Best Protecting(A) Poems
Mum sat in her aromatic garden,
admiring its charm and grace.
It was a cold morning,
but mum never seemed to feel it any more.
Her eyes were tired, life's adversities had taken their toll,
yet the smallest things filled them with joy.
Like the perennial ivory lilies blossoming
among her loyal, royal forget-me-nots.
The tranquil scents of lilac lavender,
blooming among radiant Jerusalem sage,
always made her smile.
Her hands were wrinkly, but resilient,
despite years of hard work as a single mother.
Still strong enough to tend to her grandiose display
of ruby red, aureolin yellow and puce pink roses.
Mum always told me the thorns were like knights -
there to protect the rose's fragility.
That a woman is a man's most precious flower,
requiring tender care and appreciation.
Evergreen conifers parade along the perimeter of
my lovely mother's garden, like a colony of soldiers,
protecting a beautiful, yet delicate,
Japanese cherry blossom tree.
Mum always told me it reminded her about life,
how everything was temporary, just like its fragile buds,
that only blossomed in the spring and
how the lightest breeze blew them away.
Mum taught me so much and was my inspiration,
picked me up when I was defeated,
taught me that only in defeat do we learn.
When the world tried to change me,
taught me to accept myself,
to love myself before I could love others
and be true to who I am.
As I sat with mum admiring the beauty of the seeds sown,
melancholic tones flooded my emotions,
wondering how I would cope without her.
Was I selfish wishing to die before her,
so I would not have to mourn for her,
but it would be so heartbreaking
for her to mourn for me.
My contemplation was interrupted by an outbreak of rain.
Mother simply smiled and said:
"Rain is mercy from God, my son."
Written 26 February 2016
"The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed. The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, whose charm were broken if revealed." Charlotte Bronte
Sometimes I've been forced to wear a mask
to escape from people who continue to ask,
"I know you're keeping secrets. I can tell."
Relentlessly, they harp, push and compel.
With accusing fingers pointed, they attack
but I turn and walk away, never looking back
Though none of their business, they're dying
to learn the secrets I know, and keep denying.
I'll never give away confidences I've been told.
It's a burden that I bear, a responsibility I hold.
Gossips try to discover what I keep concealed,
but disclosures made to me will not be revealed.
Protecting a secret is a promise that once made
must be guarded or risk a friend being betrayed.
I have my own secrets that shouldn’t be disclosed.
It's better they stay buried and never be exposed.
Secrets live in the shadowed corners of my mind,
in dark depths they swim, where no one can find.
What's been entrusted to me, I've vowed to keep.
I'm a prisoner of silence, causing no one to weep.
November 2, 2021
"S" Contest
Hosted by Constance La France
He said to her
i will wait for you
walk a million miles
swim muddy waters
dive the highest high
take a blow and die for her.
chase a rowdy crowd for her
fight a stronger fight for her
loving every hair of her
beat the coldest blizard
guard every in round her
i am a protector
running all fields
from green to brown for her
stand in a shadow
leap for a far for her
for her is my life
i will stand tall for her
breath in all air
if danger is near
roar and scare harm away
Im the beast with loyal
oh such face
in my way i will chase
protecting a love
this mother so strong
The Labradoodle
It’s clear that the scamp is a Poodle
By its frolicsome dabble and doodle
But add a big part
Of the Labrador’s heart
And you’ve got the whole kit and caboodle
The Labrador Retriever (Lab)
The Lab a friend gave to his daughter
Had a chronic aversion to water
He’d cling to the shore
Like a rug to the floor
To avoid making waves like he oughter
The Lagotto Romagnolo
It caused quite a local kerfuffle
When he called a potato a truffle*
By the time it was done
A committee of one
Went and cancelled his license to snuffle
(*known for their skill at finding truffles)
The Leonberger
There are dogs that are bigger than these
Like some Mastiffs and Great Pyrenees
But few are more stately
Or admired more greatly
For their grace and perpetual ease
The Lhasa Apso
Just repeat: Lhasa apso not ipso
That’s a facto: I’m sharing this tip so
You don’t make a flub
With the whole Lhasa Club
While they contemplate your membership so
The Maltese
I once knew a Maltese named Tawny
Who was quick and ill-tempered and scrawny
While protecting a crumb
Nearly took off my thumb
Now he sleeps with the fish in the Suwannee
The Mastiff
The Mastiff’s a glorious sight
With a name that exemplifies might
Now imagine this house
The size of a mouse
A “toy mastiff” just doesn’t sound right
The Mutt
A mutt may show up with a rat
Do some terrible things to your hat
But he’s happy for sure
Just to roll in manure
And so grateful that he’s not a cat
The Newfoundland (Newfie)
One day on the nearby horizon
He encountered an ornery bison*
And though it was large
The Newfie took charge
Mattered not what the difference in size in
The Norwegian Elkhound
Look honey, look what I found!
