Haven
If for heaven, is mine haven
Then I’m in a safe place
My refuged asylum mine present space
I awaken spiritually protected
Encamped by angels strong
My condition good, my love is God
~
My shelter in the storms
Helter-skelter, drops anchor
Midst life’s canker-worms
I am in a place of safety
Protected and loved resurrected
In my retreat secured safely
Haven
"If we forget our yesterdays and stop worrying about our tomorrows, our today will be beautiful, provided we do all that we can do today"---- By Poet
Cry not on flowers that wilted,
count not on buds that canker might blight,
but marvel over beauty blossomed.
Extinct are all our Yesterdays,
Illusory are our Tomorrows,
today is the only day that exists!
Today is our way up the hill,
the arena for action decreed
the stage set for the show and the only tool
and trade for making this life fruitful.
Today well lived leaves every yesterday-
a reminiscence - sweet to relish!
each Tomorrow- a vision glorious to chase!
Drool not, hence, over yester years.
Rant not on chances missed or duels lost.
Greet Today, that is right in front!
Give it your respiration and perspiration,
turning Yesterday - a commemoration,
tomorrow - an exciting stimulation
and life - a celebration- Carpe diem!
The earthworm molds the earth
Canker worms feed slowly
The truth in nature confirms
You may think you decide
but no, it is this way
‘cause the worms say it is so
SPIRIT ANIMAL Poetry Contest
Gary Baldwin
Sept. 25, 2025
milk, eggs, shellfish
three common allergies
I know a family who lost a two-year-old son to milk
almonds, walnuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans
five more common allergies
if you open a peanut butter jar, it can be deadly to some
my nemesis is hazelnut
after consuming, my throat closes up
I am wheezing and can barely breathe, needing my inhaler
English walnuts are a close second for me
after eating them, my mouth erupts into giant canker sores
all around my gums
something else creates hives in me.
We do not know if it is a food or what.
allergies seem to go hand-in-hand with having asthma
other symptoms of food allergies are
itching of the mouth, vomiting, and wheezing
Food allergies are serious; sometimes epi pens are necessary.
You anchor your rancor, a cancerous canker,
Not just any mole
Your hatred you hide it, you split and divide it,
It's soured your soul
The women, you bait them, you date and berate them,
You're no kind of man
You're just out for the kill and you spill out your swill,
Like nobody can
Their hearts beating faster, they race towards disaster,
Watch out for that curve
The dark he is seeking, it weakens their beacons,
But strengthens his nerve
They know they're in trouble, his efforts now double,
Not just a bad dream
Unable to match him, they kick and they scratch him,
And let out a scream
He's vain, so he's flattered, they're raped and they're battered
And left there to bleed
In his warped little brain, all their terror and pain,
Will then fill his need
Through hell and high waters, must teach all our daughters,
To stand up and fight
It's horrific but true, it could happen to you,
And happen tonight
I gaze upon an opaque silver sky,
Descending dewdrops, developing above the mustache maw.
Ascending the nape to taste cherubim cry,
Permeating petrichor, pervade the nasal in auspicious awe.
Palpable pain of tactile taps
Kissing canker sores and rainstorm rush.
Radically rampaging, for its rapid relapse
Rain, it's infinite, swirling fervor flush
To drown by an inundated impound,
A vehement, vicious, void that immersed,
Wandering weakly on the ocean gored ground,
Drowning, isolated lungs; bellowing burst.
The tyrant tsunami my miracle world-wide flood,
Exploding existence, imploding insistence, ichor pools; blackened blood.
this dark spirit goes upon decitfull 'mistle-toes' to tell deep lies
In kind disguise, with gutteral tones, this overblown' and
Foetid canker, consort of bankers, necropheniaic black
God forsaking.' death will take him, into hell for such awaits him'
Ask your doctor about 603712 Sporatic Moratic the TV ad man says.
It might be the only way to reduce your pneumonia.
Possible side effects include
Itching
Hives
Canker sores
Cancer
Swollen limbs
Blood clots
Shortened breath
Shingles
Warts
Shortened life
I immediately call my doctor, demanding he prescribe this to me.
That ulcer
in his
consciousness
bleeding
to be heard
A canker
of a
muted past
abscessing
every word
Cold sores
of detention
that fade
but never
cure
A virus
of his
hopes and dreams
recurring
— untoward
(Septa R5 Train: May, 2024)
A virus-like vice infects us all,
Tis the sin that made Lucifer fall.
like a canker hidden from sight,
It destroys the soul like a blight.
When in others this sin we detect,
Our hearts assume a loathing aspect.
For few they are that ever suspect,
that this very vice their heart infect.
The deeper the loathing on your part,
the greater the pride within your heart.
This utmost evil and viral vice,
from the soul, extracts a hefty price.
