Best Viennese Poems


Premium Member A Viennese Waltz

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Viennese waltz, seamless and sublime...
We move as one, adrift on heaven's floor;
and, though my knees go weak, sky-high I soar!
Each measured stride defies a need for time.
Within its reign, we actualize our climb...
impassioned flames, no longer keeping score, 
now steal their way through paradise’s door,
and hardly contemplate this choice a crime.

But, in this blissful state, subdued yet free, 
I've come to fear the thing that I love most
for flames still threaten to devour me;
and I, alone, am dancing with a ghost. 
Each dream, concrete, then sheds all certainty; 
alive, fulfilled, I'm left an empty host…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Night To Remember

A dance to foretell
of love's lasting kiss.
I know him not well
and hope more than this.
A touch of his hand,
my vantage, a dream,
the ballroom is grand
in splendorous gleam!

The music plays loud -
a Viennese waltz.
Notes blend with the crowd
in boisterous vaults,
and Sirius shows
more bright than before.
The night's starry glow
warms me to my core.

Toasts, cheers and laughter -
merriment galore!
Champagne sips after
each spin on the floor.
My dance card is filled,
but all my eyes see -
strong man with tall build,
how handsome is he!

With touch of his cheek
and twinkling brown eyes,
more words do I seek
than polite replies.
Then, when dance is done
and night stops to rest,
my head will have won
a place on his chest.

One familiar glance,
vows exchanged in June,
all from a first dance
that ended too soon.


for Isaiah Zerbst's Ballroom Delight Contest, 11/16/14

Valentine Fatale

"Valentine Fatale"

Pull the violin
strings 
from the heart
like a corset undone
there the softest rose,
blood red plucked, 
the thorns played 
and petals cast 
as kitty discard
from the breast 
of a Valentine fatale
voluptuously falling
into the open arms
of Love, spilling
over into romance
like a broken dam
ripely held in the 
bow of cupid smile
passion full 
drawn into 
the delectable swim 
twirling swirling down
into the warm velvet
like moss, so green 
against reflective 
sapphire pools, 
the dangerous sea seen 
like an inviting ocean to kiss,
in such vastness taken,
the lost fast falling
thick panting eyes 
mirroring each other
in the dance,
like a waltz Viennese
Love, spilling over, 
like a broken dam
fallen, then, 
pulled back 
into the catch, 
netted and tangled up 
in the ropes of 
Rubenesque romance,
eye to eye
hand to hand,
a burning flame 
ripely held in the 
bow of cupid smiles,
incandescent 
fiery twin arrows,
the well lit,
seduction

(LadyLabyrinth/2023)


Premium Member The Dance

 
I
 Waltzed with
 you
 on that
 Christmas Eve
 and you
 shared
 with me 
 all your love.

 Then you held my
 hand and we
 laughed a-
 gain
 and you
 whispered soft
 in my
 ear,

 I love
 you.


To be sung with the beat of a Viennese Waltz with a drawn out hesitation on the first word of each stanza and the last stanza whispered.  (Daaaaa DUM dee dum da da DUM dee dum da da DUM dee dum da da dum/Daaaaa DUM dee dum da da DUM dee dum da da DUM dee dum da da dum/da da dum)  Not a dancer so forgive me if this is some how incorrect.



12/02/15

Garden of Pleasure

Please step into my garden it's very dark I know
the lights through the red roses will soon glow
Come smell the trumpet lilies make your senses twirl
table set with red gingham amongst the roses that swirl
through an archway where a twin seat is placed
Tea lights adorn every spare space
The rice salads look inviting, along with the rest
BBQ chicken almost ready, will taste the best
amongst  the beautiful  impatiens of every hue
table fountain tinkling simply to relax you
Sit back with a glass of sangria in your hand
Gentle Viennese waltz transports you to another land
The visual impact of my garden is surreal 
the white pots of Busy Lizzie do not look real
Lamium spreading in the garden bed to enhance the view 
My garden is for pleasure, come your invited too.

The Book

Geoffrey gave me an exquisite book
For Christmas.
It is a showcase of the work of
Hundert Wasser - the great Viennese artist,
Architect and visionary.
The jewel colours, the gracious curves -
No straight lines here to sicken
Humankind.
The environmentalist obeying
Natural Law to create spaces
That nurture - not the 'bleeding houses'
Made of rectangles
The insult of the straight line -
Alien to organic forms -
Transmitting alarm signals to the brain.
The blues, reds and oranges combined with yellow greens
Soothe the soul and stimulate the senses.
They jump out at me
Invigorate and excite me - 
Inspire a rebelliousness against angles
Harsh lines and grey.
© Liz Walsh  Create an image from this poem.


Moon Dance

A coy moon glides in a lively 
Viennese waltz
Across a sky of billowing 
petticoat clouds 
A flowing, triple time, closed 
step, pausing halt. 
A ballerina basking in the glow 
of appreciative crowds.
© Joe Murphy  Create an image from this poem.

Touched By Your Flame

Perfect stranger!
                           Admiring glances across the hall 
                     A hand stretched with a smile so charm
                       Inviting to waltz this gorgeous night
                  I delightfully glided to the handsome knight,
                    Two flamingos waltzing round and round
                  My first Viennese Waltz this memorable night
                    Touched by your flame bewitching beau!
                                   My eternal partner!

