Best Stalagmites Poems
Timeless Cave
Hidden deep out of time on a limestone cliff
its entrance for the ages concealed
paw prints of cave bears on soft clay ground
and smoke-stained walls it harbored
but deeper, still deeper, farther in time
earth’s ancient origins still beckon
for an artist his palm prints left and man’s
greatest testament of eras bygone
panthers and cave lions on smoothed surfaces
lost voices from humanity’s past
he painted in the torches light from us closing
the distance and they all outlast
on cave walls, hyenas, and horses in flight
immortalized remains vibrant echoes
ringing through the millenniums
a masterpiece there lies
in the midst of stalactites and stalagmites,
man’s original Sistine Chapel still rests in peace.
Glimpse an empire in sweated palm burdened with pain centuries old;
Horrors and stalagmites hang in beautiful tragedy Gods have told:
Within soil surrounding bluest calm, such memories you hold.
An episode of birds hovers beneath
a marmalade moon , just for a while,
as cotton-clouds sweep
the brushed limbs of a sky ready
to cradle the cloaks draping avian settlers;
those who like us ascend on hammocks
of dreams windblown by heady seasons
gliding through embroidered spring, the livid
lust in summer, on to a pious psalm come autumn,
soon... opal stalagmites of winter:
how abrupt and immediate this leaving!
Here we are, beyond shadows tasting
the song of evening walks soaring with
Aurora’s mist vanishing into a world
where permanence of cycles returns and repeats
the refrains from humming rivers growing frail,
until buds explode into leafy twirls
sweeter than the scent of parsley
on a fresh daylight…. icy, spicy, tangy.
Birds tweet, to swivel back into ancestral nests
much like us... wandering then yearning to kindle
the fire and oil of sweet home. Somehow,
seasons change… but our children’s dwellings
and god ‘s grace do not.
............
1/28/2016
For Cyndi Mac Millan's Contest
FIVE PROOF: FREE VERSE
THAT SHOWS IT AIN'T NO PROSE
......................
Literary devices: Assonance, Alliteration,
Imagery, Mood, Synesthesia
Cloistered in this cavern where chandeliers hang crystalline
Adorning the vaulted ceilings to which
Varicolored stalagmites have so slowly climbed - I find
Exquisiteness etched by time -
Seclusion's serenity.
For Line Gauthier's 'Bite Size Poem no11' Poetry Contest
Through eldritch streets I walked alone
With shadows on my track,
Full jellied was my every bone,
I thought my mind would crack.
Through mist and morbid mire I went
To revel where gargoyles dwell,
A guest whose soul was spent,
To meet the host - the King of Hell!
Through caverns dark I made my way,
The squelch of shoe, the crack of bone,
Chittering squeaks from shadowy grays,
Would never leave me alone.
At last I reached the caverned maw,
Ceiling glint with stalactites,
And of course its bretheren I saw,
The saber-toothed stalagmites.
And on the high-domed hellish lair
Hung a grinning crystal skull,
It threw a ghoulish, greening glare
Which made my senses dull.
All around there was a damp,
A noxious putrid smell,
And slightly a-centre on a ramp,
Stood grinning the Lord of Hell.
His feet were hooved, his head was horned,
He flashed his fang-like teeth.
His eyes were huge and darkly burned;
Heart stopped, I could hardly breathe!
"Welcome", boomed my infernal host,
And flashed a rotting smile,
"A welcome drink, a one-time toast,
Before you join my rank and file!"
Something clammy seized my mind,
My clothes turned very wet,
I screamed and woke myself to find
I wasn't dead as yet.
But close to it I surely was,
My narco-ed mind amid I had lain,
At hell's door without a fuss,
When with maddened mind I'd cut my vein!
Her language drips with intelligence
The slow drizzle of innuendos
and proclamations from which
she speaks is like witnessing
stalagmites and stalagtites
finally touching as if
each syllable was measured
by a drip
so edifying
And it's not just what she says
but how her lips catch the light
of a candle glow
and how the corners of her mouth
dance with her dimples,
her essence is edible
quite incomprehensible
how one can starve
by tasting it
I love every morsel,
every crumb that falls haphazardly,
to the floor, jealous of the way,
her tongue can be so judgemental,
inviting then inciting, enveloping
making me wish I had
lettered in spiritual dynamics.
