Written: August 28, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Joseph May
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building celestial diamond — eolith fog glamor
yet not every flame is meant to last
there were no sacred vows, oaths, or clamor
just the gentle whisper of a love we outgrew
amber breezes carry dancing embers
not every farewell requires a curtain drawn
ruby leaves drift slowly, tracing days' tempers
while breeze sings dulcet songs on the worn trees
kindling leaves mumbled nostalgia’s orchestral pulse
akin to the gentle blinking of newborn stars
the harvest moon glows with ancestral impulse
casting shadows shaped such as memories
fallen gold blends with ivory joy
where owls sing hymns in a minor key
hope flickers in the silence of every decoy
as roots hold secrets only the night can view
sophistry blends with artistry
woos the languid lover
afterward, ‘pon reentry
devilish charms uncovered
AUTUMN IS NEAR
Poem written for and submitted to “SEASONS NOW POETRY CONTEST,” August 6, 2025, Nette Onclaud, sponsor
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brushstroke of a cooler breeze paints my skin.
golden rays slip behind the horizon,
velvet curtain drawn across stage of sky.
summer bows with grace; fall waits in the wings.
cicadas' applause fades to hushed tones.
the sun dips lower; the days grow shorter.
green leaves slowly shift to ochre and rust.
painter’s palette spilling across the ground,
each leaf blends hues onto the earth’s canvas.
with expectation, autumn holds its breath,
a hush before the overture of chill.
season’s harmonious intermission.
"A future dawn will break, where nations transcend borders and unite as one".
"A symphony of harmony will resonate, as every melody blends into a universal song".
"All goddesses will be revered as facets of the Divine, reflecting the radiance of singular, all encompassing spirit".
- O. Shinaleima
Neon lights twinkle against the velvet, dark skies,
Ferris wheel spins like a huge ring of fireflies;
Shadows sway in the pavement, tents, booths, and crowds,
As bright bulbs bring glare to cotton candy clouds .
Iron tunes from colorful carousel
Equalize clanking ride near the dinging bell;
Laughter listens to chatter screams in delight,
As hush whispers before the ride drops from height.
Sweet smell of chocolate, popcorn, and browned dough
Blends with oil from ride's engine in hot wind's blow;
Jumbo burger melts on the tongue bathed by Coke,
While the air is mixed with words of grease and smoke.
Young ones in a dreamlike world within nighttide
Savor the spot where pain pauses and woes hide.
It Never Gets Old
We do;
It doesn't.
The caring that fills the deep dark
The warmth that flows
From self to self
The deep, dear chains of love
Forged from a lifetime's memories;
It never gets old.
The march of our little history
Revolving with the cogs of other histories
Themselves moving other, ever greater histories
Never gets old.
From endings emanate new beginnings
Change is constant,
Yet at the center of it all
The pulse of Us remains
It never gets old.
From Forever
To Forever
What we are forms and shifts
Forms and shifts
Yet something still stays true
In the heart of the maelstrom
Never getting old.
The face by which we're seen
Gets old,
This much is true,
Yet the love that blends us
One to One
Never gets old.
it comes alive, stirring the soul
waking the spirit to a world
painted by snowfall’s gentle brush
like a white canvas, the first steps
across the blanketed path
leave imprints of hope, imprints
revealing what it means to see
silence at war with nature’s breath
it laughs at the hurried steps
of a heart rushing past
autumn’s light as she breathes
her caress, against the sun
who blends with the forest
to calm every ache, each storm
beyond the music of the leaf’s
quiet fall, the dance of fall
silence, she weeps through it all
her pen soothing away the sound
interfering with her muted breath
Satisfies palate well
Savory with blends of
Sweet, tangy, sour and
Succulent fruits with nuts
Served as healthy dessert
Sparkling midst lemon glaze…
Surely, I say, "Thank God."
The dark sky stretches across the heights.
Overcast clouds roam, late at night.
The round moon does not reveal its rays.
The snow on the peaks may melt away.
In the morning, the sparrows fly joyfully,
Plucking flowers and perching in the trees.
