Best Rejoining Poems
Upon a glorious night
A burning fire lit upon my unrented spine
Deafened by fleeting sight
I flee the home that never was quite mine
Crushed in garish fight
Within the corridor I dare to flee
Blinded by his might
While all the sad spirits return to me
Oh Tempest, you blow in me hope
Of sorrow more true than any other light
Oh Tempest that guides my departed
To your soul so bright
Rejoining each of us—the broken-hearted
Upon that vaporous eve
Enclosed in bond beyond mortal grief
Lost to the foggy reef
The fog that so lingers in these glistening eyes
That vapor drew me near
Bedazzling more than the moonlit mirror
To where I see him fly
Twas a heart-reaching place I always fear
Oh Tempest, you blow in me hope
Of sorrow more true than any other light
Oh Tempest that guides my departed
To your soul so bright
Rejoining each of us—the broken-hearted
Between the beat of my breast
A heart that beats only for him
He slumbers in the clouds
The clouds that pour my poignant prose
Beyond the darkened seas
The wind does carry the scent of his bequest
Within the folding of the storm I cease to rest
Oh Tempest, you blow in me hope
Of sorrow more true than any other light
Oh Tempest that guides my departed
To your soul so bright
Rejoining each of us—the broken-hearted
To him my sorrows lay
And fall into the arms of strangers' trembling spine
As light and pain fall gray
Twas there they grayed and blended with the rain
Twas there they grayed and blended with the rain
Twas there they grayed and blended with the rain
Executive orders signing spree
Quite a start for old JB
Killed off the jobs of myriad employees
Put a chokehold on the oil industry
But in the name of his pitch for unity
Lets look at JB's orders with impunity
Rejoining the 2015 Paris 'dialogue-ees'
He's eased up on our good friends, the Chinese
Plus he's helped so many radicals smile with glee
Like Ms. Omer, Ms. Tlieb, Bernie and AOC
Not to mention old pros like Schumer and Pelosi
Now on to re-engage Iran, Obama's lose-lose strategy
Canceling rents and student loans in late February
Open the borders ~ Here comes amnesty
If you go first I’ll stomp and shout
I’ll be absolutely furious
I’ll rage and shut out the world
That’s for sure
But one day
I know I’ll come around
And actually be thankful
Because of the two of us
You always said I was the strong one
And because I love you
I would never wish
That bitter fate upon you
If we could not depart as one
For your sake better it be you
I’m more equipped
Or at least that’s what we think
To unleash my wrath
In creative ways
Hoping I’ll not permanently drown
In the deep black hole
Of eternal despair and anxiety
When all is said and done
I'd hope to delve in the pool of inspiration
As I cling to the hope
Of rejoining you
My soulmate
My love
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
When my time passes
And there’s no breath left in me,
Take my ashes to the oceans
And set my spirit free.
There I can rejoin my friends
There I will not be alone.
There I can make my amends
There I won’t be unknown.
Far too much blood spilled onto this planet
Makes its way to the sea.
The raining of blood by droplet
Rejoining there finally.
Don’t leave me in the cold, cold ground.
No – No imprisoned tomb for me.
Let the waves be my stone bound
An anxious tide, my cemetery.
There I can float on endless waves
A moving monument to see.
