Best Traverses Poems
He paces steadily in the ash of evening
while a neck cranes to watch the darkness fall:
an armor on his back hardens amidst
the chatter of leaves at the far end
of a sea where danger waits.
Through a haze, a fearless turtle
stands guard against the rage of winds;
his beaded eyes cautiously
scanning predators as flowers bend
for comfort of night’s droning hum.
Displaying an ancient legacy, he traverses
the mossy dune with shell and flippers
kneading stealthily in cunning motion…
oh, bearer of water and earth
evolves like a mystical ninja turtle
carrying the load to find a jeweled star.
Cyndi MacMillan's Free Verse- Turtle Contest
by nette onclaud
This day, in America, we remember those who died in battle:
MEMORIAL DAY — IN LIME DEPOSITS
In lime deposits, memories live on, as torrential flesh dies.
Cries in sunshine and rain, flower up bloody sacrifice.
The hopeful blooms of freedom’s caustic cost —
The poppy seeds would last, yet nowhere ne’er suffice.
On her proud lapel, dripping with measured tears.
Upon her adorned wrist the pressure of passion petals.
The nettles that fell the fighters of shivering yesteryear.
Still jewels shine, from the home, where the quivers settle.
How thick and plush, a ruddy head rush, the beautiful field
Of poppies that spread, endlessly abroad in Eden’s bower.
Reflective hourglass sands of the past, present and future.
Repopulation of the sullen earth with faithful ruddy flowers.
The crimson crib of a lover’s garden, salted with personal tears,
Whilst life traverses, without morse code, to one’s brief generation.
War but a scourge on man’s back — the epitome of Calvary’s cross.
A long line of souls, lifted upon an unselfish tree, of love’s veneration.
5/28/2018
What is love?
The North Star guiding
a lost seafarer home
or the Siren’s song luring
him to the rocky shores?
Is it frolicking in the moonlit
nights in a field of flowers
or trudging across
an arid, scorching desert?
Is it a freeway to bliss and joy
or a meandering trail
through a rugged terrain
of grief and woe?
Is it a cup of hemlock
or a chalice of nectar?
Is it a snake pit
or a bridge over the chasm
of hatred and bigotry?
Is it an ever-elusive mirage
or the rock of Gibraltar?
Love is all that and more
and yet it’s nothing,
A mere emotion, a feeling,
At first blush, irrelevant
and yet it’s an impetus, a catalyst--
An euphoria permeating our entire being.
It is here, it is there,
and it is everywhere...
Yet, it is nowhere!
It creates mayhem and chaos
if it turns and walks away.
Love knows no boundaries,
It follows no customs or creed;
It cares not for any
race or language.
Not unlike air and water
or the enlivening sunlight--
Vital in good measures
devastating in excess,
Vexing as a thorn but
as enticing as the fragrance.
Love is but love!
No one has seen it
Yet everyone is touched by it,
Its constant presence is overwhelming
Yet you’ll never find
if you go looking for it,
It traverses distant shores,
Yet it doggedly never
leaves your threshold.
You are born with it
but never can you own it,
Forever it hovers around you
but never can you rein it in.
“Love is a many-splendored thing”.
Yet none can explain its true meaning,
It would call through a bullhorn
and you may not hear it,
It merely whispers in your ears
and turns your life topsy-turvy,
More furious than the flowing lava
It would give you the chills if provoked.
He indeed is a poor soul
bereft of hopes and dreams
who befriendeth not love!
~05/02/16
~Free Verse on Love contest by Laura Loo
~"Love turns the world around"
contest by Nayda Ivette Negron
The rational subject
Dances in duality
Stripped of earnings, personhood urging
Marked by contract, on paper
Life transforms into property
Belligerent because of tooth enamel-
That unexpected biological decay
Proves that mind stands still
We've built up a hoary artifice
Exclaiming our particular version of truth
Covering the ground with gridwork and lines
Mining jewels to keep the helium high
While filling quotas to make the ceiling rise
I hear the great man/ nature divide
Residing in our pattern of life
Speaking out a vast anguish
Birthing pains of a new era
We will make it through the womb
Our power lies in our pleasure
As mankind always traverses
An uneven terrain
SUNRISE and SUNSET
Soft Sun below horizon about to awake
scattering scarlet crimson glow.
Morning breeze starts to flow
Flora and Fauna look fresh at dawn break.
Sun traverses daily path from East to West
Morn to noon, then afternoon, next to set.
Suns sinks, bids bye to evening sky.
Twilight tends to fade, feeling shy.
Being calm, birds stop chirping, wish rest.
All are keen to return to nest.
Sadness prevails, crows cease to cry.
Forgotten past knocks heart to sigh.
Sun sets on promise:
Next morning to rise.
