The flawless Nebraskan sky hummed her blue tunes as I drove to work along that silent gravel road. Elegant white clouds wept as they gazed upon the chaos and dead innocence unfolding across the country.
I stared ahead as adrenaline carried me toward town and the need to begin again. The sounds of screams that had jolted me from my television still jolted my heart. Fireballs of horror exploded within my frightened soul.
Hours passed as I tortured my mind with gruesome details no one should ever have to know. Falling bodies and broiled flesh were too horrifying to imagine. The thought of a looming war was beyond my comprehension.
One quarter of a century has passed since that unimaginable Day.
If you don't remember that Day, then I envy you.
If you do remember that Day, then I hope Peace has adopted you.
120.
Flower on Electricity
Mountains crumble
Seas tremble
Tornadoes giggle
Fireballs fall
Sky's filled with electrons
Earth teems with protons
Electric currents are on
On this day of Armageddon
Lightnings are scratching
The land in searching
For a mouse that's hiding
In a flower blooming.
-04/25-26/2012
(Dumarao)
*for Comp. Prog. poem in Salingsing Issue of 1st Sem., AY 2011-12
The night stood,
veiled like a nun.
Wherever she looked,
She saw a hooded assassin,
staring at her with eyes like fireballs.
Leaving aside
the unfinished works,
she curled into bed, tired.
Thoughts once dead,
of that fearful night
like spirits, from another world
came
to haunt
her once again.
They threatened to lacerate her,
in the stillness of the night.
Gagged by those ferocious demons,
of fear,
she choked
for breath.
Chained and handcuffed,
she couldn’t move.
Should she drink to the lees,
the dregs
of the bitter potion
once again?
She couldn’t wink an eye.
Like serpents
u
n
c
o
i
l
i
n
g,
fears came.
If she slept, they would strike.
So, she kept staring,
into the awful
darkness, wide eyed!
I lead the charge up the hill
My dragon puffed fireballs at the enemy
The other army was screaming and shrieking
They retreated and Poindexter flipped them away with his tail
Scooped them up and flung them back to their side of the continent
The joys of having a pet dragon can barely be touched on in a mere poem.
Flaming rocks fell from the sky scorching the earth & boiling the seas. The fall out of the event was truly massive taking the life of living things as far as eyes could see. Smoke hovered in the sky like rain clouds obstructing the view of from where the fireballs came. All I could think is, this is how the world ends, in a hail of destructive fire rain. The flames brought about immeasurable pain & this was evident when I heard the screams. It was a nightmare that I couldn't unsee & so unreal that I thought it to be a dream. Bodies burned like a field of scarecrows as if they were nothing more than sacks of straw. I never imagined that I would ever see this day all the while wanting to forget what I had saw. I awakened in a pool of sweat with tears running from burning eyes. I was shaken but relieved and thankful to be alive for I had dreamt the world had died.
Started a new diet yesterday
Doc said I can’t keep living this way
I’ve got high blood pressure and cholesterol
He said I’m lucky to be alive at all
Was rambling about my A1C
Diabetic is where I’ll soon be
My liver is just about to go AWOL
I’m really lucky to be alive at all
No more hot dogs, burgers, or a shake
Fish and chicken can only be baked
No potato chips, pizza, or alcohol
Because I’m lucky to be alive at all
Must stay away from bacon and pies
No more of them McDonald’s French fries
No Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, or Fireballs
I guess I’m lucky to be alive at all
I have to give up all sweets and fat
They say no carbs is now where it’s at
No trips to the fridge when I hear ice-cream call
Well man, I’m lucky to be alive at all
At dinner time I can only cry
Still can’t believe that’s a portion size
A piece of grey meat the size of a golf ball
At least, I’m lucky to be alive at all
Now I sit in the corner and bawl
Too weak to walk so I have to crawl
I take my shower propped up against the wall
So tell me, am I even alive at all
Fireballs of far off feather stars
lucid dreams they touch and tickle;
Diamonds dancing dazzling Mars
mirage of something magical;
It passed me something practical
writing on my soul with knowledge;
Tossed in a well with a nickel
waiting to capture high voltage.
In the depths of Mt Rainier fire stirred,
The earth around trembled in dire anger,
As the fiery spirit Elf wandered
In the depths of the spouting volcano
Exuding thick feculent, fusty smells,
And from the volcano's top, exuded
Ash, smoke, flaming rocks and burning lava.
Dare a human female refuse Elf?
Not that he loved her as Indians love.
His fervid lust for her knew no limit.
His anger increased beyond all known bounds.
Rising to the top of the volcano,
Elf hurled fireballs, torching the forests,
So that poor humans flew towards a lake.
There they prayed to their good God to save them.
A large stone fell into the volcano
Burying Elf and his hateful fire.
A fearful blizzard formed and rain and snow
Filled the volcano until all was calm.
A large lake formed and a lovely island
Rose majestically from the waters:
A seventh wonder of Columbia.
A slash of light sears my left eye -
end of the world
or just sunshine crashing into a slanted window?
It happens just that quickly
I don't think there will be a time-lapse
or anytime to count the number of
deathly moments
that rush into a cringing brain.
When the end begins.
