Best Unclasped Poems
“Embrace and Release”
In the quiet of night, I pondered—
the art of severing ties, like pruning a tree.
The weakest links, once tightly bound,
now set free, like a maiden’s unclasped bra.
2024 dawns, a canvas for transformation.
Covid’s grip loosens, and clarity emerges.
Meltdowns yield to focus, tears to savings.
My sex life, like New York’s winter, chills.
Raw verses spill forth, unfiltered and true.
Yet my smile softens toward strangers,
and I find myself liking humanity anew.
Trust remains distant, a horizon to reach.
Biblical tales echo vulnerability—
the weaker devoured by the strong.
Have I surrendered my worth for fleeting moments?
No tears stain my words; they remain silent.
As I gaze upward, pondering thoughts,
my brain’s triad—forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain—
collaborates, yet sometimes drifts apart.
Do I know myself anymore? Today, I listen.
Goodbye, old lover; hello, new friends.
Life’s tides carry me forward,
and I embrace the journey, raw and unafraid.
May vulnerability be my strength, not my undoing.
Categories:
unclasped, allusion, america, analogy, angst,
Form:
Blank verse
Beggar-boy quiet watched eyes lavender blue
One look of buried winter songs chiseled at my soul.
Tattered earlobe sullen deaf bored with a hole
Flash of pride, lightning wells I could not look into.
Saw the velvet violin case and bore a hole there too
Molded pride of undeserved, embers stirred the coal
Beggar-boy quiet watched eyes lavender blue
One look of buried winter songs chiseled at my soul.
Unclasped brass dull 'click' vessel and bow I drew
Hungry eyes body rigid--could silent tune console?
Searing bowstrings clawed at my heart a trembling cajole
Until I saw the tears run free clear as dusky dew
Beggar-boy quiet watched eyes lavender blue.
Categories:
unclasped, art, hopewinter, winter,
Form:
Part Two
From that moment onwards
Not when the fingerless muscles unclasped
the indented bones
But from that moment of knowing
from that very moment of sustenance
That day of human unbelief died unsung
And the depth of human grief buried long
bestirred a momentous song
It willed within me it were man
Some kindly soul no less
But in surfeit laid aside
The biscuits of distaste
It willed within me it were some organisation
Hurrying to the bed of despair
With the spare crumbs of conversion
The Holy Infant to succour
I willed then it were a friend
From want of excuse to teach
His fooling heart to bleat
Robbed his conscience of a treat
I willed and willed and never
In my thankless memory
Sat the image of my enemy
The fulcrum of my singular division
And when that day I delved into my depths
To find the words of irreproachable thanks
I saw you turn and stamp the light
Of my begging steps of penance
I turned, rebuffed
Should I have turned and gone
Away from the stony snarl of thanklessness
Away from all that I saw in that
One inseparable act
Away from my insurrection
From the illimitable doubt of humility
Far away from all the coquetry of cunning
No man was divided more
Between himself and self
Between life and cherished death
Astride on the unwelcome threshold of emptiness
Had I come out of dying
And yet the chained stick of fate
Was certain to unravel for me
No less, no more, the vicious sting of hate
And revived with urgency's gratitude
Twice over, reconditely, I was blessed
(Continued in Part Three)
Categories:
unclasped, girlfriend-boyfriend, day, me,
Form:
Free verse
T'was there in the twilight I heard my dear Lord
He's calling, yes calling to me
He bids me come close and to sit by His side
This Teacher from Old Galilee
His voice is so gentle, his eyes are so kind
Then He motions again to sit near
Please tell Me My son just what's on your mind
With Me you have nothing to fear
Then He reached out His hand when I neared where He sat
I took it to steady my pace
He said let us pray for the sins you have wrought
And the sins of the whole human race
Then we bowed our heads and we closed our eyes
Our Father He started to pray
Please forgive this young lad and the sins he hath wrought
With blessings to take on his way
Then we unclasped our hands at the final Amen
I looked at His hands opened wide
Then He held them up for me to see
The nail scars that held Him so high
I could see on His brow the marks of the crown
That the soldiers' had pushed on His head
And the marks of the tears running down His face
From the sweat and the blood He had shed
I can see by your face then He said unto me
They hurt Me I cannot deny
But I died and I lived by the grace of our God
In the mansion He holds Oh so high!
Now it's time that you went with the angel I sent
I hope and I pray for your love
Please remember Me when your down on your knees
And the blessings I send from above.
Categories:
unclasped, bible, blessing, faith,
Form:
Pastoral
I loved him in a Summer's breeze,
though Summer ripened into Fall.
