Hooves of horses thundered across the fields
Onward they came urged by murderous men
Huddled behind stout stone walls
Women and children in the halls
Tears were shed as in fear we waited
Not knowing what would happen
as evil came to our door
Where are you we cried in despair losing all hope
Would we eventually swing high on a rope.
Faith misplaced on invisible beings
We were few against a mighty force
Heat from their breath felt on our skin
Our men were doughty fighters all
Soon though they would eventually fall
Over run by superior numbers
Trampled in the dust by sharp hooves,
Cheering from throats of viscious men.
Those that survived broken and bloodied
Hung by their necks until they passed
Mutilated and despoiled now gone to their peace
Jeering victors tied us and carried away
To imprisonment in hanging gibbets
Facing all weathers and words of hate
This in the end was to be our fate.
Andrew P McIntyre. 07/01/2025 (c).
Fervent rainbows vow to deck
a gloomy, woeful moon
with merriness and blissfulness.
Whispered dreams of virtue
triumph over a murky ,
desultory brook.
The serene , meandrous
butterfly is rocked by
an ephemeral , passing
chimera.
An angelic ,tranquilized petal
resides in the realm of
melodious ,
gracefulness.
Whispers of lovely rose
dwell in a tempestuous,
ardent sea.
The symphonic melody
of an unchanging
stork's felicity
overshadows the unflagging
hawk's power.
Delightful sunbeams echo
the unafraid, doughty breath
of a sedate chrysanthemum.
.
Catherine yawned today
made no mention of the prix
she had to pay
Love is a cussing word
She did the best she could
Gonna reinvent the wheel
The swallow always knows
and the doughty willow
fades to grey
And how heaven bestows
whispers to her flock
but we turn ourselves
into vessels of hope
DON'T GET AFRAID
Are you attracted with my beauty ?
Dance with me, giving you priority.
Me chewing , eating corn.
I'm the nice Unicorn.
I won't hit you , giving surety .
So soft woolly pulpy are my paws.
Too mushy doughty also my claws.
Uncle-Aunt are Rhinos .
Cousins are buffaloes .
Spiral- horned Antelopes are my in-laws .
Behind my crown is hidden single horn.
Don't get afraid ! With this gift I am born.
Take this posy of rose.
Please hug me coming close.
If you don't, with my blow you will be torn.
11/28 /22
Children ' s Limericks
Second place
Contest by Eve Roper.
Midterms are over
I’m coming up for air
now that they’re done
I’ll admit I was scared
- that physics three -
was nearly the death of me.
What comes next?
The Manhattan express
for November recess
some November excess
with Lisa, my BFF princess,
my doughty, NYC adventuress,
I’m blessed, she’s the best.
Ooo! and some turducken bliss,
much needed rest and time to de-stress.
.
Marriam Webster: Doughty: “brave, strong, and determined.”
turducken: a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, further stuffed into a deboned turkey.
Were I to swim to the edge of the sea,
what splendid scene should await for me?
Would there be a castle turned upside down,
with moat and garden where roses abound?
Would there be a nook with bread and mead,
and rare leather-bound books for me to read?
Could I uncover secrets of the crown,
win a place at the fabled table round?
A lustrous lounge sitting next to a tree
with Merlin’s magic to envelope me.
A gnarly gantelope to test my firm ground,
unfailing doughty staunch, and silent sound.
If such distant place exists pure and free
I would swim away from my life and flee,
join with Arthurian knights all around
take up arms to protect the King renown.
My life, my honor, my blood I would bleed,
a place in history for noble deed.
A world of righteous and virtue bound,
confident and sure of paradise found.
The thug’s greedy plan was ill-fated.
“Beware of the dog!” the sign stated.
Sharp teeth pierced his butt.
He screamed, “Get off, mutt!”
Desire to steal quickly abated.
For Samson, fame was just beginning.
This brave dog would set the world spinning
with such doughty deeds,
supplying the needs
of many while great kudos winning.
He quickly developed the power
to fly. There exists not ONE tower
inhabited by
trapped ladies who sigh.
Now all the bad guys hide and cower.
This thug-throttling canine has muscle.
He comes out on top in a tussle,
but he’s brilliant too.
To Mensa* he’s new.
Competing with him, humans hustle.
This grand rise to fame was engendered
when Samson so actively hindered
an evil guy's plan.
Now many a fan
admires him for services rendered.
howmanysyllables.com 9--9--5--5--9 per stanza
He-dog--canine version of "he-man"
*Mensa is the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world.
In an annual Mensa competition, usually held in April, Mensa teams from around the U.S. and Canada compete within their local geographic area.
