Best Stretch Out Poems
O the warmth and the depth of the sun, o’er us,
for the yellows and reds, as they throw their shine
on the maples and oaks and the pines, caress
of the pale and ebon - all the blossoms stress.
And the flit of the robins, and rest on boughs,
as they lift up our spirits in singsong light.
We’ve a glimpse of once-paradise-sourced delight.
The long rays of God’s arms - they lean down to rouse.
Each new day, flows our way, and it fits like glove,
and we stretch out our arms like a child, and smile,
as we’re wrapped in the Dayspring’s colors and style.
All our senses awake, as God pours out love.
8/23/2022
Categories:
stretch out, morning,
Form:
Quatrain
Beside the rustic harbor stands a lighthouse on a hill
It keeps a watchful vigil o’er the waters deep and still
At night the harbor waters shine almost as bright as day
And nothing is as beautiful as moonlight on the bay
The shores stretch out their golden arms along the rugged land
The waters seem to sing and dance across the golden sand
A cool and salty ocean breeze blows softly through my hair
As tiny sparkling water droplets gently fill the air
I stand next to the water's edge and listen while it sings
The water seems to know the gentle comfort that it brings
I long to have you at my side beside the shining sea
While list'ning as the water brings your image back to me
Though we are very far apart I still can see your smiles
As the water whispers soft and sweet across the many miles
I hear your sparkling laughter and it softly seems to say
“I love you”, and it fills my heart like moonlight on the bay
Categories:
stretch out, love, passion, seawater, water,
Form:
Rhyme
His poems live deep down in the wood
down in an olde hunting lodge
They are brown as the bears head that
hangs on the wall
brown as the dark leaves that fall
silently hiding the salt lick
from fawns who come in
the twilight to call
His poetry growls and grumbles and purrs
like a cougar alone on the rim
of the canyon above the olde
hunting grounds
where he writes all his lines
like a hymn
His poems stretch out on the furs
by the fire
and tell of the storms and the waves
that tested the strength of the words
that inspire
and sent many songs to their graves
for brave are the sagas
the odes that survive
the trek through the woods to the town
and as we go home we gather them up
scattered like leaves on the ground.
Brown,yellow,red ,a few of them green
His poems are places and things we have seen
but not from the view that the truth hunter gives
deep down in the woods ,where poetry lives
Categories:
stretch out, on writing and words,
Form:
Rhyme
I stand at the front of the exam hall, which is in total silence.
Grey desks stretch out in neat rows -
they remind me of gravestones in the local cemetery,
with white faced students their unwilling occupants.
The only sounds that can be heard are the pages being turned over
and the scrawling of pens on the paper.
Exam invigilators creep around the room like mice,
their hawk like eyes ensure no one is cheating.
Suddenly a booming fart breaks the silence -
it sounds like a machine gun that has been fired in short staccato blasts.
We can clearly see the perpetrator as his face is as red as a raspberry!
Muffled giggles are stifled and silence is once again restored.
A true story!
Noise Contest
Sponsored by Shadow Hamilton
03~09~17
Categories:
stretch out, high school, humorous, silence,
Form:
Free verse
(Free Verse)
When I am all alone
all I do is to think of
you my Love day and night all long
and on a silvered fluffy clouds
I go waffling along to you
filled with joyful dreams
of you and I my darling
and softened the misty
moon and the dotted stars
from heaven above seem
to stretch out their regal arms and
singing sweet lullabies of love
they sing to me of you
and how much my love I just
adore your face and your
heart of gold
with all my love for you like
eternal shining stars
from heaven just dancing for you
with all my heart thinking of
Just you
And up above a crimson sky
and clear blue sky my true love
for you just soars to your inviting arms
and with a very sweet an passionate kiss
our hearts will be singing
angels sweet lullabies of love songs
as warm waves of only love
for you so sweetly will go just up
and down with you just dancing
forever and ever in a true soulful
passionate kiss my love.
Dorian Petersen Potter
aka ladydp2000
copyright@2014
November,17,2014
Categories:
stretch out, dedication, love, romance,
Form:
Free verse
there’s something so endearing
about a late fall sun
so mellow so sultry
a warm toasty glow that lingers
and penetrates your skin
reaching through to the bone
your body craving it
moments so rare
you want to treasure
and stretch out
knowing how few and precious
those last rays really are
before the clouds and snow
winter will be long
and the cold disheartening
so soak up the energy
of that october sun
let it kiss your cheeks
slowly utter its last goodbyes
Published in my 24-page photo/anthology ~BYGONE DAYS OF SUMMER~ 2020
AP: 2nd place 2025, Honorable Mention 2022
Submitted on June 14, 2020 for contest BRIAN'S SELECT H sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
Posted on September 20, 2019
Categories:
stretch out, appreciation, autumn, change, longing,
Form:
Free verse
Floating high in deepest space, un-seen by eye, exploding stars
breath new life, from gas and rocks a planets birth, that leaves a trail
for mankind to annihilate, this planet earth once was blue!
