Best Well Enough Poems
There is the calm before the rain
It’s almost silent all around
The clouds expectant in the sky
Foreboding birds are homeward bound.
The soldiers stare at looming clouds
There is the calm before the rain
And yet there’s tension in the air
Will all this waiting be in vain?
They know the feeling well enough
The sun gets left out in the cold
There is the calm before the rain
They have to be prepared and bold.
The sound of planes will soon be heard
Torrential bombs will fall again
But ‘til the heavens burst in floods
There is the calm before the rain.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Inspired by the song “Have you ever seen the rain?”
Sung by Credence Clearwater Revival.
With underlying reference to the Vietnam War.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Contest: Screwed (Mar 2015)
Sponsor: Rob Carmack
Placed: 7th
Rock N' Roll Contest sponsored by Kelly Deschler. NA
Categories:
well enough, rain, war,
Form:
Quatern
The walls are stained by my fingers,
raw from trying to scratch them away,
but they’re unharmed and unmarked
on the random spots, here and there,
where I broke my knuckles
thinking I could knock them down,
and the lies and truths that passed me by,
and the things I couldn’t be bothered with,
were opportunities gone a-begging,
moving lips, I couldn’t hear a thing
and I don’t know what they said.
I don’t remember the things you told me
but I do remember you telling me,
and I believe the worst of it
and I don’t care for the rest,
I might have loved the design, though,
and I know the machine was ruined
before the engineers and the technicians
even knew that it existed.
The TV is on for now,
a million faces and a million voices
and a million unthinkable miseries,
they knock on the screen from inside
and they cannot reach me,
it’s all white noise, though, anyway,
unless I apply an ear well enough
to pick out a particular sound or two
and make of it whatever I will.
I’m not quite sure of what it was
that you knocked into my head,
but I wish to God I could only know
half of what you knocked out of it.
7th February 2019
Categories:
well enough, introspection,
Form:
Free verse
She did not have to guess.
She felt it in her bones.
Unfaithful he always was,
Unfaithful he'll always be.
She knew where he would be.
Anger flared in the pit of her stomach,
A heart-wrenching in the ache of fire.
What could she do? Revenge?
She rejected such thoughts
Knowing well enough
She was no match against him.
Why couldn't he love only her?
Why did he leave her dehydrated of love?
As in the Fall, her love-like leaves
Fell down, turned brown,
Definitely to be lost forever.
She'll do without him, come what may.
Thus she lay on her settee, love choked,
Folded herself foetus-like,
Relishing the darkness of her abode.
Another lonely night, cursing her dreams.
A wave of nausea gripped her soul,
Knew she'll have to take her medication
Before she really turned sick.
She swallowed the two pills,
She would not please him and have more.
But she could not resist
Drinking ruby red dry wine.
She felt confused. Did she swallow her pills?
Doubt after doubt after doubt.
Her bottle seemed empty.
So she drank some more.
Finally, she slept
Alone, abandoned on the settee.
Categories:
well enough, abuse, wife,
Form:
Free verse
This scribble has nothing to do with the famous song of Simon and Garfunkel. It's just a story I invented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I bought a cottage in the middle of nowhere,
Right at the edge of the countryside,
Any curious men rarely visited it,
So I stocked it well with food
And worked all alone on my laptop
Electric poles provided current.
So I could enjoy the peace
Within the sound of silence.
I had left the cities full of noise,
Only songbirds broke the silence of the site,
But that I could bear well enough.
Within the sound of silence.
Winter came and soon I was snowbound.
That’s when a knock sounded on my door.
Reluctantly I opened up my place.
There, on the threshold stood a woman
All drenched up and with flimsy clothes.
Her beauty stunned me. I let her in.
My car has stopped, she stammered.
So I sent her up to have a hot bath,
Gave her my dressing gown and invited her
To partake in a hot chicken broth
and some ill-prepared food.
And all this was done as I stood
Mute but mesmerised by her allure
For it was the time for silence.
Bad weather kept her imprisoned in my home,
Few words were exchanged
But she felt the power of silence.
A week later, the countryside was clear of snow.
