Best Raking Poems

The rake fans out with long slender fingers.
They’re springy, giving a bounce
as they dig in and jump up.

The handle is wood – I wear gloves
To prevent splinters and blisters.
They will not prevent the blisters.

Stroking,
Each one a lunge out and away;
Then a pull back.

Arms forward,
Shoulders back.

Arms...

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Autumn 2001
Dooralong Valley, NSW Australia

A 40 acre property to retire to - kept us 
far more busy than  our ‘working life’.
The swimming pool - that bright blue jewel
that bane of our existence, occupied us
incessantly, especially 
when Autumn leaves covered the lawn.

Preemptively I would rake...

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I had to pay for a new pair of shoes
When I went shopping today,
I asked politely but they refused,
To freely give them away.

I guess that’s just the way of things,
And everything comes with a fee.
It’s a shame about the strife it brings,
Because money don’t grow...

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Yard waste bags,
seasonal toll and drive
need a  rake...

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The green leaves have browned.
All have fallen to the ground.
There are tons of them around.
None are difficult to be found.

I will have to start leaf raking.
It is a huge undertaking.
My back will soon be aching.
This pain I will not be faking.
...

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A bunch of dead leaves.  
They cling on the eaves,
verging on falling
killed by frost.
Coating the earth.

Sweaty brow that furrows in
thought as the wind pushes.
Leaving them only to fly 
back--can’t get them all–

the fruits of this labor
eternal and constant
as the dead petals

Back and forth.
Cold, crisp...

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The leaves have fallen
Now its time to rake
So the ground canbreath...

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Raked into a pile
Run and jump with abandon
Color explosion
Patiently rake once again
Making memories of fall




For the leaves contest......

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raking dried leaves
as a mouse escapes
cat chases

crisp winds
blowing through my hair
birds in flight

a harvest
of fresh pumpkins
squirrel with nut 

a blue corn moon
rises on horizon
autumn chill

pumpkin cookies
baking for ghosts and ghouls
tricks and treats
...

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The trees know very well
And so do the limbs.
Nature tells the limbs
To release the leaves because
Their provisions of shadows
And shades have now ended.
The wind picks up and scatters
The leaves as they quietly fall.
Fields of grains and nuts abound;
Opened cotton buds astound;
Boll Weevils are not around.
Fall...

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The wind has blown
All the fallen leaves
Downward to the ground
This is not the first time
All the raking starts
Raking a pile of leaves

Fifty bags are packed
More bags will be filled
There are more leaves
         to spill
Until all has spread
To...

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Wind 
B l e w
Leaves

Feet
D r a g
Line


10/29/2020


In Just A Few Words Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Joseph May...

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The tines of the rake
comb through a dispersing tumble.
Ocher clumps form random hillocks,
most slip through the iron teeth
dancing drunkenly away.

I was called into the rushing air.
Physical work with the dead and dying
is a ‘calling’ isn’t it?

The newly deceased keep falling.
Maple leaf bones crackle underfoot.
I scoop...

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You can smell Autumn on the wind
as the leaves change from green
to yellow, red and orange
Eventually to fall to the ground 
for you to have to rake up

You rake the leaves into 
nice, big piles
You decide before you bag them
to have a little fun

You take...

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I hear my sister calling me for dinner
As I'm raking up the clippings from the grass.
I turn my head
And am stuck by the gently setting sun
That glows red through the soft grey clouds.
A light breeze plays with my hair
As this warm summer evening crawls to...

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