Best Water Poems
She Touched The Water
My muse
touched the waters
of a spring fed river
She had a special gift to deliver
Releasing the inspiration
from deep within her
She said “ Drink please witness
about saint and sinner.
Surrender your mind
become a true believer.
The line between real and fantasy,
you can make it thinner.”
So with my cupped hands
I began to deeply drink
Muted greys
became a vibrant pink
Thoughts and ideas
were transformed into ink
It was all so fantastic
those things I could think
She said “Write them all down
or they’ll be gone in a blink.”
Not all thoughts were happy
some they made my heart sink.
The more I drank
the more I was elated
Oh how easily
I concentrated
Ideas expressed
tales of wonder consecrated
Secretly I craved
being congratulated
What was written felt solid
those things I created
Wise, wonderful words
emotionally weighted
Wanting more and more
I couldn’t be sated
My magical muse
began to worry about me
Who I was
or might soon be
She said “I must share
this burden to set you free”
So next to the river
she planted flowers and trees
Other poets coming
abated my dis ease
She told them “Drink from the river,
as much as you please!
If you don’t I will cause it to freeze.”
Our Muse whispered loudly
“Poets take your words near and far.
Be true kind and vulnerable
let people know who you are.
Hide messages in bottles
Transport people to a distant star
Sing from the rooftops
Tell Limericks in a bar
Poetry is music
play tunes on a guitar
Shine bright like a fire fly
that has escaped from its jar!”
Together we have community
Being with the rare few
Who share our lunacy
The ones able to decipher
these things that we see
For us it’s a river
this place we love to be
Gardens free of enemies
Green grass, rivers and trees
We gather by the shore
like birds and bees
You are welcome to join us
stay for as long as you please!
Ocean Whispers
I sit on shore by windswept seas
and feel the vibrant ocean breeze
As waves cascade upon the sand
in breathless wonders of this land.
I bask in balmy salty air
and feel the moistness in my hair.
Luna begins her lofty climb,
her silver beams are quite sublime.
While in the distance boat lights glow
and sparkle like a starlit show.
Ocean magic enchants tonight
to my romantic heart's delight.
To skinny-dip, I soon undress
in ocean swells with sweet caress
Secluded on this private shore
just waves and me that I adore.
8-28-22
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 13 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Mark Toney
___________________________________________
8-9-19
A STRAND (1047) Poetry Contest N/A
Sponsor Brian Strand
Devotion to Ocean Poetry Contest ~First Place~
Sponsored by: Chantelle Anne Cooke
walking gracefully
with a pendulum movement ~
a herd of giraffes
the mass migration
crocodiles at the river~
food for the taking
gazelles are running
a hungry cheetah gives chase~
speed is the winner
a lone male lion
approaches a sleeping pride~
the battle begins
an elephant herd
arrive at the water hole~
use trunks to cool down
a swarm of locusts
devouring vegetation~
skeletal branches
army on the move
soldier ant battalion~
have left a scorched earth
vultures in the trees
animals weakened by thirst~
death is imminent
a downed buffalo
lions watch as herd returns~
bulls scatter the pride
basking in cool mud
the african river horse~
hippopotamus
laughing hyenas
find an unguarded carcass~
scavengers feasting
at the water hole
animals quenching their thirst~
alert for danger
a crash of rhino
hunted for their ivory~
extinction looming
a small antelope
found on the African plains~
cute looking dik dik
the baobab tree
silhouetted at sunset~
african icon
Written 13th May 2018
For best haiku poetry contest
Sponsored By Chantelle Ann Cooke.
last thing I remember is the look upon his face
shot him dead right where he stood then left without a trace
killed a man while robbing his white castle for some change
if I could I'd take it back my life I'd rearrange
(chorus)
as I lie here on this prison bed I look up toward the sky
His Word says He still loves me though I can't help wonder why
the man I am today is one He pulled up from the mud
I've put my trust in these three things
the spirit, the water, and the blood
growing up I never knew the man who caused my birth
the only dad I ever knew destroyed my own self-worth
the day he beat my mother was the day I thought I'd die
I swore it'd be the last time this young man would ever cry
as I lie here on this prison bed I look up toward the sky
His Word says He still loves me though I can't help wonder why
the man I am today is one He pulled up from the mud
I've put my hope in these three things
the spirit, the water, and the blood
(bridge)
looking in this broken mirror I see a man redeemed
my newborn faith in God above uplifts my self-esteem
the One who sent his Son to die forever set me free
these bars that keep me locked up now will soon no longer be
(I'll pay the penalty)
the time has come the needle waits I find myself at peace
today's the day to pay my dues before I find release
forgiveness I have begged from Him for causing so much pain
my hope is He remembers me and that I'll live again
as I lie upon this bed of death I slowly close my eyes
his family's all gathered 'round no need to wonder why
the man I killed's dear widow helped to pull me from the mud
(because like me)
she's put her faith in these three things
the spirit, the water, and the blood
Barefoot we spend our time in spring,
Just giggling kids - how sweet the dream
When we, in love are blossoming.
