Best Tethering Poems
For the nonce, living soul,
you will breathe in new lessons through our tender tethering
as your seeking thirst is slaked through your skin;
for life's osmosis seeps mortal knowledge not implanted at conception.
Susan Ashley
September 16, 2019
~ Second Place ~
Contest: Arbitrium Divisa 4 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Gregory R. Barden
*An excerpt from: Odyssey Of A Soul; written June 8, 2018*
Categories:
tethering, journey, life, spiritual,
Form:
Free verse
What are you thinking of
germinal seed of dynamic animation,
do you still understand all without explanation..?
the colors you dream in are the nuances of Infinite Love
for the nonce, living soul,
you will breathe in new lessons
through this tender tethering
as your seeking thirst
is slaked through your skin;
for life's osmosis seeps mortal knowledge
not implanted at conception
with each culmination of every era
the Enlightenment is cumulative.
Craving to quench a craving quest
to reach and taste
faultless fruits of the Crown of Divinity—
paths' toward perfection perfectly entwined;
the womb but a nutshell
a mortal plan in place
flesh and blood and free will intact—
your immortal blueprint will always be here
trust
when and while
you remember to forget to remember
recollections will renew
when your mundane drum ceases to thrum
and you flash across skies once more in meteoric rise
donning your glorifying shine from stars-of-giving-light.
In this human lifetime
imperfect being
you will be nursed;
orphan tears scarring dirty cheeks
will not overflow your tin cup
with naught else to nourish you...
those suffering stepping stones
led to the sanctity
of the last earthly lessons learned.
Categories:
tethering, journey, spiritual,
Form:
Free verse
The lament of a Summer breeze is heard
to make the gilded leaves of Autumn sigh.
And after months, without a single word,
hope lost its wings and could no longer fly.
Shadows join silhouettes in the moonlight;
tethering wishes and prayers to dreams.
And grieving her lover, she cries all night,
as loneliness fuels her silent screams.
She remembers the sweet taste of his kiss
and the way he left her feeling fulfilled.
He swore he'd write daily without remiss,
and the day they stopped, she knew he'd been killed.
She never questioned why he'd gone to war;
for he felt freedom was worth dying for.
Categories:
tethering, 12th grade, allusion, death,
Form:
Sonnet
In the heart of the blackest abyss, down,
Down, in fathoms deep crypt, where light
Does not penetrate, and the structured protective hauls,
Of men, are crushed beneath pressures massive
Weight, of the oceans deepest depth.
This is truly inner spaces aquatic zone of the
Unknown, a realm of stilled silence frozen
In the icy currents of the barren straights.
Where prehistoric giants dwell, amongst the
Tidal flow, ambush predators, forgotten beasts,
From long ago, living krakens whom devour
All life, hidden within their dark domain.
In Poseidon's mighty anger, the waves answer,
To his fists of fury, hurricanes wrath of vengeance,
Gives birth to the perfect storms rage,
Vessels rise and than fall in the tidal surging
Waters.
Nay do the sailors cry out to the Lord God on high,
For redemption's salvation, but the sacrificial altars must
Be appeased, by flesh and bloods sacred offerings.
Summons does the mighty lord of the seven seas,
To release the last of the ancient Leviathans.
Two thousand hands, of a thousand dead men,
Heave and pull at the tethering heavy chains,
To this devil of the depths cage.
From within interments vaulted keep,
Captivities living spawn from hell, is
Unshackled and released, to reek havocs
Devastation above.
An aquatic spider, a maritime widow maker,
Flexing and in-flexing, its body’s motions,
Towards the surface, in pulsations rhythmic
Orchestrations, the gray giant is ready to strike,
With its killing arms extended wide, to grapple
At its unprotected prey, to engorge itself with
All living matter that it surveys, within its icy reach.
As bubbles shoot upwards breaking the waters
Surface, suction cups and talon claws are drawn
Outwards, aligning his eight legged tentacles of bone
Crushing death, behold the Giant Squid, instrument of
Lethal torture, a living killing machine from the fathoms
Deepest depths.
