Gradients Poems | Examples

Subtle Gradients

An area brightly lit
Meets a shadow's
Black body
Illuminated unclearly nor totally hidden,
Glimmer of light through trees nearby 
Usually and clearly 
Is betwixt and between
The steady illumination and absence of light,
Yes, neither glow nor obscurity.

Mind Mountains

Gradually gradients level out.
After a lifetime of hill climbing
the body explains to us
that the far side can be explored
from the near fireside
with a pipe
and a whisky close at hand.

Black And White

Black's non-reflective, absorbing all light,
it is not a color: it is a shade.
And it is perceived by our sense of sight,
as grey gradients of varying grade.

White's all the visible spectrum combined,
and thus, the absence of pigments in paint.
You can't describe color to one born blind:
to those without sight, that notion seems quaint.

It's true; colors don't include black or white:
mixed-up wavelengths cause visual mayhem.
Black and white are scrambled spectrums of light:
at least, that is how physics describes them.

Though both black and white are tethered to light,
they are as different as day and night.

Dying in the Moment

In the language of Spirit
it is said: “that we must die before we die.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the language of Sprit
it is said: “that we must die before we die.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It kills me,
a lot of things kill me.
I mean the kind of ‘killing’
that blinks you out for a moment,
that kind of little death.

Such instances can be exquisite,
like when your life unlatches,
you stop in mid-throttle,
halted upon a careening mania.
There are no increments,
no gradients,
you just jump out of yourself.

A powerful ****** can kill you
with one thrust of bliss.

Holding your baby for the first time,
a sudden inexplicable gnosis
obliterates your present,
past and future.

Writing a killer line in a poem -
that can kill the reader
for a bitty twitch of time.

Those quiescent extinctions happen,
in a single tick of abeyance,
transient wipe-outs
(too abrupt to me measured),
when we forget
to be both happy or sad,
in nothing-flat
we have ceased to be, we succumb,
only to return.

Between each taken breath,
these little deaths may, at any time,
undo time,
revealing much more than we,
the living,
might care to admit.

Greenling Elegy - Revision

clouded omens across code

the objective fact of the atmosphere here
starves even the most modest
ambitions of fish outside their home waters

journey of yearning mundane
day-glow gradients of green
scales gasping 
toward the summit

regret etched in the eyeball
a penumbra casting its subtle shadow
lips rest in swags of exhausted lassitude
beleaguered
by their own bland arguments
against the reality

hung above a feckless mountainside face up
blind to the gallows scaffold 

too much air in the jagged aspiration 
of escape

the breathless canvas of a departing day

Secret Sun Grace

Written: August 2023
______________________________________________________________

moonless selflessness
heavenly bloodstones rainfall~
the beast rainstorms chomp

to hide in the dark
dangerous, brash rain monsters~
the Sunlight squandered

luminous shadow
gradients of gray wobble~
slumbering music

painful heart eclipse.
sun hidden by bloodstone rain~
night saps our spirit

the howl of rain beasts
darkness drinks in, clawing bones~
stuck in vague tones haze

Discrimination

Someone recently said there was more discrimination
against blacks than Jews, travellers (gypsies) or the Irish;
for which an apology has been offered for all those lies,
an inacurate description for whom the beloved country cries.

The poor Jews who were driven from golden pillar to post,
what belongs to them, you wonder, maybe the holy ghost;
we should not berate 'the chosen people' on a green hill,
because they're still here, last time Hymie sharpened pencil.

The 'gypos'settled in my car park after a second coming,
from the south of France and God knows where in India;
I told my son - you don't want to spend the rest of your life
in a caravan do you? Cheaper but gradients may be steeper.

What have the poor Irish done - that's the problem - nothing,
no government - there must be better news that Mick could sing.

Shades of Dark

the shades of dark cascade
from dusk to midnight
their gradients increase
only to subside
up and down delightful shadings 

their musical scales tickle my heart
gentle is the play of light
that holds dear such delight
to depths of cloudiness
inside the sinews of my mind



AP: Honorable Mention 2022, Honorable Mention 2022

Submitted on June 24, 2022 for contest A BRIAN STRAND PREMIERE CHOICE sponsored by BRIAN STRAND  -  RANKED 2ND

Posted on June 23, 2022

Prelude

Canopy’s aperture, spilled light’s nuance, tinted,
as my eyes arrested, to attest fall’s saga…
A tree proclivity, had me stalled in Ashland, 
watching the leaves succumb, leaving stark limbs barren…
Those with temerity, plunged at high speed, head first
Others spun dizzily, tornado-bewildered…
Few flew in gradients, of sideways-sloped descent:
wishes on air sustained, just a little longer…
Some seemed to ride gentle, invisible, sleep-chutes,
touching down easily, with wizened acceptance…
My marrow slowly chilled, as damping moisture crept
But cheer was soon bubbling, as merry maples fell:
swaying in zigs and zags, frolics of to and fro,
to come to a smooth rest, on the glassy brook’s face
Alighting sans ripples, their fate in water’s hold:
floating on a mirror, reflecting their past life,
ere being swept by currents, to their next journey’s start… 



