Best Wander Poems
Mark
The earth turns its face from you
as if ashamed. You
who tilled the soil, now marked
by what the soil received.
Your brother's blood—
how it murmurs, how it screams.
Deafness would be a mercy.
Wanderer
At Babel, you watch them build
their tongues a discordance of hope.
You know better.
The tower falls. Always, things fall.
In Athens, questions hang in the air
like ripe fruit. You reach for one
find your hand empty.
Constantinople burns.
You've seen this fire before
in your own heart, in Abel's eyes.
Love
Her laughter—sunlight on water.
For a moment, you forget remembering
the weight of your name.
Time, that relentless thief,
steals her breath, leaving you
with pockets full of silence,
her absence echoing in your eternal night.
Witness
Verdun. Mud and blood
indistinguishable. You've carried this earth before,
will carry it again. In Selma, voices rise.
You join the chorus, unseen.
Your story spoiled, yet written
in every cry for justice,
a testament to your own unending quest for peace.
Grace
The sea spilling secrets
waves crashing against the shores of your soul.
In a quiet cell, you contemplate forgiveness—
that impossible shore.
Your heart is a vessel of unspoken prayers.
Each wave a reminder: the divine
as elusive as your peace.
Mortality
She sees you—truly sees.
Beyond the mark, the myth,
to the man who carries centuries in his bones.
You learn to love in moments, not millennia.
Each breath a gift, each touch a benediction
her presence a bridge to your humanity.
Return
The earth no longer rejects you.
You lay down, finally
into the arms of the brother
you've carried all this time.
Abel smiles. You close your eyes.
The silence, at last, is sweet.
Aimlessly I meander in expansive barren-landscape
Whipped by the assault of rustling windy gales
Embossing sandy designs resembling ocean waves
Simulating pools of water in mirage of seascapes.
Plateaus upon reddish hills reveal cracked earth
Where decaying mangled-trees in rising heat groan
As cobalt-blue sky yields to darkened dye of dusk
And blistering winds blur vision whirling sandy dust.
From the apex of ordinary I intently walked off
Letting thirst of quest confound my whereabouts;
Lost and hungry now, signs of life I strive for
Hearing the chirps of crickets and croaks of frogs.
Exhausted I fall besides flowering cactus plants
Hosting frightened thoughts of dehydrated pleas
Awakening to twittering sounds amid birdsongs
Rising in breeze from distant oasis of Joshua trees.
As the daybreak on hazy skies paints golden sunrise
Trekking for miles and miles audacity reaches hope
Dispensing staggering words incapable to explain
Dysfunction now longing for embrace of mundane.
September 30, 2018
First place in I wander the desert alone contest, sponsored by Edward Ibeh
Also, placed first in standard contest #140 by Brian Strand
NOTE: Joshua trees are found in Mojave desert in California.
Eroticism -
a supple spine in a wanting curve
and a foolish fever simmers a scarlet heartbeat—
temptation is an aphrodisiac
and guilt— a red kite lost in a hot hurricane
a strand of blue moonstones plunge to titillate
illicit points of contact caught by starlight
restless yin-nerve-endings take an edgy stance—
primal presence pearls beneath parted flimsy fabric
ah.. gossamer chic taken and tossed by windy hands
freeing moons and earth captured in your orbit
golden hair a dirty tangle flies— streamers
of infidelity seized in someone else’s hands
heat-seeking rhythm throbs within walls
a slappin’ poppin’ bass line frenzy
our bodies wild like a warehouse rave
a driving beat hugging hips caught in a fishnet shimmy
high on oxytocin and fizz of affaire du jour—
unbridled breakers breaking vows in a whipped up gale
as hedonistic hot spots revel in unrestrained spindrift
.. it’s a jungle for conjugal love ..
volcanic ash streaks a feral romance
carnal cat (a hungry stippled stray)
pins me down like prey in a dopamine storm
where edges rendezvous soft and hard and fuse
a silhouette of geometry body-painted in black sands
as the surge uncurls the waves—
dreamscape escape on a slick onyx sheet
nakedness blurs in the rough charcoal smudge
shapes shaded with a roll on the rim of a graphite night
the art of cheating sins stain a seedy portrait on skin
yet basks in the moonbeam’s push into the pulse
without mercy or justification—
just unadulterated
adulterated
euphoria!
