Briand Poems | Examples

A Self Portrait

Behold, oh my beloved!
Is there a hidden care
you would like to share,
with your not so gentle gaze?

Repudiating caducity,
your eyes portray
sustained excitement ~
still and restrained
whilst behind you
an arabesque of phantasmagorical
make-believe.

Behold, oh my beloved
the vortex of colours 
surrounding you
entwine a paradigm
of that starry night~
and as i look into its cosmic glow
I fall in love with you.


22 May 2022

A Briand Strand Premiere Choice Poetry Contest
6th Place

Notes:
Like Rembrandt and Goya, Vincent van Gogh often used himself as a model; he produced over forty-three self-portraits, paintings or drawings in ten years. Like the old masters, he observed himself critically in a mirror. Painting oneself is not an innocuous act: it is a questioning which often leads to an identity crisis.
( Credits: Google Arts and Culture)

Ekphrasis On Snow At Argenteuil

footprints carved on a crystalline carpet
the winding traces of morning skaters
on teal and ivory rugged snowfield
lead me to his quiet hometown

the bare trees that surround me
are like dancing old willows by the brooks
freezing as they witness the old folks 
faded in the misty blue

the silver charm of the clouds above me
enchant me like the way you thrill me
when you look at me
without a word or two


1 March 2022


A Brian Strand Visual Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand Strand
1st place



Notes: Snow at Argenteuil is an oil-on-canvas landscape painting from the Impressionist artist Claude Monet. It is the largest of no fewer than eighteen works Monet painted of his home commune of Argenteuil while it was under a blanket of snow during the winter of 1874–1875. (Info and phot credits to Wikipedia).

Coffee Beans

roasted coffee beans
inside grandma's old grinder 
exude aroma
of groovy early mornings
catching the first bus to school


19 February 2022


" A Briand Strand Tanka" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand
1st place

Ekphrasis On La Vie En Rose

a dulcet dreamy rendition
of sweet symphony
paints  a cosmic light
inciting the sleepy moon
over the  silvery sea

as music soars~
I see clouds descending 
to kiss the silky shore
resting on his bosom

and as the music fades,
I hear him sings "La Vie En Rose"
in soft serenading tenor~
Oh, my life begins to glow in pink.




Notes: "La Vie en Rose" (French for '"Life in pink"') is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945,[1] popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. ( Info credits to Wikipedia). This ekphrasis is based on Richard Clayderman's performance on piano.


5 February 2022


A Strand (1066) Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand strand
1st place

I Witness

DUSK EXUDES FIERY GOLDEN HUE
whispers prelude to a rendezvous 
of two souls once lost by the blue bay~
reuniting as night captures the day.

INDIGO JEWELS KISS LONESOME MOON
playing hide-and-seek with the clouds
as lovers adrift in night’s afterglow~
As if there is no tomorrow.

NEON OPAL PEARLY QUARTZ RESTS SILENTLY
in my wrist that ceases to tick
as I watch them fade away~
with the shimmering stars faraway.


3 August 2021

“Alpha Lines Poetry Contest”
Sponsored by Joseph May

A Briand Strand Rime Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand
1st place

Adventures of a Rakish Teenage Heel

In the springtime when the carnival comes to town 
On the dizzying tilt-a-whirl and fearsome Ferris wheel, 
The haunting calliope in the musical merry-go-round 
Calls to mind the adventures of a rakish teenage heel. 

On the dizzying tilt-a-whirl and fearsome Ferris wheel, 
She snuggles in, grabs my hand, head on my shoulder
Calls to mind the adventures of a rakish teenage heel 
Back seat of my sedan in the parking lot, feeling bolder. 

She snuggles in, grabs my hand, head on my shoulder
The haunting calliope in the musical merry-go-round 
Back seat of my sedan in the parking lot, feeling bolder 
In the springtime when the carnival comes to town.

In the springtime when the carnival comes to town 
On the dizzying tilt-a-whirl and fearsome Ferris wheel, 
The haunting calliope in the musical merry-go-round 
Calls to mind the adventures of a rakish teenage heel.

