Best Spectral Poems
I wandered alone, in this dark night.
Holding my amulet close, protect my soul.
For I fear none, but spectral knight.
Who haunt this trail, ask for vengeance.
I hasten my pace, prayer in mouth.
Hope soon to leave, this damned trail.
The moon has retreated, behind the cloud.
So do the star, shine no more.
All I have left, sound of tempest.
Those bellowing howl haunts, this frightful night.
Yet another sound joins, this terrifying ensemble
The sound of hoof, herald his arrival.
The spectral knight arrives, seek his prey.
Like carrion crows searching the battle field.
Whose ruby red eyes, cast deep horror.
Send down shiver to, even the bravest.
“You met thy end, my hated adversary”
Said Spectral knight with, hate and pride
“I have tract you, far and wide”
“To plan for revenge, that suit you best”
“Yet I found it, is not needed”
“The fear in you, when I arrive”
“Brought me ultimate joy, with your fear”
The spectral knight said, raising his sword
In a downward swing, his sword fell
Leaving on my chest, a deep wound.
“This is no mercy, but my pity”
“Seeing magic of time, on my opponent”
“Render his body weak, with old age”
“I found no honor, for killing you”
“But you shall remember, all your sin”
Said the Spectral knight, as he rides.
Into the darkness of, this frightful night.
Categories:
spectral, fantasy, fear, night,
Form:
Free verse
We called our Bed and Breakfast the Presidents’ House
A sprawling antebellum Italianate with a rich historical past
Fed our guests tasty nourishing breakfasts of presidential repast
Served by an eighteenth century-adorned raconteur, my spouse.
Our guest house was known for its spectral residents merry
Many we met, got to know, and interacted with over the years
Some got acquainted with our guests if they showed no fears
Prominent to visit from the house of the dead was Ms Jerri.
She was sassy, could be mischievous; at times playful and sweet
Until they met Jerri or her friends some were reluctant to believe
Other guests agreed what the mind believes the eyes can achieve
Once a female guest became quite ill and chose to stay in her suite
When she got over her flu and came down to breakfast one day,
She wanted to know who had visited her and massaged her feet.
She insisted this was one fine woman she wanted, in person, to meet.
We told her then, in great detail, about Jerri our shadowy spirit’s stay.
Written on February 12, 2021
For "Ghost Contest"
Sponsored by Julia Ward
Categories:
spectral, friend, history, image, senses,
Form:
Rhyme
Down the winding road of life,
My spirit leads the way.
On a course, I know not where,
Yet I'm grateful for the day.
I stop to look upon the past,
Then forge a path ahead.
Each step brings me closer still,
To a fate I cannot shed.
In the distance I see a light
And a voice calls out to me.
Stating that the time has come,
To set my mind and spirit free.
Heeding to this beckoned call,
I journey forth unafraid.
The spectral light begins to dim,
And I lie down in the shade.
Categories:
spectral, death, life, light,
Form:
Rhyme
revealed obligatory phrases turn out of tone
a deafening roar cascades in to the abyss
purging spectral visions barred from presenting
all in the name of truth yet never to behold
perspective lends credence but believed not so
easy to ride the train when it leaves the station
side tracking onto no where takes guts of
steel girders not withstanding the hastened
presence of crystallized thought...delicate
sounds issued, undeniable death roll of motion
hedged bets...the gods played a good game again
icing down the planet...the timing is understood
as everything expresses as part of the whole...
agreed upon or just fate?
Categories:
spectral, creation,
Form:
Blank verse
A spectral dream
to forestall
they can try
but can't prise my grip
from my tenuous grasp
of reality
in the dream
it's myself
i'm most afraid
and the night
is not my friend
when the ghosts
rise from the dead
and howl to keep me awake.
Categories:
spectral, life,
Form:
Free verse
Our Bed and Breakfast was the Presidents’ House,
An antebellum Italianate with a rich historical past
With nourishing breakfasts of presidential repast
Served by a suitably attired raconteur, my spouse.
Our home was known for its welcoming spirits merry
We met and interacted with them over the years,
Some got to meet our guests if they showed no fears
Prominent from the abode of the dead was Ms. Jerri.
Sassy and mischievous, she was mostly playful and sweet
Until meeting Jerri some guests were reluctant to believe,
Others remarked what a mind believes eyes can achieve
Once a female guest was ill and stayed in her suite.
When she recovered and came to breakfast one day,
She asked who had visited her and massaged her feet.
She insisted this sweet old lady she wanted to meet.
We told her in detail about Jerri, our shadowy spirit’s stay.
On many occasions Jerri intervened to help our guests
Sometimes she moved things around in the house
We did not mind, but sometimes it startled my spouse,
Then we would laugh it off as another of Ms. Jerri’s jests.
HONORABLE MENTION
written January 12, 2021
for "A Ghost Story" Poetry Contest
sponsored by Angela Tune
Categories:
spectral, mystery, spiritual,
Form:
Quatrain
May Unitarian Universalists sustain
active faith
in Both/And integral feelings/thoughts
co-gravitating intentions,
nuanced principles
of UniversalTruth greets UnitarianBeauty.
In these ways,
in this public health emergency
climatic time,
may we join with good faith multiculturing
healthy democratic Others
Less invested in partisan elite-insider knowledge
and also not feeding and watering
non-elite Outsider fear
and anger of sensory-sexual sanity
necessary for building
and retaining a healthy cooperative
wealthy democracy
And may we always listen for a resilient,
inclusive
sustainable multicultural optimizing
green new nature/spirit Indigenous Deal
co-investing divinely-humane balance
For restoring healthy ego-sufficient peace
and eco-justice interdependence
throughout our interfaith
ecopolitical
cooperative
therapeutically uniting spring days
and full moon nights.
