Best Swum Poems
In Thrall
I’ve scooped plasma from the sun
To cook meals and heat my bath,
Moved Mount Everest just for fun;
None can ever walk my path.
I’ve had dinner on Saturn’s rings,
Kicked the moon like a soccer ball,
Plucked light rays like guitar strings—
I should adorn the walls of great halls.
I’ve swum the depths of every sea,
Journeyed to the center of the Earth,
Drunk molten magma like green tea;
My mind suffers no dearth.
I am the Law, the Order, and the King,
Free! Only to my mind am I in thrall.
I relish the escapes its figments bring,
Finding ways out of my every fall.
I’m a minstrel with an unchained mind
Or some raving loony in sanity’s cloak.
It’s no matter to what you are aligned,
Life is easier if seen, in part, as a joke!
Sept. 23, 2018
I‘d have climbed the highest mountain
I’d have swum the deepest sea
Just to see your face my darling
This was just a dream for me
How the years they have flown by
Since you left my heart to break
I was left with such a longing
Of the love you did forsake
We had talked about our future
That together we’d grow old
You got charmed by another
And you left our happy home
I am old and I am weary
And my hair is streaked with grey
Just to see your face my darling
This is all that I can pray
Many years I tried to find you
But my search it was in vain
You’d got married and had children
And you’d changed your maiden name
I’d have climbed the highest mountain
I’d have swum the deepest sea
Just to win you back my darling
It was never meant to be
Now I’ve found you live in heaven
And are free to love once more
All I pray that when my time comes
You’ll be waiting at the door
You’ll be waiting at the door
I joined the Brownies when I was seven
Oh what fun I was in seventh heaven
Having fun and making new friends
But in the Brownies my life almost ends
We were doing badges - this particular one was for swimming
I wasn’t a strong swimmer and was having lessons
We sat on edge of the baths in our costumes and hats
Then we had to swim along the side of the middle of the pool
To gain our badge we had to swim a width all the way across
I’d only ever swum in the shallow end before
But everyone else was swimming across…
So I started off… got halfway across…
And then I got into trouble
Began to go under the water…
Down
Down
Down
I sank to the bottom of the pool
Two men dived in to save me
My parents were frantic
They had been watching me ‘swim’
And were sitting upstairs on the balcony
Unfolding before their very eyes
Was their worse nightmare
Thankfully these two men saved my life
All I can remember was being rather ill at the side of the pool
As the water came gushing out of me
One memory I have is of being given chocolate buttons to eat on the way home
AND
I was awarded by Brownie badge – guess it was out of guilt
I never did complete that width.
Now I am scared of deep water
If anyone asks me if I can swim…
I say ‘yes’… like a stone!
11~02~14
Contest: Near Death Or Near Life Experience
Sponsor: Anthony Slausen
Lay your head beside mine if you dare and enter the world of my nightmare. A long hall
before you is lined by many doors, and opening each one exposes terrifying horrors.
Unlock the first and see the cemetery where so many ancestors have been buried.
Unkempt graves covered by thorny vines propel you back to tragedy-filled times. A
second door reveals a room filled with flames where lost souls scream for second
chances in vain. Behind the third door my late husband lies as I emit such mournful
cries. I rush to the fourth door and watch the rerun of a fiancé who drowned while
together we had swum. A fifth door swings open and I see a lonely woman, aged and
forgotten by those who once loved her. There is something so familiar about this forlorn
soul; a glimpse of my own future I behold. Have you the courage to take this journey
with me into the terrors that come in nightly dreams? And if you are willing to behold
such sights, should I see you as a demon or an angel of light? If you choose to lie at my
side, perhaps these dreams will subside. But there are few who are up to this task. Are
you one of the few I must ask.
Night terrors seem so real as they occur, but by morning they may just be a blur.
Perhaps it is my fate to remain, as now, alone, because few lovers will venture into the
unknown -- a misty place where fears and tears collide. What partner would be willing
to share such a frightening ride? A journey through this realm of horrors requires a
spiritual guide. Those who promise to take us “for better or worse” are never truly
prepared to endure such a curse.
It was a quaint little shop
Looking strangely out of place
And the owner was a hermit
With a crinkled young old face.
He was a man of distinction
Of health hearty and hale,
Had looked a Haggis in the
Eye and lived to tell the tale.