Solar flares soar out through space disrupting waves and bending light
heat and life, a nucleus that keeps us warm…elementary
unconquered, a viking probe spies, breaks barriers seeking signs
While black holes devour light; then inside out birthing new stars
galaxies stretch out fingers to a dark void; infinity
the big bang brought us life and hope from gravity; gravitas.
© 15/6/2014
Debbies contest
Categories:
stretch out, space, planet,
Form:
Sijo
I am keeper of the midnight clock
A watchful eye, when darkness peaks
With one eye closed to mock your sleep,
The other eye revolves to keep
the world in check 'till morning breaks
They often wonder where I hide
when evening shadows stretch out long
My saucer eyes, will search the night
as a sentinel until first light
I perch, attached to the red-tile slope
upon the ridge, and then will scope
for predators within the grid
In the shadows of the evening's grace
I'm a silhouette on moonlight's face
You can trust my wisdom and my song
For I am keen to know, somehow
how time itself, will sway and bend
I'll stay awhile, become your friend
Then off I'll fly, when summer ends
When first the chill of autumn's call,
you will look for me as twilight falls
to say farewell, for I am called
But, halls of dark are lonely now
Without me there, wind can't compare
For now, you see, the loft is bare
When summer echoes in the wind
it will call for me, and I'll be there
When you hear sounds, much like the wind
You'll know it's me, with a lonely whoooo
I won't be asking who are you
It's just my way, to say I'm home
_______________________________________________________
2/5//16 Submitted for "Owls" Contest
Sponsored by Eve Roper
Categories:
stretch out, bird, nature, night,
Form:
Personification
I s’pose you've heard of Tamworth and the shindig there each year,
where country music reigns supreme and all its stars appear.
They’re in the pubs and all the clubs and arcades 'round the town
and Peel Street is just full of pics all strumming up and down.
In years of late another breed of artists have appeared;
Bush Poets with their rhyming verse, who are now quite revered.
The Longyard and Imperial pubs and Leagues Club host a few,
while golf and bowls clubs house more mobs and Peel street has them too.
It happens that I'm one of them and have for six straight years
performed to folk my style of verse - The Laughter and the Tears.
You make them cry, you make them laugh, you keep your tales true blue,
for that is what the folk demand: be Aussie through and through.
Most folk they see us poets as the ocker type of bloke
and know we see line dancing as some kind of flamin' joke.
They stream to Tamworth each year and stretch out along Peel street.
These hordes of blokes and sheilas with their fancy prancin' feet.
They’re shapes and sizes are diverese, no two frames look the same,
with fancy shirts embroidered with the place from hence they came.
They tuck their thumbs behind their belts then line up in a row
and when the music kicks on in they boot scoot to and fro.
Each year they have this ritual, that really is a bore;
They try to break the record they procured the year before.
Like locusts they assemble and I watch them with disdain
'cause surely they've got Buckley's chance of doing it again.
[CONTINUED]
Categories:
stretch out, funny, people, music, music,
Form:
Rhyme
As rippling horizon
douses fiery orb,
you are at your
most alluring.
Ethereal,
diaphanous limbs
stretch out,
reach for me,
beckon to me.
Barely audible murmurs,
laced with
forbidden promises,
cross the distance
between us.
Whispers become
more insistent,
more urgent,
more pressing.
Begging, cajoling,
pleading, coercing,
demanding that I come to you,
that I give myself to you.
Eventually,
inevitably,
relentless appeasement
erodes my resolve.
Heedless of the warnings,
heedless of the risks,
I succumb completely,
totally and willingly,
without compunction,
without restraint.
Wrapped in your embrace,
rapt in your presence,
I submit to your whims.
So implacable,
indefatigable,
I'm utterly entranced.
You draw me down,
encourage me,
guide me,
bid me explore you.
Probing your inner sanctum,
I crave you,
love you,
know you.
Your scent,
your taste,
your sounds
fill my every sense.
I inhale you, imbibe you,
devour you, as you -
in turn - devour me.
Your very essence engulfs
every inch of my body.
Breath snatched from lungs
as passion escalates,
threatens to consume me,
promises to consume me.
I thrash atop you,
beneath you,
within you;
borne aloft
on waves of ecstasy.
And finally,
finally,
when I have
no more to give,
you cast me aside.
Giddy,
exhausted,
totally spent,
I roll over and watch,
helpless,
as you pull away.
