Best Prominently Poems
If I write down words
that pour from me like
water rushing from a rusty gutter
carrying my cries in the flood
with decaying leaves and
the smattering off the roof
of droppings from so many
prominently perched pigeons,
is that a poetry of sorts?
If the aged shingled roof leaks
at its eaves (like my eyes)
when wind blows the rain
nearly horizontal and the house
beams creak and sound like
corroded hinges when
seldom-used doors are opened,
has a trope occurred?
And, is anything -- honestly --
more than almost senseless patter?
Does it really even matter?
Categories:
prominently, allegory, how i feel,
Form:
Free verse
Where is the anger! The rage! And the courage, I expected to see?
Why is everyone so complacent?
Evangelical Christians have endorsed a cheat, a liar, a bigot, and a misogynist
because he's pro-life, God will forgive the rest; hallelujah!
Democracy used to cannibalize democracy; please pass the head of state!
A cult has formed, like the Nazi Youth, who ogled Hitler with worshiping eyes.
Those in charge have stooped so low; that they bow down to this wannabee Fuhrer
with their brown noses prominently showing above their pasted-on smiles!
If you're part of this cult, reason can't save you! You'll die for this trickster!
Chanting NO COLLUSION, NO COLLUSION! Though you know, it isn't true.
As for the rest of you, it's time you woke up!
Wipe off those cynical grins and VOTE, like your voice matters
like your vote matters, like your freedom matters, and pray that they still do!
I'm neither a democrat nor a republican,
I can't stomach the hypocrisy of either party!
As a proud Canadian, I can only empathize with your problem,
but, I'm an impartial observer, immune to the fake news, you might say.
There's no defending this President!
But his Republican stooges, Fox news, and the evangelist elite do just that!
A con-man stole their integrity and bamboozled his way into the White House.
Now, like Russia's Putin, he wants to be king!
And he'll challenge and or change the constitution to make it so!
Where is your anger! Your rage! And your courage?
I hear some Americans praise him like he's the second coming!
And insisting his Presidency was prophesied in the pages of the bible.
In what wacky world is it even possible to venerate Donald Trump
as an instrument of God? Many are oblivious to the truth,
even when his narcissism and hyperbole are so blatantly obvious!
Once more, the human psyche's tapped and loyalty siphoned off
to advance the goals of one corrupt man.
In the words of Jesus, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!"
May God have mercy on our souls if he wins again!
(free Verse)
Mar.24, 2018
Categories:
prominently, angst, anxiety, betrayal, emotions,
Form:
Free verse
I stood hidden in the shadows, watching
as Salome, clad in flowing veils, gyrated
to the music, exuding sensual richness.
Herod leered drunkenly at her vibrant body.
Overcome by uncontrolled lusty desire
he promised her anything that she wished for
and, prompted by her evil mother, she asked
for the head of John the Baptist on a plate.
Reluctantly, all eyes on him, including guests,
he was compelled to grant her strange request.
I stood hidden in the shadows, watching.
The condemned man was dragged outside
and roughly bundled to the floor, unresisting,
held by the executioner’s steely grasp
whose dagger swiftly slit his life away.
An old woman clasped her head between her hands,
shocked and fearful at the sight of oozing blood,
in horror listening to the janitor’s final bidding.
The keen young maiden held a gold container
ready to receive the freshly severed head
of an innocent man. The old woman cried, in vain.
I stand hidden in the shadows, watching the years
roll by, a silent witness within a gilded frame.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Within a Gilded Frame: A masterpiece by Caravaggio
“The Beheading of St John the Baptist” prominently
displayed in St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta.
© paul callus ~ 13th May 2016
Categories:
prominently, art, death,
Form:
Narrative
Diamond Mountain Cave
(Phu Pha Phet Cave)
The largest cave here in Thailand
Has an eighteen acres in total size
It is not that easy for us to find
But if we’ll get in there, it’s a big surprise!
We need to explore first the side of the mountain
Be patient and careful to climb its lofty and rugged stair
A shade half our way offers rest and we’ll not feel in vain
Quite tedious, but an exquisite view awaits us up there
The Diamond Mountain Cave has seven floors
Most of the time, only two floors are offered for all
Twenty rooms are more than enough for two to three hours tour
After stooping down to get in through the very small entrance of the hall
Public exploration is facilitated by its long wooden walkways
As we tour in every chamber ,we’ll be impressed
With our lens, we can’t resist to capture in every way
The formations of stalagmites and stalactites that amaze
To name the most captivating formation inside the cave
Is the stalagmite in a very huge dinosaur-like egg in shape
Standing prominently at the main hall, it’s my fave
Coated with glittering diamond bits, I wish I can touch or scrape
A form which isn’t funny but also with its wondrous beauty
Is a man’s sword-like stone, no malice to catch our attention
There are a lot more making us feel like dreamy
Such as the amazing mushrooms and big jade stone
It’s so fun to walk around on walkways going up and down,
As we feel the cold wind coming in somewhere
Ventilating and protecting us from sweat so as not to frown
Then we’ll come out with big smiles and great experience to share.