She phoned a garage to pick up her car.
Then I decided to take her on the river,
How beautiful she looked in her proper clothes.
We got in a boat and paddled away to an islet.
We disembarked and partook of a picnic she had prepared
We spoke little but we came close.
She smiled and timidly I kissed her for the first time.
I felt my heart throbbing but all was quiet
Within the sound of silence.
We married a year later and eventually
The cottage was soon filled
With the crying of a newborn sound.
We were elated and made such a fuss.
Gone was the sound of silence.
Categories:
well enough, baby, love, silence,
Form:
Free verse
Got an amazing friend from across the sea
His moniker is SO which stands for Silent One
A unique bard who hasn't been recognized apart from this site
I am blessed to be a small part of his extraordinary life
Loved and respected by many
Admired for his creative pen and brilliant mind
If I haven't expressed my admiration well enough
It's enough to say I'm honoured to be a part of his world!
Categories:
well enough, tribute,
Form:
Free verse
Instant friends,
We hit it off so well
Mutual encouragement
Lives starting to gel
In an instant gone
As quickly as it started
Reasons why unknown
Left in waters unchartered
(Chorus)
Can you drop me a hint?
Can you offer a smidgen?
Was it something I said?
Could it be my religion?
Something I should’ve done,
Or anything I can do
To know the reasons
For losing you?
Good if we could talk
Suss out issues ensconced
I’ve tried to reach out
But received no response
Finally thought it best
To leave well enough alone
So hard to accept
A friendship turned to stone
(Chorus)
Can you drop me a hint?
Can you offer a smidgen?
Was it something I said?
Could it be my religion?
Something I should’ve done,
Or anything I can do
To know the reasons
For losing you?
4/26/2020
Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash
Categories:
well enough, friendship, lost, relationship, sad,
Form:
Lyric
"She wanted something to happen- something, anything: she did not know what."
--Kate Chopin
Yes, I wanted something to happen
I wanted him to love me,
to even notice me,
but he sped through Life
as if I was a dead girl walking.
To him, I was nothing.
To me, he was everything.
To me, he was Life and Breath
He was Water and Nourishment
He was Spirit and Soul
He was my all,
though I scarcely knew him.
I knew him not,
But I knew I loved him.
I knew Love well enough to know it came to me continuously
Like a cat in need of attention.
But he knew not Love,
For he shunned me.
He shunned me like the moon shuns the sun.
We met no more,
Nor did I see him anywhere.
Nor did it matter anymore.
He left me
I wanted something to happen...
anything to happen...
But nothing ever did.
Categories:
well enough, love, love, me,
Form:
Free verse
If you come to find me
Look no further than you must
For I will be burning effigies
A conspiracy is afoot
Some might say I spend too much time alone
Too much time in the attic of my brain
I have fake conversations with myself
Some might say I spend too much time alone
I think they don’t understand me well enough to know
So call me a mad man.
The axe is buried deep and falls again and again
Wood chips fly as I hew the tree of death
I am working on commission
That’s right the agents are paying me
A coup d’état
To overthrow loneliness
I burn effigies of myself
Some might say I spend too much time alone
Ask me if I care.
Ask me if I can find my way home.
Ask me if the sewage is raw in my veins.
Ask me if I can crack the code of loneliness.
I dare you to ask me.
Some might say I spend too much time alone.
I can never have enough time alone.
It spares me the spirit of life with society.
I burn effigies.
Let the flags and cannonballs fly.
A war upon my soul will not stop me.
I'll ride a pack of dogs into the teeth of the storm
And rain down pain upon your shores
A coup d’état
A coup d’état
Will you finally come and spare me?
I doubt it.
I am not an anomaly
I am free to ramble in loneliness
It burns my flesh, flesh that is hard as gasoline
Underneath the muscle is sinuous and built for pain
Come save me if you must
I am not an anomaly
I just spend too much time alone…
Categories:
well enough, allusion, loneliness,
Form:
Free verse
In starry silence and deepest sleep,
I hold vivid memories and a treasured secret
close to my heart of a long ago summer love.
