Best Swaddled Poems
A body abandoned
needs to mourns its last breath in death
a heart cast aside
still aches to meet its last beat
and a free spirit yearns for a winged monarch moment
to fly in the spirit of freedom…
opportunity
flares a tongue
snaky and bittersweet.. a flicker
grows flames that twist passion’s kiss with kismet
a chance
to escape on a breath of air
an exhalation;
warm incense offered to vesper -
the wish of a scent to slip through the keyhole
above the hiss of heat
and gasps of air
rushing combustion to a roar
airy mystics spoke in the eerie smoke
w h i s p e r s
urge the purge of perishable pain
unclasping lonely-linger’s grasping fingers
soft-spun knit and purl unravels
as vintage yarn twined with sun and rain unties -
aging rays fail to stave Winter’s grays
and the ethereal thread of an earthly creation
releases its tendril
from the spinning wheel’s weave of circular seasons
from seed to harvest and warmth to chill
vestiges of sisterly hands cup a ceded sigh
chrysalis celebrates destined to re-emerge a butterfly
terminal tremble of a twilight trill is hushed
vulnerability swaddled
cradled by clouds of silver and gold
a mortal’s surrender consummates upon the pyre -
cinders cleansed of tears and cries and vices
but never the dreamy intrinsic colors
of the opal’s unfurling blaze
she ascends
a flash of embers relieved of ash
taking fire to the skies with a tigress torch igniting
molten pools spooning the spine of the western shadow
heralding an awakened afterglow to the afterlife -
lamplight gilds mare’s tails hooking heavens
pathways adrift from the burning thurible
of a trinity on the cusp of rebirth...
incense rises upon a heated atmosphere
riding the riddle of the four winds
beyond realms of soil and salt - reason and logic
yonder the profound truth of the-not-humanly-known
seeing past reflections within mere margins of a mind’s mirror
accepting the enlightening throb of the enigmatic pulse of creation
becoming one with the ultimate mystery
the wish of a scent to slip through the keyhole
fulfilled with exchange of gifts -
the offering of her sunset shroud
for the white mantle of sunrise
Categories:
swaddled, angel, beauty, butterfly, death,
Form:
Free verse
The Summer sun shimmered upon the lake.
Sunny-side up, the sky, the brightest soak.
Its reflection - a breathing space intake.
Stay on the path for its easy, light yolk.
The darker side, with two-sail boat, deep sighs.
In awe of ebb and flow, in Spirit’s glide.
In the shadow of God, in morning rise,
before your chores call you - a soothing ride.
Serenity is deep and wide. A smile
of warmth before the Fall. Glass eyes glisten.
Your heart, is calm, in solitude. Do wile
away the day, to soothing splash. Listen…
Lax days, upon the sea and sky, compose.
You hide in God’s glory - swaddled shadows.
Categories:
swaddled, light, summer,
Form:
Sonnet
In dawn's aura, mountains glistened with snow.
Rooster's crowing proclaimed the break of day.
December's frosty winds began to blow
as clouds shadowed a sullen shade of gray,
and serpentine ripples flowed on the bay.
Dimmed were rays of light from the sallow sun
when for a while its beams had gone astray.
Gusts of wind on this Christmas Eve were spun,
blustering and blowing grim clouds away.
'Twas time to celebrate Jesus' birthday.
Christmas morning folks gathered to rejoice.
for the Saviour born to erase sin's stain.
Choirs sang like angels in one ardent voice,
hymns honoring the infant in refrain.
Over God's Kingdom, His Son shall ere reign.
On that Holy Night, when stars were shining,
swaddled in His mother's arms was a child.
The world no more lay in error pining*
for God and sinners would be reconciled
through the Christ child's life so tender and mild.**
December 13, 2022
A Christmas Special Contest
Sponsored by Emile Pinet
*Lyrics from 'O Holy Night'
**Lyrics from 'Silent Night'
Categories:
swaddled, christmas, god, jesus,
Form:
Quintain (English)
Breezes rock the park - a soft sway of sun.
They are rosebud-faced, floral lace-swaddled,
sun-smiley; rapt eyes watching butterflies.
Their fingers dance in air like butterflies.
They are plump peaches ripening in sun -
sweetest fruits of parent care, love-swaddled.
