Streaks of pallid moonlight
wash over blood-stained
burnt umber leaf blight.
Glistening stainless steel remains
within wilting noir roses
and blistered blades of grass.
Sickening hands shake my repose,
heart racing, sure to collapse,
feeling faint.
A revolting nausea elevates,
trying to find restraint,
as madness deregulates.
A heart separated
from a lifeless corpse—
death awaits.
Flashbacks play like static reports,
too hard to get a clear picture.
Splashes of splattered red fill
spaces in between scriptures.
Screaming echoes spill,
dirty visions getting clearer,
as the sacrificial lamb
becomes the predator, evaporating fear.
Fighting for the blade, fingers clammy,
spinning out of control.
How could you bring me to this?
Steel cuts against palms, foretold—
splatters of crimson spray, don't resist,
covering fear-filled eyes.
One last-ditch effort:
grab the hilt and arise.
On this deadening night, collect.
You became Samhain’s sacrifice,
a feast for the demonic nether, sanctified.
Categories:
burnt umber, dark, gothic, halloween, horror,
Form: Rhyme
Mural Musings
the soft yellow streaked the terra cotta,
shadowing the speckled sallow saffron
a bluish buff upon the cochineal;
brilliant boneblack
grizzled the engrain
citrine carnation
as
the fallow flaxen,rustic rubrical
rainbow-tinted
the magenta mandarine;
unseen
the ultra-marine, tinged burnt sienna,
reflecting a golden flame of raw umbery upon
the earth green;
bright mosaic gold
mottled the sallow sorrel
virent yellow,oak stained
the pale apricot;
while
blood red,reddish russet
dotted the olive lind;
freckled crimson,
a chestnut maroon,
on fuchsias faded apple green
as burnt umber sank deep
into its sanguine slumber.
This a favourite poem because it combines my two hobbies art and poetry
Copyright © Brian Strand | Year Posted 2007
Categories:
burnt umber, color,
Form: Verse
Excise Exercise 2:
In a wasteland
decision is a choice.
Faced with Life or Death
makes progress clear-
What are the options?
Face the Fear of both.
One brutal truth.
Find love's survival hope.
Cut off black poison.
Amputate the hate
that cast love out of reach.
Gangrene was never the colour of Peace...
In a wasteland,
Green is the colour of Relief.
Nestled in undulating dunes,
crystal clear the clarity that dispels
myth's mirage shimmy shake
Faith is a caravan-
Tuareg Blue and White.
Waiting out duststorms.
Burnt Umber.
Brief.
Aqua M Pen Umbra Poetry.
27 January 2024.
Choose to live.
127 hours. A story of survival.
"To err is human."
To err is to miss the point.
Categories:
burnt umber, courage, endurance, faith,
Form: Free verse
the soft yellow streaked the terra cotta,
shadowing the speckled sallow saffron
a bluish buff upon the cochineal;
brilliant boneblack
grizzled the engrain
citrine carnation
as
the fallow flaxen,rustic rubrical
rainbow-tinted
the magenta mandarine;
unseen
the ultra-marine, tinged burnt sienna,
reflecting a golden flame of raw umbery upon
the earth green;
bright mosaic gold
mottled the sallow sorrel
virent yellow,oak stained
the pale apricot;
while
blood red,reddish russet
dotted the olive lind;
freckled crimson,
a chestnut maroon,
on fuchsias faded apple green
as burnt umber sank deep
into its sanguine slumber.
Categories:
burnt umber, color, word play,
Form: List
Summer wearily sighed then softly closed her door.
For three months she lingered, and now she'd slumber
while Fall lays a carpet of leaves upon the forest floor.
Her swirling wind gathers them in abundant number,
bronze, russet and crimson, all fringed in burnt umber.
In a cloudless sky, the cry of migrating birds is heard,
flying to a warmer climate as Autumn begins to unfold.
When Nature births a new season, changes are spurred.
A saffron sun warms the Earth with fingers of gold,
and a harvest moon ascends; glorious sights to behold.
Autumn days are emblazoned with dazzling coloration,
painting vibrant scenes like no other season can bestow.
I welcome her annual arrival with joyous acclamation,
knowing the nights will be filled with starlight aglow
before Winter laces the landscape with crystals of snow.
Categories:
burnt umber, seasons,
Form: Rhyme
AUTUMN WINTER'S SPRING
Burnt umber reddish brown bronze
Folic tree leaves on the grounds autumn
Chestnut smoky topaz
Cracklings of fallen autumns spring summer camp fires
Springs crickets sings flowing grassed sway in the morning spring breeze
Drops drip, drip, drip water plops the drip, drip drip drops of water rains be
Burnt umber grand ma’s turkey
Reddish brown bronze pumpkin/sweet potato pie
Chestnut smoky topaz golden brown cornbread
Like marshmallows burnt umber
Feels warm furnace reddish brown bronze embracement
Like Chestnut smoky topaz
What colors can do, Embraceable Hues
3/21/23
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.2023©
Categories:
burnt umber, addiction, appreciation, engagement, inspirational,
Form: Free verse
the soft yellow streaked the terra cotta,
shadowing the speckled sallow saffron
a bluish buff upon the cochineal;
brilliant boneblack
grizzled the engrain
citrine carnation
the fallow flaxen,rustic rubrical
rainbow-tinted
the magenta mandarine;
the ultra-marine, tinged burnt sienna,
reflecting a golden flame of raw umbery upon
the earth green;
bright mosaic gold
mottled the sallow sorrel
virent yellow,oak stained
the pale apricot;
blood red,reddish russet
dotted the olive lind;
freckled crimson,
a chestnut maroon,
on fuchsias faded apple green
burnt umber sank deep
into sanguine slumber.
