Best Signs Poems
wind whisks smoky veils
sun’s dust on spidery silk~
gossamer dreamscape
sky undresses gold
filling the air with roses~
an opium kiss
trees adorned in brown
mirror the silent corn moon~
fallen escapade
Mistakes will sometimes appear on signs
It's best to read between the lines
While driving down the road
You may see a sign that says "your car will be toad"
That one's quite a croaker!
You might see a sign in a car lot
That seems to miss the spot
It may give you reason to pause
Because it says, "We bye used cars"
Wave bye bye to your sales!
A motel sign adverstising its free internet
Has something extra you may get
Instead of free Wifi without strife
It offers you "Free wife"
Say I do to that one!
This one will put a smile on your face
Because it reads, "This is a work free drug place"
I guess the employees are getting by
With smoking weed and getting high
It might be a high paying job at that!
--
You say: Wrong place—wrong time,
Maybe: Wrong place—not right time,
Not right place—but wrong time?
I say: This's right place—right time,
In times and places,
What is the time?
Where is the place
For right not wrong?
Is this like signs
Tearing up the scenery;
What about my mind?
Don't what? I can read the sign!
Oh—Signs of the time?
What’s wrong is not right,
Lord, I will sing this song!
Fight for what’s right
Correct what's wrong!
In all times and places
Oh, salvation!
Please, be alright,
And make it—
On time!
~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~
© Joseph S. Spence, Sr., (Epulaeryu Master) 109/11/08
All Rights Reserved, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Senior Advisor, to Founder of Motivational Strips
Ambassador De Literature
Noble Star of Literature 2018
Living Legend of the 21st Century
Pentasiv B World Friendship Poetry Featured Poet 2019
~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~
Joseph S. Spence, Sr., is the author of "The Awakened One Poetics" (2009), which is
published in seven different languages. He invented the Epulaeryu poetry form, which
focuses on succulent cuisines and drinks. He is published in various forums, including the
World Haiku Association; Poetinis Druskininku, Milwaukee Area College, Phoenix Magazine;
Möbius Poetry, and Taj Mahal Review to name a few. Joseph is a Goodwill Ambassador for
the state of Arkansas, USA, a college faculty, and a military veteran.
~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~
autumn's sky ablaze
shades of red orange and pink ~
sunset masterpiece
geese in formation
flying to warmer climates ~
honking their goodbyes
an arachnid's silk
glistens with the morning dew ~
spider clings in wait
Heaven Sending Clear Signs Of Hope's Return
(Sweet Hope Returns)(Part Two)
Solitary ray of light breaks grey dawn's pain,
flowing smoothly with emerging cool breeze.
Am I dreaming or truly going insane?
Is this apparition just another tease?
Confidence grows as majestic sun breaks through,
heaven sending clear signs of Hope's return.
That precious moment dear, I thought only of you
and just how once fiercely our great love did burn!
Songbirds soon began chirping softest tunes.
Life danced gaily through broad swaying trees.
Then I pictured you dancing under glowing moons,
blessed answer to sincere, desperate pleas.
Time flew, I saw Hope had freed my aching heart.
Night came, you came, ending our sad months apart.
Robert J. Lindley, 5-06-2017
Sonnet( 11,10,12,11)
Syllables Per Line: 11 10 12 11 0 11 10 12 11 0 11 10 12 11 0 11 11
Total # Syllables: 154
Total # Words: 106
Part two of -- Hope and its greatest treasures,,,,,
In the past you’d fought bouts of depression
but your sudden death came out of the blue
You hid so well the signs of your regression
and that you’d plunge and die in the blue bayou
I gather up my words and start stuttering,
at your funeral service I take the lead role
I wish I could have prevented your suffering
and that I’d noticed you were a tortured soul
I’m at the church where I was due to be your bride
a torrent of tears flood from my sapphire eyes
I hold a single rose as I stand by your graveside
your tragic death has taken everyone by surprise
FICTION WRITE
5/ 19/18
Let your Pen drip contest
Sponsored by Broken Wings
Theme ‘ I gather up my words’
Rhyme Scheme ABAB
I’m looking forward as I always do
to springtime -when the robin’s trills I hear
which come from trees which years ago we grew.
They bloom in early April. What great cheer
I feel to see them blossoming anew!
Two ornamental plum trees’ petals peer
out from green leaves. These trees, like sweet coquettes,
stand side by side displaying their florettes!
Lovely too is my ornamental pear.
She stands with dignity to the left side.
So sure am I that spring is in the air
on seeing her adorned like she’s a bride
decked out in white. I thrill to see her there -
a symbol that the wintertime has died.
