Best Stays Poems
Who can resist the strangulating grip of time?
That which exists today may not be there tomorrow
Like shooting stars which vanish in the flicker of an eye
Life comes and goes quicker than a darting arrow
The only constant in life is its inconstancy
With time, even our existence turns a myth
As every sunrise follows a sundown,
Each birth leads to an eventual death
In the fluidity of time, we are in a state of flux
So don’t obdurately hold anything in your arms
Instead loosen your grip and let things go
With the ease of water through your open palms
Every lovely flower that blossoms once
Fades in time and eventually turns to brown
Even a leaf that clings tenaciously to the tree
When autumn blasts strike, falls down
Impermanence being in the grand design of things
To nothing in this world, one can permanently cling
So, willingly give way to herald in the new,
As autumn leaves cannot be laundered for the spring!
Feb.22.2023
~ Placed Second~
Inspired by Robert Frost’s ‘Nothing Gold can Stay’
Poetry Contest
Sponsor JCB. Brul
In our lives, we’ve been rendered feelings
in varying degrees of happiness -
prickles of gladness
derived from such events as those
of tasting victory,
of making someone smile, of giving aid,
of basking in the company of friends and family.
And who cannot remember the euphoric bliss
of his or her first romantic kiss?
Eventually our recollections of contentment blur.
Sensations once so strong become
as paltry as the particles of sand washed
again and again by waves of time.
However, fond remembrances
are never totally repressed.
It’s what we keep of them that keeps us strong-
. . . . that keeps us going on.
It’s our human lot to be
longing for an unfurling of fulfillment.
And for far too many, joy is elusive,
coming but in bursts before it fades. . . .
Life and lessons gleaned from it
all point to the way. but
who of us will ultimately know
the joy that sweetly stays?
For PD's 100 in a ROW contest --3
Ah Frontiera, here we are at your last, you've thrown a rod, your life lies black
on oily ground - all this snow and you're a mobile no longer; so I must walk.
It's cold, and now I think of it, that cold that exists in enormous reservoirs
at the poles of our world, seemingly to pass back and forth between,
as if through a secret conduit as the seasons are unfurled.
I will relax, I tell myself, "become one with the cold" as if it can't hurt me,
because sometimes you have to tell yourself things in order to survive.
My soliloquy proceeds as I gather thin paper birch branches and fashion them
into snowshoes with rawhide strings from my pack, a woefully empty pack
considering where I must go - the Brooks Range, even in October, is no joke -
and I can make it to a trapper's cabin, south south-west near Lake Chandalar.
Like the Inupiat Eskimos, I will sing my song, make up my tale, and live on.
Garlock, lord of this valley, seven feet of branch-breaking, tree-scarring,
log-rolling, stump-pulling black bear might, looks up, for the wind was behind me
and his nose is ever aware; my prayer - "You've eaten well, for your
winter sleep comes soon, you are not hungry enough for me" - I repeat it with
calm confidence; Praise God - noble king Garlock, this time, gives me a pass.
Two hundred miles, "Can I make it in three weeks, can I stay alive for four,"
I wonder as I walk, as I fish - pike, char; hard-fought with my hook, still the grayling
cooks on my fire - with a few remaining blueberries I find for spice; over mountain pass,
near the gorge's bottom, a rocky ledge, a rare stumbled caribou with broken legs,
my knife finishes it, oh how warm and rich the liver.
Over the blue cold of a nameless glacier - half the planet's glaciers are in Alaska,
that blue in summer melting is half of all water flowing into all the seas; I exist
with the cold, I'm only a part-day's travel from the trapper's cabin now.
Click-thunk! I hear it before my leg is alive with pain; I've stepped on a trap.
The evening's grim descent doubles and redoubles - I laugh or cry.
Will I bleed, will I freeze, or will my life just vanish into shock,
tucked into the ever-colder onset of night.
Trapper, when will you next check your traps?
December 21, 2016
For Shadow Hamilton's contest - 'Epic'
I feel the safety of your strong arms wrapped around the small of my back; your
kiss, so tender, consummates our love in a room pervading of soft, rock music,
pink champagne and...
countless white candles.