A pair of wild doves appears sad and silent,
While blackbirds search for worms with talent.
Spring flowers bloom along the front fence,
Like a group of teenagers practicing a dance,
Watching the rain play in the new season.
The small leaves will take turns next month.
The spring blends both sad and happy
It is a rule that governs human society
There is a desire for couples to despise
Thus, we all change from time to time
Her heart has been broken so many times,
And her eyes have cried so many tears,
That nothing bothers her anymore,
You’ll never see her cry.
She keeps to herself,
She blends in with everyone else now,
Because every time her heart broke,
A feather fell from her angel wings.
She may not act the same as before,
But she’s still the same person,
An angel without her wings.
The Zebra has a puzzling name,
Alphabet letters strangely cast,
It finishes off with the first,
After starting off with the last!
The Zebra is a cunning beast,
It blends with the waving grass,
With stripes upon its body and head
And even stripes upon its – legs!
A musky, burnt haze sears slowly into my nostrils.
The twilight hour pulses steadily, bathing stark walls in an eerie gloom.
Too awake to drift to sleep, yet too tired to drag my bones off this sinking mattress.
Thoughts cyclone like a tsunami within a withdrawn mind,
picking at scabs; the half-life of my darkness pools in red droplets.
Licking the wounds, the taste of metallic and melancholy blends.
Loneliness wraps its arms around my dejected shoulders like a winding sheet.
A howling wind rattles the paper-thin glass making up my windows,
as I ponder how I became the living dead.
Traumas poisoned my sanity,
slowly paranoia replaced reason,
delusions became my nightly bedfellow,
whispering sweet unpleasantries into tainted ears,
leaving hallucinatory trinkets in my repeating nightmares.
The world is shrinking, withering,
yet as I am becoming paralyzed by fear, I am unequipped to stop it.
Like a freight train derailed,
bellowing at full speed towards the inevitable,
I too am racing at the speed of light towards oblivion.
"Beautiful people are not always good, but good people are always beautiful." - Imam Ali (a.s)
.................................................
Real beauty shines from the inside out;
Without goodness, beauty harbors doubt.
A kind heart helps real beauty to show,
For goodness makes its light truly glow.
Beauty alone makes none truly pretty,
Goodness, with kindness and some pity,
Blends wisdom with strength on a human face—
A blessing bestowed by special grace.
When beautiful people are also good,
Then their beauty is without falsehood.
It becomes a divine and earthly joy—
Too pure a feeling to ever cloy.
I choose to dwell in frothy clouds…
with a mindset unfixed
Random instincts spaced out
In the cumulus mix
An expansive effusion
Far out and beyond my temporal shackles
Free are my thoughts without prompt
Closed minds shallow and
desolate debacles
dissipate in this airy romp
On wispy clouds I dwell in…
high above I’ve risen
Here no need to reason
nor the blends of interpretation
Far away, so far from you, ascended
From the fiery pit below
which awaits my return
Where blazing saddles shame my name
where gross gossip lives and
bloody rumors stain,
Ablaze are the blame games
I dwell in cirrus pillows…
The scoped hemispheric
veils, bands and billows
Musings— using me
I chose to dwell in halo clouds
My mind with no refrains
Nothing to lose nothing to gain
A spirit free from hate
Soley my mind
Opens heaven’s gate
DEEP WITHIN MINE SELF LIES
PURPOSE
Deep Within Myself lies purpose The Light in Me Shines so bright Deep within me is focus
I am the lens my of my heart mind comprehends
Even through the deepest dark
Shallow waves momentum shifting blends as the title such
Unconscious bad laden stagnant vessels trying to breathe at naught
Fragrances being denied the breath of the fire has been doused
The cabbage is wilted and sourd there be no sauerkraut
And O' did I mention due to lack of attention I am being detained
Cloudburst gatherings the silver lining cracked not every drop of rain Falls circumspectively on the plains
My heart lungs breath
My soul sees
My arms and hands on praise
The light in me shines so bright
Deep within me focused
I am the lens of my heart's mind
Comprehends even in the deepest dark
I am of I am
Deep within myself I am purposed
3/11/25
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.2024
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