It’s an orphaned Norwegian elkhound!
He’ll be easy to raise
With some love and some praise
And a pasture that serves as a pound
The animals know better than us. The rain has never poured so loudly in a key so soft.
To the front, the sailing of city buses and mini vans cruising across in this weather makes the water underneath their tires sound like the street is crying out for 5 more minutes of sleep. Up above, the trees are protecting a nest of baby blue jays before they get washed away by the silence of their mother not being there. But with sky blue young spirits, and small empty stomachs, they keep hope alive in the fact that even children know storms and struggles don’t last forever.
Below the trees, nature has found a name to call it’s own. From the hole dug by the little boy next door, a family of three foxes have named human nature sanctuary, and burrowed their problems into the sediment to rest for a while.
To the side of the hole, a flock of ducks are swimming in the water with eyes open wide enough to where you can see their loyalty to love one another rushes wild.
To the right of the pond, caged up in a man made blanket, and lost in his own mind, is the boy. From what he remembers, last night was like a train accident; A head on collision of two people he could’ve sworn he saw holding hands just the other day. He hears the sound of plates shattering in C-minor, and the chorus of words that his parents screamed in F-sharp, so he imprisoned himself in his own bed sheets, accompanied by the courageous corduroy bear who he swears keeps hearing whisper “everything will be okay.”
It’s raining outside, and the crescendos of screams have been silenced by it’s peaceful security.
The boy, sleeps soundly now. The rain has protected his ears, and guarded his heart from being washed away by all of his nightmares.
He doesn’t care whether he wakes up. The baby blue jay, the resourceful fox and the brave little duck are all he wants to keep dreaming about.
Maybe he’ll run away into the rain? Or maybe into the arms if his mother?, whom he prays he can still recognize. To the left of his bed, he picked up the blank page of his coloring book and a crayon, and became a life long poet in that moment that morning. Taking a deep breath in, and giving a soft breath out, his first sentence was
“The animals know better than us.”
Naked
Unarmed I stood against the beast
Defending what was mine
The theft of my guileless innocence
His most cruel, remorseless crime
Fighting slings and arrows
Words that cut me to the quick
Lifting thin arms in resistance
To his heavy, brutish fists
Sorrow comes in darkness
Arrives without an invite
The moon stares dully at me
No magic will save me tonight
Measured unforgiving blows
He chose where each would land
Dark purple bruises gave away
Where my body had been slammed
With my knack for weak excuses
“I tripped and fell down again”
He sneered that they’re “just love taps”
While I played a game called ‘pretend’
Naked in my bed
Protecting a child yet unborn
Came another beating
From this cur who’d earned my scorn
What cannot be seen in shadows
Can suffocate one’s will
When I reclaimed my spirit
I crawled out of the mouth of hell
Ages have come to pass since then
The fiend at last routed from my life
I’m no longer frightened
Of just being someone’s wife
I heard the scream fill the air,
Your fear ripped and spilled out on this quiet night,
Hanging loud in the air,
Out of the closed window it flew,
to my ears and I knew,
I heard the scream fill this night,
a child's roar,
not in delight,
more of fear and dispirited powerlessness,
Protecting a mother,
with no other way,
no muscles yet to push your words away,
I heard your scream,
I know what to do,
Red light,
blue light,
is going to be coming for you,
The message is sent,
loud and clear,
I took an oath,
one that i hold dear,
to protect and defend,
In the darkest of nights,
I know no fear,
except what if it was not my ear?
Will there be another to help you,
in a quiet way.
No more scream on this night,
sleep easy little one,
always hold dear,
there are angels at night,
they don't always show that they are near,
to do that which is right,
regardless of the deal.