We dance slowly, and I hear your belt buckle fiercely slap against the mirror as
faded blue jeans fall to the floor; I taste your sweat and know that you belong to
me...
because you want to.
My fingers caress your thick black hair as you sleep ~so peacefully, and I smile
when recalling how I fought your love in the beginning, refusing to feel that much
alive...again...
but changed my mind.
I trusted...
just one more time.
NOTHING STAYS THE SAME
I feel…the tide roll in…
As it crashes on the shore
I’ve never felt so battered before
I felt the tide roll in
I see…the tide pull away…
Like, it’s got somewhere to go
Just where it goes…I’ll never know
I see the tide pull away
Chorus
And, I know now…that sometimes,
Everything must change
And, I see now…more clearly
That nothing stays the same
All I wanted was…to find love
Maybe…start a family
Is that too much to ask?
I’ll wait another day-
get on my knees and pray
That this misery too, will pass
Your hand is on the door…
I see…it’s time to leave
Please give me another chance to breathe
Your hand is on the door
You never said goodbye…
With so much left to say,
I tried to say it anyway…
You never said goodbye
Chorus
And, I know now…that sometimes,
Everything must change
And, I see now…more clearly
That nothing stays the same
All I wanted was…to find love
Maybe…start a family
Is that too much to ask?
I’ll wait another day-
get on my knees and pray
That this misery too, will pass
I feel…the tide roll in…
As it crashes on the shore
I’ve never felt so battered before
I felt the tide roll in
I see…the tide pull away…
Like, it’s got somewhere to go
Just where it goes…I’ll never know
I see the tide pull away
Chorus repeat and fade
John Derek Hamilton
October 16, 2018
With Nature My Life Stays In Tune
( "Sonnetina Rispetto" )
With Nature my life stays in tune
Be it day or clear night's bright moon
On this, my heart holds true and fast
With clear sunshine in month of June
Pains in life my soul seeks to prune
Cuts for the good, thus meant to last
With Nature my life stays in tune
Be it day or clear night's bright moon
Greatness in this, Nature's sweet song
Words my heart holds, praying along
On this, my heart holds true and fast
Cuts for the good, thus meant to last
With Nature my life stays in tune
Be it day or clear night's bright moon
Robert J. Lindley, 3-27-2016
Syllables Per Line:
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 0 8 8 8 8 8 8
Total # Syllables: 112
Total # Lines: 15 (Including empty lines)
Words with (syllables) counted programmatically:
Total # Words: 104
"Sonnetina Rispetto"
The "Sonnetina Rispetto" is a new poetry form
created by Dorian Petersen Potter on September 8,2009.
This form has 14 lines with 8 syllables each.
It can be written in 3 quatrain stanzas and a couplet or
with an Octave(8) and a Sestet(6) lines.
The rhyme scheme is as follows: A1,A2,B1,c,c,B2,A1,A2,d,d,B1,B2,A1,A2.
The capitals A1,A2,B1 and B2...stands for the refrain lines in the poem.
Any subject.
---------------------
QUITE A CHALLENGE, WRITING IN 8 SYLLABLE VERSES.
SLAMMED THIS OUT THIS MORN, AS I PROMISED MY VERY TALENTED POET FRIEND
PETER DUGGAN.
Special thanks to "Sonnetina Rispetto" creator, Dorian Petersen Potter...
To Isoboye Danagogo
Song about you reminds me of Africa
you are an embodiment of African culture
Look into your palms and see the route
of our lives cemented by love...
A piece of me is in you
and a piece of you is in me;
a piece which clamour for greatness
At the cross road where love lines
crossed path, we built bricks of friendship
Remember, the meatless meal we shared
We coloured our first broken Alphabets
We shared yesterday parrotting the national anthem
which is the symbol of our unity
We sang and clapped together among the congregation,
living in a world of guilty innocence because
we committed so many childish acts
I harbour you in my heart,
hope you do same too talking through poetry
in the piece of me that stays in you.
