Best Sedges Poems
As sunrise silently
marinaded morningtide meadows,
our lips flowed like two streams,
merging within an exclusive estuary
so we set home upon the river bed.
At first we floated like butterflies in Babylon,
deaf to the squawks of mercenary crows,
blind to the creeping weeds,
which wandered amongst delicate petals
nor did I notice our submerging embankment.
As our estuary began to evaporate,
you left me stranded in the silt and mud.
My heart, once a blossoming garden,
evolved into a wasteland of sedges and sludge.
Still I wait for soothing streams to return,
but all I am left with is marshland of regret
and the silence of the butterflies.
She said, if I correctly recall,
That, for her, a sustaining love is an
Absolute prerequisite for what
Would be a total commitment of the
Coupling bodies...and all that
Constitutes the essential parts of the
Eternal Soul;
And I not so assuredly competent
In this - the practice of such a higher
Art!
Adding, some little time later, that
Being so chained, in what she described
As an unfortunate consequence of a
Most regrettable thrall,
To a domineering Harlequin who,
When mindlessly exercising the upper
Whip hand, had neither modest restraint
Or any amount of unimpassioned
Self-control,
Was, in fact, just a flagrant excuse
For a base lust;
Of course this was not to be confused
With the laudable and gallant actions
Conceived within the inner workings
Of a steadfast and more openly honest
Heart.
And was I convinced that I was indeed
Sincere in all my avowed pledges?
And did I truly understand that all her
Troubled life she had tirelessly
Searched for one such as I purported
To, somehow, seemingly be?
How I instantly can bring to mind
Those obscure and doubting mutterings...
Still carrying upon an ill wind I
Should not wonder;
I think of them like the songs of the
Naiads: what woefully remaining
Sounding endlessly above the glassy
Tinkling of a mystical lakeside's
Stiffened and shuffling Sedges;
You a modern-day Danae, infant Perseus
Clutched to your swollen breast, your
Little box, in all its abject
Loneliness, now set adrift upon some
Desolate and open sea.
What turned out, in the end, to be a
Pointless charade. Perhaps; but that
Which, despite shortening periods, whilst
Enduring felt almost timeless.
Then of course this shared guilt...
That will, shamefully I fear,
Forever bind us.
Soaring and swaying over craggy hills
How I long to be the mighty eagle.
Best when my strong wings stretch
And gliding, searching for food
To feed the miniscule fledglings.
After verdant resurrection, green leaves
Come to life, yet birds hide from
His majestic lofty strong eagle.
Pity the small ones could not stop
Their mellifluous lark-like songs.
Unfortunately small rodents are short sighted.
Along the placid lake rodents friskily run
In and out of the sedges. Food is now near.
On Willard Creek, a marsh does lay,
upon a soft soliloquy of a dormant day...
The moss medusa within her array,
spreads a garden green for our display...
The water lilies conveniently convey,
as the toads watch their passive prey...
Where butterflies boast their ballet,
as sunshine seduces the swampy bay...
Watching rushes, shrubs and sedges grow,
at the edge where rivers flow...
Tempered turtles hiding in their burrow,
as snakes slither in the meadow...
Wading birds chirp on their chateau,
the insects crawl from their embryo...
All is calm amidst the snarling slow,
and spiders spread their webby row...
The Willow wallows as to weep,
and her branches bundle reaching steep...
Beautiful butterflies earn their keep,
as they slumber within their sweep…
The feisty fireflies flock like sheep,
as the crickets cradle before they creep...
All this theatre before they sleep,
marshes, and butterflies for all they reap.
____________________________________________
July.03.2020
butter flies and marshes mellow
Sponsored by~ Kai Michael Neumann
Placed 7'th...Thank You
SCENES OF A CARELESS BOYHOOD
The sound of water,escaping dams
willows,old rotten planks,slimy
posts,brickwork,old timber props
wet ditches,sedges and silvery nets
towpaths without gates,horses that
tow barges collared with crimson fringe.