'Course as a grim teller of tall tales,
(albeit poetic) reasonable rhyming
quasi roundelay I readily admitted to feign
cuz, stringing words together with
pride and prejudice plus
sense and sensibility, jocularity,
and conformity I dissed deign
(spoiler alert) iamb, trochaic,
dactylic, and anapestic metrical reign
jest your ordinary garden variety
dollar short day late dime a dozen
penniless citizen banker Abel and Cain,
yet mine mean mien blithely, daringly,
fatuously, ludicrously, nauseatingly,
pretentiously playfully urbane
many (if not all readers)
will coon sitter
yours truly harmlessly insane,
whose feeble attempts
to wax and wane
oft times falls flat (splat goes Matt)
as if dropped out plane,
without a parachute
instantly recuperating while lain
supine (winded, but...
none the worse) asthma brain
suffers concussion, confusion, contusion
actually, immediately, and unexpectedly
knocked fluent German speaking ability
within germane guy verständlich?
If ye really comprehend
trademark non Turkish gobbledygook
then explain (using
language of least familiarity),
but best to commence
with eye catching hook
impossible mission
apt lit pupils (mine)
to evade even momentarily
riveting, spellbinding,
and transfixing look
courtesy ingenious way
with word ye snook
cored me and took
wind out my sails.
Nor could I breakaway courtesy automobile,
cuz 2009 Hyundai Sonata
would not start... yea for real,
thus finding me ready to yoke
neck (think gibbet) each heel
dangling as body goes limp
blessedly, finally, happily
ridding me of any/all hangups,
one less goo goo gaga born this way
poker face cards for him to deal.
UNGABLUZUM describes this schlemiel!
Intermingled threads of my fantasies pour
from the ink of my love on the bare soul
of the letter I write for you, my beloved
The windowpane sparkles moonlit dreams
And I submerge into my visions of you
You, my moon bound to your services
Make me wonder how I would write
All the love-soaked words I've never said
I had questions that submerged in tides
Propelled by divine celestial waves
I forgot to savor the fragrance of lilies
That intertwine into my desolate bed stand
Perhaps you will be gulping your tea
When this letter relishes the touch
Of your frozen fingers looking for warmth
You might inhale the aroma of my love
Dripped in my waxing and waning hopes
Rosy shades of mellowed sunrise
Prompt my hopes to flutter and fly
Away to a land where you reside
I have spent last night tossing them
In solicitude of your awaited letter
My feet took a hundred strides
to the door that I opened warily
I await your reply to quench my love
I am the sun that follows her moon
Eclipsed by unending galactic cycles
Let me drape myself in your love
Let your letter wait at the corner
Until I've told you my anxiety faded away
I've been onlooking the desert roads
Oh should I merge into them in daylight
To kiss the path your letter traverses
This time I hope it remembers at last
My name and address on this frayed street
Let it bring to me your smooth embrace
The sun, exhausted of the chase for moon
Over these centuries, awaits the end of eclipse
Drenched in my fears I whisper at sunset,
"Let my love engulf me in soothing waves"
....The sun and the moon in a golden Aurora, unite,
Your letter arrives before you colored in lilac twilight.
*A tribute to the tumultuous emotions of a soldier's wife*
May 26, 2020
The Sun And The Moon Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Chantelle Anne Cooke
~~Premiere Contest Winner: 4th Place
BRIAN'S CHOICE V,any form,any theme Contest
~~Winner: First Place
“When life traverses the path of pathos the beguiled birds fly to
show the course out of the feeling of being abandoned”
– Quote by Poet
If in the flushing garden path you walk entranced forlorn,
the scarlet sun of the dawn’s seraphic sky embraces you,
you’ll see my heart in the lilac lines of cloud up above,
there you won’t be lonely, for I won’t ever leave you.
If on the waves of the desert dunes you trudge desolate,
trace the melting mirage to the sundown hazy horizon,
you’ll reach the verdant oasis sprawling in my olive heart,
there you won’t be lonesome, for I won’t ever desert you.
If on the golden sands of the satin beach you pace alone,
the rolling waves adorn pearly lattice on your ivory feet,
you’ll feel my heart’s cadence in the cascade of moonbeam,
there you won’t be lost, for I won’t ever forsake you.
If on the surging stream of boundless love you float adrift,
meander the unanchored life on the plateau of yearning,
you’ll hear in murmuring ripples the symphony of my heart,
there you won’t be dismayed, for I won’t ever abandon you.
“The Path towards REMEMBERING is not for the weak. It is priceless. Move inwards, without faltering & know that you are held.” Poet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
journey within is strewn with jagged edges
and jewels
both can lead to detours
walking a straight and narrow path one
traverses own jungle untamed
lame sometimes becomes our resolve
not to forge ahead beyond crags or rags
is not an option once undertaking begins
screams may merge with songs or dreams
cream alongside starvation or salvation
a luminous beckoning lighthouse at end of tedium slogs hold us steady
often makes us heady
in solitude with faith we need make no haste
knowingness with Heart’s compass surely
keeps us safe
neither hazard or hurdle makes us curdle
Soul the master of destined fate never late
to turn cherished key into jewelled Home
within is majestic prize to win
In the fractured realm of trust and broken hearts,
Love suffers, feeding on enigmas.
