Best Souter Poems
A Fou BetWe met in yonder tavern
hay up top o' meikle hill
bousing nappy til a' fou
the nite drave on wi' rairing voices
an the nappy growing better
a souter gars a bet wi' lades o' siller
the deil laughs as they skelpit
slippin' in the dub. Ro'nd birch
an meikle...
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Categories:
souter, drink, giggle,
Form:
Verse
A Whigmaleerie For TheeWilliam S* showed a poetic voice
the quatrain form,his choice
he named a whigmaleerie
became a lasting legacy
* William Souter ,also famed along with Adelaide Crapsey for the popularity of the American Cinquain...
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Categories:
souter, people, poetry,
Form:
Quatrain
The JourneyThe Journey
The journey had been long,
the path had been narrow,
the afternoon was shortening
and my destination crept closer.
I walked on.
The path still strolled ahead of me
and no matter how fast I travelled -
that fact never altered.
I moved off now as clouds bundled above,
an acting audience...
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Categories:
souter, family, imagery, journey, nature,
Form:
Free verse
The Lone TreeThe Lone Tree
The autumn day had been muffled up
in thick scarf and rainproof jacket
until darkness, countryside darkness,
clambered gradually over the horizon;
silence, stillness obediently at its heel.
Then black the night, wild the sea
and the lone tree stood tall,
branches muscled, trunk heavily rooted,
protective of its remaining leaves.
...
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Categories:
souter, imagery, nature, tree,
Form:
Free verse
The Bitter Bite of NightThe Bitter Bite of Night!
Night creeps in sotto voce
melding with the mellowing village life.
Night, a seemingly mischievous cat,
slips along incognito in its prankish mood,
teasing any light that tries to define her.
Night now casts darkness into distant corners,
lassos slumbering, innocent buildings;
trick roping them with thinly, stretched...
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Categories:
souter, imagery, night, winter,
Form:
Free verse
Morning Turns the PageMorning Turns the Page
Night lies softly across the beach,
as delicate as a black, silken scarf,
while, underneath its dark veil,
the sea is blue tissue paper
with whitened finger tips
wrapping an early morning present.
Then night, like nature’s magician,
magically removes it’s black disguise
allowing early morning...
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Categories:
souter, beach, imagery, travel,
Form:
Free verse
A Study in CharatcerA Study in Character
My aunt….
wears jewellery that winks as she walks
and she always has a sharp, shivery look
that you pay attention to …just in case!
She makes the world around her nervous
and I can hear it in my own voice;
it’s as though I have a...
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Categories:
souter, character, confidence, imagery,
Form:
Free verse
Buttered FieldsButtered Fields
It was early when she was tickled awake
as light eased under the eaves
to trickle through a sigh of curtains,
to whisper across the bedroom floor,
to nudgingly nestle beside her…..and beam!
Outside the sun had buttered the fields,
mellowing, yellowing the crisp, morning dew.
The girl awoke...
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Categories:
souter, imagery, nature,
Form:
Free verse
The LieThe Lie
I am an insect waiting to be squashed!
I stare hard at the ground
as if fascinated, enthralled by it
while, above, eyes of cold-cobalt
wait to gouge and burrow out
any self-belief that might still remain.
“WELL?”
It always starts with that unsettling word.
Ironic as...
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Categories:
souter, anger, anxiety, father, father
Form:
Free verse
The House on Lake MaggioreThe House on Lake Maggiore
The house on Lake Maggiore was reality, a physical truth,
my imagination became the artist.
The day has become a deckchair, gently folding itself up
as my walk leads me into a discreet street
where respectful houses tip their roofs
and lampposts bow with...
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Categories:
souter, home, house, imagery,
Form:
Free verse
A Sensitive ManA Sensitive Man
He was the sensitive, hushed type
whose character was often folded
inside his pocket, rather than on display.
He always felt different but adhered to the rules:
school, college and now work.
Politeness followed him courteously
while his kindness was always considerate.
In his early years, his...
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Categories:
souter, appreciation, character, emotions, imagery,
Form:
Free verse
Broken ShadowsBroken Shadows
She has always had an energetic thirst for life
but now incurious thoughts are strung across her mind
and there they hang, a washing line of confusion
until a nudge of stretching shadows ripple her soul.
And the house…. is silent.
She moves but her heart, hands and feet
appear...
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Categories:
souter, confusion, fear, imagery,
Form:
Free verse
'the Long Shadow'‘The Long Shadow’
Jenny Souter 10/07/2023
My shadow is longer than me.
Pooling my shape and stretching limbs, distorting reality.
I turn the thin paper edges up and...
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Categories:
souter, death of a friend,
Form:
Free verse
Further AlongFurther Along
Further along you might know some of the answers,
further along perhaps you will understand the why.
We met on a corner of an afternoon
where the sun had stopped to shine;
you smiled a well-practiced smile
and I warmed myself slowly on you.
We spoke...
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Categories:
souter, love hurts, relationship,
Form:
Free verse
The Leaves Are HushedThe Leaves are Hushed
Alone
she stares through a skylight
playing I spy with the sky,
creating fantastical creatures
out of skimming, brimming clouds.
Suddenly
a shadow swiftly smears a window
staining its filmy, hazed glass;
a corrugated feeling, firm and undulating
settles steel-hard in her stomach.
Hurriedly
her hand reaches for her heart
but it isn’t...
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Categories:
souter, death, fear, imagery,
Form:
Free verse