Drummed Poems | Examples

Dad's radio

I look back at my dad's radio
Shuffling through the channels
Cause the signal is too weak
But my dad will wait in awe

When the presenter starts off at the top of the hour 
You'd see my dad fixed in his stool
Still to get to hear the nation address
The words of hope he hopes to hear 

It's been many decades now but he's still keen
He's never wavered in what the country could be
And he's served it well
Like a true statesman, he put his family first

The radio brought together the whole village
It's where the hearts converged 
And drummed all through the hour
Before the drums kept beating from a distance

That radio has seen the best of the years
From the regimes that got us out of houses to cheer on
To regimes that made it possible for kids to get an education
To the one who built futuristic roads 

I bought him a new radio
But it doesn't sound like the old one
But he's eager to turn it on
And not miss the news

The PO£T

The Frog That Became King

He took an oath beneath the chandelier palace,
tongue lapping at furtive moth wings.
A crown of collectible bottle caps
balanced on his warty brow.

Lilith bowed as he passed,
her petals muttering oaths.
Tadpoles formed a scepter’s ascendency,
guiding his webbed ascent.

In the court of cattails and reeds,
he declared dominion over ripples.
Bullfrogs drummed a royal cadence,
while dragonflies danced in tribute.

But power is an annoying fly,
buzzing just beyond reach.
A heron’s aperture loomed large,
eyes shined with hunger.

Final words stung in the chasm:
“Long live the king.”
Then muted,
as the throne sank beneath the reeds.

Difference is not Abnormality

I before e, except after c
As in “piece” or “niece”, “belief” or “Brie”,
The rule that school drummed into me
But there’s no such thing as conformity
Albeit that most words comply 
Some do not and that is why 
You cannot deal in absolutes
Some words have different attributes 
Do not perceive this general rule,
(Should you not wish to prove the fool)
Applies in every sentence formed 
That’s not the case - be well informed 
For words in their complexity.
Enhance  our rich vocabulary 
Just because there’s an exception 
Is not grammatical deception 
Difference is not abnormality 
But a part of life’s rich tapestry
When we solder our soul to the page 
It’s what brings colour to the beige 
Embrace our differences and see
This world’s a better place to be.

She Was in Charge of Everyone

She should be ashamed, he should be ashamed, they should be ashamed
Nasari grew up hearing these daily chastises from her mother
She knew that she also should be ashamed
And yet she did not know the why of it yet
Shame was a theme in her life, at an early age

She was ashamed in kindergarten, second grade, sixth grade
Her cheeks were flushed, for everything was her fault
If someone else dropped the Playdough, she took responsibility
Not only was she in charge of herself
She was in charge of the rest of the world

What they did was her shame
She took it all on
With guilty feelings
For her mother had drummed this into her psyche
At an early age

Sam was Never Alone

The shipwreck had left Sam a bit delirious.
He had been floating in the ocean on a board for days.
The sky opened and he saw a white cloud
Sitting on it was a white wolf
There was a crescent moon

This vision gave him the hope that he needed
The wolf had been sent by his grandfather
For had he not been known as white wolf among the Apache?
The crescent moon was a gift from his mother.
Had she not chanted and drummed during crescent moon ceremonies?

His hunger and his thirst dissipated
He felt adored, cherished, protected, and beloved.
His eyes closed, and he had the most wonderful dream.
Unaware that sharks were circling his board.
His spirit guides quickly sent them away
So he never did feel the danger

Dulcinea always Dulcinea

I am the knight-errant, he sang in a loud excited way.
riding his horse Rocinante, each and every day.
his pot-bellied friend Sancho Panza continued to stay.
even though tricks were played on them here and far away.

my dear Dulcinea will be around the next corner Quixote sang.
his voice was confident, his verses happy, his melody ring rang.
his squire Sancho drummed his donkey’s saddle with a bang.
Dulcinea again, always Ducinea, this made him think “dang!”

she will reside past the windmills, Don Quixote predicted.
his sidekick wanted to believe, but they were both often trickt-ed.
the gentleman from La Mancha and his sidekick did not know
their story was touted as the first novel, and soon made into a show.