We splash inside a cool fresh stream.
Our time in spring - how sweet the dream!
A few years pass; there comes an ache
for something more in summertime.
We feel such heat! Down by the lake
we soothe our ache. It is sublime
down by the lake in summertime!
Refrain:
Love is a stream, and then it grows.
A river soon - through life it flows!
And two enduring to the end
see love become an ocean then!
A rushing river, wanting more,
through highs and lows, still so in love,
we roll down to the ocean’s shore
where memories we’ve plenty of!
We stroll fall’s shore, still so in love.
An ocean of devotion lies
ahead of us – deep like the sea.
Our souls live on; the greatest prize -
to share out love eternally!
Oh winter’s love, deep like the sea
Refrain: Love is a stream, and then it grows
A river soon, through life it flows!
And two enduring to the end
see love becomes an ocean then!
I watched it fall
In spiralling flight
This browned yellow leaf
A saddened sight
For not long ago
It was alive and so green
In a canopy of cover
Above the stream
I watched it meander
Around rocks and through eddy's
On the stream it continued
Becoming more unsteady
It's protective coating
Now a shadow of it's past
As the water moistens
It's out on it's last
It came to rest
Between two rocks
As the water cascaded
To the bottom it dropped
The end of it's life
But it's journey goes on
For nature will use
This leaf that roamed
.
So much to know, so little time to learn
To think of all the unsolved mysteries
Still trying to understand all that we know
How sad, most go through life just passing time
Our life is but a tick on time's big clock
We, less than a speck of cosmic dust
Significant only by the fact we are alive
Yet insignificant in the grandest scheme
So arrogant in our ignorant intelligence
Thinking ice is the shape of water
Consumed by greed, vanity and vice
Destroying the only place we know life exists
The laws of math are universal
Like humans, stars live and die
One day our sun will burn out
Until then, we are our own worst enemy
by Daniel Turner
Etheree 10- 12-23
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waves ~
Waves
Glide in
On white wings,
Fleecy whitecaps
Flutter in rhythmic
Rhapsodies of seafoam
Swell across the naked sands
Hypnotic serpentines slow dance
Surges of rising tides bear spindrift
To sparkle like crystal frost in sunlight
Ebbing billows crescendo in withdrawal
As the shore clings to the waves caress
Tidal pulse bids the shore farewell
Leaving sandy signatures,
Lacy ripples of ebb,
Tidepools overflow
Driftwood harvest
Seaside gifts
New waves
Form
Here I sit amongst the long grasses and the reed,
in a solitary place, where my breath is freed,
on an Indian Summer's evening on the lake bed,
autumn has come, yet the warmth has not fled.
Blazing orange skies, are mirrored to reflect,
I cannot imagine a scene being any more perfect,
as I looked up, an unfallen leaf caught my gaze,
spotlighted in the sun's last golden rays.
I noticed this crimson leaf as it began to wave,
the end of a short life that I could not save,
then swept away suddenly by the wind's rake,
and ripples formed as it landed on the still lake.
The leaf was carried away and my eyes followed,
then drowned by the water's surface and swallowed,
windy fingertips tugged it from the branch to sever,
existing once, like today, and then was gone forever.
Note - This was my original idea for the poem "The leaf",
but it was revised for a contest. I just wanted to post both
versions of the poem.
cascading
sheets of silver water
spill incessantly into the lake
thundering
beauty before our eyes
beckons us to bathe in radiance
lost in froth
we find ourselves engulfed
by nature’s pulse, shimmering delight
lost in love
my heart is pounding too
falling with the water - into you
Written Oct. 30, 2014
for the SOME FORM OF CRYSTALLINE Contest of nette onclaud
Now for A Strand (1063) Poetry Contest
Pushed there for a thousand years
and will be for a thousand more,
pushed there by the gentle winds
the silver waves upon the shore.
