they glowered at me as I came over the hill
I could see the bear and the girl were both angry still
Not sure what I did, but they gave me horrible looks
I wanted to crawl inside one of those fantasy books
I said “hello” but the girl did not give me anything but a stare
There was a low menacing growl from her pet, the mean bear
I would have been fearful if the growl had come from the girl
She is the meanest of the two, said my cousin Pearl
Forsooth, one must stand proud and get ready my dear
Hold thy breath for combat into that coveted dress
Ladies, unite, squeeze tight - let thy true self appear
'Tis the festive season for the expansive rear
That limp lettuce leaf - the villain, I duly confess
Forsooth, one must stand proud and get ready my dear
Oh! How I fought against sweetmeats throughout the year
To don the finest apparel with undue stress
Ladies, unite, squeeze tight - let thy true self appear
I wrestled into my garb and what became clear
The malady on the raiment is anyone's guess
Forsooth, one must stand proud and get ready my dear
On reflection, my right thigh exposes a tear
The mirror glowered the fabric is less times less
Ladies, unite, squeeze tight – let thy true self appear
I am no Damsel in distress with this form – no fear
Strutting a designer tear, exuberates finesse
Forsooth, one must stand proud and get ready my dear
Ladies, unite, squeeze tight – let thy true self appear
Creepiest smiling jack
Glowered at those who saw
Rang a bell for those who listened
Rubbed the knee of those who felt
Creepiest smiling jack
One of the last carved pumpkins in the field
Waited to be adopted, to no avail.
Left alone in the field by those with no imaginations or hearts
Once there was a boy named Louie
Who loved candy, soft and chewy,
He swallowed one whole,
And it took a pole
To rescue the candy gooey;
Once the candy was taken out,
Louie began to cry and shout,
"Give me more candy,
I'm fine and dandy",
And glowered with a stubborn pout;
His mom refused, "You'll become stout,
And develop a rotten snout,
No candy for you
Till homework you do,
And then we'll go fishing for trout".
29th November 2022
For Eve Roper's "Children's limericks" contest
All within the taiga glade,
Their raiments gilt in comely shades,
The burgess shrives vagrant souls.
A garth of god for men alow.
Whereinto the roots may grow,
We wayfarers may never know,
For we waltz twixt sky and earth-
Domain of beast and realm of birds.
The elders of the greenwood lie,
On earth when once they kissed the sky,
And glowered at the rover’s romp,
Through lodgings filled with trunk and stump.
Or shrove to lonesome wretched wights,
Flying from their fearsome frights;
Seeking presence with burgesses,
Of taiga glade, the earth, the trees.
But now they lie upon the ground,
Now shod their garb, and lost their crowns,
Ne’er again will readorn,
Unlike their kin who stand and mourn.
We pass into the land of love,
For pleasant autumn leaves above;
To revel or repent alone,
To contemplate or to atone?
‘Twas on a morning brisk and airy
I met a creature big and hairy.
It glowered at me, and I at it.
I was not afraid, not one small bit.
Its eye was crookedly turned all askew.
From its nose escaped ghoulish-green goo.
A wat’ry rivulet down its cheek.
“It needs a tissue. It looks quite bleak.”
My proffered handkerchief it did take.
Blowing its nose made the sidewalk quake.
It took a moment and looked at me
with a grim grimace, or gleeful glee.
We nipped pleasant words and parted ways.
A morn to remember for always.
We tipped our heads in courteous nod.
Away it turned and away it plod.
This tale is so insanely absurd,
to this day all the details are blurred.
I scarce should repeat it now and then
that I am lumped with demented men.
But for the creature’s courteous bow
It meant no ill will, I know that now.
And when I am asked if I believe,
a brave and bold front I shall achieve.
I shan’t retell the tale of itself,
choosing to keep the tale to myself.
If it returns and it should see me
I’ll smile and definitely pleased be.
Your luminescence and clouds from once before, My vision blurrs fine connoisseurs and hunger profits more…
Longing for belonging vain void of emptiness,
Shoulders back, head held high weighting heaviness.
Murky desperation; wish not to be a bother,
Stars twinkle right above us whilst
Mist below does hover.
These feelings are so haunting; sober, solemn , staid,
Lured by loves’ prison, glowered from the grave.
To seek to be a part of all
Here again- love serves,
Though effulgence with all brilliance
Yellowness reserves.
For twilight is obscure for magic must unmask,
mysterious allure perchance, perchance to last.
Our world it keeps on turning
For here that God does bless
We must be doing something right-
To wrap in yellowness.
I love my green and feathered friend a bushel and a peck, *
But there was one occasion when I could have wrung her neck!
She's normally so well-behaved, but on that fateful day
When Aunty Pat came round for tea, I heard my parrot say:
'Old fatty Aunty Patty', 'Aunt Patty is a bore!'
With that my red-faced Aunt stood up and stormed out through the door!
I could have killed that parrot, we didn't speak for days.
I glowered at her through the cage and confiscated maize.
I tend to watch my words now, and Polly curbs her bill
The last I heard, my Aunty Pat had cut me from her will!