She, a fragile constellation with a cracked heart,
Thus, we remain, seeking infinity in corners of dreams.
A ballet of the shadows of trust, waves of unrest,
In the quiet of the cosmos, emotions grow like falling stars.
A mind once a halo, now a troubled vortex,
Love traverses the storm of light and stardust.
Echoes of remorse, deep calls from eternity,
A yearning for healing, time weaving on wings of nothingness.
She, once a goddess of the day, now a fragile enigma,
A love forged by the unknown, without the chains of fate.
The weight of my madness, a hidden colossus of fire,
But among the remaining shards, love roams like a moon's murmuring.
A fool, an alchemist lost in labyrinths, seeking redemption,
In the ruins of faith, hope is born like a golden flame.
In the dark abyss, a splinter of magical light,
To restore trust, the hearts that still whisper.
For in the fracture, love weaves like an astral dream,
A never-ending thread, woven from the cloak of stars and chosen eternity.
The depth of me
Glistens in my tears of joy
and traverses my tears of sorrow.
How I can embrace the one today
and face the other come the morrow.
The depth of me
surpasses the strength I find,
when I have reached the end of my rope.
When I believe I am forsaken,
yet I reach for that ray of hope.
The depth of me
awakens in my slumber
as dreams coalesce from needs.
I become more than I am today,
yet so much less than I can be
The depth of me
speaks softly for others ears,
whispering just what I want to show.
Staying within to heed the call.
I am so much more than you know.
Crystalline waters
Spring of life,
Traverses newer paths,
Trace the flow of crystalline waters,
Waterfall,
inspires to meditate,
Serenity is immediate,
Stand at shore,
waters buzzing galore,
Furore engulfs agonising throes,
Sets new rhythm,
Tunes the heart beat perfect,
Thoughts flow constant to soulful enthral !
Written November 2nd, 2014
By Dr. Upma A. Sharma
For nette's Crystalline contest
Oh, how he struggles through storm swollen seas,
lost in the thought of his lover and he.
His toil made clear as he searches the night
for the flickering promise of her candle light.
Tossed by the waves as his muscles fatigue
in his grasp, a gift for his true love's intrigue.
Kept safe in the wrap of a soft silken veil
are fragrant white flowers, their scent to inhale.
Step by steep step she traverses each flight
to the top of the stairs to wait by the light.
From the cusp of the spire she hopes and she craves
to see her Leander arise from the waves.
He yearns to be near her on the distant land
and to touch her smooth skin with his calloused hand.
To hold her so gently and caress her soft breast
with his cheek pressed against her his body will rest.
His legs become heavy, his arms become weak
and he knows to attain his desire is bleak.
"Oh, Hero, my sweet I have lost you this night,"
the waters embrace him, he surrenders his life.
In the top of the tower above the tall trees
she waits for Leander to emerge from the sea.
Through the mist she can see him, dead on the sand,
the white petals upon him and strewn 'cross the land.
"Oh, Leander my love I have waited for thee,
but now you are gone, killed by the sea.
Never again to kiss your sweet lips,
I will join you," she spoke, as her foot she let slip.
Hanging high in the autumn's ebon sky,
A Harvest Moon is so majestic to this beholder's eye!
Rays gently caress God's good Earth far below.
Vast is the reach of its calming, mellow glow.
Each silent passing of that eternal orb stirs feelings of romance,
Sharing it with my love as it traverses the heavens' vast expanse!
Trees raising arms as if in homage, clad in brilliant robes of gold,
Mark the passing of the Harvest Moon as they have from old.
Orbiting Mother Earth as it has done since the dawn of creation.
Octogenarian tho' I am, it yet fills my being with inspiration!
None but He could sate this mere mortal's soul with such a view.
So soon, all too soon, I must bid the Harvest Moon a sad adieu.
(August 27, 2012)
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Placed No. 2 in Francine Roberts' "Autumn Acrostic" Contest - September 2012
Distant voices muffled by time
I held to hope to rise again
Life was not through with me, nor I with life
I lean on tidal rhythm of breath
And vowed my God I'll never forget
Fire and ice, and wind and rain
I hadn't shrunk... no complain.
A silver haired hermaphrodite stood waving its wand
Distance and time were wedded as one
I never meant to destroy myself
I knew never to wish destruction for anyone
For we are pardoned beyond seventy times one
And in our heart of hearts, we smell redemption.
Our cries, our hopes, our dreams, our songs
Become intertwined, infused by One
Some folks arrives from in the morning of their youth
Some traverses hills and vales before seeing light of truth.
I once trembled in class of students, white
I alone in my own darkness
Saw them fair, not foul
Forgiveness I learn to dole
Gratitude let my spirit thrive
Life is but a school
Poetic justice its major rule.
*