Best Retains Poems
Oh gorgeous blue butterfly from Peru,
My daughter's gift she brought back cased in glass,
You cheer my heart each time I gaze at you.
Your life cut short, it is a shame, alas,
Yet you live on eternally you see
Because forever in your case you keep
And I will pass you down to family.
Into their hearts too, your beauty will creep.
In my mind's eye I see you soaring free
Within the forest flora where you roam
Flitting flower to flower happily,
You have a place of honor in my home.
You remind me that after death's cold claim
Your tiny spirit still retains its flame.
10-4-19
~Second Place~
Writing Challenge, October - Butterfly-
Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Dear Heart- Wiishkobe Ode
Categories:
retains, beautiful, blue, butterfly, death,
Form:
Sonnet
Lingering within
It sits upon my widow sill,
after all of this time,
the Magnolia bloom you sent
Wilted and shriveled,
once the purest white -
now browned with age
Yet what it is,
is just as beautiful
as what it was
We all age, change
collecting wrinkles and new colors
staring in the mirror
wondering, where did we go
how could this happen
it was just yesterday we were – young, beautiful
Though as I tenderly hold, lift
this flower I know
it still retains
a hint of fragrance,
that sweet aroma of love,
the essence of that day
and its loveliness remains
as if time has no meaning
We need not look any further
than this alluring scent
to know that a bloom
will forever be as beautiful
as every yesterday
it was shared
You are beautiful -
we are all beautiful
regardless of how time
has wilted us -
Open your eyes,
find the fragrance
lingering within
yourself
12/26/16
Written for the Beauty in Disguise Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Julia Ward
Categories:
retains, age, beauty,
Form:
Free verse
NATURE TALK
Drawing to a close
She was not what she seemed
Not the herald the harbinger
In these final days
She yet retains
All warmth all beauty
With a slight shivering smile
Her rustling crowds
Yet speak of warm rain soft breezes
And sparkle in the sun
Alike dusted diamonds
I’ll not sing a sad song of September
She will not harken or cry
She is summer’s wandering child
With yet more fields to nourish and explore
Here I’ll stay in meditation
With these minutes all bathed in yesterday
Then when quite refreshed
Continue on my way
Dave Austin
Categories:
retains, nature,
Form:
Free verse
Crimson Rose
Against all odds, your destiny,
To live and grow, your history...
You grew and bloomed with all your might
With drops of rain and harsh sunlight
Through crack in earth you came to be.
Passed down from Greek mythology;
Adonis born from Myrrha's tree
In wild boars wounds from Ares fight
Against all odds.
Adonis' blood that flowed freely
Turned into roses magic'ly.
This sad tale of Adonis' plight
Engaged in death, now retains light
As you share love in purity
Against all odds.
8-2-18
2.
*In Greek mythology, roses originated from Adonis, deity of plants and rebirth. Adonis was born from a deceptive union between King Theias and his daughter Myrrha. When King Theias realized that his daughter had tricked him, he chased her with his sword. To protect Myrrha, Aphrodite transformed her into a tree.
King Theias shot the tree with an arrow, splitting it in half. It was from this tree that Adonis was born. Aphrodite took to Adonis and raised him like a son. As Adonis grew, he became an avid hunter. One day while he was hunting, Adonis came across Ares, one of Aphrodite’s past lovers, who was disguised as a wild boar. Ares attacked Adonis and when Aphrodite heard his screams, she ran into the forest and found him dying. The blood that ran from his wounds hit the ground and turned into roses.
In another version of the tale, red roses originated when Aphrodite was running to Adonis’ side, cut her feet on the thorns of the flowers, and stained them red.
Categories:
retains, allegory, art, mythology, rose,
Form:
Rondeau
Life,
I put the suit on long ago
been wearing it ever since
it came with a coat and snappy vest
and two pair of shiny pants.
The pockets I filled with important things
crickets, frogs, and ants
all of them on the list that read
do’s and don’ts and can’ts.
The suit of life, it changed with me
into a statement of the times
tattered jeans and tie-dyed shirts
adorning screaming mimes.
Shifted gently through love’s tears
it’s births and deaths and sorrows
tailored itself to changing needs
as todays became tomorrows
Fashion may affect the tone
yet the fabric of the cloth retains
the honor of the tailor’s hand
the piety of living’s stains.
The jacket hangs, as jackets must
over pants with ageless sheen
the pockets bulge with life’s reward
the visions of its dream.
