Best Seoul Poems
That flowers fall
Like autumn comes and leaves begin to blush
Like rains confess the wild’s restraining souls
Screams the rowdy youth of such fragile rush
Roars our untamed minds from London to Seoul
Speak love, speak hate and He may laugh at thee
At crazed and blinded fixations like fame
But though He sings slow ballads to the sea
So does He mourn unruly souls like Cain
And look, oh look, that flowers fall as well
and blushing leaves shower idlers in fall
Like wind lies, like rain dies, like waves shall swell
Like flowers fall, like me, all things befall
Does Nature not die certain as shall I?
As Nature is beauty, I am alive.
Athens, quite a place, so full of mythology
Buenos Aires, in Argentina, a place I'd love to see
Canberra, is just antipodean class
Dublin, a pint of Guinness in a glass
Edinburgh, the capital of the Scots
Freetown, a city, now violence is never sought
Georgetown, a place where Jim Jones left a scar
Helsinki, in its mountains, where reindeer herd so far
Islamabad, one of the greenest cities of the east
Jakarta, very close to where the Komodo's live and feast
Kuwait City, the start of Saddam's downfall
La Paz, is the capital, that looks down on them all
Monaco, where the rich and famous live
Nassau, with her golden beaches, where the breakers finally give
Oslo, in the land of skiing and fjords
Prague, with its architectural hoard
Quito, is the second highest in the world
Rome, to the lions, the Christians were hurled
Seoul, in the lands of the 38th parallel
Tripoli, where many an Anzac's fell
Ulaanbaatar, in a country full of steppes
Valletta, amidst the Mediterranean set
Warsaw, the ghetto's in World War II
Xi'an, its all i have to see this through
Yerevan, near the Biblical mountains, of Ararat
Zagreb, escaped being a Balkan War stat
Written 3/1/2010.
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/the-world.php
SON OF SEOUL
Child presses sweet head to her,
While mother holds fast to him
Man busses forehead, soft lips tight
‘Gainst acorn-colored skin.
From ashes G.I. soldiers rose
To souls of Seoul set free.
Much taller than the rest, one stood
‘Bove war-torched Calvary.
And drifting now to streets of home
And bird-song tones of voice,
Her heart aches for freedom sounds.
Her sentence, Life, was choice.
Hiding loneliness in a treasure chest
Her soldier man won't find,
She forever bleeds for Seoul's sweet spice
to free her captured mind.
This child on her lap had been
Her altar-offering hope
That life could rupture forth again
Through scourge of blood and smoke.
But images of her home dissolve
As Soldier-shell draws in
And presses tight dead lips against
Her acorn-colored skin.
(for those in Kwangju: May 18, 1980)*
after Dante
Taking this peach within the mouth, the tongue
hovers around its sunset skin like a lover
and its Sappho sweet bite is heaven. A song
of honeysuckled rivers is like your
kiss… The night is in July. At once
Platonic love is redemption or
when the world is beyond our Kwangju…Please
let the streets be freed from anticipation
of the bayonet and gun… Let litter seize
this street or any avenue… Plan
my kiss and we will be happy and free.
The night is the peach---the dead sun…
Recall the dress you wore as a weapon, me
wearing---I forgot… Your raven hair, soft
yet sharp by its embroidery
of strands being held by one silver pin. The left
hand of God and right hands of angels
must have done it… It was my dry throat
drinking from Styx River which made the chills
even more pronounced at the sight of you.
The dress’ print was you. It was petals
of prints within splotches of orange, gold, red, too…
and white--- bandages… Horrible bandages.
I’m wearing black/white. Suddenly we choose
to hug underneath those flickering pages
of streetlights… we an arrow’s color shot through bodies---Rage…
*Excerpted from Chalmers Johnson’s Blowback : The Costs and Consequences of the
American Empire: “General Chun did not wait long after talking with Gleysteen (US
Ambassador to South Korea) to complete the coup d’etat he had begun the previous
December…On May 18, 1980, a few hundred demonstrators in Kwangju took to the streets to
protest the imposition of martial law. They were met by the paratroopers of the 7th Brigade
of the Korean special forces, known as the “black berets,” who had a well known reputation
for brutality going back to their service on the American side in the Vietnam War…Gleysteen
wrote, “Rumors reaching Seoul of Kwangju rioting say special forces used fixed bayonets and
inflicted many casualties on students… Some in Kwangju are reported to have said that
troops are being more ruthless than North Koreans ever were.” [When asked of the decision]
Gleysteen replied, “I grant it was the controversial decision, but it was the correct one. Do I
regret? I don’t think so.” (112-113)
Chris was born on 9th July in 1993,
And he fights every day in training,
At the British Judo Centre in Walsall,
A Centre of Excellence, producing.