Pride leads to sins of every kind.
It is the true Godless state of mind.
The proud is never pleased with the best,
He must always be above the rest.
A proud person pursues power,
As an addict, for drugs scour.
The one who stands out in a crowd,
Is made an enemy by the proud.
God is the enemy of the proud,
For He with all power is endowed.
The proud to no one will ever bow,
To his vain self, he has made this vow.
So, beware lest pride sneak up on you,
and pervades everything you do.
Because once pride takes root in your heart,
Only God can make it depart.
Criminal
waste,
critical mass
materialized warfare
city dumps pile-up and fall
burnt offerings amid
clumps of Caesar salad.
Roman Empires of crud
that roam no more.
Walmart still spills over,
parachutes hung from pot-belly roofs;
air-drops from a plastic heaven.
A few old men
are found asleep at the wheel
of long buried cars.
Homeless are the pigeons
that carry a crusty canker
from pit to heap,
pitiful the pawing fingers
that pounce now upon
the once new branded,
yet more paltry
the poached mounds
of porch-pirates,
their petty ill-gottens
all unpacked alike as empty nests.
When the sooty dark
fumes and blankets,
then rust will clang
in the yawping mouths
of tin-cans,
aluminum bells that clatter.
Then the rodents,
the red-eyed night-shifters
will comb through the tangled beards
of threadbare dreams.
Then withal,
just as the ditched dross have fallen,
dregs shall rise again.
"For those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation"
~By Rumi
Decked in floral wreaths and crown
as I lay in state among family and friends
with my spirit wading through strands forlorn
where lamps shone bright in celestial gleam
bordering a land of bliss out of mortal reach
where neither canker blights, nor flowers wilt
where sorrow never enters and all shall be blest
where each head like the sun aureoled
where God in all His glory doth reign
I saw through my slumber deep, as through a veil
my loved ones grieving great, my journey
unreturned to an untravelled land.
There was crying and whining, sighing and sobbing
in stirring memory of days in all goodness spent
and of bonds stretching beyond life's rim
which set me feel sick of where I was and where I wasn't
so fain to go, so fain to stay,
like a spinning midge,
my spirit veered high and low
between Heaven and Earth
between Mortality and Immortality.
a helium balloon buoyant in the air.
Rancour is a canker
That eats us from within
Bitterness and anger*
Are sure to cause chagrin
Malice is a chalice
From which we should not drink
It will turn us callous
With hearts tuned out of sync
Hanker not for rancour
Let love rule our mind tunes
Forgiveness, the anchor
In life's wildest typhoons
Hope is the strongest rope
Sure and steadfast anchor**
In dark sin, need not grope
Rid our soul of rancour
Jesus Christ sure frees us
From rancour's canker clutch
Tenderly, He sees us
And heals us with blood touch
*Ephesians 4:31-32
[31]Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
[32]And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
**Hebrews 6:19-20
[19]Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
[20]Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Instructed we were, from childhood through youth,
Whatever the cost, we must speak the truth.
A lie is like ice, it makes the heart cold.
The truth is like fire, which makes it like gold.
But what is this thing that we call the truth?
Is it a construct to judge the uncouth?
The truth is alive, the essence of God,
His pure character by which we are awed.
Truth was present in eternity past,
And will remain as long as time lasts.
Truth is enduring not subject to whim,
God has ordained it to be just like Him.
There’s no such thing as alternative truth.
That’s a false notion of whimsical youth.
A facade for those who truthful appear,
But deep in their soul, they at the truth sneer.
To sacrifice truth is to sell one’s soul,
To that which corrodes and creates a hole.
Like canker, lies make the man a mere shell.
A crude, corrupt creature worthy of hell.
Liars despise those who stand for truth,
Acting in ways that are truly uncouth.
Live out the truth no matter what the cost
For if you don’t, your own soul will be lost.
"Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need."
Quote_ Mother Teresa
Cry not on flowers wilted,
Count not on buds that canker might blight,
But marvel over beauty blossomed!
Extinct are our Yesterdays,
Illusory are our Tomorrows,
Today is all that exists,
This moment alone matters.
It is what there is and all there is.
Today is our way up hill.
The arena for action decreed.
The stage set for the show.
The tool and trade for life.
Today well lived leaves –
Every Yesterday
A reminiscence sweet to relish!
Every Tomorrow
A vision glorious to chase!
Drool not, hence over yester years
Rant not on chances missed.
Greet Today right in front!
Enjoy the moment at hand.
Each moment is all we need.
Render it your respiration and perspiration
Turning Yesterday - a commemoration,
Today- an actualization,
Tomorrow –a stimulation,
And life – a celebration!
May.23.2023
~ Placed Second~
Writing Challenge -B- Quotes Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Constance La France
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.