Written: September 9, 2026 for a contest Sponsored by: Line Gauthier
******************
I filled the night’s chalice with knots of desire,
we dance through the darkness, a duet of fire.
It rains red roses, riots of love ignite,
the midnight stars groove to our souls’ delight.
Let’s share our ardor with the moon’s soft beams,
hands joined, lives twined, eternal as our dreams.
my soul plays a twisted duet.
the chords are off
and the melody is frightening
my melancholy fights for dominance
“it’s not my fault! I swear!”
always apologizing
mouth taped shut
in shame
but she shares a bow with
my irrational side
bubbling with anger
and distrust
confusion
and doubt
quite the opposite of her twin
she blames herself for everything
and takes it out on everyone.
they struggle for the melody.
my wooden exterior cracks
my bridge sits askew
and my tuners are awry
but the duet doesn’t end
until someone wins
or
the cello snaps.
IN ECHOED MEAN SORROWS TO HER
(A Tanka Duet)
Peace rang the doorbell:
“Sorry, you’re at the wrong door.”
“We only do wars:-”
At the next door, she heard:
“Sorry, we’ve no vacancies.”
Moving on, peace heard,
“Your sorry butt got some nerves!”
“Get the hell away!”
In sorrow, Peace keeps belling;
Hoping one day, its God’s door:-
My heart longs to have a poet
Willing to write with me a duet.
The searing sun has long been a revolving revelation of angst,
repelling songs of the skies, sung by the strings of the wings.
Pallid, poised only by muscle memory - a compositional backdrop,
past the point of revival, yet something inside me still ticks.
A trembling truth that never drifts,
these broken blues: a silent shadow with loud hues.
The bones of me, tunelessly picked out,
until I'm the aching hollow of unamplified sound.
Where do breathing colors of me sleep,
when deadly nights of the air eclipse upon the web once woven by whispers?
Death just a dropped chin and averted eye,
the slow slump of a sinner's stagnant dirge plays out.
Let those cobalt stones cease writings from vicious veins,
where wilting roses dip their thorns in starry puddles with no name.
Now begging for exsanguination of my pain,
the measure of a man captured, still, in expired offerings of disdain.
I live far, far North of sustainable warmth.
At times in winter, it's so cold
that the snow under my boots
goes into frosty death rattle mode.
It's within this hue of brutal
that an unknown entity cries out softly.
It sounds more birdlike or like the soul of a white moth.
I think it's praying for sunshine-while begging for a crumb.
I'd like to help, but its cries just drift off.
Forming a duet with my boots beneath the frozen gloaming.
In the summer
I stretch out on the shore
And think of you
Had I told the sea
What I felt for you,
It would have left its shores,
Its shells,
Its fish,
And followed me.
Duet:
In the spring garden,
I wander and see your beautiful smile in the rose blossoms,
Had I anounced in the open air,
what I felt in your smile,
All the sunflowers would have looked away from sun,
All the birds of paradise would have turned their heads,
to see the glimpse of your smile in your picture on the wall.
In the golden savannah, where wild creatures roam,
there danced a giraffe and rhino, a sight to behold.
With grace and power, they moved to the beat,
two unlikely spirits, their rhythmic steps entwined.
The giraffe, with elegance, stretched her neck high,
her spots like constellations, reaching for the heavens.
Beside her, the rhino’s massive form swayed,
his horn pointed proudly, a symbol of his might.
They frolicked, defying nature’s divide,
an unconventional pair, their souls met.
Together, a giraffe and rhino,
their differences embraced, a harmony untold.
With each graceful step and every thunderous stomp,
they painted a picture, a dance floor in the meadows.
Their movements whispered a tale of unity,
where diversity and love danced in perfect harmony.
In the gleaming sunset, they danced until the darkness,
giraffe and rhino, a duet shining bright.
Their dance became a legend, whispered through the evergreen,
of a bond unbreakable, forged by the gentle breeze.
Morganite, Jasper
Floor Voiced of many waters
Drinks of my Creature
Seers eyes roll over
Stigma of the Messenger
The Tree of Knowledge
Apple of my eye
Medusa's organa seed
My Jealousic Stone
The Palmer Worm feeds
Honey in mouth, sour stomach
Scroll is unveiling
Wisdom in connect
Strings of raw experience
Our discovering
Dew of Collective
Words on lips under cover
Supple Oasis
Sins hide quietly
Lions roaming to devour
Souls in Final Hour
Shaking Globe Hourglass
Signs, Flux relativity
Reveals Pearly Teeth
Sigh of Elements
Message in delivery
Krakens in release
My Equalizer
Binary Twin, incoming
The Throne has spoken
The chirps of birds on a cold winter morning
Rain falling upon your umbrella
As you blow into your hands to warm them
The trees blowing in the wind
Trying their best not to succumb
To the force pressing against them
This is what I live for
The only times I truly feel alive
Is when there is seemingly nothing happening
A bike ride in the summer
Gazing at the fields of straw
My black and white clothing
Flying in the wind
And for once, a smile will emerge on my face
Sitting and waiting for a train
My hands numb from the winters air
But there is nobody here
I find a peace
In an environment usually so busy
I smile
These days are becoming less and less
Or so my mind is telling me
The station is getting busier
Summers becoming shorter
Birds quieter
Peace is decaying
But I will continue to form my towers
Of which either myself
Or another will destroy
My rage will grow
Content will fade
And one day my hands will no longer
Hold the force needed to pick up my hammer
And for the last time
I shall find peace in the birds
The fields of straw
And silence will fall on the tracks
Once more
My final act
The last duet
"our strange duet"
our strange duet is not strange after all
unveiled were light unexpected encounters
relentless being unlikely and unforeseen
still our crossing paths was meant to be
throwing thrills with excitement our way
running as fast and furious then finally
a shining star lit brighter than a rainbow
never giving pause to a perfect silhouette
glowing far beyond the canvas of darkness
everything to this was our strange duet
despite odds and expectations of passion
unleashed was true love and grace gifting
enchanting elegancies to our lives evermore
this our story and our not so strange duet
SkyWatcher
07-24-23
Silence silently,
promotes serene smooth duet
with the ever silent peace...
Let us hear the silence
so that we may have heavenly peace...
Two lonesome beings in company of contrast,
entwined by the sonorous medley of music.
The confined bird has lost the freedom of the sky,
but not the tune of its song,
that echoes in the incarcerated air.
The frail man has crossed his prime,
but not the rhythmic refrain of melody,
that resounds in his archaic milieu.
The cheery chirp of the bird
perks up the musician in the man.
The sensuous sonata the man plays on the violin
captivates the avian essence of the bird.
The duet of delight resonates in somber solitude,
suffuses with sublime symphony the seclusion
of the bird, caged in isolation,
and the old man, captive of age.
________________
October 24, 2022
For Brian Strand Contest No. 1199
the pen writes
with immense effort
the verse...
poet rejoices
of poetry.
done
after...
OUR NEW LUV'S DUET
Feel my heart
Feel my vibration for you
My song'
My heart sings of joy
Sing with me,
And we will create an everlasting
song of Luv
Wrap your arms around me
and place your chest to mine
Let our hearts beat a rhythm to our
new Luv’s duet
Hear the hum
Hum along… Until your hum becomes the Clarinet that plays in the background of our souls
Sway one way as I sway another
Let’s turn,
as our sway becomes the stirring of the winds
that create the perfect atmosphere for Luv's dance
Feel my heart
Feel my vibration
Hear the hum
Sing with me
Our New Luv's Duet
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