His Winter arms, a cooler squeeze,
a chill became an April squall.
A season's moment left ungrasped.
I thought of love, but love is blind.
Its daydreams easily unclasped.
Untended, quickly they unwind.
He left in Summer, with no glance;
his mythful "white horse" ran away.
My heart, he nicked with paper lance.
I can't recall his face today.
Promises penned in Summer's air
are lost as they waft everywhere.
March 20, 2023
for "A Simple Poetry Contest" poetry contest
by John Lawless
Categories:
unclasped, desire, lost, love, summer,
Form:
Sonnet
Rushing away from the Devils hair hoisting heave
Rushing to Gods downy laced embrace, searching as astray and bereaved.
Rushing away from your most tenebrous night-frights.
Rushing to your chain mail-cloaked knight.
Rushing away from the skies troubling tears.
Rushing to the sun-singed grassy spears.
Rushing away from the contemporary world atrocities.
Rushing to the falsely glazed generosities.
Rushing away no longer
Only rushing to authorities, tongue untied, and hands unclasped from behind my allegorically lashed back.
Rushing away, wiped from my options, forced to breathlessly quarrel and yack.
Categories:
unclasped, world,
Form:
Couplet
What later will be filled with squeals
And peals of childish laughter,
In desolation thus reveals
What comes before and after.
The vacant swings, with chains unclasped,
Hang waiting, so forlorn.
The silver slide, unoccupied,
Gleams dully in the morn.
The jungle gyms or monkey bars
Seem bare and incomplete.
They’ll only come alive when tamped
By scores of tiny feet.
The benches, ever patient,
Bide their time, unsatisfied,
‘Til that moment when some sitters
Will enjoy what they provide.
The meat of day will change it all –
The park will thrum with *****;
But in the empty hours
It’s as silent as a monk.
Categories:
unclasped, introspection, urban,
Form:
Rhyme
Unclasped my pearl necklace
and loosened my long, straight hair,
opened the buttons of my dress and let it fall,
took off my lingerie,
tearing the delicate silk,
and left me naked.
After that, with his finger-scalpel,
he sliced into my skin,
as though I were meat.
He put his surgeon hands
into my entrails and
ripped out my guts,
my ordinary cells
and all the primary ones.
All of the healthy blood,
all of the useless blood,
spurted from me.
He tore into what was healthy,
and into what was infected,
every pustule.
With eyes like rays
of laser light,
he pulled away my organs
and boned me.
I lay down
next to my clothes
and to what was taken
with the wisdom
of a firm and sharp lancet.
From my lurid nudity
I begged him to possess me,
moaning into spasms,
and when he broke through my soul,
what a fantastic ******!
Patricia Evans
Categories:
unclasped, allegory, happiness, life, love,
Form:
Free verse
I hold three magic rocks, in my hand
Rolling them over and over and over
Leaving this reality behind, far behind...
I know not where I'm headed to,
the sage's advice, my only clue :
"Enlightenment is now in your hands,
take much heed when you let it land..."
One magic rock was crimson blood,
turned fiery hot when it glowed--
I could not help but drop it,
the ground it struck was lit
The flames began to form images,
of war, of humanity enraged,
showed what happened when anger ruled,
when greed turned men to fools
The second rock was pearly white,
turned ice cold when its light died,
my hand stung, and so I let it fall,
rippling the lake, and I was enthralled...
Distorted images came to view,
of moralities askewed,
it chilled my soul to realize
this world has been desensitized
The last rock, alas was bleak and grey,
rough in my hands where it lay...
I wondered what other horrors it had in store,
so I knelt on my knees and prayed to the Lord...
I sought for forgiveness, for times gone astray,
asked for strength and courage, to find the way...
thanked Him for all the blessings I often neglect,
then ended with praises, and a genuflect
I unclasped my hands, the grey rock slipped below
it landed with a soft thud, then it started to glow
It showed me a place where three crosses stood,
then it was clear to me, I fully understood...
The plainest rock was the most precious one,
a silent witness on that fateful day
when the Son's blood was shed, so we can all be saved.
**The first three lines are not my own, but that of Constance La France's...
Categories:
unclasped, faith, inspirationalmagic,
Form:
Narrative
Icy rains pelt angrily the ground,
Shacks and huts though unstable, sound.
The king that reigns is keeper of pride.
His flaws, outside seem most profound.
His butler doth usher him inside.
But this rainy country's summer's akin, "Bide
Thy time, fore the Winter's forlorned grasp
Is brought on by the tide." she sighed.
She awoke that night by the window's rasp.
