Best Shore(A) Poems
A rhythmic refrain on the shore
As waves caress it more and more
A gentle breeze in fluted strain
On the shore a rhythmic refrain
As clouds pass by I hear a tune
As wispy notes above are strewn
A cadence floating in the sky
I hear a tune as clouds go by
There is a song among the stars
Twinkles make up musical bars
Moonbeam rhythms play along
Among the stars there is a song
On moonbeams a lullaby rides
As it shimmers upon the tides
When slumber takes you to your dreams
A lullaby rides on moonbeams
1-21-2024
Swap Quatrain
It's the summer of my fourth year.
Dad is driving us to the seashore.
The sun follows us, a happy fellow,
beaming in the mid-morning’s azure sky.
In the back seat with my two sisters, I’m looking out the window
as I crunch on Mom’s homemade salty Chex Mix,
anticipating the warmth of salt spray
from the waves I’ll be jumping on this beautiful day -
Life is a beach not yet even in my vocabulary.
We are now at the shore, a large blanket laid out,
Mom with her bright red hair tied back with a brighter red check scarf,
and my dad, dark-haired and handsome, smiling.
So rare is this happy countenance he wears today!
For a while I sit as if entranced, watching the waves roll in.
But eventually, and predictably, my joy ebbs like the tide.
Dark clouds are gathering; gray begins to envelop the sky.
I look over to my dad; the gray has recaptured his face.
In the vanishing sunlight, familiar dark thoughts invade my mind -
Dad, can I see you be happy just once for a whole day?
Rain . . . always it rains when we go to the seashore.
The trail to the peak was a long and arduous climb
Which skirted a pristine glacial lake about midway.
Shimmering below, it offered a cooling balm for the heat
And a picturesque spot to rest and refuel for a while.
A short down-climb led to a high cliff that overhung the depths
Of aquamarine waters; crystal clear, revealing a rocky bottom.
Chartreuse lichen grew from the wetted rock face
While damsel flies of cerulean hue darted to and fro.
In the shade of a small oak we were content to eat our lunch.
From our vantage we watched the cutthroat trout feed;
Rising to a caddis hatch. Splashes of watermelon, coral and saffron
Under their jawlines divulged the source of their strange name.
Fronting the shore, a spacious open meadow served as a refuge.
A doe and twin fawns lay surrounded by tall grass and wild flowers.
Tangerine bells, snow-white lupine, and purple daisies with lemon eyes
In hues of lavender and lilac covered the park in waves.
After a short dip in the icy waters, we took a few moments to gather our things
And reflect on the beauty and grandeur of this unknown retreat.
Truly we were blessed, our bodies, minds and souls rejuvenated
As we climbed the slope to continue our trek to the snow-capped peak.
8/1/2017
Free Verse
6th Place
Seasonal Color Contest
Sponsor: Dale Gregory Cozart
"A Silent Song"
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Blessed or cursed
Morning shave
Coffee please
Write a verse
Remembers last night’s dream
Grabs a napkin, spills his spleen
Shoves it in his pocket
Walks to work
Sits at his desk
Carries on as usual
Chats on with the new study,
he’s on a roll, softly flirts
Quietly, silently, it always works
Groundhog Day that’s the worst,
Where’s the breaker to dive under it all
Every now and then a Tempest is called for
A heavenly thunderous squall
Just to shake it up
Move through the strung out long day pall
Cover his mirror with her fog and all
All the while
He’s talking it up, little work day dramas
Meetings minute cutlass pen thrust
Business as usual, balls to bust
Still underneath it all he’s thinking the stories frame by frame
She whispers out of nowhere ethereal in his brain,
“The best story is yet to arrive, it’s only the middle of the day…
maybe some gold glitter, a Llama and a Toucan that sashays?”
Empath on his knees by midnight
He’s writing melancholic love songs
The words are tight, verses short
Not long, he’s thinking Turtle Doves and short skirts
That won’t work…
scrawls it out, writing’s gone with the wind,
The best words for the story don’t take too long
He listens to some music, thinks of her and sings a new song.