Trembling
outstretched hands
cruelly snubbed.
Desperate pleas
callously spurned.
And then you're gone.
Our time together
was so brief,
so fleeting,
so transitory.
I'll never forget
our impassioned tryst,
but you won't even
remember my name.
Jealousy's venomous barb
pierces my chest
at the thought of
you with another.
I have no wish to share you,
yet I lay no claim to the
Daughter of Poseidon.
You belong to nobody...
...but...
...you do belong to everybody...
--------------------------------
(C) May 2017
Bit of a departure for me... before you think I've gone all "Fifty Shades of Grey", the whole poem is metaphorical.
Categories:
stretch out, heartbreak, lust, metaphor, ocean,
Form:
Free verse
The water is cold,
I sit stiffly in the boat.
Again, I am lost.
The oars are secured.
Going downstream is a risk,
My eyes are open
I am quite a wreck,
Not knowing where to begin.
My eyes squeeze shut.
Where will I go now?
Lethergy lulls me to sleep,
I breathe in and out.
Surely, I must move?
The wind is silent and calm
I spin all around.
Let go of the oars!
Today is the day to trust.
The sun is warming,
Stretch out and relax.
Shallow water is muddy,
Not life threatening.
Categories:
stretch out, imaginationwater, water,
Form:
Haiku
Stems that stretch out to reach warmth
Undulating in a dewy field
Nodding approval to passersby
Flowers that stand out, boasting huge blooms
Leaving lasting impressions
Our hearts keep these memories
When they fade in autumn’s chill
Each bloom scatters seeds
Replenishing the specie and ensuring their return when
Summer beckons once more
*May 21, 2021
For Malabika Ray Choudhury’s Sunflower contest
Categories:
stretch out, flower,
Form:
Acrostic
mars
stretch out
your
red falcon wings
we feel
your
back to the wind
your eyes
your feathers
are
orange flames,
that
soar
through
pink salmon sky
in ships
that
we crafted
oh lord
we go on to mars
Categories:
stretch out, imagination,
Form:
Free verse
On the barren lava soil,
Windswept pines stretch out their arms,
Gnarled white bones against the sky.
Mountain wears majestic white
Glacier robes that flow between
Buttress ridges of black rock.
Rushing rivers tumble down
To the valley, where blue lakes
Greet like eyes in seas of green.
Written in summer 2016 on the slopes of Mt. Hood
Categories:
stretch out, mountains, nature,
Form:
Blank verse
The Gift of Christmas
Some people say Christmas in this present time
Wanders lost
Through flashing ads and tinsel carelessly strung
On an artificial bough.
Some people say the Spirit of Christmas
Lives no more -
The simple Christ Child’s birth
Coldly mocked by glittering commercials
For diamond rings and robot toys.
Some say our plastic credit cards
Bring shame to one, who, born so poor,
Wore no fancy clothes
Or even slept in a cradle of his own.
Some say a Christian world forgets
The simple song of angel praise and shepherd lambs
In hustle crowds who only hum
Atonal harmony in green cash jingles
Some people say that Christ remains absent
From our Christmas celebrations
So lost we get in buying –
So drunk we get with wine.
Yet, I see his star rise up again
In children’s faith, eyes aglow with awe,
Reflecting wonder back into the darkest night
The miracle of the Christmas story.
I watch a callous world
Retell Nativity
Then remember little acts of kindness
From a neighbor, or a friend,
In homemade thank you cards
Of cookies, cakes or ornaments.
The Yuletide air overflows with scents of sugarplums -
Pungent cloves, nutmeg sweet
And aromatic cinnamon -
A gift of time given to baking memories
In sweet spice with children.
Music fills the world again,
To herald
Carols dancing in our hearts,
“Joy to the world!” the lyrics say,
“Joy to the world! The Lord has come!”
Each year I watch the world
Stretch out a loving hand of help
To strangers shivering in the cold,
To those who live alone -
To ones with rags for clothes
And families who face each day
Empty cupboard shelves –
Whose children would be strangers
To the joy of Christmas morn
If not for hearts and hands
Of women and of men
Who bring the Magi’s gifts to poverty again.
I see this cynical world
So closely guard the spirit of this time
A world of Santa Claus’ asks no gratitude
For countless days of aching feet
Crowded streets
And traffic jams.
Their love returns a hundredfold,
Through smiles and gasps of childlike glee,
To nestle beneath boughs of evergreen
When the dawning light opens up the givers joy
Spreading across a silent world
A message sprung from hope’s own heart
Born with a baby boy.
12-2-22
Contest: Christmas Spirit Poetry
Sponsor: Regina McIntosh
Categories:
stretch out, christmas,
Form:
Free verse