A haunting rustle continues to stir,
imprisoned by a restless ghost I cant deter.
Becoming a relentless hiss of a punctured tire,
to the blazing crackle of a funeral pyre.
When the world is loud, it can try to hide,
as my brain is otherwise occupied.
When the world rests and there is no noise,
this perfect silence, my mind destroys.
Waterfalls that never hit the rocks below.
Unbearable phantom sounds plateau.
As the cadence quickens to a frantic hum,
while a fury of cicadas pulse like a drum.
Invading the desperate hollows of my mind,
it’s insanely incessant, torturously entwined.
There’s no sanctuary from this discordance of sound.
A tempest of delirium down to a snake’s rattle abound.
Streaming water from the shower, a noise I dread.
Nobody at home, its all in my head.
Suffering tinnitus is a lifelong affliction,
Every waking hour a curse, a malediction.
When will I enjoy silence and my sanity restore?
The Raven answered "Nevermore"
You sound like a fingernail
dragged over a blackboard.
Every word cast as blackmail
from a forked tongue in cheek.
Bathed in the vile, bile of diatribe,
masticated to be flung as dung expelled.
Your snarled words reek with
the dissonant cadence of discordance.
As your eyes flicker
from side to side with lies,
you look away, unable
to face me, eye to eye,
unmasked,
unshielded,
nakedly exposed,
in tune tonality,
truthful.
Where harmony hoards the supposed hurt,
Symphonies belie me.
I rein myself in to not be curt,
But noise surrounds me.
Where time heals the freshly toiling,
I have old, murky bloodstains
Yet no one sees how quietly I'm boiling
Until the tipping point I shall hide my pains.
Why such a discordance in my disposition?
I desire to mourn the impact of this tyranny
Is this prophetic or an imposition? It's difficult to overlook the irony.
Someday I will explode, not implode
A magnetic, magnificent starburst.
For now, continue, continue to goad,
But this cacophony will not halt my bloodthirst.
it’s a women’s circle
a uniting of female energy
a gathering to band as one
to have our voices heard
over the discordance
through peaceful means
aiming to channel the universe’s might
to soothe and heal the damage done
and nurture our planet if it’s not too late
AP: 3rd place 2025
Companionship or romance, what's the difference?
Is it through death that we depart?
But even friends share that remark.
Is it dinner with a view?
But with friends I'd still pursue.
Is it the coffee shop or show?
But with friends I often go.
Is it through language that we flow?
But my partners have no difference.
What's the difference?
Could it only be emotion?
That alone is not enough.
Then maybe too, devotion?
Could it really be this tough?
With friends there is adherence.
Then maybe it's appearance?
But that's not an interference.
Then maybe there's no difference,
What's the difference?
In hidden trails, away from the noise's claim,
Where tranquil whispers weave the tale of peace,
The path winds through the woods without a cease,
Amidst the solitude, a silent frame.
Here, splashing birds and water, nature's game,
Compose a symphony that doesn't cease,
Their melody, a soothing soft release,
A sacred verse that no discordance maims.
The rustling leaves, a chorus in the breeze,
Reveal the secrets of this hallowed ground,
Where serenity reigns and worries cease,
A sanctuary where pure joys are found.
These trails reveal a world so pure, so true,
Where hidden nature sings its song for you.
in the hidden trails
wind whispers serenade peace
solitude.. silence
splashing birds and water.. rustling leaves.. sing a soothing soft song for you
In hidden trails, away from the noise's claim,
Where tranquil whispers weave the tale of peace,
The path winds through the woods without a cease,
Amidst the solitude, a silent frame.
Here, splashing birds and water, nature's game,
Compose a symphony that doesn't cease,
Their melody, a soothing soft release,
A sacred verse that no discordance maims.
The rustling leaves, a chorus in the breeze,
Reveal the secrets of this hallowed ground,
Where serenity reigns and worries cease,
A sanctuary where pure joys are found.
These trails reveal a world so pure, so true,
Where hidden nature sings its song for you.
Within her sensitive heart, a storm brewed.
No one could see her inner agony,
Even when her mind to suffering glued.
Beneath the calm and serene appearance,
In her mind's cavern dwelt a silent grief,
And none could find in her a discordance.
She did not complain or show any guile.
Persevered not to make her pain outward.
Always faced the people with a sweet smile.
.
Instant joy and cheer she could ever feign.
Even in her life's most trying moments,
A calm equipoise, she tried to maintain.
She purposely put on this deception,
Not to make her ailing parents troubled,
While her heart was bleeding in dejection.
Such double life was so hard to endure.
How long she could do this, she was not sure.
May. 9.2023
Take a Chance on Chanso Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Kim Rodrigues
5 Verses and 1 envoi
10 syllables in each line.