Wheat and thatched cottages and cornstacks
grasses in flower,bogrush bulrush and
teazle,so tall.Bindweed,wild carrot,
hemlock in bloom,cow parsley,plantain
bramble in June.
Poppy,thistle mallow
and hop.Purple heath,hills and swift
running streams,true clear freah and
brisk as champagne about to pop.
phrasis form ( From Constable letters to Rev John Fisher)
*A Phrasis is a structured verse where the poet uses selected prose phrases of another writer’s(not a poet) to compile unique poetry therefrom as a tribute thereto,the word phrasis is Greek for phrase.
Listen to me read this phrasis of mine on youtube under the name ichthys
HASTILY HIDING WISELY WAITING
Flying fish are really gliding, gracefully so.
Frantically, from so many predatory piranhas.
Silkily, sliding into the most fearsome fray!
Hastily hiding, in very thick growing, sightly sedges.
Wisely waiting until the predators pass.
Satisfyingly safe, start to safely fly feeding.
Dusk darkening, welcoming much needed silent sleep.
----------------------------------------------------------
UNSUPPORTED CODE FORMAT UNSUPPORTED CODE
1st line- x syllables 13
2nd line- x+2 syllables 15
3rd line- x-1 syllables 12
4th line- (x+2)-1 syllables 14
5th line- x-2 syllables 11
6th line- (x+2)-2 syllables 13
7th line- x syllables 13
Which allows for infinite syllable sequences. An example, in the first line x=13:
Another day’s daylight is fading,
and the evening sunset is red;
in the pond at the end of the garden,
mating calls are starting to spread.
There’s a chorus of croaking and growling
from the suitors attracting a mate.
The pond is a constant of ripples,
that dueling does tend to create.
Green heads are held out of water;
throats bubble on a lily pad,
but while attention’s diverted,
a visitor appears mighty glad.
Among sedges, grasses and bulrush,
a fork tongue is flicking for heat,
where all that he senses is dinner,
and frogs make a wonderful treat.
The spikes on the sedges are beds,
for the night of the dragonfly,
and a blue heron finishes feeding,
for the branch of a gum tree up high.
Pigmy Perch are quite relieved,
for they are the predators now,
mosquito wrigglers are lessened,
but many do survive somehow.
The pond is a home for so many,
but balance is struck keenly fine,
between plants, predators, and prey,
with the need for them all to combine.
Another day’s daylight is fading,
and the evening sunset is red;
shadow quickly covers the land,
and stars put the pond life to bed.
With down flying all around,
It all would seem very aster-like to an outsider.
But he was flaunting the sered spirit
To the querulous darkness screaming.
The locust melancholy lullaby
Brings the gention and goldenrod to bed.
While the sedges come to live.
Sprung from the rainfall of my life.
Canadian geese
black cheeked... brown... white tipped feathers
stormy ocean waves
barnacle geese
hibernate as barnacles
for some... once a thought
starlings murmurate
whispers of countless wings
safty in numbers
hark a bittern booms
invites new life to explode
sedges obliging
quack... quack... quack quack... quack...
mallard ducks enjoying life
frustrated angler
coconut... blue tit
symbiotic winter pairs
autumn time... fresh pares
a bee... wasp mimics
flower flies... a hummingbird
natures macro bling
ostriches... big birds
they'll disappear if threatened
M of P mimics
Where pathways probe the lonesome place,
And foxes tease with tails to chase;
Rabbits crouch beneath the hedges,
And grey mice play amongst the sedges.
Frogs that squat on rocks in streams,
Croak their songs to pipe their dreams;
While butterflies drift where faeries hide,
And sunbeams dance while shadows died.
Beneath the scented boughs that hang,
To cover hill where bluebells rang;
The lithesome deer with downy fawn,
Flick their tails and now are gone.
A raccoon sits with lonely musing,
Looking with care his food for choosing;
And floating through some jaded dream,
A blue jay squawks her rowdy scream.
Along the path where willows weep,
There hides a nest where owls sleep;
And perilous flight of fleet winged swallow,
Chases light within the hollow.
