Best Reeking Poems
PROLOGUE
The Flame, aflicker, licks and flays,
illuming evening’s negligees
With braided curls she swirls and sways,
and flits and floats in light ballets
APOLOGUE
A Flame, to conquer creeping fog,
flew dancing towards a random log
Her flight perplexed a leery frog
beside a silent somber bog
The Flame, a ripple, all alone
alit on leaves where birds had flown
The aching twigs began to moan
A rising breeze began to groan
The Flame arrayed an ancient oak
with torrid tongues and veils of smoke
A beaver bailed, the dam had broke
The leery frog soon ceased to croak
The Flame uncoiled and lashed midair,
consuming crowns with utmost care
A crazed coyote fled her lair,
left in the lurch bewildered bear
The Flame, unfurled, went wild and grew,
enkindled cats and caribou
Remaining... not a residue,
as reeking vapors bade adieu
The Flame revealed her strength unshackled
Flora, fauna crisped and crackled
Fire Witches clucked and cackled
One more forest stripped, then hackled
EPILOGUE
The arsonists were well aware
the Flame would travel everywhere
The weirs are gone, the land is bare,
and soon you’ll find a city there
Categories:
reeking, life, light,
Form:
Rhyme
A vulture and owl
Solitary and predatory
Watch and wait
The wastelands
Scarred by driving winds
Baked hard by an abusive sun
Void of life, a deep emptiness
The silence of desolation
Eyes down, he enters
Withering in self-pity
Cut-off from intimacy
Breath reeking of desperation
Bones cleaving to his skin
Has A choice
w b
a i
s g
t c
e o
l u
a r
n a
d g
s e
Kill the pain Face the pain
Bondage Freedom
Bed of piss and vomit Bed of hope and redemption
Alone – Death Together – Life
What will he do . . . ?
A vulture and owl
Solitary and predatory
Watch and wait
To the struggling -- never give up hope!
David Meade
11/21/2014
Categories:
reeking, addiction,
Form:
Moonless Nights over South Sudan
heartless Moon, don’t tell me
that you weren’t looking
when soulless soldiers dragged me
from my mama’s terrified arms
in our village in Rubkona County
I know you covered your ears
so you wouldn’t hear
my screams piercing the fetid air
as those butchers dropped their pants
repeatedly ripping my body and soul apart
and I saw you cover your eyes
so blinded that you wouldn’t see
the stark horror reflected in my own eyes
the hot tears scorching my cheeks
sobbing for childhood forever lost
oh Mother Moon, Mother Moon
please cover your face
behind billowy black clouds
so that you can’t see
your daughter’s dejected, dead eyes
cowardly Moon, I forgive you
even after you turned your back on me
filling my days only with your dark side
as I sink deeper into a black hole
with no hope to guide me safely home
but helpless Moon, how can I blame you?
for you’re only a mere observer
powerless to defend me
feeling guilty for abandoning
your innocent children
Moon, you’ve witnessed it all before
the torn and bleeding
the tortured and maimed
all tied tightly to weeping trees
reeking of despair and pain
Moon, will you soon forget
my body dripping with bloody shame?
will anyone even remember me?
am I no one…with no name?
will you, Moon, mourn for me?
like you Moon, I am already ancient
over a millennium it seems
yearning for freedom…
waiting for death…
and I’m only twelve years old
Note: This piece is dedicated to all the women and young girls who have been abducted, raped, and/or killed in the secret rape camps in South Sudan over the past two years. According to a human rights investigator, many of them are held indefinitely, tied up with hundreds of other women in these camps and used as sex slaves. Those women who escape from the sex camps are the lucky ones.
09-29-2015
Contest: Must be Read
Sponsor: Silent One
Placement: 3rd
Categories:
reeking, africa, children, grief, horror,
Form:
Free verse
VIDEO: LovejoyB: BALLOON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fduyWFQ-JXg
"DAMASCUS"
There is no collaboration in War
Poison winds and bullets
The fallout from a silent bomb that arrives out of nowhere
Lives left dead and damaged in the rubble
Line's drawn
Zip code
Zip locked
A Child's Tears
A Mother's Face
A blood running river silent scream
An absent State of Grace
A pointed loaded gun
Homeless nowhere to run
The enemy could be close
those you know
havoc reeking destruction
A pointed loaded gun
Another's War
Damascus
(Lovejoy-Burton/2018 Feb)
1.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/605359/syria-nuclear-world-war-3-bible-prophecy-damascus-armageddon-donald-trump-vladimir-putin
2.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/01/11/syria-children-under-attack-damascus-enclave
3.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/20/children-among-dead-71-killed-assad-regime-bombardment-eastern/
4.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+17
5.
https://www.youtube.com./watch?v=fduyWFQ-JXg
Categories:
reeking, bible, children, family, future,
Form:
Free verse
Down past the meadow is the grand old hotel.
