Best Whisk Poems
O April
how I’ve longed for your return
to breathe new life
into this gnarled body..
for these roots to be unfettered
from the grasping earthen frost -
the past season of fanged nor’easters gnashed
me bare - leaving me mauled and dulled
alone with stiffened limbs
lifted to face
the hard glower of old man winter
with not a morsel of mercy to be gained
but April
now that you're here to share
the innocence of the daisy
and the honeyed scent of the sweet pea
I feel inspirited like a sapling young and tender again;
mild is the fog’s embrace in early morn
as I taste your sweetened rainwater
and gentle is the rhythm of baptizing
showers bathing dark days away..
and ever grateful is my grayed heart
as it begins to beat
with the fresh pulse of verdant rebirth
oh April
how easily you inspire
my shy imagination to fly
with the zephyr's muse
to expand my artistry
in an afternoon’s brushstroke of forsythia light
dreams once frozen now thawed and golden
eager to flourish in bloom
awakening the poetry
in a new leaf’s unfurling whisper -
a whisper that grows a praising wind-psalm
as choirs of bursting buds
celebrate revival
with a rustling alleluia!
star-shaped sails rouse in swishing sounds
their leafy lyrical breath one with the breeze
my green-laden boughs now a wellspring
of exuberant born-again voices
a thronging rejoice lifted
to the heavens on the whisk of the westerlies;
supple is my sweep and sway ‘neath
the soft-bellied skies of Spring
dear lady, April
how I revel in the glorious abundance of your Nature;
your nurture enlivens my humble woody being
and though gray may shade my weather-beaten heart..
evergreen is my soul
Susan Ashley
April 12, 2021
~ First Place ~
Premiere Contest: April
Sponsor: Regina McIntosh
Categories:
whisk, appreciation, april, beauty, hope,
Form:
Free verse
O, weeping willow shed your sorrow
on whispering breeze to soothe your grief
within whose breath's a healing yarrow
to whisk away tears upon your leaf.
Sweet rustling zephyr embraced in sway
as misty-eyes sigh mournful wind-song,
a wistful heart in bosom ballet
with shadows dancing as currents throng.
Weep not, soulful shimmer 'neath sun’s gold
for chartreuse vines fly the west wind's bend,
enlightenment seeps in roots to hold
as yarrow's pink kisses blown to mend.
Susan Ashley
August 13, 2018
~ Second Place ~
Premiere Contest: 2019 Poetry Marathon Mile 1
Sponsor: Mark Toney
Categories:
whisk, emotions, heartbreak, hope, sorrow,
Form:
Rhyme
Love's tend'rest touch, your gentle words reveal
Caress my soul. sweet poet, with your verse
Write dulcet lullabies which make me feel
Secure, like infants held at breast to nurse
Turn tears of sadness into peaceful streams
Make whispered breezes whisk my strife away
Put passion in my fantasized daydreams
Paint troubles in to flowery bouquets
And even though I know they're not for me
I steal your soothing love just like a thief
This load I carry lightens suddenly
Because my broken heart has found relief
Your words are like a song, please sing to me
Sweet poet, how I love your poetry
an original poem by Daniel Turner
Categories:
whisk, appreciation, love, poetry,
Form:
Sonnet
The moon shimmied up her pole in the sky
Winking at me with her crescent eye
The stars danced in time to a silent tune
As the season ended that started in June
O, one long last look at summer's constellations
Before they surrender to Fall's deportations
And the heavens assign them to regions distant
As brisk winds whisk them away in an instant
September 22, 2020
Completely Your Choice (#15) Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Categories:
whisk, autumn, longing, moon, night,
Form:
Couplet
A citrine leaf in lingered lilt
did savor breeze of sapphire whisk
as Autumn’s honey-secrets spilt.
A hopscotch star.. an ember brisk,
she sighed and fell— then took her chance!
a citrine leaf in lingered lilt
with wind-a-whirl in saffron dance
below the western cirrus gilt.
Before the winds began to wilt
and aspen whispers rose a wail,
a citrine leaf in lingered lilt
did fly where camp-fire-clouds grew pale—
where songs are spun from angel dreams,
their rapture wrapped her like a quilt,
no longer needing rhinestone streams,
a citrine leaf in lingered lilt.
Categories:
whisk, autumn, dance, death, flying,
Form:
Quatern
Looking back again, back into the past,
it was written in sand, all those questions we asked
on those last days of summer, something was wrong
as the leaves started turning, and shadows grew long
There was dust on the tables, and the clutter remained
where never before, .... had it not been restrained
You were known for your grace, now your pride was at risk
Quickly swept, polished fine, brushed away with a whisk
This just wasn't you, having bricks without mortar
You were never unkempt ...now a life out of order?
