Best Represents Poems
~Homeless~
A lost guardian angel, sitting on the edge of everything
I push my shopping cart along the cracks of destiny
My house sits on the corner of every mission street
My tin coffee cup feeds on caring heartbeats
My possession is the icon of war, six missing buttons
Navy and white my grandfathers 70-yr-old military tunic.
My Jacket- My blanket
My Jacket from which I am inseparable
My Jacket - represents the mobility of life
This Jacket is my home.
Categories:
represents, memorial day,
Form:
Free verse
Can it be, into this world we are dropped
from heavenly streams that have never stopped?
With sweet hope gifted to our souls delight,
oceans of love and its fiery desires;
ladies so fair, we thank our keen eyesight
and leap into romance hottest fires.
Can it be, wonderment is our reward
given for living in a world so hard?
With love's soulmate waiting a heart to touch,
deepest seas of hot sexual pleasures;
daring to embrace and love very much
this bountiful store, of life's great treasures.
Can it be, that in life's short duration
we go beyond mere infatuation?
With deeper dreams that bless spirits in need,
grant romantic nights of sweetest relief;
birth greatest pleasures of harvested seeds
fruited in soul's spiritual beliefs.
Your questions asked with pulsing energy
of lovers’ wonderland of synergy..
Gifts do flow from fountain to foundations
of souls inspiring minds to understand;
seductive passion’s yearning flirtations
of red embers roused to lusty flames fanned.
In awe you long to know love’s mysteries,
untangling threads in tender reveries..
Of all the gold offered in sun’s rich rays
Sol would be poor in the worth of our love;
for never could there be more wealth of praise
than for ambrosial taste from gods above.
During this life as our lustrous hearts’ beat
we can transcend mundane with love’s white heat..
Our physical plane of mortal being
is heightened with intimate unity;
body and soul in tantra foreseeing
weaving love’s strands into eternity.
Robert J. Lindley and Susan Ashley
(a collaboration)
July 31, 2018
*For the purpose of this collaboration, tantra represents the weaving of strands into a unified whole and liberation of energy and expansion of consciousness*
Categories:
represents, appreciation, romantic love, sensual,
Form:
Rhyme
The Amorous Mystique
Can it be, into this world we are dropped
from heavenly streams that have never stopped?
With sweet hope gifted to our souls delight,
oceans of love and its fiery desires;
ladies so fair, we thank our keen eyesight
and leap into romance hottest fires.
Can it be, wonderment is our reward
given for living in a world so hard?
With love's soulmate waiting a heart to touch,
deepest seas of hot sexual pleasures;
daring to embrace and love very much
this bountiful store, of life's great treasures.
Can it be, that in life's short duration
we go beyond mere infatuation?
With deeper dreams that bless spirits in need,
grant romantic nights of sweetest relief;
birth greatest pleasures of harvested seeds
fruited in soul's spiritual beliefs.
Your questions asked with pulsing energy
of lovers’ wonderland of synergy..
Gifts do flow from fountain to foundations
of souls inspiring minds to understand;
seductive passion’s yearning flirtations
of red embers roused to lusty flames fanned.
In awe you long to know love’s mysteries,
untangling threads in tender reveries..
Of all the gold offered in sun’s rich rays
Sol would be poor in the worth of our love;
for never could there be more wealth of praise
than for ambrosial taste from gods above.
During this life as our lustrous hearts’ beat
we can transcend mundane with love’s white heat..
Our physical plane of mortal being
is heightened with intimate unity;
body and soul in tantra foreseeing
weaving love’s strands into eternity.
Robert J. Lindley and Susan Ashley
(a collaboration)
July 31, 2018
______________________________
*For the purpose of this collaboration, tantra represents the weaving of strands into a unified whole and liberation of energy and expansion of consciousness*
Categories:
represents, art, beautiful, deep, devotion,
Form:
Rhyme
By the breath of God frost is given ...
Hast thou entered into
the treasures of the snow? ...
Out of whose womb came the ice?
and the hoary frost of heaven,
who hath gendered it?
— Job 37:10; 38:22,29
Standing in the winter cold,
tasting the small snowflakes that fall
I think of you, my God ...
and your boundless cascading love
You revealed to me the secret treasures of the snow
How each small act of kindness
is like one little glistening snowflake that the wind blow
Your love so heavenly dispersed
across the whole earth
Billions and billions of countless snowflakes,
I open my mouth wide to taste
So much heavenly love cascading down;
I see the virgin snow shining all around,
as more snowflakes of love fall to the ground
Your godly wisdom shows us
that the heart of man wax cold
So You reveal the warmth of Your endless love
in the form of the falling snow
Your evergreen shower of white love covers the whole earth
Each small snowflake
represents an act of pure faith birth love
given to each individual
Billions and billions of souls,
and billions of countless yet-to-be more
Be fruitful and multiply God said:
Let the whole earth abound with love
I see the snowflakes of cascading charity
shed abroad from the heavens above
Such pure, falling white love
Oh, how the cold feels so warm!
