Best Zigzagged Poems
I can still recall the look upon His face
Each thought still makes me go to that enchanting place
The vernal air was floral sweet and honey breezed
We roamed along Venice's zigzagged lanes and cobbled streets
On our secret rendezvous,We hugged affectionately under pastel gothic galleries
Greeted by the aromatic smell of freshly brewed roast coffee beans
Strolling along the pigeon-filled piazza San Marco
We wandered hand in hand,in the serenissima ancient floating land
Street musicians played their flutes.as We sat on a roof-top wooden terrace
We glanced at merchants sell hand-blown murano glass
by the picturesque Doge's palace
We ate a snack , then walked away towards the old opera house
which now has risen from its ashes.
We sauntered forward through little alleys
from where He bought me ,a gold painted venetian mask
To my surprise ,He had another gift,a wrapped up scarlet sheer laced basque
I peered at him through my dark lashes,He raised his left brow and flashed a smile
Expressed his charm in playful ways,in a flirtatious endearing style.
Boarded at last on a black gondola,cruised the lagoon and the canals
A few light kisses,a few soft brushes,waiting the bell's toll whilst in his arms
There we lay in waiting beneath the bridge of sighs
We sealed our kiss and promised lips,to the harmonic sound of chimes
He leaned on me,I welcomed Him,our spirits been entwined
Above,the sky has changed its colour,I watched the sun set in his eyes
All I am,I gave to him,my enduring heart- His sacred shrine
All that He is He gave to me in once upon a time
Not for the contest,but thanks for the 'Lovemaking in an ancient place contest,inspiration'.
This post is inspired by Ancient Venice and the tale of 'The Bridge Of Sighs'
The tale goes-If you kiss your loved one with the bell's toll of St,Mark's Basilica,
at sunset,beneath the bridge of sighs,the couple seals their love forever.
There is another tale to it,a sad one,but preferred to share the happy one : )
Categories:
zigzagged, love, passion,
Form:
Prose
Prometheus had erred and caused great ire
when stealing in stealth secrets of fire.
But Zeus could not forgive this deed.
The chieftain of gods punished his greed.
The lightning zigzagged across the sky,
in anger he let thunderbolts fly.
Instructions he gave to mould from earth
a woman endowed to prove her worth,
all humans to touch their lives and shift
the balance with her seductive gift.
Hephaestus was told what to create;
Pandora came forth through heaven’s gate.
Athena supplied her silver gown,
her head she adorned with ornate crown.
She hastened to guile the human race
her nature refined to tempt by grace
alluring deceit that knew no shame
her mission withstood distrust or blame.
Pandora’s torment flowed wide and far.
She carried with her an earthen jar.
Instructions were laid to be obeyed
to keep it enclosed and so it stayed
till yearning became hard to resist
temptation knew well how to insist.
Alone by herself beside a brook
she lifted the lid, a glancing look
that opened the flood to evil force
unhindered it spread and took its course.
She panicked and pushed with all her might;
the damage was done – eternal plight.
A trickle of hope was left inside
but hardly enough to turn the tide.
When laws are defied they cause much grief;
the pleasure derived is false and brief.
Temptation is what destroys the weak;
redemption is there for all to seek.
Forever in life it’s hard to cope.
Pandora we chase in search of hope.*
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* Pandora is chased for the only thing left in her jar – hope.
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Author: Paul Callus
Contest: Men Only #2
Sponsor: Kelly Deschler
Placed 1st
Categories:
zigzagged, hope,
Form:
Epic
"In the echo of silence, the whispers of the Divine are heard." By Rumi
I entered the winding path into the captivating vale
Surrounded by ice-capped mountains and ancient trees
Firs, larches, redwoods, spruce, and ash, all grand
I shouted in glee: “I’m here!” All around some Echo replied.
A repetitive Echo, always vibrating and mesmerising.
What a singular sound to hear nature at its best!
I lounged beneath the shade of an old maple tree,
Where the verdant vale lay sprawled in front of me.
