Best Undertakings Poems
Amazingly, Alice assaulted an antelope
Because Bobby’s beavers became bold,
Considering cantilevered canines
Deliberately devastating donor’s doled.
Evelyn entirely excited electric eels
Failing forlornly from forward fencing,
Gaining ground gathering genuine gold
Her happiness heralded high financing.
I indicated initially incapable innocents
Justifying joyous juxtaposition jousting
Keeping kind Kenneth’s kindreds knit
Losing language like legally lost lusting.
Maybe minding manners means more
Neither newness nor novel necessary,
Occasionally opening old occlusions
Promises perfectly positioned pituitary.
Quite questionable quicky quirks
Rage rampantly removing regulations,
Summarily startling some supervisors
Touching their tempermental trepidations.
Until unusual undertakings understood
Veritable vigilantes visited volunteers,
Wildly waiting where we wandered
X-citedly X-iting X-istential X-ospheres
Yonder youthful yaks yielded...yikes!
Zebras zigzagged zestfully ziggurat-likes.
The sun shines so bright in a cerulean sky,
As Christmas spirit comes in great surprise;
People now in all walks of life,
Happily enjoy the moment once in a lifetime.
Go shopping here, go shopping there,
They all buy things needed to cheer;
Everyone joins the spectacular parade,
With big floats and motorcades.
It is still July but Christmas is magic,
It comes on time when we least expect it;
Day and night, people are rejoicing,
Helping one another in all undertakings.
Still skeptical on what is really happening,
But colorful lanterns and ornaments are now seen,
Christmas lights even sparks in shimmering splendor,
Hang in houses, on window sills and doors.
In open houses have some special gifts,
For anyone who would wish to drop by for a pick;
Some are simple wrapped items,
And some are sweets or delicacies on plates.
Everyone keeps busy but doesn’t go frantic,
Christmas in July is a real fantastic;
A special event which now lingers in the memory,
Because it is our Town’s First City Anniversary!
Note: Our town turned to a city.
Date: Aug. 8. 2012
7th Place Winner
Contest: My Favorite Poem Contest
Contest Judged: 9/7/12 12:00:00 AM
Poet Sponsor: Joyce Johnson
Note: This was my entry in the contest with a theme, Christmas In July Magic. I’m dedicating this poem to my town Candon City, although the anniversary is not really in July. I just kept the theme of the contest. Moreover, my dearest mother and favorite aunt who are both celebrating their b-days on this month had inspired me to write. The real Town City Hood and Foundation anniversary: The anniversary of Candon City Hood is every March 28. Candon became a city in March 28, 2001 thru Republic Act 9018. Candon City hood was authored by then Congresswoman Grace Singson during the 11th congress. Foundation Day is March 25. -more info were from Mr. Jun Balbin.
Volcanoes can engulf the land
in avalanching lava blaze
entombing picturesque Pompeiis,
for Nature has the upper hand.
Tsunamis raze an earthly strand
disrupting lives that cling to breath
in e’er untimely mortal death,
for Nature has the upper hand.
Despite the undertakings planned,
a cataclysm’s fatal sweep
may chance on beings deep asleep,
for Nature has the upper hand.
Across the cosmic reaches grand
the heavens prove their vast command
where’er our telescopes have scanned,
for Nature has the upper hand.
We stamp our heady hubris brand
upon the beauteous terrain
which humans claim as their domain,
still Nature has the upper hand.
An instance in immenseness spanned
we’re but a bit of Nature and
regardless if we understand
Great Nature has the upper hand!
~ Harley White
She is whimsical midst-escaping
blackness & beige stagnation,
reverberant betwixt musicality &
fictitious paisley fabrications,
recognizes the actuality of her
enigmatic spirit's frivolity,
well-defined by her quirky
quintessence serving her far beyond
periods of reflective flourishes,
has never been a slave to social
expectations nor gravitas of
worldly-minded undertakings,
materialism is not her cuppa tang
nor an applicable proposition,
heartfelt inclination is e'er creation
and the freedoms it relishes,
you may catch glimpses midway
seascapes & ocean's roar or
summits of splendiferous
mountain's sumptuous loftiness,
swaggers 'bout configurations
and milky way's artsy effulgence,
plays amidst wistful forests with
nymphets and poisonous toadstools
sashays 'round wildflower meadows
blanketed yonder moon blushes,
sun-kissed & star dusted she's
collectively nightfall 'pon daylight,
envisages building soaring air castles
amidst macrocosms high-rise skies'
timelessness whence humankind
shall humbly recognize enlightened
ceremony of incommensurate
resoluteness & obsessive commitment
furthermost nature's conceptualizations
Building Castles in the Sky Contest -Steven Henderson
When A Teacher Retires....
