Written: July 02, 2026, for a contest sponsored by Nette Onclaud
********************
The mirror convulses and shakes
when my cold breathing breaks,
a sliver of dark light I see —
slicing through the silver glare.
Steals my peace, traps my sanity.
Shadow's edges with bright colors flare
panic's claw, carves its narrow line —
within this confining frame.
I reflect on the face that once was mine,
Unsure who changed the rules of the game.
To lacquer tomorrow
with the gang’s reckless charge,
they scatter the crumpled myth of Poseidon.
The sticky weave of power and flattery,
eddying as it turns,
is reduced in a pot overheated
by driving rhythms—
sweetened with whispers
like a nightingale’s song.
The more it simmers,
the fiercer the season convulses.
they sit him down like a tired old man
in that throne of leather and iron—
old sparky, they called it,
like it was some friendly dog.
they strap the wrists, ankles, chest,
tight enough to stop god himself—
one last insult to liberty.
the sponge is wet, because dry
means fire, and lawsuits.
the mask goes on—black as every sin,
but it’s the switch they love.
fingers twitch, a nod from a judge
who’s eaten too much for lunch.
then—crack.
a snap of light no eye can see.
his body lifts like a puppet on strings
jerks, clenches, convulses,
the legs slam the frame,
his tongue thick in his mouth.
smoke rises from scalp and thigh—
a scent like roast beef
and shame.
they wait.
they juice him again.
and again,
until he stops pretending to be alive,
smoke wafts from every orfice in her body.
I murmur like a rivulet through the
hitch of your hands, where the canyons
carve their parched longing into your fingers—
where silences sublimate like cera,
pooling beneath your glissando touch.
Your tremolo breath convulses rough and low
like sibilant submersion in water—
spilling, sinking, staining everything it meets.
I watch the estuary of your gaze split my horizon—
watch you hush abysmal eyes into
celestially arched surrender.
There is no stillness between starlight,
only the pull of mighty magnitudes,
fuses lit beneath the ribs,
pulses and throbs teaching the air
how to cleave—how to…
sforzando!
Love, here, is neither reserved nor reticent—
it is lightning bottled in glass—
hellfire burning beneath the tide—
language that deconstructs
even as it is uttered.
I step forward—some faltering cadence,
some submitting ascension—placing my hands into your fire,
not to be consumed, but to remember
how stars revel and rain.
Live music leaves me enthralled
as thuds of a drum, the intricate fondling from saxophone notes blast these veins
until intoxicated head convulses
when euphoric tunes pump in unabated--
jazz, R&B, wild soul, and rocking pop ignite
primal ectasy in the flesh...raw!
Pulse beat raised at 110, my torso gyring in motions uncontrolled--
the cortisol of anticipation surging through an adrenaline high;
cool the song- whips , oh more feverish my body trip!...just there,
Philip Bailey whams a falsetto
higher than high in climactic lifts,
my whole body possessed without Reasons on Fantasy's electric stage:
Another grasp of dismembered reality lures, where smokey thirst begs
for more notes...
this moment a cool fever of a thrill from a live concert rushes on,
where an elevated zing drugs my soul!
Love silences fear,
Uniting hope, joy, peace,
Mingling lights, grace
Joining hearts in faith, together,
Stirring prayers, gentle psalms –
Harmonized when souls believe,
Jesus, inspiration for giving,
Meaningful beyond imagery.
Adoration lasting forever,
Resembling souls understanding…
Love like this convulses calm,
Lulling twilight,
Breathing shadows,
Feelings erasing storms,
Darkness hinders meaningful,
While wonders grow wings…
Enchant souls,
Souls enchant,
Wings grow wonders while…
Meaningful hinders darkness,
Storms erasing feelings,
Shadows breathing,
Twilight lulling,
Calm convulses this like love,
Understanding souls, resembling…
Forever, lasting adoration,
Imagery beyond meaningful,
Giving for inspiration, Jesus,
Believe souls when harmonized,
Psalms gentle, prayers stirring –
Together, faith in hearts joining,
Grace, lights mingling,
Peace, joy, hope uniting,
Fear silences love.
Flesh fuels fire. Spirit yields. There's body-soul fusion.
Springs up, will to power, and power to will illusion
Narcissistic senses and sensations amalgamated
Moral fibre, like worn-out dental roots, is deflated.
Selfishness, like the greed of predators, murders morals.
Egotism, like crabs in competitions, grabs all laurels.
Overconfident sensitive ego, like porcupines
Spreads its pokes, and thus, to hurt anyone, crosses limit lines.
Mind-not-on-task, - mental disposition, pervades the mind.
Consciousness compromises; awareness gets quarantined.
Hunger for acknowledgment and appreciation grows.
Self-contentment and satisfaction get peaceful repose.
Pretension and flamboyance soon become ethical codes.
Property, possessions, power, projective passion modes
The gratification of instinctual impulses
leading, ultimately, to emotional convulses
It ticks, it merges,
It runs, and converges, and spills,
It twists, it turns,
It dilates, it gyrates,
It shrinks, and convulses, and kills.
