Best Stoop Poems
Upon choosing to surrender,
we feel within, soundless thunder;
Holy Spirit moistens dry beaks,
as bliss beats rise and rapture peaks!
Cleansed of erst feral residue,
love glistens like the morning dew;
there then are no energy leaks,
as bliss beats rise and rapture peaks!
Shedding lust, we’re a child again,
measuring neither loss nor gain;
voice of conscience to us then speaks,
as bliss beats rise and rapture peaks!
Letting innocence have its way,
in joy presence begins to sway,
we behold then soul’s blushing cheeks,
as bliss beats rise and rapture peaks!
Entwined with the vast universe,
heart sings a melodious verse;
desires exhumed, no one here seeks
as bliss beats rise and rapture peaks!
Knowing eye of the hurricane is still,
Heart’s tranquil in the void of cessation,
Simply allowing God to do His will.
All that’s manifest, is God’s creation.
The table’s laid, everything’s ready made;
Heart’s tranquil in the void of cessation.
We search for joy, that with time does not fade;
Enabled when we choose to surrender.
The table’s laid, everything’s ready made.
Have we felt not within, silent thunder?
Bliss, as in scriptures, ours for the asking,
Enabled when we choose to surrender.
Ceasing striving, ending multitasking,
We feel heightened rapture, within resume;
Bliss, as in scriptures, ours for the asking.
Employing free will, to cravings exhume,
Knowing eye of the hurricane is still,
We feel heightened rapture, within resume,
Simply allowing God to do His will.
10-April-2022
AN ORIGINAL TERZANELLE Poetry Contest
Sponsor: L Milton Hankins
Hopefully, Old Man Winter has had his final fling!
Now, from my stoop I can relish the coming of spring!
I can watch as nature awakens and begins anew its birth.
From my perch I enjoy simple things of which there is no dearth.
A pair of squirrels entertain me, playing tag upon the grass.
They scamper up the elm, each giving the other lots of sass!
Mr. and Mrs. Robin built a cozy nest in my apple tree,
And I see three newly minted babes peering back at me!
Hummingbirds flit about sampling nectar from every flower.
The soothing coo of a mourning dove greets me from the bower.
I witness a monarch butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
A pretty golden finch serenades me with its lilting tune!
A pair of wrens is teaching their young the thrill of flight.
A haughty blue jay settles in a tree, scolding all in sight!
The roses, apple and cherry trees are in full bloom,
Filling the air about me with sweet-scented perfume!
From my humble stoop I need only to lift my eyes,
To see snow-crowned Pikes Peak agleam in the skies!
I needn't travel to any distant alien or exotic destination.
From my own back yard I can savor the wonder of Creation!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Rose from her dreams
Flourished against centuries of inaction
Broke the spell of inactivity and
Showed the confident strength of maturity.
The cultural, the mature world
Crossed the eternal ocean of pain
But that disaster couldn’t stop her there
And she sparkled, with Asia flaunting this asset.
Engineering, Medical, Fashion and Food
She raided the market and you know.
That small little island vulnerably placed
Glowed like a diamond amidst coal.
No man could stop nor hinder her steps
With her head held high and flowered bosom
She danced in red amidst white,
Like the glowing red sun in a snow white sky.
Today its 11th March, I can see her robbed
It wasn’t a man or an animal.
This was the dreadful anger of almighty
Jealous of her beauty and insanity.
He ruined her jewels and
Lashed her body.
And now we see her coughing blood
Criminals or innocent he spared no one.
Yes she’s wailing and bleeding
Not only he but her children too
Managed to crush the blossom and bloom.
Yet I know she won’t stoop
Be it soul or body
She’ll fight and raise back again
Because I know she won’t stop.
they sit outside the penny candy store,
old men slap dominoes on chipped tables,
smoke curling up like prayers
their wives gave up saying.
i lean on the fire escape,
watch them call me mami
like it’s my birthright —
call me solid, thick like the block,
hips wide enough to hold the gossip
and still swing.
they say ju got that caramel skin,
that soft bite in your mouth
when you try to say sweet —
they say i’m loud, i’m stubborn,
i argue with my hands and my hips,
i got too much to say for a girl
that comes from stoops and window sills.
but this is my gospel —
my curvy body a prayer,
my no’s a sermon,
my laugh breaks their cigar smoke,
my name rides the domino slam —
mira, mami, this girl ain’t leaving
her corner for nobody.
