A single surge of emerald
and gray
Comes sweeping from the
dark, untamed abyss,
To toss its silver crown of
salty spray
And greet the shoreline with
a freezing kiss.
It carries all the secrets of
the deep,
The weight of ships that
never found the shore,
The quiet dreams of fish that
swim and sleep,
The ancient storms that
shook the world before.
It curves into a perfect,
hollowing ring,
A fragile that shatters
into light,
A passing king without a
court or king,
That vanishes inside the
shifting night.
The water falls away to leave
the stone,
And walks into the
wilderness alone.
Written July 14, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori
************
So tiny, yet so vast: a square of purple flame,
A postal stamp formed from forever lame.
Houses at its center a half-cast, cloudy glass,
Trapped in a gilded cage of grief and lilac crevasse.
Bedecked in the hue of storm-light, a figure stands,
A gaze carved from ache, hair as comet strands.
Static roses, suffused in blue, stood behind,
Each petal burned by cords, yet spirit did not mind.
Rain doesn't soak into his skin or asphalt as he vies,
Yet, unshed tears flow from the dream to the sky.
The water leaves his clothing with faint rings,
But in this dampness, nostalgia unfurls its wings.
O, how you bend and blaze, purple witness—
A design firmly woven into the yarn of threnody.
Your quiet strength lingers as words fade,
A melody that pain cannot shatter or jade.
Let this stamp be a symbol in all mortal prayer—
For timid souls who dare not weep amid silk fare.
A poignant lament for love wrapped in mauve grief,
A message sent to a visitor, destined for the glyph.
majestic bird in
winter on the powerline
warming up your thin
steady thin liked feet
being warmth from feet to toes
lite on powerline
current flows through toes
to head electrical warmth
from head to crest warm
2/8/24
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.© 2024
Syllables Per Line: 5 7 5 0 5 7 5 0 5 7 5
Total # Syllables: 51
Total # Lines: 11 (Including empty lines)
Words with (syllables) counted programmatically: N/A
Total # Words: 37
we met a friend today
who triumphantly exulted
his profound void experience
as he correlated it with scriptures
jubilant on his remarkable breakthrough
we did not have the heart to tell him
he had but scratched the surface
and that ego death awaited
Dawn’s dewdrops form a breathtaking lake
for the sunrise fairy who joys in a swim.
Far from shore, where problems well,
tears rise as fog, ferries in daffodil sun.
For the sunrise fairy who joys in a swim,
spied by the charming boy-next-foxglove,
tears rise as fog, ferries in daffodil sun.
She blushes pink petals as wings draw closer.
Spied by the charming boy-next-foxglove,
showing off on the Spring’s zephyr-crest.
She blushes pink petals as wings draw closer,
flashes a timid smile, beckons come hither.
Showing off on the Spring’s zephyr-crest,
crush swimming in air, backstroking, diving.
Flashes a timid smile, beckons come hither -
she’s snared this bird of jove.
Crush swimming in air, backstroking, diving.
Sunrise has seen him before and his antics.
She’s snared this bird of jove.
He believes his dreams are coming true.
Sunrise has seen him before and his antics,
Far from shore, where problems well.
He believes his dreams are coming true.
Dawn’s dewdrops form a breathtaking lake.
Holy, Glory for His Kingdom worth
Righteously dividing His love and word
Ever present Elohim;
All creator all;
Spoke existence all things be;
Out of time beyond all things;
The light beyond in darkness;
Just a speck beyond all else;
Radiant beams crest divine;
Praying for His will instilled;
Hoping beyond soul myself;
Being firmly grounded in Him as I move forward;
Heaven blissed ever blessed new name Beloved;
I came from above;
Though the birth canal;
Soon I’ll be rapture up in His love;
So when I passed my last breath;
For this you see I'm falling asleep;
My spirit in these those heavenly spaces;
In the mansion, standing on golden grounds;
In His midst amongst the Holy and Heavenly;
The light beyond in darkness;
Just a speck beyond all else;
11/18/23
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2023©
I dared to climb my way to crest
Amidst the grim and stormy sky
I packed my pride and gave my best
My flaming spark would never die
I travelled on gray sands of dune
And sailed my boat on sea of dream
Where courage was my only tune
And victory's my only scream
Though fell short, I was a winner
Second victor in my own game
But the perks remain forever
Some silver laurels to my name
Yesterday has no hold on me,
The night doesn’t have me in its chamber,
My fears, I have shoved aside,
I'm not perturbed by what rages on the inside.
I go through the tempest,
I find a way through the woods,
I cocoon the ill moods,
I'm on summer's crest.
My heart trembling don’t deter me,
I go beyond the sea,
I stand on Hope's stage,
I script my lines on Dawn's page,
The birds sing to me,
I'm out of the gloomy room,
I'm awakened to bloom,
The meadow colours my day.
September I, 2023.
My life I see in the million moments
ebullient waves of a tempestous sea
meandering on the crest ,
ambition surfing on a raft,
looking for pearls
in the prism of white, grey and blue.