I put the suit on long ago
and wore it till it fit
now hold it ever precious – dear
I’ve grown quite fond of it.
2/8/2015
submitted to – What Life Means To Me – Poetry contest
sponsor – Jerry T Curtis
Categories:
retains, life, metaphor,
Form:
Verse
The strain of separation leaves a sore,
sorrow abides and festers in the heart;
two star-cross'd lovers smitten to the core,
despairing of the days they'll spend apart.
Spirit, soul and testament they share,
blind to worldly consequences, broken
by the distance in between, for where'er
their footsteps fall each retains a token.
Two rings confirm a union true and bold;
connubial bliss that will not e'er be still'd
though time and tide would try to break the mold,
a fire undying, passion unfulfilled.
The day will shortly dawn to soothe the strain,
and end their bleak despondency and pain.
Categories:
retains, writing,
Form:
Verse
Like a damp bath towel,
a wet mist wraps itself around my shoulders
and my spine shudders at its touch.
A skim-milk sky retains a bluish tinge
as a yellow sun swims behind a reef of clouds
absorbing its light like a thirsty sponge.
And I see my world through a gray lens
that distorts my vision;
like I'm wearing the wrong prescription glasses.
There is no color other than shades of gray;
it's as if Autumn's heart were pierced,
and it all bled away.
Categories:
retains, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form:
Imagism
By committing to nothing, one retains infinite options.
I have hid inside these words for moons and seasons and New Year’s toasts.
The lone wolf roams fertile pastures unfettered.
The thrill of the hunt.
The chase.
An empty bed is the hope of a new body’s sleeping curve.
Tomorrow becomes yesterday.
“The mystery of mysteries is the gateway to marvels.”
I stopped looking long ago.
The faces have blurred into a montage of emptiness.
Come and go; came and went.
I never bothered much to be bothered.
There aren’t many memories
And I am thankful for that.
Wet fingers and licked lips’
Blood on my hands.
Wasted time.
The years run on like a favorite sitcom gone bad.
It all should have been retired years ago.
It is easier to stay afloat and roam the big waters alone
Than set up camp on an island and face a face.
No problems.
No worries.
No connection.
Freedom is all that you cannot commit to
And who surrenders to nothing is he who lives in frigid shadows of fear.
Maybe I have never truly known warmth.
I walk the streets like a war-worn shoulder.
A little cold, a little distant, a little too silent.
The words I have are recycled fragments of someone else’s life.
I don’t offer much.
Poker face.
Can you read my concrete stare?
I have an entire universe hiding in my back pocket
But I’m scared to show you.
It’s been so long since I groped or even fondled my own life.
I’m not sure what I do or don’t have to offer.
I just keep making bets and upping the ante.
Categories:
retains, angst, confusion, inspirational, introspection,
Form:
Free verse
SHINE"ING"
Shining with my lively smile,
keeps you in denial with my G-Q style.
You say it's murder, I say it's a mistrial.
You misapperehend me to not understand me!
I can sell ice to a eskimo,
fire to the devil that lives down below.
I'm the tower with the infernal powers,
shining with infinite brightness,
causeing definitely blindness!
I wanna be rich *****!
Thats why I keep the gun at my hips!
My lips soft as silk,
body as smooth as milk.
Your addicted to the way I spit,
I'm a convict held in comtempt.
Your baffled by my ego,
but it just the principal!
I'm shine"ing"
I'm a dependant of the money I make,
and addicted to the abuse I take,
prosecuted for the way I think!
I'm the air that fills your lungs,
I'm that pill you take when you have a headache.
Solid as my body that naturally retains the same shape.
The illest part of my personality,
is the identity of me!
The diversity of being in the streets,
is truly the best part of me!
I'm Shining
Categories:
retains, life, uplifting, urban, body,
Form:
Light Verse
My shoulders drag through whirls of crescent night
under a wooden bridge this heart retains,
a pile of thickened ash
where reason hangs on edge, hollow the veins.
Above a skyline, a deep madness roars
oh, patience grows thin along slithered bends
that I, in deep thought grope
for fate’s comfort as street lantern descends.
Nearing the foot, a dove rustles my skin
its pearl-like glow cleanses a dusty face,
soothing my troubled head
so near the fall, so far a warm embrace.
From nowhere, a glossed horizon appears
connecting me back to life’s overpass,
as birdsongs lift my glides
till cinders fly as joy pours on life’s hourglass.