He had lived with a mermaid
Having found her in distress
Nursed her back to health
To become his new mistress.
He had sailed the seven seas,
Served with a Samurai band,
Been a leading Ronin before
Sailing away for Samarkand
He had awoken the Kraken
Then, before it was too late
Quietly swum away to avoid
A somewhat gruesome fate.
He had hunted with Vampires
But only on those darkest nights
For they'd had to be recoffined
Before any sign of daylight.
The werewolves of Carpathia
Had taught him transfiguration
A secret he'd long discarded
Once he'd left that roving nation.
Bareback ridden a unicorn
Learned all its Pan Pipe skill;
Sometimes early on cold dark
Mornings he would play it still.
He didn't believe in Faeries.
Didn't like to fantasise,
Only believed in those things
He'd seen with his naked eyes.
I left him making a Herbal tea
Said I didn't quite know when
But the very next time I passed
I'd pop in and see him again.
I shouted my goodbyes
As he worked away inside
And I eagerly continued on
My Magic Carpet ride.
A Shadorma
My soul has
earth roots tunneling
down into
earth’s belly,
swirling, curling round about,
among creatures there.
My heart rides
their elevator
going down;
deep into
mother’s sheltering, calm womb
and drinks eagerly.
I have swum
womb waters fathoms
deep and dark;
dank caverns
where most humans never go;
embrace her heartbeat.
Oh Gaia,
sacred Mother Earth,
nourish me
until I
can hold no more and my roots
fill your heart soundly.
Goosies
Jennifer Lopez gets them a lot
when she listens to singers on American Idol.
Perhaps it happened to me a few times, but I can’t recall
the specific time that a song gave me the goosies.
Those crazy little pimples above which the hairs stand erect
most usually on our arms
occur when people are moved by things:
music, dance, emotions.
Also things that creep us out or give us great fear
can give us the chills or goosebumps.
My mother used to say, “When you get a sudden chill
for no specific reason, it means that someone
just walked over your grave.”
That happened for me just a couple of times.
Maybe my future burial spot is a little bit remote!
As I think and think about it, I can recall at least one time
this strange phenomenon known as goosebumps
caused not just my arms, but nearly my entire body,
to resemble that of a plucked bird!
It was back in ‘74 and I was with a small group of students
visiting the coast of the Mediterranean Sea off Spain’s beautiful Valencia.
It was late winter (or perhaps very early spring).
All my life I wanted to say I had swum in a sea far from America!
Though the temperature was extremely cold for swimming,
I dared myself to venture out into the Mediterraean that day.
As the others in my group dared only to poke their toes into the ice-cold water,
I submerged my entire body. What a shock it was!
Nevertheless, for at least twenty minutes, I lay on my back,
letting my body float and float,
drifting with the tide while making sure to keep close by the shore.
When I noticed the group was wanting to leave, I swam back.
As I sat in the bus with a towel wrapped around me, I shivered uncontrollably
and my skin puckered up as the hairs rose up on both my legs and arms.
I had been foolish that day, but I felt proud to say
I had swum in the Mediterranean Sea.
Nov. 14, 2019 for the 'Goosebumps' Poetry Contest of Delilah Ventura
Caught between two storms
Payne's Gray painted hurricane
A tempest that churns ... inward
A girl waits, you see ...
Hopes dangling on a new heart
The perfect match thrums my chest
I have filled life's cup ...
Sipped of the sweet and bitter
Stained welcomes with its nectar
Worked until weary ...
Loved to depths and with passion
Swum up souls like rivers, sweet
Regrets? Yes ... and dreams
But if 'twere mine once again
I would surely live the same
Still, I'm in no rush ...
I've gazed the reaper's dim eyes
Felt his keen breath on my neck
I don't welcome him ...
But there's a new life, precious
A little cherub, dying ...
Let this storm take me
One last swim in the cold brine
One last gift ... for an angel.
~ 4th Place ~ in the "Fives And Sevens" Poetry Contest, Joseph May, Judge & Sponsor.
