Best Stalled Poems
Stalled Beginning…Beautiful Ending
I
Like a stalled car
with engine running,
I sat there waiting
to go somewhere.
A tingling bumped
my consciousness;
I became aware
my blank foot-brake
was resting
on my mind’s pad.
Now we have arrived
to where I am; sitting
in this lot of creativity.
Here I shall be a while;
resting before moving on
to the next destination.
II
Night has fallen and by grace
here we are…travelling again.
At the day’s end, tired butterflies
ape chameleon-like blades
sticking into the soft tree branches.
Shooting stars streak across the sky;
as burrowing worms wait for the rain.
Hooting owls advise all of the full moon
echoing the truth of the passing sun.
Across the spreading beauty of night,
the grand symphony of frogs and crickets
score another mating-call masterpiece.
In the celestial heights above, said moon
silhouettes a peaceful flock in sable flight.
stalled
she pushed the throttle, her engine roared
yet she stood still
her mind raced like a couple of teenagers- late at night, pushing pedal to the medal
on a lone stretch of beach kicking up dirt, indigo steam pumping out of the exhaust pipes
bright’ s on shinning the dark empty roads
1,2, 3, flag is down and she is off- whoosh there she her goes....
0-80 in one split second
wheelies popping, 2 wheels off the ground taking curves in a dangerous manner.
out of control
yet her body couldn’t move
brain zaps, sparks ignited, you could smell the fire
smoked apple wood
pleasing for a moment then rancid to her senses
not translating to make her will move
clutch screeched- tires blown out with a thump, flat like a teenagers chest, she knew she was screwed and couldn’t do a damn thing about it
she sits as the engine catches on fire
see’s the flames but can’t move
her brain begins to hurt as she’s clutching the steering wheel. fingers gripping so tight you have to peel her fingers off for her to settle down
breath comes in short spurts, body still
she has no skills but to talk and charm
she has to guide herself, sometimes she can not catch her breath
she still cooks and sometimes cleans but always makes sure her daughter is cared for
if only the car would move when the throttle is pushed to its max
it just stalls
it’s battered and taped together so her insides don’t fall out
yet the fire in her mind burns, can’t extinguish her thoughts
and she is stuck once again
The tides of time sweep my soul away
from the life anchored in the present
to the distant obscure shore left forever,
that’s the receding past yet to be obliterated,
but lying in the shadow of the perennial future,
and generating the convivial flood of copious love,
time carries to inundate the landscape of lives carved
in my mind where dwells the desire in perpetuity,
the deathless dream…immortality.
I like to see the entrancing memory un-annihilated
in the abandoned recess of the past,
for the birds of my love flies in the present,
spreading wings in the firmament of the future.
While I drift with the imperishable soul,
floating on the sublime sea of eternity,
and with the wind of love blowing on the sail,
I yearn to get from the stalled time's magnanimity
the surreal gift…immortality.
___________
July 26, 2021
Contest : Immortality Yes Or No
Sponsor : Chantelle Anne Cooke
The wheel of time carries my soul away
from the life rooted in the present
to the distant desolate land
where I was once, but left forever,
that’s the fading past receding fast,
yet to be abandoned and obliterated.
Lying in the shadow of the perennial future,
creating the convivial flood of copious love,
that time carries on its cascade to inundate
the lavish landscape of life sculpted
in my mind where dwells the desire of perpetuity,
the deathless dream…immortality.
I like to see the entrancing memory undying,
subsist in the discarded recess of the past,
for the soaring bird of my love
flies in the sky of my present,
spreading the dreaming wings to embrace
the halcyon horizon of the future.
While I drift with the imperishable soul,
floating in the sublime sea of eternity,
and with the congenial wind of love,
blowing on the sanguine sail,
I yearn to get from the stalled time's magnanimity,
the surreal gift…immortality.
_______________
December 21, 2022
For A Brian Strand Premiere Choice No 55 Contest
At midnight black light rules
Seems as though daylight woes
Eliminator sprites
lighted
Seems as though daylight woes
Blackness stilled
lighted
Motions stalled can't see to walk
Blackness stilled
Eliminator sprites
Motion stalled
Can't see to walk
At midnight black light rules
1/11/22
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2022
The wheel of time carries me away
from the listless life rooted in the present
to the distant desolate wilderness,
where I was once, but left forever,
that’s the fading past receding fast,
yet to get abandoned and obliterated.
Lying in the shadow of the perennial future,
creating the convivial flood of copious love,
that time carries on its cascade to inundate
the lavish landscape of ornate life sculpted
in my sartorial mindscape,
I dwell in the desire domain of perpetuity,
the deathless dream…immortality.
I strive to perceive the pulsating memory undying,
subsist in the discarded recess of the past,
for the soaring bird of my love
flies in the sky of my sensual present,
spreading the wings of dream to embrace
the halcyon horizon of the future.
While I drift with the imperishable soul,
floating entranced in the sublime sea of eternity,
and with the congenial wind of love,
blowing on the sanguine sail,
I yearn to get from the stalled time's magnanimity,
the surreal gift…immortality.
_______________
December 20, 2021