So much infinite love cascading down
Your love, my God, truly transforms
And more snow, more snow ... more snowflakes
keep falling out from the storm —
like hoar frost manna
falling down from the sky
They’re heavenly tears of joy ...
descending,
gently melting in my mind
Of whose falling,
I now know the meaning why
Categories:
represents, love, snow, spiritual, wisdom,
Form:
Free verse
Pull out the easel
set the canvas
positioned long and slender clean slate.
Sketch the figures huddled and dark-bound hostage
to charcoal-cooled coals
etching in shadow images;
Faceless entities
slipping in and out the background
earth-toned sojourners accepting, alone, quiet, dying;
Still the images in silence
hard and disfigured
grotesque horrors in place;
Somber soul-drained eyes
skeletal socket holes
buried in the heart and mind;
Let tears fall down their cheeks
in wonder, awe, and
fear of what happens next.
Acrylic primers dilute the wash in the storyline
flaking and cracking
tearing each soul and truth away;
Polyptych blended burnish bleeds
quiet, soft exuding
whimpered cries, asking why;
Chiaroscuro collages of death from life
fading to diluent breaths
the heartbeat of an unholy silence;
Graded gouache monochrome scraper boards
releasing sfumatos of singularities
communal lives sacrificed
Varnish the final rendition
camouflage the realities,
the actuality of what it represents,
Time immemorial in genocidal atrocities
of Native Americans, Cambodians, Hawaiians,
Jews, Rwandans, Bosnia, Darfur,.
When does it stop?
The never-ending list
life is more precious than this
until change comes
Paint the Picture Black and Gray
pray
then act.
Categories:
represents, africa, art, dark, grief,
Form:
Imagism
He wonders
at the aphrodisiac of her jasmine air
stirring the breeze of his being
heady in the breathy mood of her moon garden
amidst stargazer’s pink whispers
and he wishes
that his jonquil heart
be quenched by her sweet drink -
as he longs to sip sun-ripened nectar
from the calla of her wild plum dreams
Susan Ashley
July 4, 2018
~ Second Place ~
Contest: Any Poem You Want To Write 180 Words Or Less
Sponsor: Caren Krutsinger
~ Ninth Place ~
Contest: Premiere No. 160
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Poet's notes:
* the Jonquil flower represents desire, especially, the reciprocation of one's feelings of desire and love back in return*
*the Calla Lily represents magnificent feminine beauty and delicacy*
*the Wild Plum represents feminine youthfulness. Also, it represents sweet anticipation of the promise of romance one has waited for*
Categories:
represents, beauty, desire, romantic love,
Form:
Free verse
(this is not a comment on gun rights in U.S.A. I am from Canada where we do not face the same challenges. rather i seek to speak to the creative mind. the search for the peace in our hearts. the gun is not literal but represents the violent soul. i hope i have not offended anyone.)
almost everything that wraps
the bone structure of the hands
is responsible for its sense of touch
touch,
the neck of a guitar
a lover’s hair
via a pen
through and to the end
of a paint brush
our sensitive
our creative
side
flows through our hands
the first time i held a gun
my skin melted off
than the
tendons
muscles
veins
arteries
followed
fell off the bone
stripped to its empty frame
i held the gun
with a raw naked bone
pulled the trigger
with a cold dead hand
i never held a gun again
the flesh grew back
in peace and love
my creative voice
is alive again
travels easily
through my brand new hands
Categories:
represents, passion, peace,
Form:
Free verse
Tears of joy streak down
My dust covered face
As I just wandered by and witnessed
The utmost glorious grace
Just three days ago
I watched them crucify
The son of God himself
The man called Jesus Christ
They poked him with their spears
Wet his tongue with a vinegar sponge
Nailed him to a tree
And taunted “you’re not God’s son.”
He hung there ‘til he died
From his side water did drop
They buried him in a tomb
Where today I had to stop
Past three days the door was covered
A large stone placed there that day
But, today as I walked by
An angel rolled it away
He had kept his promise
Only 3 days would he lay dead
To forgive us all our sins
And, I believed in what he said
He glided out of the tomb
As if floating in the air
“Do not be afraid” he said,
With gentle love, and care
He represents new life
And all the wounds he can heal
Is Easter day your resurrection?