Ours, was a season carved from the sun's caress,
from a sun that never set (even when the moon shone bright).
I cherished the time I held your hand, my handsome stranger.
Every waking moment was blissful and fantasies in darkness
sweetened my slumber. Our love was daring and true
but was a story never meant to be told, not even to
the icy winds blowing through my winter nights.
With you, I was lustrous in youthful glow, plucked
like a flower in morning dew, and still hungry for life
with an adventurous spirit. I called you, your warm words,
and the wild heart within them, my second home.
I was entranced by your stare; each passion-kissed day
alone with you was tethered loosely to the next
perfect, steamy day. The summer's citrus sun sprayed
light upon perfumed petals in our garden of love.
I could have pulled away before autumn's chill
but yearned to be held captive by, to know intimately,
the shackles of your love until I could no longer breathe
or desire from you more than I could give of myself.
A girl became a woman when the ripe August moon
shared its silver beams of passion in that far off, exotic place.
Brilliant in mind, it seems like yesterday but was many years ago.
As quick as you stepped into my life, you were gone,
taking with you the sultry sun and late summer moon –
you were a stranger I knew too well but not well enough
to mourn. I’m older now, busy with responsibilities.
My skin, slightly weathered, is thicker. I carry the weight
of my mistakes on my back, and still, I stand tall.
I share my strength, my love, my embrace, but
I carry the secret of you closer to my heart as I age.
Our summer memories are a part of my dreams
and the source of many misty-eyed smiles in sunlight.
For Frank's Love In A Far Off Place Contest, 7/26/15
Categories:
well enough, lost love, memory, romance,
Form:
Free verse
Hoping and praying for peace, and peace of mind.
The earth disturbers are busy.
They will not leave well enough alone.
They do not work in harmony with nature.
Their idea of balancing out the
Eco system is to destroy it.
The earth disturbers are busy...
We who are trying hard to survive.
Will not rest until calm is restored to the planet.
They run amuck defiling and slaying every creature.
Every tree every lake, stream and river.
The earth disturbers are causing havoc
and smile at each successful misdeed.
Smiling at the ocean polluted.
Smiling at the elephant slayed;
Smiling at every tusk grabber,
at every dead whale, smiling at every abused child;
The earth disturbers are rejoicing.
For every human that falls prey to their wickedness.
The earth is bleeding.
People are dying for naught.
The whirlwind has been summoned.
Love has been abandoned for power and control.
By this depletion, pain is inflicted daily;
Vanity and, insanity is the order of the day.
Vainly misconstrued evil will be washed away.
With such a shaky foundation the destructive
arrogance of the earth disturbers,
is appearing everywhere.
Categories:
well enough, abuse, bangla, betrayal, earth,
Form:
Prose Poetry
Never let go
Though the path is crooked,
It is narrowed,
But mind not the thorns oh
Brave and Noble seeker.
Though you're a stranger,
But you shall explore
Well enough to restore
Hope to the dying ones.
Once with a courageous veil
You'll end the wail.
Categories:
well enough, emotions, encouraging, hope, muse,
Form:
Tail-rhyme
A gaggle of Mad Scientists
Shrunk me down in size
Placed me in a tiny syringe
Injected me into a woman's mind
They gave me special instructions
While there to look around
Report back to them immediately
All the mystery's to be found
I entered into this giant room
Dozens of doors surrounding the sides
I believe to be the main control center
I am a man in a woman's mind
(Wait a minute...that doesn't sound right)
I skip the rooms RESENTMENT, JEALOUSY,and GOSSIP
No need to open those
I've seen what they can do to a person
Best to keep them locked and forever closed
I come to the door labeled SEX
Being a man I try the knob first
Of course it's locked so I knocked and knocked
Go figure, there was no answer...