Balmy breezes blew through dark green trees, an Echo divine.
Tiny thrushes flitted from bush to bush.
They permeated the vale with their familiar songs.
Occasionally they rested on a dense bush,
Hush! Did I hear the song again?
Choirs of echo resounded all around the lush plateau.
Down on the majestic plain, a babbling brook meandered
Towards a clump of cottages, providing water for all.
The rivulet was a sight with fronds of ferns unfolding.
How delightful to hear the water emanating such dulcet echo
As the stream zigzagged around rocks and small waterfalls.
Every echo ended in silence profound and I was in God’s peace.
A holy hymn hummed serene: echo after echo, all divine.
Placed 1
Categories:
zigzagged, bird, mountains, river,
Form:
Imagism
Amazingly, Alice assaulted an antelope
Because Bobby’s beavers became bold,
Considering cantilevered canines
Deliberately devastating donor’s doled.
Evelyn entirely excited electric eels
Failing forlornly from forward fencing,
Gaining ground gathering genuine gold
Her happiness heralded high financing.
I indicated initially incapable innocents
Justifying joyous juxtaposition jousting
Keeping kind Kenneth’s kindreds knit
Losing language like legally lost lusting.
Maybe minding manners means more
Neither newness nor novel necessary,
Occasionally opening old occlusions
Promises perfectly positioned pituitary.
Quite questionable quicky quirks
Rage rampantly removing regulations,
Summarily startling some supervisors
Touching their tempermental trepidations.
Until unusual undertakings understood
Veritable vigilantes visited volunteers,
Wildly waiting where we wandered
X-citedly X-iting X-istential X-ospheres
Yonder youthful yaks yielded...yikes!
Zebras zigzagged zestfully ziggurat-likes.
Categories:
zigzagged, fantasy, fun, word play,
Form:
Abecedarian
One man
Stands
Beneath his white helmet
And demands,
Silence.
Throughout Aleppo.
His stethoscope,
He attaches
To the dust
And listens
From his knees.
The man has
Ten fingers,
A dry brush
And a pair of pliers
To dig like an archeologist.
He does not have years,
But minutes
To search the ruins
For toes
That wiggle
Or mouths
That suckle
Or bleeding hearts
That still beat
Like tremors
In puddles of plaster.
When an apartment building
Of ten stories
Is bombed
By planes
Flown by strangers
And its hallways and closets
And bedrooms
And kitchens
And stairwells
Are pancaked
Into a single floor
Of wreckage
In seconds,
There can be tiny
Zigzagged
Crevices
With, but inches of space
And pockets of air
Left
Where
Former residents
May fill these places
With their slippery bodies
Poured like liquid
Into molds
That harden
While they wait
For a miraculous tap
From Above
Or Below
Or from the Sideways.
Sometimes,
The plaster and gravel
Molds
Blink
Back
With the brown eyes
Of a three year old
Or the trickle of blood
Can faintly be heard
Still flowing
Under
A mother’s skin
In
And through her veins.
To the rubble surgeon,
That is like seeing fireworks
Or hearing tubas,
So, he probes further.
Using his fingernails
Like scalpels,
He unearths
An elbow,
A shoulder,
A chest,
The belly,
Ankle bones
And then, the whole
Of the lightning-shaped body
Releases in one dusty swoop,
Scooped
Into both his hands
And raised above his head
As if on scales
And lifted to the emerald sky,
The weight of the world
Presented to the gods,
A broken body
And a scarred soul
But, yes,
Yes,
Pried
Alive
With the first cry of a second birth
From a saved person
Who’s
On
No one’s side
But for God's.
Categories:
zigzagged, humanity, imagery, inspirational, political,
Form:
Free verse
The train, halted under the shade of sacred hill
They flowed out, and, wandered here and there
holding big, small, colorful, old and new packs of belongings
To, find comfortable chests and knees
some carelessly slept on un-desiring places,
but many there stood still
to face the misty, white clouded sky beyond the ridge,
Perceived their feet had reached
the starting point of adventurous tramp
Men, women, young and old with little ones
crept forward Just like a bunchy row of ants
filled with amazement; some stood, and watched
the vivid green forest canopy and flowering ferns
swinging in the frosty breeze!!
