As thoroughly compelling
At play, with each
Whilst so conspicuously lit
Face, heart-gladdened
No less blessed, whose shamefaced,
Trembly fear-sobbed
Fervent prayed outcome: Heaven!
With God as friend.
The devilish—smiles
lurk among banquets and
hallways. Lights
too bright, duplicity
mingles with what is
real, wears masks no
longer, conspicuously in
the brim of chilled-glasses
toast to the greed
of mini-gods…while earth
drinks in disdain to the blood
of the innocents. The alleys—
dim. Death in black suit,
Impatient no longer. Simply
grins as flesh rots—
in catacombs. The cold wind,
that passes by, too close
to reveal. If only silence
can whisper their names—
but in chains.
Love is a blessing,
Love is a miracle,
Love heals,
Love resurrects,
Oh, what a grace!
To humans,
Love is magic.
Yeah!
Love drives
Love invigorates
Love sustains
Oh, love protects
Love guides
Love, love, love
A magic current,
A palpable feeling,
Almost tangible,
An invisible glory,
Conspicuously hidden
An inaudible melody
Sweet to the soul,
Nearly testable,
The lingua can attest
Love
It fills the air
We know its odourless scent
It warms the mind
And gladden the heart
Calms the nerves
Even the skin knows about it.
A universal language,
For the unborn, young and dotard
An unlimited force,
Knowing no boundaries
Across human races,
Brown, black, white or yellow,
All perceive this precious grace
The beasts and fowls comprehend it
The birds of the air can reciprocate
What an unfathomable currency
For the fauna and flora of the world
That each can transact with!
Love!
Glorified and honoured,
Sung and spoken,
What an invention
What a design and creation
In the likeness of the Creator,
To be created,
Only Love could create love.
Love, love, love.
Cross over legs step from the train
Taking the handsome man to Amsterdam
Shoes and socks stuffed in the pockets
Feet conspicuously shrouded in mystery
Hidden away under advisement of mother and others
Under the umbrella of heavy rain born from clouds
Uncovered in a dance of fog swirling into darkness
Where suspicions point in all directions
To the polished conductor in his imperfections
Already blowing his whistle away
Conducting business without a train or name
Through silences drifting in the distance
The floor is consuming me conspicuously,
While I'm staring at the ceiling ridiculously.
I can't move, no matter how hard I try,
Paralyzed, I feel; I can't deny.
I'm screaming and gasping and dying and crying,
Panting and trying. Yes, trying.
I try, I do, trust me, I'm trying.
I'm alive, but I'm dead.
Maybe it's all in my head.
It's contagious, like lead.
There's an uneasy, hollow pit in me
That won't let me be.
It's haunting me everywhere,
Ruining every smile I share.
It's getting so heavy to bear,
Insufferable, its silent shriek
Conveys the world as bleak.
There's no self;
Nothing matters.
You think I need help?
What's the point? Everything shatters.
My face is as blank as a canvas, crisp and pale.
Tears articulating art, flawed and frail.
I don't care, I don't care, I don't care.
Recital / free verse / Pride
Expectation rushes in
As her silent walk begins
All eyes staring
Watching for a hint of emotion
But none revealed
As she takes her place among the muses
No one breathes as her studious eyes
Examine the two-dimensional codes
Then silence breaks
As both hands spring into fantastical dance
On an ever changing ivory and ebony stage
Mellifluous tones, conspicuously full and rich,
Transport all on an uplifting emotional journey
Ears, minds, hearts and lungs
Feasting on delicious pabulum of spirit
Soon tortuous movements diminish
The fantastical dance declines
With final notes
Striking harmonious chords
Deep into our psyche
Our ethereal journey ends
And we gently land where we began
She pauses, then rises
To a cacophony of applause
All eyes staring
Watching for a hint of emotion as she exits
But none revealed
Save a quick glance & brief smile
Acknowledging her proud parent's pounding hearts
Misting eyes and beaming faces
Recital / tanka / Pride
smooth operator
flawless rhapsody in blue
climax conclusion
cacophony of applause
with proud parents’ pounding hearts
If this increasing darkness conveys a fear not chided,
as ghostly shadows conspicuously confer mystery:
do I hide or firmly resist being threatened
by their miserable aspect of susceptibility?
Anxiety builds fret inside first slowly, then rapidly?
I squeeze and snuggle a fluffy pillow deep red,
expecting the worse nightmare to appear;
agitated by eerie sounds, I invoke the Almighty!
Dazzling sunrise, come quickly to dissolve
the confinement that obscurity has created;
fog rises, owls scatter seeing glints above...
even bats escape from the awakening world!
A gloomy night such as this is not made for romance,
shivering poet, stay away from the delusive pretense,
the drummer's beats would be more somber
than your verses: be realistic, not a dreamer!
Old MacDonald had a farm
With some noisy critters on it.
They mostly mooed, or neighed,
Or clucked, or brayed,
But some stayed
Resolutely mute,
I'm afraid.
