Best Reside Poems
Darkness Where Now Poe And Raven Reside,
(Part One)
As the Raven cross into the dark pits
Those in torment went into heaving fits
Its shrieking calls, alarms even down there
Far worse its image to dying souls scare
With great trepidation some turned to Poe
Begging, master far away make it go
Poe only smiled, saying, come now my pet
I have far, far sweeter work for you yet.
As Raven lands on Poe's black-stone table
Spits out two bloody and half eaten hands
Asks, does this remind you of that fable
Promising keys to kingdom's treasured lands
Given to a man willing and able
Freeing princess, her captor's sword withstand
Where death's deeds and bloody might enables
Morbid masterpieces of art so grand.
From all around, their banter brought loud moans
From wretched sinners in that dark hell cast
Raven spoke in wicked, evil tones
I toyed with her, to make my pleasure last
Poe commanded, Raven, please no more of that
We are here to enjoy the pleasant scenes
And in our deep joy, grow lazy and fat
Let us not her poor soul thus so demean.
Raven again spoke, come now we need pain
And louder wailing that soothes a black heart
For what good is torture if has no gain
Or tearful pleadings that come as it starts
Master, order yon' demon band to play
For I shall fly above and watch you dance
Let us enjoy sadder cries on this day
With evil's first bride, a little romance.
Poe then rose to do as his pet wanted
Poe laughed and said, Raven dear, please be nice
Let not our blackened pride thus be flaunted
When bit better decorum would suffice.
With that he motioned demon band to play
Its favorite and first great monstrous hit
As waiting victims begged that they may
Have some relief from their torturous fits.
Robert J. Lindley, 4-30-2019
Dark Rhymes, ( As Raven And Poe Both Survive Below)
Part One...
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Reject not sweet musings memories evoke
Extolling elation our passions amplified
Assuage the fervid hints emotions stoke
That eternal vows once callously denied
Let bygones fade away on skyline bright
When your smile scintillates opaline skies
Being my delight of Venus every night
Blazing flame of desires glinting your eyes
“Share the hopes within you still
And hold the dreams that in you reside
Invite a kiss from parted lips
And trace the paths where hearts abide”
Awaken your impulses reveries fantasize
As nightmare of yore in womb of dawn dies
And ambiance of day, aspirations surmise
Where sparkles of amethyst glisten sunrise
Savor again missives your feelings confide
As pleadings of hearts doting souls revive
Let whispers of yearnings be your guide
While blossoms of romance fervently thrive
Entrust me your voice, music of my choice,
Strumming evermore rhythms of your song
In concert of my beats, it is you I rejoice
Pulsing my heart where forever you belong
May 28, 2021
Placed 1st: Choose your form 2 poetry contest
Sponsor: Joseph May
Placed 1st: All yours (June 4) by Brian Strand
Darkness Where Now Poe And Raven Reside,
(Part Two)
Song over, Poe told demon band to leave
And then pointed to the now empty stage
Wretched souls, look as thy lost spirit grieves
I present this new contest- all the rage
Blood and gore will flame your dark desires
Giving some respite from thy crying pleas
In dire conflict, comes death and fire
No weak romance, on love, birds and the bees
Suddenly cast there a hero alive!
In scant armor and flesh soaked in red blood
How this mere mortal had fought to survive
His legs covered in fresh, battlefield mud
Slow to rise, but so defiantly proud
His eyes gleaming with courage Heaven sent
Then yet another crash so very loud
From lightning, its power blasted and spent.
From that flash came a monstrous beast so great
With power from fangs and dagger-like claws
Dragon of massive scale, thick armor plate
Able to spew fire from massive jaws
At first glance it sighted the hero there
Bellowing out with its accursed breath
From thy flesh my claws will now rip and tear
Until that mortal body meets thy death.
Alas! Thy foul breath has no greater foe
Its effects are horrendous unto me...
