She eases into the stillness,
lamplight gathering softly at her arms,
a gentle warmth settling over her
like a shawl laid down by evening itself.
Her shoulders ease, unburdened,
as the glow coaxes the hours
to loosen their hold at last.
The needle glints softly~
a slim sliver of silver light,
moon-fine and obedient,
resting between her steady fingers.
The room is still.
Wallpaper fades into amber,
shadows gather politely
along the baseboards,
and the chair beneath her
creaks in a language
only she and time understand.
The world outside is dark, almost bleak,
but here~
here the lamplight makes a sanctuary
of small things:
the curve of her wrist,
the soft fall of fabric,
the quiet devotion
of mending that which can be mended.
I can almost smell the warmness
of linen, dust, and a hint of lavender~
the scent of evenings
when nothing urgent calls,
and the simple act of sewing
becomes a way of keeping
the world stitched together.
and Mother needed the comfort
of being held
in its gentle, golden reach.
Watch how the light and dark play
and place the spotlight on her,
caterwauling in pig-tails,
wetting our black paradise.
Her spidery silhouette
of tears, spanning these lost streets,
coaxes roses from potholes.
I use a tv set as if it were a radio
listening while I do other things
my childhood through the sixties trained me well
while I listen to my dramas, I play word games
write poetry, draw pictures and cartoons and paint
when I do look up, the drone of the tv coaxes me into a nap
I love listening to a tv
it is almost as great as listening to a radio
I used to make up excuses
I would have a funeral, a wedding, a cruise, something
Whenever I did not want to do something
I would get coaxed and cajoled, and sometimes would give in
Despising my inability to say no to these interlopers
Wishing I was brave enough to tell them the truth
I have either gotten senile or wiser with my new age
Not sure which
But now I have one answer
And it works
And no one coaxes me or cajoles me
I say “I don’t want to”
It is the perfect reply
quietude of the day
coaxes poetry out of me
nouns and adjectives
verbs and adverbs
a few prepositions
I watch, amazed
THE SUN WILL SHINE AGAIN
When fear comes visiting
Like a secret lover from the shadows,
My heart welcomes her looney tunes
To my desolate cathedral -
Familiar stranger,
In motley congregation.
My dreams scream like dirty wounds
On arduous thorny grounds;
Fright takes hold in feeble space,
Fear smiles in gruesome glee,
Echoes of doubt stifle
My wailing heart in grisly dread.
I turn to _Elédùmarè_ for guidance,
He sends _Ifá_ for comfort -
Whose corpus coaxes
in subtle motifs.
I hear the cock crow...
_Ku`ku`ru´u`ku!_
It's a new dawn.
(One of my #TAP4 entries)
Published in "Echoes from the Savannah" © Makinde Adebayo Adeniyi,2024
City life is blinding me,
Loud and clamoring it demands
Coaxes me out of my hands
Makes it so i cant see.
Theres too many trees,
All swaying with their own melodies
Some mirror my pleas
Others crack until i cease
To use their glass as mirrors
Used to view my own innards
Their furniture is arranged differently
Something i could never be.
Solitude is blinding me,
Its broken and rusted though
The walls of a house I once grew
A lone hut next to a tree.
darjeeling leaf branch unfurls
coaxes dreams in soft sweet swirls
himalayan breeze
from far eastern seas
sip aromas hidden pearls.
she wears feathers better than a peacock
More of them than a revered Apache chief
Feeling their strength, understanding they have flown
Their ancestry coaxes her to shine her light
She parades their beauty down the catwalk
Showing them off, as they show her off.
Other models gawk, appreciating her designs
Where everything is moving and fluttering
The Heart of Spring
Spring's heart slips through small winter cracks
Breaks through brumaled icy attacks
Coaxes snow and ice - melt away
Ignores icebound pleas to stay
Hoary whispers silenced - turned back.
Spring dances through towering clouds
Selecting raindrops for a rainstorm crowd
Rejoices in lingering days
Giggles as the rainbow strays
When sun and storm shed barren shrouds.
Spring plants a kiss on wintry cheeks
Bids adieu to hibernal pique
Spins on toes of warm affection
Laughs at mistral's misdirection
Heartfelt greetings from hiemal peaks.
4-29-22
Transcendence
Winter strides past halcyon autumnal daze
On sweeping ariels of barren hues
Brittle bones of blue with fiery breath
Sun drench soul icicles marrow like nebula stars
When decrepit doldrums descend
As winter Daphne slowly returns
Her satin clusters, in chilled fragrance, bloom
Then flood lassitude with transcendence
To intoxicate icy vapors of wistful wandering.
Early harbinger ascends above the solstice
When vernal visions transcend hibernation
Dormant malaise and feeble sight,
Blurred by floating cataracts of blizzards,
From dark welkins raw melancholy’s cadence flutters
To glimpse enchantment in hindsight -
The sweet scent of butterflies and bees -
As Daphne coaxes a threadbare season
Into a blackberry winter of vernal vitality.
1-11-22
Contest: This or That
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Title chosen – Transcendence
Blackberry winter is a synonym for spring.
Welkin is a synonym for sky.
I have two pots of winter Daphne by my front door. They bloom in January.
The cuckoo coaxes
springtime isn't in cock-a-hoop
Earth in timing loop
© Mahtab Bangalee
Chattogram
26/08/21
Beauty Celebrates Dawn
Beauty Celebrates Dawn's Exquisite Flush
Mauve melding into magenta’s fuchsia blush
Pink cherry blossoms hide the sleeping thrush
Crimson cardinals dream in amaranth hush.
Like Misty Nascent Opulent Pruce
Daybreak dances in orchid shades on boughs of spruce
Soft silvery pinks serenade with amethyst flutes
Bright razzamatazz of morning matins played on ruby lutes
Aurora Bears Cerise Dawning Energy
Sunup razzle dazzle watchman – copper rooster rises
Signals first light hues in shades of coral surprises
Daystar fills lilac light with synergy
Starshine Teases Unruly Violet Winds
Raspberry colored roses sing in sunrise runes
First watch fandango coaxes daylight with morn's mandolins
Day’s glory smiles upon vanishing vanilla amber moons
7-29-21
Contest: Alpha Lines Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Joseph May
Pruce – a commercial shade of pink
This is an ode to the beautiful friendship.
which has been through all my hardship,
From my childhood till the kingship
we've have run this crazy relationship
He had eaten my all lunchboxes
we never laid for the other any fake hoaxes,
Together we crushed skulk of foxes,
we both never mentioned coaxes,
Our bromance is even older than silver jubilee,
Having memories both meaningful and pretty silly,
Went together to the highest peak, thunderous and chilly,
We both together are like a cart's wheelie.
Hope this bonding stays till very end,
our next generation has same blend,
Let our friendship be considered as a mold,
An example , in others' heart to behold.
Cough David Cough
Giorgio smiled as he imagined it
Hanging a bright orange plastic glove next to David’s face
Serves him right for being a god, he thought.
The teacher was peeking over his shoulder.
Asked him about it.
Just something I thought up, he said.
Smirking a bit to himself, understanding the joke.
Quietly worked, chanting “cough David cough”
under his breath, in a low tone.
Smiling at his little joke.
He is fourteen, it’s the way his mind is going.
Another boy gives him a high five under the work table.
Fully understanding.
“Add balls,” the kid coaxes him.
Giorgio adds one, not daring to add two.
“I would make that blue,” the teacher advises.
He meets the other boy’s eye and they burst out in laughter.
A blue ball, how hilarious!
He makes it green, so it is not obvious.
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