Christmas comes soon;
it will pass- bring
New Year- first class!
May this new start
hold great bliss- the
past year dismiss.
Covid please go;
with hope, mid-spring-
please, vaccine rid.
And bring sweet peace;
help us cling fast-
with new hope, sing!
December 7, 2020
Contest: Bauk Than – Than Bauk
Sponsor: Charles Messina
Rules: 3 lines per stanza: 4 syllables per line
Rhyme 2nd syllable line 1
with 3rd syllable line 2
with 4th syllable line 3
(reverse of Than-Bauk form)
Down under in Oz, over here,
There is no football, my dears,
This is a tale so drear,
A footy champion, once held dear,
He died of no football, no cheers,
We buried him at the ground, so austere,
His tumulus amounded each year,
We'd drive by, pouring a libation of beer,
The tumbleweeds blew,
Grass long and shaggy grew,
At the bar, no bevvies or beer,
The bar fridge empty, also austere,
The BBQ so cold and so drear,
His ute rusted away, so near,
We'd pass by, pouring libations of beer,
Sad, to die of no football, my dears,
A tale from Oz, somewhere over here,
F...it, on the other side of Covid, we'll all have a beer........
Cushions of mauve piled high
above a lingering letterbox of light,
slow-shifting shades of darker hue
descend in deepening black upon the sea.
And all around is silent, still,
no birds, no wave-sounds, dried-up winter leaves
now cling as crisp and lifeless remnants
on the trees, mute in breathless air.
The purple backdrop drains to grey,
The fading light retreats and finally gives way.
A slight and almost-friendly breeze
ripples the water, rustles the trees.
A faint and muffled rumbling in the gloom,
a first few raindrops, innocently sparse,
blown in upon a quickening wind.
The clouds converge, their prelude done.
Across the bay is launched a sudden storm,
A tempest from the wild Atlantic borne.
The huddled shoreline dwellings disappear,
engulfed within a winter deluge drear.
Hide away in fear,
For the dead begin their reign.
Try to escape and they think they are in the clear,
But according to the girl that is like a megaphone, this is only the start of pain.
Fight away through the fear,
No more hiding, there’s no choice,
Even if a sugar rush may cheer,
The wilted flower speaks the hard truth through his voice.
Drive away through the fear
All gassed up with a positive view.
Make sure that he hits the dead with his steer,
So they have a peaceful few.
Drive right into the fear,
Right into a city of the dead.
Now they’re free, but they’re back into the drear,
In a macabre carnival they fled.
Crash right into the fear,
Because they just can’t catch a break.
The eldest that stands tall like a statue tells them to kick it into high gear,
But the torrential downpour will awake.
Drown out the fear,
Run through the cold November Rain.
They’ll reach the final stretch at a pier,
Yet the bridge might be their bane.
Dark thoughts lurk
In dim recesses of my mind
Waiting patiently
For my guard to drop
And give them access
To emotions…The color of cold,
Grey concrete and the feel
Of stainless steel.
All is dark and drear
Seems as if even the breeze
Has ominous intent
Poking and prying as if
Searching for entrance
To whisper into my mind
Poisoned prose cloaked in
Prim, innocent clothes.
Yes…Today…will be…most certainly
…A day most dark and drear…
Such disrespect
has plagued my home.
I was treated
Like a toothless comb.
Brother has told me
I am not a man,
But I walked away
Before anything began.
He laughed and laughed
While I hung my head,
So I turned around
To fight him instead.
I took a shot
At his evil smile.
He moved. I missed
By near a mile.
More laughing
As he threw me down
& stomped my face
Into the ground.
A funny feeling
Grew in my heart,
Like fungus in darkness.
I fell apart.
Something inside
Has gone berserk.
This funny feeling
Forced a smirk.
I found joy
In hitting him back.
I began to laugh
With each attack.
Then I took him
By his throat,
Putting an end
To how he'd gloat.
I took his knife
& swung it near.
I made the blade
Disappear.
Playing peek-a-boo
Was never so fun.
He shouldn't breathe.
He couldn't run.
My kind kin,
Freedom is near.
Only my sin
May murder your drear.
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