Best Starboard Poems
* For Mary Kathleen Lessard Caithness *
~
cast tie-lines to shadowy depths above
meteors to plunge the ocean of suns
kick off - tally-ho! from the pier of known
a scoundrel's nod to the skull and bone
vast skies uncharted now beckon ahead
a dusk of dreams splashed yellow and red
naught but astounding, the adventures be
an endless sojourn 'cross a sparkling sea
the sky-palette waits for a score of tales
come a warm solar wind to puff the sails
all worries and why's now, abaft the beam!
set our course due for a foolish dream!
a celestial tempest to bend the jack
to his tasking a-hold the kicking strap
stem the tide, aye, mind the moonbeam drift
spread her wings wide and give her lift
the sextant's now set to the Milky Way
(we'll grave her clean on a windless day)
to port side, a wink from the Seven Sisters
off starboard, the gleam of nebulous vistas
we sunder the clouds with our wake of mist
now dark matter deep and heaven-kissed
tossed by the waves through a sea of night
we gasp for the void, yet we drown in light
our spirits denuded and paean-versed
we dare constellations to do their worst
for now we all pull to the labor at hand
to chart the expanse of this boundless land
at the bidding and mercy of a rapturous breeze
three prayers for fair winds and following seas
'til our hearts are sated and our marrow torn
and we drop our anchor there, worry-worn …
on the sands of time, we'll commend our dance
and return our dust ... to the great expanse.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Sky" Poetry Contest, Anthony Slausen, Sponsor.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Best Rhyming Poem 2018" Poetry Contest, John Hamilton, Sponsor.
~ Poem of the Day ~ at Poetry Soup.com, awarded February 1, 2018.
Categories:
starboard, adventure, imagination, metaphor, sea,
Form:
Couplet
In those bleak fields that so quietly lie - stilled as graves,
Between where the thin wind creaks and upwardly heaves,
Unseen feet can sometimes be heard
Shuffling through the old woods discarded leaves.
For i have seen those strange distant lights
That detach themselves from heavens spilling crowds;
When dropping over the blindside of the little ridge
They rise to leap from cloud to cloud.
Impossible angles of inexplicable darting momentum -
Inwardly gyrating wheels now ingeniously turning;
Marvelous these the strange crafts of unknown design...
Yes - I have seen the night skies burning!
For well i remember as a reckless child
How i stole out to ascend that one forbidden hill:
Cast deep plans, set the clock ticking accordingly,
Rose, wrapped myself against Novembers raw chill.
Deep inside the Beech-hanger the Plough was struggling,
And over the despairing holt a devisive breeze...
As, of a sudden, on the edge of swirling darkness -
Showered particles upon vapourous ethers so violently seized!
Oh the hissing bolts of sizzling electrons -
Brilliance of colours like a dying meteors last rites!
Anti-Graviton paradox of mastered equational conundrum
Igniting the latent freeze within winters sharp night.
Radiant orb held aligned by polar-opposites forceful lines,
Spinning upon a singular point with such consummate ease;
Roaring furiously liken fabled dragon of Arthurian legend,
Hot breath licking across lines of illuminated trees.
Momentary seconds that crept alongside an age enraptured
Amidst tumbling thoughts of - "Just another Alien abductee"!
Then, gently tilting starboard, accelerating smoothly away,
Vanishing over the stacks and tiled rooftops of nearby Walton-Lea.
Often have i wistfully pondered in ever hopeful, watchful years:
What was it so witnessed as it hung before me in suspended flight?
And - with many cramming thoughts - groping for answers sought -
Recalling the wondrous moment of such an awe-inspiring sight!
Categories:
starboard, mystery,
Form:
Rhyme
Your pillar of truth
Our beacon of light
Show us the way (of the)
Starboard and the portside
Illuminate me now
Bedazzle me white
See me so small
Im blinded in sight
Thy tower so tall
Empowered to write
Exposed by your beam
Ghostly ship in the night
'pon steely hard granite
Imploring your rays (like)
Coved dish of satelite
A tempestuous sea
In the saline of my sight
Inscribed on those palms
Was Thy love for me
Later to be gored
By these very same hands
Who's blood this I see?
Striped red 'round this house
Flows down the trunk of a tree
Amix with my own
'Twould be an honor for me
When drawn from the well
Make me the same
Comes one perrilous night
A torch to forgive
(Magnificent power!)-a bearer of light
Categories:
starboard, courage, jesus, light,
Form:
Free verse
It was the bronzed bell of a tinseled Ocean ship.