FINAL REVISED VERSION
16/03/19
'Green Humor Rhymes, Old Or New For Prizes Poetry Contest'
Sponsored by Carolyn Devonshire
* For anyone not familiar with this expression it means : ' a lot; a great amount' and was famously used in a song from the broadway musical 'Guys and dolls'. The last word seemed particularly fitting within this context!
Curious Indeed
A tiny Ruuk unclasped his hook
dropped, nay, plopped into the brook
Swiftly picked by glassy water
tumbling one way tumbling the other
Hurrah at last he could see the sky
as trees and branches sped on by
they glowered, that realm of Ruuk
some aghast, some with funny looks
“Oh foolish thing, what have you done
left a tree where once you clung
Below you lies the dark unknown
where it travels no one knows”
But that poor Ruuk kept its tongue...
growing so cold and terribly numb
They say he died when freezing water
soaked him while he slipped deep under
some say he still swims with fishes
or that my tale be damn ridiculous
“There ain't no such thing as Ruuk
and more fool you who go and look”
But I say Ruuk's be real as me
living their lives up high in trees
Invisible mostly, well behaved
studious
but sometimes...
just sometimes...
one feels brave
A scientist worked hard each day
To make a time machine to work away
And he had an assistant who worked along
Happy to share the scientist’s song
He had to clock on and off each day
The scientist not missing the worker’s pay
The time machine glowered in its power
As they worked away to the wee small hours
When at last they decided that they’d try it then
Entering the chamber closing the door again
There was a high pitched noise with shuddering
And they left the present to the past time entering
They spent long hours in the past reliving history
At the Eureka Stockade and the Moon Landing’s story
When at last they finished their wandering around
They returned to their laboratory as their machine died down
But a problem came when the assistant looked to be paid
They returned to the exact moment they left on their escapade.
© Paul Warren Poetry
She peered out from the safety of her closet
Hardly daring to breathe lest he hear her
His footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway
The worn wooden planks feeling his anger
He entered the room barking her name sharply
Beads of sweat formed on her head while she hid
The door screeched open, he glowered down at her
His body filled the doorway with darkness
She shrank back into the shadows of her mind
In low tones we chatted
On the steps to her porch,
We talked of the decades
Since I’d carried her torch—
Of love we knew nothing
During young naïve years
Of kissing and fondling
‘Til I left her in tears,
For the navy enticed
With ships and adventure:
I sailed away keenly
Aware that I missed her,
Each ivory cloud roiling
I watched sculpt her face,
And the foam in ships’ wakes
Emulated her grace.
How her leer glowered down
With each floozy I’d bed;
Her glare did accost me
From the face that I wed.
But that marriage was fey,
On a short vine it died:
I had loved only once
So to find her I tried:
Thus we sat on those steps
Last night swapping stories,
We confessed of our lives,
Our failures and glories …
And the kiss that welled up
While lightning bugs popped,
Led haltingly bedside
Where our slack clothing dropped.
We then gripped and embraced
Through a torrent of mirth—
Time relented at last
And our love found rebirth.
October 22, 2016
1st place: Long Distance Love Contest/October 19, 2016
For 1st Place Only Poetry Contest
Laura Loo
In low tones we chatted
On the steps to her porch,
We talked of the decades
Since I’d carried her torch—
Of love we knew nothing
During young naïve years
Of kissing and fondling
‘Til I left her in tears,
For the navy enticed
With ships and adventure:
I sailed away keenly
Aware that I missed her,
Each ivory cloud roiling
I watched sculpt her face,
And the foam in ships’ wakes
Emulated her grace.
How her leer glowered down
With each floozy I’d bed;
Her glare did accost me
From the face that I wed.
But that marriage was fey,
On a short vine it died:
I had loved only once
So to find her I tried:
Thus we sat on those steps
Last night swapping stories,
We confessed of our lives,
Our failures and glories …
And the kiss that welled up
While lightning bugs popped,
Led haltingly bedside
Where our slack clothing dropped.
We then gripped and embraced
Through a torrent of mirth—
Time relented at last
And our love found rebirth.
October 14, 2016
Long Distance Love Contest
Nicola Byrne
On the news was a man beating his cattle
It sickens me so this ongoing battle
For a human to hurt a helpless creature
Is so disgusting,our very worst feature
Saw a man kicking his dog one time
To me he'd committed a horrible crime
That poor pup hung his head and cowered
I screamed at the man and he just glowered
Like I was the one who was doing wrong
But he felt my glare as he moved along
And drowning kittens puts me in a fury
For this I will be judge and jury
Making dogs fight to the death
I get so angry I lose my breath
Bullfights in Spain just seem so cruel
Seems we forgot the golden rule
Another take on that phrase might say
Do evil to animals and you'll pay!
It might sound harsh but I don't care
I think swift justice is only fair
We share this world with them,it's true
And karma applies to animals too
*for Catie Lindseys "Outrageous" contest
Raven eyed the moon glowered
in an anthracite sky
bleeding onto an India-ink stage
where Valkyrie’s pluck
dead heroes to Valhalla.
Wolf winds howl the ravished sight.
Rent storm with fang and claw.
Purge the all too monochrome plight
with the Bloody born.
Harken the twisted neck of owl
observer of raven eyed moon.
Mourn the passing of the faint of heart
for they've met their foreshadowed doom.
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