You would never have allowed such things out of place
Something so small, would have been your disgrace
There was something to blame, something was strange
Even small tasks, we noticed, had changed
Another piece of a puzzle, fell into place
Your trace of bewilderment, when a name was erased
Your memory lost, and a world gone absurd ...
Then, once it was you....alone and disturbed
Lost and afraid, but mostly confused
Forgetting the day, many things you would lose,
or someone you loved, so much undefined
shoved back to blind spaces, your words couldn't find
Dust motes collected where never before,
would settle, make home, in your mind evermore
Without any warning, without any sound
until you were gone, and the years fell around
Dreams that you had, were drawn in the sand
into the traces of dust of a far away land
_________________________________________________
Inspired by Isaiah Zerbst's Contest: "Pick a Title"
10/31/14
Categories:
whisk, age, memory, people, sad,
Form:
Rhyme
Empath whispers hold covered silence
desires whisk away with the moon
earth tone times of trepidation
dragged off and hidden in the ruin
pain stains blush red under pretense
separate flights of frighten
leaves float
frustration fills the noon
snipped strings hang
on acceptance
what's left of you
looking back forgiven specks
eyes don't lie
aspirations exhaust
breaths rest
hearts reaching past the black
gasps aghast
screams seams split in two
09/08/17
picture contest
Categories:
whisk, character, confusion, depression,
Form:
Free verse
You asked me for a dance one night, ’twas late one New Year’s Eve,
and as I held you in my arms, your shape did wend and weave;
a sudden kiss as midnight struck (I thought it make believe) -
for stars and kismet ruled with zeal our lives would interleave.
I give to you the morning sun to dance within your smile
a flower wild amongst the stones upon a rocky isle
with hidden paths in ancient woods where we can walk awhile.
You lead me by the hand through nights into the waking days,
through swinging gates in mirrored walls and through the midnight haze,
through castles built in sandbox realms in children’s yesterdays.
I give to you a ragged doll, a puppet on a string,
a ride upon a rocking horse, a swallow on the wing,
a ribbon trailing from your hair, a red or scarlet thing.
You whisk me from a valley deep wherein a black wind blows,
and tracks upon the empty trails are hidden by the snows,
to share with me your secret thoughts and steal away my woes.
I give to you a silver flute, a whistle on a chain,
a drummer boy with dancing feet, a sugar candy cane,
a window flushed with foolish tears mid pitter-patter rain.
You lead me from entangled streets inside a circus town,
subduing smoky memories that haunt this wistful clown
by quelling plaintive melodies and sorrows that they sound.
I give to you a penny plain to cast upon a dream,
a streaking star inside the sky, a bridge across a stream,
a teddy bear with tattered ears and berries dipped in cream.
You show me how a rainbow lightens distant liquid lands,
where dew drops paint the purple leaves deserted on the sands
on roads of simple wonderment within your slender hands.
I give to you in winter’s chill my ragged scarf of thread,
a dripping ball of candle wax on fire blazing red,
and offer you this smitten rhymer’s loving arms in bed.
You spin me tales of laughter, yes, of laughter on a spree,
of laughter restless in the sky, of laughter running free,
of laughter dancing, skipping wildly far beyond the sea.
I give to you these careless words, arrayed in broken lines,
adorned, my love, with tempest winds and teardrop salty brine,
in cups of youthful passion steeped in desolation wine,
and promise I’m forever yours... if only you’ll be mine.
Categories:
whisk, love,
Form:
Rhyme
Aloft, with keen eyes in sorbet skies’ raspberry half-light
visceral vibrations of vitality does await.
Soaring in a hush, with plumage plush, a silent stealth kite,
he glissades on ghostly winds with mystical wings of fate.
Poised to plummet from his summit of purple sundown spread
with wingspan wide, wreathed gradual glide, hunts a twilight hawk.
Floating form causes flocks to brainstorm on life or death dread,
those flying forlorn, late to roost, are reduced by his stalk.
Aerodynamic, his dramatic dive deals destiny,
raptor raptly pursues passerine through air’s plum-bruised dim.
Whispering wings whisk to live and not die desperately,
over the arborvitaes the future for one is grim.
If it’s true that energy never dies; its cries transform,
then songbird's notes will ascend on hunter's wings in reform.
Susan Ashley
December 3, 2017
~ First Place ~
Contest: Your Best Poem In The Last Year
Sponsor: Silent One
~ Seventh Place ~
Contest: Best Rhyming Poem October - December 2017
Sponsor: John Hamilton
Categories:
whisk, bird, conflict, death, destiny,
Form:
Rhyme
A teal twilight inks cobalt silhouettes
while distant stars unveil their twinkling lights.
