Best Thickets Poems
Somewhere in a dream,
Serene and blissful from the start
It comes to me again
The two of us in love, and eagerly alone
Breathlessly naive', and blissfully assured
that we would be as one
...that nothing in the world outside, could ever be compared
Two bikes took rest against a tree
We climbed the nearest hill,
Through foxtails, deep and thickets, high
Along a creek bed, far and wide,
wading through warm granite stones
Slick and wet, with velvet moss
littered deep with autumn leaves, and the urgent tender years
My darling...do you remember...?
We were like children, we marveled and swooned
at the shapes of the clouds in the lavender sky
changing their forms in a wink of the eye
We were wild with love, that stirred the stones
Discovering firsts, and thirsts unknown
Layers of years, now whisper here,
Imprisoned in this hidden place, with every breath of air
Not a fluent time that bends or moves
...but time fully reasoned, with ancient eyes
Unwound of it's youthful eyes and loves
Where dulcet words plucked out of space
Have not been tinged by autumn's breath
And innocence is scattered like leaves upon the breeze
And lingers, ...with a sweet wistful sigh
We who once made love, ...a thousand skies ago
Have slept with tossing shadows and lilting cries
Still tremble with the memory
Oh, ...I know the subtle ways of empty dreams
And I shall go by silent lanes and leave this day....and you....
....timeless here
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mission of the Yellow Songbird
A long highway road stretched its legs before me,
In a place where tumble weeds were conceived,
December evening chasing daylight back to morning
Dusk robed in faded colors starving out the sunshine
Miles put themselves between me and home
With thickets of brier brambles cradled between north and south
Alive with vesper choruses of tiny songbirds.
A gentle tap on my front fender
Roused me from hypnotic highway stupor like popping thunder
I shuddered deeply as possibilities shook my soul;
Maybe one of those gigantic bugs – maybe? Maybe?
But when I stopped my heart seized to solve the mystery
A tiny yellow songbird plastered to my grill wings still open to flight.
Gentle spirit of eternal compassion touched, caressed, my wailing sorrow
Then guided me to a desert tree with perfect boughs,
That welcomed songs of matin mornings from a tiny bird,
To lay to rest God's tiny messenger beneath his favorite tree
Songbird with perfect pitch would no longer sing praise into Heaven's face.
Called to the road again, tears raced down my cheeks
As numb miles raced by with a litany of why in each drop
Time came to take a mountain road from fertile valley to foggy ocean crest -
Screaming round a sharp curve to a screeching stop
Accident, I thought, of two cars only six cars ahead of me –
No ordinary scene -two burned out fiery shells one atop the other!
Realization, like a candle in the darkness, sent out sharp beams
I would have been in that accident had not a precious songbird
Given me a second chance to sing in ministry and embrace this grief;
In the deepest part of my grieving heart, I know our precious God
Gathered to his heart the mission of this tiniest crushed warrior
Who now sings beneath God’s window in the eternal day.