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Dreams flourish dripping words
black on white her familiar screen
pounding faster like raging horses hooves and heart beats
bleed vibrant colors mystic legions of wars and lovers
a foreign sovereignty her mind and wily covers her pageantry
Her eyes the windows of her world
Wings beating flying free
Cages broken, horses hooves hearts racing
She follows him on another shore a dream by sea
Praying prophecies
Empath on her knees
Two very different minds
Free to be
(Lovejoy-Burton/Feb 2018)
Music/ Paolo Conte, "Sparring Partner"
https://youtu.be/tzjdY5rmpCA
Without doubt a small isle but one of natural beauty
Such a tranquil emerald place, the Isle of Innisfree
Set in Irelands Lough Gill in the County of Sligo
And holds for me fond memories of so long ago.
I met my first love at the loughs shore, a pretty colleen
Grace Ann was her name and she was just sixteen
And that first long hot summer that we spent together
Still plays on my mind and the love we had for each other.
We'd row across to the Isle often and stay all day long
And spent many hours talking and singing our song
A pact we both made, that we'd be together for life
I as her loving husband and she as my loving wife.
We'd dream of building a house there, just her and me
And later we'd have children, our very own family
We would have a laugh about that, it was just fantasy
But I knew that we'd be happy wherever we'd be.
We finished school in September and were waiting to see
If we'd been successful in our application, for Dublin Uni
Sadly, some of our friends, had their application's rejected
But Grace and I'd been lucky because we'd been accepted.
The week before our departure , she went with some friends to town
And as they crossed a busy road, a drunk driver mowed them down
Two of her friends were slightly injured but Grace died at the scene
Her young life taken from her; she'd just turned seventeen.
I became very withdrawn and just wished it'd been me
And lost interest in everything and even a place at uni
I went to the funeral home to see, one last time her pretty face
And there in a white coffin lay an angel; my beautiful Grace.
I blamed myself for her death; she'd wanted to stay in with me
But I said "Go out with your friends and have a farewell party"
After her funeral I left for England and joined the merchant navy
In the hope I'd leave behind memories of that awful tragedy.
I couldn't face going back home and its now been thirty years
Just the thought of going back there would fill my eyes with tears
In my free time I'd go up on deck and just stare out to sea
And my mind would drift back to that summer, with Grace and Innisfree.
Written 11th December 2020.
Inspired by The Lake Isle Of Innisfree by Irish Poet W. B. Yeats
The Scots, by God,
They drove them out,
With a single Yorkie
At their heels a' yappin'
The Hobyahs tried to fly
Their arms they were a flappin'
Some managed to take to sea
And landed in Hamptonshire,
Yes-serieee!!!
But the British Navy would have none of this,
Big battleships they did send
The Hobyahs saw their doom,
Their plans they did amend
They sailed on to American,
Landed at the New Jersey coast,
The hobyahs could find no better host!
They ate their way from Newark
All the way up to Camden
Avoiding kennels and dog warning signs
There was always people on their roast
Now, much of America
Might applaud this you see,
For most of Jersey's citizens
Were as useless as a rubber tree
Then the Jerseyites came up
With a plan,
They bribed the Hobyahs with
16 barges overfilled with McDonalds
Quarter-Pounders with Cheese-
With big sign saying-
"This Way!!"
"Free PeopleBurgers"!!!!
And Infant Limb Fries!!!!"
Now this was not within
the Hobyah's realm of understanding,
But it sure sounded good....
So on the barges they climbed,
Till each and every one of these fiends
Took to sea, gorging themselves
On what they thought was fast human food
Once out in the bay, the barges were sunk
by remote control
On shore, a Mexican Beach Police Patrolman
was heard to ask Humphery Bogart,
for his beachcomber permit...
Humphrey barked back, "What?- Don't you see the history being made here?
If you're the beach police, let's see your badges!!"
The cop sneered, "Barges?....Barges?????.....We Don't Need No Sinking
Barges!!!!"
(See "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre")
With the kind permission of Marnie Memis (Oh, I Love that name!)