I would have been a star
without ever touching a ball.
Her hello, and me running a million miles
in my mind trying to think of some other word
that rhymes with this title
other than bed...
I am fed
In reservoirs, far underground,
where stalagmites are sometimes found.
In lakes and ponds and puddled pools,
in mist and marsh and snow that cools,
I hide beside my sisters.
In issuing springs that sparkle bright,
on stony slopes of shade and light,
to flowing streams that twist and turn,
past meadow banks of grass and fern,
I glide beside my sisters.
In river reach with rippling flow
‘tween rush and reed I always go,
to delta mouths both deep and wide,
which seas contest at every tide,
to glide beside my sisters.
In raging rapids torrents race,
or waterfall’s tumultuous pace,
in storm lashed seas, which crash and break,
on shingle shores that white waves rake,
I ride beside my sisters.
And who am I that rides so free,
who glides and hides so easily;
a mermaid in the salty sea,
a naiad or a white kelpie?
A water nymph you just might see,
me ride, beside my sisters.
In spite of enjoying a very happy life
There are things I wish I had done
Like running naked through the Trevi Fountain
Or climbing the pyramids with a Nun
Walking the length of The Great Wall of China
While playing the Scottish bagpipes
Or exploring the famous Carlsbad Caverns
Dodging stalactites and stalagmites
The Colosseum in Rome is another site
That I've yet to see first hand
Remember the Beatles played a concert there
Now that was an amazing band
354 stairs in the Statue Of Liberty
Could climb them without a problem
Might need to have some oxygen handy
When I get back down to the bottom
Big Ben is an absolute must for my list
Like to hang from its giant minute hand
And straighten up the Leaning Tower is Pisa
While holding a pizza in one hand!
Then there's St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow
An amazingly colourful structure
Commissioned long ago by Ivan the Terrible
Ivan's name sure makes me shudder
So now you know why I gotta stick around
To see all these very famous landmarks
So I can accurately construct every one
At the home when I play in my sandbox
© Jack Ellison 2015
Diamond Mountain Cave
(Phu Pha Phet Cave)
The largest cave here in Thailand
Has an eighteen acres in total size
It is not that easy for us to find
But if we’ll get in there, it’s a big surprise!
We need to explore first the side of the mountain
Be patient and careful to climb its lofty and rugged stair
A shade half our way offers rest and we’ll not feel in vain
Quite tedious, but an exquisite view awaits us up there
The Diamond Mountain Cave has seven floors
Most of the time, only two floors are offered for all
Twenty rooms are more than enough for two to three hours tour
After stooping down to get in through the very small entrance of the hall
Public exploration is facilitated by its long wooden walkways
As we tour in every chamber ,we’ll be impressed
With our lens, we can’t resist to capture in every way
The formations of stalagmites and stalactites that amaze
To name the most captivating formation inside the cave
Is the stalagmite in a very huge dinosaur-like egg in shape
Standing prominently at the main hall, it’s my fave
Coated with glittering diamond bits, I wish I can touch or scrape
A form which isn’t funny but also with its wondrous beauty
Is a man’s sword-like stone, no malice to catch our attention
There are a lot more making us feel like dreamy
Such as the amazing mushrooms and big jade stone
It’s so fun to walk around on walkways going up and down,
As we feel the cold wind coming in somewhere
Ventilating and protecting us from sweat so as not to frown
Then we’ll come out with big smiles and great experience to share.
April 15, 2013
*man’s sword : the term I use for man’s sexual organ
--I was there.
I was on me way to Adelaide, to watch the Blues take on the Crows,
it’ll be a super effort winning there, as every Vic here knows,
I could have flown and watched the game and done it in one day,
but decided on a tourist drive to catch the sights along the way.
I took the narrow winding path along the Ocean Road;
took in mountain views of sandy beaches, these special vistas showed;
spent one night in the Grampians with Zumsteins Kangaroos
and another in the Little Desert; a garden filled with many hues.