March 16, 2022
It's a topsy-turvy world
Once-straight hair's now curled
From a putrid drop does
a precious newborn unfurl
Pry open the menacing clamshell
to remove a shining pearl
Swoops in an airborne twister
even rocks and boulders do whirl
Today mere commoners become
princesses, duchesses or earls
Benders transform lumps of food
into refined, delicate swirls
But poor girls' dreams die
in doughty aprons of working girls
burying rich visions of
fancy ballerinas who twirl
Peacocking
(Attracting attention)
Written: by Miracle Man
9/25/2018
Some like to spend time at the mall “peacocking”,
And dressed outlandishly believe they’re show stopping.
Intent is not usually the opposite sex to ensnare,
But getting their high from garnering others stare;
Many have no qualms about what they display,
They go all out to capture the eyes of their prey.
Appearance don’t divulge whether they’re doughty,
Nor does it reveal that their spirit is haughty. *
* Proverbs 16:18 KJV
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall”
I wake up to a cloudy morn
Of humid air and sunlight shorn,
Trust not at heart the grim tidings
I feel lurk in a dull day born.
Then high noon stays with gloomy skies
A little easy on my eyes,
My heart knowing some rain would ease
The sultry air that freely plies.
And then I hear a sweetened tweet
With it comes dusk and raindrops sweet,
A candied fragrance from the earth
Which lulls me with its loving greet.
Lo darkness ushers soft twilight
And night glides in with starry light,
To let the beasts of nocturne wake
And sing their songs in gay delight.
It sets me sail through pale moonbeams
Past lush meadows with silvery streams,
To fairylands which welcome me
With open arms to live my dreams.
Till crimson turns a smoky grey
To shed light on life’s winding way,
Where doughty faith urges I feel
That it will be a better day.
***********
When Coventry was cowed, it got Godiva.
The French were frantic, so God sent them Joan,
and Stanley showed up just when Livingstone
required him. Enter left, a doughty diver!
What wasn’t needed was a fancy talker,
back-slapping, banter-cracking, glib buffoon.
This called for someone steady, silent, hewn
from granite And his name was William Walker.
The work was not too tricky, in itself.
One man alone could cut away the wood
(but under water, mind you). Not for pelf
(the word exists – go look it up!), nor yet
for fame, but just because somebody should,
bold Walker took it on. We’re in his debt.
They are so good
Unbeatable
Some may even say
Unstoppable
The L.A. Kings
Unbeatable
We’re up by 2?
Yay
Maybe they are beatable
O, wait
Now,
D
o
w
n
By 4!
Unbeatable
Invincible, Incredible, Impeccable
Quick with the glove save
Doughty with a goal
So I’ll say it
one more god forsaken time
Un-beat-a-ble
FORLORN
Gone but here,
Atop my brooding heart
Far yet near
My thoughts brings her forth
I miss my dear
And the halcyon days we had
Doughty visage shroud my tears
But lugubrious of countenance
She severed ties tween us
And loses upon me an unalloyed loneliness
I became unquiet and broody
Benighted of the path to walk henceforth
'tis loneliness all about me
My heart's desolate and hollow
Abandoned to brood
This, bitterness in my bosom
I passed into slumber at night
Perchance this feeling will vanquish
At my wake in the morn
Alas! Forlorn hope, it lingers on
Unavailing my quest for love anew
A damsel with ardour I crave for
To slough off this perpetual feeling
And cast off my woebegone visage.
vulnerable & helpless
weak & powerless
defenseless & exposed
open to attack
and i am..
flagarant & blatant
barefaced & overt
brazen & brash
audacious & outrageous
undisguised & unconcealed
transparent & immodest
indecorous & unabashed
unashamed & unblushing
unrepentant & unforgiving
and i am..
bold & brave
courageous & intrepid
valiant & valorous
gallant & plucky
heroic & daring
audacious & indomitable
doughty & unafraid
undaunted & unflinching
lionhearted
and i am..
unnamed & unidentified
anonymous & incognito
unspecified & unsourced
unknown & unsung
uncelebrated & uncredited
unacknowledged
but most of all i am..
finally free
free of captivity
free of interrogation
free of misery
and i am..
free of all the things
you put me through
and i am..
assured
the quickest path to heaven
was straight through hell
Time was in abundance,
In plenty to chew and brew,
Work, sleep or play,
Yet enough to spare.
Dreams, expectations, full of bounty,
No tick to stir the doughty,
Lifespan discarded as wasteful worry,
Hurry, worry, all went to burry,
I the Master, I the Supreme,
Others, the ordinary held little attention,
Times came and crept by,
Learning shirked away at mention.
Who cares? The motto was straight,
Something will happen, why haste?
We will surely learn as we grow
Grew we sure, but not to mature.
Suddenly, the uncared became all important,
Time was short, work too much,
With hunched shoulders I heaved a cry,
Mercy my lord! I the Ordinary.
Help! I shouted, but they laughed,
No solace, calm or sleep,
Fear, unknown induced the maddening,
The end seemed not so far.
Mercy, somehow was restored,
Zero, I learned to ask for,
Time, the ordinary, the industry & thrift,
I yearn to breathe the rest of my life.
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.