Best Ranked Poems
your labored breathing
called out to me
and in my soul I knew
what needed to be done
I reached for the drum
to summon the spirits
called out to ancestors
and anyone who’d listen
gently tapping to the rhythm
of our beating hearts
united as one in a prayer
released to the universe
filled the silence of
your labored breathing
drumming for hours
till the pleading was done
everything had been said
the prayer consummated
left in the hands
of the universe to respond
then it did in no uncertain terms
in an exorcism of sorts
draining the passages
to free your breathing
and so it was
in tune with the universe
the healing power
of the drum
Read on air by invitation ~ February 11, 2021 'LATE NIGHT POETS'
Read on KPBX called Poetry Moment by Kara Bowman 2022 [karabowman.com and griefpoetry.com]
AP: 2nd place 2022, 2nd place 2021, 3rd place 2022, Honorable Mention 2022, Honorable Mention 2022, Honorable Mention 2021, Honorable Mention 2021, Honorable Mention 2021, Honorable Mention 2021, Honorable Mention 2021
Submitted on June 13, 2025 for contest YOUR BEST AUDIO POEM sponsored by TOM WOODY - RANKED 2ND
and on May 28, 2021 for contest ALL YOURS (MAY 29) sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
Categories:
ranked, inspirational, native american, prayer,
Form:
Free verse
hello hello
butterfly flutterby
epitome of symmetry
graceful & elegant
modest & innocent
whispering
hues & color
spreading loving cheer
a breath sweet kiss
a bit of bliss
Published in my 24-page photo/anthology book ~HELLO BUTTERFLY~ 2020
AP: 2nd place 2022, 2nd place 2020, 3rd place 2020
POTD October 2, 2019
Submitted on October 1, 2019 for contest Writing Challenge, October - Butterfly sponsored by DEAR HEART- WIISHKOBE ODE - RANKED 1ST
Categories:
ranked, beautiful, color, imagery, insect,
Form:
Concrete
Take a deep breath
Let yourself relax
Close your eyes
Come with me
Inhale
Exhale
Let me guide you
I’ll take you on a magical journey
Give in to the moment
Relax
Breathe
Close your eyes
You’re there
You’re there
You’re outside the Taj Mahal
A full moon bathes it in a silver glow
It’s serene
Take all the time you want
Enjoy the scene
There’s no need to hurry
Inhale
Exhale
You’re tired
Winding down
It’s after hours
And no one is around
The stress of your day
Is the coat you take off
One sleeve at a time
Let it drop to your feet
Feel the freedom
Of the weight off your shoulders
Take a deep breath
You’re at the main entrance
You’re calm
Slowly slip off
Each shoe one at a time
Take a deep breath
Listen
It’s just you and the echo of stillness
It’s majestic with the high ceilings
And luscious marble all around you
Listen
Feel the resounding silence
It’s charming and inviting
It’s calling you from within
Go ahead
Follow where it leads
Enter as the richness
Of the silence envelops you
It’s a droning melody
That feels peaceful and safe
Soothing
Beckoning
You feel light
You feel transported
Your feet barely touch the floor
Inhale
Exhale
Stay as long as you like
You’re exactly
Where you need to be
Relax
Take it all in
When you’re ready to leave
Have one last listen
To the melody of silence
Step over your shoes and coat
You might as well
Leave them behind
You don’t need them
Treasure this peacefulness you feel
You’ve earned it
Let it lead the way
To a relaxing evening
Where sleep will sway you
Between the realms
Of fantasy and reality
Breathe
Relax
And enjoy your evening
Read on air by invitation ~ March 13, 2022 'POETS HARBOUR'
AP: Honorable Mention 2025, Honorable Mention 2021
Submitted on August 30, 2021 for YOUR FAVORITE AUGUST 2021 POEM contest sponsored by CONSTANCE LA FRANCE - RANKED 1ST
and August 24, 2021 for A BRIAN STRAND YOUR CHOICE contest sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
Categories:
ranked, adventure, freedom, journey, peace,
Form:
Free verse
Far away in a
land torn with war,
she looked for a home.
She was not as pretty as
doves adorning lush gardens,
as exuberant as ducks to play
with,neither as useful as pigeons
in war. The lonely little cuckoo
flew from burnt trees to desolate
orchards. A black bird with yellow
spots on her feathers that other birds
found ugly. She looked for a home where
she'd be accepted for who she was. The
world hurled poisonous arrows at her.
