Mid-Summer Rain
The warm sun rises
to take the fleeting life
of the morning dew.
The blazing sun makes
the red horizon laugh
by spreading its
dazzling white radiance.
The sizzling sun bathes
the folks in sweat
as they run and exercise
on the sidewalks and parks.
The fierce sun embraces
and scorches the skin
of the outside laborers.
Summer is the whining
of the boiling sweat, or
the restless lamentation
of the electric fans?
As I was ploughing through
this mid-summer’s lap and
yearning for some cool breeze,
A wind blew, a thunder was heard,
One drop, many drops,
you came pitter patter,
with the smell of fresh soil,
Oh my mid-summer rain!
I cannot stop gazing
at your dancing beauty.
As you slide down,
Caressing the tree leaves,
This fire-baked Earth
chilled in salvation
so my body and soul!
Come often to wipe off the sweat
and to wash away the grime.
Come often to dampen the dryness
and to hold off the drought.
Come often and often,
Oh my mid-summer rain!
Aye, scurvy dog! Take one of those!
as cannonballs deal deadly blows.
A satisfying, savage row:
the bond between the rowers grows.
But rapid fire, be on your toes;
you’re in the open, all exposed!
How quick it ends? Nobody knows,
but in the end, it’s down she goes...
----------
Row To Riches is a multi-player "game" on the Aviron rowing platform where you team up to hold off the pirates from stealing your treasure. How fast and how hard you row determine how quickly you can fire and how much damage you can do with your cannonballs...
. for public domain
I shall no longer tire of living,
for Anne accounts for all my giving.
The only reason I draw breath;
to hold off an untimely death;
if nothing more than to see her smile,
I'll evade the Reaper another mile.
For I was worse than a senseless thing,*
an unfingered hollow of a ring,
a whisper in abandoned caves,
foul air from foul knaves,
a shout from Lear against the storm,
a cold handshake that would not warm.
But now I breathe to give her life.
There is no hardship, pain or strife,
to dull appreciation of her Life,
although she'll never be my wife.
Loving Anne is just enough,
to save this wanton soul so tough.
* Lifted from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Honesty’s good, but what if it’s not? What if the truth can hurt you?
Or harm those around, by making that sound… Is honesty really a virtue?
I'd rather hear a ‘hmm, yeah, okay’, till all of the drama is long gone,
Lie to me please, hold off my dismay; if honesty’s here, I don’t want none.
What if it’s bad and your life is good, and honesty changes the rules,
I'd rather someone lie right to my face, than treat me to glittery jewels.
Honesty welcomes and lightness floods in, forgetting the shadows that lurk there,
Lies might not trend, but then in the end, what in this life is so fair?
I know you see my heart,
You see the pain within my heart.
On the inside I cry my eyes out,
I feel alone with no one to love.
I love my family without a doubt,
My parents and siblings no doubt.
Restrain me from falling in the hole,
I hope I don’t get swallowed whole.
Temptations are at every corner,
Luring me in even closer and closer.
Eradicate the insecurities binding me,
I want my heart to be pain free.
I hear you speaking to my heart,
It’s not to say I’m not doing my part.
I’m where I belong in this current phase,
Not my destiny nor a permanent place.
He asked the world to close the skies
He graciously thanked them for support
For sending food and supplies
He told them of the horror
As the death toll continued to rise
He said the sanctions are a start
But we need to close the skies
Shells and bombs rain down
In clouded aerial disguise
They fell on hospitals and schools
Losses of indescribable size
He said they target from above
He explained to his closest allies
Safely in their suits so far away
You need to close the skies
He asked from the middle of a warzone
Determination in his eyes
He said what if this were your country
Your children, your own battle cries
Your friends that took up arms
Hoping your new comrades aren't the spies
He knows the consequences
For the allies crossing lines
But how long can they hold off a giant
And tell loved ones their goodbyes
So he asked them. Please.
Close the skies.
Our family’s hearth we forgot,
Village well, riverfront, forgot.
Dwelling on idol’s form, figure,
Truth of faith, folklore we forgot.
Trying to hold off teeming tears,
Story’s joyous end we forgot.
Pandemic fears so overwhelmed,
Fixed virus, patient we forgot!
Counting who all contributed,
What all God did oh we forgot!
_____________________________
Ghazal |02.02.2022|
i lay awake
listen to your breath
the sound of life and love
the future
we took for granted
and thought would never end
at night
i lay awake
listening
to each precious breath
i hold off worrying
about tomorrow
AP: Honorable Mention 2021
Posted on October 22, 2020
"I'd bet on Someone Just Like Me", the lovely stranger said.