5-17-22
Contest: Divine Intervention
Sponsor: Chantal Anne Cooke
12/14/22
Contest: Poetry Marathon Mile 23
Sponsor: Mark Toney
30 Lines of a 30 Line Limit
L o v e, a withering star ~
awakened amidst silence
that swirls through the night sky
like fairy lights,
i l l u m i n a t i n g
the maze of midnight
with kaleidoscopic traces
of what once soared…
But in the chasm of loss and agony,
I found the gossamer essence of hope
from the
glass-winged arms of metamorphosis…
Now I breathe you, organza moonlight,
e c l i p s e d by crimson claws
of condescending constellations,
while faith sleeps within the pale husk
of mythical mists,
drinking pomegranate ambrosia,
from the rose-gold horn
of Persephone’s throne,
as black-magic thickets thrive from
the cursed lips of tendrils ~
harvesting pain,
rustling through the vineyard
of violet orchids
amidst this heart that sings of
evergreen springs,
etched with sins and tears
onto catacomb cellars of wickedness…
Listen to your heartbeat,
there, in the mirroring cadence
of soft-spoken rhymes,
I live and reside ~
wandering through the hallways;
an asylum of metaphors
turning wraiths of words
into wisterias,
whirling in the whimsical wind,
a castle of alliterative archives
emanating empathic embers
that burned capricious chords
to carve calligraphic clemency
with Cleopatra’s gold
seized from the Egyptian deserts…
But it is through the
satanic soul of kohl seas
I found the bluest streak of bliss ~
my Felix Culpa,
sprinkling firefly dust from afar ~
I see you, awaiting the return
of butterflies…
For you and I,
we found L o v e,
inhaling poetic promises,
exhaling toxic tercets ~
with syllables of stressed desire,
you showed me rainbows of sage,
taught me the rhythm of truth,
to silence the thunder
that roars in rage
within the fragile psyche of life,
and in your presence,
I loved and learned ~
to curate colors
from
the ethereal
dreamscape of d u s k…
oh wrap me close dear jungle deep, with fronds and fruits entwined
and hold me to your ancient emerald breast -
I long to hear those thrums within, the pulse of thickets vined
and feel your misty essence fill my chest
oh let your warming whispers brush the tympans of my ears
with sultry songs of woodland mysteries -
face-to-sky I'm pattered with your maze's torrid tears
as heaven weeps your primal histories
your canopy, breeze-tickled, shakes its tresses high aloft
to daub upon my cheek your orchid breath -
whisp'ring o'er the blooms and dells to shrug their shoulders, soft
through tragic tangles worthy of Macbeth
your winding streams and waterfalls, your scents of sweet and spice
sing songs of wooded wonder, rare and rife -
I pray aloud a blessing for this perfect paradise
and all such spots divine, the blooms ... of life.
~ 2nd Place ~ in the "Strand Select 2 Any Form Any Theme" Poetry Contest, Brian Strand, Judge & Sponsor.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Picturesque" Poetry Contest, Eve Roper, Judge & Sponsor.
On a frigid winter evening, so still
that hot breath lingered around my face.
In snow sparklingly dry and crystalline
I encountered fresh-made footprints,
leading off my mostly trodden path.
The sun was low in evening's sky
creating long dark spectral shadows
that would all too soon be swallowed.
But for a moment illumed the footprints
in a strange, compelling light.
A fleet chilling wind whisked around
flurrying the fine, icy flakes,
attempting to erase the marks.
Against the will to forge ahead
imprint the virgin snow, I turned;
and followed the path the footsteps made.
No further prints I saw upon the ground;
no evidence of animal or other.
Though in the distance I could hear,
as darkness drew its shroud,
the wailing of nocturnal beasts.
Then deathly, eerie silence save
for crying of the wind in tangled trees;
as I was led through thickets coarse,
and forests deepest gloomy dark,
to end beneath an ancient misty lychgate.
I stood beside a solitary grave
one word; 'Father,' etched upon the stone.
I glanced back from whence I came
In snow sparklingly dry and crystalline;
one single track of fresh-made footprints,
illumed in strange, compelling light.
"There are those to whom place is unimportant,
But this place, where sea and fresh water meet,
Is important ---"
From "The Rose", by Theodore Roethke
Chilly late October;
thin morning fog banks
the roadside, cloaks
a trickling bayou...
in the thickets of dense trees,
the wispy tufts
top man-high
goldenrod, Queen Anne's lace,
dried-out thistle stalks...
A school bus, solitary,
yellow, passes on
skinny black asphalt
where wet spots reflect
the newly risen sun.
Rustles of high,
green cane fields and
intermittent bird songs
interrupt pervasive quiet...
Timelessness, and solace --
calming, soothing --
a Louisiana bayou:
Bayou Sale.
In the thickets glen beyond the forest wild
Lies the realm of the mystical unicorn,
Beauties elegance in motion, gracefully
Prancing with each delicate gallop forward.