Can Jesus Christ be your shield?
I weep to think of the pain
He endured for you and me
So he could take away our sins
And one day, set us free!
By: Miranda Lambert
For: Gwendolyn Rixs’ contest: What easter means to me
Written: 03/21/2011
Categories:
represents, faith, forgiveness, holiday, hope,
Form:
Rhyme
I was once really new to our Poetry Soup,
and I knew I should try to join in with the group;
post my poems on-site to be read by a few,
and then give it a whirl, join a contest or two.
Soon a couple of them were a win, a good score;
was on top of the world, so I entered one more.
But to my big surprise when that contest was done,
my sad eyes saw in fact that my write had not won.
I clicked on 'Contest Entries' and saw it was there.
But, behold, a strange sign near that one, I declare!
A N/A- what was that? Very weird, was this right?
Could not find what it meant anywhere on the site.
So I looked up N/A on the Internet, but
what I found was not good, left me still in a rut.
This N/A symbolized a long list, now for me,
my head spun to fit in which of these it could be??
N/A…Not Applicable………Did I not follow rules?
N/A…Not Available………Did my entry get lost?
N/A…No Answer………Did they try to call me?
N/A…Not Authorized………Did I need an okay?
N/A…No Action………Did I fail to take steps?
N/A…Negative Approach………Did I say something wrong?
N/A…Not Analyzed………Should my write be explained?
N/A…No Acknowledgement………Did I fail to respond?
N/A…No Account………Did PS lose my file?
I Soup-Mailed contest judge and her answer therein,
“Well you see, the N/A means your piece did not win!"
Now I still do not know what N/A represents
When my poems don't win in Soup contest events!
December 22, 2014
~1st Place~
Contest: All Yours (Jun 8)
Brian Strand
Judged: 06/09/2021
~1st Place~
Contest: Quirky Things That Confuse and Confound Me
Sponsor: Caren Krutsinger
Judged: 07/14/2018
~1st Place~
Contest: New or Old 4
Sponsor: Eve Roper
Judged: 08/05/2016
~1st Place~
Contest: The Contest
Sponsor: Jerry T. Curtis
Judged: 01/10/2015
Anapestic Tetrameter (5 verses of 12-syllables lines)
Anapestic Dimeter (N/A Section - Questions Only)
Categories:
represents, humor, poems,
Form:
Verse
Here in the heavy depths of insolent woes,
We gesture and talk and waste our time,
Staking claim to each minute of our earthly life,
Running the hours through a clock by the day,
Never sated, not content to find even love,
Buried deep inside the petals of a perfect rose.
So was a metaphor created from the rose,
Then plagiarized and used for all of time,
Simply here to represent the beauty of love,
A perfection to which we cannot aspire to in life,
Or even death, in the darkest of all those woes,
Great though they may seem by the passing day.
It's a fragile, soulful kind of love,
In the pressing presence of the breaking day,
Where your back breaks beneath ample woes,
And there just simply isn’t ever enough time,
To do what you plan to do with your life.
Then you start to resemble that rose.
Soft and delicate, with easy loss of life,
Mournful of the passage of time,
Counting down, day by dreary day,
Ever seeking out to find dear love,
The theoretical banishment of woes.
Such is the way of the deep red rose.
Has it ever occurred to us not to mark time?
Just to ignore it, along with any such woes,
Just to leap forth and enjoy life,
To live to the absolute fullest everyday,
And just as chosen by the poet's rose,
To find and hold on to, that one true love.
For I find, that it's mostly true these days,
That people don't make enough time,
For laughter and fullness in life,
So preoccupied with petty woes,
That they forget about the beauty of love,
And in doing that, they forget about the rose,
I know what the rose represents in my life,
And I work hard to expel my woes every day,
So that soon I will have time for true love.
*****Written in Sestina for Constance's Poetry 101 contest.*****
******* 5th Place winner*******
******Sarah Blake August 2010******
A sestina is a highly structured form of poetry consisting of six six-line stanzas and a three-
line envoy (thirty-nine lines). The end words of the first stanza are repeated in varied order
as end words in the other stanzas and also recur in the envoy.
Categories:
represents, life, lovewords, metaphor, beauty,
Form:
Sestina
You abused me physically and mentally,
I believed I was everything you said.
I thought you had my back totally,
But my belief in you was hanging by a thread.
I was locked in a mental jail cell.
you were a warden of abuse,
our union together was pure hell.