Last First Draft

Massing waves drummed offshore
Above them a partnered wind blew
Together they prepared to war
Against what I once knew

The dark and cold green vastness 
Carried forward my waterloo 
Upon the rocks it did press
Against what I once knew

Then a gray shadowed the land 
Coloring my thought of you 
And as the waves broke across the sand
They removed all I once knew

The elevator man

He was fearful that if he fell asleep,
lithium batteries in his cells would leak.
A new prescription his psychiatrist wrote
and that's how he started on Depakote..
His ups and downs were hard to endure.
One day he seized on the kitchen floor.
There wasn't a history of seizures before.
In time he grew so darn depressed that most
mornings he could barely  get dressed.
His psychiatrist put him on Vraylar.
Soon he was flying high, like a rock star.
Eventually became delusional and wrecked his car. 
The psych. scribbled while drumming one thumb,
and put him back on his  Lithium.
People stop blaming "the elevator man."
He's taking his meds. He sticks to the plan.

Sorrow, Be Gone

Morning didn't paint pastel skies 
Thunder drummed, a sound I despise
Tears rolled down from my blurry eyes
Gloomy sunrise         Gloomy sunrise

Melancholy feelings were grim
Life was sorrowful without him 
Like words sung in funeral hymn
My light's gone dim    My light's gone dim

I wear depression like a shroud
Before God's alter, with head bowed,
Incessantly, I pray aloud
My love avowed       My love avowed

I became wistful and withdrawn
The moment I awoke at dawn
How long will my heartache drag on
Sorrow, be gone    Sorrow, be gone



June 9, 2023
Eight Word Challenge Contest
Sponsored by Emile Pinet
*Monotetra Form

The Tiny Tree

Once there was 
a tiny tree,
who wished itself
a lofty, wide-spread
oak; 
        longing to have 
on him song-birds light...
        to share a tune
to strum some beams
on full-moon night – 

but the cat was 
about, with a silent
foot...and the birds
knew Whiskers
like they wrote Grimms'
book – so the tiny tree
never got a second look – 

but an angel up high
shrank deceptively small
and with a purposeful
stall, settled on the dwarf's
most prominent, yet near
ground branch
           introducing herself 
as a lost parrot
named Blanch – 
            
           and they sang
and hugged all the long day
only stopping at times just 
to briefly pray (gratefully pray)
            – and the cat,
quite lonely, for also a stray
made a fiddle of its whiskers
drummed with its tail
tapping a rhythm beat 
on an old discarded pail –

Da Da Dum

’Twas a drummer who drummed on his drum
using two fingers and his right thumb.
To an anapest’s ear,
it would sound pretty clear;
to the rest, lacked a certain aplomb.


----------

jumped off a read of Brian Strand's A Limerick Historique

The Storm

Massing waves drummed offshore
Above them a partnered wind blew
Together they prepared to war
Against what I once knew
This dark and cold wet vastness 
Brought forth my waterloo

Home From the Party

Elspeth returned home early from the party.
Kept her fancy earrings and her slip on.
They made her feel jazzy

Sat on the floor to get cool
Ran her fingers up the frosted glass of the window
Began to write

Was not satisfied, so turned her words into an airplane.
Wondered why she is always the first one home
Is it because she is hard to please?

Or because she knows she would rather be alone
Than spend time with a date who is banal and boring?
Maybe a little bit of both

Her fingers drummed on the cold glass
She felt herself humming. her spirits lifted a bit
Proud she was not willing to waste time with Mr. Wrong

You Are Not Lost

The seagulls flew above the sandy dunes
Soft grass played games in the wind
The ocean rolled notes into a song
The seagulls began to hop and sing
Freedom drummed with the flap of their wings
The colored sea shells watched from below
Tides of transition flowed into new beginnings waves unfold
The clouds watched from above, prompting new flights
Sunlight splashed sparkling stars across the water
A path emerged to remind anyone, you are not lost

Heidi Sands

11/28/22

Santa Uses a Sleigh

Santa uses a sleigh
A race car!
A sled!
A tambourine!

How do you use a tambourine?
He drummed out a beat.
We mean to get around
To travel

Oh, that’s easy.
He has a limousine.
We are in ready-to-punch-each-other mode now
Just then Santa flies by under a helium balloon

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