The minds filled with compassion, harmony
and respect each other
By murmurous chanting, that oozed into their veins
in the morning twilight
Tenderness of beams brighten the white dresses
of devotees
Time passed slowly
And the far valley down, a string of people moving upwards
on the zigzagged narrow path
Surrounded by thick green vegetation which
being the habitat of bees, birds, butterflies and
variety of big and small animals
Oozy willows dropping pearl like cold water drops
But few of moving people put a glance
at the phenomenon!
What a peregrination, having a cool gust thrill
which each body and its soul begird
The strenuous walk will bring to a halt at the noble foot print
Some managed to reach the desired end
but some could not attain the will
they stopped hopelessly, stepped down
with forsaken aspiration
those who topped the hill, huddle together
engaged customary rituals,
The eco of the ringing bell spread over the chilled atmosphere
through hill tops, forest, and the moving folks
Excitement broke out
Devotees squeezed catch a glimpse of sunshine!
The sun appeared slowly with a trembling smile
through the glistening horizon
Sunshine! Miraculously radiated across the mountain range,
forest canopy and everything
open to tender beams of light
What a huge strength,
Noble hopes and wishes
fulfilled the pilgrimage!
J.Weerakkody
(This poem is about pilgrims who climb the summit of breezy sacred mountain of Sripada, the holy mountain of Sri Lanka, where suppose to be emblematized the footprint of Lord Buddha. After worshiping the sacred footprints the devotees anxiously watch the panoramic maiden sun rise over the sacred mountain. The poem is vividly realized descriptions of nature.)
Categories:
zigzagged, devotion,
Form:
Free verse
The sun peeked a shine down the salty blue sea,
multiplying an exotic kingdoms beauty.
A small fish traveled the big ocean sanding snails. The fish would say
"The slowest snail is to slow to yield to the slow snail." and another snail was sanded.
A big Bass fish watched the small fish's mistake. At the perfect opportunity
then big Bass torpedo itself towards the small fish.
Conspired prey eyes sunk a gulp and the small fish jetted.
A swim chase curved the currents as the two fishes zigzagged the under toes.
In a challenge to outwit waves a shark lurked up behind the big Bass.
The three fishes aligned in a straight line as the shark ate the big Bass as bate and then ate the small fish as bate.
Categories:
zigzagged, fish,
Form:
A lot of really big trees had died to make that desk. His mother had probably gnawed them down, used her nails to saw the boards, and finished the decorative cutwork with her tongue.
Jennifer Crusie
My mom kept a patch of zamia trees,
freeze brook zigzagged and zinged,
zesty zephyr's laid cape from breeze,
zap zander tinned.
She accomplished zoning using a zax,
she led my zest and dream,
I can't cool off, I can't relax,
zealous esteem.
She shields me from rain and zenithal wind,
she kept zeal to be strong,
by lead and zaniness of mind,
zigs right from wrong.
1St Place Contest Winner
21-December-2022
Constance La France Zip, Zig, Zag, Zing form
Rhyme pattern: abab, cdcd, efef
syllable pattern: 10, 6, 8, 4 in each stanza
Categories:
zigzagged, analogy, appreciation, mother, tree,
Form:
Rhyme
Boy,
When all is said and done
Like a mighty uncanny wind to by pass
Let it not be ever a whistle thereof
When in youth you sprout forth
And be a determined shoot
To avenge the wrath of retardation
And in the light walk right
Avenge boyish dreams
And cast away the dilemma of hangovers
The salted myths of the dozed off giants
Or the imminent fear of extinct volcanoes
Let the future afore be cast sane
Or like a sea ashore
Sands of time ashore to beckon
And be a poor boy plays pebble plays
Then avenge your avid desires
And mould them into a dream to reckon
A force that unrolls the planet a tune
Zigzagged ways pulled right
Akin to this
Passion to grab a life of your own
For in this there is no mountain!