But every full moon, tides ebb and flow,
where darkness and light beacons no end.
at times, I chase the waves,
at times, the waves greet me.
and one wave at a time...one wave at a time...
I become a part of the infinite sea.
From the crest of the waves
I crash on the sand and rocks
descending down to the trough.
The wave says, you have had enough.
As I strive to find the reason why,
the wave returns, waving a goodbye.
I am riding on the crest of a wave -
a gigantic wave that is rushing -
with the power of a titan
over the surface of a gleaming blue sea.
Every day I want to take this ride.
I revel in shimmering with the water -
the mighty and beautiful water of the sea,
but not just on the crest of sea’s waves do I travel.
I also can move simultaneously
upon the crests of waves of oceans, lakes and rivers.
I can mirror them all when I shine down,
for I am the almighty sun.
Life boat totters on the crest of a wave
of turbulence ! Me lone sailor on sea.
To reach destination, propelling brave.
Halcyon horizon not yet to see.
Violent vibrant vortex, rough and tough
Life boat totters on the crest of a wave,
falls unstable sinking at hole of trough.
Up down thrust of waves convex and concave.
Tornado - cyclone hostile to behave.
Indigo hued horizon too far.
Life boat totters on the crest of a wave.
Me desperate to sail, chasing despair.
Valiant, valorous on adventure !
I must vanquish holocaust and save
the vessel from sudden burst and rupture.
Life boat totters on the crest of a wave.
On the crest of a wave, I'll ride
Trying to sail and reach my shore
The sea maybe deep and wide
But I'll give my all for what lays in store
I'll challenge the might of the storm
To sail my boat to its destination
I'll dare its every shape and form
I'll sail my boat without hesitation
The tide maybe harsh and high
But on its shoulder, I'll see further
I'd even dare if I could fly
I'll sail my boat even harder
Every drop of rain that keeps the wave billowing
Is a water on my face that hides my tears
Every blow of wind that keeps the tide flowing
Is a blow on my face that tames my fears
Pick a title vol 38 poetry contest
3rd place
Judged: September 4, 2023
When sorrow comes riding on the crest of a wave
It hurts you, converts you
Into someone broken, bruised, brittle and not brave
When passion comes riding on the crest of a wave
It drowns you and crowns you
With a cryptic caress, and a crazed heart that craves
When delight comes riding on the crest of a wave
It thrills you and fills you
With sanguine satisfaction, soul sadness to stave
When fury comes riding on the crest of a wave
It blinds you and finds you
A brazen brochure on how to badly behave
When kindness comes riding on the crest of a wave
It mends you and sends you
On a smooth streetway that steers your self and does save
When terror comes riding on the crest of a wave
It bites you and smites you
With a gruesome greeting that's grievous, gruff and grave
When comfort comes riding on the crest of a wave
It cures you, assures you
Of a freedom from fear and a Friend who forgave
On an early morning walk along the shore
I pondered thoughts about the ocean floor
What treasures are buried beneath its sands
Amid corals, anemones, orange sea fans
I wanted a key to unlock the seabed's door
On the crest of a wave, what had been carried
bobbled and lobbed, back and forth parried
from shore and blown across windswept seas
Miles traveled by storms or a tropical breeze
on ocean currents, their journey never tarried
In a shallow tidal pool, a conch was stranded
A gift from Poseidon's hand, I'd been handed
I held the shell to my ear and then listened
awed by the sound while the sun glistened
Waves crested until on the beach they landed
With perfect rhythmic cadence they swelled
on a high tide until its last ripples were felled
Another always followed, close upon its wake
constantly flowing as if it had a thirst to slake
quenched by rushing ashore as if compelled
Buoyantly, bottles drift on the crest of a wave
Directed by the whims of tides, as if a slave
No ebbing waters have ever ferried one to me
I ponder how many notes drowned in the sea,
bottles speared by Neptune. Forsooth, a knave!
An ancient mariner on the sea, I am sailing for ages
on the rolling cobalt waves rising high and falling low.
In the darkest of nights when the tempest rages,
my boat pitches, and I toil to float, the journey is slow.
Up above my wasteland of life in the seamless sky,
the rainless clumps of cumulus cloud are hovering,
in my desert heart I feel your melting shadow fly,
make a sea in the profound depth of my yearning.
There I drown the dregs of my dispersed despair,
feel the fervent waves of joy roll for which I pine.
Your charming smile the dancing waves gleefully share,
my senses shimmer in the cadence of silver sunshine.
My dream sky suffuses your sparkling azure serenity,
sunburst colors paint panorama of passion in my dawn,
hues of my emotion spread on the visage of your beauty,
on the canvas of my ecstasy I see it mesmerizingly drawn.
The tempest of torment can’t tarnish the luster of your grace,
the pole star of your lure guides me on the course I crave.
In the amorous night the bearing to your moonlit shore I trace,
and find the fervor to sail with your love on the crest of a wave.
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.