Nervously I wonder if
I’m better than what’s passed–
Surely thou must think so now,
At least while thou shalt last.
And though my standards be quite high,
(Considering my art not vast),
The tests I’ve conjured–fast and strict–
Save but one–you’ve passed.
With strangers whom thou mingled be,
Doth thou reminisce?
And when thou art holding me,
Yet are they still missed?
Couldst thou be a honey bee,
Which passes with one sting,
Or rather likened shouldst thou be
To resilient wasps on wing?
And even if thou be’st that wasp,
As kindly as thou seem,
Thou sting’st as a naughty knave,
And made those two girls scream.
Passed around you sadly seem
To this girl who’s firm and chaste;
But if thou can prove’st to me
You’re wiser now–steadfast–
I’d look past your transgressions
And look not to the past.
Beneath this chest of winter’s keep,
Where silence folds her weary art,
No pulse may stir, no passion leap—
A frost hath bound my barren heart.
Once sang the lark of youth’s delight,
Once bloomed the rose in tender part;
But time hath quenched that golden light—
And stilled this stone-cold heart.
Yet thou, with eyes like twilight rain,
Whose sorrow softens where I start,
Couldst wake the long-forgotten pain,
And rend this frozen heart apart.
No sword, no flame, could pierce its shield,
No mortal warmth its depths impart;
But if thy tears should fall, revealed—
They’d break my stone-cold heart.
***I am reposting this poem as I think it is my finest poetic creation. I feel the imagery of the piece and its 'fabled' characters are cohesive to create a positive environment that reflects the star's light of hope; the 3rd stanza and the poem's final lines provide a natural summation of metaphysical realities that incur from human emotion and suggests that we all come from the same mold and thus we are not the cause of ourselves; 'a theistic natural priori in the belief of God through the poetic endeavour.'
I awoke to find the tall splendor of the world,
in those cosmic canyons,
shearing darkness ----
in the pallet of some ethereal night;
ancient with desire.....
to Illume the thick shadow of hades itself
Not death nor mortal doubt
couldst thou flee from me,
mighty as Aphrodite ----
Shooting thy silver smile
beautiful as heaven's promise!
In your shimmering I see hope,
for the heart which beholds thy majesty
the world could fade,
yet you remain.....
a friendly face if none should be found,
but you.....
that thou Creator dost reveal;
my soul,
ageless as thee
(am spun from the same loom)
Give me your sweet lips so soft I beg you.
Again let me hold you this night in my
arms telling you that life for me is new
since thy soft whisper gave first little sigh.
Your fingers play a tune on me that drives
a wondrous feeling deep within I can’t hide.
Couldst we but hold this time throughout our lives
a never ending pleasure by your side
Tomorrow’s day advances like a thief
to steal away your close embrace from me.
But I do know our separation’s brief
Again with you as my new life should be.
Lips sweet and gentle fingers they do play
a loving tune that cries withhold the day.
Be Not Tempted By Gold's Glittering Brights
Where couldst man find rest when heart has deceived
loved ones he wouldst happily give his all,
whilst on dark paths, false laurels thus received
profits only fools under fallen walls!
Shadows presenting wicked and false lights
oft penetrate even truest of hearts,
find only false moons on blackest of nights
sailing on festered seas with lying charts!
Hold firm sweet truth, know its blessings are fair
life is far more than wealth gotten with schemes,
its love and family with friends to share
treasures and bounty from realized dreams!
Be not tempted by gold's glittering brights.
Embracing such greed brings saddest of plights.
Robert J. Lindley, 5-20-2017
Sonnet
Syllables Per Line: 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 0 10 10
Total # Syllables: 140
Total # Words: 105
I awoke to find the tall splendor of the world,
in those cosmic canyons,
shearing darkness ----
in the pallet of some ethereal night;
ancient with desire.....
to Illume the thick shadow of hades itself
Not death nor mortal doubt
couldst thou flee from me,
mighty as Aphrodite ----
Shooting thy silver smile
beautiful as heaven's promise!
In your shimmering I see hope,
for the heart which beholds thy majesty
the world could fade,
yet you remain.....
a friendly face if none should be found,
but you.....
that thou Creator dost reveal;
my soul,
ageless as thee
(am spun from the same loom)
Pain’s Tomorrow
Why dost the hand of love surround my throat
hold hostage by each breath - lost passions hope -
imprison me within hot blooded moat
tethered agony - heartaches tearstained rope?
Couldst not the gods if they held such powers
release from bondage love’s extinguished flame
allow the blessing of times healing hours
erase the hollowed emptiness of shame?
For love has stolen love - left me wand’ring
within the emptiness of mem’ry’s dreams,
victims - guilt shared – complicit squandering
soft truth beneath the lies of lustful schemes.
Yet they reach beyond the pale of sorrow
lover’s - hope in search of pains tomorrow.
