Best Shafts Poems
Entering the doorway through my heart
Following the nuance of space
Allowing expansion ~ mystery ~ and curiosity
To guide me into realms of spiritual awakening
Journeying through moments in time
Filled with opportunities
To appreciate and cherish
To express gratitude
To be connected to the forces
Of nature and humanity
Together we take flight
Guided by white hawks
Silently lifting off
Into darkened skies
Kissed by gray hues
Alighting on silken clouds
Transporting us higher
A deep inhale as gentle breezes
Tickle my earlobes and caress my soul
My heart is open ~ expanding ~ gaining insight
Exposed
My tears flow freely
I allow the pain and suffering to become me
As I focus on illumination and helping others
With embracing arms and heart alive
Calling out to our elders and animal spirits
To join in our collective dance
The soft wind carries us
We float and fly and glide
Entering the realm of light
Sunbeams vibrating at the edges of perception
A fuzzy twinkling as our eyes excite
Riding magic cloud carpets
Above ocean’s breast
Gazing down
The beauty becomes us
Gold light rays skate on undulating waves
Illuminating tide’s glimmering foam
A waltz of light and sound
Briny majesty
Luminous shafts dance and sway
In a lovers embrace
Across veridian waves
Passionately singing out
Becoming one
Our voices ~ melodies
Songs of our ancestors
Ballads from distant shores
Past and present
Reveal themselves in
Tender haunting notes
Arriving on mist’s fingertips
Hoovering close to Mother Ocean’s surface
We hear her heartbeat
Lap lap lap ... bubbles ... breath
Surface foam breaking
She appears in nature’s coat of shiny black
A regal humpback
A tranquil Goddess welcoming us
We ride upon this graceful giant
As she whispers her secrets
Feeling her slow movement
Through watery depths
Turning gently ~ moving up and down
We welcome her strength as
Turquoise tides caress us
Guided by celestial navigation .... we ride
Gazing up at the sparkling stars
We listen to the collective heartbeat of eternity
One breath
One exhale
Together
Remembering when
Perched high above on rocky crags
Cliffs weathered by times handprints
I saw far and wide to distant shores
Tendrils of desire radiating outwards
Riding the briny mist
Being carried by the breath of the ocean, my constant companion
Hearing the distant voices, the silent tears
The bursts of passion ~ love and loss
I ride the wings of hope and change
Towards the beckoning landscape of
Creation, mystery, and nuance
A vibration fills the air
The quiet chanting of our ancient brothers and sisters
Their words floating in effervescent bubbles
Tinged with melodies so clear
We are one ~ We are here
Let us bathe you in light
Let us heal your wounds
Let us give you hope
We are all mirrors of one another
We share one breath
We are connected like the mycelium under the ground
Our journey is peaceful
Come to us with your pain, your heartache,
Your fear and your loss
We are here to listen
Our ears and hearts are open
You have come to a safe sanctuary to reveal your secrets
Your darkness, your desires, and your bliss
Without judgement
This is a time of renewal
Tiny green hummingbird lays lifeless on the ground
Surrounded by new life
Glittering musical notes sound as
Pink butterflies gather
Gentle wind of wings bringing change
Warm rain falls as we make our way
Through the kaleidoscopes of turquoise, teal, lime and chartreuse
Sunlight reflections
Moss, furry seedlings, and ferns
Intertwine dancing in the shafts of light
A steady illuminated procession
Sweat running down our bodies
We are a train of humanity pushing forward
Through the dense moist jungle
Coming upon a clearing to witness
The newborn baby girl wrapped in velvet greenery
A majestic glowing beacon shining her light
On all of us
Howling
The chatter of monkeys as they scramble down limbs to join us
We feel her heartbeat
We meld into one another seamlessly
Swaying gently in unison
To honor, rejoice and celebrate
Receiving the gift of what it is to be human
Slowly the child is lifted into the air
Aloft on fingertips of joy
The Circle of Life begins
And we return to the simple act
Of loving and giving to one another
Into eternity
Your feathered words arrive tickling my ears
The tip of your nose brushes
The back of my neck
My skin awakens
I have been calling you
Calling you back into my consciousness
My heart
My soul
Speak to me.... let me hear you
Your deep voice
Your warm breath
I feel you on my cheeks