Until destiny was scuttled by a fiery water witch.
In time, it became the haunting clang upon a reef.
A macabre Nic Nac for cliques that ruled the deep.
They returned like blue birds, lonely for a blossoming.
To pay homage to every sailor overtaken by the sea.
They lay bouquets of flowers, over shadowed grief...
as ghosts pared sweet memories into paper effigies.
Between shuffles of worn decks and ninety proof lips.
They spin tales of crimson seas and horrible dorsal fins...
Torn hearts and sails, forever on a starboard list
Drifting between a blue refrain and the salty mist.
In the graying vein of time, everything's forgotten.
The sweet angelic, the mundane, the eternally rotten.
Gravestones hoard salt within their granite cracks.
Tokens to a time when auroras bled into blackness.
One by one the crew will drift from this pearled realm.
Riding TradeWinds into the gilded scented heavens...
or becoming driftwood, in the brackish heart of hell...
as the captain sways to the clang of his beloved water bell.
Categories:
starboard, grief,
Form:
Rhyme
“Over there,” yelled the Helmsman
“On the Starboard side.”
Though when I looked from left to right
Nothing caught my eye
“Over there,” he yelled again
“On the starboard side.”
And again as I looked from left to right
Nothing caught my eye
But I knew when I saw her
For she was not water nor was she beast
That she had come upon us
To rest us all in peace
Her fingers rattled the rigging
As all hands fought to stow the cloth
The helmsman lashed himself to the wheel
We faced the worst of her wrath
Then she brought the main-mast down
The crow’s nest crashed upon the deck
Fear eclipsed all conscious thought
For we floated upon a wreck
Our lives so fully in the hands
Of nature’s primeval fury
We prayed to our mystical gods
For their heavenly mercy
Lo she ignored our desperate pleas
As she drove us beneath the waves
Relaxed and confident she left us
To our watery graves
Then the helmsman free from his shackles
Pulled us with all his might
Dragged us by our sodden collars
Toward the watery moonlight
The helmsman of defiant strength
Pulled us with all his might
Through our aquatic graves
To freedom’s shining moonlight
Categories:
starboard, storm,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
I woke to the sound of sizzling bacon, the aroma of fresh baked Muffins and my Beautiful Lenore in her bright green Teddy. "Nubbies", I said, "what time is it." Lenore said" for You it is 3:30P.M., June 27th, 2013. You are in the O.R. at Dartmouth Hospital. For me it is time to bring YOU to Eternity for a short time."What are You talking about; Baby." I died last night before we had time to go to the Bridal Suite. I do not want You to go through that pain again. Please come with me to the railing on the starboard side of the ship."Below the shuffle board deck?""Nubbies, just
trust me." As we walked outside, I noticed there was no air,no breeze, no sea lapping against the side of the boat, the sun seemed pasted in the sky. Where is Mom and Dad;where's my Ma, Where is everybody? Harry we are frozen in time, for last night and today; never happened for you. I asked the Lord to give us this time together. I was 3 months pregnant when I said "I DO" I want you to see JoAnne Naomi Grow up. Now
Full Moonlight Stand on the railing with me and when I say 3; Jump. 1, 2, 3. You would think we would plummet into the Caribbean Sea, but we splashed into the Full Moon. The sun was warm,the birds sat on my shoulders, singing a song of Life Forever. The Peace, Serenity and Tranquility was unearthly. I then saw GOD and the Son of Salvation hugged me and in a Mezmerizing Voice said Welcome Home.