Why do we rebel
when bliss beats propel
our soul?
Know God does indwell
each and every cell.
Our role
is just to dispel,
dark fears that repel;
love troll.
We cannot control,
bliss scriptures extol.
To rise,
peep through love’s keyhole;
there’s then no loophole,
monk wise!
Love does love cajole
to here now unroll,
heart’s prize.
Heed not ego’s cries
as they so apprise
and scroll
soul’s light that then dies,
misled by fear’s lies;
sinkhole.
Before love’s ink dries,
welcoming surprise,
be whole.
30-March-2023
Virelai
In a world gone by,
there was the “Stoop “
More than just front steps
The place for community scoop
A safe place to share
with neighbors and friends
when long summer days
came to an end
On the stoop, for instance, you could learn
that poor Miss Shirley had suffered a burn
or Mr. Bob had come home drunk
and what was hiding in his trunk?
A place to cool on summer eve's
gone now as we just stay inside
no longer knowing our neighbors
those on whom we once relied
Weeping Willows droop,
swaying umbrella's umbra,
whispering trees stoop.
truth if we’d know
stop thoughts flowing
lie low awhile
12-May-2023
We stay adamant;
We stay arrogant;
Knowing not to stoop,
We create a sham loop.
If we stoop, we will rise,
Battering the web of lies;
Original things seldom glitter;
The things with glow are often bitter.
Hence, outshine inward,
Battling against the outward;
Life's a massive marathon race;
Stoop, rise, be full of grace.
Spiritual practice is doomed from the start,
since any ritual involves our doership
and therefore unless ego’s made to depart,
futile is our meditation or worship,
unless ofcourse we choose to add love to cart,
exiting shallow game of one-upmanship,
whereupon once no agenda is tabled,
by God's grace, soul's ascension is enabled.
28-December-2022
If I ever stoop
Only to pick a fallen flower
Not to pluck from its branch
If I ever stoop
Only to raise a man
Not to disgrace his fallen state
If I ever stoop
Only to nurse the pain
Not to cause the pain
If I ever stoop
Only to pray for all
Not to curse any.
In Brooklyn, there were lots of stoops,
Most often used for sitting,
Or else as fields for stoop ball,
Where Spaldeens* would do our bidding.
You didn’t need a friend to play –
Just threw that ball, renouncing
Your expertise if you could only
Catch it after bouncing.
We had no use for yards or grass
To keep our playtime going,
Just one Spaldeen and someone’s stoop,
The perfect place for throwing.
*the way we pronounced Spalding, which
was a popular brand of pink high-bouncing balls
Limited is lower mind’s cognition
Yet it chooses not to, with heart confer
Pitiful’s become, our soul’s condition
Ego’s ignorance, casts on love a slur
Navigating life, like an amateur
When head melds with heart, erect is our stance
Surrendering, in childlike trust demure
God’s grace in-pours, when ends our resistance
God alone is, is our recognition
For in deep stillness, we feel bliss beats purr
God search has now become, our sole mission
No longer can we, our soul’s goal deter
Body is ageing, yet clear truth’s a blur
The time’s now, to alter our circumstance
Self-anointing in our heart, gift of myrrh
God’s grace in-pours, when ends our resistance
Love in love with love, grants us permission
Our life’s ride is smooth, if God’s our chauffeur
Renewing in our heart, bliss ignition
Hitherto dormant nodes, begin to stir
From root to crown, all our chakras too whirr
Our reflex response is staid acceptance
Enabling thus, smooth energy transfer
God’s grace in-pours, when ends our resistance
Blessings flow, as God wills it to occur
Soul ascends thus, with divine assistance
We dance with joy, seeing love and light spur
God’s grace in-pours, when ends our resistance
16-July-2022
it the place we keep
we sit and meet
cold or hot
its our block
we chat a lot
on newyears we toot
on the
STOOP