Categories:
zigzagged, people,
Form:
Blank verse
Introduction: The unsaid notion of a world…
Never knew, that I’d come down to this arena
Zealously building this chemistry off this tsunami
Lovely so, that smile I have given myself to;
Violet queen, an iris of all flowers just wading ashore
Unwittingly so, owning this cheerful soul…
Nothing is real, it’s just an idea
Zigzagged In its twisted way, which I –
Learned through hard times to let go
Valentine of this bittersweet realm, something I never felt before
Unwillingly must have you known, it indeed seemed to be so real...
Categories:
zigzagged, adventure,
Form:
Lyric
KARMIC ARREST
Relentless force; abiding ripper of time
Ceasing moments to effect its consequences
The time keeper that over-regulates time; no mistakes
Spoken of about its witnessed and un-witnessed unspoken acts
After the rain come sunshine; mystified cause and effect
What you sow, so shall you reap.
What goes around comes around
Threatening phrase of karma; zigzagged warning
All these I saw, heard, and witnessed overtime
Still, none of it could change my unflinching iniquitous act
Conscious that it will happen; just a matter of when?
Eventually, it happened at time most suitable for karma.
It happened as it has always been happening
In moments when I have forgotten about my un-forgiven sins
As the ocean current kept my pirated ship sailing
Sailing to an unknown destination that only fate knows
In that moment when I ignored all other obstacles of the ocean
Little did I know that an ice lies in front just as fate has planned
In split seconds it happened; karmic arrest...
Lordvip
Categories:
zigzagged, simple,
Form:
Triolet
A gnarled lone oak tree
grew in the middle of voluminous nowhere,
amidst vast stretches of citron corm fields,
a by-product of an old man’s weird whim.
It proved quite a memorable playground,
For when I was small it was pure delight.
Oh how I loved to climb up
towards an azure sky
feeling for sturdy branches,
imbibing the smell of fresh-grown leaves.
At times I would listen to the wayward wind,
as it moaned in isolation
amidst lush green branches.
Yet when storms struck
I shied away as the winds howled
and thunder rumbled around the top twigs
of my old oak tree.
The last time I was there
I was not alone.
Handsome was tagging along.
He was not interested in the old oak tree
That's when I began to hate him.
And just to prove my point
a sudden change of weather
and heavy rain fell hard.
We ran to the car but the doors stuck.
To shelter under the tree was dangerous.
Lightening zigzagged above.
The place became cursed.
Finally Handsome opened the car
and we sped away.
I never met Handsome nor visited the oak again.
Categories:
zigzagged, betrayal,
Form:
Free verse
Ameliorate the sensation sans being caught
between the devil and the dark blue sea,
This tethered to the oblate spheroid earthling
doth strive toward savoir-faire re:
As the fickle finger of fate flicks this mortal being
hither and yon inducing a que
zee ripcord backlash inducing thine
angst riddled psyche to create a non prithee
picture thy sense of doom and gloom,
Where deer antelope ply Wildwood furies of Agamemnon playing olly
Olly oxen…. whence teamsters unleash
whip-sawed, and zigzagged nor’easter nee
and smite thy corporeal essence The Idler Wheel
Is Wiser than the Driver of arch ca me
d’s Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You
More than Ropes Will Ever Do – re: lee
bind the optimism of incipient internal
involuntary crushing any budding hope until…key
Purr of salvation in the guise of Paul Dice
unexpectedly intervened by a fluke of high lee
totally tubularly random events impossible
to linkedin, where plenti of helping hands – jais
ne sais quois – conjoined at just the optimal moments
to nudge – each twerk, though itsy
bitsy spidery like thread (the main impetus
squarely rests on the above named Millville – he
ving over the top tenacious effort exerted
on behalf of Good Samaritan with gumption, glee
suffusing with the milk of human kindness
doggedly sought to extricate self and spouse free
of charge, and whose markedly muscling actions
earn him more than words can spell a dee
mon strew bull epitomy of virtue relieving
the gordian knotted pang – this atheist Che
fully thanks, him (anoint said fellow Paul Dice)
as the Grand Poobah to be
more valuable than fine-spun gold –
and thus this spur of the moment tribute – Ayee!