Love don’t come easy
Its so hard to under stand
When love is blind
You cant see what lies are in front of you
All can see right threw the fake smile
When love is blind
You see only what that love wants you to see
And believe be it good our bad in your eyes
There is no right our wrong
Love don’t come easy
When you find your self defending
And protecting a love thats known
To all as blind sided
When love is blind
You tend to look at the bright
Side for the dark is hidden
From your heart in fear of been
Discovered as fake
Love don’t come easy
When love is blind
*It was only a couple of years,
*That I was there with you,
*Holding your love in my arms,
*And drying your eyes of the tears.
*But the memories I have of that time,
*Are how your first words made this new father cry,
*And how watching you take,
*Your very first step,
*Not when i'm dead will I even forget.
*And that night as we lay just to rest,
*I couldn't believe what you just did next,
*As you lay silently gazing deep into my eyes,
*DAD DAD DAD DAD,
*Was your most brilliant surprise.
*Now as soon as you knew,
*This new thing you could do,
*You said it over and over,
*Like the endless waves of the tide.
*But to fall,
*You would fall asleep,
*Fighting off your heavy eyes,
*While never knowing how you left me,
*So amazed by your surprise.
*But those days they’re long and gone,
*And how quickly it comes,
*The old school yard,
*And how getting a hug,
*Has become bloody hard.
*But everyone once will regret,
*Something they have done,
*Like protecting a life,
*But and or leaving one.
*But not when i'm dead will I ever forget,
*Watching my girl,
*Take her very first step,
*Nor the words that she said,
*One night as we lay just to rest,
*DAD DAD DAD DAD,
*And you said it over and over again.
*You’re my little girl no matter the age,
*You’re my little girl and that'll not change,
*I'm your Father and Friend- Protector and Guide,
*I will teach you the vision I've seen through these eyes,
*And how easy mistakes and regrets are to find.
*You’re my little girl and please don’t forget.
*DAD DAD DAD DAD!!,
*Were the very first words,
*That you ever said..
I was just standing there alone
But you didn't notice me there
My thoughts were on home
But home was not in my stare
You couldn't see me
Amongst all the trees
Their many branches were plenty
All so unique except for their leaves
There were no trails to be seen
Or paths to be taken
Just trees before me
No light to be seen
Just the forest before me
Like a wall of timber
Protecting a secret
Protecting a secret way to see
You didn't see me standing there
You missed the moment that I took
A step to the left in the right direction
I changed my angle of view
My picture changed
But I was alone
All the trees lined up in rows
I saw a path toward light, I froze
You were not there
To see the light
The light that shown through
Now I could see the forest
Through the leaves
Before I couldn't see it
Because of the trees
The dragon is nor man or beast
But destroys all to say the least
If your not careful its fire you will see
Every gust of wind is the dragons feed
The dragons travels across the lands
Destroying everything that it can
The dragon can settle anywhere
And get stronger with every breath of air
It sleeps in are forests hides in are fields
Waiting to be fed so are lands it can steal
And for all the fire fighters that stand to fight it alone
I salute to you for protecting my land and home
Over time many men you have lost
Still you stand against the dragon at any cost
Protecting a wife's dreams a child's hope a mans pride
Always knowing the dragon never meets death it only hides
In memory of my father Paul Thomas who was a firefighter in Ancaster Ont
And to all firefighters that we have lost in the world
And for the fire fighters that protect are lives everyday
Thank you and god bless
Somewhere in the distant hill
lies a dilapidated old house that might give one chill
An old gentleman and his lady fare
were loners of life because they were the only ones there
Protecting a little child-teen of 13
A lonely nerd or nebbish boy who only dreamed
to make friends with the outside but his inner self hide
the longings of a boy who was too bashful to confide
his parents took him from school because his
school-mates called him an Ugly and a Fool
Together,as three,they lived in this mansion ennui
The tales that can be told of this existence that
has kept them a Dead and one Cold
The Father took him Fishing(out back Yard there is a Hole)
to catch a big one-in their imagination mind-it is only a small peace
that both of them could ever find
Peri-Gonvre,the lad's name..that his school mates mocked LAME
All through the house,a child's laughter that scares away the most
disgusting cat or mouse
Both hands,left and right,has only two fingers each,that God made right
The attic above the 2nd story hall can only fit him because it is
5 inches too small(The Father-KinMen,designed it to be as confining as
the fireplace against the Stone Brick Wall)
Peri-Gonvre uses the room for his 'scape,from the island New England
that wanted to rape:the very spirit and the life of this like
sitting against the darkness,his eyes drifted far from the mortal Pike
SILVIA the feline little kitten coddled up next to him in this lonely Prison
She is the only cat to be allowed,
brighten up his disposition(disperse that iluminnescent Black Cloud)
Angel of the nightly SKY is first to shine upon the loneliness Guy
END OF PART 1
THE GREAT ESCAPE
Responded to a scream from the kitchen in our house,
Got there to find daughter imprisoned by a mouse:
On a chair she was hand-to-mouth scared of the rodent.