You would often say I just blew a fuse.
Your vicious attacks tarnished my self worth,
that I constantly questioned my birth.
When I finally got the strength to leave ,
I sabotaged relationships like you wouldn't believe .
Because I was still in a mental prison of abuse,
you remained the warden of my life.
I gave up on relationships and said what’s the use,
my life with you was pure misery and strife.
I hated you right down to the core,
my hatred for you was never a bore.
Until someone shared the good news,
of Jesus Christ, I had nothing to lose.
I accepted him in my heart on that day,
he represents love and forgiveness.
By showing us how to live, he paved the way,
he walked in love and kindness.
He forgave me for all that I had done,
and it felt really good .
I accepted that the victory was already won.
I took my power back, like I should.
I felt free and no longer bound,
therefore I was able to stand my ground.
I had no choice but to forgive you,
and I am no longer sad and blue.
In that moment I took my power back,
I didn’t stress over what I lack.
I want to share my freedom with others like me,
so they in turn can be totally free.
Inspired by the “Healing Power Of Forgiveness.
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
Note* I made some changes to the original poem due to contest requirement. I am most happy with the original version. Let me know what you all think.
10-30-17
Categories:
represents, how i feel,
Form:
Rhyme
Lithesome fingers trailed along
the ukulele’s frets
as Lilah played her dulcet lullabies.
Swaddled in a blanket, smiling,
lay her little lad,
looking up at her with large blue eyes.
Lilah lilted, “Sleep, my son,
for tranquil dreams await.
Lull-lull-lullabies for you I sing.”
As she crooned mellifluously
lulling him to bliss,
she watched small eyelids flutter-fluttering.
Lightly, lightly, letting fingers
roll along the strings,
Lilah moved her delicate small hand.
Eyes that lingered lovingly
on the wee one saw
him amble soundly into Slumber Land.
May 29, 2017 for Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer's Contemporary Poetry Contest
*I enjoy almost all types of poetry, but I suppose this represents more the Classical approach which I most often use (more lyrical and with some rhymes) though my focus is on alliteration here. I love the way L words sound!
Categories:
represents, sleep, song,
Form:
Rhyme
Transform me...
weave me slowly
into the silky essence
of ecstasy ~
spellbinding are your stirring threads
of silver and gold -
rich is your tapestry of tender tendrils --
and sacred is the union
of our
tantra breaths
Susan Ashley
July 6, 2018
*Tantra; Sanskrit: literally “loom, weave, system” - Wikipedia.
Tantra represents weaving strands into a unified whole; leaving this piece open to different interpretations of awareness, romance or spirituality based on your perspective*
~ First Place ~
Premiere Contest: July 2018
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Categories:
represents, inspirational love, love, spiritual,
Form:
Free verse
The youthful memories I have did grate
Upon my innermost self and I’d cry
For my depressed spirit which longed to die
And halt life tainted with anger and hate
Yet now in a manic marvelous state
Akin to alcohol’s euphoric high
My heart’s core renewed can soar to the sky
How this came to be I’ll try to relate
I trapped thorny issues behind a gate
Forgiveness has become a great ally
Love found everyday gives reason to fly
Like a balloon unencumbered with weight
While able to breathe and greet each sunrise
Living and giving seem like the best prize
*****
Youth represents life of song to be sung
Laughing out loud when memories are made
But you wept as your spirit became frayed
Though now you’re wiser than when you were young
Having crossed the threshold of angst that clung
See how clover's nectar can be arrayed
Let your heart rejoice and not be afraid
As delight comes from strands of pearls restrung
The door's ajar—from the cage you've been sprung
Take wing knowing happiness will not fade
A heart’s compassion will never abrade
Where you go now—no place is too far-flung
Revel in moonlight and dawn's painted skies
An attitude change has opened your eyes
Lin, working with you is a pleasure and does bring a grand internal and external smile.
Categories:
represents, appreciation, beautiful, happiness, wisdom,
Form:
Sonnet
(¯`v´¯)
`·.¸.·´OO____ ...)
(( What OO ______ OO
(
... ______a beautiful ___ iridescent
(¯`v´¯)
________ 00 _____ - O `·.¸.·´OOO )
-_ 000 ______
( ... string of pearls OOO
_____ OOO ____ a symbol - ( ( _____ OO
(¯`v´¯)
`·.¸.·´ 000 ... that represents __ OOO - ___ (
((( __________ OOO __ - your heart
(¯`v´¯)
`·.¸.·´
Categories:
represents, beautiful,
Form:
Shape