019
In metro hum, where steel and stone preside,
A bard steps forth, though not with lyre in hand,
But crowbar wielded, forceful, strong, and prying wide,
Parting the jaws of my rigid thoughts was unplanned
What you see is what you get, no veil to lift,
No masks to don, no illusions to uphold,
The truth, raw and unfiltered, cuts like a rift,
And what you get is what you saw, a tale not often told
A poet in half, not here to wield words that start a plague
But they are weapons, and the heart is the target,
My lines are a dance of light, darkness, and vague
Reflecting the chaos where my soul is traded at market
These transactions are enough to make Prozac laugh,
Though not bound to disaster’s path, I’ve had my half,
In the depths of sorrow, there’s a twisted jest,
And in the wake of suffering, I’ve found my best
I’ve got a throwback craft, that’s sharpened by time,
And though the world may rush my words; I mean to linger,
My smile could kill the suns shine, with just a single finger,
For in its cracks and creases, hope and despair draw a line
On it I stand, this bard that modern-day has not undone,
With a crowbar in hand and verses in my heart,
In breaking wide open, the pain of healing has begun,
And in the fragments left; lies the best of my art
I came face to face with time
It was all sublime.
Nothing was as it seemed
For I thought “surely it must have been dreamed.”
I was shown the past, present, and future.
Then I heard the words, “are you ready for an adventure?”
As I stood there looking into the face of time
I heard bells begin to chime.
He spoke, “What do you see?”
I see destiny.
As I came face to face
I could see His grace.
There is so much more than meets the eye.
Yes, to sanctify.
But there is so much more,
Not only to restore.
To be set free from sin and death,
But to breathe His breath.
To walk in the elegance of His Bride
And from His Kingdom to preside.
As I stood with time face to face,
I was shown the human race.
From the first to the last,
Seasons went by fast.
What began as perfect and undefiled,
Turned dark as they were beguiled.
Down through the ages,
I heard the voice of sages.
Curtains rose,
And curtains had come to a close.
From the great flood,
To the shedding of His Blood,
There is a sound going out across the land,
That our Father God had planned.
Kings rise and fall
But only one will forever rule them all.
There will be a great division,
Everyone will have to make a decision.
Choose this day whom you will serve,
No one can merely stand and observe.
We are called to fight
And not by sight.
Put on your armor
And don’t listen to the voice of the charmer.
Keep watch and do not slumber,
Be ready to be counted in the number.
In the twinkling of an eye,
We will be caught up into the sky.
We have a supper to attend,
So with the things of God do not pretend.
For those left behind
There will be no place to hide.
As I stood face to face with time,
I saw justice being served for every crime.
Then I turned to look
At all those that had their names written in the Book.
All the tears had been dried,
And we will be with Jesus forever by our side.
© Deborah Seale 2024
With the death of my parents something changed inside,
Its a secret very deep that I’ve tried so hard to hide,
I keep busy working but admit I often have denied,
There’s not a day go by that I don’t think of suicide.
Then I look at my children and become filled with pride,
To see my son graduate, my daughter become a bride,
Would be part of life so important, it could not be denied.
And spending these milestones without me to preside,
Would make my family feel like a big part of them died.
So I keep the sleeping pills hidden and the act untried,
Averting the sad thoughts, putting a smile on the outside.
Breathe easy, this secret is not a true story, that’s the upside.
Written by Lee Ramage
August 30, 2011
For Shani Fassbender’s Contest
“Tell Me a Secret”
Placement: First place
** According to the World Health Organization someone around the globe commits suicide every 40 seconds. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in 15-24 year olds. WHO website 2009
Greek= diakonos= helper
He is ordained for the ministry of the Word
Liturgy
Charitable works
Ordination includes authority
Baptize
Preach at Mass
Preside at the sacrament of Matrimony
Balcony moods
Morning offering;
Song of bird duo
By the yard edge
Bird frolic twitter;
A cheery quartet
Song fills dawn
Sunlight slants;
Window view sparkles
Last night's rain
Wet grounds betray;
Uneven footsteps traced
Joy after sorrow
Traces of old grief;
Ushered out abruptly
Old sepia memories
Silver nitrate etchings;
Old time photography
Haunting faces preside
Mother and father;
Yesterday's courtesy
Today flings
Doors wide open;
Strangers in paradise
Prayers on altars
Everywhere we go;
Living burying the dead
Can you hear
Sounds of old strains;
Voices calling in echoes
This life we live
Takes sterner stuff;
Hope feeds effort
Do you notice
A common melody;
Swirling time after time
Mundane routines
Calls time for after shocks;
Trauma feeds norm
When I listen
Do I hear
Sounds in the silence
Trip to market
Buy and sell;
Barter for things
Hate is fear exposed
Let love attend trade;
Poverty lives painful hatred
Look up and see
Dawn in a flash;
Insight reveals truth
Leon Enriquez
15 July 2014
Singapore