Wide, this grand world, with occurrences, rife
On the foam-capped blue, for a seafarer's life
Rich, the adventurer's sojourns shall be ...
Launching deep dreams on a mutable sea.
Daring, the soul who can take to the sky
Cast off the weights of this marble and fly
Rending mundane for the magic of travel
Undreamt-of mysteries await to unravel.
In sky or on rail, on surface or sea ...
Savor the journey and all it should be
Enjoy, as scores don't, the gift ... to be FREE!
~ 1st Place ~ in the "World Cruise Acrostic" Poetry Contest, Kevin Shaw, Sponsor.
I wander about
like a fish out of water
in the surf blue sea
Me a traveler
in the congress of gray rocks
where carcajous howl
A vacant lot mind
wavered in the breeze empty
land soul never rests
Heart sighs seeks haven
warm breasts of the beloved
in my country home
I see the river
boatmen singing love ballad
flows out of water
Out of Water - Poetry Contest
Sponsor Sheri Fresonke Harper
Wicked witches wander west where warlocks wait with wizards
12/10/15
i wander these winter beaches
where autumn's storms
have removed the footfalls of summer
believing in spring
here i am alone listening
to the waves mellifluously remind
yet never recalling
floating the river Lethe
alone where the frigates soar above
pelicans traversing the waves
the terns work the receding water
i am the intruder
waves erasing my past
placing before me rearranging sands
paths never worn
only the belief in spring
with each step forward
i wonder if the gulls see
my past being removed, the future
dependent upon some wave
fortune or contretemps
i wonder if the gulls feel
this surreal gull glides, turns, drift
upon grateful wings
grateful to those who long ago
gave freedom to thought from hunger
the plight of thought
the flight of thought
freeing this surreal gull to wander in wonder
i wander here keeping the dream alive
faith it will evolve into more
some empyreal dictate
some Newtonian machine
there is a numen to winter beaches
here i can laugh with humanity, smile
the hubris belief this can be destroyed
changed yes, but so may volcanoes, asteroids
none of which has a brain
here i can believe that dreams
will be given to reason, logic
and end to war and peace on earth
that there is nothing fatal
even science cannot deny
these rearranging sands and time
will produce another poet wandering, wondering
i wander these winter beaches
where autumn's storms
have removed the footfalls of summer
knowing sunrise, sunset, and spring returns
i am alone, yet far from alone
i am home
where dreams glide, turn, drift
soaring in the thermals of thought
the flight of belief
terminus ad quem
terminus a quo
Playa Del Rey 91 The Patient Stones
As from my ivory place, in a while I descend
Carrying a piece of magic and a trace of scent
Quite a time of quietude there I spent
A delight, a light, I have to suspend.
The poet in me yields to live and bond
As I find in mere days a world to be fond
Out of sight I put my quill and wand
To humbly breathe and to life respond.
Along with my poetry, in wonder I wander
Unleash my words and on life I ponder
Bringing what is bright, and seal all that is somber
Allow beauty to rise after a long slumber.
I walk unseen, even as I get near
The brush of my words, its voice you would hear
The echoes of my soul, in hush so clear
That’s my bliss, a blessing from God so dear.
Wondering if I would have a choice
My ivory tower, a vision that has no voice
My world of a living pulse and many a voice
Or just wander in wonder and both rejoice.
In search for riches, in search for fame,
In search for glory, to wipe out my shame,
In search for a sit in the hall of fame,
To eliminate the suffering standing on my name.
In search for silver, in search for gold,
In search for diamond that makes a man bold,
In search for wisdom and truth untold,
To conquer the lies and stories of old.
I walked the desert not leaving behind an ink,
And in the oasis, grasses begged for a drink,
The face of the sun frowned at the sands,
Bruising my flesh, burning my hands.
I took my courage and left my phone,
I thirst for adventure and left my zone,
Barren to patience, pregnant for lust,
I wander the desert alone not minding the cost.
