Best Trailed Poems
My cherished one ,
Think not of this night with an absent moon
But think of those nights that we used to know
Think of those nights 'neath the sky's window light
where we lay side by side .
Think of sea-scents that wafted before
Think of old waves that lulled us to sleep
as they lapped on the shore.
My cherished one ,
Think not òf this night with an absent moon
But think of those nights that we used to know
Think of those nights 'neath the sky's window light
where we lay side by side .
Your tanned face was not a blank page
It was filled with sweet words that I spilled
and soft kisses I've trailed.
My cherished one ,
Think not of this night with an absent moon
But think of those nights that we used to know
Oh those nights 'neath the sky's window light
where we lay side by side .
On those nights, how you gazed with deep amorous eyes .
As Spring was half-dressed , your restless fingers caressed
Out of love , it was built , our warm cosy nest .
But flowers just didn't bloom , and birds couldn't survive ,
Nor did our dream , or our child ,
Neither did you in the line of my life .
My cherished one ,
Think not of this night with an absent moon
but think of those nights that we used to know
Think of those nights under the sky's window light
where we lay side by side ,Oh yeah , once we lay side by side .
My best friend and I
Ran barefoot through the garden
Stirring the petals
Her hair tied back in two braids
Her skirt trailed out behind her
We sat by the stream
With our feet in the water
Talking and laughing
Until a pink rose I plucked
And wove it into her dark braids
To sigh deep in the interlude of time
Before my world of silence closes in,
As nightfall marks the ticks of birdsong’s chime
And let a North Star bless my world within.
The change of song brings memories’ relief
Questioning not what dreams are all about;
So chant dear sparrows and take flight with peace
And will my wings to rise without a doubt.
Then drizzles spill for moments truly felt
For graced tokens of charms are now endowed;
When solace glides as fragrant raindrops melt
To lounge on twilight’s edge , draped by its shroud.
Oh, joy so calm beneath the pewter moon
A journey trailed, where dawn will find me soon.
Your Best Poem Ever Contest of John Hamilton
Written 3/18/2016 Re-submitted 6/18/2020
On this October's mild stirrings
I watched ached nights flicker, to glow
Around his hair like angel wings
Recalling joyrides... so mellow.
That in hushed tones,I called Gramps' name
Enshrined within my youth's warm space...
My hands folded with love aflame,
While prayers spilled through chill's embrace.
Though failing heart quivered in ticks,
Faith...way back then when I was ten
Gripped, he was nearing sixty six
As prayers trailed,wafting amen.
Until spring came, Gramps' flare restored
With new life blessed from harbor's ward.
..........
Way Back Then When I Was Ten
Kelly Deschler's Contest
1/30/2016
----------------------
she paints lipstick
mother's red
on her sunken face
careful not to smear
the edges of tears
...a kiss upon her cheek
she tries to scrub
her unkempt soul
with the filth
upon the floor
her hands bloodied
trailed in pink suds
she watches
as she shines
the windows
tiny leaves twirling
gracefully
in autumn's breeze
as if in dance
with a prince
she dreams
of pumpkin carriages
drawn by horses
as she twirls thoughts
pretending the rags
are sunday's best dress
she gasps
beneath sobs
in heavy sighs
even "cinderella"
went to the ball
she shivers
beneath the chants
through the halls
where even the echoes
have forgotten her name
Gentle the touch from smooth brushing kisses
Softly I come to you, Softly I will
Tender the night of our hungry wishes
As lovers, we claim sacred time until
Warm is love's breath that crosses the spaces
Yearning turns the spring of time's winding clock
Tremors from soft fingers leave trailed traces
And give lovers keys that open the lock
Lost in ambrosia where the heart now sings
A wanton fiery need burns within
To find paradise in flight without wings
Sacred, vulnerable rejoicing in
Time is in motion and time will stand still
Softly I'll come to you, Softly I will
In open space free
Steel and glass enclosure
A small moving space confined
My possession of pride
Momentum propelled by young drive
A companion of trust.
The wingless bird
Tunneled timid air
Dust trailed the motion
Distance to sunrise horizon
Contracted like an accordion
Music under the bonnet.