(Syllables = 5, 7, 7, 5, 7, 7 ... counted at HowManySyllables.com)
A Shining Afterglow
we have rambled together
along the Ganges river
just you and me
gazing at each other
we have trodden together
the streets of Bombay
through narrow
tortuous lanes
goading each other
we have sauntered together
along the Delhi boulevard
eyeing each other
and some of the wonders
of the world
we have ambled together
along the snow-capped hills
of Kashmir hand in hand
skating down the snowy slopes
we have ascended together
the steep Tripura hills
laid with thorns
pulling up each other
we have braved together
the desert of Arabia
strolling side by side
under the torrid sky
till our throat had run dry
we have explored together
the Kenyan reserve forest
with its wild fauna
breezing together
with our lips fondling each other
we have roamed together
in British public parks
meandering amidst marvellous
alleys of red roses
vying with envy
at cherry blossoms
and inhaled their intoxicating scent
we have swum together
in the cerulean waters
of the Mauritian shores
with the setting sun
reflecting its pink afterglow
on the leisurely undulating waves
where we lay in close embrace
atop ivory sands.
we have for so long
shared the same roof
during the summer
of love and care
when the salutary
shine of the salubrious sun
illumined our lives
during the winter
of dark despair
when woeful wild winds
threatened to blow down
the façade of our home
we have for so long
been duty-bound
caring for each other
since the break of day
during the sweet glow of the day
at the dim twilight hours
during the darkness of night
we have for so long
seamlessly shared
our joys and sorrows
our fears and hopes
our pains and pleasures
our daydreams and nightmares
now that the autumn of our life
life Is at close
let the afterglow
of our love linger on and on
shining until will last our breath.
Five ducklings feeding
The back of the camper bus
proudly sported the family
seven yellow stickers ducks
five little ducklings in a line
feeding on life presented to
the world growth sustenance
nourishment and meaning
For every fellow traveller
to ponder smile anticipate
what little team was to alight
at temporary destinations
sheltered tented playgrounds
swings and roundabouts
cul-de-sacs and traffic lights
To get all ducks into a row
once they emerged enriched
our little feeding station
food bank vital well and
fields of plenty needed
diverse and un-divided
attention chaos letting go
Meal times at times with rubber
ducks in bathtubs burping
passing winds of change
incorporating kilojoules
compassion love and swirling
compromise uncertain certainty
floated in the ocean of life
yet to be swum and dived in
with the buoyancy of living
Little duckling was still small
and sat beside as older
sister eager helper supervisor
when our triplet power three
in one as courtesy of nature
and individual little mouths
to feed lay on their backs
on sleeping bags as wonderment
in waiting for the spoon with
apple mush and cinnamon
to take its turn to reach their gums
To complete the pentagon
of childish folly serious fun
and exploration another little duckling
observed from inside womb in
its fertile spring to yet conjoin the river
contemplated when and where
to splash out into beauty question marks
and tribulations sparkling brotherhood
and food for life and pleasure
whirlpools cascades and little ripples
The spoon went one to one
and to another next to here and
there forward backward and beyond
my wildest expectations of what food
and feeding holding precious gifts
in hand released from nature
into nature ingesting measured
unimaginable and definite provision
nurtures nourishes what was what is
The birds have flown the nest
they feed and feed me just the same
and it is not just those trivial stickers
sign posts on the buzling bus
and more than ever and for
every one who wants to see the
picture depiction metaphor
the unsurpassed experience
which reminds me of simplicity of
gratitude and feeling warm inside
24th May 2016
I dreamt that I went swimming,
Into the deep blue sea
And from nowhere appeared a mermaid
That had swum right next to me
The next thing I remembered,
She had pulled me underneath
Into a cave, where it was dark
Well below the coral reef
She had opened up my vest
And she dropped a pearl inside
And then she said, "Hop on my tail...
You're going for a ride."
She had taken me to a shipwreck,
On the ocean's floor
And she wanted me to go with her
As she pointed to a door
So, then we swam inside the door
And she guided me to some jewels
That long ago, were thrown overboard
By some drunken pirate fools
She then pointed to the pearl
That she had stuck inside my vest
And wanted me to take it out
And return it with the rest
As soon as I returned the pearl
The mermaid lost her tail
Then just like that, she walked the aisle with me
And she was wearing a white veil
The next night when I had fallen asleep
I was as happy as can be
Because, I dreamt about that mermaid; again
This time...she had married "Me"
The Bimini Road is the one that I travel
Seeking the answers to history and lore
This undersea road has been tied to Atlantis
Who went here before, millennia ago or more?
Questions raised: was it journeyed on foot or horseback
Did Atlantis merchants use Bimini’s Road for trade
I remain on a quest for lost civilizations
How was this road constructed? How were huge stones laid?