He lost his job as a car mechanic,
Through his ocular albinism diagnosis,
But now trains with determination,
Professionally, to win the Paralympics.
Competing in the -100kg category,
Chris won three bronzes as a junior,
Then at the Scottish Open in 2014,
Won the gold; Welsh Senior, a silver.
At the Euros in Portugal in 2015,
He won bronze against a Russian,
And in Seoul, still 2015, the Worlds,
He took bronze: a Rio Paralympian.
petals
settles
fragrant
radiant
birds fly
up high
we stroll
to Seoul
I bloom
with whom?
want clue?
it's you.
2 April 2022
Notes: The picture of cherry blossoms was taken yesterday as we stroll to watch the blossoming flowers.
A Brian Strand Standard Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand
1st place
How do I feel. ¿?
So much noise from outside
Blocking every sign of Eternal on every side
My head full ,my mind drowning right in these :
so much noise, my eyes cringes, my ears buzzing
My spirit barely surviving in my soul
Should I leave here and go to Asia ,somewhere in Seoul
No! I should move far away to live a moment in city of Vatican
'451 as population? Yeah that sounds like the plan
He said this, he did that. He mocked me
She sly me. Terrorism. Mass shooting. Nations Treasury looting
Noises that kill the spirit
What's the essence of existence ?
Vibes of positivity so make sense
Having springs and sweet cool breeze as my fence
Close to the clouds. Dew immense
My spirit extends his hands into the heaven
My mind dwells in forever
My head at Bliss
A trip outta the world so it seems ......
A small house on a hill
With plenty of tea and no flea
Sounds like a peak for my mind to prey on thoughts
With no noise or Boom of a loud mouth ... !
Perhaps sounds self-centred but I would rather be that
Than centre my mind around all these noises
Agoraphobia as it all seems ......
15/08/2017
David Wier OBE started out with a crowd of only five,
Watching him race in the fast track events very alive,
In the swift wheelchair races, as he is spinally injured,
From his birth, and could not use his legs anchored.
Disappointed with these Paralympics in Atlanta 1996,
Dignity did beckon him to ask people then to quickly fix,
This sheer ignorance about the worth of disabled folks,
So that the crowds then came, and disability was talks.
He’s a marathon racer and so won London six times,
He won two golds at the 2008 Beijing summertimes,
He won four golds at the 2012 Paralympics of flares,
Three for track, and one for the marathon that wares.
He succeeded in the Great North Runs with records,
And in the Great Manchester runs, like many Concords,
And has flown to Switzerland for the Oensingen run,
And to New York as well as to Portugal, Lisbon of sun.
Baroness Tanni-Gray Thompson inspired his long days,
The female wheelchair racer who won 16 medals, daze,
At the Paralympics, starting in Seoul in 1988 with speed,
She took the crowd to a very certain magic place indeed.
Twice he has won the British Wheelchair Sports Award,
He was disabled sports personality of the year, forward,
In 2006 as he was named, and in 2010 proud and tall,
He became part of the London Youth Games Fame Hall.
Wier has three kids, two with his present partner Emily,
A boy and two girls, and to Emily he’s not an anomaly,
Because he loves her very much, and who’s yet again,
Pregnant with baby, and so won’t being going to Rio ken.
Empath
A rookie poet,quote lover,business oriented,college student
Who loves her pet dogs,fond of Korean pop music and addicted to reading manga
Concomitant of someone’s joy is your joy,Art is a dormant talent in all,Love is life
I feel safe in my own space,content with my loving family,thankful to my creator
Terrified of snakes,the unknown and being forgotten by those I cherish
I desire to make my parents proud & happy,explore the world,eat kimchi in Seoul
Resident of a village cushioned between diamond mines,my country’s finest!