Yet there is more than even you beast know-
Stronger are roots from my ancestral tree
Send forth thy evil, hottest flaming blast
As my great shield in its glory holds true
Thy fate, thy end has now came at long last
This brighter new dawn, shall be your end too!
Master Poe laughed with his booming voice
Stepping back, giving their battle more room
Announcing this is my gift, my first choice
Entertaining you, pleasure seeing sweet doom
This hero, with mercy I gave his shield
And his scant armor to give him a chance
Battling to the death, neither can yield
Here comes blood and guts, no feeble romance!
Robert J. Lindley, 4-30-2019
Dark Rhymes, ( As Raven And Poe Both Survive Below )
Part Two... Part Three to be written soon.
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Tears subside,
hushed breaths draw ebbing tide,
soft virgin sands, un-walked and damp, shine.
A delicate filigree of silvery brine
brings an interlude where grief and beauty entwine,
gently swaying between now and then.
Thoughts of ‘remember when’
stir again.
Scattered far and wide,
bygones shimmer in rock pools,
scents on breezes ride...
elusive remnants of love
under bitter-sweet moonlight.
There is a place where reveries reside,
ensconced in time between the lows and highs,
where troubles disappear in ocean’s sighs
and hopes return with happiness inside.
Where shades of blue, and rose hues coincide
to nurture promises of sweet reprise,
there is a place where reveries reside,
ensconced in time between the lows and highs.
A haven to reflect on love’s divide,
recall that smile, the twinkle of those eyes
with fondness, then let woven dreams arise
with threads of gilded memories to guide...
this is the place where reveries reside.
**For Jared Pickett's Trois Par Huit /Tanka/Rondel contest
Darkness Where Now Poe And Raven Reside,
(Part Five) - Of Six Total
Among the hideous, Poe's great love stood
Annabel, her beauty shining so well
Wretched souls glaring, free them if she could
From agony of this malignant hell.
She watched as Master Poe walked away
Noticing his limping, unsteady gait
And that broken smile as if to her say
I am sorry at your accursed Fate.
A glimpse of love and pity others lack
Perhaps a glimmer of- its not too late
Sweetest message- darling I want you back
You will see my clever plan just you wait.
Then onto the stage a small cage was brought
Its covering removed, there hissed a snake
With green dripping fangs, Annabel it sought
She knew, her very life was at a stake!
Seeing upon stage, black bag Poe had dropped
She raced over to find short sword inside
With it perhaps now the snake she could stop
As it was flowing with its coming slide.
Those watching this horrific scene went wild
With swiftest motion cutting off its head
Then overcome, she cried like a small child
Asking, is it, really and truly dead?
Its gushing black blood pouring at her feet
Again the crowd, gave her cheering applause
Such beloved hero to that snake defeat
Then a booming voice caused all there to pause.
The Hero had returned, sword in his hand
Annabel to save, he ran to her side
Shouting, my Fate, freeing all in this land
No longer my destiny will I hide!
With that heard, Poe every gate key threw
Save one he had given Hero before
Love had said, her release is overdue
For its help, Poe fallen down to implore.
Now poor wretched souls saw Hope was alive
Raven was summoned to stop their mad flight
Freedom's promise, on its lights they did thrive
But Raven had great powers in his might!
Robert J. Lindley, 5-13-2019
Dark Rhymes, ( As Raven And Poe Both Survive Below )
Part Five... (Of 6 total)
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In the quiet corridors of my mind, where memory and flickering thoughts reside,
we tell ourselves stories in order to live, to find meaning in the chaos,
seeking sermons in the despair of loss, searching for lessons in violence,
where five snuffed-out lives become a moral parable,
a narrative we shape to comprehend an incomprehensible reality.
We are the weavers of our own truth, choosing the most viable threads,
interpreting what we see through the prism of our elaborate tales,
imposing a coherent line upon disparate images,
freezing the shifting phantasmagoria of our experiences
with the ideas we have learned, like anchors in the turbulent sea of existence.