Before I realized what I was doing
I opened the door labeled NAGGING
All my ears hear is Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah
What in the world was I even thinking
I may be crazy but I ain't stupid
I also pass by the door I'M UGLY, I'M FAT
Why can't women see what the rest of us see
The inner beauty that they all seem to have
Right next door is the room that holds her feelings
I've never been so scared in my life
I do this in the name of science
And for the better of all mankind
As soon as the door swings open
I immediately break down and cry
I've got all of these mixed emotions
And I don't even really know why
I'm not sure if science was ready for this
As I climb out the ear canal blocked by a phone
Not much that a man can do in there
Best to leave well enough alone
Categories:
well enough, funny, humor, women,
Form:
Rhyme
On August 29, 2005, the "Rain and Rain and more Rains came", destroying everything we had worked a lifetime for. My home that we had just finished building, one year ago, all our furniture, keepsakes, irreplaceable cherished photos along with all our cars except the one we were driving.
The only thing remaining was our boat, "Akula" who suffered a football size hole just above her waterline. I remain grateful that her batteries were charged well enough to continue to bail her out for two consecutive weeks. These rains came in the wrath of a lady named, "Katrina." "Akula" means shark and it would take a shark to make it through this.
I remember I did not cry like others in my neighborhood. I felt it was just a home which could be rebuilt. I also know it did not completely destroy Akula or I would have cried. There's something about a man's boat that befits both sexes and that something is called "Real Love."
Aboard 'Akula" along with the Red Cross, we managed to feed the neighbors for weeks on end. You don't need to know about the multitude of snakes that were inside my house hiding in closets waiting to strike or the wild hogs that were blown in, eating from the plentiful tossed out refrigerators.
All you need to know is that the people were not lazy The only reason they did not leave is because all of us have heard "Cry Wolf" so many times that when a Hurricane threatens it's just an excuse for a red Solo cup party. Simply put: If anyone had known they would die they would not have stayed.
A few weeks later with communication restored we learned that two of our friends drowned, one in Bay St Louis, MS and the other in Biloxi. I didn't cry. Feelings are neither right nor wrong, they just are....
Francine's Rain - contest
5/25/13
Categories:
well enough, nature,
Form:
Free verse
Hello, I’m you, and you just wrote this poem!
You’ve written hundreds more! One day you’ll find
A place that poet friends world-wide call home.
Creatively, you’ll exercise your mind.
Start now to hone your writing skills, and when
you go for that semester in Madrid,
you won’t learn Spanish well enough! Please, then,
return to Spain! I know you’ll wish you did.
You needn’t try to get through college fast.
Get work in Spain. Learn from experience.
Don’t marry quite so young. Life is a blast.
Try things you really love. Gain confidence!
There’s coming in the 80’s - VCR,
and later on will come the internet.
Invest in them. I think you could go far,
Money matters. You just don’t know that yet!
Life will be nice, but long before you age,
You’ve got to save, or it will be too late.
You need a pension plan - advice most sage!
But cash it out before two-thousand-eight!
For one brief week soon coming, there’s a guy,
and no one like him will you meet again!
He’ll go back home, but three years later try
to look you up, but you’ll be married then. . .
Could things with him have worked? How can you know?
But you and I so seldom take a chance!
With what I’ve told you, let’s see how things go. . .
Will you change fate and opt out for romance?
For the What Would You Say Poetry Contest of Alexis Y
Categories:
well enough, life,
Form:
Quatrain
Pandora's Equation
The box was beautiful.
It held everything ugly in one place.
It was meant to be a prison,
to create safety on the outside,
from everything on the inside.
Man can not leave well enough alone.
Woman... failed in paradise.
We were all thrown out, for sin.
The days come and go,
and our lives are shortened
in the grand landscape of forever.
Adam lived over 900 years.
Noah lived nearly...
or more so the same.
Now we believe
we are long in this world
at only 100.
Time is stretching and bending,
like the solar flares...
hitting the earth,
off and on for days at a time.
The heat rises,
the water... evaporates,
and our cry continues.
Myths are real,
based in historic shadows,
hidden just under the surface of the truth.
Atlantis slid off its access
and fell into the sea.
Let that be.
Now for you and me...
we wonder...
at the towers of Babylon,
the mighty giants of the past,
until the last of all of us,
has gone over the edge,
or vanished from their plan.
Categories:
well enough, abuse, adventure, firework, hero,
Form:
Free verse