April 15, 2013
*man’s sword : the term I use for man’s sexual organ
--I was there.
Categories:
prominently, adventure, beautiful,
Form:
Rhyme
I love all things Paris related since I visited France.
I would go back in a heartbeat, if given the chance.
The Eiffel Tower stands tall and majestic as it guards the city.
The women in Paris are sophisticated and chic, and oh so pretty.
Two years ago I bought this Paris plate for a song.
I keep it displayed prominently in my house where it belongs.
Recently it crossed my mind that it would be nice to have a whole set.
Much to my excitement, I found an entire set for bid on the internet.
I anxiously waited for days to hear about the bid that I had made.
I wanted to eat off that Café Paris china, and not just display.
A few days later I experienced sheer delight
To read they had accepted my $75 bid outright!
When the package arrived last week, I was like a kid at Christmas.
I stole that china with my bid, as God is my witness!
I had family that was visiting, and we used the new dishes.
I swear it made everything taste more delicious!
Now I can use my china and keep my Paris memories alive.
The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees memories have been revived.
That was the trip of a lifetime, and I went there with my concert band.
Along with the divine shopping, playing my flute in France was truly grand!
Categories:
prominently, happy, inspirational, memory, paris,
Form:
Narrative
In numerous locales countrywide, they hold sway
Pirouetting at intervals like ballerinas from Bolshoi
Beauteous, feline and very feminine
Slender to the point of emaciation, not quite
Cultivating the undernourished look on a frugal diet
Decidedly austere for a longer tenure in the limelight
Basking in the fleeting warmth of an adulatory audience
A gathering of the doting kindred and the upwardly mobile
Some dirty old men on the sly, dirty young men too
Glued to their seats craning for a better view
By and large captive by choice, a handful perforce
Sitting through to pen their weekly column
Giving those they fancy their due in the sun
Witnesses to a parade of demure eyed lasses
And a few with flashy looks walking tall on stilettos
Essentially female and contoured though not prominently so
At least not to a marked degree, yet with excellent muscle tone
Opulence, no longer deemed a career necessity
Once considered right stuff, now rejected as wrong size
An hour-glass shape belonging to an age bygone
But hardly so, from the viewers’ mind, in retrospect
Enchanting and alluring yet not overtly titillating
Each in a state of dress and undress
Willing tools of designers flaunting their creations
Sporting dresses and hats and shoes, and lingerie too
In black or white and loud or subdued hues
Displaying formal wear, casual wear, swimsuits and sleep suits
Some scanty and figure hugging, others flowing and loose
A bony look required for some, others fulsome
A voyeur’s paradise, to be sure
Indulging a fetish without stooping too low
Chilly weather was never reason enough to cancel a show
Heat of arc-lamps taking care of goose pimples
Or brandy taken neat infusing the needed heat
Harbingers of tomorrow’s fashion and pall-bearers of today’s
The strobe lit platform of the pageant
Serving to launch new faces or is it legs?
The leggy look personified by Twiggy of yore
Carried through in the interim and sustained by the new genre
Captivating without doubt, and thorough professionals
Displaying unruffled demeanour and tutored bearing of thoroughbreds
Exuding confidence with every graceful step they take
Cool as ice despite the harsh glare of stage lights
And callous catcalls from boorish males
Performing in a backdrop of future fashion trends
Money and fame finding some, eluding others
Be it centre stage or in the shadows
It is bread on the catwalk for all
Categories:
prominently, tribute, men,
Form:
Free verse
I took my periodic stroll through the local antique store today.
I stumbled over things and stepped 'round clutter to make my way!
I looked for clocks - found none, but saw many things I could do without,
And those are the things that I propose to tell you all about!
There was an old buggy wheel - I could see no use for that!
I saw horse collars, washboards and someone's stuffed Angora cat.
Hanging on the wall was an austere Victorian guy glaring back at me.
Prominently displayed was a chamber pot and scraggly Christmas tree!
What use have I for a manure fork or hubcaps for a '47 Dodge,
Or a shaggy buffalo robe or shriveled scalps from an Indian lodge!
Displayed were empty cigar boxes and empty Prince Albert cans,
A portrait of Napoleon and hood ornament for a '27 Mercedes Benz!
