syllable head count
and plausible restrictions ~
focusing required
Categories:
head count, poetry,
Form: Haiku
I saw a busy bumblebee,
Grazing on the dew,
It buzzed from flower to flower
Of red white and blue.
Collecting golden nectar
from the stem of every bud,
which one day would be honey,
at least I think it should.
The Sky was an azure blue,
Below the fields were green,
The clouds were white as snow,
Reflected in a nearby stream,
It was peaceful,
And yet the woods all around
Was noisy and calming,
With nature's wonderful sound.
I walked down a track,
Back to the car,
Someone had left the gates all ajar,
Very naughty I thought to myself.
There were sheep,
And a farmer mad as a judge,
Because all of his sheep,
just would not budge.
It did not take him long to rally,
And the head count,
Also seemed to tally,
The baby lambs were bleating,
I used a nearby rock for seating.
What a wonderful life
we have in nature,
Next time I think,
I'll take the wife,
This place could do
with a little strife.
Categories:
head count, nature,
Form: Light Verse
I’m lost, the snow’s so deep, red scarf left as a mark, but gone,
I need to nap, a busy night, Santa and Rudolph will miss me
Sleep, I must sleep, so tie my shoe around a tree with thorn,
Must prepare for dread, for what lies ahead, a villager passing heard
My sleepy voice, and from beneath a steep pile of snow peeped out
A blue sleeved arm and shoe-less foot, so he awakened me,
I would freeze in this bitter breeze, a hot glass of milk is
What you need, the stranger said, so tearfully I did explain,
I feared a wolf with fang, poor tired Santa forgot to head count,
Please help, all I know is address North Pole, so elf and stranger
Walked hand in hand, leaving footprints in the snow like sand,
Was this stranger assigned, of course we know he was, with speedy swirl,
Found themselves in Santa’s house, beside his spouse, address North Pole.
A miracle Santa declared and looked around, but no-one was there!
Competition Entry: Footprints
Dated: 02/05/2021
Sponsor: Carolyn Devonshire
Categories:
head count, christmas,
Form: Free verse
To you I'm a number
A census head count
A baseline, statistic
Not special
Tantamount
A blip on a radar
A bump in the road
I'm just human traffic
A bipedal drone
I'm only a age range
A line on a graph
A check with a Bic pen
A dot on a map
I want you see me
Know who I am
That I breathe,
That I'm tangible
Just touch me again
Show me you want me
Tell me I count
Not one of the masses
Not common
Tantamount
Categories:
head count, angst, desire, hurt, jealousy,
Form: Rhyme
We all possess a number, logged in a very special book.
We’ll never know the order, so it’s best not to look.
It’s just a reminder, of our place in line.
Enjoy the time that you’re given, and savor each sip of wine.
Each day do a head count, and check every bed.
Always say I love you, and make sure your soul gets fed.
Don’t take tomorrow for granted, reach out to those that you love.
Remember that number in your pocket, and thank the Lord above.
It could be today, or tomorrow, next week or in twenty years.
Our number will get called, but it’s nothing to fear.
Stop and smell every rose, enjoy your coffee as you rise and shine.
Follow these simple steps, and remember your place in line.
Categories:
head count, appreciation, death, life,
Form: Rhyme
tercets
Braxton H. Gardner of north Kentucky,
progenitor of our family tree.
His marriage date was 1833.
Braxton Charles S. Gardner from our archive,
was his youngest son, born in ’45.
He barely recalled his father alive.
Barney Braxton Gardner, uncle of mine;
his sister, my grandma, mother of nine.
My father was namesake of his blood line.
Barney Braxton Jolly born in ‘11,
married his sweetheart in ’37.
These four have died and look down from heaven.
Ruth Braxton Jolly, that’s me, data fount;
only female in this list tantamount
of Braxtons quite an accomplished head count.
Darren Braxton Poteet, my younger son,
Braxton Lee Poteet, age 14, grandson
complete my list of six kinfolk Braxton.
November 18, 2020
Categories:
head count, 11th grade, father, grandfather,
Form: Rhyme
I married a girl but in fact she was an octopus
Between a hundred leaps and skips she caught hold of a bus
She thrashed the first man she found
Squeezed the second on the ground
And began the head count with the integral calculus.
Categories:
head count, fun,
Form: Limerick
I grew up on Shiloh Road
Now for all who don't know my childhood home was indeed safe to me
I was number 6 of 8 children and space was not a commodity
6 were girls and we shared one bedroom with 3 twin beds
Now three were older and three were younger so we each slept with an
older sister
Nobody wanted to sleep with the bed wetter not even me
I would rather sleep in the closet which was small,dark and scary (but dry)
Mom took Dad to meet his ride everyday so we all had to go at 4:30 in the morning
one day it was to crowded so I got out and went back in the house
Mom didn't miss me until she was dropping off Dad and did a head count of sleeping kids. She freaked out and woke up all the kids and ask where I was
She was told by my brother I got out and went back in the house. They rushed home to find me a six year old a sleep in the closet.
She was so mad with me for getting out of the car but she stopped shouting at me and said why were you not in the bed.
My answer was I had nobody to sleep with and I was scared so I got in the closet
so nobody would find me and went back to sleep
Categories:
head count, age, anxiety, car, childhood,
Form: I do not know?
Where are the Dinosaurs gone?,
Tracing beyond the Amazon forests,
Plants and lives loaded,
To the Noah's ship in safe,
On a head count, the tribes,
Passed the Earth in peace,in dearth and death,
Roll over the sky labs into the woods,
To save the dying noses and not the Di nos aurs!
Categories:
head count, community,
Form: Light Verse
Sacrificial Souls
Dollar signs
Hiding behind
A noble cause
Babies crying
For their mother
Decapitated lives
Sacrificial lambs
Paying the price
For the sins of a nation
Butchered innocence
Head count taken
Numbering the corpses left behind
On your trail of death
Nameless, faceless carrions
Anonymity meaning endless justification
Over the destruction of a helpless enemy
Without a sword, a dimmer world
Each time a beautiful soul is sacrificed in vain
Categories:
head count, war
Form: Free verse