Wounded, she fell in a garden waiting
to die until two little human hands
cocooned her. A girl nursed her agony
and made her feel loved. All her sorrow
began to melt and pour as rain on the fiery
land. She cried with her heart, her honeyed
voice, never heard before. The little girl danced
in joy and kissed her wings to let her fly but
little cuckoo sang to a world lost in pain, her
music blooming pink buds, rushing through
blue rivulets, swaying branches with
soothing wind, caressing parched souls,
raising spirits of warriors with hope.
She stayed for love, ecstatic
at her newfound lilac tune.
She'd found home
in a land
torn with
w ar to dr en ch
it wi th h e r
di vi ne s o ng.
July 11, 2020
Bird Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Constance La France
~Winner: 1st Place
~Poem of the Day: July 13, 2020
~Ranked #3 in Best New Poems for July 2020
Categories:
ranked, bird, hope, love,
Form:
Shape
I get it now…
it’s not about
momentous events
it’s about
memorable moments
moments that
take your breath away
being in the moment
with your whole being
being at one
with the universe
wherever
that may be
AP: 3rd place 2021
Submitted on June 28, 2019 for contest BEST FREE VERSE 2019 sponsored by JOHN HAMILTON - RANKED 4TH
and on January 16, 2019 for CONTEST NO.543 sponsored by BRIAN STRAND
November 6, 2018 Poem of the Day
Originally posted on November 4, 2018
Categories:
ranked, appreciation, beauty, happiness, introspection,
Form:
Free verse
lesson one
i wake up alone
for the first time
the silence is deafening
i want to get up
but every fiber in me
is dead weight
i want to call my mother
and ask her how a widow
gets out of bed in the morning
but i won’t do that to her
i will figure it out
i remember how yesterday
i had to run an errand
and the cool breeze
was a reassuring sensation
against my cheek
it felt much like a caress
so i coax myself to get up
and step out onto my balcony
but my body wants nothing to do with it
and won’t move
finally somehow i am up
yearning for that morning caress
i bundle up
to face the november chill
and there it is
around the corner
a sunkiss meets me
my first of many rendezvous
see you tomorrow sweetheart
i love you
you’re beautiful
Published in my 24-page photo/anthology book ~TODAY I LEARN TO BE A WIDOW~ 2020
Read on air by invitation ~ November 25, 2020 'LATE NIGHT WITH THE MIDNIGHT BOMBER'
AP: 2nd place 2025, 2nd place 2020, Front Page Pick 2021
Submitted on January 6, 2021 for contest BATTLE OF MOST ACCLAIMED 2020 POEMS sponsored by JOHN HAMILTON - RANKED 3RD
POTD - November 18, 2020
Posted on November 18, 2020
Categories:
ranked, death, loneliness, longing, lost
Form:
Free verse
Go with the flow
Where zephyrs blow
Parallel the weather
Light as a feather
Set it adrift
Life is a gift
Open your heart
Play up the part
Let your mind soar
Your passions roar
Wonder if you have a hit
Stop don’t overthink it
You risk paralysis
With excess analysis
Set your dreams free
You be you and I’ll be me
AP: Honorable Mention 2020, Honorable Mention 2021
Submitted on February 15, 2019 for CONTEST 560 sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
Originally posted on January 25, 2019
Categories:
ranked, confidence, dream, hope, life,
Form:
Rhyme
And so it begins
The game of life
The dominos of love
Falling where they may
The timer activated
Fresh out of a box
Learning the rules
As we go along
No plan or ruse
No rhyme or reason
Just out for some fun
Moving game pieces
Taking turns
At winning and losing
Rising and falling
In endless succession
An ebb and flow of emotions
The tears the laughter
Riding a roller coaster
Of highs and lows
A detonated cosmic launch
Mingling interstellar orbs
Crisscrossing arcs of destiny
In a waltz of muses
Or divine intervention
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Read on air by invitation ~ September 8, 2021 'WORDS & MUSIC'
Submitted on January 2, 2019 for contest FREE VERSE STYLE ONLY sponsored by EMILE PINET - RANKED 5TH
Categories:
ranked, destiny, emotions, fun, games,
Form:
Free verse
I walk and walk
and in my mind
I walk toward
something someone you
I walk and walk
in a motion I wish was soothing
somehow it’s nowhere that I walk
never getting closer
I wonder how it is I’m walking
riding life’s evermoving sidewalk
going against the tide against the grain
never getting closer
static not getting anywhere
and not getting further
I’m left alone with my illusion
of somehow getting closer
AP: Honorable Mention 2022
Submitted on May 31, 2022 for contest A BRIAN STRAND PREMIERE CHOICE sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 5TH
Originally posted on May 30, 2022
Categories:
ranked, grief, loneliness, longing, lost
Form:
Free verse
C ountry roots beckon regrets of past transgression
O ne-way ticket meant to soothe my innermost obsession
M emories of you not fading with passing of the years
I mmortal flame has kept alive cherished souvenirs
N aively thinking I’d drift and just avoid the truth
G ames were played in the foolish gardens of my youth
B almy nights not forgotten in the heat of summertide
A ugust breezes summon me to return home by your side
C innabar and cinnamon reverie of your perfume in moonlight
K aleidoscopic magic remembered in your eyes at midnight
H eartstrings of surrender repentant to bygone wanderlust
O pen your heart and grant me a chance to earn again your trust
M oonstruck and lovesick ready to prove myself and pay my due
E nchanted under your spell I’ve come back home to you
AP: Honorable Mention 2021
Submitted on February 14, 2021 for contest COMING BACK HOME sponsored by JOHN HAMILTON - RANKED 2ND
Categories:
ranked, forgiveness, home, love, nostalgia,
Form:
Acrostic
I wanted to lie down
on the grass idly
and look at the clouds today
with the wind caressing my hair
It felt just like a day long back
when I had walked alone
through a thick fog
that divided for me
the visible and the invisible.