I saw a set of 1920 Brittanica Encyclopedias and a Corona typewriter,
Well-worn snowshoes, a tuning fork and strangely, a bishop's mitre!
Hanging on a clothes rack was an old soldier's moth-eaten uniform.
What on earth would I do with a hornet's nest once hosting an angry swarm!
Leaning against a wall was a hood and bumper for a '37 Ford Tudor.
On a shelf was a gas mask and tin helmet from the First World War!
Though I found many things I could do without, not so with my spouse!
She bought a cart full of gimcracks and trumpery to clutter up the house!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Categories:
prominently, funny, old, old,
Form:
Rhyme
Taken a light cosmic journey in a
hyper-luminous light vehicle.
I view space grandioso of "light bulb,"
blue big blazing bedazzling beacon;
a brilliant bright behemoth blistering.
Warp to a Pulsar star:
I view its pulsing light;
projecting prominently, its
pinpoint precision is like an atomic clock timing
Light-speed to:
Magnetars: mighty magnetic magnets.
Neutron stars, neutralizing objects.
Quasars, with their active-galactic beams
beaming like a gama-ray space spot-light laser.
I sling past Black-Holes that warps space-time:
they bending back all light matter,
behind their total black darkness horizon capture.
I continue warp-speed throughout space with
the use of fusion and some anti-matter.
I, a frontier intergalactic astronomical time and space traveler.
Homebound now; this of sometime in the far future.
Categories:
prominently, stars, universe,
Form:
Imagism
hollyhock faeries
pink powdery summer gowns
prominently dance
Categories:
prominently, 2nd grade, 3rd grade,
Form:
Haiku
pulsar pulsating
projecting prominently
pinpoint precisely
quasars kinetic
a billion mass dark hole belch
gamma-ray spawned
nebulae vast clouds
tarantula orion
stars hidden
super star massive
super stellar explosion
nova temp star seen
interstellar stars
interpolated light-years
starry orbits
gravity meld
a million solar mass tell
light imprisoned cell
space darkened lair
a speeding star caught
devastation done
space dark black cauldron
vortex whirl to final end
singularity
Categories:
prominently, nature, night, sky, space,
Form:
Haiku
In the 40's I was black, not even shiny.
And so were my mother, father, and cousins.
In the 60's I came out in all kinds of pastels.
Soft pink, sky blue, sea foam green,
I was a new shape too; streamlined.
Some called me names and laughed.
I did not mind because everyone fought over me.
The second they heard my ring they'd be shouting
and running toward me.
I had spittle on me most of the time, it made me feel loved.
My great great great great grandchildren are not as lucky as I.
I heard so many voices - high ones, low ones, happy ones, sad ones.
My grands only hear one voice; just one.
Their tails have been eliminated.
They are not prominently displayed.
They don't have the pride we did.
Sure some have fancy covers, but
They are not part of the family.
My great great great great grandson is sometimes worn in a pocket all day long,
never taken out.
My great great great great granddaughter gets plunked into a woman's bra
on a daily basis.
In a bra!
And they only hear one voice.
They are not part of a family.
No one fights over them.
No one yells, "I'll get it!"
I'll get it used to surge through me like warm butter.
It was a love call.
None of them have curves or dials they are proud of.
My great great great great niece was stolen.
You heard me right.
Stolen!
Her brain was removed, curtains for her.
No one could have stolen me.
The whole family would have fought them.
Even if they hadn't,
I was hooked in.
I was loved.
Categories:
prominently, 5th grade, 7th grade,
Form:
Personification
blub big blue blazing
bedazzling boisterous
brilliant beacon bright
pulsar pulsates
projecting prominently
pinpoint precisely
quixotic quasars
quintillion quarks quirkiness
quantum quintessence
wind whirl waves
watery whirlpool
wreckage washed-up
whimsical weasel
waterfall weathered willow
wilderness walk
zoo zebra zip
zealous zoologist
zeal zen
villas villages
vestige views valley vinca
vacation venues
Categories:
prominently, animal, inspiration, inspirational, nature,
Form:
Haiku
In the pew in front of me, two gray heads,
backs bent forward. The woman straightens her jacket
over the bulge between shoulder blades, a ruby
rosary resting on the seat beside her. At the Peace,
they kiss like lovers they once were, but gingerly now,
practiced at it. Directly behind me someone sings
with a loud, shrill soprano. Challenging the choir, she
knows all the words, her confidence unshakable.
I wonder did I escape observation, discretely
placing my fingers in my ears.
At the back of the church, a baby gurgles,
then escalates into a wail. The priest leaves
the Holy Grail to quiet a loudspeaker gone viral.
