Best Slate Poems
Cobalt stained whispers
dye darkly indigo the iris of my mind
as my dulled lapis essence
drowns in deeper depths of navy -
dragged down by steely emotions
Beyond my grasp
is the ultramarine humility of the Virgin Mary’s robes -
I am lost
to the impure algae of this midnight abyss
Gone is the denim scab that patched my soul -
cast with the spindrift of tiffany dreams --
jaded,
I sink into afterlife
protected by my Egyptian prayers
Susan Ashley
July 14, 2018
(13 shades of blue used)
*Egyptian blue was often used in tomb paintings and funereal objects to protect the dead in their afterlife.* - Source: Wikipedia; Blue
We all start life in the arts, a virtual blank slate if you will,
looking for just a little truth and maybe some fresh ink to spill.
Some will share their own story with a sonnet, haiku or a rhyme,
if each artist is properly nurtured, we all will get there in time.
We may hail from all over this world, different colors and different creed,
but we all have one thing in common, it’s the words and ink that we bleed.
Most will leave you, their comments, some more and some a little less,
there are those who have no religion, but you’ll see a few that end with God Bless.
You might live and dwell in the city or in the country and known as a hick,
but we all look for special words and phrases, it’s the magic that we all try to stick.
We will spend many years writing poems, a poetic battle with our pens to the wall,
everyone will experience some success, along with a trip or a fall.
If we offer each other our support with positivity and comments in kind,
our beauty will always shine forth and will be there for the future to find.
I have no delusions of grandeur, my scribblings will never be great,
but I still love to share and write poetry, and I’m no longer just a blank slate.
2-17-2023
This or That, Vol 16 Poetry Contest
Blank Slate
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
My mind is a blank slate,
Each time I sit to write,
Words come from my heart straight,
As poems to delight,
Words of deepest insight.
~~
My heart is a blank slate,
Waiting for that love true,
Hoping that my life mate
Finds me with no ado,
When will this love break through?
~~
My soul is a blank slate,
Cleansed with Jesus Christ's blood,
A fountain of joy great
Overflows like a flood,
God's grace is my lifeblood.
~~
My life is a blank slate,
Each day, a new story,
Each step, God does dictate,
Living for His glory,
Till my head turns hoary.
~~
23rd February 2023
Topic chosen: Blank Slate
For Edward Ibeh's "This or that Vol 16" contest
a pointing finger might circumnavigate to poke you in the eye
10/3/2018
Slate sea swirls
a breath of air.
Quiet illusion
not so rare.
Electric charge
hair stands straight.
My heart and pulse
palpitate.
Kayak rocks
though not a storm.
A silent ship
elliptic form.
Hovers right above
my scalp.
Terror froze
my call for help.
Paddle slips
beneath the boat.
Nothing left
to help me float.
Horror now
my only friend.
How can this fate
be my end?
Shoreline seems
a million miles.
Solitude and peace
just smile.
Entity
envelopes me.
Light departs
dank darkness breathes...
Piercing screel
hurts my brain.
Shuddering
fowl vomit rains.
Heat tears through
my lower limbs.
Blood pools 'round
fills to the rim.
Consciousness
falls through my knees.
Wracked with pain
I cannot breathe.
Snare begins
to tighten round
both my wrists
without a sound.
Now is gone
the fight for life.
Only love
keeps shining bright.
Body broken
heart has stopped.
Mother's voice
A lollipop.
Sweet bird song
now fills the air.
Smell of roses
everywhere.
Friends surround
my smiling face.
Be on guard,
oh human race !
Stains of the past wiped out with a swish;
Tears of remorse melting marks of our errors.
Quick as lightening, removed in an instant;
He forgets what we've done as we beg for forgiveness.
Before we are finished, the Supreme One who hears,
Renews our bond of love and removes sin's chains.
Remembrance of pain erased from the heart,
Our debt was paid through the ransom from God.
Nothing we've done can interfere with His Grace,
When we turn to doing good and ourselves remake.
(Acts 3:19)
Quote: Free from preconceptions and biases, He never judges us
though we constantly mess up, He never does keep count.
A life of prostitution taught her never to take
anything for granted;
Numerous were her sins, far greater was her guilt
but she never sang inside that iron cage of hers
She considered herself to be the lowest of the lowest
until one day
She found herself crawling up to an altar
in the middle of the night.
Hungering for more than flesh, the power of the cross consumed her
igniting flames inside of her, and allowing her to feel her own brokenness
An unrest came upon her and she decided to flee,
but just before she reached the doors a tender voice spoke
through the walls of the cathedral
"My child, why do you run from me. Do you not know, that the moment
you came to me, you became a newborn Dove, cleaner than snow"
The End.
