Best Sang Poems
I walked in darkness along the shore
seeking only solitude and nothing more
Thunder drummed from somewhere far away
like foreboding timpani as clouds began to play
They competed with the roar of bally waves
crashing to the beach in rhythmic laves
Everything was out of reach for me
the moon, the stars, the depth of the sea
Echoes of a nocturne were swirling in my head
Lyrics left unsung, but spoken instead
My soprano continued; the falsetto stopped
Too weak to stand, on my knees I dropped
My footprints had been erased by an ebbing tide
No longer able to run. I chose not to hide
Blind in the darkness, my loneliness daunting
a flash of lightning, then another more taunting
I lifted my eyes to the sky, to the falling rain
its sting delivered in a medley, staccatos of pain
On the edge of the sea, I waited for the end of me
My tears an ensemble, an elegy in requiem plea
I ignored the orchestra when I heard the ocean call
louder than kettle drums or the storm's howling squall
No encore would this night be able to reprise
When the flowing tide encroached, I closed weary eyes
A chorus of waves crashed like cymbals in concerto
stealing the baton from the hand of the Maestro
The moon and stars were out of reach for me
I wept as I was swept into the depth of the sea
August 28, 2022
2022 Marathon Mile 13 Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney
Categories:
sang, beach, emotions,
Form:
Elegy
I remember when the stars sang for me
Sweet sounds echoing through the night,
When I was young and, oh, so carefree.
It was not as though I possessed a pedigree,
Or had the special gifts of a magical spright
I remember when the stars sang for me.
Summer nights I would camp under a tree
And read by the beam of an old flashlight,
When I was young and, oh, so carefree.
Sometimes I felt like an unwanted refugee,
Then, I’d pretend I was totally out of sight
I remember when the stars sang for me.
On warm nights no other place I’d rather be
Something about the night sky would excite,
When I was young and, oh, so carefree.
To be alone, by myself, made me feel free
Almost nothing else brought me utter delight
When I was young and, oh, so carefree,
I remember when the stars sang for me.
SEVENTH PLACE WINNER
July 27, 2022
Submitted to: "2022 Poetry Marathon No. 10" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney
written February 26, 2022
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Categories:
sang, childhood, night, sky, stars,
Form:
Villanelle
In dawn's aura, mountains glistened with snow.
Rooster's crowing proclaimed the break of day.
December's frosty winds began to blow
as clouds shadowed a sullen shade of gray,
and serpentine ripples flowed on the bay.
Dimmed were rays of light from the sallow sun
when for a while its beams had gone astray.
Gusts of wind on this Christmas Eve were spun,
blustering and blowing grim clouds away.
'Twas time to celebrate Jesus' birthday.
Christmas morning folks gathered to rejoice.
for the Saviour born to erase sin's stain.
Choirs sang like angels in one ardent voice,
hymns honoring the infant in refrain.
Over God's Kingdom, His Son shall ere reign.
On that Holy Night, when stars were shining,
swaddled in His mother's arms was a child.
The world no more lay in error pining*
for God and sinners would be reconciled
through the Christ child's life so tender and mild.**
December 13, 2022
A Christmas Special Contest
Sponsored by Emile Pinet
*Lyrics from 'O Holy Night'
**Lyrics from 'Silent Night'
Categories:
sang, christmas, god, jesus,
Form:
Quintain (English)
I sang to the moon in your favorite style
with lemonade lyrics and daffodil song
Gathered the stars that I found in your smile,
leaving the universe dark before long
Moved every mountain in spite of their size,
short in the middle and tall on the ends
So that the sunset reflects in your eyes
and to your heart every echo now sends
Painted the oceans in rose petal mist,
colors as soft as the touch of your hand
Walked on a shoreline the waves gently kissed,
followed the footprints we left in the sand
Wrote you a poem of whimsical scenes,
written in verses now speaking of love
So that you know in my forever dreams,
it’s always you that I am thinking of
Categories:
sang, love,
Form:
Rhyme
You sang to me of butterflies
of silver stars and azure skies
Deep inside those angel eyes
I found the rhythm of my sighs
You sang to me without disguise
of silver stars and azure skies.
