Best Withdrew Poems
'Twas the night before Christmas and their pages were bare
Not one word could they write, not one verse to declare
The Grinch had snuck in, and in one fell swoop
Had stolen the muses from poets on the "Soup"!
It was the thing that all poets dread
As visions of emptiness swirled in their heads
No syllables floated to fill in the gap
Some poets decided their contest to scrap!
Then on the blog page there arose such a chatter
Poets rushed over to see what was the matter
The blogger's avatar was just a red sash
She said she could get back the muses, for a large sum of cash
Many of the poets thought this was a trick
It was just a scheme to make money real quick
But in the blink of an eye another blogger came
He said that St. Nicholas was his real name!
Now Heidi, now Anne-Lise, now Andrea and Jan
They told us that St. Nicholas had a plan
To the realm of the Grinch where green snowflakes fall
St Nicholas would go and retrieve the muses for all!
In no time at all he took to the sky
And to the realm of the Grinch on his sleigh he did fly
As the Grinch lay sleeping the muses he withdrew
And to the Soup, again he flew
He delivered the muses to all the poets around
Poets started writing their words did abound
They wrote of angels and bright stars, and things that uplift
St. Nick had given them the muse as their gift
Then St. Nick called for all his reindeer
And soon he took off and flew out of there
But they heard him say, before he left the site
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good write!!
December 25th- The Christmas Wedding
Head-to-head,
Surrounded by seasonal silver bells
Scarlet passionate pink poinsettias sit
Foliage scenery
Entwined by Christmas and Wedding bliss
Frosty winter weather warmed up by:
Rings of “I Do!”
The eyes of Eve hide underneath a white veil
Beautiful-
A bride walking down the misty mistletoe isle
Wondering why the majestic mustang moon sank without trace?
The aroma of pine trees idle into the death-defying fog
Fine firm decorated ribbons snug unopened gifts
Desperately-
Mistletoes wait above the tenable tint threshold
Kissing and Cheering
New Christmas Vows
In her hands, a beautiful bouquet
-Bridal flowers for the maids
Forsaken by dark dusky dullness wedding cloud
Flustering fragrance thicken the chestnut cold air
Ornaments endured dreary tears
Despising the drapes of fog
That covers the newlywed winter show
Harmony withdrew from that winter wonderland
A white gown, not meant to be
Christmas crushed by her greed
The unkind erratic earth exchanged her own silent vows
In a horrifying hoary haze
A heavy foggy breeze dropped in like debris,
Blowing her tiara dreams away
On this very exact Christmas Day
:-)
11-22-13
It was now growing dark as the sun was going down
When a stranger rode into Soup Creek, a frontier town
No one could see his face, he was all dressed in black
An old boy was heard to say "I think he's come back".
He took his horse to the stable, then went to the boarding house
Before he went in looked across the street, to the town jailhouse
There was a familiar figure sat outside, in a rocking chair
Cradling a Winchester and the stranger, felt his cold stare.
He'd returned after all these years; he had something to prove
And just after a few days back in town, he would make his move
But Sheriff Koplin is no fool and he had planned up far ahead
And had formed a posse whilst the stranger slept in his bed.
Three fiesty girls from the saloon, Jan and Jenna, Tania too
And a Texas ranger called David who was just passing through
With gambler Milton who was deadly, with a colt forty five
And Tom the undertaker who looked more dead than alive.
It was the evening of the showdown; the stranger came out of the saloon
The sun was now setting but the tension had been building up since noon
From his holster he withdrew his pistol and then fired shots up into the air
The stranger was not one for living a peaceful life and he just didn't care.
Sheriff Koplin approached him and said "Hand over your gun"
And the stranger replied "Lighten up man, I'm just having fun"
The stranger was laughing now and looking down at his feet
The townsfolk were nervous and had disappeared off the street.
Then behind the stranger came a shout in a loud Texas drawl
It was Jenna disguised as an old woman, covered with a shawl
"You heard the sheriff " she shouted, "Put your gun on the ground"
The air was now thick with tension and you couldn't hear a sound.