SECOND PLACE WINNER
Reworked and Modified Pantoum
on May 9, 2021
for "Say It Again" Poetry Contest
sponsored by William Kekaula

FIRST PLACE WINNER
Submitted to "Your Choice" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand Strand
March 12, 2021

Ekphrasis On the Abandoned House

wild rushing strokes 
of broad bristles
dominating seaside sky
of ivory and indigo
in thick impasto~
like our faded footsteps 
along  *Stroomi shoreline

Wild fiery grasses ~
deserted yet persistent
resembling your windswept hair
in times you forget the time
waiting just for me~

those desolate windows
are your eyes of blue
half awake at siesta
dreaming of my return

20  March 2021


Notes: While glancing on 'Abandoned House' painting created in c.1886 by Alfred Sisley in Impressionism style. ( Photo and info credits to WikiArt)

All Yours (March 20) Poetry Contest
By Briand Strand
1st plce

Ekphrasis On Waterloo Bridge

saffron shafts of sun~
behind lofty heights
of faded silver and sapphire
veiled by the hazy fog
spell prelude to  dusk

faded titanium bridges
are galloping white horses
crossing the river of dreams
where our lost story drifts

illuminating faint gray
surrounding misty water
like when you cast
a fading smile~
as you wave goodbye


14 March 2021

Notes: Waterloo Bridge is a series of 41 impressionist oil paintings of the 1807–1810 Waterloo Bridge in London by Claude Monet, produced between 1900 and 1904 and forming a sub-series within his larger 'London series' alongside the Charing Cross Bridge series and the Houses of Parliament series.(Photo and info credits to Wikipedia).

All Yours (March 14) Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand Strand
1st place

Ekphrasis On Impression Sunrise

tangerine sunrise~
oscillating reflections glow
like a sketch of your smile
at a glimpse of a new morn

a medley of indigo and carrot
as the sun floats in hazy sky
like the sparkle of your eyes
remembering first love

nebulous  harbour at a distance
of steamships and shades
sailing in silhouettes
strumming my senses
like the way you hold me
as we waltz after dawn

06 March 2021


Impression, Sunrise (French: Impression, soleil levant) is a painting by Claude Monet first shown at what would become known as the "Exhibition of the Impressionists" in Paris in April, 1874. The painting is credited with inspiring the name of the Impressionist movement. Impression, Sunrise depicts the port of Le Havre, Monet's hometown. It is now displayed at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris. (Info credits to Wikipedia)

All Yours (March 6)
Sponsored by Briand Strand
1st place

Ekphrasis On Almond Blossoms

dainty darling blossoms~ 
are floating fluffy clouds 
of ivory and  petunia
hanging like empyrean jewels 
'neath the vibrant skies 
of turquoise and royal blue

fingers that wrinkled in snow
tightly holding those gems ~
like you hold my hands
as we dance ~
in unison with 
the lovely melody 
whispered by the breeze
  
rich sweet aroma~
lingering in the  daylight 
feeds our hungry heart
retelling old love stories
kept in each blossoming bud

3 March 2021

Notes: Almond Blossoms is from a group of several paintings made in 1888 and 1890 by Vincent van Gogh in Arles and Saint-Rémy, southern France of blossoming almond trees. The works reflect the influence of Impressionism, Divisionism, and Japanese woodcuts.( Photo and info credits to Wikipedia).

All Yours ( March 3) Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand Strand
1st place

Painting Footle

wild strokes
baroques

glazes
faces

bright eyes
blue skies

sweet glance
romance 

 
25 February 2021

Notes: On viewing Claude Monet's early portraits masterpieces.

All Yours (February 26) Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand Strand
1st place

Lost In a Dream

lost in a winter dream~
beneath the indigo sky
the melancholic music soars
echoing from distant shores
making dainty daffodils dance
in the bleak starlit eve.

snowflakes whitened my hair
as I chase the evening glow

searching where the melodies flow
and there I find you
under the moonlight shadow
singing my old favourite song
while stardust sprinkles in my palms
as I run to you.



20 February 2021





Notes: While listening to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 - Andante.

All Yours( Feb 19) Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand Strand
1st place

Welcome

fragile lace domain
traps all who venture inside
arachnid's pantry 


Written 8th November 2020

Premier Contest H I - K U 
Sponsor Briand Strand
4th PLACE

Artist's Brush

Hands
mixing
neutral shades
as brushstrokes form
etches of life’s vignettes in washed-out tones,
Reflecting grim  shadows doused by night’s  ash
Where black  white hints
Trail along
Fingers
Stained.
Grief
In oil
Expressing
Artist's lament
Through paint of tears which words cannot portray.



tetractys 1st place
Contest NO  85 for Briand Strand

Coming Home

As wartime’s ending leaves behind
scarred  traces of its furious  hunts,
a melancholy cast of mind
endures this pang  with hope ablaze.
Where flies the  gold and  russet morn,
as autumn’s  languid  trail departs
and cruel frost of winter grips,
when  hardened heart against it stands.

And yet this fall contrives to hold
a promise tinged by coming home;
that onward creeps this riddled war
yet kindled gut lies spritely blazed.
For with this season's chime, at last,
one  dream  remains in dwelling’s glow
whose light will soothe his  brittle wounds,
till country bound, a torment, hushed.



A Briand Strand Contest : Premiere 135
Submitted 3/21/2018

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