Feb 22, 2023
Sponsor Edward Ibeh
Title Chosen: Blank Slate
Contest Name This or That, Vol 16
In my blank slate status…
serenity engulfs my soul
whenever I’m enclosed by God’s presence
with His providence sealing me
and sovereign protection serving as my fortress.
With my blank slate admission…
grace reigns over my heart
as the Saviour draws me nigh to Him
toward gratitude for redemption, eternally assured
along His complete pardon for iniquities and guilt.
Midst my blank slate discontentment…
mercy confounds my murmurings
revealing urgent need for provisions
since the Lord replenishes well
granting wondrous satisfaction.
Wallowing in my blank slate emptiness…
hypocrisy towers over my pride
yet, I’m promised by the Creator
heavenly wealth beyond measure
that vanquishes self-pity for impoverished fate.
Despite my blank slate struggles…
the Sovereign enables my revival
against despair of sin-caused anguish
for the Holy Spirit empowers me
while I cleave to sublime strength to do what’s right.
Triumphant over allurement of blank slate comfort zone
I strive for spiritual replenishment
delighted to commune with the Almighty
around bond of intimate fellowship
where my sighs He eases with comfort.
Bestowed with divine nature against blank slate perspective
I persist to fulfill my new-creature* roles
by faith that surmounts trials
while serving Christ and to others ministering
joyously testifying about His abounding love for all.
*2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
February 10, 2023
5th place, "UPTO YOU AGAIN" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; judged on 3/8/2023.
A new year wipe yourself a clean slate,
leave past worries and troubles behind
a locked gate.
Dispose of old foes and
any lingering ghosts.
Dust yourself of
moving forward letting go of last years
mistakes and traits.
You have a destiny,
your life will be restored. Your heavenly
Father knows what your future holds.
Trust in the good shepherd and life will
get better.
The rhythm of the slate
My pregnant heart
Is about giving birth
From one to many
Till it tills on
And loses counts
My aqua-terrestrial wits
Formed from inner veins
Are set on plain
Polishing for tenants of the crust
Ears hear them all
Like hum of rockets
Eyes capture the requisite
Like lens of cameras
Then ripples fall
Vent vein to pen
And dine the pen
To the rhythm of the slate
In inscribing
What’s worthy
Of a name
In deep scouting
What will become
Like a feast
For petal-full land
I aren’t penning this
Within the bare hands
Of the sun and the moon
But pen I’m pinning
Believing I’ll pen
Other better pens
What a wonder! Nothing was written! Absolutely free!
Bee, sea, tree - I can create whatever I want to see.
Receptively blank as the almighty designed it well,
It can in each sketch His miraculous mysteries spell...!
Tabula rasa, John Locke calls it - no readymade concepts,
Like nectar in a flower, facts fill in all its contents;
The environment like my mother nurses my actions,
My caring and rearing enable all my attractions...!
I am like a natural child, devoid of compulsions,
My growing intelligence expulses all convulsions;
The Blank Slate - nature's hardware - analyzes all awareness,
My contemplations - software - set them rightly in fairness...!!!
06 February 2023
driftwood drawn words~
sandy slate washed clean
under waves of the sea.
picking up the pen again it's been awhile with no conditionin',
when you've been gone so long where do you begin?
I fell again,
i had to sin in my mind to win,
but I lose
sitting alone in my room like I’m on auto-cruise,
every look in the mirror givin my ego a bruise,
because i know where i am is due to what i choose,
fade myself away into the day, the way the day fades into night,
and when the dark surrounds I'm not around to feel the fright,
i'm in my mind lost in a world that isn’t mine,
looking for a way out, hoping for a sign,
a self-induced coma from which i wish i could resign,
all these things have become malicious but my intentions were benign,
and although i wanted to begin this i feel I've crossed a line,
and there seems to be no coming back,
the feeling of a constant heart attack,
all my vision slowly fades to black as i feel my knees begin to slack,
i don't feel myself fall only hear my head smack,
on the floor with a crack,
did it awaken me or has it just shaken me?
either way I think it's makin me feel like this world is fakin me,
and i just wanna clear the slate ya see?
So many lifestyles, So many
groups
People being judged like a
cover of a book
Let's shed one last Tear and
Appreciate we're here
For tomorrow's never
promised which to me now is
clear
People blessed enough to still
be on earth
An attitude of gratitude should
globally burst
Let's learn not to hate, teach
each other to forgive
United as one, how God
intended we live
cross of blue grey slate
salutes the mountain
a red kite hovers