Categories:
zigzagged, angel, appreciation, blessing, character,
Form:
Ode
I lay in bed last night thinking of
everything and nothing, as I often do.
For some reason or maybe for no reason,
I thought of playing on my slip-and-slide
when I was a little girl.
In Florida, summer lasts from April until October.
We were always looking for ways to cool off.
That memory led to another and another.
I remembered our neighborhood.
It came to life everyday with the sound of children's laughter.
Now, I often sit by my window hearing the silence of children
indoors playing video games. Safe behind locked doors.
Occasionally, the birds come out to play
or I hear a bull frog croak.
Squirrels run across our fence line searching for places to hide their treasures.
(The neighbor leaves out peanuts for them. The squirrels appreciate the gesture.)
When I was a little girl, I caught grasshoppers and lizards, but not frogs.
I didn't like frogs.
I thought of my succession of childhood bicycles.
I felt free as I zigzagged through the street
riding with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face.
I haven't felt that free in a long time.
In those days, I never felt lonely.
I could always find a friend to share a secret with
right outside my door.
Our parents never thought they would send us outside to play
and never see us again.
The neighborhood was our playground.
Until the day a young boy disappeared from a shopping mall
only ten miles from my childhood home.
He was kidnapped, killed and decapitated.
I was eleven years old. Our world changed.
On my playground, shadows lurked and everyone was a stranger.
I cried when I saw the picture of the little boy
with the baseball cap and toothless grin.
My brother was the same age as that little boy. He had nightmares for a while.
I was eleven years old. Our world changed.
By Rhonda Johnson-Saunders
for Debbie Guzzi's Fear contest
Second place finish
Categories:
zigzagged, art, childhood, death, fear,
Form:
Free verse
© 2010 (Jim Sularz)
A morning meadow - tall, red-yellow speckled,
now, humbled low by the wind.
Conifer sundials – mirrored shadows, slowly stretching, dancing, and then diminishing - along blurred edges of a lush, flowing sea.
Feathered, high flying eagles soar, circling small and wide, against a blue, white pillowed sky.
… a crow caws.
Nuzzled prairie dogs, with tethered tails, scamper for cover,
for danger spirals, just above.
Harvester ants marching in tiny zigzagged columns,
tunnel an ever deepened colony -
twisting around creviced rocks and roots.
Lightning fast gragonflies – thin tinsel winged airships,
darting, spinning, some kissing.
And white petite wild-flowers,
bobbing from honey bees, stand quivering.
Multi-colored butterflies flutter, undecided,
and brown-helmeted grasshoppers oddly peer -
like praying mantises, eager to leap.
Chirping sparrows, with cocked tails,
sand-bath in a warm, thirsty, summer sun.
And cat-tails, bursting, pierce through a sparsely wooded island.
A distant thunder-clap, and crawling, flat, anvil-headed clouds -
slide down majestic, snow-capped mountaintops,
marking the hour, like clockwork, this time of year.
Dusk comes, bathed in a warm, orange-amber hue,
waxing and waning with a melting sun.
A red fox stirs, finding at twilight’s gate, fresh promising scents, for her young.
And black masked raccoons steal away, through soft, cool moonlit grasses –
in a hushed, clown-like parade . . .
As I dwell in this sanctuary of place and spirit,
beneath an infinite, star-painted canopy.
I know with certainty - of mind, heart and soul,
that when God’s rainbow palette had hardened and dried -
All were - Forever One.
Categories:
zigzagged, inspirational, nature, spiritual,
Form:
Free verse