Septet II
Wind strips bark.
Rust stains the white skin.
Ghost gum breathes and a branch breaks
What broke has made room for coloured wings.
New leaves stir above the scar.
The trunk keeps breathing.
Green wings rise.
Septanelle
Bark strips leave white.
Winds rush past, branches bare.
White trunk reflects the fading evening light.
Birdsong fills air.
Rainbows come from out west.
Lorikeets find hollows to make a nest.
Green wings take flight.
Saraband
Aging branch crashes to the ground.
Eerie silence follows the sound.
A gaping hole can now be found.
Hollow in the tree can be seen.
Lorikeets arrive as a pair.
Hollow cradles a nest unseen.
Birdsong now echoes through the air.
Though I can hold my branch the whole year long,
I sometimes lose my grip upon the tree;
A cheeky cockatoo with beak so strong,
Or racing winds that hurry to be free.
My falling journey brings both fear and joy,
While looking up, I see my brothers bound;
What cruel winds and hungry birds destroy,
Will join our fallen kindred on the ground.
The monster sups upon our brittle bark,
And swallows all my world in blinding gold;
Yet waiting in this fierce, devouring spark,
A greater, green rebirth will soon unfold.
Though I am turned to dust upon the floor,
My ash will feed the native bush once more.
Poet's Note:100% Human-Written.This poem is a strict Shakespearean sonnet, written entirely by hand in perfect iambic pentameter with an exact ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme. Please be aware that AI detection tools frequently flag this piece as "100% AI" because they rely on finding rhythmic irregularity and metrical variance. The strict meter is a deliberate, human-crafted artistic constraint.
Some blokes who smoke think it's okey-doke
to throw their still-lit dog-ends on the ground
it's mostly men or so I've found
then there are those who continually spit
how disgusting is that yet what can we do
to make them quit
and litter louts bug me too
while others chew gum and when done
stick it wherever they are able
such as chairs or under tables
with no regard for anyone
they're inconsiderate mindless fools
who behave that way and think they're cool
The ghastly gum
on the bottom
of my size nine shoes
Was put there by you~
A spit of spite;
A malicious verse,
A romantic curse~
Your love is slightly underwhelming
Like a supernova imploding!
Beware
The dogs of war,
I swore ~
Dreaded double-bubble
is my sword,
I will stick you to the freeway fast-lane
(You rundown Gandy Dancer),
And like Marvelous Medusa,
Turn you into languid stone
for eternity…
Or for ten enchanting days,
Whichever comes first!
It forever holds its flavor
One is all you’ll ever need
One can savor it for later
Or share it with a lover
Your brother if you’re onto that
A friend who’s a bestie
Or a stranger who’s in need
I’ve repurposed a pill box
To dispense my favorite flavor of the day
It will never disintegrate
And is guaranteed
Or your money back
If this gum just happened
To fall into the ocean
It would surely float
Be gobbled up by some random fish
Or get caught up
In the net of a fishing boat
And the Captain will surely gloat,
“Yum, cherry apple red.”
But like most trash
Gum ends up in the dump
Where it remains forever flavorful
For the ants and bums
Who rummage for just one
If television is chewing gum for the eyes,
as this architect would have us think,
can you walk and chew gum at the same time
or would it put your TV on the blink?
But what if radio is bubble gum for the ears,
as is my personal perception,
would you be forever blowing big ones
or would it interfere with the reception?
Always available to chew,
Need a perspective or two.
Allows you to see,
How saving gum is as easy as one, two, three!
No life preservers.
No CPR.
No refrigeration for contemplation.
No social media reference.
There are some well-known facts,
Why saving gum is mandatory.
Let me tell you the story.
To reuse when we get the blues.
Expand our money for other things that are funny.
Preserve the environment over use of the sapodilla tree,
Bet you thought gum just appeared.
Avoid creating waste,
No shoes with gooey paste.
Gives time to pause a thought,
Prevents words from bubbling out.
Sometimes what you say makes people shout!
Save your gum!
Stick on top of your shoe.
Wrap in old gum paper,
Either way will do.
Set for a time,
Under tables divine.
Stuck on a door,
To be seen once more.
Hardening from exposure to air,
Makes a repeat chew more extensive to do.
The flavors not great.
But wait!
You've saved your gum,
For another late date!
Gum drops are like Races of all people
Assortments of all shapes and sizes
Small components with sugar rush
Flavorful and tasteful
The end result being delightful
Feeling of content and well pleased
It’s not the color
It’s the association, acquaintance and friendship feel
Without the association there is connection
It’s the heart felt loving paying attention
Total experience of sensation
Gum Drops uplift
Relating to Race with no hush
Sense of savor and fulfillment
The aroma that follows and extends into goodness
Taste of the taste
Quality leaving no waste
You ever get this idea in your head. This menacing feeling chewing on your brain like that moment you decide to swallow your chewed gum. The insecurity that everything in your life is just plain wrong. You wake up fine or even happy yet with a smile upon your face you sit blindly scratching open your skin trying to survive your millions of thoughts. Someone ask if you're alright and you don't even think twice with an "I'm fine" response and part of you is not lying. You're okay. Just trapped in your own head space beginning to wonder if you're just dead weight and if so is it too late to become weightless and just float away. I wonder all the time if when I say I'm fine if secretly I'm screaming that I'm lying and if so can you see it on my face?
our love is like bubble gum kisses
sweet and sticky a childish delight
a playful game of back and forth wishes
holding hands we soar to new heights
our hearts beat in sync with every chew
an explosion of flavor a burst of bliss
with every kiss our love feels anew
a moment frozen in time we won't miss
but as the gum loses its saccharine taste
we're left with nothing but an empty space
the bubble pops our love leaves in haste
leaving us alone to pick up the pace
so let's savor each kiss like it's our last
before our bubble of love is forever past
A field of flowers.
A field of miracles.
A map of memories.
A destination to be determined.
A chart inside a labyrinth of the mind.
A twitch. A jolt. A lightning bottle.
A picture in paint. A remembrance of fire.
A color of love, bold and fearless.
A dream of hope, timeless and divine.
A sweet imagination, a brilliant manifestation.
A red sign filled with passion.
A golden sky with endless pride.
A blue pop with a gum inside.
A burst of flavor secreted
~ within five minutes deleted
Pity all of those rest home fellows
Over time all their hunger mellows
Without their dentures in
All their meals will begin
Sipping their soup and slurping Jellos
What’s the difference between now and then
why was life so much better way back when
Might be it was because we had no care
when it comes to talking ‘bout how we’d share
Whether was clothes, a coke, secrets or shoes
or anything else I thought you could use
No worries sharing things we were doing
we even shared the gum we’d been chewing
If my taste starts to fade, stick around I'm in style
Evergreen, Peppermint, did I just see you smile?
Chew my wad, blow a bubble
Be minty fresh on the double
I am gum, chew on that for a while
I please and abide like your loyal chum
Then you spit me out like a skid row bum
But chew me at your pleasure
I'm a tried-and-true treasure
I am comfort, I am delight, I am gum!
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