Beloved students they suffer a loss and feel deep regret..
For the loss of accumulated knowledge they can no longer get...
It pains me to pen these heartfelt lines when a fellow comrade...
Reaches the end of a long served career of teaching children...
Poignant memories of worthwhile moments are etched timelessly...
Making many a student and colleague shed a passing tear...
For in celebrating a distinguished career that come to end...
It too signifies the breaking of a new dawn for the celebrated one...
With much farewell wishes for golden years to come...
Suffice to include here some simple prose from students so dear...
Bidding goodbye is always tough, Words never prove enough...
Saying goodbye is never simple, To a teacher who's so special...
To a learned friend, dedicated teacher and fellow colleague...
A new world opens like the proverbial oyster to you...
All the best for your future undertakings and may you well prosper..
Like in the Star Trek series, henceforth go where you have not gone before...
from birth until this moment with your family as supporting team
the journey within your space/ time continuum stream
found trials and tribulations comprising the spool o yar existential ream
some incidents assessed in retrospect might now appear
as particularly significant undertakings – getting you grounded with clear
insight into what future dreams may become manifest with yar dear
beloved husband – I aver to when ye will endure empty nest fair
lee soon, whereby yar life will constitute andy and his anatomical gear
whose cupidity, fidelity, integrity, levity, opportunity, runneth tranquil
tiding up for gatherings or packing with his efficient globe trotting skill
bubbling with energy, harmony, synergy through his confluence he rill
lee doth possess – in my humble opinion, though less to take quill
to paper, him this brother in law applauds how he accepted any bitter pill
i.e. figuratively when the fickle finger of fate seemed to obscenely mill
a tate a contrary outcome than he desire, a fighting esprit de corps did fill
his entire being – putting forces of destruction re: no longer threat of evil
which waywardness with this poetic intent to type a birthday cheer
sans thy lovely sister activated thoughts pertaining to positive people dear
as senescence shuttles thine youngest harris heiress who everywhere
she goes affects a blessedly diplomatic, friendly holistic imprimatur
and thus tis probably apropos to attempt to communicate with mere
crude symbols i.e. the 26 letters of the alphabet to formulate the near
wrist approximating her significance in me xy z lived life a prayer
and many a broken wing, but tis necessary 4 me 2 expunge – though rear
the positive presence (most often invisible) whence shari did tear
out from the birth canal even at that early infantile stage did wear
autonomy to evince can do spirit whereby she irresistibly insinuated an air
that inexplicably captivated family, friends, romans….with no blare
ring burst, but she exhibited a magnetic trait – I now heartily cheer
cuz many stepping stones to mine current ah fair
rooted tuber remembered per the unsolicited advice aye did hear
when oft times shuttered in this man cave, hell lair
re: us lee chuckling at online jokes, which laugh tier
medicine for this bot deed father, a pro motor still sputtering each year.
Introductory highlights
Paragraphs and blah-blah-blah;
Final period
~~~~~~~~~
Sad eyes
Staring a straight blank;
Tear tinged mascara
~~~~~~~~~
On this mountain
A scenic panorama;
Valley undertakings
~~~~~~~~~
Warning signage:
Do Not Enter --
Police investigation
~~~~~~~~~
Young couple
Lovely-dovely;
Fleeting distractions
~~~~~~~~~
Sorrow and pain
Etch good paintings;
Come let's create
~~~~~~~~~
All in due time
Echoes shout;
Chaos configures
~~~~~~~~~
Harsh reality
Nothing nice to say;
Live and let live
~~~~~~~~~
Joy in your eyes
Posture of bliss;
Hunger manifests
~~~~~~~~~
Going on a trip
So much to do;
Discard anxiety
~~~~~~~~~
Love speaks
No words needed;
Touch and glimpse
~~~~~~~~~
Joy sings
Sorrow weeps;
Life unfurls magic
~~~~~~~~~
No words
No pictures;
Nothing
~~~~~~~~~
Song for my soul
Words incomplete;
Vibrant music
~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
23 April 2015
Singapore
Night market stalls
So much to see;
Feel happy daze
Curious eyes feast
Seek a fond buy;
Pretty things shout
Street food vendor
Pleasant fare delights;
Long queue waiting
Crowded street
Hawker offerings;
Brisk buy and sell
Waylaid by stuff
Hordes descend here;
Night bazaar tempts
Just for a while
Try buying happiness;
Walk the bazaar route
Street side beggar
Ragged marionette;
Selling tissue packs
Feeble old lady begs:
"Give me two dollars please..."
My wallet agrees
Caught in the act,
I sigh with heartache;
Old man collects discards
By this wayside
Beggar sleeps dreaming;
Sleeping in a warm bed
Chinatown detour
Sign of the times;
Lonely old folks gather
Faces from the past
Lingering here now;
Beyond expiry date
Sad and dreary
These haunting images;
Intrude upon sensibilities
My heart bleeds
Distressed by such sights;
Cruel squalor loiters
Time has excavated
Skeletons in the closet;
Revisiting old haunts
Now and then
Becomes by and by;
Broken pieces litter
Poverty speaks
In ugly tones;
Shady undertakings
To die is easy
Living is so hard;
Pain, suffering, disease
Oh my soul,
Let us go, you and I;
See better sights
Leon Enriquez
14 July 2014
Singapore
....useless undertakings....
...my best efforts were shot down...divided...fragmented...
...spirit pulled apart my exertion... dismantling me...
...I guess I was my tries....
....leaving me looking at how I was rejected by the universe...
So now, I no longer crusade for my own campaigns...
...the movement came apart and died.... and with it,
took my drive and the pride of my drive....
...it doesn't matter what my goal was...
...the attempts were my best...
...my all declined, resisted, turned away
when my all was me....
What can I say?
Obviously, my spirit is still broken
and time looms on.... and on and on....
I've grown unsettled not being whole....
....swimming amongst the puzzle pieces
that once held the picture together......
the goal disassembled....a result left in parts....
...and I long to move on, I do!.
...but action was what got me to this point...
...activity walked me onto the path of deconstruction
over and over again....
How can I move on?....
Can I operate without doing?
Can I proceed without process?
How God?
...How?
I know this isn't rational....
....just cause my words get me into trouble
doesn't mean I shouldn't speak...
....but my emotions reason for me....
....and this is how it feels, feeling more real
than breathe... than light.... than now....
these childish impressions leave me sensing
premonitions that dispute function as a problem
...I can't do...doing sends me destruction....
...but love is action...
... there is no other way...
...I need a miracle....
...a shift in perception...
Life, I think, is a bit of a paradox.
Floating through this desolate void devoid of context and explanation, (some might suggest value as well, I suppose);
I conclude these idiosyncratic murmurings of bothersome almost-people
Reprimanding my almost-conscience are just a whit of an empty, emaciated white whale of a civilization proclaiming pseudo-camaraderie and disappointing undertakings as suitable solutions for contentedly concluding one’s existence.
Though some perceive fraudulence efficiently, soaring quilled shafts of deceit unavoidably puncture intimate electing properties of our conscious.
No barricade can shield humanity from himself.
With living comes a constant quality of inconsistency,
despite the state of existence itself being incredibly monophonic,
permeating my formless breath and solid heart like no other experience.
Well… there is another event I imagine could deliver a pure, unadulterated sensation of intoxicating eternity.
I will wait for him, peacefully, until he arrives on his sweet, milky steed.
O dear old friend, deliver me swiftly unto my end, the true undying void.
Niitthaar Perumai: The Fundamental Role of the Ascetic, Kurals 24, 25 & 26, Translations with commentary
K24: niraimoli maanthar perumai nilatthu
maraimoli kaadti vidum.
The might of men whose word is never vain,
The 'secret word' shall to the world proclaim. (Tr. G.U.Pope)*
* In the Pope edition of the Kural, this's number 28.
He who guides his five senses by the book of wisdom,
will be a seed in the world of excellence. (Tr. W.H.Drew & J.Lazarus)
In this world, the ascetic's greatness will reveal itself
through (magically) unfathomable means. (Tr. T.Wignesan)
K25: suvaioli pooroosai naarramen rainthin
vagaitherivaan kaddee ulagu.
Taste, light, touch, sound, and smell: who knows the way
Of all the five, -- the world submissive owns his sway. (Tr. G.U.Pope)*
*In the Pope edition, this kural is numbered: 27.
The world is within the knowledge of him who knows the properties of taste,
sight, touch, hearing, and smell. (Tr. W.H.Drew & J.Lazarus)
Only ascetics who control the five senses: gustatory, visual, tactile, auditory,
and olfactory - can influence (and possess) the world. (Tr. T. Wignesan)
K26: seyatkariya seivaar periyaar ciriyar
seyatkariya seikalaa thaar.