Little one, I think of you, heart-swaddled
but free to fly soul skies with butterflies;
rising in my mind each day like the sun.
Your soul flits with sun-swaddled butterflies.
in memory
Categories:
swaddled, baby, loss,
Form:
Tritina
Grace and Solitude
Peaceful stillness covers me - wide eyes embraced when I see
Luna rise up with her pale face, with a humble yet simple grace,
That waxes large and then wanes, beckoning to clear windowpanes;
Hypnotic awe in harvest light or when blue moons ride starry night -
Teasing, changes her April name from pink to fish yet remains the same -
With her ever changing shape – crescents thin to full moonscape -
Now unfolds a glimmering gown while tip-toeing through a hush a bye town;
No fanfare, no rockets to proclaim her silent ascent, dark skies to claim,
Blesses silence – clamor sent away; nocturne opened - solitude to pray
Swaddled in a silver cape – floating into dreamy escape -
Breathing in her unselfish grace in borrowed light from a solar birthplace
Cradled in her cradle song – soft midnight murmurs to prolong;
A silent whisper – a prelude - to reverent reveries of gratitude;
A gentle light - peace to expand – her solitude and grace walk hand in hand.
Categories:
swaddled, moon, night, peace, sky,
Form:
Rhyme
"Everything holds a tinge of beauty, something unique,
but not everyone recognizes something beautiful."
~ by poet
Some of the most beautiful things in the world
are those that are visually impossible to see...
A fern frond that we can feel, not yet uncurled
Mated doves cooing, "Come to me, my love"
Or lofty wind in a canvas sail when it's unfurled
Promises of a pewter sky when rain's sorely needed
Swaddled newborns while dreaming in slumber
Starlight skies when the view is not impeded
Or fine fertile soil of this Earth in shades of umber
And polished pearls when oysters are seeded
The obvious sunrise morns and sunset twiights
A soul that was lost, then found its way back
Wavering hues of colors from the Northern lights
Pretty, a flower, growing in a sidewalk crack
Crystalized snowflakes and other wintry delights
Beauty can exist inside a good person's heart
In the prismed colors radiating from waterfalls
And at the greeting of lovers who have been apart
It's found in lost friendships by tearing down walls
Realizing life can be happy again with a fresh start
Our sweetest memories, when in dreams we drift
Smiles endowed to strangers who wear a frown
That may be what they needed to give them a lift
The glowing face of a bride, in her wedding gown
And how beautiful the offer of forgiveness as a gift
Categories:
swaddled, beautiful,
Form:
Quintain (Sicilian)
On days of childhood past
and long faded into memory,
sisters played beneath a smiling sun
in shadowed rooms of bending willows.
Dainty handkerchiefs swaddled
our Rose of Sharon infants
to keep the newborns warm;
honeysuckle spread sweet fragrance
scenting the summer playhouse
while birds trilled lullabies of joy.
Clover chains hung as garlands
to decorate our home
and snowball bushes' spread
perfumed blossoms carpeting the floors.
Simple pleasures of a simple life
we seem to have discarded
in favor of a busier, artificial plastic world
where flowers bud stale fabric blooms
on bending wires.
The evensong of the whip-poor-will is no more.
I would go back if I could harvest
the pureness of those happy hours,
distilling a rare elixir,
a medicine for our ailing times.
Copyright, November 25, 2014
Faye Lanham Gibson
Categories:
swaddled, childhood, flower, simple,
Form:
Free verse
Someday I'd like to wander free
like butterfly, like bumblebee,
perhaps to plant a willow tree
beside the silent solemn sea,
before these things exist no more,
from mountain top to shifting shore,
when, soon, bald eagles cease to soar
and build their aeries nevermore,
and fish forsake polluted streams
(where sulfur swims and typhoid teems
since no one really cares it seems)
to die inside our toxic dreams
while ice caps melt and winter steams,
and all the air surrounding reeks
as children choke, for no one speaks
of fracking wells or oily leaks
(Big Brother's silenced all critiques!),
and rancid rains acidify
so woods no longer multiply
(for God so wills, we can't deny,
which is, of course, our alibi).
And as the deepest ocean fills
with plastic bags, and garbage spills
upon the plains, across the hills
and turns to poison dust that kills
wild dingo dogs and daffodils
which sink in swamps’ forsaken swills,
the mocking bird makes light and trills
(midst waning wails of whippoorwills)
"Behold the surreal scene that chills
and greet the dread that death distills!