(11/4/18 - Repost of Ashland Autumn for P contest hosted by Constance la France)

A Budding Artist

Spring imbues a refreshing
morning mist;
with a kiss of moisture,
and the promise of renewal.
A budding artist:
Spring saturates the scene
with gradients of green;
that morphs into a rhapsody of color.
Filling Her canvas
with floral beauty,
She flirts with the senses.
Fueling a tantalizing array
of scents and sounds,
that amplify our love
for Nature's purity and wonder.
The woods and fields get transformed
into a garden of wildflowers,
as Spring uplifts sagging spirits,
weighed down by the blues.
And suddenly, Winter's sullen, bleak look,
magically blossoms
into a rainbow of vibrant colors,
tethered to the whims of Spring.

Synonymous With May

Blue hyacinths quickly grow anew:
anew, under clear skies of blue.
May is a time for fun and play:
play is synonymous with May.
Reds and whites adorn flowerbeds;
flowerbeds filled with whites and reds.

Tweeting songbirds start competing:
competing, by sweetly tweeting.
Green shadings complement the scene:
scene inked in gradients of green.
Flowers climb up trestle towers;
towers laced with climbing flowers.

The Zebra Mystique

I want to ride a zebra

   and race the rays of radiance
       through heat-waves’ sailing gradients -

     a folly wild - a mood untamed
   elated hands in bristled mane
unbridled veins uncorked champagne...

   yes! elevate sedate heart rate
     I WANT to ride a zebra

        stripes yin yang oasis sweet and
          whimsy rules a drumroll beat as

        gallop sways euphoric roughness
      crossing plains of dreamy lushness -
    steed’s exotic tender toughness
  pacing thrills in state of luscious...

yes! animate to sate my wait
   I want to RIDE a zebra
 
         savanna grass a grand expanse
            a lion’s roar - hyena's rant 
          amuse myself with peril’s speed
     adventure sows romantic’s seed... so

         gestate date with fancy’s fate
YES! I want to ride a  Z E B R A !

Cerulean Ecstasy

With my mind trapped in the deep crevice of blue
I travelled across barren landscape’s depression
to the scenic aegean beach of the cobalt sea 
as the cold sun sank in serene indigo splendour
down the steep gradients of the lapiz horizon
in the departing gleam of the teal twilight hours.
Through the fleeting ribbons of periwinkle cloud
blown by breeze sailing with aquamarine whisper
the shower of cyan sky’s remote reflection fell 
and dissolved on the rolling swell of silent waves.

You came flying on the sapphire wings of zephyr,
slate hair kissing the lips, lacing the prussian eyes.
From the azure shadow of my mind in despair
I swam to the turquoise sea shore of your eyes
that led me to the tinsel niche of your heart
where cerulean ecstasy waited to embrace me.

January 7, 2019.

The Adventure, Her

THE ADVENTURE, HER

Eyes
Deep, shimmering pools
Drowning fevered fools

Voice
Feigning tenderness, tragic
Whispered, lilting magic

Scent
Je Reviens enchanting
Left shamelessly panting

Hair
Bouncing raven tresses
Velvety elucidated guesses

Smile
Sparkling white gradients
Breath-stealing bright radiance

Lips
Succulent raspberry fruit
Passion's delicious route

Shape
Form-filling voluptuous esses
Curvaceously exploiting dresses

Skin
Satiny cappuccino wrapping
Exploring fingers, mapping

Taste
Tippy-top to feet
Nectarous, tangy, sweet

Whole Package
Symmetry imperfectly perfected
Entirely painstakingly inspected

Plan
Moonlight eventide, upended
Enjoyment, dishonorably intended

Result
Personal intentions, punted
"Hunter" becomes "Hunted"

Afterglow
Her sensual surprise =
My satiated eyes.




~ 1st Place ~  in the "Six-Word Couplet Series Encore" Poetry Contest, Mark Toney, Judge & Sponsor.

Ebony Brown Bronze Woman

EBONY BROWN BRONZE WOMAN

Ebony luscious dark bombshell
You prevail, comet from the heavens
God's bronzed angel
Dark chocolate, your my brown candy
Brown woman
Leading out from the moon light
Standing in front of the sun 
Gradients shines bronze as the lights
Shining ever so bright
 You are by far brown clay
That God has made
I commend
you who're ebony brown bronze woman


4/02/18
written by James Edward Lee Sr. 2018©

from anthology “SPRING SONATA ”

• Short Gradients Poems
• Famous Gradients Poems
• Best Gradients Poems
• Read Gradients Poems
• Long Gradients Poems
• Gradients Quotes