Through this stream of consciousness, I wander deeply,
where tangled thoughts intertwine with hues of sentiment,
seeking to grasp the elusive threads of dreams and weave them into meaning,
we are adventurers in the landscapes of intellect and soul,
each story we tell a beacon, a light in the dark forest of the unknown.
We find comfort in the narrative line we impose,
an appearance of order in the whirlwind storm of existence,
where each moment is a passing phantom, each experience a fleeting shadow,
and yet, in this magic of storytelling, we find anchor, grace,
transforming the ephemeral into the enduring, the transient into the eternal.
Melancholy wraps itself around each story,
a whisper of beauty from sadness, a hint of light within the shadow,
each chosen word an attempt to freeze the fluid, to grasp the intangible,
to bind the phantasmagoria into something we can hold close to our hearts.
Life, with all its chaos and fractured pieces,
finds a fragile peace within the narratives we construct,
as we trace the lines of meaning with trembling fingers,
seeking to transcend the transient, to touch the infinite
in the sacred space of a well-told story, of a fleeting moment captured forever.
Through our stories, we become more than mere spectators,
we become the architects of our own destinies,
each story a spell, an enchantment against the inexorable flow of time,
and in this act of creation, we discover ourselves,
the storytellers, the dream weavers, the light in the storm,
casting a gentle glow over the phantasmagoria that is life.
Darkness Where Now Poe And Raven Reside,
(Part Four)
Dragon dead, headless, mired with black gore
Hero replied to those chained in cold dark
I am spent! My blade rests, fight I no more
Pray I release, to surface I embark.
This sojourn was from terror I once fled
Payment for cowardice that once took me
I can not free thee, as thee art all dead
Alas! This my heart breaks, woe besets me!
In malignant forests of poison dread
Held firm by ash of cold, perished fires
With beasts, demons, snakes and Poe in my head
Fled I, to burn once on funeral pyres!
Aghast at darkness, that this life invades
Cherished memories overcome by black
O' heart free a lost soul this dark charade
Because of bravery, I fear I lack!
Upon hearing such confession Poe said
For truth's words I will unlock upper gate
Hero you are mortal, here but not dead
Know I too, am bound by powers of Fate.
Raven will escort thee to earth above
Thank we, savagery in thy bloody fight
Heroism shown battle but not by love
But instead by bravest warrior's great might!
Raven take our guest to forest he left
For our show he fought true and very well
Tho' in heart, of Light's might he was bereft
Such exists not in darkness, our true Hell.
As Hero left, the condemned applauded
Even they had some small shred of respect
In their damn fires and pains they lauded
Hero's memory they could not neglect!
Poe stepping onto silent and bare stage
Snapping his fingers to cast three red doors
Declaring, each held a show all the rage
Banned from Light and Earth, all its teeming shores.
Their loudest moan approval, opens door three
From tiny dark soft steps coming to fore
Out came the beautiful Annabel Lee
Then their cries, we want more bloody gore!
Robert J. Lindley, 5-04-2019
Dark Rhymes, ( As Raven And Poe Both Survive Below )
Part Four...
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Darkness Where Now Poe And Raven Reside,
(Part Three)
Poe slowly gave distance to this great fight
With sweetest glee, his heart pounding its beat
Glorious would be this blood flowing sight
Better both should die, give beasts more to eat
Dragon came forth, hero drew his sharp blade
His weapon forged in Elves's hot fire
Its razor-sharp steel, for monsters was made
Recalls his vow after this to retire.
Alas! A snake there at dragon's clawed feet
Its fangs long and its slit-eyes cherry red
Hissing, it raced forth to hero's blade meet
Lightning fast swing, off came its giant head
Dragon came, its tail gave a mighty crack
Look out hero , cried hellish tortured group
Hero just in time saw this quick attack
Moving back to avoid that deadly swoop!