Ancient trees who watched here daily
are now dark silhouettes 'round the rim,
as dusk settles in over the still lake
and a dragonfly takes a final skim.
As the sun dips below the surface
silver waters gain a hint of gold,
their riches flow around my feet
giving me memories to be told.
The sands of time sift down below
where life goes drifting by,
and laid there for a thousand years
and beneath them, so shall I.
And become like a silhouette
to watch all life drift by,
and reliving in every moment
never stopping to ask why.
Pushed there by flowing currents
and the wind's most gentle roar,
I fade away like the golden sun
glint silver waves upon the shore.
spilling mother’s milk
Nature’s bounty feeds her child -
river’s youth fades fast
Susan Ashley
April 29, 2020
~ Fourth Place ~
Premiere Contest: Hi-Ku (5)
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Jesus Savior...Pilot Me from walkinginsunlight.com
Across the blackest waters
ripples of pain,
swell into an anguish splashing
against the blackest shore,
and in the rustling of brittle leaves
from the shadows of tallest trees,
the darkness beckons me
to climb aboard, climb aboard,
an empty boat waiting
upon the blackest shore.
Through depths of night, I ride atop
the black of cavernous waves.
They seem to be a hollow echo
calling out my name
from the splashing of the oars
to the splashing of my pain
against the rocking boat
in the blackening of waves.
Across the water, I stir the black
and do not feel afraid,
but wonder if the water knows it holds
my every pain
my every shame
and every tear
cried out on my darkest days.
Then, from the other side, I hear the splash
of steady rain.
The purging from above seems to calm
my darkest pain.
I dip the oars deeper still
to head for waiting shores,
and from the water's floor,
bubbling, rising
more and more,
I hear the splashing,
splashing
of my own resounding laughter.
Then, a calm lightens my struggle
as the sunrise pales
my dark disasters,
and in the glare of morning
from bright sunbeams above,
I remember with a prayer,
I am loved.
I am loved
I am loved.
Written 6/4/20 for Kai Michael Neumann's
Splash Poetry Contest
I step out of the boat
Wishing to walk on water
Beckoned by the Faithful Son
Whom You sent me Father
But my gaze turns to the ocean
As dark storm clouds they appear
I sink down into the deep
Even though, Jesus is near
The waves overwhelm me
For my faith is faint
A man with many problems
More a sinner than a saint
Still Jesus doesn’t forsake me
He reaches down from above
If I grasp firmly to His hand
I can be saved by His Love
Yet there is a strange comfort
As my lungs they fill with water
It’s the Devil who seduces me
Please Lord I beg you, save me Father!
Within me Jesus’s power
I can feel my body rise
Yes the waters become calm
As I gaze into my Saviour’s eyes
So now I can walk on water
With my Saviour hand in hand
I can make it to the shore
and step on Sacred land
Fear no longer rules me
Each breath is mine to breathe
No storm will overwhelm me
as long as I believe.
The old stream doesn’t burble
like it used to in Spring’s past -
rambunctious in youth wild it ran
racing the sun and chasing the moon
splashing leaping and tumbling
over, down and around rocks in its shallow channel -
giving it rollicking laughter
The old stream doesn’t play with sunlight
like it used to in Summer’s past -
when unending yellow dahlia days gentled its flow
allowing for reflections and explorations around each bend
and for savoring saffron skies and plum-shaded shadows
that seemingly stretched on forever -
giving it invincibility
Autumn saw a change in the old stream
under a herald of goldenrod fireworks
waters waned becoming tired and tamed
its banks and shoaly bed littered with Fall’s golds and reds;
a once lilting voice grew quieter
as nocturnal rhythms trespassed towards winter’s solstice
and under the cover of darkness
a cool moon stole the stream’s slow dance with the sun -
giving it vulnerability
The old stream remembered not the goldenrod days
nor the purpose of its earthly path -
Winter charged in on his frosty horse robust with rime
and laid his icy hands upon the sleepy stream -
draining its dreams of a pulse beneath a frozen facade..
but from below the stilled surface a silver current flowed free
… giving the stream eternity.
Susan Ashley
April 12, 1019
~ First Place ~
Premiere Contest: 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 23
Sponsor: Mark Toney
*Rime: frost formed on cold objects by the rapid freezing of water vapor in clouds or fog.*