John Lawless' Gathering Dust
3/02/2015
Categories:
retains, pain, uplifting,
Form:
Rhyme
The A.D.D. poet, knows not of forms.
His mind is adrift, his thoughts move in swarms.
He loathes punctuation, he oft lacks the words.
To convey his whole meaning, to strike the right chords
He has no control, of what he retains
He tries to make sense, of what little remains.
He's left with an archive, of incomplete visions
Forged of distractions, which breed indecision.
He jots every line, with the best of intention.
Trying to conclude, despite fading attention.
Then he has an epiphany, if explored he could finally be free!!!!!
Then he gets hungry, makes a sandwich, and is off to watch TV.
Categories:
retains, confusion
Form:
Rhyme
She has strong shoulders and hands,
able to bear any burden
carried by a man
She possesses a firm mind,
a steely resolve that bends
to no Y-chromosome kind
Yet she retains the heart of a woman
My woman is she,
her man is me
The heart of this woman
is the bravest heart
I've ever been blessed to see
She has sturdy hips and feet,
able to move mountains
of entrenched sexist disparity
She keens an unbreakable will
Mistaking her femininity as a weakness
will leave you always fighting her uphill
It's a battle you can't win,
because you already lost
before the conflict even began
She had you pegged right from the start,
a macho bully ... not very smart
Get you unfocused, upend your apple cart
Diminish your ego and you will meekly depart
Did I mention that my woman has the biggest heart
The heart of a woman like her,
can't be dominated by no man
She gives her heart to me freely,
just as I give mine with loving reciprocity
Yes, she has the heart of a woman unchained,
my warrior woman she will always remain
Categories:
retains, identity, inspirational, strength, woman,
Form:
Rhyme
NEW BLOOD: DONT SEE THROUGH ME
Judge me through the eyes
You’ll see a sunshine
Glittering from a dry river of cries
Judge me through my smile.
You’ll see a daze
Mesmerizing from a residue of lingering vile.
Judge me through my body.
You’ll see a symmetry
Of no value for all of it is meat and bones.
Judge me through my words
You’ll hear a scorn
A lovely obstacle to confine my mourn
Don’t judge me by the soul
The scars don’t heal, the pain retains
It is lost, afloat and misguided.
Therefore, judge me through only what can be seen.
Anatomy can lie, but the soul instills the places it has been.
Categories:
retains, absence, depression, discrimination, emo,
Form:
Elegy
For Timothy Lee
Breathe in promised peace, Darling One – feel its ease, with heart try,
and know, as clouds never lose sky, there shall always be you and I.
In the lonely of lying, stilled-silence, disallow and
deny its hiss, then recall all my love insists:
I will ever still gild spaces in your mind
and you, the best traces inside my time.
Endurance in my love’s caress for you
is permanently ink-coursed in love’s verse.
My love for you lives in love’s eternal rhyme
and yours, for me, in its prose filled lines.
This life is but one variety portion of the
entirety in our love’s force for absorbing.
Until we again physically reunite,
I ask to bliss-feel your blown kiss each night.
Though varied skies must be, Darling One – remember, by and by,
still remains a sky of abiding air, just as fate retains soulmates paired.
Categories:
retains, death, destiny, loneliness, sorrow,
Form:
Lyric
Nature constantly calls to man through wondrous colors and endless song
As stewards of her magnificent beauty, to lend respect while yet, we're strong
Seek wisdom in her silent messages brought to bear as seasons change
So our children may inherit a beautiful legacy and learn to live healthily and long
Blessed is our world with four elements, earth, wind, water and fire
Given to sustain perfect balance, by maintaining nature's desire
They preserve these sacred cathedrals in which creation may freely worship
Wherein all souls may congregate, finding peaceful respite and aspire
The glorious sun spreads brilliant light and heat, as it feeds, it heals
The wind blows, wherever guided; dispersing sleeping seeds
And rain falls in the right measure to sustain in and out of time
As Mother Earth retains her fertility while blissfully she serves our needs
This oneness, so sublime, exemplifies sweet serenity which exudes
Reminding us that in harmony, we would long exist if peace, we include
Earth would remain a haven in the universe, where God's creatures may fully thrive
To ignore stressful pleas would usher in dark days, and life as we know, will elude
~*~
For John's Freeman's "Rubbiyat" Contest
Inspired by a photo of tranquility in nature
Categories:
retains, faith, introspection, life, natureurdu,
Form:
Rubaiyat