And if you leave a tear on my grave
I can float it away with me…
We said goodbye
You and I
Tossed a coin
Who would cry
You won
Time went by
You went on to marry Joe
I got blown up
From head to toe
Along came baby, Jill
Your pride and joy
Such a thrill
I started the long road back
With a dummy leg, I nicknamed Jack
It was hate at first sight
Throwing him down every night
Sadly, Joe passed away
Your life crashing down
That fateful day
Jack and I changed tact
We sort of made a little pact
I wouldn’t throw him down
If he walked straight on the ground
You came to terms with your loss
Went back to work
Still the boss
Now you and little Jill
Moving on, moving still
I had finally trained Jack to run
Not very far, granted
He still moaned at will
But I told him straight
Tomorrow the hill
The sun was shining
Good day to go out
Drive into the country
Out and about
Right Jack, today’s the day
Do not upset me in any way
Just try to keep straight
Is that okay
Mummy, look at all the sheep
A cow, goats
Mummy, horses too
What’s that, Mummy
Jack decided to leave him on the downside of the hill
Rejoining him at the bottom
Leg with no thrill
I swear to god I will shoot you dead
Looking up at an Angel and a little girl in dread
Been a long time, Tony
Still running I see
Hope when you said shoot
You weren’t meaning me
No I was talking to Jack my leg
He hasn’t quite mastered running yet
Reminds me of a girl I once knew
Oops, that girl would be you
So you called your leg after me
That’s real sweet
Maybe that’s why she keeps leaving you
Wouldn’t you agree
I think you could be right
Having had lots of time to reflect in the small hours of the night
So, who’s this lovely little girl
This is my daughter, Jill
I know what you’re thinking
This fairytale came true
They got back together
Like they’re supposed to do
Alas not
Well, not till Jack mastered getting down on one knee
I mean, how hard can it be.
Yang: What is the difference between a theist and an atheist?
Yin: A bicamerally balancing ego/eco-teleologist.
Yang: Well, so what's that; a teleologist?
Yin: You, if you believe the Earth is your co-gravitational
(0)-double-binding mind-spirit/body-nature center
epi-center
of wealthy egonomic
and healthy ecopolitical values,
each with equi-valent
ego/ecological
transgenerational health-care
deep wealth meaning merit.
Yang: So, who wouldn't believe that?
Yin: Probably no one.
Yang: So, why, exactly, is this an issue I need to look at right now?
Yin: Because, if you are an ecological panentheist,
then you are also a (0)-interest
co-invested bodhisattva peace warrior
poli-economist,
presumably.
Yang: Wow, I really did not see that climax coming at all!
Yintegrity: Yes, well, I get that all mind/body bipartisan time.
YangBright: Hmmm.... I can see purpose Now i
n sort of a 4D WinWin Cooperative Here
Ego/EcoOccupyers
Rejoining RNA Tribal Purpose
unfolding dialectical
exponential
deep fractal meaning
kinda' organic sacred WuWays.
YinPower: Don't rush, reframe our collateral flow issues,
in alpha(0)mega double-binding poli-economic
nondual crown/rooted
mind-dawn/body-dark
respirating EarthNature's
dipolar teleological appositions.
YangLight: You flow on too darkly rooted much
for optimally repurposed fire-power.
YinPower: Invest less in competing economic partial-trusts
and politically disharmonic insufficiency
of loving sacred beauty.
Instead,
invest in repurposing
every co-engaging
meaning-full
experiential expedition
only where your economic health flows out
our cooperative climatic inflow
of politically multicultural wealth.
YangMind: Ah, yes,
I see
our MidWay Zen
mutual reflection again,
where my Tao wealth
caressingly embraces your cooperative health
of coarising egomind/ecobody-engagement
Right purposeful proportion,
eco-dominant meaningful balance,
light's radiant fractal frequencies
of regenerative logos-dawn/mythos-dusk
Yang/yin
pregnant/absent
positive/double-binding negative,
appositional boundaries of co-balancing light
and prime co-relational powers.
YinPower: And you think I flow out too much feeling!
Inhale the sage-scented breeze liaison
Jagged peaks’ sharp ebony silhouette
Crescent moon, Venus, ornaments of dawn
Crystal desert morning never forgets
Afternoon visit, charged mind of the clouds
Thunderstorm downdraft, its cleansing ozone
Searing sun hides behind navy blue shroud
Embraced by your presence, never alone
Vermillion cliff sunset, eternity
Spirit of the wild, you are the portal
Stretching out to you, encompassing me
Melt, intertwine, these moments immortal
Rejoining the pack, reach inward to hold
Eternal caress of the desert soul
4/18/16
If true, as anthropologists report,
hide-and-seek entertains children of all languages
and cultural sport
throughout all humanity's extended family history
Might hiding-seeking
ubiquitously regenerate among children
as among haunted-hunting adults?