Memories of our times together
Dancing in the raindrops
Naked...laughing
Warm pink drops
Cascading through the canopy of
A million greens above us
Sunlight seeping through
A kaleidoscope throwing rays of light
Shafts and shadows embracing your form
Noir velvet and gold shimmer
An ethereal statue before me
Sitting cross legged on mammoth leaves
We press our palms together
Looking into your eyes
Past now...to before
And back to now again
A forever embrace cradled in unity
Overhead the drip drop melody of
A thousand tears
Falling from the heavens
Audible in form
We have been here before
Surrounded in green majesty
Gazing towards a swaying tribe of ladybugs
Red with black spots
Surrounded in light...glowing
Radiating love
I hover above you spread eagle
Close enough to caress your forehead
With my lips
Leaving a gentle imprint
A message of hope
Fly with me to the clouds
Where we may gallop and play
Frolicking through lush planetary fields
Fly now...ride on my white wings
Up....up ...up
Past turmoil and confusion
Tragedy and loss
Through the lavender veil
To cloudbursts and mist
Mystery and rebirth
Infinite space and distant time surround us
We gasp and giggle
Weightless vibrations inhabit us
Turning towards each other in delight
We cartwheel through the sky
And make snow angels
On the hills of magenta clouds
POTD 19 September 2017
Apprehensively I tramp with my lamp - through a path shrouded in gloom
Silvery shafts of light entwine and fight through foliage as they creep
Gnarled branches twist as I resist their sinister outstretched grabbing reach
With a hushed bated breath I move in stealth - to allow the restless spirits sleep
I have heard and have feared the ancient Mystical stories that are told
Of a fabled cave of age where these immortal spirits abide
A sacred and elated reverie this questing soul with them seeks
To allow ‘The Oracles’ now - to show where my elusive love hides
I have heard it expressed in a blessed rapturous appellation
This glowing love from above that eludes this restless yearning child
A bliss infused kiss that Celestial Beings have been heard to applaud
A connection of perfection that would make Heaven look down and smile
In my quest to find the nest of undying unconditional love
I search alone to find my throne in the mighty caverns of the sphere
May the spirits guide until I find my bride in barren breaths of cold
And now I see in this mystic cavity an apparition does appear
In a gentle voice I do rejoice and hold captive in their chambers
My son are you the one seeking lasting love in our golden grotto
I say yes and will you bless my jaded journey thus far I have made
We’re beings of infinity descending divinity as above so below
I fall to my knees as they say with ease - Feel the vibes of the stone
Before you embark look within your heart - Love explodes there and beyond
I shed a tear with a cavernous cheer and find where I have failed
My soul anew now I'm due for my love to be Spiritually spawned
Acknowledgement from Maria (Down Under) -
To my very dear friend and Poet Extraordinaire`-The illustrious (((Winged Warrior)), for producing this collaboration together with me. It is no surprise at the effortless speed of this production - virtually overnight (because of the time difference), and then another night with the sprucing up. It was good fun and we must do it again WW.
POTD 19 September 2017
Music by Yakuro – ‘Through The Galaxy’ - Published on Mar 22, 2016
Copyright – Maria Williams and Winged Warrior – September 2017
The raptor and the peacock hence,
Sit pensive on a rambling fence.
The first, inclined to be the host,
Jumped down to claim the nearest post.
The pea averse to snubs or quailing
Moves closer on the weathered railing.
Both immersed in trailing thoughts
Mused on nigh, and what was naught.
The Pea fans its tail in public splendor
Cramped raptor prefers an opposing gender.
He clasps a plume of gleaming thread
To implant it on his own stark head.
On and on, a grueling day
Feathers plucked; cold work at play.
Peafowl’s once featured feathered shafts
Now forlornly bare and subject to draft.
The predacious bird, a cocky thief
Snidely at par, to a native chief.
Clips of sun reveal a shadowy bane
The unlikely pair cast as one and the same
The Language of Blue
Sinking into the lyrical language of blue
Prime layers of still solitude speak
With muted voices
In sapphire soprano rhapsodies,
Lines of bass blushes, electric flecks of neon fire.