Then from nowhere the rest of the posse appeared pistols in hand
They abhorred bullies and conflict and were prepared to make a stand
The stranger realised he couldn't win and threw his gun down
Walked to the livery stable to get his horse, and rode out of town.
The drama was now over but it could have gone either way
Sheriff Koplin and his posse restored peace, and had won the day
It was now days end in Soup Creek in that peaceful frontier town
All you could hear were chirping crickets as the sun was going down.
Written on 20th May 2022.
Tiptoeing fond emotions how playfully you tease
Titillating seductively my memories to appease
Springs that once blossomed passionate appeal
When indulgent eyes met contours of your zeal
Tantalizing tenor of love quixotic rhythms reveal.
I hear those melodies, romantic heartbeats revive,
Pulsing strings of heart on its tempo they thrive
Promising forgotten vibes, fervid past is still alive
When gently you arrive awakening frozen dreams
Delighting love-beats, crooning amorous themes.
You sense as I do, why unsated feelings still woo,
Why the un-bloomed seasons are trying to renew
Autumns full of gilded hues you once withdrew
Disheartening two ardent souls beholden and true;
As love now rustles anew, what am I to construe?
Oh! how ebulliently you bloomed in our first kiss
When blazing impulses tolled moments of bliss,
I recognize those footprints as delicately you spree
In courtyard of longings, venerating you and me,
As whispers of intimacy implore in euphoric plea.
July 18, 2021
Poem of the day on July 19, 2021
Placed 1st: A Brian Strand Rhymed Contest
Color me blue
As I think of you
A love once true
Has lost its radiant hue
Tomorrow I begin anew
How? I haven't a clue
A love once true
Has now faded blue
Where is the joy we knew
Happiness that grew
A love once true
It's gone; it flew
I know we're through
All around I see blue
A love once true
Leaves me longing for you
Wondering what I can do
No more to pursue
A love once true
Has left me so blue
I eat my words, I chew
Taste like a worn shoe
A love once true
Has gone askew
Did I misconstrue
I strove to continue
A love once true
Until you withdrew
Color me blue
I sat quietly and waited, making the noises he had come to know, calling him in his newly given name. His face would appear, cautiously calculating my intent, he would approach. The promise of food and gentle touch too much to deny. And so we did the “Little Prince’s” taming dance, each aware of the other and the possibility of betrayal.
cold eyes, empty heart
frost forming on life’s edges
winter’s numbing kiss
Our meetings continued, less cautious greetings, more welcome contact, minimal conversation. His coat was becoming more ragged in spite of attempts to keep it up, his gait slowing as our good-byes became short walks together. He could not leave his place, his home, even though it had left him – alone, to fend for himself.
hoarfrost in retreat
sunrise gently awakens
friendships warming blood
He withdrew – I would wait, quietly, whisper the name he had come to know, make the sounds that signaled “all clear”. I searched for him, stood silent and listened for his weakening call, shed tears in the cold rain of November. His last call, a feeble attempt at good-bye, led me to him. Alone, cold, hungry, he lay there, rolled his eyes as I cradled his cold and fading spirit. He shivered – and left.
winter’s cold cradle
ice encasing a friendship
a thawing of hearts
10/20/2015
submitted to – Creative Haibuns – Poetry Contest
sponsor – Charlotte Jade Puddifoot
Growing up
My father and me
He did the best he could
Because once we were three
Events happened
And then we were two
His rise and demise
As his life withdrew
Looking back, to the memories we had
They never lasted for years
Some great, some sad
For an ill man he did his best
And in me, I have his zest
He never recovered from the loss of his son
To say goodbye to the elder one
He was hospitalised for months and years
On the day he was taken, uncontrollable tears
The years we shared
Fifteen in all
In every one
He helped me grow tall
To appreciate, what life will give
Remember your past, let your future live
He's all around me every day
For on the wind I hear him say
Enjoy your life, live happily
I hope you get to the land of the free
My reply to you Dad
As you look down on me
The Aura around you
The man I hope to be
" Happy Fathers Day to you Dad, I still miss you, your loving son James "
To be read listening to Boston's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzOKrXj8Hp4
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/me.php
Soon after the sky had shed her liquid sorrow
When dark clouds quickly vanished
It turned immaculate, spotlessly blue.
