Best Retreat Poems
RETREAT TO HEED OUR HONEST DEEDS
Two old oak trees weathered by winds and rain
with fallen leaves, branches and toughened bark
to shield a core of grandeur, and sustain
the wisdom borne to see the light from dark.
Two noble men aware of twilight time
both face evil world with courage and grace
Love and Nature gifts each, a life sublime
all standing with courage none can erase.
Each rooted within mother earth's great fold
weathering this world's darkest raging storms
images show lives lived regally and bold
tho' existing in weakened earthen forms.
With words of wisdom written in our seeds
we seek retreat to heed our honest deeds.
22nd June, 2018
T.J Grén & Robert Lindley
Hear the sound of Winter's retreat
trickling away beneath your feet.
And gush into a swollen creek;
where surging waters swiftly peak.
Watch cascading waves wash ashore
as time and tide play tug-of-war.
And feel the ice packs crack and break
as they shiver, quiver, and quake.
Smell the sweet scent surrounding Spring,
subtly clinging to everything.
And taste the sweetness of the rain,
easing Winter's cold grip of pain.
Although there are no guarantees,
Hope is hitched to a tepid breeze.
And expectation starts to bloom,
as Sol’s light brightens Winter’s gloom.
Plato's Retreat
I want to be just like Socrates,
Grow a long beard and do as I please.
And be asking you allot of questions . . . .
For a Living.
I want to be just like Socrates
And not know for sure
If I'm real merely some altar in Plato's temple.
I want to be just like Socrates
And stand in the forum all day.
In the blazing sun that surround us all
Under the the azure Athenian skies
And philosophize to anyone who bothers to listen . . .
For a Living.
I want to be just like Socrates
Corrupting my youth with a hemlock cocktail
Every Friday night;
2, 4 1 before 7.
I want to be just like Socrates on a Saturday night
Asking you, at the bar:
"What is Justice?"
And where can I score some tonight?
After hours,
Long after the widening sliver of
your mind's eternal dawning.
Here I am in the land of the endless sun,
A tropical paradise that compares to none,
From the frolicking surf to the ancient trails,
This land's full of many sacred tales.
But the story I love best,
Is the one that isn't told with the rest,
It's about how my heart's tropical retreat,
Is now ready to take second seat.
Revered are the legendary figures of old,
Whose great and mighty acts are retold,
And steeped in mystical phrases,
Are many words of love that passed through the ages.
With the refreshing of my soul, and the mending of my heart,
I'm ready now to return to love, and give it a new start,
And though I'm still miles away from you,
At the end of this journey, our love still rings true.
Half ‘way around the world, I distanced myself from you,
Leaving for an island paradise, I felt stifled and blue,
I hoped for a soft and smooth landing,
And found myself in a land of love abounding.
Revered are the legendary figures of old,
Whose great and mighty acts are retold,
And steeped in mystical phrases,
Are many words of love that passed through the ages.
With the refreshing of my soul, and the mending of my heart,
I'm ready now to return to love, and give it a new start,
And though I'm still miles away from you,
At the end of this journey, our love still rings true.
Played The Safe Notes In My Lone Retreat
That fear was always darkness in disguise
A high cliff, a frail rope and my hanging.
Inspired hope not enough, word to the wise
Fear is darkness and roaring loud banging.
I played the safe notes in my lone retreat
Seeking warm meals to soothe my tepid soul.
Just barely enough sweet dessert to eat,
With that coward's safety as my main goal!
That fear was always darkness in disguise
My life was safe in it being so wild.
Living just one lousy day the grand prize
Safe comfort sadly sought like a small child!
Pray tell? Why show this discovery now?
Fear now defeated but I know not how.
Robert J Lindley, 1-25-2016
Syllables Per Line:
10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 0 10 10
Total # Syllables: 140
Total # Lines: 17 (Including empty lines)
Words with (syllables) counted programmatically:
Total # Words: 110
NOTE: Sonnet on why I was so damn wild as a
young man and wanting the world to kill me.
I fought it every damn day, fought people too.
Yet fate said no, you'll not get your wish to die young.
You will grow old and face that reality as well..
Ah, now I see-- world says we strike the last blow!