DATE: 04/10/2018
SPONSOR: Edward Ibeh
FOR CONTEST: I Wander The Desert Alone
Tomorrow will come and I shall remember your smile
Where the stars set so fine on an evening so worthwhile
Sweet sounds of voices lingering soft and free
With the strains of his hair he had eyes of the sea
He told me tales and rested my head apon his shoulder
Engrossed in woven bed sheets to keep us from getting colder
His kisses of sweetness conformed and moist
His words more dashing than I’d ever heard him voice
Two bodies magically worship and caressing in trust
Were bellowed winds of ecstasy blustered into lust
We spun slowly downward into the eyes of a sway
Where nothing around us could draw us away
Now this moment in time this journey of our minds
Shall reoccur in the depths of hearts passionately entwined
I walk in this barren desert alone
I can taste the sand in my mouth
Thirst increases for water and love
I crave the oasis that I imagine
Hoping to find it, with you there
The open land is dry and hot
I can’t find shade to hide in
What I escaped, still remains a shadow
To follow me, mile after mile
I search through the empty silence
For all the answers that I need
To keep me going in my travel
Suddenly, the sky catches on fire
With a brilliant orange and red sunset
I am motivated to endure another night
10/1/18
*Entry for I wander the desert alone contest. Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Words required: Barren, Oasis, Thirst
Under the weight of your words, I wander through their shadow,
Hunted by mystery, torn into pieces, then enriched in a secret dawn.
Suddenly alone and embraced, I sway between two worlds,
A pilgrim in tears, bowing in the echo of your divine voice.
I wish you could see through the mist as my eyes do - a landscape of beauty... and pain,
I cannot bear the burden of the world without you, come, intertwine yourself with my soul, be my poem.
Savor my essence, break me into fragments... reveal me,
Until you find me empty, resting in the light of your love, embraced in the abyss.
Drinking greedily from the garden of my secrets, pause at every branch, at every flower,
Open me up, spread my wings, let me fly freely, towards the sun.
Scattered are the pieces of myself, like leaves carried by the wind,
But you gather them, plant the stopped time, and make me whole, fearless.
You transform fragments of stars into dust, soothing my deepest fears,
In you, I find the map of the heart, expanding with rays of daylight.
Like rivers merging into a single course, I long to flow into you,
To melt into each other, to become the sea submerged in the warmth we share in tranquility.
With you, I can be a stream, a spring, and an ocean, I can embrace the fears of the past,
But in the abyss of your love, all those shortcomings burn, knowing myself as absolute.
Your words are the sacred wine of a silent communion,
It is our communion, an eternal covenant that carries us beyond this harsh world.
It may be hard to find me, see, because
My journey never stops - I only pause
at places you could hardly dream to quest
without imagination at its best.
I've been to Panem, where the Capitol
devises 'Games' that ruin families,
Along with Katniss, Gale and Peeta, we
fought till the end for equity and peace.
Of Hogwarts surely, most of you must know -
The sole academy that none can hate.
And now, not even portraits seem the same -
To owls and narrow alleys we relate.
They change our lives. They change what we can be.
Their tales and deeds give sight to those who see.
From finding a stone for cracking a case,
To launching a restaurant right into space
In forbidden cupboards and planets of elves
You can live as another and still be yourselves.
They spend our time, eternal, with a knack
Of one whose presence beckons from a rack.
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References to: The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Alex Rider, Narnia and The Lord Of The Rings.
Second attempt at Iambic Pentameter
Where the Foxes Wander
Through the mist of dandelion seeds
That float across the dew filled field
The dancing seeds part majestically
The grass bends the stalks do yield
His nose in the air,
Between the mist of seeds
Eyes darting left and right
Taking in the field of weeds
Stepping forward cautiously
One step in front of the other
Its then another fox appears
A vixen with cubs - a mother.
The fox runs forward not looking back
The mother nips at the cubs
They lie still, hidden they think
The fox returns and noses rub.
He leads the way through open space
Fox, vixen, and offspring
To the chicken run next door
But should I do anything?
The large brown hens pecking dirt
The fox his eye on one
The cockerel then starts to crow
The sly fox is now undone.
© GG 17/06/2013
When I wander
I do so without direction
Hoping to encounter a path
On which I will be protected
And stumbling onto gravel
I realize that the world is not smooth,
Rather jagged
I hope these shoes shield me
From the truth that is toothed