As the cosmic hiss subsided
And the wind withdrew to its unknown hideout,
There was a hush- the hush that follows,
As the priest concludes his spirited sermon.
In that quiet, when dream and life coalesced
I saw the leaves trembling in the cold
Dragonflies performing a ballet in the air
Their wings catching glints of sunlight
Spiders moving round crystal studded webs,
Repairing the broken filaments of their gossamer
And birds from trees taking off into the sky
Enjoying a pervasive sense of peace
And my heart soaked in pure mirth
Humming the lyrics of a half forgotten song
I walked down through cobbled paths
Feeling the wetness beneath my feet,
To savor the beauty of Nature,
Newly bathed in the profuse vernal shower.
Suddenly the light blazoned,
Giving a golden glow to the leaves
And the suspended rain drops,
Glittered like sparkling gems.
Mesmerized by the beauty of the scene
There wobbled shiny silver droplets of joy
In my eyes too, struggling to be spilled out!
Resubmitted for 2022 Marathon Mile.No.15 Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Mark Toney
Placed Sixth
April.6. 2022
A Brian Strand Premier Choice Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Brian Strand
Rainbow skies, ocean current withdrew.
Girl's pert swirls, soft unbound hair, where pearls
shelled mollusk would dare to clasp its curls.
Radiance eyes special gentle blue.
Three feet exhilarating handful.
Sweet, inescapable mud stain cheeks;
cuteness with endless hugs, sunshine streaks,
briny wave tears drop flow buckets full.
Barefoot, tattered, and grass sully knees.
Magpie, explores never says goodbye.
Cheesecake berries-double bubble sky.
Pink My Little Ponies perched on trees.
Night pledges stardust dreams and fairies.
Sleep little angel, in star full clouds,
stories with lullabies among crowds
of flowers, hummingbirds, and bunnies.
Gnomes tease chuckles and granted wishes,
rainbow snow cones, cherry lollipops.
Wake to orange sunrise final drops
and endless love, bear hugs, and kisses.
2/16/2018
Poetry Contest: Enclosed Rhyme
Sponsored by: Emile Pinet
Remembering days of azure skies,
I dream of you,
Knowing we're through.
Cerulean thoughts impose;
Tomorrow I'll begin anew.
How? I haven't a clue.
My heart's encased in cobalt walls.
Where's the joy we knew,
Happiness that grew?
Lonely, indigo nights await,
Wondering what I can do,
Nothing more to pursue.
'Neath night's sapphire cloak,
I eat my words. I chew.
How did I misconstrue?
Angst, veiled in navy curtains,
I ponder love once true
Until you withdrew.
*Word Count is 78. For Dale's "Brevity in Blue" contest.
In a moment of understandable frustration with me,
My wife demanded to know what I really believed in.
I thought for a minute, tear glands filling,
"The essential goodness of my parents."
My mother was a child of the great city of Philadelphia,
In hard times in a hard family, soon to fracture,
She withdrew from the days when her father would leave his little girls
In the car all afternoon in back alleys near the taverns,
From which he would emerge, full of volume and vomit.
She grew through school, emerging herself to be a wonderful mom,
To kindle her children's interest in the physical world,
Geology, astronomy, physics, and the patterned realms
Of painting, music, and poetry.
She showed me that she loved me.
She showed me that parents were people.
She showed me that parents were fallible,
That not everything could be controlled,
And that that was okay too.
My father was a child of the land,
Of farming in the age of innocence,
Long ago down in the southern part of the state of Indiana.
He knew of seeds, of frost, of the earth and time,
Of rock and root, of wind and drought and rain.
He never complained about rain - we kids didn't like the muddy yard
That was supposed to be a football field - he'd say,
"Tell you what - I'll take the rain. I've seen the other."
The most honest man I know, the most honest person that could ever be,
He watched the night sky with me when I said, "Moon and tar."
He took me to a hardware store on a stormy summer Saturday,
Dark clouds coming close, in a car with the thicker sheet metal of the old days.
