Headlining Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Laugh


               A laugh is a soul's explosion of insanity.
           Knowledge of acknowledgement in vanity.
      A crazed affinity with deja vu timing.
          Taboo of thought in neon silver lining.
    An out of body experience welcomed within.
      Micro possession in a miming obsession, 
         with dilated dial in audible font style 
   and expression.
          
               A laugh is a pseudo lust in pseudo love.
         Headlining, silver tongued language of 
   squealed wink, grunting blink, snickering choke of drink. 
     from above. 
  A syncing of honed thinking in volume linking 
    the brink on.
 Wave of notes confused bang of gong, 
 in mode-icon.
 Surge of mental drowning, 
 with smile singing mused 
 connection system of its own downing.

Premium Member Fairyland of Fantasy

The hills that once were gold and red
Are now a deep gray and barren instead,
Awaiting the first drape of winter’s white
Snow, or ice crystals sparkling in the light,
When they become a fairyland of fantasy
A sleigh ride through the bowered canopy,
Headlining the holiday season’s pageantry
Like on Christmas cards a frequent sight
A walk in the frosty hills is such a delight
Or bundled tight for a ride on a bobsled,
Steaming chocolate, and a warm cozy bed. 

Written November 10, 2022
[Verso Rhyme Scheme
a/a/b/b/c/c/c/b/b/a/a]

TENTH PLACE WINNER
submitted to "2022 Marathon Lap 20" Poetry Contest
sponsored by Mark Toney

Discontent

The world's on fire and the news is despair
Stench of the apocalypse fills the air
Racial tensions, border disputes and cultural crusade
Immigration, separation, seems 'tis a bed we remade
Demonstrate into conflagrate, identity theft makes the rounds
And social media allows opinions without grounds

Shooting up each other, our school's new lesson
Now we can conceal without license that Smith & Wesson
Pick your country, seems most are headlining the ill
Now more than ever we need a stronger will
With even weather being threatened I wonder if we can weather
This generational discontent that we've fostered forever


Going Nowhere

Slow motion memories.
Street lit like a movie set,
outside the dance hall.
Muffler-less cars,
full throttle, then eerily quiet.
Self willed machines idling along the street,
flooding the night; flashing eyeballs,
headlining teenage girls.
A sashaying crush; glancing, giggling,
disdainful in stinging beehives,
plastic jackets, high gloss paint and oily pants.

Cruising crass flash
false virility in high gloss paint.
James Dean on Sunset Strip.
Hands on the stick shift; giving themselves the gears.
skinny boys glancing in the mirror, where dice and kewpie dolls hang,
squinting at astigmatisms of Steve McQueen on hunk steroids.
Nervous to fingered combs slink through their hair,
checking out the rear end drive,
outside the dance hall on a Friday night.

A curly haired boy,
red faced brother of my best friend, never owned a car,
pushes forward in the street,
to talk with sister and friends.
Asked a girl for a kiss.
Too easily dismissed.

In the science lab; class dismissed.
Counters gleam grade A sterility.
Chemicals stare coldly from spotless beakers.
Put his mouth over the gas jet.

A curly haired boy,
going nowhere on a Friday afternoon.

Premium Member Encore

The crowd cheers for another song,
But the singer was too tired.
The ushers said to move along
Just as the band all retired.

I fantasized I was on stage.
The crowd cheers for another song.
I sang of love, revenge, and rage
And overwhelmed the cheering throng.

I dreamed to write and play each song;
Infusing each one with passion.
The crowd cheers for another song
From the headlining attraction.

Someday my crowds will call for more.
I’ll keep writing song after song,
So following each encore,
The crowd cheers for another song.

Encore (MJH 20140512)

My Christmas Card Poem This Year

Winter is the last to the stage
The headlining act
Of a year almost gone

It has a few show stoppers up its sleeve
As Christmas and New Year
Prepare to put their best show on

Patiently waiting in the wings
Seeing Spring, Summer and Autumn
All take to the stage and perform

Its hard to follow in their footsteps
But winter hopes despite its coldness
To keep you happy and keep you warm

Happy Christmas
With love
For a new year soon to be

Have a wonderful time
This winter
With love from the heart of me....


Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace