Best Verdure Poems
Like a creature hibernating in its burrow
Waiting to come out with the first verdure of spring,
The seed of a poem lay dormant in my heart
Through the long winter awaiting another spring
After staying torpid inside for long,
At a time I expected it the least
Timidly came out the first word,
As shaky as a calf getting up for the first time.
Then another came and word after word in a row
Like pellets of rain on the window pane
I boiled them in the crucibles of my imagination
And finally dipping them in the ocean of my emotions
But rhyme came to set constraints
For the right alignment I struggled
I had to decide on its texture and format
Pondered if it should be a sonnet or an ode
I might have kept the door open for long
Alas! All my words and fancies flew away,
Like birds taking on wings into the sky
From a cage where they were imprisoned for long
I stood so helpless with my mouth shut,
Staring blankly out into the airy nothing
Like one lost in the doorway of his own threshold
Unable to call back those winged words lost in the void
________________________________________
~Placed Fifth~
Submitted for Marathon no.10. Poetry Contest
Sponsor - Mark Toney
~Placed First~
31. March .2022
A Brian Strand Standard
Poetry Contest
Categories:
verdure, analogy, betrayal, birth, growth,
Form:
Verse
She sat beside the waterfall
where gushing thoughts cascade,
like tears that flowed along her cheeks,
her heart set to invade.
He left alone for pastures new.
A scribbled note in haste
he wrote then fled, as cowards do,
her heart a barren waste.
A lightning bolt out of the blue
that pierced her heart; she bled.
Much later on the ache still hurt;
her feeble wings unspread.
She dared not heed the tumbling sound
as water crashed on rocks.
How fit to let death end the pain!
She started down the walk.
But just before the water’s edge
a voice called out, “Be Ware!
The road you walk is treacherous;
for God’s sake, stand right there!”
He turned her round, and saw her face
spill tears upon her gown.
He whispered in her windswept hair
“One misstep and you’ll drown.”
“Please, let me go, you do not know
what burns here in my breast.
I need to douse these flames and find
my sweet eternal rest.”
She struggled then against his arms,
the longed for end so near,
and yet he held with all his might,
spoke words to still her fear.
And when all limp she leaned on him,
this man she did not know,
he soothed her as he said these words:
“I will not let you go.”
Drained of resolve she let him lead
from rock to lush verdure,
as reassurance kindled trust,
his hand was firm, secure.
They sat beneath a shady tree.
Engrossed, they talked at length,
and in the process she revealed
his presence gave her strength.
He held her hands, looked in her eyes,
his heart worn on his sleeve
as they agreed to meet again
before she had to leave.
She touched his face, with gentle grace,
leaned in to kiss his cheek;
her lips just trembled there a while
enough to make him weak.
“You’ve saved my life, and now I owe
the greatest debt to you.
When next we meet, after we greet,
I’ll give you what’s your due.”
He smiled into her upturned eyes
and said these simple words:
“I’ve been repaid with sweetest kiss
my heart and soul you’ve stirred.
We’ll meet again, and when we do
you will forget the past
for then, my dear, I’ll make a vow
of love that’s sure to last.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(Paul Callus & Eileen Manassian ~ Sept 2019)
(A Callman Collaboration)
Categories:
verdure, love, love hurts,
Form:
Rhyme
"Human mind knows no constraints. Without spending time or money, one can make an odyssey into the outer space and even into other planets. What is needed is the fuel of imagination." - By Poet
Outside, the night was gathering strength
How swift our lightning Sputnik,
Out running the speed of sound and light
Shot into space with a violent jerk, leaving us psychotic.
At a distance were luminous spheres
Suspended like glowing lanterns
Comets and meteors in hyper space
Seemed more like diffused patterns
An asteroid came whizzing towards us.
I closed my eyes in dreadful shock,
Fearing a terrible head on collision.
Thank God! It deviated from our track!
I looked at my friend seated beside
Obviously not here, lost in thought!
Looking down, I saw Mother Earth
A luminous ball, not bigger than a sapphire dot
Oh! How quickly we landed on Mars
It is so different from what I had learnt
Neither a barren belt of sterile terrain
Nor a rugged stretch of craters burnt
But a heavenly place so cool and serene
Full of scintillating scenes and ravishing sights
We, the emissaries from a far away land
Were warmly received by a team of alien sprites
The weight of the world suddenly lifted from us
We bounced up and down almost floating in the air
Found ourselves in a gorgeous garden
With springing fountains and blossoms fair
Trees were laden with dazzling gems
Lagoons and lakes of liquid silver
Vast expanse of tawny vistas
Plains waving with luxuriant verdure
What fun…! Hmm…over there,
Nothing like those seen on planet Earth
A herd of animals so strange and rare
Grazing on red grass in a canyon of great width
Our restless eyes scanning all around,
We accelerated our pace in rising delight.
As we were eager to explore every bit of ground,
We moved forward with enthusiastic gait.
Sudden was the sound I heard behind
And saw my mother standing near
Puzzled and confused as I looked around
In my ears her voice fell ringing clear-
“You lazy one, know this is exam time”
Rough and curt was her angry tirade.
“Again you can’t play a dumb mime”
Her words made my afternoon reverie suddenly fade
I saw my open book sneering at me
And my uncovered syllabus, a vast sea
Categories:
verdure, adventure, moon, stars,
Form:
Rhyme
Color is an integral part of my life, essential in
physical descriptions, a blessing to language.
Colors are perfect subjects for character sketches.
For one perusing the color wheel, it's easy to
choose green, a color of such versatility and
profound meaning.
Symbol of nature and youth, signifying hope for
eternal life and respect for the environment,
green nestles happily in the spectrum between
bright companions blue and yellow.
The verdure of spring adorns the plants that sustain
our bodies, delight our eyes, and lift our spirits.
Lovely evergreens grace our forests, yards, and even
our homes, decorated and surrounded by long-awaited
gifts and jubilant families celebrating the season.
These wholesome traits and so many more surely outweigh
the greenness of occasional jealousy or inexperience.
entered in Eve Roper's New or Old 5 Poetry Contest on August 2, 2016
placed 2nd
Categories:
verdure, color, symbolism,
Form:
Free verse
DREAMS OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY
Leaves falling during autumns years
they bless my ribbon memories of how it was
childhood shadows brown like withered grass
for now am old and soon shall breathe my last..
I sit quiet to travel on bygone days,
on the streets before, I have ropes to play
blend of dolls and bubbles also made me gay
but the child in me still yearns to pass these ways.
From curves of mountains to nations across the sea,
to journey more, I ask God to direct where I'll be...
I passed a plant its leaves swaying with the breeze,
years fold, the same plant is now a fruit-bearing tree.
I view the puffy-feathered skies and its blue,
I smile each breaking dawn for it's silvery new.
I tackle each task fast and through but before I knew,
hours gone and done, I finished some-- I missed a few.
When evenings globes of wordless speech shine
allowing me to run, run into garden of dreams,
of childhood once supreme but they shoot away
in flutter flash on life's fluctuating stream.
I hugged my knees to stop my tears a while
remembering decades when my body is still a child.
I keep the tears to my chest as I go by,
if only, good times replay... I want them again.
Each bulging grin that rise unto east horizon,
Each satellite, modelling slow on her turning points
in stellar of green, and her clouds of powder white,
I quench my thirst drinking the beaming tides.
Down earth, I linger to verdure adorned of rosy blush
even from the arch where the gentle winds is seen
to dwarf liquid curls that roll near the shore,
I dreamt yesterday and still am dreaming today...
Twenty years ago, blooms and fruits hang on vines
so fragrant, so fragrant were those days of mine
Now no more; their traces I could not find;
Today, I need to make more golden memories
etched to time as later, I'll be leaving them behind
And if someday, one wanders in my lifes forest
despite blowing winds and thunderstorms,
like the tiny plant, may I be that fruit-bearing tree.
___________________________________________________________
Open Poetry Contest - Poetry Contest
Sponsor Charlotte Puddifoot
~~~3rd place~~~
OLIVE ELOISA GUILLERMO
9:15 pm, July 11, 2015
Categories:
verdure, beautiful, character, inspiration, life,
Form:
Epic
"If there is a place where peace and stillness prevail, to it people like to retreat when beset with the perils of life. It can be our home. In every storm it is a refuge, a haven of joy and a sanctuary of life and light" ~By Poet
We have a snug retreat far in the woods;
An interim sanctuary, not bigger than a robin’s nest.
But cozy and comfy for just two souls,
A hideout from the fuss n’ fever of life.
It has a small garden hemmed with a hedge,
Neatly laid out in décor and taste
And gleaming with refreshing verdure
The haunt of butterflies and honey bees.
An ideal place to sneak away now and then,
From life’s pressing cares and concerns.
Here the air is pristine sans soot and fumes.
A confluence where peace and beauty unite.
Here we break loose the tethers
From the rigid civilities of urban living.
Throw away the habits of reserve
And become joyous and free-hearted.
Sometimes we make an impromptu trip.
Sometimes we plan it well in advance.
Whatever it be, being here is fun
And enjoy our stay like a weekend picnic.
On some evenings we go gathering,
Succulent fruits and wild berries
And roam to the wide stretch of open fields
Lying furrowed waiting for seasonal crops.
More than ever we now seek solitude.
It is in the quiet and not in the noise,
That we can plumb life’s depths,
That we listen to our hearts’ songs.
It is here our souls acquire dove’s wings.
Though time has taken its toll on our bodies,
Though youth and beauty have gone forever,
Still, we walk in the woods with hands clasped.
In this sanctuary, we breathe free and find comfort
Where sunshine scatters through the canopy of trees
And are sheltered from the pressing responsibilities of life!
Categories:
verdure, appreciation, holiday, house,
Form:
Free verse
WILD NATURE
Far from squabble of snobbish sniffy people
I wish to visit a wild country
where loud amusement has no entry to disturb
simple innocent naive populace.
Bathed in soft Sun rays at delightful dawn
gazing at close by pinewood
I would like to lie supine not on smooth lawn but on feral grasses
on non-mowed meadow,
where light and shadow play hide and seek game.
I will enjoy crazy cattle grazing chewing coarse grasses and foliage,
or camels thriving on thorny bushes making barren field fertile.
I will walk on furrows of field of crops
Kaleidoscope of butterflies on flash and flutter of colorful wings
***** unfamiliar bird whistles to startle or croons in cadence.
My pleasure to pass through pathless wood
My rapture to feel fragrance of wild blossoms
I would like to venture verdure of verdant valley.
and watch wild insects allured to juices of agrestal plants.
I will feel offer of Nature as bliss in every limb
in the wild country.
I wish to escape compulsive constriction of city life
I will sleep sound in quietude on serenity of sublime solitude.
04/10/ 20
Fourth Place
'Wild' Poetry Contest by Anthony Slausin
First Place
-A Brian Strand 1092
Contest by Brian Strand
Categories:
verdure, how i feel, nature,
Form:
Free verse
Leave all worries behind.
Repose in my caress
And gently close your eyes.
Be peaceful like a dove.
Sleep now, until sunrise.
Leave all worries behind
And come away with me -
Far from the maddening crowd -
To our private haven;
Our hearts be mighty proud.
Leave all worries behind.
Let's turn our backs on time.
Shangri-La awaits us;
So beautiful, so rich
It's worth a billion plus!
Leave all worries behind.
Let's roam with abandon
In the verdure of dreams
Where butterflies tarry
And float above the streams.
Submitted for...
A Brian Strand Premiere Choice Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Date written: 08/14/2022
Categories:
verdure, dream, encouraging, longing, paradise,
Form:
Monchielle Stanza
In a sharp fresh breeze,
On a crisp Spring day,
Hand in hand in verdure stroll,
Under lush chirping trees,
Among flowering buds stray,
New birth, and new love to extol.
On a balmy Summer's eve,
When the butterflies dance,
In the meadow we fell warm and unseen,
Soft kisses to thieve,
In mesmeric love trance,
Garments lost in the trampled green.
Gold Autumnal mornings,
Of yellow ripened corn,
Flowing like the amber of your hair,
I loved you all those dawnings,
As the leaves fell forlorn,
Your puckered lips an answer to prayer.
Icy moonlit nights,
Frostbitten fingertips,
From Winter's penetrating chill,
'Neath mystic starlights,
We tasted freezing lips,
Seasons pass, ....but I love you still !
Categories:
verdure, devotion, love,
Form:
Rhyme
IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING
Across the heath neath cerulean sky
All still, in brief expectant breathless pause
Impending vernal change of season nigh
Awaits fulfill of pre-condition clause
Yet bracken lace and grass a tawny match
Though warmer tint from sun that elevates
A song bird now essaying dulcet snatch
Of symphony that she anticipates
Jade canopy of chiffon will inhale
The blessed Vapour that sustains all life *
Which soon will burst in wild expansive gale
Of growth and affluence of verdure rife
Now Nature’s resurrection time is right
Her signal shall go forth: ‘Let there be light!’
* CO2
27 February 2019
Categories:
verdure, nature,
Form:
Sonnet
Dullness slowly gives way and comes to life
As sunrays gently warm a sleepy earth
Blooming dreams in colors devoid of strife
Annual cycle silently gives birth
Air impregnated with vibrant yearning
Nurturing tender lover's kiss and nudge
A compulsion too strong to quell burning
The miracle of buds begin to budge
Spring's balmy droplets of gentle rainfall
Awake a frenzy of thirsty verdure
Provoking sudden surge and free-for-all
We’re moved by such miraculous allure
Spring is in the air with steely resolve
Evolving sure as earth and sun revolve
AP: Honorable Mention 2020, Honorable Mention 2021
Submitted on March 9, 2019 for contest SPRING IS IN THE AIR sponsored by EMILE PINET
Categories:
verdure, birth, life, nature, rain,
Form:
Sonnet
I'm a dreamer.
Do not snap me back to reality...
I wish to linger
in this sublime realm
called imagination.
It's not a faraway destination.
I close my eyes
and I'm there,
and all cares and woes
are in my rearview mirror.
It's a paradise,
a safe place to be,
a home away home
that I escape to
when the real world feels
like an asphyxiating prison.
Do not snap me back to reality...
because it means
snapping my leviathan wings.
I wish to fly
in my imagination.
It gives me free reins
to roam in it's verdure.
There is so much beauty and wonder there.
Tangible are all the things
I can't perceive with my five senses.
Dreams,
Possibilities;
all that could be
are magnified.
I vividly envision them;
Everything is illuminated.
Do not snap me back to reality...
I see all my excited unborn children
catch and release butterflies in the field,
of my imagination, and I join them at play.
I see my loved ones alive
and commune with the long deceased.
I have the power and control
to create, to explore, to discover.
I can mold and shape
emotions, thoughts
and mental images like wet clay.
I can see the blueprint
to build my future.
Ah, the world...
of imagination!
Do not snap me back to reality...
I'm a visualizer.
Categories:
verdure, imagery, imagination,
Form:
Imagism
As the world around me gets busy disintegrating, my mind happily floats in the firmament. I'm holding on to arrested moments; my eyes filled with childlike wonder surveying my surroundings. The beauty of nature abound. I'm thankful for a sunny day that smiles in blooming flowers! As I bask in the glow of sunshine, I fix my gaze on marshmallow clouds drifting above me, willows swaying in the breeze. I hear birds cheerfully tweeting in rustling trees. To be able to sit lonesome and take a mental vacation, a benediction! Thoughts and quotidian woes that hold me in bondage are set free like butterflies at play in a lush green verdure. I'm blissfully lost in solitude just reflecting about life, and I'm filled with gratitude. It's great to be alive!
mental vacation
lost in arrested moments ~
a benediction.
Submitted for...
Moments of reflections - Haibun Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Malabika Ray Choudhury
Date written: 04/26/2021
Categories:
verdure, appreciation, introspection, life, nature,
Form:
Haibun
rain showers the land
displays knolls of green grasses
tarsiers free park play
sun shimmers brilliance
upon brown mounds verdure lair
big chocolate queue
(c) Olive Eloisa
11:54am
June 19, 2014
***Chocolate Hills is one of the many natural wonders found in Bohol, Philippines. They are rich of minerals particularly that of marine limestone, fossils, corals etc. Home of wild life species including the smallest monkey in the world: the tarsier..:)
Categories:
verdure, imagery, nature, places,
Form:
Haiku
GRINS AND BUBBLES
blooms in the verdure
flash golden smiles heavenward
the soap bubbles dance
_______________________________
4:26 pm, March 10, 2015
Categories:
verdure, environment, flower, happy, imagery,
Form:
Haiku