The balloons will go up
balloons will be downed
nothing to see
until we are all resting
under a great lake of rumor and suspicion.
When the black and white cat
fell of the roof, somebody cried
but the silence downed out all voices.
A train blunders into a happenstance
chemicals are burned,
the deadly smoke gets into every eye,
will we be blinded by fireballs or only mollified
by silent headlines?
The end of the world needs a witness
otherwise it just won't ever end.
Don't forget your books with the shiny covers.
Pens filled with glitter and rainbows of hope.
My books used to be wrapped in brown paper bags.
By year's end they'd be frayed and covered in kid graffiti.
Number 2 pencils poked with bite marks.
Most importantly, mind your teachers.
But when they delve into critical hate theory or gender fluency.
You have my blessing to tune them out...
After all, you're only six years old.
In my day we'd recited the pledge.
Had air raid drills garnished with salted sirens.
We'd be ordered to scramble under wooden desks.
To protect ourselves from nuclear fireballs...
The teachers turning into hell hounds.
Barking at us to keep quiet and keep our heads down.
As they goose-stepped up and down the aisles.
They'd look for stray-paper-eyed lambs.
We had to do this because of a red boogie man.
Who couldn't wait to lay our souls inside his nuclear sandbox-
Of course, you kids have your own boogie man to fester about...
So don't forget to run for the gates or shelter in place.
If all else fails, do as they do in Uvalde.
Cover yourself in your best friend's blood and play dead.
summer rain
cotton candy clouds
whispy trails like spun sugar ~
sly mists mask the skies
muggy breathless air
leaves hang limp upon their boughs ~
mute the summer song
heat in mirages
shimmering waves sweltering ~
sweet star jasmine blooms
winds like banshees rise
hypnotic dust shadows spin ~
crickets take cover
monsoon clouds rumble
dark humid fury gathers ~
lightning waits to strike
thunder bumpers swell
full of humid heaviness ~
fevered fireballs flair
muggy raindrops fall
scent of rain on sidewalks
drought runs for its life.
8-1-22
for some reason
around your fortress
you’ve built
insurmountable blockades
and from their safety
you thrive on lashing out
catapulting showers
of fireballs
and cannonballs
it took a while for me
to realize we were at war
I simply didn’t know
in hindsight it’s been going on for years
but I really truly didn’t know
I knew enough to keep my distance
and stay out of the firing range
you’ve always had me
walking on eggshells
why? I haven’t got a clue
after all these years
to tell the truth
somewhere along the way
I simply finally lost interest
so keep doing what you’ve got to do
and I’ll continue
liking you the way you are
the last of eggshell crumbs
have turned to lovely sand
and your fireballs
now look to me
like nothing less
than fireworks display
AP: Honorable Mention 2022, Honorable Mention 2021
Submitted on June 16, 2021 for contest ALL YOURS (JUN 17) sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - 1ST PLACE
FLUORESCENCE
Fireworks flashed to illumine New Years’ Eve
Firecrackers burst, dazzled on ebon sky.
Splendid pyrotechnics, hard to believe.
Glistened glittered, blazing fireballs up high.
Firecrackers burst, dazzled on ebon sky
Cluster of fluorescent flowers to bloom
Glistened glittered, blazing fireballs up high.
Simple shiny show on warm glow to zoom.
Cluster of fluorescent flowers to bloom
Splendid pyrotechnics, hard to believe.
Simple shiny show on warm glow to zoom.
Fireworks flashed to illumine New Years’ Eve.
01/08/21
A Strand (1044)
Contest. by Brian Strand
equal top billing
Leonids and Taurids show
~fireball duet
November 15, 2020
The Leonid and Taurid meteor showers promise to light up the night sky this week with shooting stars and bright fireballs. During the next two days (November 16 & 17, 2020) the best time to see the meteor showers will be between midnight and dawn on both mornings, wherever you are in the world.
.
The Leonids are caused by dust and debris from the small comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which takes 33 years to orbit the sun. Typically, there are between 10 and 15 meteors per hour. The Taurids are caused as the Earth passes through the debris of the comet 2P/Encke each year from September to November. Check online to determine the best time to view in your area of the world.
Wake! Kokura to a novel world of peace
Under the canopy of dark divine clouds
A million deaths and a zillion days of sufferings
Ah! Flown to a distant land
While the holy hands patting your shoulders
Away Nagasaki crying,
… a loud ghostly cry..
When the fat boy shed fireballs from above
Flitting shadows unable to find a cwtch
Death solidified, melted to florid streams
On a boundless billowy sea of hellfire.
Murky minds killing unknown souls
Burnt alive was innocent, wicked and wise
On their knees, a nation bend
Away victory cried,
… a loud cheerful cry…
Ah! Know me first before you please
to squander guns, grenades or guillotines
At least the cognizant me die in peace,
And a better predilection for your choicest blessings.
Silent guns are a hackneyed dream
Begging only for a better aim
Away hope loath to stop,
.. a loud wishful cry…
(The plutonium bomb, Fat Boy, was intended to drop on Kokura City, Japan; but the city was saved by heavy clouds. Now, Kokura is considered as the luckiest city.)
Date of Entry : 17-08-2020
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.