To be Continued
I want to apologize to those of YOU who are punctuationally bound to Poetry I do not know how to punctuate people talking. I know I'm suppose to use "" marks Sorry I LOVE YOU ALWAYS and FOREVER YOUR Liege...Harry
Categories:
starboard, faith, god, imagination, inspirational,
Form:
Narrative
She leaves Southampton
This Titanic ship
Her maiden voyage
New York trip
Channel crossings to Cherbourg, France
To Queenstown in Ireland
Where passengers dance
To some, a new life awaits
The future will seal their fate
Newfoundland waters
Temperature drop
Impending disaster
Without a thought
Lookouts, Fleet and Lee
Spot a large iceberg close to she
Sitting off her starboard bow
Sweat dripping from their brow
Telegraph indicator
In confusion state
This colossus of ice
Sits and waits
Inevitable meet
As natures diamond rips
Starboard side
Of this most wonderful ship
Rivets pop, buckled hull
Atlantic intrusion, in volumes now
Compartments fill, this White Star gem
Will we ever see her likes again
Distress signal sent
As the crew are readied
This ship of ships
Emotionally unsteady
Lifeboats launched
Woman and children first
On this terrible night
Many fear the worst
So many passengers
Few lifeboats
As all around
Bodies float
Stern raised, props showing
Metal talking, funnels choking
Lights flicker off and on
Blackout
Categories:
starboard, history, life, loss, sea
Form:
Rhyme
From Scrabster harbour we set
Sea fishing we go
Off Dunnett Head
Dinghy in tow
A few hours we sail
To reach the spot
To hunt our catch
Check my lobster pots
This Pentland firth
Flowing blue and fresh
With our deep sea rods
Various baits, spinning meps
Along the way
Some pots we check
Crustacean grab
Lobster and dab
Destination reached
Our fishing ground
Sounder on
Fish are found
Leaded up, lines straight
Darrow's aplenty, strengthened trace
Lines down bottom hit
Watch the tip as we drift
The waves deceive
We think a bite
Natures water
Tricks us slight
This beautiful day
As patience allows
We hear a shout
From the starboard bow
Wow! dad,
Look at the bend on your rod
Is it a dogfish or ling
Or a monster cod
Posture right to reel this catch
Has this fisherman met his match
Over an hour this marathon lasts
Fish against man, sporting ask
Forearms ache, back strains
I reel it in, it then regains
Is it tiring, or is it me
This awesome creature from the sea
Moments later
Surface splash
A wing of skate
Adrenalin blast
Fish aboard
Tagged and weighed
Released with care
In its domain we played
The day goes on
With various catch
But only the one
Had met his match
The evening draws
With the firth so calm
As we watch the sunset
With a golden dram
To Mother Nature we raise our glass
She is indeed, such a wonderful lass
Categories:
starboard, nature, sea, sportsfishing,
Form:
Rhyme
The sheep stood on the burning deck, when all but he had fled
Someone had placed the captain's hat upon his woolly head
So bravely stood the sheep upon his first and last command
Promoted to high station and to duty's dire demand.
Beyond the ship to starboard, he surveyed the churning sea
And the crew, all in their lifeboats, working furiously,
To gain a good safe distance, they rowed both fast and well
So they would not go down with the ship beneath the final swell.
Comes the moment, comes the sheep and, as the captain on the deck,
The sheep stood in command, but with a rope tied round his neck
As the waves came lapping up and all the flames went dying down
It sank beneath the waves with the sheep and his proud crown.
Categories:
starboard, animals, funny
Form:
Rhyme
To fill each tethered sail, the winds must blow
in harmony, while gentle currents flow,
and if good fortune wishes to prevail,
the winds must blow to fill each tethered sail.
To still the roaring sea the winds must calm
for sailing ships to play their faring psalm,
and when St. Elmo hears a sailor’s plea,
the winds must calm to still the roaring sea.
To stem a tempest surge, the currents stream
beneath the bow, from port to starboard beam,
for ev’ry sailor knows, before their sails emerge,
the currents stream to stem the tempest surge.
As tides recede in rhythm with the moon,
that beams its brilliance, making lovers swoon,
the rains subside while railing winds concede
in rhythm with the moon, as tides recede.
Beyond the stormy night, when rains subside,
the winds will sing in tempo to the tide.
A rainbow may surprise the morning’s light
when rains subside beyond the stormy night.
Host: Mark Toney
Marathon Contest mile 20
10-1-22
Categories:
starboard, moon, sea, storm,
Form:
Quatrain
Sails flick while chattering
To the wind deciding
How to best throw itself
Into its arms.
Port rocks to starboard
And back again
While I'm throwing my insides
Over the rail into the sea.
Mainsail catches and off we go
Pushed along by nothing
Except the breath of the sea
My stomach as a sacrifice.
The water decides most things
And today to swell and fall
Bucking like a horse.
It's just the risk you take
When you let her be herself.
Categories:
starboard, boat, nature, sick,
Form:
Free verse
There come those nights—you know the sort:
The ones where the moon is a tear-stained cheek, pressed to heaven’s passenger seat window,
Toying with the tides to the rhythm of some melancholy song that only she knows.
She’s lonely, and you know she is, because
You can feel her tugging at your ankles with each pleading surge she pushes ashore.