Silken threads that spiders spin,
Gives hope to catch the fly within;
And squirrels that look with elfin glance,
Perform in trees, their spritely dance.
Across the meadow shadows creep,
Inviting rest, to summon sleep;
And crickets sing their evening song,
To say good bye to a day that's gone.
Chipped mountains
With the condor eyes
Flaked by some sinister
Grey hounds of the rocks.
This is a place
For reflections
Stranding together
Some multiple fractions.
Wider vistas
Opening to alluvial lands
Geared in the high plateau
Imposing on winding river
Designs of their hoary hands.
Beyond the granite walls
There is a flutter of green
Decked by plaited yellow
Where little humming bird flings
Sipping nectar from each mellow.
Alone amid sacred valleys
Gushing waters of the flow
Of meandering Urubamba
Guarded by the temples
Fortresses of the Pisac
Amid Machu-Picchu’s glow.
Drenched in past memories
The ushered in Rio Urubamba
Of the sacred cannons flows
Amid sedges in forests of rain
Protected by spirits of Amazon.
One mountain after another
The green jagged edges
Puffy clouds hither and thither
Cloud around the sedges
Clouds make love with high peaks
Holding our gaze in awe
While the lips the mountain-top seeks
Wind blows and clouds withdraw
Clouds are somewhat promiscuous
Now they love the hill tops
Soon they feel it monotonous
And shift to thick green locks
The hills are lost in lovely thoughts
Rhododendrons are nice
We try to find their lovely plots
Drizzle and congealed ice
Blue thrush sings you whistling
You feel relaxed like sky
You draw fragrance deeply smelling
The musk rose laughs close by
Suddenly lands a roaring sound
Filling the nearby air
Very soon all the silence drowned
River descending there
Amazingly tall waterfall
Thundering and making us small
_____________________________________________________________
16 August, 2016 : For Contest : Wordscapes : Sponsored by John Hamilton
The concluding two lines in addition to the stipulated 24 could not be avoided
URUBAMBA.
Chipped mountains
With the condor eyes
Flaked by some sinister
Grey hounds of the rocks.
This is a place
For reflections
Stranding together
Some multiple fractions.
Wider vistas
Opening to alluvial lands
Geared in the high plateau
Imposing on winding river
Designs of their hoary hands.
Beyond the granite walls
There is a flutter of green
Decked by plaited yellow
Where little humming bird flings
Sipping nectar from each mellow.
Alone amid sacred valleys
Gushing waters of the flow
Of meandering Urubamba
Guarded by the temples
Fortresses of the Pisac
Amid Machu-Picchu’s glow.
Drenched in past memories
The ushered in Rio Urubamba
Of the sacred cannons flows
Amid sedges in forests of rain
Protected by spirits of Amazon.
THE RABBIT
A country rabbit well-versed in survival tactics in local fields near town.
A pack of town dogs thinking to have a little fun with the rabbit -
Kick some serious rabbit-ass for amusement : maybe grab it.
No cats or pigeons about, so why not? The pack was uphill, she was down.
They chased the rabbit with much barking and snarling into the field -
Into pools, across ditches and through hedges,
Over the cropped barley stalks and sedges :
She led them a merry dance for fifteen minutes, wouldn’t yield.
Like old guys with tight jeans, shaved heads, and tattoos uncouth,
Trying to keep pace with some hot seventeen year-old girl on disco floor.
Sweating, tongues hanging out, drooling, faces flushed,wanting more.
Floppy muscles driven by ego but not powered by youth.
Urging each other on with empty bravado and snarl,
Out of shape, out of luck, entirely laughable.
She left the field and galloped up the street, fully able,
Even further ahead of the pack; and they, exhausted by the girl,
Collapsed, clutching their dreams of big-time rabbit action.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Written by Sydney Peck
Entered in Carol Brown's Contest "Bunny Rabbits"
Cattails, sedges, papyrus, sawgrass
Fish waterfowl soundless salamanders
In soft wet interface of water and earth
Reclines the orbit of Marsh