Categories:
spectral, community, earth day, education,
Form:
Political Verse
Sonnet 90, Spectral Rising (Shakespearean)
As the last dead leaf falls from a tall tree,
spiraling into piles upon the sleigh;
the sun drops into the furious sea;
time for the winter and darkness to play.
In a blasphemous act of regaling
Reach from the cold earth resting in your grave;
To the hate and lies forever-failing.
Recapturing the breath your mother gave.
A soul contains sonnets gifted to all.
serenades of sweet grace, beauty and love.
Your life was born from decadence and sprawl
admit defeat and grasp wings of a dove.
Spend time reading a weathered, gray headstone
Floating from the house of the dead, alone.
2/24/2021
Ghost Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Julia Ward
Categories:
spectral, 12th grade, dark, grave,
Form:
Sonnet
Cloaked in a fitting grey suit and bow tie,
She floats like paper kites across meadows.
From a hollow in a tree, her eyes pry~
Her loud hoot startles nearby sleeping crows.
The spectral owl, with her faint, surprised look,
Watches as the crows flee into the dark.
Then silence reigns, curbed only by a brook,
And chirps of birds in the dark forest park.
Within calm meadows nestled in the hills,
The great grey owl sights frogs, snakes, and mudfish.
She floats on broad wings, drawn by hunger’s thrills~
A feast just enough to grant her one wish.
As dusk gives way to the coming sunlight,
To a hidden branch, she flew for a nap~
To await the call of another night,
And avoid the birder’s photograph trap.
Categories:
spectral, adventure, dark, life, metaphor,
Form:
Rhyme
I found myself in a distant place,
An ethereal presence was by my side,
Surrounded by trees in a darkened wood,
I Instinctively felt he was to be my guide.
To where, I dared not guess or know,
This chimera beckoned me to follow,
towards where I saw a light shine bright,
Down a craggy lane into a hollow.
The forest around me seemed alive,
As I followed the spirit towards the light,
The spectre stopped and pointed down,
Where my gaze fell on a piteous sight.
There before me all writhing in pain,
Where soldiers who fell on Flanders fields,
Towards the light they tried to crawl,
And those who got there rose into the air.
The scene dissipated and turned into mist,
That I should rise next I quickly dismissed,
Waking from a dream I breathed a big sigh,
At least not today would I rise into the sky.
Categories:
spectral, spiritual,
Form:
Verse
In the crepuscular embrace, where day and night entwine,
Dances a spectral ballet, in a twilight so divine.
Shadows caress the amber light, where contrasts boldly play,
An ephemeral bridge suspended, between the night and day.
A gentle breeze whispers tales, through the boughs with ease,
Leaves rustle with soft retorts, a symphony amongst the trees.
Birds etch their silhouette, against a sky of blended hue,
As stars begin their twinkle, amidst the darkening blue.
Veil of night descends slow, as the sun dips out of sight,
Yet, in this fleeting moment, nature orchestrates the light.
Crickets begin their serenade, as nocturnal eyes aglow,
In the twilight’s spectral dance, life's quieter rhythms flow.
The moon, a silvery sentinel, watches with gentle grace,
Illuminating the darkened world, with a soft and subtle face.
In the stillness of the transition, every creature takes a part,
An ensemble of existence, beating with Earth’s endless heart.
Oh, the stories that are whispered, in the gentle twilight air,
Of creatures, love, and nature’s pulse, spoken everywhere.
Let us linger in this dance, where light and dark entwine,
And treasure these transient moments, in the tapestry of time.
Categories:
spectral, nature,
Form:
Quatrain
The cleansing auras
Burst with prisms of color
With spectral rainbows
Categories:
spectral, spiritual, surreal,
Form:
Senryu
Monsoon, the tricky magician has drawn
A spectral stripe ,high from left to right
The sly violet slackens to turn into red,
The weary sun has travelled since dawn
Yet glows yond on the horizon to infuse
Lively spirit in the drab day , almost gone,
And smiles hopefully promising to return;
Abracadabra : The message stands to fawn :
As vanishes the gloom of the heavy night -
To turn into red the sly violet slackens
Forming the mid-one - green along the lawn .
, the tricky magician has drawn
A spectral stripe ,high from left to right
The sly violet slackens to turn into red,
The weary sun has travelled since dawn
Yet glows yond on the horizon to infuse
Lively spirit in the drab day , almost gone,
And smiles hopefully promising to return;
Abracadabra : The message stands to fawn :
As vanishes the gloom of the heavy night -
To turn into red the sly violet slackens
Forming the mid-one - green along the lawn .
Categories:
spectral, magic,
Form:
Rhyme
dew crafts
crown on grass
gold flakes fall with leaves
fire furrow paves garden path
gilded trees adorn autumn’s spectral splendor
Categories:
spectral, autumn, color,
Form:
Suzette Prime
Written: April 4th, 2024
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Behold, arrays of dreamy dryads,
With lacy halos of azure and amethyst dyads
Their ethereal presence, a sight to admire,
As they dance and sway, akin to celestial fire.
Their beauty, a tapestry of nature's art,
A symphony of colors, playing apart.
In their delicate grace, they enchant and enthrall,
A poetic vision, captivating all.
Wisteria, a symphony of divine,
Sinuous chimes of silky lilac entwine.
As they sway to the rhythm of my soul
Sibilant rustles of a silver breeze consol.
Within the sphere of vibrant hues,
Melodic whispers softly infuse.
Lullabies, akin to gentle streams,
Echo through the world of dreams.
Through winding paths, I roamed alone,
To my scarlet nest, my heart true tone.
Categories:
spectral, analogy, nature,
Form:
Rhyme