And one day,
No matter what we do,
It stops…
For some with a whimper,
For some with a shout…
And in spite of what poets and pundits say,
On that inevitable day,
There's no glory when the ticking stops
And time runs out.
Author's note: Albert Einstein is reputed to have said: The reason for time is so everything doesn't happen all at once. He may have been right…relatively speaking.
Colour Schemers
Arab Traders excavated
Europe laid the foundation
The New World framed it perfectly
The rest of the races roofed it
This …
Inordinate economic concupiscence
Shadowy sham, animated by a violent passion
An extraordinary alteration
So…
Nature convulses
Human dignity reduced to
Colour: Black, white, brown, yellow
But …
The scale corrects itself
The clock resets
The scheme falls apart
Because …
There is only one humanity
It’s you.
It’s me.
Abandoned! Assaulting winds thrash flailing limbs,
denuding boughs of golden dress;
gone the gaiety of glowing beginnings
when springtime sun seduced soft soil,
fondling slight buds of green, foreplay in fecund fields.
Forlorn, like a vacant house,
dark windows blankly stare despair,
the fissured dream convulses;
Whistling winds, keening,
“Gone away, gone away . . .”
Where do dreams go when they die,
After the romantic sighs, after the broken-hearted cry?
Does a haven await perished aspiration?
Or is abandoned hope sour fodder
for rodents and insects pilfering?
Gather the wasted twigs, the windswept straw,
feathered soft with anguish breast plucked raw;
interweave new hope to resurrect cadaverous old.
Truth states roses bloom in desert sand;
believe.
Copyright 11-19-2019
Will I be there on the rocket
When the last ship leaves this planet
Or will I stay with the brave ones
And dig me a home in granite
As our sun convulses and gasps
With its little fuel left to use
Should I venture into unknown
Or write in the dark with my muse
All these years that we have wondered
If we had visitors from space
"Aliens" was the best we did
To name a mysterious race
So I'll not die an "alien"
I will let the cosmos occur
I know my days are numbered now
But, then again, they always were
9-12-19
Contest: Welcome To My Random World
Sponsor: Nina Parmenter
A relay of moods dribbles on and on
when euphoric tunes kick in:
Jazz, R& B, slow funk, wild pop
igniting primal ecstasy, in the flesh...raw!
Live music leaves me breathless
as thuds of a drum, the intricate fondling
from saxophones blast these veins...
until intoxicated head convulses,
Pulse beat raised at 110, my torso
gyring in motions unknown—
the cortisol of anticipation surging
adrenaline doses gushing...just then,
Philip Bailey whams a falsetto,
higher than high in a climatic lift;
my whole body possessed without Reasons
on Fantasy’s electric stage—
Another grasp of dismembering reality lures
where smoky thirst begs for more notes;
an elevated zing which drugs my soul …
yet, nights ask for more live concerts.
4/17/2019
For Anthony Slausin: Your Amphetamine Contest
----------
Earth, Wind and Fire Live Performance
Manila, 2009
Lead Singer: Philip Bailey/ Songs: Reasons, Fantasy
Sample video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1FN6X_86NY
I can’t look away and I won’t
And I beseech you not to, at least not now
When wailing still convulses the streets
When our leaders scarify us to the dogs
For a tight grip of power
When our mothers feel the safest nest is a yellow shirt
Coz it softens the eyes of the city dogs
When a dark cloud still hovers over the city
So dark that the dogs are blind to us
So blind tears can’t melt their ice cold hearts.
When a man in a blue shirt comes with a latent
And their blood runs cold, cold as the darkness they push us to
I can’t look away and I won’t, at least not now
When pursuit for justice is a crime
And silence to evil is hailed
When our city is still at the mercy of city dogs.
BY Oswell
Soul safe
Deep beneath soft tissue
Lays a Scripture
All the scars healed and forgotten
Carved on muscle tissue
It remembers
Even tho your skin hides it
Your spirit remembers
That's why at night when you sleep your body slithers
Quivers and convulses
Mind screaming because it remembers
Your night terrors warn you
It's not over there's still evil
Lurking trying to kill you
Your demons will always follow you
Haunting you
You have victims
Blood stains your soul and hands
The souls you carry weight heavy and
There's no forgiveness
if my release surprises you, it shouldn't
if the way you feel makes you feel alive, then just let show
in euphoria's eyes, we are the same age in depths of dynamic discoveries
the beauty in the air is based on the foundation of the fire that we make
let the flame smile and melt the cold air of loneliness that we brought here
your release is as sweet as the most sincere teardrop on a blue comforter
when your body convulses, it is as if you are a rising phoenix on a magic carpet going higher and higher
this trip here feels like forever in the eye of the bluest sky
picture the royal pedestal that i place you on with love
i wonder if you would crown me after reading this other poem that i have written especially for you
the way to your heart has not been an easy one
however i thank you for wrapping my flaws and my imperfections with a decorative bow as well
if our love conquers all the tries to block and offend, let us bow our heads and Thank The Lord....
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.