On days clouds mask transparency,
when sprinkles/gales quell meadow’s song,
before Spring’s green, post Autumn’s fall
of colored leaves (that flirt with tones of Prelude’s whites),
I wait for you (and doing so) find new delights!
On days what’s right (what’s left’s not clear),
discordance jars the inner ear,
I trust the harmony for all
that God provides, the love we share (makes right what’s wrong),
I wait for you (why hamstring with inerrancy?)
I wait for you, trust you’ll be near when time is right,
for die is cast, an inner compass guides our flight.
We both support what we need be
to bloom the ways God’s plans mature
in gifts we’re dealt our day of birth.
I wait for you though seasons pass, poles flip on earth
(in one day’s time), the oceans freeze (one last, “Bonjour!”),
the sun’s end fades to more maybe.
I won’t begrudge its fleeting glow!
Look for lips poised with love’s, “Hello!”
Long Tooth
November 6th in 2022
Born in the last decade of the old regime
Born a twain year before our unity to bear
All the flourishing devoid credos and pro-
phecies that foresaw our dark current futures
Possessed by omens and the Serpent’s seeds
Of rebellion bad tidings from anyplace
Were dropping and chances dwindle. In the
Intervening time storey-buildings bloomed
Eggheads rose to make the era theirs with
Funds diverted abroad to squeeze the brinks
The illuminated then urinate on the poor’s
Offspring to connect them to the State how
Blind is this society in total discordance
your foulmouthed shout
weaves angry waves
bashes my ear drums
pierced I wail in vain
as the echo gets closer
staccato crescendo
climax refrain
can’t shut you out
cannot withhold
silence won’t come
until the final note
that fails to abate
our melody out of tune
sweet memories wane
why so cruel I dare
to object and stall
in anxious mourning
beaten I tap on my scull
hardcore discordance
dis-phonic noise pollution
where harmony morphed
into orchestral acrimony
until I dust off the harp
restring my guitar
triangular chords
block coda and pain
reclaim my own music
mute your assault
scream as loud as you want
eat your words
digest my freedom
croak as you wish
while I breathe fresh love
15th April 2021
Contest This or That Volume two
A far Cry
Sponsor Edward Ibeh
A tale of morality, behold the truth, I’m so important
Doing the right thing, this liar brings out discordance
Whatever it takes, expedience, just get the job done
Top guns instruction, when elections need to be won
March up to Capitol, don’t want you singing psalms
Rule book’s out the window, remember have no qualms
Compass changes direction, preempting deadly quarrel
Thin blue line fails morality, no perhaps he’s just amoral.
Morality Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Mark Koplin
09/01/2021 (8 lines rhyme)
When the world was youthful
spiderwebs sang as they were spun.
Language was woven in the air
as accents of winds and trees
conveyed by an eloquent sky.
Untrammeled meadows annunciated
upon the lips of dens and burrows
scooped by shrew, mole, and vole.
Fresh bathed daisies signed a speech
as they swayed,
buttercups birthed calligraphy’s of sunlight.
Giddy rills gave voice to fritillaries
that flew to the sun or moon.
Words were idioms painted upon
the melodious leafage
of the up-risen and rising.
Then that shaggy brat
the primordial ape it grunted forth,
translating its gripey gut
through the clack of a creaky tongue.
Guttural and gregarious
it learned to babble and
belch an oral discordance.
It yapped and yawped,
yawped and yapped
until a spoken language
verbosely pivoted to prolix
polluting the very airy air.
Then it was
that a nascent poet boldly stood
rhyming would with could
until even the dumbest of his tribe
understood
and cheered him fit to bust
while the green grown world
with all its idiomatic kin
lost the will to express
as before
for the fluent earth again.
I came in to your apartment entrance
In someone's clothes to celebrate a happy
Circumstance.
Even though you didn't finance
This reliance
There was complaisance
No definance
Because of your continuance
I soon had dominance.
When you didn't have me you showed petulance
And discordance.
You had no chance
Of deliverance
From the death dance.
Gone from your face is the radiance
Of life as the ambulance
Team loaded up your body with no utterance.
You sent a message loud and clear as life
Goes on that there are people who will always
Want to enhance
And advance
Their life for an empty significant extravagance.
The cacophony, the clamor
The artificial glamour
The rush to acquire stuff
Fill the emptiness with fluff
Smother silence with yammers
Compressing questions, neglecting answers
Wisdom awaits in secluded woods
In scarlet sunsets, understood
Elicit bliss in solitude
The still in search of self precludes
Repose anonymities permeate
And soothe the restless agitate
From discordance, isolate
Reclusive paths both curve and straight
Frenzies lessens and abates
Turmoil lightens, evaporates
In lush quarantine of thought
Quietude of soul is sought
Equanimity in time alone
Replenishes soil in which dreams are grown
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