Categories:
burnt umber, color, fantasy,
Form: Verse
the soft yellow streaked the terra cotta,
shadowing the speckled sallow saffron
a bluish buff upon the cochineal;
brilliant boneblack
grizzled the engrain
citrine carnation
as
the fallow flaxen,rustic rubrical
rainbow-tinted
the magenta mandarine;
unseen
the ultra-marine, tinged burnt sienna,
reflecting a golden flame of raw umbery upon
the earth green;
bright mosaic gold
mottled the sallow sorrel
virent yellow,oak stained
the pale apricot;
while
blood red,reddish russet
dotted the olive lind;
freckled crimson,
a chestnut maroon,
on fuchsias faded apple green
as burnt umber sank deep
into its sanguine slumber.
Categories:
burnt umber, poetry,
Form: Verse
“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
I've painted Autumn with burnt umber strokes
and russet leaves as they fell to the ground.
From barren branches of maples and oaks,
an impellent wind blew them all around.
My canvas filled with purple mountain peaks,
gold snow crests shimmering in dawn's first light.
Winter's chill freezes valley streams and creeks,
covering landscapes with quilts, frosted white.
Across green valleys, nature's beauty reigned
as Spring flowers bloomed in colorful hues.
I captured with brush before sunlight waned,
petals of pink, lavender and chartreuse.
Summer days were spent on a sandy shore,
'neath umbrella shade with easel and paint.
Titanium white seagulls, clouds and more.
Nature gifts her splendor without restraint.
July 16, 2022
It's All About Three Q's Contest
Sponsored by Constance La France
Theme: Nature
Syllables checked with HMS
Categories:
burnt umber, nature,
Form: Quatrain
(Reviewed by a snooty correspondent)
November dons her coats of warm terries,
tans, a few ochres, but surely not bright.
(Except for sneaky, red-coated berries,
peeking from bushes, agrin with delight.)
November's dress: pretty dull, never shines.
We prefer October's boisterous charm.
Branches bare, it's said limbs often recline;
sunbathe to keep their tans, and also warm.
Fashion designers often grow somber
and turn November into works of art.
Choosing russet offset by burnt umber
we find those dull colors lacking in heart.
Whispers of Summer heard in fashion parks.
Soon we'll write of a new bridal-white show.
Days ending sooner, dusk now wearing darks;
Winter waits coyly; looks lovely in Snow.
November 10, 2021
November or December Quatrain Contest
sponsored by Caren Krutsinger
Categories:
burnt umber, autumn, clothes, color, fashion,
Form: Quatrain
October, smooth as a vibrant viola,
Tantalizing the mind with a rush of color--
Oranges, reds, gold, like colorful balloons
Released before winter’s chilling cold,
Leaves of rust cover up my dying lawn
Ochre, magenta cloaks in fashion
Soon trees bared for ice-laden limbs
October lets the shivering begin.
She ushers in the holiday’s celebrations
(Thanksgiving…Christmas, too, the season)
With the rustle of the browns and golds
Colors ranging over the entire canon,
Burnt umber, tans—they are all in fashion
October, oh October! Month so chosen.
EIGHTH PLACE WINNER
written October 4, 2021
especially for "October Poetry" poetry contest
sponsored by Regina McIntosh
Categories:
burnt umber, autumn, color, october, uplifting,
Form: Free verse
the soft yellow streaked the terra cotta,
shadowing the speckled sallow saffron
a bluish buff upon the cochineal;
brilliant boneblack
grizzled the engrain
citrine carnation
as
the fallow flaxen,rustic rubrical
rainbow-tinted
the magenta mandarine
unseen
the ultra-marine, tinged burnt sienna,
reflecting a golden flame of raw umbery upon
the earth green;
bright mosaic gold
mottled the sallow sorrel
virent yellow,oak stained
the pale apricot
while
blood red,reddish russet
dotted the olive lind;
freckled crimson,
a chestnut maroon,
on fuchsias faded apple green
as burnt umber sank deep
into
its sanguine slumber.
a repost from 6/2007
Categories:
burnt umber, art, poetry,
Form: Imagism
Strong coffee
bitter in its drip
black and hot slow sips,
aroma enhanced
aged on the tongue umami
delightful and indulgent tsunami,
a caffeine high
waking from the midnight dark
to morning wide-eyed sparks,
coffee
a burnt umber brew
greeting every day anew.
Categories:
burnt umber, allusion,
Form: Rhyme
Mural musings
the soft yellow streaked the terra cotta,
shadowing the speckled sallow saffron
a bluish buff upon the cochineal;
brilliant boneblack
grizzled the engrain
citrine carnation
as
the fallow flaxen,rustic rubrical
rainbow-tinted
the magenta mandarine;
unseen
the ultra-marine, tinged burnt sienna,
reflecting a golden flame of raw umbery upon
the earth green;
bright mosaic gold
mottled the sallow sorrel
virent yellow,oak stained
the pale apricot;
while
blood red,reddish russet
dotted the olive lind;
freckled crimson,
a chestnut maroon,
on fuchsias faded apple green
as burnt umber sank deep
into its sanguine slumber.
Copyright © Brian Strand | Year Posted 2007
Categories:
burnt umber, art, poetry, word play,
Form: Bio
The strong grow weaker.
See the lone lioness, his last daughter,
the last of his pride.
An old lion limps,
bones crumbling with each step.
Any day or night
other lions, or hyenas
must kill them -
the once strong cannot remain
to infirm the younger.
An acrid sun flickers flame
over the savannah,
antelope instinctively
race faster
from hair-triggering scents.
A young pride hunts;
hunger will be their own death
predators as vulnerable as prey.
Fawns and calves are born again
into needy mouths,
teeth wear away,
the burnt umber of clawed pelts
seeps deeper into dust.
Categories:
burnt umber, poetry,
Form: Free verse
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