And then you had come along
lifted that fog layer by layer
held my hand
our fingers intertwined
spreading your warmth
seeping into my soul
getting closer every time.
The wind grew fierce
carried us to parallel universes
releasing only to watch
the stars above
on that quiet night
when we had gazed
deep inside the paradise
poured out our hearts
through that mist-covered forest
Today my solitude
felt pious for me
Today my solitude
smiled for you.
May 12, 2020
~Winner: 1st Place in BRIAN'S CHOICE A,any form,any theme by Brian Strand
~Poem of the Day: May 14, 2020
~Winner: 3rd Place in Your best poem 2020 contest sponsored by John Hamilton
~Ranked #1 in best new poems for May 2020
~Premiere Contest Winner: 5th Place in Your Best Poem Poetry Contest sponsored by Chantelle Anne Cooke
Categories:
ranked, love, solitude,
Form:
Free verse
At high noon mass
thru colored glass
a playful sunray dances
for blessed sunday glances
reflected stained mosaic
hardly looks archaic
when the rainbow’s set afire
by heavenly orchestrated choir
the congregation rejoices
moved by angelic voices
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Submitted on December 9, 2019 for contest STRAND SPECIAL sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 3RD
Originally posted on October 23, 2019
Categories:
ranked, angel, beautiful, color, heaven,
Form:
Rhyme
I’m at my happiest
When my heart overflows
With kindness and gentle compassion
And feel the energy of the universe
Radiating from my heart
I feel my best when I resonate
With the harmony around me
Finding ways to enhance
The tapestry of mankind’s brotherhood
At times by gargantuan efforts
At times by seemingly trivial deeds
Always on the lookout to help and contribute
To make this world a better place
There is no end to the ways
I can have a significant impact
Though there's no way I'll never know
The ripple effect of my kindness
I’m at my happiest
When I recognize the beauty of humanity
And feel we are meshed as one solid community
Because I fit in and it is my honor and privilege to
Bestow kindness every hour every day of my life
Submitted on November 25, 2018 for contest A LITTLE KINDNESS NEVER HURTS sponsored by BRENDA CHIRI - RANKED 1ST
Categories:
ranked, appreciation, community, encouraging, humanity,
Form:
Free verse
she roams cross the land her heart so bitter blue
leaving behind frosty morning dew
icy veil sadly unkept
laden woe upswept
she speechless
wept
left dreamless
numb regret windswept
no kind soul to intercept
cold bemoaning howling winds a clue
she roams cross the land her heart so bitter blue
AP: 2nd place 2020
Submitted on January 22, 2023 for contest WRITING CHALLENGE - ANDAREE sponsored by CONSTANCE LA FRANCE - RANKED 3rd
and July 7, 2019 for contest VERSE A FAVOURED THEME sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
Originally posted on May 1, 2018
Categories:
ranked, grief, howl, hurt, solitude,
Form:
Rhyme
her intoxicating perfume
lingering like a bluesy melody ~
Submitted on March 28, 2020 for contest THE LADY DOWN THE LANE sponsored by CRAIG CORNISH - RANKED 8TH
Originally posted on March 19, 2020
Categories:
ranked, appreciation, woman,
Form:
Free verse