Where statues of marble encircle the ponds
Tall cypress line up like soldiers at arms,
saluting each limo that comes down the hill
Limousines arrive daily, like vultures of prey,
to stop and eject their catch of the day
There is proof on arrival, of fortune and assets.
Hosts greet each guest, as the day stretches on,
sporting long coat-tails and red satin vests
As we watched from our hillside, from a vast world away,
we're inclined to walk down, to take a survey
Too rich for our blood! We are flooded with awe
Yet, we're drawn to peek in. Where the rich wine and dine
and we will try, most discreetly, to blend into grey.
Alabaster stone gates, and the thick sculptured stairs
are reeking affluence, that we'll never share
__
Heading back to our campground, on the river's west side,
we returned to our tent, tucked under the pines
It's been faded by sunlight, patched together with twine
Where contentment is canvas, and the wind is a song,
and where water makes music, and the breeze is a poem
Our belongings are in order, (in a disorderly way)
A camp-stove, a lantern, for the end of the day
A tent, (army surplus)…. and a stack of dry wood
will add to our comfort, as well as it should
Would we want to change places, if ever we tried?
Would we trade all our moonscapes, or the chipmunks, or tunes?
As we sat by the fire, to remember our day
We have watched the bright embers, as they floated away
Pinpricks of fire that mixed with the stars
We've been granted our millions, ….while owning the sky.
Categories:
reeking, culture, happiness, introspection, money,
Form:
Free verse
“ Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion. Jim Rohn “
Relentlessly I pace around the room,
like a caged lion, dreaming of vast forests,
yearning for savannah grasslands,
vaguely remembered.
I fret for I feel inadequate,
still, I yearn despite the drudgery of life.
My thirst for you is insatiable,
always increasing though deluded,
as if I'm living in some devastating desert
where no fertile oasis thrives.
How can I enforce discipline? I cannot do it.
Night deepens and I yearn for the day.
Lying in bed I wonder
how much of all this I can take.
At last, my wife's home,
reeking of foul-smelling cigarettes,
reeling with too much drink,
dress soiled with what I dare not think.
She smiles at me, I freeze revolted.
Her kiss is blistering
as I wipe her saliva off,
I help her reluctantly
to her dark solitary cot.
How easy my fire is quenched!
All sweet song is muted. I despair.
How many wearisome nights are appointed to me?
That we should exist
when life is just like a passing wind,
it comes and goes, extinguished forever.
Till then, she and I are but chained,
each to his own devious devices.
Will I ever see joy again?
I retire to my fitful sleep
and dare to dream.
Perhaps one day.....
Who knows?
The newborn dawn is nigh,
its first rays are fresh and bright.
Yet, despite reality and delusion,
I dare to dream.
Placed 1st
Categories:
reeking, angst, anxiety, betrayal, hope,
Form:
Free verse
Sweetened dung is shoveled down
gluttonous throats with eager appetites for
alleged misdeeds skillfully spun
into a frenzy of sensationalized hype
by media-seasoned reporters.
.
Seduced by speculation and hearsay,
a jury of pseudo-intellectuals assembles
neatly with moral turpitude tied
smug and tight around rigid white collars
stained heavy with sweat and anticipation.
She stands alone as the eyes of
the court pierce through her appraising
her posture and expression while
the echo of charges being read dissipates
with the smell of type ink and old mahogany.
Fragments of truth embellished
for shock-value and dramatic effect
spill forth as vomit
from confessional mouths
reeking of rot and fermentation.
Vulturous prosecutors rise in fluid
motion squawking accusations in
expert execution of closing arguments,
pecking apart flesh, unconscionably
scattering the meaty bones of her defense.