"I know the odds are long, but I just have this lucky feeling!"
The bookies gave a 10 to 1 for her prized thoroughbred,
I knew the odds for Reader Of The Stars were more appealing.
I placed my bet, the race began, my horse led out and out,
He passed by Harry Trotter, and had Hay Girl on the run,
He'd hold off Maple Stirrup, and beat Princess Peach, no doubt
But then, as though she'd seen a crystal ball, her longshot won!
Just like her odds, my hopes seemed dim in searching for a wife.
I hoped that lovely stranger at the track might be my honey -
The lucky day I'd longed for she would enter in my life?
I looked - the woman of my dreams was gone, just like my money.
Written 7 Sep 2020
Phrases in Bold are required by the contest
My longing lips~
shriveled by the saffron sun
waiting for your summer kisses
were like ivory jasmine
waiting for a drop of rain
to land on her petite petals.
Ah, to kiss you once again
how could I hold off?
The first delicate drop
of summer rain was sweet~
as sweet as your rosy lips
engulfing mine~
making me live again
amidst scorching light
making August
a summer splendour.
Now it's September
but still I feel
the warm ember
as I watch birds fly
in the early autumn sky
imagining your sophic silhouette
meeting mine~
in the afterglow of day.
5 September 2020
COMPLETELY YOUR CHOICE(3) any theme any form
Contest Judged: 9/4/2020 9:34:00 PM
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
1st place
They wanted me to do this - 'Do you mind if I watch?'
I said: 'No' - as a seasoned pro, it was nothing,
someone said to me: 'How can you make love
when you don't love them?' That was my job.
Of course, it may not be a thing of beauty,
supposing that I didn't satisfy them, rarely,
if so, I still had to be paid for the haircut,
mission accomplished, did my best - that was my job.
'Aren't you ashamed of all the things you do?
Do you satisfy yourself as well or hold off?
I did what I had to do - there was no guarantee,
to the best of my ability - that was my job.
'What about your own love life?' 'That's different -
he doesn't expect the same service, when I come home.'
The human heart has its own "brain" cells
Perhaps as many as 44 000, Nobel Laureate Amore, said -
As though he knew how I had needed to discipline
Emptiness minus family, Praying (without my golden girls) blessed
In their late twenties, not yet given to young men (Amen!)
LORD, I need them all, to feel young, hold off grandkids
Please. As we listen to our own music ("ghazals" & Marcel Khalifah)
Let me mix, match, blend, reunite. Pass the samoosas, lassi,
All the savouries advertized in far off Lenasia now. So long Fraternity -
My prayer partners in South Africa. I must be "homes" away
(song lyrics)
My daddy he once told me
"Hey, don't you love you any man"
"Just take what they may give you"
"And give but what you can" – from Gale Garnett’s “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine”
For all you young women who search for a mate -
don’t give up your freedom so soon!
If there is someone you just want to date,
hold off on that honeymoon!
Meet lots of people; take time to play.
What’s the hurry for people to marry?
Sing in the sunshine; laugh every day.
What’s wrong with “temporary?”
I see it so often; folks rush to the altar.
There’s plenty of fish in the sea.
Most of the time, the passion will falter.
Take a good year, then set yourself free.
Unless you want heartache or some weird hassle,
just take my advice if you can.
Women, you’re able to make your own castle
and live in it like you’re the man!
Aug. 19, 2019
For Edward Ibeh's Choose Your Own Title, Vol 7 - Songs - Any Form Poetry Contest
Song title chosen: Inspired by Gale Garnett’s “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine” (not necessarily my real opinion… or is it?)
Shut the hell up
And let heaven talk.
Tie the hell up
And let the heaven walk.
When the hell mocks
Let the Heavens rock.
Hold off the hell
And flow with heaven.
Be free from the spell
And feel safe in the haven.
It's a time to pack away your sad face,
And slow down the race,
To a walking pace.
It's time to remember the good life,
Put away your knife,
And do something nice.
It's time to play your part,
By showing you have a heart,
So, others won't depart.
It's time to hold off on the advice,
And with your cooking entice,
All but the mice.
It's time to be a good elf,
Not think of yourself,
And come down off the shelf.
It's time to spread some joy around your neighborhood,
Even with the local hood,
It could do you both some good.
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