From wind that cried then softly died, until at last it merely sighed,
A memory wrapped in imaged song, without the need for right or wrong
A cornerstone of long ago, when life still had somewhere to go,
A memory intertwined with dreams, at least that’s how yesterday seems
Soft evening fog that came to call I gathered like a whispering shawl
To wrap round halos of the night, such a complex celestial sight
Of gas lit gauze in moonlit mist, cloud faces that I once had kissed
When nights were long and days kept pace, in lavender and silver lace.
A symbiosis based upon those dreams and nightmares now long gone
Came to me riding shades of grey, no need to crawl back to the day
No need to swim before I fly, just moments where we live and die
Those inter winding subtleties silk liquid shadows, satin seas
That drift me where I’ve yet to go, upon life’s subterranean flow
Then bring me to a different shore, a sort of trembling evermore
Where I can write poetic stuff, when dreams are harsh or life is tough
And when my poem is complete, I’ll rise again upon my feet.
A sudden sense of dreamless truth, such shivers from my long gone youth
Turn me into a child once more, another street, another door
That once was real, and now is gone, no more to pin my hopes upon
For symbiotic hopes and dreams can soon unravel at the seams,
And part just like a quiet psalm, that lost its temper, yet stayed calm
For all I know and all I feel is just how much life likes to deal
Those poker hands that always lose, no other outcome I can choose
Except walk in different dream, and head towards my dawn soft stream..
In springtime's realm, by a lake so fair,
A princely duck, with a crown to wear.
His consort, a beauty by his side,
In love, they swam, on waters wide.
In my little lake, a royal scene,
All ducks joined in, the waters between.
Migrating geese and seagulls gay,
Daffodils dancing in the sun's warm ray.
Amidst the roses, a fragrant delight,
Under skies of blue, love taking flight.
The princely duck and his queen so rare,
In their love, a tale beyond compare.
But one day came, a shadowed hour,
A loss felt deeply, a wilted flower.
His mate, no more by his side,
A love once vibrant, now a fading tide.
He stood on the shore, a lonely gaze,
Waiting for her in the sunlit maze.
Every day, a hopeful stance,
Yearning for her in nature's dance.
Till one day, he joined her, on heaven's shore,
Their love eternal, forevermore.
In the azure skies, their spirits soar,
A princely duck's love, forevermore.
in rhythmic motion
waves tango with the shore, a
never ending dance
-
1-27-19
Ocean Waves Haiku Contest
Sponsor: Tania Kitchin
Let us cherish each moment we have,
Embracing love and words written.
In our private garden,
Among a rhapsody of blooms,
Please come meet there.
In our garden,
Is the love of poetry and roses.
Glorious garden where two souls meet.
Like a rainbow after a storm gives assurance,
Please touch my deep interbeing!
Reach deep with your melody.
The color of your eyes soft and warm
Leads the gardener to enter the
Window to your soul.
In this garden of where our souls touch,
Let us dance with rhapsody!
Never tiring__
Lovers' arms forever entwined.
Captivated by the colors and fragrance divine,
Of this our magical place.
Embracing the spontaneity of life’s dance
'Twas like an absorbing rainbow after a storm.
Love’s beauty will always have a place,
In our hearts and minds,
When we think of this cherished moment in time.
It will come like the rhythm of ocean’s waves.
Upon each beach’s sandy shore, a steady flow.
In moments of quiet interludes
Of our lives, a flash of memory will entreat us so...
Written: August 19, 2023
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In the shadow-lands, where marvels bear shape.
Love and kindness, as a story eager to scrape
A set of souls speaks by the syntax of the heart.
As it evolves, it is generous, tender, and smart.
Whispers of humanity—a gentle breeze does blow.
Carried by the wind, as birds in flight, they flow.
An art of eternal bliss, seeking grace abundantly,
A seeker of insightful wisdom, yearning to be free.
Hearing the call of oceans—a spark of our existence
The moon may wane, but love remains its essence.
In the depths of our souls, a crystalline, euphoric hue
Nature's healing power—embraces me and you.
Whispers of humanity, a symphony so grand,
A melody of love stretching across the land.
In the depths of our being, a link pure and deep,
A bond that transcends, a secret we all seep.
Through mumbling, we uncover tranquility.
A beating syntax that frees, no rest, no stability?
Every breath incorporates timeless elegance.