Hear in dusky blue’s modal shafts of light,
The peaceful plaintive sotto voce
Set an indigo scene
In delft lingua for a pas de duex
With trebling hues lapis and arbot.
Blue chants a lexis, a cerulean chroma glow
Sung in tender tenor tones patois
To translate soft sky blue aqua idioms,
As minor phrases meditate on azure,
In prose text that wafts in periwinkle blooms.
Unhurried blue on blue in plain-chant paeans,
Whispers and bedazzles teal twilight librettos
Of cradle songs in soft celeste waves
Of cobalt midnight in the consoling,
And the mystic, language of blue.
11-3-21
Contest: Blue
Sponsor Mystic Rose Rose
Trebling = triple
Arbot is a shade of blue
Chroma means glow
Oh, how I swoon
in the ruby bliss of your sunset kiss -
your vibrant rays of maturity arouses my fire;
touching me with urgent rapture,
saturating me in sparkles of champagne light, then,
streaming through me in bold shafts of gold.
We embrace
in the broadening bloom of lantana skies -
our burning blend;
your western blaze my prismatic panes
telling biblical stories of love and pain,
bestowing rainbows into depths of dark -
our fervor cast like water-colored sprites
in far-flung illuminations
across dusky medieval arches
enlightening dim granite walls
gracing graceful curves and conscientious columns
in jewel-shades waltzing with your solar pulse.
Our vivacious union reflects our Gothic romance
in mirrored mirages dyeing the staid floor
with painted riches that richly rejoice
in plashes of splashy
orgies of light and glory
the appetite of holy ambiance whet
by warm and cool tones
pregnant with passions of the heart
and imbued with torments and ecstasies
of the soul -
cleaving humanity and divinity
in flaring flair; emerald, sapphire, citrine and garnet,
amid our spellbinding moments
of tantric twilight magic.
Our synergy electrifies
the night-falling quietude of this sacred space
before our enchanted euphoria
begins to wane… and as your dying flame
gives way to the rise of the shy crescent moon
I lose my orgasmic zest
to the evening’s ebon hue.
Stepping into the dance
Gently taking your hand in mine
Entering the realm of infinite possibilities
Where passion and desire breathe as one
An eternal hug
Enveloping our laughter and tears
Swaying slowly
Your breath tickling my ear
We are guided by our mirrored hearts
Open to the ancient whispers within
Arms open wide in vulnerable flight
Encountering lavender vibrations
Nuances ~ miraculous moments
Distant drumming arrives
From within dense fragrant pines
Carried on silver musical notes
Pale turquoise sky
Brushes against our cheeks
We fill our lungs with moist cool air
Breathing in gratitude
Glorious heights surround us
Crag and gleam of crystal
Midnight ebony obsidian shafts
Gulls cry above
The smell of salty waves beckoning us below
I ride the foam in your welcome embrace
Glistening waves our chauffeur
Diving deeper
Into ocean’s chambers of kaleidoscope blue
Sunrays guide us
Coral’s fingers delight
Wearing mandarin, cranberry and apple green
We laugh as bubbles escape our smiles
Playfully gliding upwards
Our friends arrive
Regal parrot fish
Mosaic rainbow scales shimmering
Calling out to us
A sacred union gathering
Inclusive of all
Silent language is shared
Spellbound destinies of
Beauty and grace
Envelop us
Written: March 05, 2025
***********************
As the final petal droops
upon quivering leaves,
while the soul begins to decay
akin to the evening lights
fading into a coffin.
Tears flow quietly across vacant rooms,
sheltered in the hidden retreat,
of a hapless fool folly.
Aged and forsaken, an ancient blade lies
on a ragged oak table.
All around the termite-ridden
floorboards are strewn with
tattered sheets of stories.
Valiant voices of victory,
vibrate in vivid verses,
preserved with lively Ink.
Decades of disarray have faded away,
leaving behind a cherished tale,
its inked revelations whirl into a frenzy,
as I peer through the glass,
reminiscing about those golden days
when my youth overflowed with joy.
I couldn't assist but notice
the drooping scarlet dahlias.
A gleaming golden crown,
sparkling with lovely
crimson queens
rests upon the head of a forlorn exile—
and that is all that remains.