For it is the beast, the true essence of evil
Incarnate, and none survive its destructive wrath.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
Categories:
tethering, boat, fantasy, halloween, history,
Form:
Free verse
In times of retrospection we discover
The miles our vagrant compass trekked
Silent horrors from which we recovered
What be righteous or unworthy we assess
For to all children life is not toys and hugs
Or enchanting dances on daddies feet
But bitter realities of drunks and thugs
Eggshell walks and battering clubs
Bewildering the difference the years can make
And the choosing to which one is inclined
To follow the path with which they were faced
Or to carve a new path by need redesigned
They say that Rome was not built in a day
Stone upon stone is a sound foundation laid
Tethering twine pulling massive loads up high
Burying tears in abysses carving smiles from cries
Oh no, I'm fine. Concern yourself not with me
For I am the architect of my own design
Someday a pillar in the Temple I will be
My fortress not breeched nor climbed
My world hastens wisdoms patience
Compassion and mercy will abound
Fragrant love skilled willing agents
Through tenderness barbarians turn clown
Recreating the days of innocence
Forgiving those too weak to see
That some with all their pitiful ignorance
Have not the power to strip you of your dreams
There's a power of soul endowed to man
To walk by authenticity
Pities frown subsides as does vengeance
When taken hold of true humility
No promise of ease nor heart unbroken
To even one was this promise solemnly given
Though pain so deep to bleed is relief
It is friction that compels the driven
Though shadows past haunts you to fright
There is light to be found in its darkness
For shadows be slight illumination of light
The evidence of all you've accomplished
How far I've traveled from condemnation
My compass directs true north
On days my history taunts my persuasion
It's for loves sake I've stayed my course
Categories:
tethering, abuse, memory,
Form:
Quatrain
Precious, life sustaining oxygen flows
no longer; linking chord tethering me
severed, I lie upon hard cold table.
I see cloudy images--a table
holds my angel mother. Sweet red blood flows
from soft nurturing nest once holding me.
Mommy, don’t discard your babe. Look at me!
Life can be saved. An abortion table
Should not separate with death our love flows.
Love flows away. Save me from this table.
Copyright, July 17, 2014
Faye Lanham Gibson
Categories:
tethering, baby, birth, death, life,
Form:
Verse
Ocean waves crash against the seashore
you inhale and suddenly you are no more
than a hint of spice on a hot summer day
Water droplets mingle with the salty smell
of the sea, ... you are sitting next to me.
Reflections of our yesterdays come together
tethering nicely like an old knitted sweater
Blanketed moments of us nothing else exists
except the salt, the sea, the air we breathe
and thoughts of you, sitting next to me.
With great density we dip inside the waters of life
only to burst forth, almost touching eternity...
The shimmering moon bids us hello, leaving behind
an endless thrilling after glow.
Murmurings from mermaids at sea put us in a
drunken state. ..
Together drawn to the secrets of the night,
we sit side by side watching the deep blue sea
I watching you, and you watching me...
By: Mystic Rose Oct 14 2024
Categories:
tethering, appreciation,
Form:
Free verse
KJV: Isaiah 2:4, " ... they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks:" ... by Isaiah son of Amoz re last days of Judah & Jerusalem
Insomuch, the northern rains be as brief,
and the winds tear the southern plains relief,
sobeit, that the realm is the victim,
and the seas rise as victor; its dictum,
praise be not the state claim of righteous earned,
challenge naught by singularity spurned,
howbeit, by a greater force yon ours,
deliver its wrath on the land it scars,
then sheath the swords of heartless warriors,
in their mildness find besprent carriers,
and restore the misty dew dawn's embrace,
while tethering the plains a moistures grace,
and hail the dutious guards their former posts,
and the forces that be, as the realms host's.