It wasn't his equines,
Or bovines,
Or fowls,
Or anything lodged in his barns or corrals,
But a couple of rather recalcitrant vowels.
The "e" and the "i" and the "o"
Answered the call,
While the "a" and the "u"
Stayed conspicuously AWOL.
It's changing.....
Vastly and speedily before our eyes
O, Mother Gaia
Kali to Satya
A cyclic continuum...
Vestiges of a time before
Conspicuously and inconspicuously transitioning to
a new lore
From 'Iron' to 'Golden'
To new from olden
O, Mother Gaia
Kali to Satya
Social unrest, immorality, and stygian clouds
abound
A dark place where peace and love just
can't be found
But a new one is to come...
And it's far away from
Away from Kali...
To the golden truth and sincerity
No more masks will be worn in an occult-riddled
Gaia
Soon golden rays will shine light on the darkness in the
Dawn of Satya
1.
Invisible but not absent
Saunter along with you
Get wind of me
Between the words
The train runs on two tracks
Everyone sees…
But no one sees
What in there moving along
Betwixt the lines
Discern while everything sinks in dark
Feel the presence conspicuously
Endure the light.
2.
Your letter was a great story
But the closed envelope was the poem.
Off to The Bookies
I’m off to the bookies
To lay down a bet
Of when I will receive
A text from you next
I reckon February
A courtesy ‘hi’
Happy birthday dad
Well I know that’s a lie
The two to one fav
Well that has to be May
You’re low on funds
And it’s your birthday
Two days before
How are you?
I sent some money
And off you flew.
My granddaughter’s birthday
A text to astound
You didn’t reply
When I sent twenty pound
December you inform me
I’ve bought all my gifts
Mine’s conspicuously missing
But I let it drift.
I send a ton
Thank you so much
For another five months
You’ll be out of touch.
David Cox 01/01/24
After the greedily laden cirrus' lighten their loads,
a dog day returns to our suburban sanctuary.
As the mercury ascends like a climber captured in a glass tube,
the heath's heady aromas revoke our remorse.
Tangled brier and spiky scrub emit their balm:
a conspicuously redolent cocktail of coconut and cabbage.
Backlit baubles of liquid sunshine dazzle the view,
while defying gravity on their barbed roosts.
Suspended above the sodden, verdant heath, like an ethereal spirit,
another cloud hangs low, as if a subterranean lava lake -
once dormant - has been aroused from its viscous langour.
The transient torrent which incited the tribes to take refuge -
now passed - invites its flock to flood back onto the pasture.
She sits in quiet reserve,
conspicuously perched
upon the windowsill in my room.
And insists on access to a window,
not for the sunlight, but for the air.
She seldom stops working,
merrily humming along;
a constant cacophony of starts and spurts.
Yet, I've learned to tolerate her
rumbling in the background.
For she has the ability
to cool me down
with no more than her breath.
She exhales heated exchanges,
keeping me comfortable in my room.
And I'm so incredibly grateful
for the welcomed relief;
that I've accepted her in my life.
Call it a summer infatuation,
I'm in love with my air conditioner!
You
Sat wherever you were
Spotted me breathing
Saw how happy I was
Scowled with jealousy
Slipped sputum with furry
Sed with an evil plan
Slithered all over surfaces
Scattered yourself everywhere
Spanned from arid to airborne
You
Set up an ambush
Sauntered into my body
Swam through my blood
Strolled in my bronchi
Slid into my cosy lungs
Slit my innocent throat
Slept conjugally inside
Started bearing children
Strangling was their game
You
Scrambled science facts
Suffocated the whole world
Squandered innocent lives
Snatched people's breaths
Separated friends from family fondness
Sabotaged their every touch
Some were fathers and mothers
Sons, daughters and breadwinners
Some were just about to
Spin things right for good
Since you are too blind
Seeing blindness is for your eyes
Sinning is your righteous act
Submerged in meanness
Sundays are the days you get
Sunday punches from you
Spray right in our faces
Spreading conspicuously
Soon you'll sing the nursery rhyme
'SEVEN DAYS MAKE A WEEK'
Swans gowned in the skin of soft solemnity meander
On the pond mirrored in calm, reflecting on the moon
Designed to wait in comfort till the dawn comes through
With a promise of silence which bridges reality for all time
Where all wilds return to normal in accordance with sunlight
The laws of nature watch long necks turn towards tranquility
Drifting from deep waters to the shallows for a deeper sleep
Weeping willows dip conspicuously low to touch the water
Creating cover, a place called shadows in the night
Where thoughts run wild down rivers of time
With enough time to undertake the mundane graces
A trout jumps at the chance to catch an insect in flight
Low hanging leaves offer little comfort to the bug
The way of the swans is to live less precariously
Being precocious by nature is not precautious
Nibbling on breakfast vegetation
Floating in circles in a swoon
Under overhanging trees is in their constitution
So they sip some cool fresh fluids before lifting off
Before anyone realizes what has happened
White feathers are born on the air in flight
Cruising home on atmospheres as delicately
And just as light
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