Under the relentless sun
that preys upon the flames,
how can I rise above
the crimson chaos
that encroaches at the edges,
surrounding the ghostly grave
of the poetic soul
I have lost in the quest for acclaim.
Within the weeping window,
a wild wonder reveals itself,
draped in a vivid shade of vermilion.
Amid the whispers of wayward spirits,
the flawless porcelain of our past
now bears unsightly marks.
Fractured dreams are embellished
with delicate threads, while shafts of
sunlight slices through shadowy skies.
The family fortress,
frozen in cold stone,
waits for its wary wanderer,
beckoning the illustrious
to traverse its dimly paths.
In the serene silence of slumber,
the sorrowful saga emerges.
The embrace of eternal sleep.
A chilling chronicle of the collapse
cascades in the corridors
akin to a haunting harmony.
The aspiration and avarice
ultimately overwhelmed us
As the clock chimed cheerfully
at midnight on that chilling night,
the cunning usurper brandished
a blade and brutally
broke their beings,
birthing ghosts of grim,
unspoken words to weep
behind weathered walls.
At this moment, I am
the emerald evening
of the early dawn,
The waxen white wick
that waits before their
weathered tombstone is
withered to a whisper.
Beautiful angel a soul's destination flies
High above on gossamer wings delicately
Circling between heaven and earth as soul keepers
Eclipsing the light seraph twitches softly gaze
Touching inside one bond never to be broken
An angelic message shown to the earth dwellers
A celestial sphere nacreous spirit falling
Grace kissing ataraxia sweetly embraces
Deep spiraling sentiments shape mosaics of minds
Kneeling at your feet royal mother of pearl clouds
Standing right before the eyes undying spirit
Pure shafts of wondrous gold has lit the earth tonight.
Gracious beauty floats upon a breathless air wave
Delicately enchants your sweet rendering praise
Bright faces all rise up to such mesmeric glare
Heaven sparkle in the glistening shining eyes
Love's fire burns inside reflection that smiles warm
And all mankind with open arms can only stare.
Guardian of this cosmos beyond dreams sails east
we become a single structure bound together
In cosmogyral dance around a starry floor
In space filled words evaporating straight out sighs
The mind blissfully colliding sparks kisses dust
Gazing through an endless flickering mass of light
Sprinkles on two stars cluster in magic wishes
Granting on the trail ethereal red glitters
Heavenly energy shines down to save all souls
Diamond blue gem sends cosmic shock waves twinkling
Brightly flickering blinding light upon one star
Poured on our world to save us from evil darkness
Orbiting around this earth glows raising upwards
Filled with divine energy rotating halo
Beams fly in sunshine beauty embraces angel
A Collaborated Poem with Liam McDaid, Michael McCabe and Angeline Lim
alexandrine unrhymed Tercets
Egnehenots – of earth and stone
Chief elder – most wise upon the Salisbury Plain
an old man . . . loved deeply
revered father of the land
wakes before the sunrise
speaks with a clear wind voice
it is time . . . retniw ecitslos
The twelve bow . . . form together
three to a side
lift Otsego – clear water running
high in the air
in liturgical movements
move across the dark plain
whitlow grass . . . juniper shrubs . . . wild thyme . . .
sweeten the air
moss laden stones
soft upon leather-bound feet
Within the wind
haunting cries of the stone curlew
crested newts scramble for cover
the great bustard cuts the air with powerful wing beats
Ancient burial mounds appear
a sacred circle of life emergences
the procession stops . . . lowers
Egnehenots steps down, blesses the twelve
enters the holy inner circle alone
Laying his head against the mighty sarsens
begins to chant . . .
father of the blue stones
creator of the big sky light
upon these rocks I cling for your life
from sky, to earth let your love flow
On this holy day
your strength is once again revealed
wind and rain obey your commands
days, nights, seasons march to your song
how great and mighty is your power
Hear our cries upon the wind
absorb our tears upon the earth
our breath upon your mighty rocks
be now amongst your people
send forth the sun and rain
let the earth bring forth its riches
so that we may dance in your radiance
The sun breaks the horizon
Sending out shafts of lights
streaking across the sky
clouds turning purple then into shades of reds, oranges
a single ray of light strikes forth
straight as an arrow
illuminating the altar stone
connecting slaughter stone
and finally . . . the heel stone
Where
Where, an old man clings
A loud cheer explodes from the village
Food and wind flow – a celebration
A new year begins -
Rain clouds appear in the west
Egnehenots – of earth and stone
Love Generously
David Meade
12/8/2015
Kiss me, I want to lift you skirt flying
Inside my heart like the wind
To dance on clouds of joy my kite
Embracing time, to hold you in my arms and spin
Festively playing in the clouds
Long lines of passion I can feel
Yearning against my string
Intermittingly fawning as you bow
Naked to the throb of wind
Garrulous like a lover moaninng
The scintillated light.
