When trellis of flora
ripples like a drapery
I wander in awe, my yard
littered with dusk of starglow ;
As quietude circles this view
my lulled breaths heave inhale
The rhythmic tempo of nightfall,
when soft notes of windsong reel :
In stillness, treetops hum for mild sways
That floral tones invite healing
from rigid toil of day's drill---
My breaths less clamped from hours' noise
and by sauntering in yard's sanctuary--
My spirit finds wholeness,
till evening closes...enshrined
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your black carriage moves through perpetual gloom~
Ravenloft’s castle sits, perched atop Barovia’s bone-white crags,
its spine hunched over fog-choked valleys.
You sit alone in Ravenloft, tracing chess moves on dusty marble,
fingertips lingering where Tatyana’s pawn once stood~
writing names in your ledger, the ink brown as blood.
You are a silhouette of despair, swirling brandy in your amber-hued snifter~
the moonlight bruising your study’s velvet drapery,
the centuries calcifying the ache behind your ribs.
Your shadow clings to the castle walls long after candles sputter~
haunting notes of an unseen organ drift through the night,
calling lost souls to your eternal embrace.
You stalk the hunt that cannot feed~immortal thirst, forever starved.
Yet you smile and pour yourself another century.
Shadows blend, darkened forms melt as the chilling night falls
Into the splendor of the unknown blackness, answering your calls.
Hearing you calling me from the wilderness of the night.
Wandering through the dark abyss, searching without a light.
I fear not, of the ghosts and goblins, their presence subdued.
Still faint your calls grow louder as my hope is ever renewed.
Blindness created by the pitch-black veil I venture into.
Mesmerized by the silence surrounding your calls, now few.
Step after step I feel the night engulf me, stirring a bravery.
Tripping over brambles, surging through this black drapery.
Ghosts begin to taunt me swirling around my head.
I am not bothered and run through them without dread.
Chilled by the cold night air, as it dries up all my tears.
Stark silence stirs me as now I realize my worst fears.
Solitude wakens me to what night did not allow me to see.
My beautiful one you are calling me, from a place I cannot be.
The last curtain came down
one evening at nine
its drapery falling
to signal ‘it’s time’
The theater dark
all stagehands have gone
alone in her presence
my final swan song
The exit door opens
a new crowd appears
applauding me onward
past laughter and tears
With one final bow
but never so sure
eternity clapping
— forever’s encore
(The Bryn Mawr Theater: August, 2025)
Final Applause
Velvet drapery in the dusk back-ground
A turntable goes around in sound
Baffled from the scenery
On stage imaginary
A final applause
Voices echo
The crowd lowered in the shadows
Blue lights array smoke
A late night show
The dark curtains open
Music in the back-ground travel
Across the floor
Dancing sway amused
Put on a play
Live performance shadowy
A pleasant evening
A poem live compelling
The final applause
Standing ovation
A play greatly appreciated
RAINDROP DAY
Hands mottled, waves
at indigo Table Mountain
soft raindrops fill copper birdbath
full Winter not yet arrived
grey air meadows
liquid light filters atmosphere
an old woman struggles under
weight of stagnant memories
I smile with raindrops
as they manifest a dream drapery
no me, no my, no you, no yours
OmniLove misting me through
my own undying freedom
minuscule raindrop by raindrop
.
That girlie in the promotion
Top yourn writes
That black and gold drapery
and
That diaphanous sleeve
yep
mine behave hath cause'd
it's drape's
undress
The nymph's gold curlz
knot'd
mine
Mine cool breathe
tickle'd
hern dome
bloom'n hern breast
hern quiver'd
hern
dream'd scream
herrr
In mine torso's
Limbz
limp'd
*well it could uv'd
,)
Shadows blend, darkened forms melt as the chilling night falls
Into the splendor of the unknown blackness, answering your calls.
Hearing you calling me from the wilderness of the night.
Wandering through the dark abyss, searching without a light.
I fear not, of the ghosts and goblins, their presence subdued.
Still faint your calls grow louder as my hope is ever renewed.
Blindness created by the pitch-black veil I venture into.
Mesmerized by the silence surrounding your calls, now few.
Step after step I feel the night engulf me, stirring a bravery.
Tripping over brambles, surging through this black drapery.
Ghosts begin to taunt me swirling around my head.
I am not bothered and run through them without dread.
Chilled by the cold night air, as it dries up all my tears.
Stark silence stirs me as now I realize my worst fears.
Solitude wakens me to what night did not allow me to see.
My beautiful one you are calling me, from a place I cannot be.
The revolving wheel of the ceaseless time
rotates the contrived kaleidoscope of life,
the riveting patterns change persistently
in the mélange of motif within the mind.
The chameleon colors transform transiently
the visage of mind’s topographic tapestry
into ashen canvas of burnt barrenness,
or into painted exuberance of emerald valley.
The diffused dreams on the desolate drift,
cascade away along the stream of sight,
meandering on the mesmeric drapery,
weaved with the strands of ebullience.