She is queen in this ancient domain
Where man hands have never touched,
This unknown lands sacred soil.
Seasonal change lies beyond these
Pastures woven from purity’s innocence.
Here in the valley of evergreen the forgotten.
Magic still lingers as a whispered promise.
A spell cast unto the four winds long ages past,
By the magi wizard's from the olden times
A sanctuary unblemished.
Never shall it taste winters bitter icy hand.
Forever locked in warmth’s season of renewal
And rebirth.
A symbiotic relationship between mother earth
And this mythological creature.
Shall it evermore be so as long as the unicorn's
Thrives so the world remains spring eternal.
Nay she is sadden for she is the last of her kind
But natures kindness bares witness to a miracle
Growing within her womb.
Immortality's greatest gift to such wondrous
Majesty a colt.
To ease regrets tender heart, alone being
Soon to be no more.
Exhilaration acknowledgments is shown,
Within softness gentle brown eyed mare.
Nobility's royal steed stands tall and proud,
Bowing in respects fulfillment gratitude,
Unto Gaia, this divine gift given unto her.
Enchantments legendary creature raises it's
Golden horn towards the heavens,
It's powerful magic electrifies the sky.
Releasing thunders rumbling, causing even
God's angels to weep
With joys pure happiness crystal tears,
Hitting the ground below.
It's loves truest expression without words emotions spoken.
Two spirits mother and son are now united at last.
Together as one living in the isle of the Infinity.
And these immortals gallop racing against
Destiny’s winds,
Never to be separated or alone ever again.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
'
While rambling like a vagabond in a seraphic poetic submersion, in a remote region, witnessed the most captivated sight ever,
a sleeping valley rippled in wild blooms, as sparkling in mystical celestial beam, in the mesas of the clouds, the Dzukou Valley,
a remote dale at the border of Nagaland and Manipur,
in the untrodden tableland of India's Northeast!
The picturesque landscape was ringing with the
once in a lifetime scene of emerald shades of hillocks
paving the way for azure mountaintops,
luminous flowers waving in the winds amongst the tall grasses!
The vale was tweeting and twirling amidst the virgin vegetations enriched with the spectacular sights of verdant forests,
exquisite flora and fauna,
serpentine streams, myriads of panoramic pink
and white wild blooms that dot
the vast caldera of the valley and its' verdant meadows,
alongside the meandering rivers of Dzukou and Japfu,
appeared as the absolute paragon of serenity and tranquility!
Surrounded by the whispering platonic hills,
with numerous colorful flying creatures,
the valley seemed as smuggled over
the dewdrops' fragrant feral fruits,
Oak and Rhododendron forests are a feast to the eyes!
Half way up and any signs of tracks disappear,
and one is just left with wheezing enigmatic bamboo thickets!
Botanists' delight, trackers' paradise, seraph's psyche,
rovers' riddle, is reclining placidly ,
the untrodden earth's lulling lullaby,
in the abode of the divine Lily's
anomalous nature's absolute pamphlet,
a rich biodiversity hotspots
of endemic species, the Dzoku Valley;
an uninhabited unsullied phosphorus valley
Note:
The Dzüko Valley is located at the borders of the states of Nagaland and Manipur in Northeast India. The valley is known for its extremely rich biodiversity, seasonal flowers and flora & fauna. It is situated at an altitude of 2452 m above sea level.
© Silpika Kalita
SHE-TIGER
She-Tiger patiently watches,
In shadows,
Dark concealing realm,
Green eyes pierce nights,
Blackening shroud.
Ever weary, seeking motions,
Movements,
Beware the bush itself seems,
To come alive,
Beneath moonlights twilight mists,
Heavy foot steps cautiously,
Tread.
Traveling along a carnalistic path,
Deaths servant stalks it's prey.
Revealing raw natures twisted fate,
In her flashing gaze, ageless,
Wisdom lies,
This huntress most majestic.
Sleek jungle mistress, fearlessly,
Striding.