You've had your day with all the frills
that brought the flood and final ills
that can't be cured with bitter pills
nor yet undone with further thrills
of profit gained that grinds and fills
dead desert sands with dollar bills."
EPILOGUE
Though swaddled still in infancy,
we feel we’ve reached our primacy
(aloof, though preaching piously,
disdaining deeds of decency)
and have no need of augury.
But in the pit of prophecy
the crucial questions seem to be:
“Is doom Earth’s fate, our destiny
to twist in tides of agony
destroying nature’s progeny
with no return a certainty
assured by death’s finality?”
and
”Should we plant a willow tree
to someday weep for you and me?”
Categories:
swaddled, daffodils, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
"Sorrow"
Reality cries its tears
of grief and fear
calling out to Love
the song heard
in all of human kind
beseeching Love
in self,
the conscious
collective
Love in One
united mind,
poured deep
from the remaining
cup of Love
held tightly
in the hearts
and minds
of all mankind
the silence unheard
they are not interested
listening to the music of this song
stealthy
Darkness slithers
Darkness comes
babies wrapped in tin foil
swaddled
in place marked
in the sands of Time
babies wrapped in tin foil
placed next to boiling water,
a feast for war-worn tired eyes
the eyes
that are tired
cry and cry, then dry
no mother
nor father holds
their crying infant young
their daughter or son,
no mother arrives
to soothe each little one
each little light
goes out
little light by little light
gaslit all,
there is a battle
with no earthly winners,
to be won
yet, still the war inside
each watcher turns
to stand, or run,
what side of the line wins
when childrens' cries
are no longer heard nor sung?
the song
of Reality's sorrow
in silence heard
the guilt
in all
of human kind
bodies holding tight
families like torches
burning bright
the song returned
through smoke
and shadows
reflecting mirrors
in all the resting
souls of Light
the anthem calls
long long
throughout the
long dark night
to stand and show
the Truth held within
their burning hearts,
to grasp fiercely
the significance
of their unfolding
lives -
lost,
or won,
seen for who and
what they are
in the existing light
of their unfurling wings
eucharista, thanksgiving
courage eternal internal
externally spreading
to capture Reality's
many sorrowful
falling feathers
released victorious
to rest in the arms
of Peace
to live joy
full in the dreams
and heart of One
the only One,
the strong,
safe Home
of all things -
LOVE
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
Categories:
swaddled, love, muse, sorrow,
Form:
Narrative
In a state of awareness
that transcends time and distance
I swaddled you in the folds of my being
feeling the pure bliss of being saturated in love
I poured my love out for you -
sweet dreams gifted in silvery streams
as I held your tender breath to my breast..
that you were beautifully oblivious
only served to further enthrall my exalted emotions
and your innocent influence acted upon my destiny.
Susan Ashley
August 5, 2018
Categories:
swaddled, appreciation, beauty, love,
Form:
Free verse
"Life offers divine moments that can only be shared with an angel."
~ by poet
Softly, she swaddled me within the warmth of welcoming wings
I shared my shadowed secrets, then she spoke in subdued voice
'Do not dwell in darkness and despair for your sweet soul sings
of sorrow for your sins. Repentance gives you reason to rejoice'
'From the courage of confessing comes clemency of concession
You have found favor with God and garnered His good graces
He has heard your heartfelt words, and my own in intercession
Our Father forgives you, and with empathy, eagerly embraces'
Tenderly, she touched me, tempering the torrent of my tears
Held me close, calmly confiding, 'Your bane of burdens I bear'
When her weeping wet my cheeks, faith freed me from fears
My adoring angel sighed, 'Persevere by praising God in prayer'
Then her golden gossamer wings fluttered their fragile feathers
Graciously given to me was a glorious gift. Solace cut the strings
that kept my suffering soul trussed in tenterhooks and tethers,
for I'd been safely swaddled within an angel's welcoming wings.
December 11, 2021
"A" Forms Contest sponsored by Constance La France
Categories:
swaddled, angel, forgiveness,
Form:
Alliteration
Lithesome fingers trailed along
the ukulele’s frets
as Lilah played her dulcet lullabies.
