prior to thought or perception
before arises conception
in this strange world of names and forms
at the stillness point, heart conforms
to space before time arises
where lower mind weighs and sizes
there in unending renewal
we dwell in the realm non-dual
these musings apart we must share
epiphany beyond compare
third eye lowers her eyelashes
feather like touch gently gnashes
bliss seduction in slow motion
where the drop becomes the ocean
without any doing at all
as in love’s abyss we free fall
For all the tolls of the war dead,
for those who starve for bread,
for persecuted martyrs dying in the Lord,
for young and old victims of domestic discord,
I live in grief and sleep in gnashes,
yet, children born are hope for humanity's masses,
precious Jesus, You know many are not moneyed,
though small alms in Your eyes are honeyed. ~
Poetry will not keep you warm
Not like a cat nestled between legs
But, it hunts down manic thoughts
Gnashes the static till the mind gives
Chases a thought till claws are bloody
Keeps you drenched in sweat
Yes, she mews for attention
Till its cries grate every nerve
Till I feed it words & want
Poetry keeps me squirming
Caught in a net skimming a deluge
Waiting for words to be hauled
The big catch ever escaping
Keeps me checking the line
Insisting I jump into cold waters
Foolishly like Ahab chasing a tail
Sadness is my white whale
Mad with promises holey
Poetry is a leaky bucket
Catching the rain of words
Within depression's storm
Coming like a cat with a pail
Impossible and torrential
Ensnaring me for an hour
Keeps me back for seconds
Promising an easy catch
Cold and slippery
eager exotic eyelashes
doubly dilly dots and dashes
quixotic crazy slashes
friendly farm ashes
wild window splashes
breakneck barley bashes
goodly gnarly gnashes
heavenly hopeful hashes
slick satin like slashes
meandering and marauding mashes
creative corny clashes
boots improvising as goulashes
eager exotic eyelashes
It was everything it was, all it was ever going to be. That moment containing such endless possibilities... Vast and infinite. The raw power of creation, spawning time and space itself. Magnanimous and awe inspiring... The proplexity of it all being that the mirrored image is often dark and grim for to be opposite in every sense as a sense should be, can be and often almost is. For what would a smile be without a sinister sneer to compare it to. Soft, bright gentle and alluring? Without the gnashing bitter snickered sneer of what gnashes, with such malice... Cold and cruely intent on its purpose. Could light then pierce the shadows of the veil had the veil not been drawn to cast forth a contrast onto it's purity. For what would the cure then be ... With the absence of poison?
darkness ...
it is closing its careless bite
upon ALL of us
it knows no favor, no age, no disposition
fear and all its dim shadows
paint the tremulous sky above
and swirl the murky waters at our feet
it casts an arrogant shade that we have not yet seen
dimming all that we care for and contemplate
all that is dear and demanded
it hides its claws in plain sight of all
gnashes its teeth behind the smiles of kindness
it comes in the guise of those we love
and the necessities of life
but take heart - there is always hope
for even as the adumbration spreads about us
the one truth of human nature
becomes as evident as ever
that it is the very worst of times and adversities
that brings out the very BEST of US
and I have no doubt in mind or marrow
that in these darkest of hours
we will once again persevere
the human spirit will once again ...
shine.
~ 2nd Place ~ in the "Quarantine" Poetry Contest, Julie Leigh Rodeheaver, Judge & Sponsor.
Tiger in a Cage
It paces roars and gnashes teeth,
a tiger has its stripes.
Red and white and black and brown,
and paws so big with claws.
But most of all I wish I was
our God as he’s above — below.
To kiss the critter on the mouth,
his meaty breath — I gag.
And snuggle tender into him and stroke his tiger fur.
Here's a bit of trivia from World War Two I'll bet you didn't know,
Concerning the war-time Prime Minister of Japan, Hideki Tojo of Tokyo.
After the war hapless Hideki was jailed in Tokyo's Sugamo Prison,
Where he was given a new set of dentures 'cause he was losing his'n.
A waggish American dentist, determined to make a lasting 'impression',
Etched on Tojo's choppers in Morse Code this immortal expression:
'REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR" - 'Twas America's stirring battle cry!
He eternally gnashes his teeth in perdition after he was hanged to die!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(c) All Rights Reserved
True Story!!!
Look all around you
what do you see?
a world that was beautiful
Look closer, draw near
look from above
see the gnashes
There are great bare patches
de-void of their trees
just dust bowls
The angel watches
and her tears fall
like rain
As each lands
it heals the land
new growth appears
Soon a host of angels
each one weeping
their tears restoring all
Perversion.? ?Hidden deep inside
it roils and coils?; ?wrestles and writhes
screams,? ?gnashes,? ?gnaws and cries;
longing to tear the wings from flies
No volition to kill-? ?not the aim.
Rather,? ?to punish,? ?is the game.
Ignore deathblow,? ?purpose to maim;
in the wake,? ?leave broken and lame.
Pain persitent, ?it seeks to bring.
Perversion.! ?Lusts only to inflict suffering;
it insinuates to you?; ?it whispers to me
"make them hurt,? ?then you'll be free".
Over rolling hills, it tiptoes in on bobcat feet
With Lynx-like eyes, and billowing clouds of gray
And turns the hush of twilight's blood red sky
Into a witches brew, alive with piercing cries
A wind that coils in the breast of dunes
Gliding in from distant lands, Saguaro sands
Eerie sounds whistle through window sills
The chill of what was peaceful and still
Has turned to anger, fear and dread
Wildness arrives on chariots with mighty steeds
The monsoon thrives, while a desert blanches dead
It gnashes teeth with biting winds
Shaking shingles, tree trunks bend
The pouring thunder, lightning peels
Rain gushes down as strong as steel
We wait until the wrath is spent
At last with gusto,....a final vent
Like spoiled child it takes a bow
There's nothing but a murmur now
The wretched carpet left behind
Broken wings from dark of night
Trees and limbs are battered hosts
Cacti lift their arms to toast
The remnant of a monsoon's ghost
.................................
Inspired by Paula's Monsoon Contest
With shivers cold upon the hill
Words chill my heart much colder still
With tempest howls or'e chimney tops
Such howling sounds forgiving not
Angry screams and threatening shouts
The poet's wrath..he cries he pouts
He gnashes teeth without his pen
With wailing words he can't begin
The slumbers chain has been forsaken
By day his story will not awaken
Who can I choose to heed the call
For saving fate of poets all?
Too swift upon the shadow lies
We need your help or VERSE WILL DIE !
Please poet guest, Miss Guzzi's best
will save the night.., in this contest!
Continued from James Goff/John Loving lll
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