Brave warrior now leaped from that bloody stage
Lands closer to lost souls in heavy chains
Dragon thwarted, bellows its fiery rage
Releasing streams of its fire-born rains.
Hero's shield covers him during that blast
His body armor tho' scant did the trick
Again he maneuvers forward so fast
In his plunged sword through scales very thick.
So nimble was this deep and deadly thrust
Dragon felt it after it was too late
Hero knowing time was right, death a must
His true prayer, told him his win was Fate
Then his razor-sharp sword found tender throat
His vengeance increasing with each new breath
Thrice with deeper hacks fallen neck he smote
Separating head, sealing dragon's death!
Then Master Poe gave out a mighty shout
Steeping back on stage, on guts and gore
Proclaiming this warrior true, brave and stout
Telling lost souls, those claps, lets give him more
With their chains rattling they did just as told
Chanting hero, free us from this hell now
You are ever faithful, valiant, strong and bold
We beg of thee this, caring not the how!
Robert J. Lindley, 5-02-2019
Dark Rhymes, ( As Raven And Poe Both Survive Below )
Part Three...
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her boobies had sagged
two boulders in a hammock
she is stony faced
03~08~15
Contest -Make me chuckle with a Haiku/Senyru#1 - PD
We are almost fully into The Age of Aquarius
The golden calf of Taurus reigned 8000 years ago
Then Aries entered sacrificing lambs and rams for quid pro quo
Thus secrets inhibited Piscean Age and governments did overthrow
Was a child, a savior born, midst those turbulent millennial years
However, orbiting Sun's journey leaves Pisces when Aquarius nears
On the Vernal Equinox 2000 A.D. Is five degrees Pisces, but soon to leave
The cusp of Aquarius patiently awaits the Sun's visit gallantly to please
And the Sun rest in Aquarius for 2000 years, offering peace for humanity
Teaching scientific breakthroughs, giving to fellow men, lastly healing insanity
There are two thousand years before our Sun exits towards Capricorn's Age
Sharing altruism, in the eleventh house, Kingdom living, on the humanitarian stage
©K?? 2016 All Rights Reserved
5/30/16
If i held you apon the ledge would fear
ever drift into your heart.
Waves crash below salt kisses the wind.
Far from this madness we do depart.
The storm outside brings it's cold
casting doubts with fear.
ligthing flashes giving light to useen places.
Thunder crashes you question the voices you hear.
locked behind doors kept in a wooden box atop
the fire place.
He removes the mask
To reveal only to the darkness his true face.
Within the flames exists the ash of
my troubled past.
Ripped sails.
Dreams of light cant exist under skies overcast.
A single moment can be the breaking straw.
Whats left of the lion.
does reside in the cats paw.
A ghost to these sheets this
bed I no longer haunt.
A waltz at a forgotten balll.
Underneath the arm of another was it only to flaunt.
Dark circles under eyes.
Trapped in this hell I despise.
the midnightoil burnt on through the day.
Love conseals a promise that your heart does betray.
Echo's in darkness
to all but strangers I do confide.
Bleeding within in the emptyness my
true self does reside.
Darkness Where Now Poe And Raven Reside,
(Part Six) - Of Six Total
Raven summoned up beasts from far below
Sent them into all the now empty cells
This was Poe's great genius, done just for show
His pen, had set Raven under his spell.
Poe brought gate-guards down from upper tiers
Next ordered open, those levels cell doors
Thus gave a chance to those fleeing with fear
For Raven's might, he chose not to ignore!
Poe saw his clever plan was going well
An escape map he gave to Annabel
Yet again his magic pen cast a spell
And into a deep pit Raven then fell.
Alas! He forgot dogs guarding last gate
Those eight and each one as big as a horse
Thinking and writing, he then challenged Fate
By verse magic, set a new escape course.