Creature was just as scared but rather impudent.
Brush-chased him round the kitchen twice;
Figured, “ Gotcha, you representative of mice.”
Then in a corner where he went,
Finally brush-trapped my tiny opponent.
Heard him squeak beneath the brush’s bristles :
In his small voice mixed with whistles.
A note of defiance as he climbed through the brush
Then suddenly out and made a rush
For the curtains hanging on the door.
He disappeared quickly off the floor
Into the folds and was seen no more:
Nothing left for us to search for.
Have to admire these miniature guys -
Facing an enemy a thousand times their size
Brush-armed and protecting a daughter -
Midget escaped, laughing at danger and slaughter.
But an angel to me
I, a baby beneath your war-torn wings
Harboring me
Protecting a hatred so deep
So unbelievably deep
The grace of the heavens shimmer through your hair
But the darkness, oh
It landed on me
Your embrace ever warring with the emptiness that is me
Your baby, given his own world
Your heaven, a piece within your soul
A piece sold for joy
One smile
One true smile, all you ever dreamed for me
An indefinite loss of words
My lips curve
But the ever prevalent silence entertains
Your voice, but an island of sun
I shall forever enjoy
Forever unknown to me, those tears
Behind the galaxy in your eyes
The morning dew dripping endlessly
A day came the endless left you
Left you broken, stained in crimson
All alone, I lament
All alone, I shall finish your suffering
Though I mustn't even try
A mirage of smiles inevitably left behind
Forever dragging me down
I shall forever be your devil
For I love you, dearly
Your broken darkness, I will become one with hell
For I will let you see the gates of heaven
For only without I
May you find your own peace
There was a knight with locks that were golden
Protecting a kingdom in threat of folding
King and his trusting mighty duck
Caring only for the almighty buck
From the north
Sharks were present for what it was worth
Putting on stage predators telling them to go forth
Until one day in a foggy dream
A mariner let out a scream
There was a gigantic Kraken
Started attacking
With only eleven on board
Holding things on shore
Trying not the rip the chord
Apparently the King’s mighty duck
Got wind about the maritime bad luck
Issuing a statement through a loud quack
How the fisherman got whacked
Upon pondering the news
King knew what to do
Take the singing predator out on a date
Make them lyrical bait
Seasoned to perfection
No reason for a rejection
Sending the sharks in
From the tank where they are projected to win
Sticking out their deadly fin
Somewhere in the desert the knight with golden locks
Was watching the clock
When a peasant came by
Noticing the golden lock good looking guy
Walking her coyote companion
Ran in
To each other
Both needing a lover
Smiling a grin
Knight with the golden locks was getting ready to sin
When a quack was heard
King’s message distributed from his trusting swimming bird
“What do you mean Kraken is alive
Wasn’t the sea hawks patrolling the sky
I must go and be the 12th man
Take a warrior stand”
Off the knight with the golden locks went into battle
Easy corralling the aqua monster like it was cattle
In the end he steamed Kraken real good
Delicious sea food
Understood
Glazed with special oils
Before wrapped in foil
Canucks placed at its side
Decorating the meal that was worth a tasty try
When the knight with golden locks came home
There was a call on his phone
From the peasant girl asking “are you all alone?”
Meeting halfway
Wedding ring proposing lifelong stays
As for the Kraken
Needed to receive backing
Sharks and predators answered the request
Wanting the knight with golden locks to be put to another test