Categories:
reeking, allegory, social,
Form:
Free verse
Another war crime to add onto a bucket list
that goes on far beyond our mind
Another human rights violation unheard of
when is this world going to awaken
The sleeping giant filled with grace
and bring those murdering monsters to trial
So as they may face justice
their justice returned onto them
So many masks fall away in a world arena
Greed and pride invades countries
Forcing poor innocence to suffer
trying to bring order with chaos and control
Desecration of the holy lands
innocent blood spills on sands of our times
Each and everyone of us knows morally right
There is a worth in every death
The moons have bled
I see it now opening behind scenes
Pray God be merciful unto the blind hiding
open their eyes for a moment
In a just democracy power is the people
understand this ninety per cent of all killed
Innocent people says it all sealed
In the name of the cross and ark of our covenant
They who love in God's name will speak
Holy Spirit holds the castle fort commands you
They who live on the dark side reek
peace for them does not exist
Killing machines show no mercy on suffering souls
Thou shalt not kill love's reminder enemy hates
Love thy neighbor spoken on the tablets
They have no morals standing within the light of truth
Spawn's of the Devil out of hell kills with burning lead
so we see behind the mask who deceives us
They who worship the golden calf again
as they do the anti-Christ's bidding
Reeking havoc upon this earth plundering
their soul aim is destruction givers
Treating people like animals clowned joke
reeks of vermin crawling underneath their skin
Angels upon this earth our battles has begun
we all can see the ignorance killing is not just
With twisted visions planning forward with no democracy
to kneel playing the key role fate our destiny awaits us all
Categories:
reeking, abortion, animal, baptism, blessing,
Form:
Couplet
There was a place I used to know,..
where summer evenings
spoke in long shadows that were heard by the sun
blending dark into light
Where sweet grass, fragrant and damp, would buckle and bend
under the weight of a child's hide and seek,
then quickly spring back, upright and sleek,
as if to experience a last moment of fun
Tonight I recall how I'd watch from the window
My face pressed intimately against the cool glass,
while the children ran up and down the grassy knoll,
to stretch that last ray of light before it was time to come in
It was there
where perfume coming from small, sweaty foreheads
would rise to meet me, making my eyes smile, and my heart swell...
and the faint scent of childhood, mingled with the breeze
I remember kissing salty cheeks at bath time
Stroking feathered hair that fell into lathered curls
Soon after, when nestled, blissfully clean,
swathed in contentment, between cool, crisp sheets,
they would wait for a last goodnight kiss.
Young faces scrubbed red, and expectant
Reeking of soap, and joy, and love complete
Words?…. Most of them were left, unsaid
It matters little now
We had it all back then
for just a little while
Tonight I find myself within the nimbus of a memory,
while evening shadows tell about the laughter that is gone
But together we will listen, as the echoes linger on...
reminding me,
of a place I used to know
______________________________________________________
8/13/18
Contest : Five Senses
Categories:
reeking, children, memory, nostalgia,
Form:
Narrative
Rancid lemon rope squeeze
around a rotten tomato neck tie,
crooked odor bow hanging out of place
Acid reflux raisin tax bleed;
dripping spoiled, milquetoast lies
out a sour-twisted, prune puckered face
Tart tongue
sulfur speak disorderly,
dirty saliva fingers in the propaganda pie
Such a bowel movement disgrace
Bottom rung
bung opening vault key
Onion groans ... chittering fermented cry
Boot-licking patent leather taste
Smells like government to me,
corrupt as can be
Dung pile of voter promises,
sits atop a pungent idol landfill heap,
swarming with stinking lip flies
Smells just like reeking government gluttony —
O beast behavior ...
swine odor, foul as can be
Swindle spit vapors perfidiously wafting,
kindle the vomit pit
Sewage waste material ash labors fanning,
can you stand the stench of it?
Smells like dead paper figurehead
government to me
Bait-and-switch fishy business ...
close your eyes,
what does your nose see?
Tainted meat polltry speech,
pluck the purse feathers
off the cable perched pigeon bodies
Smells like government
is about to make a putrid, baked-in story
Made up facts ... maggot video feed
Stale, bureaucratic policy hard rolls
warmed over twice
Buttered late with expired date lies
Served with a cloying cup
of steaming sound-byte coffee:
Substitute truth ... false sugary
Toilet swirl coffin cake,
gutter floss the oral cavity
Bad breath vows made,
garbage hope nobody needs
Government smells
like a morgue dog in heat
Very omit cadaver, obit disgusting
Smells like
a pot of burning bones
on a boil
Bottom lip scum
rising to the top
On a truthful breath: Let me tell you,
it stinks an awful lot
Smells like scurvy government to me,
corrupt as base bribery can be
The lobbyist rats are scarfing down
the moldy green government cheese,
so silver spoon tongue greedily
Nothing like some regurgitated split-pea pleas
to hit the decaying belly ballot gastric spot
Can you make a federal case
of this rank-and-foul flatulent republic rot?