Homer’s words revive, and the sea is as dark
Beneath Erebus as the bottom of the glass
That you left unfinished at your hotel.
Salt leaves chalky fingerprints up your calves, but you forgive it,
Because how often, really, does the moon have a shoulder to cry on like this?
She’s confessing to you with every rasp of the water,
Lapping over the sand like the bodies of un-shy lovers, and you stand
Quiet in the fading froth.
No voice rises to cut the night as Selene sobs to you on that midnight beach, and
As above, so below, the waves weep;
Stuttering susurrations at your feet, supplications to take you under for dinner
So that the moon may pour you another glass and whisper her finer secrets where your neck
Meets your shoulder:
She loves you, but she can only say it with the silence and the solemn
Murmur of the sea tasting the sand, that rasping language
Older than writing that all the poets know.
But you’re no poet, and you are not living in a Salinger story
Where you see the evil of man tucked away in the shallows, bananas in its mouth,
Compelling you to raise your revolver like a kiss to your temple.
The night breathes, and so do you, surging in time with the surf and the rising—
Falling of that deep chest above.
The silver light, bare of her clouds
Sees you at your whollest, and longs to show you the worlds beyond your own.
She has no concept of drowning—no concept of pressures deep and fragile lungs.
She knows only starlight and starboard, and weightless things that thrive where air cannot.
Lonely, vast, she loves you.
She loves you.
She loves you, she just can’t say it.
Categories:
starboard, love, metaphor, moon, nature,
Form:
Free verse
Black Eyed Jack is a pirate's tale,
the captain of a ship the Mighty Whale.
One day Black Eye and his crew,
the Black Eyed Band of Forty-two,
Set sail out of an evil port,
to take a ship called the Vigilant Fort
"She carries gold", said Black Eyed Jack
"We'll take what's ours and give none back".
The sea was still the moon was bright,
the pirates sat in the blackened night,
when out of the crows nest was hear a shout,
"She's sailing behind, come about!"
Canons were ready starboard and port
but not a sound was heard on the vigilant fort.
"We're taking your ship" tis what Black Jack said
while leaping aboard saw only the dead.
Nothing was seen of Black Eyed Jack again,
tis said his own spirit did him in.
Categories:
starboard, adventure, fantasy,
Form:
Epic
Yo Ho!, Yo Ho! The pirates life for me
The Jamaica Jewel’s sails are full on seven seas
Skull and bones flying high on the main mast
With a trim bow and keel my flag ship is fast
At both starboard and port, my canons thunder
heard from a distance, time to pillage and plunder
My boots and vest are leather black with buckles gold
When the sunlight reflects, landlubber’s blood runs cold
A gold and turtle shell handled sword slung to my hip
A stylish full brim black hat with a subtle dip
I dress all in black except a plume of vermillion
A chest full of treasure and pieces of eight by the million
Just the sound of my name sends shivers to timbers of all
I am Capitan Blood Head, on mermaid lips and ports-o-call
On sand and beach Capitan Blood Head wanted alive or dead
Where rivers become waterfalls posters for bounty is what’s read
So the legend lives on, from Key Largo, San Juan and St Kitts cay
From Trinidad and Tobago to Saint John and Montego Bay
Don’t you cross Capitan Blood Head and his Scallywags
And don’t even think about his favorite Sea hags
‘cause if you do, they will make you walk the plank
Down to Davy Jones Locker, blub, blub, blub you sank
YO HO!, YO HO! A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME
Warner Baxter for contest "Sketch a Character"
Categories:
starboard, adventure, boat, character, fantasy,
Form:
Rhyme
On my way to the Phillipines
A mirror of blues and greens
Before the bow a Dolphin glides
With such ease the sea it rides
Starboard and port, islands calm
Golden sands and hanging palm
All dylic before the eye
Shimmer soft in hazy sky
Across the calm the seabirds lie
Flying fish dart, catch the eye
Seasnakes squirm with banded rings
Jellyfish trail their poisnous stings
And the lookout keeps a dilligent eye
For fishing boats , how flat they lie
Driftwood from a storm passed by
Or Lobster pots that lowly lie
Onwards steadily through the isles
Lay the deck as the sun it whiles
Only the sound of the passing wake
And a cooling breeze to partake
Onboard an armed gunboat bound
for Cebu, coming back a different
story.
Categories:
starboard, sea
Form:
Rhyme