Best Sentinels Poems
Sunflowers,
cheddar-cheese petals
surrounding seedy-brown-mustard centers,
stand guard over hot summer pavement
like mighty oaks.
Laughing children
run in and out the yellow forest,
slaying dragons,
rescuing damsels in distress,
then pretending to be astronauts
sailing across space
to a planet inhabited
by tall, green stalk-like aliens
with golden helmets.
Did van Gogh imagine such things
as he painted so many saffron blooms?
Did their sunny dispositions
have any effect on him?
Did he really love those festive flowers?
Look for answers in the pensive starry night.
on rocky coastlines
stand historic lighthouses
beacons of safety
protectors of ships
their lights shine far out to sea
upon granite shores
keeping watch each night
sentinels stand on duty
making safe the way
When lyrics and music are combined they take on a whole new life.
When chlorine and sodium assimilate they make salt.
Separately they are limited, combined they are significant.
Together we can accomplish much, divided we dither.
Salty Sentinels
By James E. Tate
Sodium ions stable, assembled on the table,
Salivating palates crave.
Chlorine ions tiny, mustering soldiers briny,
Guarding corners brave.
Sodium Chloride making, crystal shakers shaking
Cubes of salty white.
Ever fighting blandness, vectors adding grandness,
To enhance the appetite.
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again” It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out and trampled by men. Matthew 5:13
Piney woods, perfume the forests; sweet scents waft upon the air.
Great oaks share their strength; Popular poplars whisper lost secrets.
In the great kingdom of trees, generosity is paramount.
On a lowland moor, waved a sea of green
Pastoral gardens, peaceful and serene
Ocher blossoms, kissed by the sun
were posing for a painting I 'd begun
In this placid glen, nature's beauty reigned
Captured with brush before sunlight waned
Cornwall's grey sentinels rose to the sky
Granite cliffs worthy for artists to descry
I scaled a mountain to glimpse the sea
Humility washed in waves over me
Fingers of foam fondled the sandy shore
T'is a regal place I'll visit once more
In the valley my canvas came alive
Nature's beauty, my eyes did not deprive
Filled with regret when dusk stole my light
I painted from memory, into the night
The Satanic Sentinels stand surreal
As the facultative feces break the coded seal
Thus you bow before the neglected night
With futile forgiveness and loss of light
Tactically trapped by the watchful wolves
Dancing in the darkness with hideous hooves
The skies seduced by a vulturous view
Demonic disturbance in a bacterial brew
The cadaverously condemned we seditiously salute
And we drink the nefarious nectar as we pollute
In the crippling catacombs deceived by death
For the succulent serpents steal our breath
We are noble nomads of the distant dawn
Forever frugally fighting with Satan’s spawn
Delusionally dormant deprived and in despair
The Sentinels stand surreal with asphyxiated air.
May.05.2017
MAY DAY STANDARD any theme,any form max of 25 lines -Contest
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
I sat upon a weathered rock
And looked across the fells,
Emerging from the morning cloud
Like ghostly sentinels.
The rising sun revealing all
In perfect clarity,
A wonderland of serried peaks
Appeared in front of me.
All embracing swirling cloud
Below a leaden sky.
A fleeting glimpse of hidden fells,
Shadows, reaching high.
Towering grey sentinels,
Guardians of the land.
In the cloud, and glowering gloom
Unerringly they stand.
Oh but when revealed to us
Beneath a cobalt sky,
Ne'er has such beauty fell
Before a mortal eye.
Why are shining stars spread across the sky
like twinkling torches tethered to the night?
And why are some seemingly so close by,
like dangling diamonds sparkling with light?
Believers say stars took form through God's will,
but scientists believe in the big bang.
Although dubiously skeptical, I still
behold breathtaking beauty, where they hang.
Burning brilliantly, they'll end as all things do,
though at a substantially slower pace.
Like trillions of pinpricks, stars poke holes through
the flimsy, featureless fabric of space.
Silent sentinels spied through telescopes,
they symbolize secretive, hidden hopes.
(Sonnet)
7/2/2018
two sentinels in winter
watch the frozen wheat field
spy the evil murderer
dragging his innocent victim
Nebraska ground is frozen
two curious crows watch
studying the two-legged miscreant
he shouts his aggravation to the wind
innocent victim is nonmoving
left at the foot of the fence post
two sentinels feel relief
when evil scoundrel leaves
lemon tree mountain
magical scenario
peeking between trees
hidden animals
feeling autumns sweet coolness
slow temperatures
october birch trees
quintessential sentinels
guarding the hidden
sentinels above
celestial quark enigma
stars roaming the night
AP: 3rd place 2020
Posted on October 14, 2020
Firewalls stand silent,
Guarding data in the dark—
Shadows try, but fail.
The ancient jagged rocks stand, like black sentinels along the waterside,
Protecting the land from the continuous raging tide.
They are perpetually black, either slicked with water or as a sharp silhouette against a blue crystal sky.
They dominate everything and are especially feared by every mariner that make their slow way by.
On their landward faces they offer protection from the wind,
And creatures shelter there, in a place where peace is so hard to find.
The tops are sharpened points, that seem to reach right up to the clouds,
The only sounds are the wind, the sea and the gulls screeching out loud.
These sounds are never ending they go on for eternity,
The sentinels just ignore it all and stand there protecting everything from the everlasting sea.
Releasing my anguish is not that easy
standing two hours away from day break
I feel far removed from sleep;
The lamp posts on the island are sentinels of sorrow
and just like me they are afraid to blink ;
I get the feeling that every thought has been thought ,
and even though I fought the good fight,
I cannot seem to express my deepest sorrow
not even to God above;
I'm afraid I missed the stars tonight, and soon
the sun will rise and I'll be still sitting here ,
by my computer waiting....