bright
colours
splashes
of
enriched
precision
imaginative
illustrations
of grandeur
in
the exquisite
extraordinary
transfigured
expressive
emotions
vivid
& poetic
unclouded
&
disclosed
in spontaneous
memoirs
in soft outline
strokes
whorls&
stains
cropping close
piercing black
upright
&
informal
imaginary &surprising
ambiguous
perhaps
an allusion
something from
nothing
refined
evocations
of
minimalist
tracery
ETCHINGS
“Let me show you my etchings,” he said,
With a euphemistic smile.
The sort of situation,
Where she ought to have run a mile.
But, as an art student, she reckoned she might
Have something useful to gain,
And, at that moment, her mother’s advice,
Never entered her brain.
He took her down to his basement flat
And gave her a glass of wine.
Then he actually showed her his etchings,
Which she took to be a good sign.
They sat close as he turned the pages,
His arm loosely round her shoulder.
And she found it quite exciting,
When he started to get somewhat bolder.
But when he asked her to pose for him,
Alarm bells began to ring,
And then she recalled what her mother had said
Of the dangers of such a thing.
So she made up her mind, did up her blouse
And ran up the stairs to the street.
Where she took a deep breath and took the first bus;
Her education complete.
wisps of clouds
drawn across blue skies
celestial calligraphy
gracefully etched
i try to read the message
AP: Honorable Mention 2022
Submitted on March 28, 2026 to contest 1457 sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 6TH
ETCHINGS
strokes
whorls&
stains
cropping
close
to the
frontal
plane
intense
insistent
strange
piercing black
beneath
anguish
in isolation
calm
upright
&
unaltered
NOTE:THIS IS AN OPEN(organic) FORM VERSE using spaces&breaks without grammatical symbols ,the ' open' relies upon 'the one breath limitation' & so inherently requires the 'reader' (reciter) to input and responds thus making this enigmatic form a two way interplay & interpretatIon unique to the moment& changing according to mood is inherently variable.
Copyright © Brian Strand
In judgment we are sentenced…
its verdict zero-sum
(The New Room: November, 2021)
Euphoria
E~ Enchanting ecstasy at each glowing
thought of you.
U ~ Unreserved understanding that I do
not write the script for the planet.
P ~ Plato's philosophy is divine, to
question all things mercilessly.
H ~ His Hellenic eyes, sparkling from
Olympus, calling me.
O ~ Openly obeying in dignity,God's
Omnipresence.
R~ Reveling rhythmically, allowing me
to dance to my own poetic beat.
I ~ Increased Integrity founded on
honest individuality at all
costs;razor sharp honesty
A ~ Amethyst Angels, may they bring
inner peace to all of humanity.
June 25, 2020
10am PST
Poem # 1,311
image making
at the epicentre
communicated
in a whirlwind
vastness
detailed in a birdseye view
hypereal
idiosyncratic
passion
unconventional
yet
exhuberant
exceptional
to dazzle
impress
with eloquence
the fantastic
arrayed
in new facades
revealed as ornate
&formal
in
layers of
opulence
I hope to grace this page today
With musings from my soul
And write between the lines
The greatest story every told
In trails of crimson etchings
Bleeding from an open heart
As line by line my inhibitions
Simply fall apart
A spirit free from earthly bonds
Oblivious to time
Whilst drifting through the annals
Of something so sublime
As daylight turns again to night
To break another dawn
As I and my muse
Write... on and on and on
ETCHINGS
Ebony chalk e t c h e s-
Easel full of parchment
exasperating me-
Edges of drawings that
elude my skilled talent-
E N D L E S S soft artisan...
Pleiades E - Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Kim Merryman
Date Written: September 16, 2016
Walls stripped bare of time.
Symbols shinning through
moon phases
piled as sand.
Carvings of past hunters
speak a bewildering code,
of lives washed from history.
Meaning vanished.
Impression conveyed.
Time has left the message,
and betrayed the creator.
His flesh gone
language scattered.
A people swallowed by disease,
and famine,
storm and drought,
war and disunity.
The only evidence of heritage
streaks placed on canyon walls.
undeciphered pictographs of
anonymous origin.
And yet I have expectations
of meeting the author
around a river bend.
Hunting the same prey,
cleansing in the same stream,
tending mutual crops,
sheltering similar families,
chiseling with ancient tools,
upon cliffs of dazzling, pounded sand.
hoarfrost coats the grass
etching it
like acid on a metal plate
defeating the
morning glories
*10/20/12
watching as twilight
crept over the brothers
and stars being re-birthed
to fortify the Great Wall
street lights line to ignite,
the shimmering black mantel
concealing azimuth,
and seductive ebony lips
slide,over the lamp
once more,
A visage of ivory
looks upon earth
on the cusp
is where your found,
a palled specter
drifting shadow to shadow
passing as
a will-o-wisp of
ebony vistas,
always out of touch
with the sense of perception
lulled into deception,
as one fingernails breadth
breaches truth,
trouncing the foolhardy
the blaze phases,
and passion is pendulous
but still,
twilight bewitches,
and the ivory succubus
of night
mesmerizes all,
with moon eyes
as the mantel
of seduction,
rolls with reverence
over azimuth,
her willing victims
are waiting,
etched in ivory
Years arrive and leave,
Winters roll and weave
Lines around your eyes
Making you look wise.
Wise enough to know
Every wind to blow
Leaves its time and trace
Furrowed in your face.
Lines of love and grief,
Hate and disbelief,
Rage, and loyalty,
On your face to see.
Years arrive and leave,
Winters roll and weave
Lines around your eyes
Making you look wise.
Wise enough to know
Every wind to blow
Leaves its time and trace
Furrowed in your face.
Lines of love and grief,
Hate and disbelief,
Rage, and loyalty,
On your face to see.
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