And shadows slink forth, melding with the night,
as a setting Sun feigns a scarlet death.
Pink clouds cluster at the horizon's edge,
garnering shades of cerise and purple.
And daylight shrinks to a brindled aura,
reflected in rusty crystals of ice.
Dusk weeps dewdrops, yet grieves to no avail,
as darkness dims, the last lingering light.
And brisk breezes whisk heat away in gusts,
eerily chilling both body and soul.
Long skeletal fingers anchor the sky
to a lone tree rooted in ebony.
And a marshmallow moon appears snagged,
in the netting of its velcro branches.
Creatures of the dark stir from sleep's slumber;
in the wake of a slowly sinking Sun.
And where silence rules, sound bends to its will,
all but a cricket's haunting, piercing shrill.
Categories:
whisk, nature,
Form:
Blank verse
Picked out the perfect arrangement
two dozen long stemmed roses
with deep ruby red petals
accented with forget-me-nots
each petal representing a kiss
I'll tread over those
luscious and inviting lips
and the forget-me-nots showing
my never ending love for you.
Reservations made.
We'll rendezvous at Les Ombres
In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower
I'll gaze lovingly at your
dazzling smile
fall deep under the spell of your
sparkling eyes
Top the night off with a toast
of champagne
Then whisk you off to a Cinderella's carriage ride
arm in arm, cheek to cheek
kissing you under the luminesce rays of the moon
we`ll take a journey into the sky
upon cupid`s wings
From his arrow we'll spread love
and share the joy it brings
We'll steal the midnight stars
making their fire ours
and when the magic fades
each other we embrace
We'll run to a chateau
by Paris East lake
You undress my innocence
as your breath I take
Breathless you leave me
at the sight of your skin
So supple your chest
inviting me in
Soft slow sweet kisses
tread upon your neck
hands on your hips
there's no turning back
Categories:
whisk, love,
Form:
Free verse
She was staring at me but i was staring through her,
Her eyes full of beauty,but her soul in tears,
Though she smiled,i could see the grief deep in her,
She tried to hide it but i could feel the tussle within her,
As i asked her what her troubles were,anxiety overwhelmed her,
As tears rolled down her pulpy smooth cheeks,everything seemed quiet,
At that moment i couldn't think of anything to console her,
And as i stared at her with sympathy,she tried to murmur out something,
It was too much for her,i had to hold her in my arms
And with tears in my soul i murmured,
I may not be able to whisk you from this hell,but allow me to walk you through it.
~the_lamp
Categories:
whisk, addiction, angel, anxiety, appreciation,
Form:
Free verse
trees tremble, nuts fall
angels use of rotary whisk
the wind as if mint
refreshes my home
it is brisk, inviting
i’m cold
i don’t care
it is Fall
9/26/2022
Categories:
whisk, autumn,
Form:
Free verse
Written: November 09, 2023
____________________________________________
Meet me at the crossroads of my life.
Underneath the streetlamp, I will be waiting
expecting you to whisk me away,
shivering in the drizzle of coolness
truly trusting you'll truncate my trauma.
Meet me at the crossroads of my life,
need to sense your embrace as I wait
urban sounds drown out opinions of you,
as piercing sirens blare across the silent night,
A purr from a black dog terrifies me.
Meet me at the crossroads of my life,
minutes later, your svelte, seraphic allure shows up.
Seeing your stern sentence, I glance up
We stroll as one, holding hands,
in the abyss as nobody yet triumphed.
Is it the blaze that ignites the soul?
rather than the flame-holding heart?
Is it love that motivates a person?
or the spirit that ignites the fire?
the eye requires the light He created.
Categories:
whisk, analogy, appreciation, bereavement, best
Form:
Free verse
Gone, now just a memory the warmth of summer,
winter's icy fingers now take a harsh grip turning
land to frozen waste. Blanketing it in snow as the
nights draw in, reflecting the bright moon.
Children having fun sledges rushing down the hill
and snowmen appear standing as sentinels to winter.
The whisk of skiers as they fly past speeding downwards
their colourful ski suits adding splashes of vivid colour.
Jack Frost hard at work decorating trees with icicles
some short and others long sparkling, reflecting light
appearing like gems amidst the sprinkled snow covered
branches. Once more winter reigns supreme.
Icy winds howl across the valleys causing drifts
of snow some eight foot deep, chilling bones
making us huddle down in fleece lined coats
Rosy cheeks blaze out from under hoods,
And fingers freezing cold from handling snow.
contentment in every face as people head home.
To cups of hot chocolate and toasty warm fires
shutting out for now winter's icy blast.
Categories:
whisk, snow, winter,
Form:
Verse