Cracked slightly, snow filtering, copper handle grasped;
The curtains they writhed and came unwound.
Frozen with shock she stay as the Wind unclasped...
Winter winds had come, blew away his love, unfound
Love is war as his heavy ring is round
Himself was he lost in all the while
As he was the Wind, his words Winter sound...
Categories:
unclasped, allegory, december, farewell, grief,
Form:
Rubaiyat
Its forty years now
since that first day,
I remember still the
tears that dropped from
my cheeks as my mother’s
hand unclasped mine,
breaking the bond I’d
known from birth, handing
me over as though I were
a piece of lost property,
Miss Pringle was very kind,
and I’m sure understanding,
but she was only a
substitute, someone fitting
in between nine ‘o’clock
and quarter to four
five days a week.
But what of the freedom?
I’d known for the first five years of
my life, this institution was
taking it all away, two
times tables, abc’s, banging
blocks into different shaped
holes. “Yes innocence and
freedom had gone”
Gone, forever!
© Harry J Horsman 1987
Categories:
unclasped, childhood, education, school,
Form:
Narrative
“Touch me”
she pleaded
no more
than a whisper
hands tied
behind head
as she begged
him to kiss her
he slid up her top
over breasts and chin
pausing for thought
with a playful grin
he moved it up further
but to her surprise
left it to cover
her lust filled eyes
he unclasped her bra
baring both breasts
stroking her nipples
with soft caress
he licked them
and sucked them
her nipples erect
her body responding
the desired effect
he made his way south
and pulled off her jeans
then ripped off her pants
with the help of his teeth
he parted her legs
and kissed his way up
soft and wet
till he reached the top
his tongue started licking
fingers were flicking
all over her moist special place
till all of a sudden she
could take it no more
and came all over his face
Categories:
unclasped, desire,
Form:
Rhyme
Despite being hoisted on arid ground,
My barely hidden refuge, a sensual shadow
On the road, I laid out for stifled sorrow
distorted silhouettes of the decayed bound.
Peaceful water and tangy, light wind
warm light on my arms, and stoked sand
Now, via fragmented flower-bed land
A riot of magic florets and birds chimed.
Lush conifer forests smell of pine
Cool shade and light, crunching pine twigs
Out into the sun, a breeze for sailing jigs
Crickets leap around me on a supple line.
A soft smile on my face and a passion I cannot hide
eyes wide and unclasped, fantasizing about you
blissful as a nostalgic journey at our venue
I value that you are daydreaming too, eyes wide.
Written: November 19, 2022
Don't Quit Your Daydream Poetry Contest
Categories:
unclasped, analogy, dream, inspirational, love,
Form:
Enclosed Rhyme
Your sublime allure
Like plum blossoms on Fuji
Trembling with love's covenant
Unclasped by Spring's kiss
To alight, giggling, my heart
I miss you, Lotus Petal
** FOURTEENTH PLACE in the "Oh How I Miss You Poetry Contest", Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer, Judge & Sponsor. **
Categories:
unclasped, desire, longing, metaphor, miss
Form:
Sedoka
She was caged in his mystery.
Just a glimpse into his soul;
And she saw the anger flow freely.
A father’s blood tainted
And with it came sorrow;
And with it came unspeakable torment.
There was not a person,
That felt the pain,
Its symptoms were distinctively his.
Whispers like the wind urged him to be happy;
As though condolences could take away the grief;
Each face was featureless, each apology was a fake.
She found him alone and broken.
Within him she saw helplessness;
It was masqueraded by a need to remain strong.
On his shoulders was the World,
The weight of which was becoming too much,
Knees bent from the pressure.
He looked at her and their bereavement was matched;
Both cold from the tears,
Both were searching for their escaped faith.
A child was taken at her word,
Lost amongst the other realms;
She had felt empty.
Her sobs at night were heard by none,
Ridiculed by her traumatizing decision-
He saw her standing outcast.
Their inward screams had echoed outward;
Only they could hear each other’s cries.
Drawn together in unity, a relationship formed.
They were never perfect for each other,
But their voids were filled.
They were very much alike, and yet so different.
They treated one another with disrespect.
It turned their love into rage;
This was followed by resentment.
Hands unclasped as their families pulled them apart,
Tears rolled from her eyes and his desperate struggle ensued;
He vowed to someday get her back.
He found himself anguished once more, as did she.
For who would hold her now?
How would he fall asleep?
They would move on as all lost lovers do,
But no other love could be the same.
No lesson as great as the one that they had experienced; together.
Categories:
unclasped, beauty, boyfriend, dark, death,
Form:
Free verse