December 18, 2022
Categories:
sang, appreciation, music,
Form:
Rhyme
Not in tea leaves, in shoelaces tie existence--their harsh and meshing material
bound, tethered, undone with a gentle pull.
The bunny ears
and clumsy fingers bouncing along the faux-marble
hallways: the future politicians and CEO's and poets
wiping caked mucus on the white-washed brick foundations--
babbling babbling babbling babbling.
A blood-stone bed surge of tidal maturation,
soon to be lost in the variant eddies of life;
the finger-painted puzzle-box open and unsolvable.
Their parents, for they are honorable, as
picket-fences are honorable, as
tracksuits are honorable, as
Zoloft is honorable, sit ajar
on school streets of vibrant myriad cars quietly dilapidating
behind Armor-All dashes. Old ladies waving dutifully
at lifeless lawn ornaments like lifeless lawn ornaments soon themselves in front of homes because
the youth only want something old when it's time to marry,
Googling what the heart feels for the occasion.
Smokestack color windows of depreciating souls searching drunken
down the glossy oak
bar through bent light of whiskey glasses and broken values
they blame on Nietzsche and the price of condoms,
finding a sad reflection seated at this world's dampened end to spread
like ashen snow
again and again and again on sweat-stained futons,
after the lurch toward the water, sloppy with kisses
and lace.
Church bells sound off one and two
O! clock tower
marching Heaven to Hell but got lost in Devil's Lake. They do not hear
the beaten shopping cart radio wobbling like a tripodal Dog,
telling us Jesus stayed inside because White is translucent in the rain.
But,
the wander-footed waywards, leaden eyed, tranced in droning hums of small town streetlights--
or red red copper hangers
or lucid jaundice confessions
or gangrenous light-slivered closets--
break half-empty
beer bottles on familial-faced slogans plastered to an under-bellied bridge and sway
like ebbing wind on the unsure-step shore banks, drooping wasp legs
over the ever-rising precipice
to vein-rush Hellgrammite powder
with their one remaining shoelace
and leave their shoes behind.
Categories:
sang, home, old, lost, lost,
Form:
Free verse
'Twas early on I remember
hearing the voice so tender
sweetly interlaced
with loving splendor
Later on I noticed
how the words fell from her lips
her mouth, round and soft
smiling gently at the tips
The melodies she sang to me
in altos soft and low
though words are lost and gone,
the melodies I know...
Yet it wasn't till a dark repose
I knew how sweet her voice had rang
for it called me back
from death's dark grasp...
the songs my mother sang.
Categories:
sang, dedication, mother, nostalgiawords, voice,
Form:
Free verse
When you sang, dreams croaked, then you ceased to be a volcano,
It was simpler to become a rock, not letting yourself be unraveled by the waves of myopia.
After seasons died in your arms, resigned to your cold might,
You questioned if perhaps all flowers tear their petals in vain for you.
You were left emptied of greenness, a vast void where echoes can't return,
You've lost the appetite for light and horizons, a crownless tree in the purple twilight.
Oh, how you wished to remain the same old fir, clutching a world of rays to your chest,
But you let the day slip into night, you departed to become the leaf you await to fall.
Nymphs in chorus called you to shout again, for the wind to blow in your blue day,
But you stayed silent, and in your silence the tear of the sea extinguished in a fist of foam,
You feared the equinox that doesn't come, the persistent remembrance of a song once drawn,
And you feigned your existence into a white beginning of hibernation, like a silence before a revelation.
Do you believe that once you bloomed, the storm can't break the branch that holds you?
You stopped being the barbarian that made the echo in the mountain laugh at itself,
And in exchange for smiles, a sad pass settled on your face, casting long shadows,
An unanswered question that floats above you, a flight that no longer knows how to reach its destination.