Tread of twenty turning years
Took abrasive toll on patina of past
My adored Fiat Padmini senile
Rusted in immobile inertia
Old jalopy’s journey to junkyard
Raised the last dust
From the debris of my heart.
Written : July 22, 2019
May 19, 2020
Contest : Brian's Choice L
Sponsor : Brian Strand
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!
I sat on the edge of your mattress, unsure what to expect; I kicked off my shoes and took in
your bedroom for the first time: the bookshelves, the plastic stickers wreathing the windows,
your little brother’s action figures mid-battle on the carpet, the clothing stretched out into
long piles beneath your feet.
I remember thinking you so strong and confident, wondering how we ended up beneath the
covers together. You reassured me as you crawled out to take down your blue jeans. I looked
away for fear of seeming too eager. (I wanted to look.)
Your hand trailed over my back, tracing my stomach. I had never been touched before;
every inch your fingers followed burned a path into my memory. I was sure there were
scorch marks on the sheets.
We kissed and kissed and I gasped and we kissed and I fumbled, I heard my pulse throbbing
in my ears and we kissed and I couldn’t believe I had gone my whole life without knowing the
feeling of skin on skin.
Then, you were forcing my lips to part with yours, and your tongue surprising the inside of my
mouth, a slippery, rubbery thing. I let it wander.
You curled a loose hair behind my ear. I imagine you framing my face in your hands and
bringing my chin for another kiss, but I find my memory inventing moments between us that
never passed.
But, I am sure of the sleepy look on your face every time we pulled away, the half-pouted
lips, and the pressure of your hands on my back, urging me to never stop.
Once there was a girl, little hood,
She was a fine mamma, looking good.
Hood decided to take a walk
Didn’t see the wolf watching her like a hawk.
Mesmerised by her swinging ass
He trailed behind watching her sway with class
He said “I gotta have a piece of hood,”
“That ass is juicy and good for food.”
Suddenly he stopped with a frightful stare
Across from her was mamma, papa and baby bear.
The notorious trio who did goldilocks
Just down the road about three blocks
Wolf said “I’m not gonna stand for this.”
The Wolf now was getting pissed.
He draws his ooze and colt 44
Rat a tat tat mama , papa and baby no more.
Smoke clears and he sees hoods’ on the floor
“F--k!” he screams “I killed my wh-re.”
She stirs and looks at him with a smile,
Hood says “Bad boy tonight you get to do d--gystyle.”
There was once a maiden who lived by the sea
with lustrous lips that dried too soon
like early dew perched on a tree .
She once was beautiful with skin so fair
A veil of lilacs covered her hair.
Her eyes the brightest of moonglow beams
Her voice, a drifting wave on a late night breeze.
Her dimpled smile lit each dark alley
Her carefree spirit reached every valley.
This little maiden had never married
though noble blood her womb has carried.
Undressed from innocence, her tender flesh
has felt the warmth of drunken breath.
His fingertips exposed her neck
and then trailed down along her back.
She couldn't move, She couldn't scream
At last, She ran not to be seen.
She ran so fast to be set free
She raised her son, lone by the sea.
There stands a desolate castle on England's venerable shore,
That once sheltered a royal line that ruled its sprawling realm.
Now, according to local lore, eerie things are seen and heard,
In that castle by the sea, in that haunted castle by the sea!
On blustery nights a spectral sentry is seen pacing its towers.
Clad in mail, armed with lance, he's heard to herald the hours.
His disembodied voice is heard e'en o'er the raging storm,
Atop that castle by the sea, atop that haunted castle by the sea!
On stormy nights as thunder crashes and the savage gale shrieks,
Lightning illumes a princess wraith, tears coursing down her cheeks,
As she waves to her handsome prince who goes forth into battle,
In that castle by the sea, in that haunted castle by the sea!
On moonlit nights a phantom hearse drawn by six ebon steeds,
Trailed by ghostly figures intoning haunting dirges is often seen.
As drifting clouds overshadow the moon, it fades from view,
Nigh that castle by the sea, nigh that haunted castle by the sea!
