The warp and the weft, repeating the beat
The weave of the ware of the fabric of life
What's looming? What's left? What pattern repeats
In this tapestry seems to be sweetness or strife
Shuttling between them's emotional whiplash
A journey in learning the middle is midrash
Extremes between seams can leave something coarse
The coin of the realm, from barter to bourse
The subtleties woven and worn of whole cloth
Become torn and tattered when the weaver is wroth
Weaving's deceiving if not done in good faith
Leaving a tale more frail than the wraith
But if the tapestry woven is living with care
Not mediocre but choosing what's apt
The tale leaves a pattern not tattered or bare
And a story that's left the reader enrapt
Amidst your youth, these suited truths
tailored to suit you well
only a few, but none too new
set fire to all your tells
inside your tailored hell
A fiery shroud, has wrapped around
your doubt, set you alight
amongst a crowd, of timid shouts
from the darkness of your night
delight, a dark too bright
Enrapt in flames, a mind is flayed
a cage to lead you home
upon display, your naked stage
was left to bare your bones
by the fire you set alone.
Christopher Pitts/2017
A perfume bottle I'll never forget
Stays in my heart, where its forever etched
It was my eldest sister's first romance
That Christmas to me was heaven enhanced.
We watched as her presents became unwrapped
All us sisters hearts were truly enrapt
Each item had a heavenly perfume
The fragrance simply made our young hearts boom.
I found it the best thing I'd ever seen
Lovely as an enchanting movie scene
First thing I bought with my first pay packet
Beauteous perfume, just had to have it.
Our mom let us spend our first wage, so sweet
After that we had to pay for our keep
I'll never forget that scent, didn't cost much
Was start of a love with a magic touch.
I love the sights of Christmastime
from manger scenes to mistletoe.
Sweet, joyous sounds pervade the air
from "Praise the Lord" to "HO HO HO!"
I give to those who are in need,
for God says, "Love your fellow man."
Then when I shop for family,
I buy them every gift I can.
The carolers and choirs perform
"O Holy Night" and "We Three Kings,"
while celebrants in living rooms
sing tunes about what Santa brings.
A prayer precedes our Christmas feast;
the smorgasbord brings great delight.
The kids soon snuggle near the fire
enrapt as Dad starts, "'Twas the Night . . . “
This season is a splendid time
that bears a special, holy name,
so as I smile through "Jingle Bells,"
I won't forget why Jesus came.
Remember, long ago, enrapt of Venus,
in college, brought to meet by chance,
how, falling into that first, most fateful glance
a straightaway spark flirted between us?
And, too, can you recall the eager shyness?
On the day that turned up next, a thrilling trance
hurled us into an uninhibited expanse
which then crackled with electric newness.
But nowadays, that’s just as far away
into the forlorn yesteryear as you
are distant now—and, almost strangers, we’ve
matured apart, growing further every day.
A curse upon wicked fate! who withdrew
her blessing and unraveled our fragile weave!
I strolled upon the crests of darkened hills
reveling at the fragrant aroma of daffodils
Suddenly, stardust glittered in a nearby field
Its enchanted power was amazingly revealed.
A single sunflower towered at great height
Shadowed orb wide open, unusual in the night
Its leaves sparkled, but could a star cause this?
An unlikely occurrence ~ something was amiss.
Was I imagining the vision of this phenomena?
Perhaps it was a heavenly sign from Andromeda
The moon dipped lower in the cerulean sky
as I watched the bloom with the cyclops eye.
Had a mystical spell been cast over my mind?
If so, it was a gift of the most wondrous kind
I was enrapt by the aura of a sunflower in glory.
Sadly, bereaved when no one believed my story.
The blind fiddler plays
enrapt in his tune;
His wife sits
warm in the melody
of a strange hearth;
Their baby child
does not cry;
hunger is a constant song;
The eldest son stands
gripped by the fire's
lyric of security ~
After bread and coin is received
the vagabond family moves on.
Art: The Blind Fiddler, nsteel engraving by John Burnett, 1806,
after the painting by Sir David Wilke
I am Nimbus, gathering my black ruffled gown
preparing to race against the whistling wind.
My tears threaten to come tumbling down
and dark tendrils untamed; have come unpinned.
My bereavement wails as thunder hammers the skies.
Twin scepters of lightning flash in my mournful eyes.
I twirl in rhythmic dance upon swiftly swirling winds
Behold the grand majesty of a siren's release!
With a sad heart I say penance for a lifetime of sins.
In deep guttural voice I shall bid the storm to cease,
for I've reached the abysmal depth of my delusive soul.
I am enrapt by the tempest emotions in my control.