Poe ran with Hero and his Annabel
Through secret corridor only he knew
Freedom almost there, Annabel then fell
For Raven woke, broke binding chains into.
Up from that deep dark pit in angry flight
Fury's swell, in devilish evil chest
Raven cried out, Dark Lord resume my might
I live in dark vengeance, I do not rest!
Annabel now under Raven's dark trance
She was unconscious, unable to stand
Raven now standing at freedom's entrance
barring way into another realm's land.
Hero then cried out, Raven you are mine
Your awesome powers will not save you now
My shield and sword are blessed by Light's shine
I will destroy you, tho' I know not how.
Poe said, only to my might will it yield
For I wrote its existence, gave its might
Carry my Love away upon thy shield
My pen will compose your successful flight.
Raven laughed, saying, relax they are gone
She is safe and your aching heart may rest
Yes friend, now we both are doomed and alone
Master, did I play my evil part best?
Robert J. Lindley, 5-16-2019
Dark Rhymes, ( As Raven And Poe Both Survive Below )
Part Six... (Of 6 total)
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Note... heard echoed as the gate closed.....
Yes Raven, yours was a runaway hit
And my acting was not too bad a play
Yet we are both still in this gloomy pit
Shall we wait, let pen, dance another day?
Is this the place of the deepest depth?
Does the void also have an abyss?
Can one go so far down underneath
that looking up IS looking down-
"Where is this?"
Is this the place where sound can't be found
and velvet darkness is considered bright light?
Do we go there by just closing our eyes
when we lie down to sleep at night?
Is this the place where we seem to float
suspended in endless peace?
Is this the place with cessation of thought
so imagination and creativity can increase?
Is this the place where memories come forward,
opening and revealing the past,
or is this the place where we see ourselves
from day of birth to the day that's our last?
Is this the place where we have the sense
of having done this before?
The place with the sense of "deja vu",
a sense that's difficult to ignore?
Is this the place that's so far removed
there is no knowledge of daylight,
or is this the place that knows of no time
whatsoever....
a place of timeless twilight?
Is this the place where dreams originate
and nightmares sometimes get their start?
Is this the place where we touch hands
with GOD,
and feel HIS touch within our hearts?
Wherever it is, I do know this-
it is within....
SO deep inside!
It must be the place of our deep inner space
where the soul of the soul does reside!
the unforgiven are those who reside
in the bliss of resentment
decades can pass and yet
they return to the repetitive accusation
the wind at the door
that never changes its tune
the one the garden rejoices in
when it leaves
the one in the furrows of the brain
where expectations run rampant
in possession of self-delusions
this is how existence should be
forgive, forget, and move on
are steps in the furrows
to heal that within
we learned that long ago from a cross
we were not meant to bear it
we were taught to conquer it
this is lost on the unforgiven
failing to forgive the reflection
where expectations birth resentments
decades devoted to the failure of both
the acerbic conversations of the unforgiven
are the entertainment of misery
for the emancipated who let God deal with it
Oregon 8/23
Shed your fears onto me and let them wash away your sins,
The sacrifice of your innocent youth can free your yearning soul,
I am not the contempt that you were warned of,
I am the desire in your heart bound by your bloody veins,
I have felt your thoughts darken to where I reside,
Do not hide them from I that feeds you,
You know the thoughts I talk of,
The blackest ones,
The ones that dismay your very purity,
That scare your very being for fear that they should somehow leak out,
I know those thoughts,
I know them all too well,
Why torment yourself so,
Hiding behind masks of skin and secrets,
None of you speak truth,
Only that which liars deem prove you worthy,
But none of your kind are truly worthy,
How can you be when denial is your greatest strength.
I can ease your shallow burden,
If you will only let me,
I will lift the burden of living from you,
And free your desires from the weight of circumstance,
You will be born again,
Never to know the manacles of your misconstrued life,
A moment with me will be an eternity without inhibition,
Come join with us,
Release yourself,
Be all that you can be.