Swaddled in a blanket, smiling,
lay her little lad,
looking up at her with large blue eyes.
Lilah lilted, “Sleep, my son,
for tranquil dreams await.
Lull-lull-lullabies for you I sing.”
As she crooned mellifluously
lulling him to bliss,
she watched small eyelids flutter-fluttering.
Lightly, lightly, letting fingers
roll along the strings,
Lilah moved her delicate small hand.
Eyes that lingered lovingly
on the wee one saw
him amble soundly into Slumber Land.
May 29, 2017 for Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer's Contemporary Poetry Contest
*I enjoy almost all types of poetry, but I suppose this represents more the Classical approach which I most often use (more lyrical and with some rhymes) though my focus is on alliteration here. I love the way L words sound!
Categories:
swaddled, sleep, song,
Form:
Rhyme
Manger Shadow
A shadow lurks behind the manger bed
Swaddled by indifference,
Creeping behind
Lowing cows
And
Bleating sheep,
Power without power raising up a hoary head
While in vanity dim shades attempt to weave
A gloomy thread into the scent
Of frankincense
And
Myrrh;
Endeavoring to cover ears of prophecy,
Encouraging ignorance
With busyness in crowded streets
Of travelers taxed,
Bowed down with burdens;
No Gloria’s heaven sent
As shadows pass in front of starlight
On highways straight
Deserts wild
Mountains leveled
And star-struck strangers
Asking only for directions;
Where flowers,
Blooming in the wilderness,
Lay trampled
Beneath pilgrim’s feet;
Trying to drown out
Amen
And
In Excelsis Deo
Shouted out in triumph
To wide eyes
Keeping watch
Beneath olive trees
Rather
Longing to smother a baby’s breath
With a snarl,
Rejoicing only in the anticipated silence;
To leave no room at the inn
For goodwill
Or
Shalom Eternal
Yet cower in a nightmare’s chaos,
Breath held in,
For a kingdom lost by victory
Already claimed;
Futility, the unwelcomed guest,
Birthing fury
That pounds upon the chest of truth,
Stalking the Word protected
By holiness,
Claiming dice unfairly loaded
To howl
In rage
As justice and as peace now kiss –
As swords and spears
Rise up
As plows and pruning hooks
To tend the vineyard of the King
Then sing out the great glad tidings
On a mountaintop
Where people walk out of darkness
Into light.
Categories:
swaddled, christmas,
Form:
Free verse
One day I delivered a poem
one that seemed to be premature
so I swaddled her up
and set her aside
to grow 'til I felt reassured
How she yowled and howled for attention...
how she cried so piteously!
How she coughed and she sneezed
whimpered and wheezed
then threw up all over me!
Still I tenderly tended her bedside
and lovingly nursed her along
determined to sacrifice everything
to raise her up healthy and strong
As she grew and recovered, she wandered
and crawled over everything
and I found I had trouble containing
my rambling, unruly offspring
She became an inexcusable bounder
a wayward and bratty ingrate
who despite all my love and affection
refused to make sense or read straight
She dallied in questionable places
she idled and shiftlessly shirked
lazily lagging, ignoring my nagging
while I selflessly, endlessly worked
Firmly applied discipline to her
and structure, and meter, and rhyme
but she bucked, and rebelled, and bit me
and stayed up beyond her bedtime
We wrestled, and wrangled, and brawled,
bickered in bitter altercation
if I didn't do something quite soon
she would ruin my good reputation
At length, I decided I'd had it
we had reached the end of the road
and although she clung like a wet paper towel-
I flung her and flushed the commode!
Categories:
swaddled, humor, humorous, silly, word
Form:
Rhyme
Swaddled in frozen silence
In a weather so dolorous and damp
The pores of her mind sweat painful memories
Which take a headlong flight
Faster than the beams of light
At times shaking their fearful manes
As unbridled steeds, they come
Raising dust behind
Making all sanity blurred.
Often, they rise from their indulgent stupor
And spill over, submerging all extant thoughts
They never care to stand in queue
Jostling each other with no manners
They bump on one another, breaking all decorum
Like an unruly mob on impatient wait
Caught in the vortex of a whirling current
Her poor body begins to lose its equilibrium
And she plunges into the bottomless depth
To be choked there in whirling gloom!
Categories:
swaddled, angst, betrayal, depression,
Form:
Free verse