Summer Cooking

put a cauliflower on the barb-b
let us roast it while it's still alive
put a burger on the barb-b
it was dead before it was fried
chomp on lettuce, no sound
of begging can you hear
but you just ate it, live me dear
all flora breaths for the world
but go on eat it alive or dead
to all vegans, I have to say
it's your bed your making
on it you could a long time lay
as omnivores, you could eat
both flora and fauna, together
if we want to live we have to feed
summer cooking my recipe
go on chuck a crayfish on the barbecue
roast some chestnuts, next years
new life, just  remember we eat
to survive, come on summer cooking
let's rock n roll or a Viennese waltz
meat or veg or go crazy eat both
gee summer cooking ain't it fun

Summer Cooking Poetry Contest - Sponsored by Kim Rodrigues

06/27/18

Talking About Music

MADE IN PARAGUAY

     In "Asuncion"
   the saddest guarania song
    is "paraguayan"

       TANGO

   The father of the porteño tango
     he's not  born argentinian
      he is a son of France...

        SAMBA

    The samba from Morro Carioca
         survived for the world,
         Long live Mama Africa...

          ROCK

     The rock dance, song music
         runs wild surprising
      on ice rock...

   SPEED GONZALEZ

    In Juanita canteen
    mariachis and tequila
    and bursts of laughter...

          WALTZ

        Oh! if i danced
      oh! if I played
     the viennese waltz...!

Premium Member Cinderella Memories Dedication to My Father

            
                   ~Cinderella Memories~

Young, self-confident, all debutantes
At the top of the golden,spiral,staircase.
And, oh my, she, was in a Cinderella mood!
The white full length strapless gown,
Satin buttoned gloves to her elbow,
And her partner, in his tuxedo, handsomely dressed,
Made her humble, yet proud and so very blessed!

They descended the spiral stairs to  begin the Viennese waltz.
Gowns of debutantes were swishing,shining floors.
Sounding so much like fluttering butterfly wings.
Their satin shoes like rosebuds,so beautifully peeked.
Hair done to perfection, each of us with a crown
Of fragrant carnations, coifed hair. on shoulders,down.

Then, for each debutante, comes that auspicious moment.
When they enter the center of the ballroom floor, with their father!
Fathers dressed in tails to present each proudly, to society...
Their most precious daughters, a second of visual poetry.
Each debutante, so lovely, makes a full bow to the floor 
With long stemmed roses, not an easy task at all!

The father in tails, so proud of the daughter. he has raised,
Is indeed granted, the audience's cheers and highest praise!
Let the full orchestra continue, the Viennese music play on.
A Cinderella evening for a father's one and only daughter.
With rows of zirconia on her wrist, she giggles with soft laughter, 
Oh…what memorable bliss!

What a most heavenly evening to cherish and remember
Whose memories brightly shine, in the chill of September.
For his daughter, an everlasting memory of his charity.
Monies we raised that night, sent to war torn countries.
My Father you see, did not only think of “we!”
He was committed to the well being of humanity.


Dedicated to my late Father, Edward.
With love and everlasting gratitude. 
You gave so much to so many, without question.
A true humanitarian,I follow your directions!
An example to follow!

Panagiota xx

                        11/14/2024

Premium Member Clerihew Makart

Viennese painter Hans Makart
delivered historic alegories at the start
Despised by contemporary avant garde
for aesthetics he found quite hard

Premium Member The Grand Jam Cotillion

Ah, at a magnificent place 'twas
this ball held!
With gorgeous jam debutantes,
arriving one by one.
Sorry you were not there!
To behold the debutantes and
their escorts gliding down the 
winding stairs
Such beautiful faces,and all 
superbly trained in fine cotillion 
graces.

First came Rose Petal and Seville
Orange, a stunning pair!

Then Honeysuckle and Sir Hawthorne, 
so stunning they drove the crowd wild.

Next, the gorgeous Pearadise
and Sir Quince, so gorgeous we
all did wince!

Cherry and the famed Knight
Elderberry made all heads turn.

Sparkling Dandelion and Prince
Habanero, so lovely, struck our
hearts like arrows.

The Viennese Waltzes began,
a night so memorable.
We all applauded such gorgeous
couples.
Mesmerized by such grace beyond
finite.
Each couple,bowed and left us "
eventually.
With dreams of next years cotillion,
We all pledged to be!


September 12, 2019

*These are names of actual names 
 of homemade jams and jellies.

Leonard Cohen Translation

"And I'll dance with you in Vienna, 
I'll be wearing a river's disguise. 
The hyacinth wild on my shoulder 
my mouth on the dew of your thighs. 
And I'll bury my soul in a scrapbook, 
with the photographs there and the moss. 
And I'll yield to the flood of your beauty, 
my cheap violin and my cross. 

 "Take This Waltz", a 
 translation by Leonard Cohen of 
 the poem "Little Viennese Waltz" 
 by Federico García Lorca. 
" 
— Leonard Cohen (Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs)

I Know a Place

I KNOW A PLACE

I know a place wherein a wild time grows,
Where ale and wine and spirit freely flows.
Quite uninhibited behaviour there,
Whilst swinging rock band music fills the air
And couples wildly dance the night away.
Lost to the world until the break of day.
But sometimes, fuelled perhaps by excess booze
Or petty jealousy, a fight ensues.
The band stops playing, dancers stand and cheer,
Till someone shouts, “Look out, the cops are here.”
As if by magic, peace descends once more,
And, when the officers burst through the door,
      They find not a hint of trouble of course,
      As the band strikes up a Viennese waltz.

22nd May 2023
This or That, Vol 18 Poetry Contest
Sponsor - Edward Ibeh

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