A sense of divine love that lasts for a trance
Seeker of knowledge, seeker of truth,
In the whispers of humanity, we find our youth.
Wisdom is the compass that guides us on our way.
To understand the power of love every day.
In whispers of humans, we hear the songs of birds.
Their melodies of joy, their heartfelt words
They teach us to embrace the beauty of each day.
To find solace in nature and let our worries sway.
Oceans call to us with their vastness and might.
Reminding us of our place in the grand design.
Waves crash upon the shore, a symphony of sound.
A reminder of the power that in our hearts is found.
In whispers of humanity, we find our purpose true.
To spread love and kindness in everything we do.
To be a source of healing, a beacon of light,
To uplift and inspire, to shape the world bright.
~A Poem That Took A Week Or More To Write~
Scars Left Behind.
Scarred since birth born with a congenital deforming cleft lip
abandoned unacceptable by nobody I don't belong to your
universe I don't belong to be a guest in your domiciles as I am
avoided I don't belong to share a sunrise as I am blindfolded
I don't belong to your beauty parlor as I look repugnant
I don't belong to participate to a party as I am nameless
I don't belong to be present at a birth of a new born banned
to come closer to the mother.
Scars at birth.
My solitude drove me to flee towards one site the lighthouse
stand alone far away far maybe my voice might be heard
begging to be saved from the sufferings on this earth as my
anguish has no end.
My soul will only triumph while waiting for the sun of love
the moon of light the stars that shine I will wait,wait to pick
up the echo of the passing vessels listen to the whisper of
the winds getting windier watch the dark waters drifting off
flowing away blown back towards the shore a farewell leaving
me alone.
Scars till I die
Who shall I belong to? I have no friends its so obscure outside
there is so much stillness around me afraid alone aware of my
shadows disappearance I called for anybody`s support to facilitate
my survival alleviate my pain nobody came I need to rest and allow
my soul to escape who will? who can? who wants to rescue me?
I am tired I was left behind scarred without a mother or father
nor brother or sister I tried but could not save myself.
My soul drifting as I could not belong to someone watch over me
love me feed me talk to me look at me even scarred run with me
when I am old to the harbor before the ship sails but I flawed I had
no strength nobody heard a word everybody ignored me.
Help Me
The ship sailed leaving without my soul because none came to
liberate me I am still homeless and scarred.
Help me to forget help me to survive can anybody do that?
Please.
Therese Bacha
June 26 2013
In an isolated island where most people are fishermen, life was so hard. One morning near the shore, a genie from a floating lamp appeared before a hundred fishermen and asked each one of them for a wish. Everyone got his chance and had his wish. Ninety-nine fishermen asked for money, clothes, boats, houses, jewelries and other material things. For the one hundredth and last fisherman, he only asked for a tree -- a coconut tree.
Floating lamp, above the surface waves
Fishermen grump, under the water paves
Impossible dreams, in any way unreachable
Imagination streams, in every way achievable.
(Prosebite)
Along the shore a red feathered sunset
As the sun falls into amber silence
To leave the day's beautiful epithet
The eyes turn peaceful in compliance
Shall I stay until the coming of night
And know that time is the birthing of dawn
Holding close dying pictures of splayed light
On the weathered shore I now stand upon
To find beauty and see it quietly
To be part of the moment when it's shown
Allow a pause and enter silently
And stand with elegance in jeweled tone
To be cradled by awe under the sky
And feel its passing with a deeper sigh
6/28/14
I can smell it in the air. Almost taste it
Before me lies a solid gray horizon
Dark clouds hastily trip across the sky
Orange streaks peek through rents in their fabric
Storms comin!!!
Anchored near the shore a restless dinghy
Rocks nervously in anticipation
Rolling thunder whispers in the distance
Flickers of lightning reveal it's presence
Storms comin!!!
The breeze stiffens escalating the scent of rain
Ripples in the lake run further up the sand
As if they were seeking refuge there
Storms comin!!!
I feel the urgent raindrops sting my face
Falling as do arrows from the bow
The wind whipped rain pounces on the water
And the tethered dinghy struggles to be free
It's here!!!
12/06/2011