©John Chizoba Vincent
For Boy Of Tomorrow.
to minimize ones pain
to stand tall beneath the shallow insults
to hide behind a mask or laptop
a fool , a cowards way to go
The truth is so light and will heal the sad broken
no one has the right to take the truth from you
The truth that happened , the truth spoken
The light and the Dark
The evil and the good
As Christ was crucified
by jealousy causing humility and pain
some laughed and were entertained
while the Mother Mary cried helpless, feeling shamed
The Truth never lies , it will always stay the same .
May God bless you all tonight~
Fragile joy suddenly smashed,
Shock predictable attack,
Little fragments raining down,
Cutting at me deeper now,
All of you are just the same,
How much more can one heart take?
Straining underneath the lies,
One more way to make me cry,
Disappointment yet again,
Just give up and let you play,
Let me down and tear me up,
Use me 'til you've had enough,
Pass me round, then forget me,
Just the same. You'll regret me.
No-one ever stays for long.
No-one ever stays for long.
Something we all have to accept
Is that nothing stays the same
it's so easy to sigh and lament
Than accept life's looking for change.
As soon as something is comfortable
It's season is over it seems
So keep your emotions portable
So they don't interrupt your dreams.
But something I learn as I get old
Some things are better when changed
Not everything should fit the mould
Not everything's the same.
If I am honest I've got to say
It's better that things are not stale
Even though it's uncomfortable
My life is better with change.
Sylvia stays sedentary still seeking superiority
Sometimes summarizing situations so subtilely*,
Suddenly somnambulistic, she slips silently
Sensing some sarcastic silliness, soon senility.
*alternate, archaic spelling for “subtly.”
SECOND PLACE WINNER
Written June 28, 2022
For "Begin With a Letter" poetry contest
sponsored by Angela Tune
Family stays family
until the very end
Give no doubt or disbelief
to what a family is.
They fight and they argue
but they give their very best
They make each other happy
I really must confess.
My family is precious
sacred and adorned
Mess with them
and you won't be forewarned.
Cause family is family
no matter what you do
Bless our family Lord
for we know not what we do.
Each creation is equally special for the writer
Borne with true causes , works as fighter
Some are simple descriptions of own life
Enclosing prose with deeply felt passion
Words may be powerful or played smart
Any poem goes…some stays in heart
Being a work of inspiration rekindling path
Making life easier , lessening pain or wrath
Perception of the holder beautifies the work
A piece -an instrument valued worldwide
Or remains just a petty prose of another author
To be read once then forever kept aside…
Any poem goes …some hit the mark
Inception burns in the lightened spark
Some gets published with many sponsors
Few are rich themselves to get honored
Poet however moves on to create
Until the pool of words dehydrate.
As any poem goes ….some give you praise
When it’s an original voice…burnt nights and days!
LOVE STAYS
I thought of you today
Just Like I did yesterday
Still can’t believe that you walked away - People Change
I hear time has a funny way
Of makin’ the memories fade
I wish you didn’t feel the same - People change
People change
People change
People change
But love stays
My love stays
This heart was always yours
Probably will be forever more
Wish you weren’t what it’s beating for - people change
People change
People change
People change
But love stays
My love stays
Na, na, na, na, na na na na
Na, na, na, na, na na na na
Na, na, na, na, na na na na
Na, na, na, na, na na na na
People change
People change
People change
But love stays
My love stays
Love stays
My love stays
The city stays a stranger
in the bitter winds eye cast upon shadowless shapes that issue from obscure
corners
dividing the ancient labyrinths at dusk
Solemn stone walls suspended in both directions swallow up steep hills
Unsteady steps dissolve in retrospect towards insensible ground
Torn and ragged streets confront the silence of the cries of a thousand
incoherencies
speaking at the cold border that feeds grooved tentacles
The city stays a stranger
That beckons, walk with me
I can lead the way to terrified solitude
I can decapitate the present from the past
I am the wayfarer with his dark deference and troubled movement staggering in
the twilight
I am the car that roars by with the breath of uncontrollable horses
I am the two girls filled with mad joy, snatching puffs of cigarettes and brushing
back their hair
I am the festival at night, the little man, and the pointed prison
I am the rush of the crowd, the smoke, and the blazing light
I have come for you again
Awake from your disturbed dreams and troubled pillow
Walk these un-straight lines as we mingle with tomorrow