Forgotten trails cutting,
Edges unyielding,
Patrolling vast wilderness.
Drink deeply clear waters purity,
No other creature dares,
Come near thee.
Forests chameleon, hidden,
Amongst bamboo thickets.
Camouflages golden blends,
Are parted,
By divisions striped bands.
Feeding legacies future brood.
Crowns glorious jewels,
Young cubs at play,
Learning life’s lessons to be,
Remembered someday.
Rough dull stones at first,
Finely polished y age,
One day they'll sparkle,
Under sunshine's rays.
Royalties queen, stands tall,
Upon prides rock,
Surveying an evergreen,
Kingdom.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
Lady liberty, hold your flame light high,
Beware the path thy cross, in the wild undiscovered
Wilderness of the U.S.A.
For it is here a fierce native predator,
Stalks the rocky ranges bad lands,
Behold the American mountain lion.
Known as the cougar.
Nature's solitary soldier, walks with
Silences stealth and predatory cunning.
Beneath the thickets underbrush,
The beast does savor, upon his preys weakness,
And relishes the hunt of engagement.
Secretive creature, an apex hunter,
Wearily observing, his natural habitats
Surroundings, this king
Survives by tooth and claw alone.
Once hunted to the brink of extinction,
At the hands of mankind, and greed's bounty.
Nobility's instinctual majesty, has reclaimed
His mighty throne, on the cliff tops high.
The cougar, represents a come backs promise,
We as American's shall leave none of our
Own behind, has recovered and announces
His arrival with a mighty roar.
In the heights forbidden realm, the big horn sheep,
Smacks his antlers against his reveling foe,
It's soundings echo is heard for miles,
Abreast the whitening fallen snow,
But the great feline lord, has now returned,
To his ancestral territory, a shadow flash,
Of golden brown, a royal phantom to
The art of war, clashing with basic instincts
Desire to survive.
Behold the pride stands tall, upon the
Red bands of freedom, nay liberation’s
Symbol soars above the lion's den,
Beneath the night's sky shines with
Old glory's stars hanging in beauty's favor,
We honor him, this the great American lion,
The Cougar.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
The Polynesian pearl of the Northern Pacific,
A glittering paradise gleaming in brilliance,
Set float amongst the oceans clear waters.
A beautiful jewel reflecting in the different
Shades of aquatic blues.
The winds of peace blew in this tropical
Nirvana, until the ruler of the far east,
Thrust down his mighty fist of power,
Against the foreign invaders.
From the land of the rising sun, did
The red dragon awakens, blazing with a
Fires smoke, scaring a nations flag,
For generations to come.
It's scared wings as silent as a
Tiger, stalking in a thickets tall grass,
Of disbelief, it pounced without warning.
The American flag did spread out in
Protection, over top a sleeping harbor,
Lulled into a dreaming state of world peace.
As the eagle did lie at rest, the sons
Of the red dragon struck, at it's farthest
Point edge of it's nest.
Setting it's kindling to burn and sink,
Beneath the waters, of histories swift
Currents.
The bird of freedoms liberation, now
Alert defends it's territory's, by talons
Claws, and sharpened beaks bite.
Driving the dragons brewed backwards,
And reclaiming it's rightful perch, on
The stage of destiny.
But the pearl lies tarnished and broken,
Cracked forever this once Eden, never to
To be a child of innocence again.
Only a white momentum stands to mark
It's loss, she weeps the Polynesian princess,
For what has been done can never be undone.
A pearl necklaces of peace, torn apart by two
Titan's nations hatred, now it is nothing but
A broken strand and she is a prisoner,
Caught In the choke hold, of power between
The two of them.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
Hurriedly, silently, in purposeful fluid movements
and long, determined strides, he dashed among
the thickets, bending and darting amidst the vines
searching for a perfect little place to stay and hide.
Stealthily and noiselessly he slithered underneath
lush, leafy overhangs shielding him from the sun -
keen, cautious, like a crouching, hungry predator
anxious not to draw unwanted attention to himself.