The vision replicates the wings of butterfly,
flittering on the ripples of the rapturous air,
and before it flies away beyond the horizon,
forms for me the facsimile of fulfillment.
On my lonesome travel on the tortuous path
across the green wasteland in reviving rains,
or along the golden garden trail in autumn,
I am suffused with the splendor of colors,
As the shutter of my sanguine mind opens,
the flourishing film of receptive sensuality
captures the sublime snapshots of beauty
for the collage of life called kaleidoscope.
A pulchritudinous and profound grace
Finds my pen to verse an ace
Such a resplendence oozing out
Methinks so divine and - no doubt
An orthodox and stupendous beauty
Just inspired my awe during duty
As We partook in a common ritual
Amidst all holy hymns spiritual
Checking the spouses mutual
On march to crack the secret real
Divine and debonair –Her charm
A perfect diva with heart warm
Indian-ness and transparency
Through Her enamouring drapery
Inspired me to find the secret
Let me unravel just straight
Of true love, passion devotional
Abiding by the traditions real
Words find limit to extol Her
As She surmounted together
With Her hubby so simple
And Her twin terrific dimple
A tree woman full of fruits
An angelic entity with roots
Deeply in precious piety
Immersed in holy gaiety
Methinks We share a strong bond
In all births so profound
What a super woman delectable!
With royal splendor so adorable..!!
Surely She is the Presiding Deity
Of Victory, Glory and Piety..!!
We stowed behind an enormous flint wall.
Men are battling for control of the appall.
Our covering bastion shuddered and shook.
Brief, yet oddly comfy, relief from the brook.
While grizzly bears wailed in the dimness.
We were inside, getting ready for food distress.
Blue blazes are licking the preparing tray.
Pops reacted with an alleviating sigh.
To warm us up, he prepared a delectable lunch.
In a tin camp cup, bangers we crunch.
We ate with the drapery to some degree closed.
A close by a nearby strike for harm caused.
They were in their gear when it struck.
Tempest thundered as rain pelted the track.
We spread out on our bed and took a nap.
The two fellows were excited by the trap.
That weekend, I was at the lake's edge.
But different lines summon a mental image.
During the tempest, they arose and froze.
Odyssey was being given to me by Hues.
I’m hot in a careless way,
Like a barn fire, or a stolen Mercedes.
I’m the B-side of a 45
That never got much air play
Except at the request of lonely girls
Sitting home on prom night
With thin slivers of moonlight
Slipping through their drapery
To caress their disappointments.
I’m an organ grinding gypsy,
A vendor of cognitive provocations,
Subliminal symbolism,
And academic totems.
My vagrant delinquencies
Have accustomed me
To settle my accounts
With handy lay about cash;
My ledgers are always well balanced.
So, when I need a little bodily love,
When I need a little bodily love,
Yes, when I need a little bodily love
I summon that sylvan nymph coven
Of nubile forest vixens
To witch their carnal spells
With dirty talk and tongue lashings
That cleanse my insecurities
And teach me the usefulness of emptiness.
Celebrity
On that day my soul grew star struck
the astonished all-star abashing, such luck
And so I screamed, 'Is that a tree?'
I felt compelled to sniff the personalities
Eagerly, I looked for the fashionista
Engaging Ah, distinctly I was blushing
I discovered the figureheads stars all around me
Fabulousness - fabulousness - fabulousness!
The drapery diva’s dazing
It was gazing
Somewhat louder than the phrasing
Screaming, chanting, praising
Through which came musing, musing, musing
That the syncopation, 'Minds those the glazing!'
Ah, distinctly I was marveling
And the cattiness never replying
My mind always strays to paparazzi
I remember I was not myself staring
hark! In none of those movie cat calls
While all my soul within me flaring
That those the miffed megastar murmuring
That envious, envious fingerpicking, (finger pointing)
The harmonic Hollywood heading, ah! So alluring
this the incredulous intonation idolizing
Celebrity, Celebrity out there out here in front of me;
8/12/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2021 ©
Sultry scents saturate spring's splendid scene,
forsythia mists, flavored freshness careen.
Lover's lilac blooms boom youthful as green.
Lattice lace drapery veils Anne the Queen.
Hyacinth's honey sweetness sifts so serene.
Sky's cyan ceiling is swept and polished clean.
Wire fence winding ivy privacy screen
opens to garden secrets once unseen.
Expansive as a planted magic bean,
grandiose garden greenery grows to glean.
3-18-2021
A starry crown on my deity
Giving you looks of divinity
Peninsular beauty amazing
My poetry quotient arousing
Doll-like appearance divine
Camera friendly super fine
Attitude terrific and astute
Forever thee O I just salute
Pretty pulchritudinous belle
In villa you relish to dwell
Luscious and lavish drapery
You’re ever full of jewellery
Royal clan and flamboyance
Simply speak thy exuberance
May Lord bless me to verse
The poems witty and terse
That through light on beauty
And all that make thee pretty
May thou never feel dejected
Let thee never be humiliated
Soon you mount chair top
That too at the hat’s drop
May you reap career crop
Wishing thee a huge hop..!
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.