Just as we parked, the first raindrops, that irregular rhythm, compelling,
"Hey Doug! Would you listen to that rain?! Let's just sit here for a while."
We sat with the rain on the roof as it began in earnest,
That rain of a thousand thousand hits,
A million baby birds doing their firecracker tap dance above us,
That rain that has lasted me the rest of my life.
December 31, 2016.
For Brenda Chiri-Carroll's contest - 'Who has inspired you most in your life.'
She was a Capulet and he a Montague
Yet the moment their eyes locked, such great passion grew
Scaled her balcony, professions of love to croon
Juliet warned, “Swear not by the inconstant moon”
Forced to elope because of a family feud
Hidden love’s revelation they had to elude
When Romeo’s friend Mercutio, Tybalt slew
Romeo killed Tybalt and from their town withdrew
Her father sought to wed Juliet to a Count
The friar gave her a potion, a small amount
Upon finding Juliet seemingly lifeless
Parents placed her in a tomb in funeral dress
The plan went awry and both lovers met their fate
Tragedy born when love did not overcome hate
June 9, 2011
Written for Brian's "Up to Thee Max 14 Lines" contest
At Dalton town where I was born
in Ozark hills of home,
There lived a man named Leamon Brown
who plowed the rich, black loam.
His wife, a sweet and gentle soul,
did not foresee his bent,
she daily worked beside her man
who seemed to be content.
But in his heart a wrath appeared
to poison spirit's peace.
When reason left, his anger grew
and clawed to find release.
He stepped behind her where she sat
and bent to kiss her lips,
withdrew his blade and slit her throat
while blood streamed down her hips.
In panic's grip she fled the house
but stumbled soon and fell.
The children screamed in frozen shock
and dove straight into hell.
One son ran to his mother's side
and held her as she died.
His siblings hid from daddy's blade;
he stood there, glassy eyed.
As gossip spread like raging fire
of murder in our town,
the newsmen raced to pen details
as lawmen dragged him down.
His deed became the hottest news
to ever hit our town
The judge declared the man insane
this man named Leamon Brown
Now he is locked behind closed doors,
his wife lies in the ground.
Though we lament the children's fate,
his kids are sorrow bound.
I swam inside the Mediterranean Sea.
In what would be my Glory Days, off Valencia’s coast,
I dipped my foot in freezing water;
withdrew it; then dipped it in again.
(I’d always had my own will even then,
just didn’t realize how strong it was).
Disappointingly, my one day to enjoy the sea was cold.
I still cannot recall if others from my group
ventured out there with me and stayed for long
although I remember a few of them were shivering
riding on the bus to go back home.
Oh, it was so very long ago!
Nor can I recollect the suit I wore
(I do know I was plump then;
"Gordita” the men called out to me).
The season - was it early spring or still the winter?
And what specific color claimed the sea that day
along my beloved Iberia’s splendid shore?
Of that afternoon, I remember only this:
Aimlessly I let my body float first in one direction,
then another; keeping my eyes always on land,
my body numb, accustomed to the freeze.
No one was around me; I drifted, sometimes nearly straying. . .
just I - all alone -
letting my whole self go. . . for maybe 40 minutes.
It was something I felt that I just had to do
so that years later, standing here today
(“Gordita” frozen deep inside me)
I can say that I swam in that mighty, ancient sea.
I know there are heroes like a firefighter,
the police, real life heroic people, a soldier;
but my hero right now is my heart doctor!
It happened quickly- with a knife like a dagger,
plunging into my back, oh I still recall the horror!
I could not breathe and was just clinging to life,
Gasping, I thought I was a goner;
thought- here I come afterlife!
He wore a cap and face mask- I saw blue,
deep blue eyes and he said listen you;
don't be afraid because I will get you through!
Then, to a sweet dreamland I just withdrew,
peace and tranquility were all that I knew!
That day- Dr. MacDreamy saved me,
it could have been my end, my last adieu;
so, this blue eyed doctor is my hero- easy!
______________________________
November 22, 2017
Poetry/Rhyme/My Blue Eyed Hero
Copyright Protected, ID 17-1021-380-0
All Rights Reserved. Written Under Pseudonym.