I lay with languor praying for an answer I’d been seeking.
Azure glitter-drops splashed upon
the clean white sand nearby my feet.
I drifted into sleep then as wisps of clouds
in a sky mirroring the cerulean sea beneath it
wafted slowly like my slackening pensive thoughts.
I’d dozed and was awakened by gulls’ shrill long calls.
Instantly, I was jolted by twilight, and I
saw crimson and persimmon devouring sky.
Slathered-on apricot and rubescent streaks
formed the backdrop to the seagulls’ piercing shrieks.
Some saffron deliciousness was also in my view
when just as suddenly came the answer to
the question I’d been pondering before my nap.
It came as if the sunset had the sound of a snap!
Gamboge, tangerine and raspberry sorbet
drizzled into sea at the end of that day.
Mesmerized and well-pleased, I lingered there.
Dusk turned into night with the hush of a prayer.
The floral foliage of Fall fuels my pen to flow
Nature's carmine carnage is a crimson condition to watch
Russet quills of the trees float down in myriad shades
Amber leaves levitating like flying embers
Auburn arrows gliding to meet the earth
Soft sepia smiles sent down from the Shepherd above
Burnished varnished tree-bits travelling back to the ground
Crumbling orange smidgens creating crunchy cracklings
Brown bracts brave enough to bed with the soil
Gamboge hues gamboling like golden glowing gems
Lurid leaflets leaving their last lucid legacy
Before they turn into les feuilles mortes
Colors she wowed in autumn's praise
Where tinted leaves turn fiery red,
Where gamboge dye prairies imbed.
Meadows winsome in crimson blaze
Inspired poems of heartfelt themes
Strumming passions of season's dreams.
Vying glimpse of her moonlit gaze
Resplendent motifs whirled in dance
Pleasing poise of her gifted stance.
Lauding grandeur of gilded glaze
Lyrics she wrote in flawless rhyme,
How Connie's verses transcend time!
Swaying rhythms of beauteous days
Autumn's glory adorned her art:
Words that blossomed poetic heart.
Colors she wowed in autumn's praise~
Meadows winsome in crimson blaze,
Vying glimpse of her moonlit gaze
Lauding grandeur of gilded glaze
Swaying rhythms of beauteous days.
September 24, 2022
Placed1st: In Remembrance of Connie –
Autumn Theme Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Suzanne Delaney
Form: Constanza
Eight syllables per line
You hang there on the rise of dawn
Bending twigs where you cling,
Glistening gems on sunlit lawn,
Where I greet you before you're gone,
Before my passions forlorn ding
While you gleam rays of spring.
How long dear will you glint and glow
Upon vibrant realm green,
My heart and I would like to know
For zephyrs of west will soon blow
To dethrone you from where you preen;
Oh! force of gale is mean.
How ardent you paint golden morn
Blushing on canvas gray;
Glinting rays my sight you adorn,
Assuaging grievous yore lovelorn
As verdant limbs gentle winds sway
Waltzing with lucent day.
Time has risen to bid goodbye,
Yet, you flinch, loath to part,
As sun paints arc in gamboge dye
When a fervent tear sparks your eye,
Heartening warmth love-vibes impart
Vowing to cure my heart.
Above quercitron sand.
A solemn sky of navy-gam
Wind's relieved sigh of a day gone by
Hum's hum of dusty dusk
Rust hair fades from view.
Metal mother dusky pink
Safety
Eburneon
Carnelian
And finally
Gamboge
Hope is a song of bird
Reassuring forlorn dawn,
The nightmare is banished
And the dream is still alive
Hope is a Lotus flower
Drowning in the night
Yet, rising through mud
With ebullient sunrise
Hope is an autumn leaf
Gamboge on brown
That curls up and dies,
Only to bud again with
Spring’s verdant vibes
Hope is a glint of smile
On the face of despair
When helping hand arrives
Trekking by its side
Hope is a concert
Of euphoric hatchlings
Yearning first flight
Flexing freedom wings
It’s the elixir of living
Priceless for everyone
And everything for some~
Hope’s their only means
Hope is a prayer
Tolling of benevolence
In places of worship
Seeking in earnest
Triumphs over tragedies
Written: February 3, 2022
Submitted on November 2, 2022 to:
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 19 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mark Toney
Placed 1st: A Strand 1074 contest
Placed 1st: Hope Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mohan Chutani
Oh, splendorous, spectacular, resplendent autumn!
Boldly you dye cypress ~ flaunting ochre, cinnamon,
Yellowing sugar-maple, glazing tangerine emotions,
As scarlet winds warble in accents of majestic aspens,
Responding in purple whispers, tupelo leaves flutter
Reminiscing in revelries evoked by red-oak crimson
Lingering in blazing meadows, enchanting red maple.
Oh, autumn! fly me there, into depths of the season,
Frolicking upon gamboge hills, wrap me in your vision,
Tour with me dazzling terrains of flamboyant foliage
Composing deep pleasure in brilliant changing colors,
Hang your portrait upon cobalt cliffs of ruby horizon
Painting blushing hearts in amber hints of setting sun,
Mindful still of wistful shudders quivering barren trees
And unsung withering yearnings of falling golden leaves,
Aspiring blossoming kisses--on lips of flowering spring.