Categories:
tethering, appreciation,
Form:
Sonnet
From Noonlight to Moonlight
I'll chance to mention a jaunt once took, along a sloping ridge; coming up steady o'er jakes ravine, cross the creaking pinewood bridge, tethering up the hosses, to a half charred lightening stricken tree; we gazed right down the 'scarpment at cattle roaming free after muffling up our riding boots in swathes of Hessian brown; stooping right over we made our way, by the darker shadowed ground, we got to to a stand of trees, that offered the needed hide; scuttling there as quick as quick, until we were inside made sure no herders were present, heard no sounds borne on the breeze; we picked out a couple of young heifers, this side of some bouldered scree then raising our crossbows silently, as moonglow licked each bolt; we loosed ..Whoosk.! the thuds)) sounded so strong you almost felt the jolt.: did i see a gleam in Mikkies eye?? could it be a heartfelt tear?? I said we had no real choice you know, my voice edged with tension & fear, a quick smile shot right back at me, as gazing deep in my eyes; she gave a hard kick into my shin, catching me by surprise!! saying now while I' affix the lariats Joe, you vamoose up the mountainside; get the horses and drags back soon, in case the rancher makes a ride, so I lit out for the ridge crest, my heart was beating wild." While swearing that damn hussey's more capricious than a wayward child; once on the ridge i scramble down, back to the waiting steeds quickly pulling the halters loose, my mind intent on speed!! soon I'm back with Mikkie, we pull the heifers onto the drags; then we're coaxing our horses up that draw!! headed for the safety of our own distant and shadowy crags. copyright Joe Maverick.co.uk
Categories:
tethering, cowboy-western,
Form:
Rhyme
Pellucid pearls in northeastern North America
since planetary birth
Comprise Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron,
Erie, and Ontario dearth
Largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth
Straddle Canadian–United States border
tethering partial global girth
Constituting 21% of world's surface
fresh water species hearth
Total surface equals 94,250 square miles
And total volume equals
5,439 cubic miles immeasurable worth.
Lake Erie from Erie tribe, abridged form
of Iroquoian word erielhonan “long tail”
Lake Huron named by French explorers
for Wyandot or “Hurons” whence they did sail
Lake Michigan likely from Ojibwa word mishigami
“great water” aka outsize gold quail
Lake Ontario i.e. “Lake of Shining Waters”
shimmering like hammered coat of mail
Lake Superior coined from French
“lac supérieur” "upper lake", an emerald watery dale
Ojibwe people called it gitchigumi medicinal
to cure that, which might ail.
These five lakes each reside in separate basin
Form a single, naturally interconnected body
of fresh water caisson
Linking east-central interior of North America
to Atlantic Ocean akin to an escutcheon.
From interior to outlet at St. Lawrence River,
Water flows via Superior to Michigan-Huron
southward to Erie to avoid a shiver
Finally released northward to Lake Ontario
as like a well taut archer with his quiver.
The lakes drain a large watershed via many rivers
as an Olympic team
Populated with approximately 35,000 islands
this estimate not x stream.
The Great Lakes region contains
many thousands of smaller lakes,
Often called inland lakes undulating
in cascading analogous to a fluid ream
Lake Michigan the only one located
entirely within United States
While the others border between
United States and Canada – essentially a liquid seam.
Categories:
tethering, beauty, blue, heaven, imagery,
Form:
Free verse
The Queen's henchmen penetrate professionally the porous perimeter,
as a Phyrric victory I pacified your Lady's legion,
for both in the open,like charriots missing riders,decentralized command,the measure,
I, like you maneuver behind the superior shelter of Praetorian's protection,
Levy the lurid seige upon my country's citadel as incensed infidels do,
your cantankerous catapaults wasting pawns like pebbles punched by a storming sea,
an officer sacraficed sardonically, intrepidly,
so to decimate the dormant foots encumbering you,
audacious as an angered asp the timely tactic was,will it hasten your demise to me?
Mandatory machinations amongst this moonlight morass,palpable being Death's caress,
a zephyer like a frosty scythe grazes gingerly our anxious eyes,
tethering the still strategy of mens' mentation,
advancing positions predicted but unproven, an apocolyptic inevitability provoked,
fostering inclement suspense,
justice is now beyond principle,virtue survives only on victor's blade,
incantations made in fire for fear's sublimation,
The common denominator of this prommenade of predation is relentless domination,
manipulating the opposition,perception taunted and haunted
as the fox dictates the chimerical chase,
a vermillion heartbeat,virulent,lucious,with a thin hum of vincibility
lures you to na spot of fragile dominion,
divided forces tend to scream like burning forest
when ambushed along trails of a tedious pace,
When the harp chords chortle tears of tucker from a skulless head,recall with dire dignity
that you were vanquished in strong purpose,
the memory of your egregious exploits will depend on the degree of quater
afforded by my soveriegnty
given to this proud harem of prospective sybils
rescued by a king's necessary nemesis,
J.A.B. - Part Three -
Categories:
tethering, war,
Form:
Epic
Ask for what you want out loud.
work for what you need,
need only what you can use,
use only as needed.