If only those barren, lichen covered walls could only speak,
But, alas, they now stand forlorn, eternally mute and bleak.
The haunting secrets they might reveal are forever buried,
In that castle by the sea, in that haunted castle by the sea!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Honorable Mention in Debbie Guzzi's "Jack OUT Of The Box" Contest - Jun 2011
The last Night of October
It's that time, again, the last night of October,
the last glow of twilight nearly gone.
Children race out and about,
winding through the streets and alleys.
Brightly colored costumes,
mom's old wig, dad's old sport coat.
All hoping to fill their bags with the prize:
Candy bars, bag of licorice, candy corn, pop corn balls,
apples, Bit-O-Honey, and Pez dispensed joy.
Some, their favorites, to greedily keep their own,
others to give to a poor sibling, who stayed home with the mumps.
With faces painted, steel themselves, for the gauntlet ahead,
the familiar street now somehow strange in the gloom,
to walk past hallowed ground,
All was quiet, save for the rustling of the leaves.
The daylight gone, now cloaked in Stygian darkness..,
ahead lie, the old grave yard.
Raucous laughter, which echoed only moments before,
trailed off into whispered murmurs.
All eyes from the once merry band looked now,
to their leader, albeit quickly chosen,
the tallest, and oldest, and bravest.
He too, resolve waning, felt the grip of those things unknown,
in the shadowy mist,
heart now beating faster, he chides the little ones,
for being such silly ninnies.
Just now, what was that! What was that sound?!?
Was that an owl? Or, maybe Old Man Godfrey, come back from his
now disturbed rest!
Young sister's hands clasped brother's, tightly,
and brother's, impishly taking the clammy worts,
decidedly grew, just a bit older, wiser,
and braver in kind.
Now turning the corner at Elm street, they walked at even pace.
With heads bowed low, mid-block, each chanced a glance, only to look away,
from the wrought iron gate.
Young heads, did now envision mystic spectres, ghouls and fantastic phantoms, with jaws agape, smiling in toothy cheer, bony fingered hands reaching through the heavy bars.
Swallowing dryly, daring just one quick glance back,
at the narrow lane winding, into the stone covered grounds,
dotted with ivy covered trees of willow and oak.
Back into the world of the living, back to
All Hallow's Eve.
-Happy Halloween
Gentle the touch of smooth brushing kisses
Softly I'll come to you, Softly I will
Tender the night of eye's hungered wishes
Calm are the hearts beating faster still
Warm is the breath that caresses the spaces
When love is the spring of time's winding clock
Tremors from fingers that leave trailed traces
Gives patience a key that opens love's lock
Lost in the moment where melding is King
Traveling in sync from rushes within
Paradise is found in flights without wing
Sacred, vulnerable rejoicing in
Time is in motion and time will stand still
Softly I'll come to you, Softly I will
This is the first poem I posted on poetry soup
it's now the first I've done with audio
when light faded out
and darkness descended
when all over me
the icy chill began to creep
I slammed the windows and doors
tightly shut
and like a child crawled
into my padded bed,
while the winter gale
was still raging outside
you broke upon my thought
as a euphonious melody.
when I longed for your warmth,
you knocked upon my feeble heart
as your voice trailed across to me
louder and louder,
I woke up from my languorous sleep
felt snug, the chillness around me, swept away
and a strange desire,
coursed through my nerves
I could feel the heat
of your tumultuous passion
the soft touch
of your caressing hands
the musky odor
of your fragrant breath
the warmth in your almond eyes
you stood before me
as an embodiment of grace
you opened the windows to let in the light
not leaving me grope in blinding darkness
you took me to the seas
of shore less delight
you enlivened every atom of my being
kindled in me the fire
of amorous desire
swept me off my feet
by the inundating tide of love
I felt my sleeping passions
suddenly set ablaze
Alas, with my senses lulled to sleep
leading me into a state of serene calm
through the door ajar,
you faded out like an evanescent dream
leaving me so stupefied....!
Placed First
Feb.20. 2022
Winter Love Poetry Contest
Sponsor- JCB Brul