Oh! how gracefully the trees, flaunting splendor lilt
Swaying autumn’s palettes in rhythms of winds ruby
As the sun is setting, flaming glow of gamboge skies
Amber breeze is blushing rosy glimmer of eventide
And robins are excavating pecking on decaying lawn
Where ducks are ambling, ogling seductive bond
Amid people strolling, pausing to gaze at opaline arc
Floating crimson filaments on tinted purple canvas
Enhanced by falling colors whirling mellowed vibes
In twilight’s golden ambiance alluring romantic eyes
Gleam of eve’s fading, ceding reign to peeking moon
As scent of you appeals, quiescently enveloping me
Enchanting where I sit, under twinkling stellar magic
Enticed by euphony of mockingbird’s sensuous song
Articulating for me eloquently, love is never too far
When autumn blazes passions titillating lovers’ hearts
October 20, 2021
Placed 1st: Let’s Mix It Up Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Constance La France
Theme: Nature
Unrhymed couplet/Unrhymed imagism/Free verse
Spring tantalizingly unfolds vernal, winsome
Blossoms of lilies pristine, undulating to appease
Fawning nectar-dreams adrift on wings of bees
Frolicking tranquility of rustling flowering trees
Refulgent summer, too, unpacks variegated
Revelry on rivers, oceans, flamboyant meadows
As ubiquitously nature paints blooms primrose
On hills and valleys oscillating jubilant shadows
Autumn’s brilliance courts dazzling ebullience
Of mellowed sun scintillating eventide’s ruby glow
Where gamboge leaves of fall amber winds blow
As passions of romance vie moonlit stellar show
Snowfalls titillate, unveiling vehement winter
In eyes of lovers ruminating in blessings of yore
When enticing beats of hearts indulgently implore
Aesthetic glacial memories venerated evermore
July 31, 2021
Placed 1st: Alpha lines poetry contest
Sponsor: Joseph May
Placed 1st: A Brian Strand Rhyme Contest
Enchanting
Is beauty of your love
Fragrant, colorful, blossoms of spring
Delighting
Robins on willow trees
To woo your summers in playful hints
Riveting
Your passions marigold
In musings gamboge of autumn's leaves
Fulfilling
Desires of snow white dreams
Kissing you as snowflakes are falling
March 4, 2021
Placed 1st: Images in parallel poetry contest
Sponsor: Joseph May
Syllables per stanza: 3,6,9
Twilight crimson in motifs gold
Paints eve’s horizon ruby bold
Where autumnal dreams unfold
As saffron vistas waltz to please
Amethyst winds quiver in breeze
Falling leaves of gamboge trees
Stars up high, for attention vie
Glinting prairies in russet dye
While doting moon peeks from sky
Till sunrise blossoms shortened days
Glistening smile of autumn's blaze
Blushed in kiss of zealous rays
January 21, 2021
Syllables: 8,8,7 per stanza
Horizon imprints blazing joy, where autumn blushes amber sky
Glistening meadows of gilded season, adorning tinted russet dye
As amethyst winds of eventide flutter leaves on crimson trees
Flickering rays of golden twilight, glinting sigh of ochre breeze.
Pleasing sights, saffron colors merrily bounce, staging air-dance
Whirling leaves in panoramic vistas, hypnotizing glance of romance
As fiery gamboge hills oscillate, waltzing tenor of autumnal zeal
Dazzling lovers’ enchanted hearts in maple tree’s scarlet appeal.
Cooler weather permeates, graying charm of shortened days,
While browsing prairies of browning fields, cattle lazily graze;
Families gather sharing stories, crowding around warm fireplace
As festive season ushers in, serenading divinity of solemn grace.
September 12, 2020
Autumn–Fall Rhyme Challenge Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Tania Kitchin
Golden was the zeal of twilight blushing appeal of your fervid glance
When eventide’s scintillating aura revealed mystique of romance
Upon horizon’s gamboge arc, glinting crimson on marigold skies
As smile of your seductive eyes propelled vibes to sensuous highs.
Enchanting was the evening, awaiting glimpse of amorous moon
When magic of our first kiss attuned hearts in affectionate tune
As allegory of love strummed rhythms, humming lyrics of astral delight
Mesmerizing blossoming dreams in music of our passionate night.
Harmonizing melodies warbled along, lauding sound of indelible song
When we said our vows to announce, forever together we belong;
As time keeps scripting eternal story, pages of albums memories fill,
Blazing revelry in autumns and springs, a time for us, seasons thrill.
August 25, 2020
Placed 1st: A time for us poetry contest
Sponsor: JCB Burl
In autumn’s gilded dreams, sepia winds sigh
Amber leaves appeal, rustling aureate trees
As crimson vistas dazzle, blushing cobalt sky
When October arrives, splendorous hues vie
Floating in prairies, drifting twilight breeze
In autumn’s gilded dreams, sepia winds sigh
Ruby beams gleam, bidding summer goodbye
Crush of feisty bees, auburn meadows appease
As crimson vistas dazzle, blushing cobalt sky
Gamboge imprints of fall, blaze in russet dye
Glinting ardent themes, glistening hills please
In autumn’s gilded dreams, sepia winds sigh
Raising tempo of lovers’ vibes, falling colors fly
Caressing autumnal hints, crooning hearts tease
As crimson vistas dazzle, blushing cobalt sky
Smitten enamored eyes, lift emotions high
Scarlet arc’s revelry, enchanted visions seize
In autumn’s gilded dreams, sepia winds sigh
As crimson vistas dazzle, blushing cobalt sky
July 7, 2020
Month of the year I like most poetry contest
Sponsor: Mohan Chutani
A Van Gogh's "Starry Night"
gamboge moon and stars
dance haloed whirlwind marriage
in violet sky
while black cypress looms
past swirling clouds as fleeting
requiem for love
through bright starry eyes
secluded heart still searches
unrequited.
©deborah burch
07/11/2012
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