Pluviophile
Gommy Sol went to Seoul to heal the soul
Found a girl with a curl while on a stroll
He praised her lock
And touched her frock
And she gave him a half-eaten cream roll
There once was a strange elf raised in North Pole
Who loved Christmas thrice more than his fishbowl
Far way too tall to excuse
Santa had to break the news
Time for Elf to surprise Dad in Seoul
AP: 1st place 2020 , Honorable Mention 2020, Honorable Mention 2022
Submitted on March 1, 2018 for contest FAVORITE COMEDY MOVIE LIMERICK sponsored by ALEXIS Y. - RANKED 1ST
When Jack was six he took up judo,
‘Cos he lived on an RAF base, NI,
Where only ballet and judo existed,
For kids with much energy to hand.
His mum sent him to ballet firstly,
Which he enjoyed but didn't love,
So as soon as he did the tangles,
He knew judo was his sport, shove.
Jack’s both blind and deaf, hereditary,
And competes in the category -100kg,
He is a Wolverhampton Uni student,
And his brother’s in TeamGB, his glee.
In 2015 Jack collected many medals,
In Seoul he won bronze at the Worlds,
At the Junior Worlds, Hungry, a gold,
And at the Euros a bronze, the boards.
At the World Cup, Hungary, a bronze,
Such that he was easily chosen for Rio:
“I never heard the [distracting] crowd.”
His coach and him sign to each other.
“I know I can't see anything. If I walk
into stuff, I just laugh it off [not irritated].
It's funny. I walk into lamps, slip over,
bollards.” Nobody knows he’s plated.
A certain someone
Made fun of me
Noticed my big use of
Quatrains if you please
I laughed and chuckled
I'm stuck in this bind
If I tried something else
I'd surely go blind
In the years to come
They'll be writing bout me
The Quatrain King
Stuff ya gotta see
May sound egotistical
Well maybe that's so
But renowned the world over
From New York to Seoul
Could try different forms
But that's not for me
My passion is Quatrains
So just leave me be!
LOL
© Jack Ellison 2013
Your eyes tell me a story,
A story With you,
With you a story so pure,
Name a wish by wishing on a star,
A wish,like a first love story,
A love story so far away like Seoul,
Seoul,the place we met,two lonely hearts,
Closer with each other,we took an interlude-dive,
A promise,a forever epiphany of togetherness,
A dream,a land covered in snow flowers,
Hug me to forget,Hug me to remember,
Let's be each other's piece of peace,
Let's be drunk in each other's love,
We took this journey,a reflection of our promise,
Set me free,Set you free,
Like dreamers flying to a blue side,
Interlocked hearts,stay,
A forever rain,stay alive,
Tonight under elixir stars,we run,
We run like friends,free spirits,free youth,
We are each other's home when we feel lost,
Young hearts,Young forever,
When the leaves die,we will bloom again, another spring day awaits,
I wish you a sweet night,
My Angel,
Calm your hectic mind,
Life goes on,
We are our safety zone,
We are lights awake,
Good night,
For a brand new day is mine and yours.
Living below the low of slow roll
dyeing above the bow in fast sail
failNG front the sow is last paul
baylin flaps the lap si four call
wishin blips the cap tu tres papi
living clips the mam or thee ocho
caving snaps the wig or twig thee
oaring water the dig tu sing fall
winter sings the sun of life agua
cellin beans the lit pa wite bose
giving loves the kit su fite rite
spelin fours the pay if tres paso
quedes ledrs the foe is four tree
living lives the tea of fact free
tuGGin grass the Pep si ever mEEn
loving sings the SEA tu AMOR PaPa
bellow rings the til in THEE NOAN
writin green the man tu Over aGIN
pissin queen the tax me seen meAn
lackin picks the sax ol navy SEaL
cadets craps the SOY IN PLAY FOIL
CLAYIN SAVER THE FAD OF COLD CULR
LOSING BLEAD THE DIX IN CORE COST
FEVERN BLACK THE TIX OF FOUR WALK
LOVING LIVIN THE SEX SI CASE TRES
THININ PINNE THE PAC OF MAID TIES
FEELIN FREED THE LIP ES NADA PIDE
LIVING LYIVE THE CAL OF NORA WISE
PRISMS EVENY THE RAX OF KILO WITE
SLIGHT EYENG THE PAZ TU FOUR GIZE
TELLIN SEOUL THE EXA PU EVER GREW