I am not forgotten in the forests of so little light
I am lost in dark mists, troubled with fright
Embedded in life and love, the joyless pain
As nightly shadows hide my heart's refrain
I hide
I struggle to follow each elusive map
Finding my way I ponder the missing gaps
To understand how fortune falls, I pause to wait
Unsettled and empty, a vagrant of fate
I hide
Let me walk among sheltering trees
That tower over my hate and fears
My ransomed heart to be set free
Letting go of many desperate years
I hide
Cast to the side sitting out this ride
the clocks move forward with speed
but I'm left to need to breathe
Iced down bubbled up feelings enraged
stolen moments caught lives rearranged
things never to remain the same
Living on a borrowed dime rolling dice
coming up snake eyes against father time
letting the bills fall behind
A fine line to hang out for all to see
hidden secrets too heavy to hold
telling stories getting old
Spark embers higher and higher
desire leaks from a fractured soul
in the distance the bell tolls
Let go delusions afloat in whispered dreams
mixed thoughts both sour and sweet
upon life's final retreat
Midnight lavender echoes whisper,
As the song of the rooster fades.
Mauve tackles the sky with a blush,
Curly coral clouds are dressed in buffed bronze shades.
Ebony snoozes in the round,
As the moon takes center stage.
Stars twinkle as diamonds in the sky,
And the night is peaceful page.
In the nocturnal retreat,
Nature's symphony plays on.
The rustling of leaves in the breeze,
And the distant hoot of an owl's song.
The world is quiet and still,
As if holding its breath in awe.
And in this tranquil moment,
All worries and fears withdraw.
In the nocturnal retreat,
There is a sense of calm and peace.
A reminder that in the darkness,
There is still beauty and release.
June 06, 2023
When troubles and turmoil lay their grip on me,
Solace is found in a simpler time and place.
In my mind or person, it is where I flee;
Recalling Grandpa’s tractor and Grandma’s face.
Across spring-fed brook, past a massive oak tree;
Tall pines encircle and hide my hilltop space.
Nature soothes and recreates me to my core.
Friends’ strife fades here, too; I’ve saved spots for more.
2/1/19
A canopy of grandfather oak branches and green leaves
sways between your brilliant Sun and I,
It’s tattered, blanket of shade moving on your grass,
so inviting .. I just can’t pass it by.
I’m busy with much ado about nothing really,
Can we just talk here for a while?
Let me lay here in your creation and rest,
in the midst of this worldly trial.
Help me to be still and listen for just a bit
to maybe hear you in your gentle breeze,
while I lie on your ancient earth,
in your green grass, neath your leafy trees…
What lovely, peaceful expressions; so near.
Thank you my Maker, for bringing me here...
Vibrations awaken
the still night air,
unsettling the
sanded
Footprints..
At our steps,
one last clinging
before I let go,
of the skies
That stretch, across
our hidden place,
Like ghosts of
remnants
We bathe, in
phosphate
covered sheets
Bare..
Shivers escaping
through cascades
of hair, he strokes
the frail of my skin
like butter I twist,
I'm impaled,
so I inhale
him.
Wait for Sun’s white light…
Cuddle me throughout the night
Monsters run with fright
By Robb A. Kopp
So Fleet, The Monster's Retreat
It manifested a dark form surprising
great fear in my heart thus rising
Resting against the mirror stand
ghastly in color, with deformed hand
Something bad did then seem amiss
this creature strayed from the abyss
Invading my secluded and small room
reeking of vilest stench and doom
I flinched back as it read my mind
probing with deceit and curses unkind
Curses, the accusations of its soul
pain inflicted was real, took a toll
My desire was to fall down and cry
Yet I firmly stood not knowing why
Closer it eased to touch my face
heart almost burst as it did so race
Suddenly light charged into the scene
brightness showed a face so very mean
Next a cry as light touched its skin
gone in a flash, never seen again
I fell back sick and soaked in fear
its darkness still felt far too near
All lights I then swiftly turned on
just to make sure the beast had gone
There where it stood was a black spot
clean it up then I would dare not
Next morn the spot was glowing there
A reminder of the night's ghostly scare
Robert J. Lindley , 05-16-2015
A dark one, for the kids to ponder...
A Winter's Retreat
Snowy week here we come and go
Knifing thru the days with a nice flow
In time our skis find themselves fine
It's a cut above the week and forest line
Naturally, we take to our newfound hills
Garnishing the trails with thrills
1/16/23
Skiing Poetry Contest
Sponsor-Julia Ward
2nd
Let's retreat where secrets are protected by trust
Let's retreat where dystopia and utopia are no longer envying enemies
Let's retreat where there no venom is found in the fangs of the serpent
Let's retreat where the foundation of our souls don't look like the surface of the moon.
Let's retreat where fiery ashes turn themselves into a blissful oblivion
Let's retreat where the crystal starry waters quench the thirst of the forsaken
Let's retreat where demons get a bachelors degree in becoming an elegant angle
Let's retreat where dreams is our reality and reality is our dreams.