Categories:
reeking, corruption, satire, truth, word
Form:
Burlesque
I held the stumbling humanoid,
Standing on two feet, scared as an alien
I am his cradle and his playground
Even before he was named *****Sapien.
Watched him crawl on hands and feet,
Watched him grow, move and trail
His mind having lost all its restraint
Unknown quest beckoned his first sail
Wandering unhinged in the oceans midst
Lost his color, lost his curl
Breathing the air on land unknown
Came back white as a polished pearl
Placed himself on a glittering throne
Uttered words, harsh and foreign
Ruling all with his reeking greed
Brandishing his spear, sword and the gun
Started digging my gut for diamond,
Chafing oil off of my skin
Pulling out my heart of gold
Making mules of his kith and kin
Chained his brothers, labeled for sale,
Subjected them to conditions sinister
Bent and flogged all their lives
Sisters raped at will of their master
I silently watched the macabre play,
Where no one but he smiles
My eyes oozing out warm tears
To fill at least a dozen Niles
Ate my arms and thighs for dinner,
Bathed me with blood each night
As he danced in a trance unashamed
But I Africa —I refused to die
Written :04/25/2017
Categories:
reeking, africa,
Form:
Quatrain
'"The power
of positive thinking"
in this hour
of humanities' stinking
is
insanity.
When we kill
and maim
in our free will
democracy game
its hard to remember
we hold a distinction
as the highest form of life.
Animal
cannibal
what heights of intellect
do we dare to claim
as we slaughter
in the name of some
hypocritical ideology?
'"The power of positive thinking"
is reeking of
murder
while we
positively speak
and call it
war.
Categories:
reeking, history, introspection,
Form:
I followed milky and mouldy scents,
down cobbled and narrow paths,
only to see it riddled with rats,
feasting on Feta and Camembert,
whilst the wine sipping Uppers prepared to
clash against the cider swigging downers!
The Fromage Frenzy and Curd Craze deli.
across from the Dizzy Duck and the Boastful Bard taverns
had been ransacked with only cracker crumbs on the floor.
All the cheesemongers were hiding in their basements.
All the landlords locked away in their cellars!
Bar stools dripping with Chardonnay and Merlot,
carpets soaked in 'Scrumpy Jack' and 'Strongbow.'
It was utter chaos as the 'cheese shed' raged on...
The goats and the cows watched,
as the town folk gathered on either side.
Anger in their eyes, yelling insults like;
'Cheap cheddar gobblers' and 'stinky Stilton munchers.'
This was not cultural tensions,
nor issues with tariffs, quotas or labelling practises-
this was a war of the social classes!
They were not fighting with fists or weapons,
oh no, no no..
The Downers started squirting stinky cheese sauce,
drenching the Uppers with its reeking stench.
However, when the Uppers started hurling
Storico and Caciocavallo Podolico,
back at the Downers, they simply,
started consuming it with their cider!
Both fractions kept pelting and sprinkling,
until little Joey from the farm,
reminded them the football had started,
so off they plodded to watch the game,
singing and laughing together,
arm in arm, munching on cheese
they had salvaged from their skirmish.
Categories:
reeking, allusion, conflict, society,
Form:
Free verse
Trouble, trouble stirs the wind
ghastly ghosts rise and ascend
warty toads croak
vile spells are spoke
witches’ covens evil intend
Burbling, gurgling cauldron hot
with purple vein, red blood clot
virgins hopeful eyes
fear and dread belies
throw them in and stir the pot
Screeching, screaming banshee songs
garish ghouls with pointy prongs
mulish mummies
reeking rummies
to evil spirits the night belongs
Trembling, tremoring witches fear
townsfolk are coming too near
sticks and stones
fire bemoans
the end becoming too clear
Freaking, shrieking their cry drums
slicing the air with its thrums
unwilling to face
they cut to the chase
quickly flee to save their bums
Categories:
reeking, celebration, funny, giggle, halloween,
Form:
Limerick
Is there really a mother of earth
watching over us
keeping things in line
I think there used to be
but she got tired of getting spit on
now she sits up on her cloud
high above and waits
for us to tear each other apart
and seal our evil fates
she wonders why we disgrace her lands
like monkeys in a rage
she thinks we ought to be locked up
no need for lock and key trapped inside
to burn forever at an intolerable degree
never the less we shall live on
reeking havoc upon this earth
she'll stay perched upon her cloud
until the crushing blows we throw
send her beloved planet into a rebirth
Myth, Mythos, & Mythical Characters Poetry Contest
by: Virginia Frayer
Categories:
reeking, fantasy, life, nature, myth,
Form:
Rhyme