Ah, you’ve lost her, that fearless bird that used to scent the filters of your soul!
You've ceased your word, halted the depth from caressing the root of the sky.
You've forgotten the whirlwind that lifted you above the world, and now you search for meaning,
You are a snail without a shell, feather without flight, a ripple without an ocean, a sky without a constellation.
Is waking harder? Is oblivion gentler than the sweet pretext of remembrance?
You wonder why the stars do not answer your indescribably late call,
The road back seems too long now, legends speak of new beginnings, barren horizons.
Slowly but surely, you lost it... in a pass of slippery fog over your world,
Now you are the slave to your own echoes, seeking a mirror in me so you can breathe once more.
Categories:
sang, song,
Form:
Free verse
A dark lonely silence walked into a town, in hopes of a dream to arise
Yet not even a single smile looked its way, surely the dark silence was here to stay
Only the stars witnessed the passing shadow that lurked behind that lonely silence, it was surely a surprise
Pain was written all over the silence with broken dreams as ink, yet not a soul in sight to pray
One by one the stars peeked into the world, visible they became for the sky lit in many colors
Soon there after the moon showed face, her smile came into sight first, happy she was
A vast amount of shining stars gathered to witness the dark and lonely silence pass
Not a sound was heard for miles to radiate, not a single soul to count the guest ranging in millions, plus
The gathered stars began to whisper secrets among themselves, for they knew of the coming end
They formed a line to tell the story, yet had no audience to read in the time it would be to spend
Floating hidden passionate messages carried the stars in their bellies
Lost course, no where to head the silence began to read, amazed beyond imagination it sang
Speak or for ever hold thy living breath
For a man that does not speak is just as dead inside to death
Walk into a scene with a smile, floss your spirit, speak in proper tone or even slang
Broken was the heart that once sang
Categories:
sang, confusiondark, dark, lonely, smile,
Form:
Light Verse
A song came on the jukebox and we listened with intent
He sang "Only The Lonely" with a voice that was heaven sent
I was only in eighth grade, a few years from being a man
There was "Blue Angel" and "I'm Hurtin' " and I became a die hard fan
We'd go downtown to the Coffee Cup to hang out and have some fun
Play some music and have a soda, "Running Scared" was number one
"Crying" is still a favorite, played "Candy Man" and "Dream Baby" so loud
I was mesmerized the first time I heard Roy Orbison sing "The Crowd"
There was "Evergreen", Working For The Man" and "Leah" in the year of 62
"In Dreams" , "Falling" , "Distant Drums" and I still love "Blue Bayou"
Roy rocked the house with "Mean Woman Blues"
"What'd I Say" made us put on our dancing shoes
"Indian Summer", "Indian Wedding", "She Wears My Ring"
"Oh Pretty Woman", "It's Over", "Goodnight" Roy would sing
When Roy sang "Lana" it would tear you apart
Don't forget "Breakin' Up is Breakin' My Heart"
When Roy sang, you didn't know which song to choose
He'd make you rock, make you cry, make you feel the blues
When Roy sang, he'd put a smile on your face
When Roy sang, the world seemed a better place.
Tribute to the greatest, bar none, singer song writer of all time.
Categories:
sang, music, tribute,
Form:
Couplet
I cradled his head in my arms and sang him a lullaby,
cradling the m o m e n t,
cherishing every second more,
then, when it was time . . .
I placed him in his f o r e v e r coffin bed.
An odd bed for a little baby boy,
his little head lay on a b l u e as the sky pillow,
he wore his new blue booties,
an ivory christening gown,
and beside him a b l u e teddy bear,
someone had placed there.
As I stood in the funeral home,
I felt so a l o n e and hallow,
although many people surrounded me,
I was l o s t in thoughts . . .
thinking of that empty baby room at home,
there would be no babyhood,
where, I would pamper, coddle and feed him,
no childhood fun, no youth or adulthood,
no ripe old a g e for this boy.