8/1/2016
submitted to – All I could do was surrender – Shakespearian Sonnet – Poetry Contest
sponsor – Becca Teagan
with all due respect to the Bryan Adams classic, this is my Bardish version:
heed my visage close thou wilt mark
to me thou meanest all
thy bosom enquire soul beside
wherein shall I be found
thy searchings done
hold thy tongue ere the effort all
speaketh not of a full forfeit
knowest thou forsooth
mine whole intent only is for thee
thy bosom enquire discover there
aught of secrets be
my impulse be thine stay mine breath
bequeathe my lot in surrender all
speaketh not of a full forfeit
fair taken I for aught I desireth
verily thou knowest
mine whole intent only is for thee
none ardor is belike thine
nor couldst return beyond its like
none adobe prevail cept thee therein
fully and in perpetuum
thy bosom inquire
verily
hold thy tongue ere the effort all
not stayed am I for full desire
wouldst war for thee
forswear for thee
take leave mine footsteps
givst mine breath for thee
thou knowest verily
mine whole intent only is for thee.
Could it be
That you still love me
And if so
What good to know?
So many years
Have passed my dear
Couldst the flame
Remain aglow?
Perhaps we all
Best let it rest
Leave it in the past
And not worry so
It’s water o’er the dam…
The candle extinguished…
The ship that sailed
So long ago
Yet if perchance we
Could have one last dance
Warm words whispered
Soft and low
We might find out
That without a doubt
After all these years
We still love each other
…so…
the young lillies
groweth fast, faster
than the lightning’s
fastest strings
drawing the heart’s songs
a-home to the garden –
when the gardener’s
home-call bells ring
my soul, couldst thou
then be a-member’d
in the shepherd’s fold?
o, let’s be, soul, let’s be
for the full’st rewards
lie a-wait’ng
the ever-rugg’d soul
in-wait’ng this last bell!
I adorest thee my darling,
So much more than I can say.
If I but had Will Shakespeare’s pen
All my love I couldst relay.
Thou art the beating of my heart,
The sunshine of my day.
And if it couldst but win thy hand,
Fierce dragons I wouldst slay.
Thou hast taken all my senses,
Love hast made me indiscreet.
If thou wouldst be my Valentine,
My pure joy would be replete.
1/24/13
THE‘MORROW’S MAJESTY
Tomorrow might mean angel day
To be followed by one angelic night
Tomorrow I may view an angel’s display
A dais of delectable delight
I can never be certain when she will alight
One of Heaven’s most hallowed sights
For forever I will fear her final flight
No more love, laughter nor luminescent light
My ‘morrow might mean angel’s wings
And a soul of sublimation
A heavenly body to which this man clings
And I’ve clung so long to the finery of fascination
Tomorrow’s sun to shine on mine
Mine angel who was weaned on wonder and sacramental wine
A lady who is afar far too often for me
She who opens an enchanting door for me
Tomorrow’s moon might mean wings away
Oh if ever my angel couldst ever stay
No more to bear an angel’s softly sighed fare well
An angel at the ready with a seraphim's spell
©2012…PHREEPOETREE..~free cee!~
THEY GREW IN THE BLUE
Yes they have their souls on the ground
and their feet know not to where they are bound
they are earthly beings sans wings or flight
and where they age it is always bright
they may be standing in front of you
but inside them there is something magic going on
so innocent and gentle dispersing only what they know to be true
and if only that happenstance couldst never be gone
to them their tutors are spirits divine
with their teachers dividing four by two
from four divided by two to 376 times 9
and their whole school is painted astoundingly blue
they are educated by mortals these children like sprites
all of them sweet and eager to learn more
they learn the necessities on earth from mornings to nights
but they learn the essentials in Heaven, I'm sure
© 2012....copyright PHREEPOETREE ~free cee!~
BEWARE OF ENEMIES AND ENEMAS
Beware the scare to share with sharpened steel
To note the difference ‘tween fantasy and or the surreal
Take heed for what I say ‘tis truth unclothed before thee
Three routes but bear right and wrong you couldst just be
Oh that old trail’s been there for too many years to count
That road be akin to a mustang who no one would ever mount
The other two lead to a place where no one has ever returned to recount their tale
And obviously it’s not a place where someone could send me any mail
Tread contritely to the ones you’ve hurt who bare now the knives
Because it could be a matter of who lives and which one survives
This is no missive to depress you nor make anger the way of the day
And I know because you’re all young but my black hair has now become gray
So I give you this lesson not to order you, discipline you nor tell thee what to do
You’ve got three ways to go but only one leads to peace and tranquility for you
I’ve known where to go when the road splits and I’ve known since I was an infant
And here you are at fifty-five, still consternated and no, I will not give you a hint
I ~© 2011.….free cee!~
WHAT’S All THE HUBBUB BUB?
Where was Solomon when the battle began?
I guess the Biblical hero got wise and picked up and ran
Where was Solomon when a man wanted his property and so did she
And there seemed no way to get them to agree
The State’s attorney stood stoically before the darkened robe
And then the two litigant’s lawyers will be granted each to probe
But your honor……. but Solomon,……… but the baby boy
Couldst grow to bring such un-clouded joy
So he wanted what he wanted if the court complied
And she wanted that baby so on the stand she lied
He knew what happened, and would happen now
She knew what happened, and if it were to happen, how?
All this hubbub about a kid who ain’t even mine
Yeah, well your daughter is a football at the age of only nine
And I heard the two of them, separately had the same dream
discovefring that Roe vs. Wade, is two ways to cross a shallow stream
© 2011.….~free cee!~
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