Gathering food to hide from hunger,
daily plowing for payroll plunder,
postulating procreation,
BusinessAsUsual playfull as workless,
taking turns hiding from gifted godlessness,
trusting divine spirits to continue seeking
my blend-in brand
of common-scented humanity.
While too tribally divine
to attract anthro-privileged notice,
my roommate cat, Simon,
also excels at both hiding and seeking,
terrorizing my unsuspecting shoe laces
as I naively strive to pass him by,
leave him behind,
as if I were in charge of times to hide
and reasons to seek.
Is not all science and life,
adult and childhood,
human natured and Other co-spirited?
Some hybrid hide-body/seek-mind
as marvelous neurosystemic stimuli
for curious re-searching
re-connecting
re-ligioning response
Wondrous where and how
our cat-godesses of destiny
will musingly pounce
Not sure we prefer too soon
over being last to win
such co-redeeming grace,
rejoining conscientific players
of cathartic evermore adventure
Seeing sight
beyond faith-filled hunting
seeking hauntingly contagious
hidden entrance
finding hopeful exit doors.
Tides of Life
Thoughts of my heart flowed out as tears,
The future ahead holds lots of fears.
As I alone walked down that memory lane,
I felt nothing but heartache all over again.
Once the days had been so joyful and carefree,
Those days when we were two; then became three.
How much hope and expectations had we,
What our bundle of joy would grow up to be!
Alas! As we dreamt of one thing, we realized another,
For Cruel Fate would not let us be together.
Entangled in the web of the dreams we weaved,
Happy days were few and short lived.
Had it not been for that dark and fateful night,
Such would surely not have been our plight,
This realization fell over me before day,
Oh God, what are we but statues of clay!
How your absence filled my life with emptiness!
Bereaved of all joy and full of loneliness.
The merciless turns of the tides of life,
Made it hardly possible for one to survive.
It was then that I looked into the eyes of innocence
Of one who cared and shared my grievance.
“Don’t leave me too,” they seemed to plead.
Shedding my cloak of sorrow, I embraced him instead.
With his affectionate love he kept me bound.
The last straw in the stormy sea I had found.
My young child taught me how to live over again,
And smile through Life’s inflicted suffering and pain.
The calamities of the past now being long over,
These queries of my mind still remain unclear.
Will Happiness ever think of rejoining me?
Will I ever from those memories be set free?
By: Jaishree Ghariwala Doshi
You are always on my mind
You were a priceless find!
Life without you is a constant struggle
I so miss holding you close to snuggle
Our life together was for the ages
Our wonderful story is a book with countless pages
I know you're at peace in Heaven now
Rejoining you there is my solemn vow!