No days or years to cherish him,
no beginning, just this sad end,
so, on the day of his funeral . . .
I sang him a l u l l a b y to last forever,
and I handed him over to the Lord,
I whispered, Lord, cradle my boy in your arms,
until in your time, I can once more.
The cars followed the hearse in a long line,
through the ornate cemetery gate,
and down the w i n d i n g roads with BENDING trees,
even the birds in the cemetery,
stopped their s o n g . . .
until at last, we reached the place of tears,
standing there cradled by family l o v e ,
all that could be heard, drifting,
was the lullaby, I sang . . .
_____________________
June 29, 2016
Free Verse(lost love)
Submitted to the contest, Your Best Free Verse Love Poem,
sponsor, John Hamilton
Seventh Place
_______________________
Submitted to the contest, Free Verse About Love,
sponsor, Laura Loo
First Place
_______________________
Submitted to the contest, Free Verse,
sponsor, ?
NA
Categories:
sang, baby, death, grief, lost
Form:
Free verse
Each morning, for several years,
We’ve fed the squirrels and birds.
Oh, the fun we have watched
And the beautiful songs we've heard.
Families have started and grown.
Once two squirrels, now eight.
Cardinals, among many other birds,
Know feeding time….are never late.
Cardinals mate for life and prefer
A permanent nest to call their home.
And if food is readily available,
Even their young won’t roam.
So, now our trees are filled
With morning Cardinal song.
Our cats are old and fat.
All is good and life is long.
A bigger Cardinal, I call him Big Red,
Is first there every morning.
I think he’s the elder whose job it is
To sing out his ‘OKs’ or issue warnings.
He watches from the trees as I feed.
He used to hide, but no more.
He’s been coming closer lately,
I guess by now he thinks he knows the score.
This Spring morning was so ideal;
So, after feeding, it was coffee on the patio;
Watching all the critters nosh
As they come and go, come and go.
Quite suddenly, not even ten feet away,
The big Cardinal landed on the patio.
Surprised as could be, I was very still.
“Hey, Big Red.”, I said, sure that he would go.
He stood his ground, giving me the eye.
I could see his mate on the fence,
Watching so intently,
Probably wishing he would fly.
Slowly I lifted my cup in a toast.
“Cardinals rule.” I said quietly.
Then, something very special happened.
For a time, he sang....to me.
It made me very happy.
Categories:
sang, beauty, bird, blessing, friendship,
Form:
Rhyme
Is their life on Mars
Carlotto's image, the Sphinx
Was their life on Mars
Creativity
Our intentions bring again
To Mars, loss or gain
But then we must ask
Simply, what can mankind bring
Mars no longer sings
For Contest 'Subject Mars' written July 7th, 2015.
Categories:
sang, beautiful, conflict, dark, deep,
Form:
Haiku
There are many days I miss her,
A powerful and unique lady,
What truly deters,
Is why he married again.
I remember back when,
She always wanted to hear my voice.
I was too shy and nervous to begin,
Soon I had the courage but I lost my choice.
She never got to hear me sing,
Never heard a tuneful tone.
It crushed my soul my everything,
Made my heart completely stone.
I wish I would've had the skill,
To sing for this vessel of knowledge.
After she left it went all downhill,
I won't even forget you when I'm in college.
I will always miss your lovely smile,
If I performed for you, it would be worthwhile.
Ma-Maw will remain in my heart,
For I hope to never fall apart.
Categories:
sang, death, family, grandmother, song,
Form:
Elegy
Angels sang the wondrous story
of Peace on Earth- good will to men.
The night that Jesus came into the world,
He came to save us all from sin.
Glory to God in the Highest, they sang,
as shepherds watched their flocks by night.
When they had finished, the shepherds left all,
to go and see that marvelous sight.
When they came they bowed and worshipped
before the Christ child- the Baby King.
He who was the Lord of Glory-
who came into the world, salvation to bring.
Categories:
sang, angel, birth, christmas, jesus,
Form:
Rhyme