Etched upon the sweat shining
Silver shafts of ribs
Tensed in every fibre and nerve of being
...
I want to press my lips
Upon your cheeks, prettier than confetti paper
And let the golden sunlight drips
Chocolate of satisfaction on my tongue
Because I made a kite like this
Then to breathe your fragrance
Falling free
From every jasmine of your limb
Where the lissome bamboos hold firm
The quivering of my string
And when the wind exhausted
Make you loop and dip
Before suppliant eyes
To cash that boyhood zeal again
And run until you rise
Or shortening your leash
Bring you in
To closer dazzle my eyes
And let your string between my fingers fall
A ravished and splendid bride
I want to make you feel secure again
Your flying strained against my faith
Buoyed by the comfort of my love
For you the only joy that fills my eye
In the huff and blow of time
I want to lift you like the wind
And with you all my affections fly
To shout in glee from my little hill
Below unlettered clouds in pride
My kite alone to fly.
After the flurry
My soul delights
Soft curves before me
Ice cream dreams
Shadows dancing and stretching
Defining infinite frozen sculptures
Ice diamonds
floating through the air
Glistening
Riding the shafts of pale sunlight
Landing on my nose
Blanketing my eyelashes
I capture them on my tongue
A frosty treat
A shiver up my spine
I wiggle my toes awake
Warmth in my belly caresses me
Surreal
This glorious tapestry before me
Silent beauty
Her dress of lace
Paper cutout high heels
A crown of icicles
Hugging myself now
A hole in my mitten
Allowing the magic
to seep into my heart
Wishing Happy Healthy Holidays to all
and best wishes for a Wonderful New Year !
Six steeple towers, cold as steel, drab daggers in the sky!
Their hallowed halls no longer call when breezes wander by –
for, filled with dread to wake the dead, they've ceased to sough or sigh.
Coiled candle sticks! Their twisted wicks no longer 'lume the cracks
with dying flame, subdued and tame, mid pendant pearls of wax,
since deference to innocence dissolved in molten tracks.
Above! The dismal ditch of dusk reveals a velvet streak,
through which the winter’s wicked winds will sometimes weave and sneak,
and faraway a cable sways, a bridge clings hushed and bleak.
Thin shadows shift, like silver shafts, across the cruel moraine
reflecting white a wisp of light in ebon beads of bane
which casts a crooked smile across a faceless window pane.
Wan neon lights glow through the nights, through darkness sleek as slate,
while lanterns (hovered, high above, in lurid swinging gait),
haunt ballrooms, bars and bare bazaars, though no one's there to fete.
The souls who come with jagged tongue won't sing a silent psalm,
nor paint pale lips with languid quips to pierce the deathly calm,
nor pray for mercy, grace deferred, nor beg lethean balm,
nor yet redress the emptiness that shifting shades embalm –
they've seen, you see, life’s brevity, and face it with aplomb.
(after the painting by Vincent Van Gogh)
Does she even exist? Doubting her own reality,
seeing herself vanishing in undulating undergrowth,
fading and merging into summer-scorched scenery.
But cold lurks there beneath shafts of sunlight, the phallic trees...
He wears the night underneath, a fabric of dark and unease,
his hand heavy upon her arm, silver-tongued charm
smooth as the silver-limbed leafless trees,
disappearing, now, on a twisting breeze...
Sinuous stems suffocate, writhing and thrashing;
convulsions of shuddering green and yellow.
Enticed ever deeper into flailing flowers,
evanescing into foam of frothing flora...
Did she ever truly exist? It's doubtful.
The flower-frail faceless and nameless
will always be lured and laid, invisible,
dissolving, under bare, phallic trees.