May 24, 2021
Personification Poem Contest
Sponsor: Caren Krutsinger
Spring's fragrances seduce honey bees that nestle inside each delicate flower. I watch their flight from daffodils to hive, while butterflies hover over milkweed, laying fragile eggs. In tandem they flutter; a ballet with a multitude of dancers that convert my yard into a magical stage. I hear a symphony of trills; a serenade from wrens and cardinals, adding to the ambience. The bird bath seems to be a meeting place for avian to play.
feathered ones gather
in maples they alight ~
warbler's sonata
Sunlight kisses lush petals of lavender and hyacinth, as a zephyr breeze stirs their sweet perfume. I am enrapt at the sight of such splendor. Tea roses have budded, and will soon open velvet petals to line my cobblestone walkway. Hummingbirds are visiting morning glory and tulips. What a delightful Spring morning!
garden awash
with resurgence of life ~
spring symbiosis
\
March 22, 2021
Springtime Haibun Contest
Sponsored by: M. L. Kiser
I love the strings of violins,
Cool tunes vibrating,
Slippery and smooth.
I've soaked within long-winded horns,
Melodies haunting,
Languid and luring.
I'm lifted up in dulcet flutes,
Blithe rhythms flirting,
Airy and ambulent.
I'm enrapt in vibes of organs,
Echos oscillating,
Intricately interlaced.
She was enrapt by the glow and mesmerized
by what appeared to be some sort of orb,
bright faceted amber that was crystallized.
She struggled to comprehend and to absorb
the meaning of such a gilded gift of gold...
It was a seed of wisdom, sent as foretold.
Her mind was captured by fantasies reaped
and saw the future through prisms of glass.
Her gift of visions was baffling, but steeped
with wonderful events to come; en masse.
The glow encircled her head like a wreath
surrounding her as she stood upon the heath.
Fields of wildflowers then flourished ten fold.
She walked with highlanders for many years,
curing the sick, aiding the poor, young and old,
dispelling myths, defusing people of their fears.
She became a legend; the angel sent from above
blessed with a kind heart, overflowing with love.
Strand's Completely New (15) Contest
Sponsor: Brian Strand 7/21/2020
'Tis not long, but the very next day,
away from us stealing what moments we may;
yet I already feel the ghost of your lips
upon my waiting neck, on each of their many trips.
A visit to a favorite friend with no strings,
become a stage for the joy that flesh brings;
at once long-awaited and a wondrous surprise,
to hear your delighted cries and contented sighs.
A hand on mine, the other trailing soft fingers,
you left a tingling on my back that yet lingers;
a bite here, a scratch there, a kiss elsewhere,
and I was freely lost in desire's tight snare.
We varied between laughing at each other's jests,
and gasping at each other's sensual, deft quests;
my blood rises as I write, recalling your caress,
your amative gaze as we felt each other effloresce.
A more enrapt and passionate amour I cannot remember,
and I daresay I long to once again tend this ember;
soon I would replace this echo of your taste
with my grip once again adorning your waist.
Like seraphim whose wings unfold,
your majesty goes not untold!
As the light of your brilliant face
moves in me all of time and space;
as planets orbit heaven's Sun
and encircle it one by one;
so, too, am I caught in your sway,
enrapt with you from day to day.
The hosts of God bring attention,
with horns of holy dimension,
and trumpet your great might whereof
they blast their praise from up above.
You are The Incarnation
who sparks this cosmos's causation,
through which effects exist from laws,
in worship to cosmic First Cause:
in Latin, “Primum Mobile,”—
“first mover” of Ptolemy,
which answers Infinite Regress
from the pre-Socratics' egress.
The day fast fades
the end draws near
our time is fleeting
so brief and so dear
Over and over
I longed for you so
the longing unanswered
and so I must go
I gave you my life
you gave me my death
in very small portions
between every breath
You ravaged my heart
and invaded my mind
an addiction so sweet
a torment unkind
The truth is masked
where your comforts abound
and rigor sets in
when your pleasures are found
So now I must flee
for my very life
lest you kill me with kindness
that cuts like a knife
I pray for the darkness
for fear I'll be trapped
in the lingering glimmer
of your charms enrapt
My sudden departure
is not without tears
our dysfunctional union
did last many years
I'm leaving your world
I shall not be back
I head for the brightness
as you fade to black
You once used me
and now I'll use you
as a hard stepping stone
to a life brand new
To walk along a high mountain rock road
Gaze down on a patchwork of green and gold
With ribbons like glue on a mosaic vase,
A misty fall rain upon your wan face.
I know it’s a herald of change of seasons,
And I ponder and wonder the reasons,
While your eyes on the future enrapt you,
One more season, one more, let me love you.
We’ve lived and loved and grown old together,
Have withstood all of life's stormy weathers,
Still conscious are we of the mystery,
Of God's love everlasting gift to be.
Through one more season, let your dear smile glow.
My heart willing it - will make it be so.
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