Then I drove down to Mount Gambier to visit rellies there,
I toured around the blue lakes and the limestone caverns where
stalactites and stalagmites grew from the roof and floor,
and then I found my el dorado… a McDonalds store.
Since the morning I left Melbourne, it’s been all fruit and weet bix,
so its great to find the ‘Golden Arches’ where I get my ‘Macca’ fix;
a nice thick super burger, with a coke and double fries,
and it’s waiting on the counter and so attractive to my eyes.
I found a table that was empty, put down the tray and ate a chip,
placed a serviette upon me lap, grabbed the coke and took a sip,
unwrapped the burger, ate more chips; had another drink of coke,
then watched a couple sit beside me, but neither of them spoke.
It’s obvious that they are married and that both are elderly,
but it seemed strange they ordered, the very same as me,
then I watched the fella cut the burger, in half carefully,
divide the chips and into glasses, pour the coke out equally.
I must admit I felt embarrassed as I watched this small charade,
and thought that being pensioners, times must be pretty hard,
so with a caring gesture, I offered them my burger, chips and coke,
but they refused me generous offer, and the lady quietly spoke.
“I know you mightn’t understand”, and then continued with her riddle,
“But through our married fifty years, we’ve split things down the middle,
what we buy is always shared, including everything we eat.”
Then she sat and watched her husband, scoff his Macca’s treat.
Here I am still quite confused, as I scrutinize what’s going on,
she’s watching as her food goes cold, so I asked her what was wrong,
“Oh nothings wrong” she said, then took a drink to quench her thirst,
“It just so happens that its Harold’s day, to use the false teeth first.”
Eden of my eye
Beauty in culture of ten million
Garden of my eye
Haven of brethren and sistren
Values never weakened, in words spoken
Freedom strengthened, heritage golden
Sprinkled love in dynamite
Ceilings of heaven in stalactites
Grounds softened by stalagmites
Citizens' history, written in strobe light
Magnets of loving people
Ore of the grounds supple
Blanket of salvation
Tablet and core of the nation
Frozen
Struck by your hand
Gentle touch makes me stand
Between the eyes I'm captured
Enchanted I am, frozen ice raptured
Crystal dripping stalactites thawed
Stalagmites on ground awed
Then you vanished
Frozen
I can remember as a child
thinking then, snows were very deep,
that train trestles could touch the sky
and dad stood at least ten feet high.
With little legs standing in snow
Like twin stalagmites stacked and cold
certainly seemed deep, in my eyes.
Same could be said for train trestles;
Standing beneath them looking up,
It wasn’t hard to imagine
them touching that enormous sky.
Today standing somewhat stooped,
my octogenarian dad
remains that giant in my eyes.
((Haiku))
Love seems endlessly
Then stalactites stalagmites
Divorce comes for sure
((Limerick))
She walk down the isle smiling in white dress
In the courthouse in black dress, what a mess
Lovers dancing on the sand
Divorce and money in hand
Got her money's worth, who laughs last laughs best
((Couplet))
The guy thinks he can outsmart the girl
The girl knows after divorce she owns his world
~Divorce Club~
Contest for : (Destroyer ((Poet
brush in hand, he breathes life to paper ...
columns ... bejeweled and sparkling
like blades of shimmering grass
piercing the night as star-flecked stalagmites
fingers of phosphorescent proficiency
flickering with the finest of human accomplishment
and twirling through the ether like fairies
darting and dancing to the throb of frantic grids below
glowing girders and gangling spires, agleam
trembling with the concerns of life
and dressed in the temperate weight of wonder
a thousand stories born each elegant instant
countless dramas and conundrums
spinning to their inexorable ends
numberless breaths gasped and giggled
heart-upon-heart pumping ire and exasperation
thrumming with passions, proved and pondered
or the typic pulse of the prosaic
a glistening garden of "la condition humaine"
a beast born of concrete and light ...
its urbane and provocative heart, beating ...
the canvas has come ... to LIFE!
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Something Bigger Than Myself" Poetry Contest,
Line Gauthier, Judge & Sponsor.
N/A'd in the "Cityscape" Poetry Contest.