Ask with your mouth open,
wide open.
Fill me oh lord!
exclaim the positive view, unstoppable inspiration,
empowering and protecting me.
Shed what is not needed, holding me back,
tethering me to my fears and doubts,
the comfort and safety of standing pat.
Fill me up lord!
Everyday let thy run over,
Let the waters fill not only me, but through me,
from you,
to those under mine...not yet in your sight....or you in theirs.
Positive in self belief,
risen to a height and strength that you move me too!
I have asked for what I want,
I need only to follow your lead, your example,
I will care for each of your children as the were mine,
as I am yours and you have shown.
I lift you up, showing me my own legs you gave me, balanced by my arms out front,
with open hands articulating your warmth, hope and compassion.
My back is now ridged,
My rise complete, in the hand's of god...
Categories:
tethering, beautiful, blessing, community,
Form:
Free verse
No 8 second ride for these cowboys tonight
As they start in the morning, losing daylight
Their hats are now ties, tethering true
Not breathing in clean air as faces turn blue
Their motive, the green, but not of a pasture
Not men of free will, but now slaves to a master
When the bell rings, it’s chaos, not for a meal
It’s a dog eat dog city, with true faces concealed
They’re just…
Cardboard cowboys in a concrete canyon
Riding steel horses, reigning in their abandon
Letting loose bridles, for no horses they ride
Spending their days, cooped up, deep inside
It’s a sad way
And a sad day
For New York cowboys
Their fishing hole yonder’s now polluted with clutter
As their southern boy drawl’s replaced with a stutter
No chaps and no stirrups, no boots and no jeans
Their lives are now over, at the end of their means
The bull that they ride are the very stories they tell
From wall to wall bouncing, not sitting a spell
They are always in a hurry, no time for the rose
Not much of a cowboy or anything, I s’pose
They’re just…
Cardboard cowboys in a concrete canyon
Riding steel horses, reigning in their abandon
Letting loose bridles, for no horses they ride
Spending their days, cooped up, deep inside
It’s a sad way
And a sad day
For New York cowboys
Categories:
tethering, cowboy-western, imagination, life, music,
Form:
river. gold
liquidcopper sheen & skypulp
mashed upon fatrocked banks
refracted beams;
reflections.
The kid squeal.
The rowers chirp "hello"
[multiple oar-chasm] we bridge it
with a languid arm-sigh tooing, no fro. Yes,
the 20th century is over,
and the "Water-Noodle"
has arrived.
Time works different out here.
The national spine
doesn't belong
to a book. No. Hold land
in check,
meaty planes
sewed onto bone.
Through the
geothermal corridors
where karadji's file into rooms
discussing the hunt
laymen like me
listen in
on dragonfly wings.
Cherubs
land.... "Mum, you're an old fart!"
snorty laughs
splashy goodness
erections stay
low. Kookaburras
slot into. Their laugh
lingers like a
splinter in my throat
and I don't follow.
Family's an ascending arc
orbiting
this chubby orphan
(he is all sickle,
shaped like a question mark.)
Re-arrangements.
"I want to see if the wombat's home!"
He's a dad alright, his salt 'n' pepper laugh more convincing
than George Clooney. Paper grows inside us
in wet reams.
It's all an odd proud thing, this lick of space.
The noise retreats, my heady sight dangles. Dizzy
eyeball flesh in quicksand vaguely mired.
A bordered scene:
a symmety of Mates bathing in
coy homophobia
their gargantuan cocks
reaching so far
to touch each other! Forbidden
to break the old pattern.
This goldpan face persists. Is life a Saturation?
Moist is good I like moist. Hairline dwellers
polite oracles.
My feet naked next
to cigarette butts & weed
the tethering of a slight libido
a moist amulet hangs like a beard;
sophisticated mist from the muddy cauldron.
Copyright. 2009.
Categories:
tethering, animals, family, father, happiness,
Form:
tenuous strands
lithely tethering
the soul to reality...
strummed unevenly
by life
sharp notes
compose
a subtle dirge
of mournful
ambivalence
14 May 2023
Categories:
tethering, metaphor,
Form:
Free verse