The baby's allowed. I'm envious of a sheer
black dress a young woman wears as if
she had been born in it. There's no
Confession today. I need one. I'm in lust
over two tall dark-haired guys visiting from
a nearby high school, their tour bus
parked prominently in our lot.
Our pastor (not an Indian priest, a priest
from India, says he) shares his homily,
some syllables washed out, his accent strained
through a colander. He's Billy Graham
in liturgical dress, so passionate his preach
that despite the needy baby, the evidence
of tenuous youth, the young studs
just out of reach, he makes me believe
when my time shall come, I'll go
Home With The One I Came In With.
Categories:
prominently, blessing,
Form:
Free verse
A Rift in Time
By Elton Camp
Henry Higgins, B.A., M.A. Ph.D., graduate in physics from the Massachusetts Institution of Technology, is missing. Born August 8, 1950, he was thought of as a genius by some, but as a crackpot by others. Revolutionary theories on the possibility of time travel that he presented at scientific gatherings received a mixture of applause and ridicule. None of his articles have seen publication in peer-reviewed journals.
How his machine works is of a technical nature, thus certain to be of insignificant interest to the readers of this account. Suffice it to say that it works very well. Henry had seen his device disappear and reappear multiple times after being programmed to slide both forward and backward in time.
Finally came the day to test it in person. Surprisingly athletic for a man of his years, Henry strapped himself into place before the control panel, adjusted his eyeglasses and pulled a protective helmet over his thick, gray hair. He set the chronometer to early August of 2040 to determine if he was still living at that advanced age and what honors had been accorded him by the scientific community.
With a barely-discernable jerk, the time machine began its slide into the future, the red cancel button prominently alongside the digital display of the date. The world outside the device became a blur and Henry heard only a low hum from the engine. All seemed to be well as the years rolled by on the chronometer. At first, that is.
Henry noted with surprise the muscle atrophy and skin changes associated with extreme age. A slight looseness of his helmet caused him to discover that he was now as bald as his father had been in his late eighties. Henry’s eyeglasses no longer allowed him to read the control panel clearly. The truth hit him--he was aging along with the passing years. The inanimate time machine had shown no such effect, but it was different with a biological organism. He desperately punched the cancel button, realizing that, if his future self was not still living, his death was impending.
To his relief, the chronometer slowed and stopped. Without input from Henry, the time device began to move backward in time, slowly at first, and then at a brisk clip. By the time the read-out showed Henry’s present, his physical deterioration had been reversed and all was as before.
Categories:
prominently, science fiction, time, august,
Form:
Narrative
Rechargeable Electric Mosquito Bat
Ho, ho,ho..!
What a joyous Christmas season it is gonna be…
This little gift my favourite little gal has just bought me…
Tore away the gift wrappings to reveal another plastic wrapping……
Shades of blue with a coastal scene and a hue of orange…
Turn it over, the same shades of blue and a set of instructions…
Hefted and gingerly ran fingers all over this gift for confirmation…
As realisation slowly dawns and elation builds up to a crescendo..
I spied a rounded sticker, prominently displayed with a design logo…
Slowly I carefully read the words inscribed in the black outer rim of the sticker..
Rechargeable Electric Mosquito Bat, clearly lettered in bold white colour…
Ho, ho, ho..!
Gave out a pent up whoop of lengthy cackled laughter..
A Rechargeable Electric Mosquito Bat, just what I have been after…
Felt an adrenalin rush, knowing now I can be the master…
Come what may, mosquitoes by the hundreds I shall not falter..
In my hands now, a supreme weapon of destruction made in China…
With a mere flick of a switch and a wave, every mosquito will be cinder…
I can almost smell the acrid aroma of a roasted flying mosquito..
And hear the shrill sizzling of another hapless insect in death throes..
Ho, ho, ho..!
Can’t wait till night fall when the little flying creatures come a calling…
Gonna to stay alert for quick kills when the mosquitoes come flying…
Maybe I should go about the house and start a mosquito hunting exercise..
Better still, let me get my windbreaker jacket, I'll go outside for an immediate exercise…
If I get started now, I will have a headstart and man, I will get to kill hundreds..
Today is the dawn of Armaggedon for all those pesky mosquitoes and flying insects…
Maybe neighbour Joe would like to join me in this worthwhile mission..
Heck, think I will pop over and invite him along and together we’ll see some action…
Hey, Grandad, where are you going with that gadget now?
These instructions, they say you’ve got charge it for 10 hours first time round!
Huh?
Categories:
prominently, christmas, confusion, desire, grandfather,
Form:
Narrative