It was September Second, 1968
When in shallow waters off the Bimini Coast
This curious wedged rock limestone road was first found
Beckoning curiosity seekers like me the most
With snorkels and fins I’ve swum over this structure
Bubbles rose as I surveyed rocks fitted in place
Speculation abounds and my intrigue’s profound
Such a thrill; curiosity can’t be erased
Surely it is simpler to navigate highways
Or explore the paths of New Hampshire’s White Mountains
But if ever a road were less travelled today
It’s the one filled by imagination’s fountains
A road that leads us back to envision the past
Is the one that I prefer to travel upon
If ever I learn what became of Atlantis
My life quest may be answered by Bimini’s spawn
by Carolyn Devonshire
For Constance's Road Less Travelled contest
Not the first time...........
I cheated death......
Last week...
What a narrow squeak!
The car narrowly missing me........
Yet determined to run me down
Put me underground.....
The time was not meant to be
The airliner crash last year..........
me...........
The only person to walk free!
So many lost lives
More than I can bear
Two months past
The train....
Did I fall or was I pushed?
My fuddled brain!
It seems so long ago
How did I last?
What a week it's been!
The wife ,tripped and fell
Carving knife nearly put me in hell
What a life!
Still, I am sure it was an accident
Her insistence..........
That it was pure coincidence
Now I am thinking........
That meteorite
From five years past
That landed on my house
My life,nearly my last,
as well as the spouse
Nearly had the last rites!
Is it me?
Or is it me?
That accidental drowning
Mother in law frowning.
Thought I was done!
Still, I swum away from that one!
Now,I am thinking...........
Is this some sort of sick joke?
Why me?
I am an ordinary bloke
The ship did its' own sinking!
I stepped outside..........
The building crumbled to the ground
I looked around
Everyone else died!
What a week it's been!
Still, life is on the up
Half full
Half empty
It's my cup
You know what I mean!
Life is to be enjoyed!
stuff the insurance from lloyds!
Hang these narrow squeaks
These past weeks
At my insistence,
it's all a coincidence!
Now, I am thinking
that bullet
Was it meant for me?
It dropped at my feet
My name engraved
I was saved!
You see!
I wear it as a lucky charm..........
I have come to no harm
This I know
Wish I had it weeks ago!
The lightning strike.............
I didn't like
Frightened me!
Not as much as the resulting fire.............
Could have been my funeral pyre.........
Hence forth, I will....
Carry on as before
Defeating nature's law
Avoiding the kill!
But old age might get me
But I don't know..........
It will take some years.......
you see..........
I have no fears
Bring it on!
I am the star of.......
The Narrow Squeak Show!
I’ve sailed across the seven seas
and scrambled over hill and dale.
I’ve heard the wind sigh through the trees
and watched the moon grow thin and pale.
I’ve walked the walk, I’ve ridden long
and floated in a high balloon.
I’ve swum in tides, with currents strong,
and wallowed in a quiet lagoon.
I’ve tasted wines from near and far;
I’ve sampled food both cooked - and raw.
I've eaten some that looked bizarre
and some so tough I had to gnaw.
But now I'm old, I visualise
my trips across the seven seas.
At length, I sit and close my eyes
and dream - with all my memories.
~
For Nathan's Competition.
A collaboration with Kim van Breda - honored Kim
I've tossed some dreams
into corners
where they sit rusting -
dissected spare thoughts
for a restomod old body
smartly attired with
polished imperfections
swum life's streams
through currents
undulating promises
the color of sandstone
desert miles, turreted
rhododendrons, watered
slips off the extreme
thrown mortified moments
over the fence where
sophistication hid ,then
disguised what still is
numerous rooms,
dust gilded mirrors
flaking walls and trunk
decadence, borderline
decaying memories
of dazed indifference
garnering
no hitters pitched
on dream fields
where egos never bled
and superman never died;
pink tutu skirts wrapped
in the dust of past bright
alighted reminiscence
suspended in stage fright
pirates that held back
on black eye patches,
standing up against
their sick bullying;
tightfisted, shaken
clenched teeth hidden,
beneath awkward smiles
the nights wore down my
introspectiveness
while quicksand roses
reluctantly blushed...still
this virtual room will hold
all that my conscience
will forgive, casting
away offending lies
diffusing damaged
junk yard favorites