My trees, for me, are signs that fragrant spring
has come with all the charm its colors bring.
Feb. 20, 2021
for the 'Spring' Poetry Contest of Regina McIntosh
Sitting reminiscing
About the subtle signs
Along one’s journey
The roads not traveled
The messages so hard to read
Reminders meant for the soul
Heart longings heard
And those that aren’t
Life passing by
Not taking time to play
Invitations postponed
Believing there’d always be another day
Friends taken for granted
So few opportunities fully grasped
Yet life there for the taking
The seeds of joy neglected
Quiet whispers of could have been
Once the sun goes down
Leaving all our regrets
On the water’s edge
Published in my photo/poetry book ~BY WATER'S EDGE~ 2019
AP: 2nd place 2023
early morning sun
warms and thaws the frozen ground ~
springtide beginnings
green shoots emerging
poking through the drab cold ground~
nature awakens
green grass sprigs appear
refreshing drab brown to green~
verdant beginning
red robins appear
singing and dancing about~
serenade of spring
a quick flash of green
of tiny fluttering wings~
hummingbird’s return
brown gives way to green
winter surrenders to spring
death succumbs to life
Signs
Once alive,
Transcriptions say well,
Stories now are history,
Mesmerising past flashes colours,
Unfolded through voiceless signs,
Yet shows it off loud,
Well inscribed !
Septet II
Written May 20th , 2015
© Dr. Upma A. Sharma
For nette's contest "Give me a sign"
Placed 6th
Prozac Nation, dated September 8th, 2001
became the film that reminded some that
these days that we live in, with cell phones
that make us capable of connecting in a flash
mean we've broken our pencils and torn up
our stationary where letters once were dashed
off of the tops of our heads and sent on
with sentiments read by bifocaled heads
of grandparents who would soon be dead
yet were there for the time, there to remind us
why we're alive and we're living in a time
of Prozac and Ambian and some form of Xanax
We've become a people dependent on our drugs
where we once depended on our minds, our hearts,
the souls that sought out Jesus instead of
the cluttered cabinets of painkillers and anti-depressants,
everything that seems to replace the true person
with a desensitized, artificial, contrived individual
only surviving the times with stockpiles of prescriptions
Chopped Updated - Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: craig cornish
Lips lustered with Venus-enchantment flirt as
Imagineer steers your swoon to the Moon on a love song..
Beyond oneness with another, the lover and artiste
Relishes color in counterpoise to white rising light, and so flows
Abstracts across a sunrise canvas to laud a treaty ‘tween night and day
Susan Ashley
April 8, 2021
*aesthete: a person who has a special appreciation of art and beauty.
*imagineer: a person who is skilled in implementing creative
ideas into practical form. A Blend of imagine and engineer.
Poet’s note: not for a contest but inspired by the “Star Sign Acrostics” poetry contest sponsored by Charlotte Puddifoot.. Thank you, Charlotte, for the wonderful inspiration. I’m sorry I missed out on entering your contest.
Those BURMA SHAVE signs used to give us kids something to do,
As down the highways and byways in our 1935 Dodge we flew!
The chef-d'oeuvre from the quills of very creative poets flowed,
Nailed to fence posts for our cultural enlightenment along the road!
Take note of this sign young reader as you pass this way!
In just a little while you too will be hoary and gray!
And like your Pa with steady hand be true and brave,
As you wield that straight razor usin' BURMA SHAVE!
She told her beau, "You remind me of a thug,
With that scraggly stubble sproutin' on yer mug!
If its my hugs and kisses that you crave,
Best ya start usin' BURMA SHAVE!"
The feller tried over and over to get a job,
But potential bosses thought him a slob!
Never apply for work looking like a knave!
Use gobs of BURMA SHAVE when you shave!
With her feller Mabel had a beef.
Claude's stubble caused her grief!
Said she, "Yer wreckin' our romance!
Ever thought of usin' BURMA SHAVE by chance?"
If on your mug you are well endowed
With stubble of which you're not proud
In the mornin' after yer kisser you scrub,
Liberally slather with BURMA SHAVE, old Bub!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(c) All Rights Reserved
I pause to breach this final night we share
To leave a darker rose among the wheat
A single bloom to mark, though unaware
Of vanishing within the moon's retreat
Strange fortitude, this peace of mind you bring
When once I wrestled and despaired this fate
While I take my leave on the grass of spring
Look for signs of me as our worlds rotate
Hear me in the richness of water's flow
Keep me as the warmth within your slumber
See me in flame's spark, in a flake of snow
In twilight's newborn stars without number
Feel me in fine dewdrop kisses, tender
Like the dawn's dream you almost remember.