Things hard in the doing will great men do;
Things hard in the doing the mean eschew. (Tr. G.U.Pope)
The great will do those things which it is difficult to do; the mean
cannot do those things which it is difficult to do. (Tr. W.H.Drew & J.Lazarus)
Men who have renounced this world can do what is out of reach of those who
remain attached to this world. (Tr. T. Wignesan)
(Here, it would be tautological if "niitthaar' were to be translated as"great or noble" men in the sense of the "jun tzu" of the Yi Jing. The emphasis is clearly on the element of sacrifice: the wilful suppression of the rewards of the five senses and their concomitant detachment of benefits available for selfish indulgence, so much so that a more literal translation would sound rather platitudinous, such as:
Big things can be done by big people. Small men who attempt to carry out great undertakings will fail.
In other words, the purpose of this couplet is somewhat dubious (it doesn't add to our knowledge); it rather looks like a "filling in" of the decade. T.Wignesan)
© T. Wignesan - Paris, 2017
R-Revived
E-Expectations
S-Specifying
O-Optimistic
L-Life
U-Undertakings
T-To
I-Incarnate
O-Omitted
N-Noble
S-Solutions!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
24 December 2015
A gardener is an artisan unique,
Being a special breed, so to speak!
Cultivating plants of all descriptions,
Daring to overcome Nature’s restrictions;
Ever passionate about their chosen delight,
For them, a garden is a hallowed site.
Gardening being regarded their divine right!
Hoping they can motivate and incite
Interested spectators to emulate their art
Justifies their constant toil. They take heart
Knowing they bring order to a wilderness.
Long known for its ability to overcome duress
Makes them glow, for having won the day.
No one can deny a well kept garden has a way
Of soothing the worst, angst ridden soul;
Peace found therein plays an important role.
Quiet immersion in a needed garden chore
Rewards the gardener, who asks for little more.
Some garden work involves hard grafting toil:
Tilling, sowing, hoeing, tending the soil:
Undertakings the ardent gardener enjoys.
Varied and many are the tools he employs
When working. In winter he’ll often prepare
Xmas gift packets full of seeds, he can spare.
Yes, a gardener enjoying his garden chore:
Zestfully engaged, will ask for nothing more!
Rhymer. May 21st, 2017.
Assured by the Almighty, I wish to abide always in His authority
Blooming beautifully in His blissfulness’ bounty.
Cared for, I wish I could constantly convey compassion
Delighting the Director Who drives my divine devotion.
Enabled through Christ toward extra-mile engagement
Faith-fervency is my wish to fortify stewardship fulfillment.
Geared by God for good works’ graciousness greatly
Healthy heart of my body wishes to excel in helping hopefully.
Instructed by Scriptures, despite infirmities, to keep on inspiring
Jubilant wishes jolt out vain jests and inhumane jeering.
Kindled to know more from the Sovereign of His kingship
Love-wishes of mine lean toward His light-filled leadership.
Marveling at the Master’s moves midst His magnificent might
Nourished soul* is what I wish through His nurture day and night.
Offering to me reaching-out opportunities to optimize
Prince of peace, and His fellowship, I still wish to prioritize.
Quitting never to leave my Redeemer’s restive quietude
Revival is my wish rejuvenating spirituality’s rectitude.
Settled in the Saviour; in His sufficiency I’m satisfied
Triumphant thanksgiving is my wish to have, all the time, testified.
Upheld unto godly undertakings --- unlimited
Vision heavenly --- I wish to vouch my vows --- victoriously-vented.
Working of the Holy Spirit I wish and pray not to wane
‘Xpecting for miraculous wonders only His ‘xcellence can ‘xplain.
Yearning to please my Creator Who welcomes my “yieldedness”
Zealous am I to live for Him, wishing for His favor’s zestfulness.
*3John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
January 16, 2020
(ABC with couplet and alliteration forms.)
6th place, "What Are Your Wishes" Premier Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Chantelle Anne Cooke; judged on 1/23/2020.
We go all out to fight with the surroundings
But forget to fight with our inner selves
So complex
Embedded with secret emotions,beliefs and thoughts
It pays to or you pay for
When having conflict or compromise
We see only others' mistakes
But not our own
Only when in trouble
Do we see God and his love
Inside our hearts may reside a saint or devil
We're reluctant or shy to show
Our real feelings in public
But when retreat to a corner
We find ourselves lost,confused and puzzled
The world is full of Charms,challenges,confrontations,tricks and traps
Any bad undertakings carry out by you
Will cause regrets
But for you or your inner self
No matter who is the betrayal to God
Both will suffer in the end