The birds on treetops hushed their singing in haste
as the woods turned suddenly still - frozen in place,
shocked, stunned and unprepared to bear witness
to the mysterious man’s strange, diabolical scheme.
He threw a quick look to his left and another to the right
then jerked, turning his head around to make doubly sure
that no human soul finds him in this quiet, secluded place
about to carry out his dark, sinister and unplanned crime.
Taking a deep, measured breath and now totally reassured
of being truly alone, away from prying eyes to a gory crime,
in his madness he violently yanked down his old Levi jeans,
squatted to the ground, grimacing, and…ahh, sweet release!
Fragile the stems numbered in their days
That dance in spring, in the falling rays
Above the hills weathered softly by a mist
When shone the first morning light of bliss.
That 'tween the thickets wild and coursing air
Sprouts a young sweet bud glimmering fair
Delicately clasped upon the sleeping fields
Gracing springtime's vibrant days that wields.
Melodies sweet that in subtle days intrude
The white lilies pastured in nature's interlude
That in fragrance sweet me swiftly to awake
To greet the lilies wild softly as they fall.
On the perfect dews at Shelly's delicate feet
When a heaving mist like clouds with slow retreat
Gathers swiftly in her eyes like an emerald flame
As a pleasant little song bird recites her name.
In the artful limpid garden 'neath July's sun
Which hungers for the sweet of her speech spun
Like some magical tone that nectars a soul
Maybe her heart is like a splendid marigold.
In the fullness of the bright and merry morning
In the days when our wondrous God is sunning
The wretched world silenced by its deafening grief
In forlorn gloomy seasons unclothed of relief.
When lilies doesn't wither but rise and bloom
By every dreamy river, by every vibrant tomb
Its the stillness of her lips I've deeply kissed
On sultry dews of bliss, 'neath the honey cypress.
Suddenly it all becomes lovable like mild copen
Suddenly her hands descends into mines and opens
A new horizon of love more glorious than a dream
But from breath to breath in fulgent days it seems.
The dark clouds will come to extinguish our love
But in sultry passion this mighty heart will prove
That I'd love you thro' time, stress and life's decay
Thro' tears, and the darkest moments of our days.
I've lived to see the brightest of brighter moments
And to see a falling moonbeam as you smile
But the brightest flame in life's magical moments
Is honey your love to last a lifetime.
I am climbing up Moriah
with the thing I love most dearly;
on the mountain's heights above me,
I will see my God more clearly.
Incredible expectation!
For with the knife and holy fire,
I must on a stony altar
bind up and slay my heart's desire.
O, this God of mine, all knowing!
Past my finite mind can see
in the distant, vast eternal
all that He destined I should be.
Only He can make a promise,
and He fulfills each sovereign vow;
though He slay me, I will serve Him.
He led me here, I'll trust Him now.
The knife is raised; beyond the void
I dare not cast my weary sight;
I can hear no gentle laughter
in the deep canyons of the night.
I will look instead at Jesus,
and His command I will obey.
There are rams in all His thickets;
He is the Christ, the same always.
© 1987, Faye Lanham Gibson
Laurel and fern whisper to the silent night
Blended with the heady scent of thickets
Moss shelters rocky slopes beneath moonlight
Dreams unfold while listening to the crickets
Songs so bold, crisp and full of tender hope
Blended with the heady scent of thickets
Poison ivy and every vine will cling and grope
Erasing all the doubt from those in prayer
Songs so bold, crisp and full of tender hope
Wild and wonderful, the woods never despair
There, amid the pine, there is peace so alive
Erasing all the doubt from those in prayer
Hearts are delighted, inspired so they thrive
Gentling even the darkness, tenderness grows
There, amid the pine, there is peace so alive
Beneath a lustrous moon, leaves will compose
Laurel and fern whisper to the silent night
Gentling even the darkness, tenderness grows
Moss shelters rocky slopes beneath moonlight
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 8 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Mark Toney
July 16, 2022