© Ben Burton 2-20-2015
If I were Edgar Allan Poe
I'd been dead many years ago
Two score, no more, the poet bore
Before rejoining his Lenore
Reflections now, from sixty-five
I'm wondering how I have survived
For, having shared his mental state
Induced abuse which bordered crazed
In looking back it seems most strange
The lucid fundamental change
Created in a child of eight
Whose kinship must have been innate
With one long dead, a hundred years
Before that smack upon my rear
I learned his poems, all were gems
And thought that rhyme was named for him
Read "Gold Bug" and "The Telltale Heart"
Thence, for some time I feared the dark
And as I read, I knew that I
Had, even then, the skills to write
Though modesty forbade the act
Far less than the assured attack
For none dare read foul poetry
In place of chase or hide and seek
When unassigned, a travesty
I wrote in fits, but just for me
"The Raven" and "The Bells" bequeathed
A rhythm beat of hell in me
Too natural to be mere chance
My mind would rhyme through happenstance
With no attempts to join the breed
Through school or university
I, nonetheless, read works aloud
In hopes their authors had been proud
Won competitions far and wide
Unsatisfied, the words weren't mine
And yet, I kept my pen at bay
Years past my graduation day
Jack Daniels opened up my soul
To take me on poetic strolls
Not unlike Poe who oft consumed
Whilst making sojourns to the tomb
I hungered to make words my own
Through blank verse, limerick, or song
Though mostly as a barroom trick
Which oft'times made the pick-up quick
But then, at length, I followed Poe
Officially gave up the ghost
By then I'd fifteen years surpassed
The forty Poe logged for his last
But providence did intervene
Man-made machine, propitiously
Brought back to life that muscle which
Once stilled, rarely renews its tick
My second life was born to write
To spill it all, let nothing slide
And, on ten years my pen creates
Whatever my odd mind dictates
With second chance, I wish to praise
The first man whom within me raised
A passion known as poetry
Though I am light years from his league
We met in El Dorado's dream
Two kindred souls, Edgar and me
Look in my eyes and you can see I’m lost
Losing you forever was truly a great cost
Tears of sadness is my drowning dammed river
The cold of separation makes my soul shiver
Faded memories surround me of once love’s joy
A glimpse of hope and fate I often do destroy
Waking hours of faith are often surly kind
Dreaming of the past I wish now would rewind
To live again life with my worlds only friend
How can I survive the heartbreak until the bitter end
Existing in your scent with every painful breath
Waiting for the rejoining of hearts I pray for my death
You and I may have decided
long ago,
and again more recently,
more ego-centrally
and now more large-stage ecopolitically,
that human life
has only that meaning and purpose we give ourselves,
we choose to embrace,
however ambivalently
And this dissociation from divine
theocratically orchestrated
organized
operational history and culture
leaves us free
but also isolated;
an individual without communally objective identity,
without sacred communion
orthodox portfolio.
You may have thought,
as did I,
a self-assigned secular purpose
could only be subjective,
as free as straight white male law
to become morally arbitrary,
Polypathic liberation without polyphonic natural harmonies
of graced
and original sacred objective intent--
sometimes punishing
and other times healing--
sometimes both retribution against subjects
and therapy with and for redeemed objects.
You may have thought God is as dead
as planet Earth will one day be,
and there is no realistic
natural or spiritual escape route,
No heavenly and eternal paradise Rapture
for the Elect,
much less the merely subjective NonElect
like wounded
isolated
mortal
autonomous ego
me.
I may have come to hope
we push through in-between
nihilistic subjective freedom
to choose win/lose competitions
between leftbrain wealth
of chosen verbal knowledge
and rightbrain health
of meaningful connection
back through generations
regenerating self and other selected purpose
to reconnect Father straight white male God
with MotherEarth CareTaker CreationGiver
Choosing DNA's secular/sacred
healthiest/wealth of opportunity
to choose vocational purpose
rejoining Earth's win/win CareTaker leftbrain intent
either/or
win or lose
with EarthMother's CareGiver rightbrain
composing interdependent CoPassion's
eco-habitual
co-operational meanings.
Co-relational left with right
is not necessary lapse
into merely subjective relativism,
as is either straight or ***** left yang dominance
without both equal and interdependent
right yin prominence.
At our final moment when we leave all of this
And our loved ones are crying for one sorely missed,
In a heavenly light will angels descend
Then take us to heaven where suffering ends.
Or are we afraid, just clutching at straws,
Clinging to the hope that there is something more,
For if not then what, just the abyss
No guiding light no heavenly bliss.
Just part of a cycle from birth unto death
Rejoining the loop, as we take our last breath
Returning to atoms as flesh and bone rot,
Three score and ten, may well be our lot.
Prayer without indemnity,
prejudice, or blame,
weaponizing Diety…
a dogma-based refrain
Through Him our Divinity
rejoining heart and mind,
to truly know Who reigns supreme
last sacrament defined
Religion like the training wheels
discarded when we we’re young,
to free the rider in the wind
—His spokes forever spun
(Easter Dreamsleep: April, 2022)