Impede Poems

Markyate Hill

Markyate hill, is fading now
drifting leaves from dip to brow,
her yellow crown of ash and yew
does nothing to impede the view

In-House Pachyderm

Too large to avoid everyone knows it's here
not wishing to collide they won't stand too near
nor broach the subject they keep it under wraps
Mum's the word keep it under your hat
they all walk 'round it talk around it
they're not blind so what gives
it's unkind to animals and who wants to live
with an elephant in the room
too large to evade it's something they ignore
not wanting to impede but can't close the door
a line they won't cross they'll avoid it at all costs
just sit there and stare
even sweep it under the rug with a broom
but with lumps and bumps that big
how long can they keep on pretending it's not there
the elephant in the room

The Jagged Edges

"Life levels off in importance. Days are no longer 
jagged peaks to climb; time is a meadow, 
and we move over it with level steps." 
                                                ~ Gladys Taber


Her life is a page torn from a spiral notebook 
      whose jagged edges are tattered
She's bone weary and wears the haggard scowl
          of a woman whose heart has been badly broken

There are jagged lines, wrinkles and creases
      the kind that ages a beautiful face
where once his fingertips had left a gentle touch
          her skin seems ravaged by sorrow

No longer can she peer into a mirror
      none have been left hanging in her home
Into pointed shards they'd been shattered
          in a moment of hysteria

There are no straight-edged lines in lost love
      for the toll is measured in flesh
and the only traces of it left to recall
           are memories that tussle her mind

There's an emotional mountain she must climb
      jagged edged rocks will impede her way
but when she succeeds in reaching the crest
          from grief she will have been freed

What do you fear?

It's a fresh day
To play in a new way
To convey each light ray 
More pray, no delay, fair pay
We stay where we lay
What can I say?

Stand up, quit your sit
Take a breath, rest a bit
Ensure you stay fit
Get ready for the hit
Grab your jumping kit
Fall not into pit

As he'd walk into your block
In seconds, he'll knock
This folk you name clock
Needing a talk but you lock
It'll mock you into shock
You can't stalk the stock

You can water the seed
And extract all the weed
Indeed growing at speed
But when you succeed
Never mislead this creed
We need to impede the greed

As it sheds its slough
My skin is no longer rough
No batter, nor pastry, just dough
So chewing ain't been tough
This stuff? Calling it enough
You laugh until you cough

Step clear in your gear
Hear this, oh my dear
Here the end is near
This day, this month, this year
Every tear will disappear
What do you fear?

DAILY GRATITUDE UNDERSTANDING LOVE AND HATE

Today I’m grateful for understanding love and hate
and all the ties that bind them…
that whether we’re looking for reasons to love 
or reasons to hate…
how easy it is to find them. 

How, when love or hate are left free and unrestrained,
nothing can impede them…
and how the only way for either to grow
depends on how we feed them.

Success

So, what is success?

Failures I confess

at times

given me value
far greater – therefore,
not clear whether better
to succeed or impede?

follow or lead?

starve a fever
feed a cold -- 

success, not measures
of silver and gold

rather sterile earth 
not a patch of sod

If to be certain, just once 

that I had pleased~ God --

I Have Nothing Left To Say

I Have Nothing Left To Say

my moment in the sun
and in a sweeping motion
the clouds took it all away
with you by my side
I wait for another day
I'll pen my thoughts
pull the blue 
and erase the gray
ask you to dissect 
each moment along the way

short and simple
but, I think you know
exactly where
the road will go
down a winding path 
of light where dancing shadows
touch insight

without a rthymn nor reason 
the truth shall insist
Where a light of love will silently manifest 

Let's climb the highest mountain
And dive into the deepest sea
For all rage and glory 
In belief we shall achieve

could It be you
I'm craving to impede
I'll follow your muse
I'll even let you lead

rambling in an injamblment
atlast the sun broke free
Sitting in our sanctuary 
I have nothing left to say

Giggle girl

In the neon glow of the midnight skies,

She dances through dreams, where her spirit flies,

In her deepest fantasies, she finds her spark,

Unlocking the secrets that dance in the dark.

She’s a queen in the mirror, fierce and divine,

With every heartbeat, she reclaims her shine,

What a girl wants, what a girl needs,

Is the fire within her that love truly feeds.

With a rhythm that pulses, her heart takes the lead,

In a world of her making, where no one can impede,

Who does she become when the night calls her name?

A goddess of passion, igniting the flame.

She’s the dreamer, the lover, a force to behold,

In her wildest desires, she’s daring and bold,

What a girl wants, what a girl needs,

Is the strength to awaken the power she breeds.

So let the beat drop and the music ignite,

In a tapestry woven of dreams and delight,

What a girl wants, what a girl needs,

In her journey of self, she’s planting the seeds.

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU

In the eye of life's turbulent storm,
I pause to express my heartfelt form
Of gratitude to those who brought a smile,
And lit the darkness with their gentle guile.

To those who gave, who shared, who showed the way,
I say thank you, may your kindness come what may.
To those who offered jobs, and opportunities to grow,
I thank you for your faith, and for helping others to know.

To those who provided sustenance, and nourished my soul,
I thank you for your kindness, and for making me whole.
To those with good intentions, though circumstances did impede,
I thank you still, for your heart was in the right deed.

But to those who brought pain, and caused others to stray,
I ask, why not mend your ways, and start anew today?
To those who forgave, and showed compassion's gentle face,
I thank you for your kindness, and for filling a sacred space.

To those who stood by me, through life's joys and its fears,
I thank you for your presence, and for wiping away my tears.
So let us not be dismayed by what we've left undone,
For the last minutes of the year may yet bring a brighter sun.

My Truths

                        I was born with cerebral palsy          
            And did not walk until I was two…
I struggled to stand, balancing on my own legs impossible
crawling forced me to use my right hand for stability.                       
                        Once I began to take steps
in truth it became easier to ignore my right side
but then I had to learn to tie my shoes.     
      I stayed up late the night before my first day             
            of school scared I was going to fail                         
                        kindergarten before I had a chance
to show the teacher how I could succeed despite my            
            disability; I was very determined to prove my handicap did      
      not impede my ability to learn.
                        Success slipped through my grasp with the laces!

The Significance of Simple Things

The maker of the earth and skies
often used objects of small size
to teach His audience and explain
the deep truths that His Words contain.
   
One day He used a little child
to teach His students to be mild.
To occupy His kingdom grand
like children they must hold His hand.  

The little ants storing supplies
can teach us all how to be wise.
With none to direct or compel
how orderly these creatures dwell.

The mustard seed, though very small
of garden plants they are most tall.
So, like a seed, God’s kingdom grows
exactly how? Only God knows.

A grain of sand tween mantle and shell
spawns pearls that for small fortunes sell.
 Faith like a tiny mustard seed
can move mounts that our paths impede.

Small ideas, in curious minds,
have spawned inventions of all kinds.
A tiny thought, sown reaps an act,
that our destiny can impact.

A small act of kindness, heaven knows,
how far that simple action goes.
Only eternity will tell
how many souls it saved from hell. 

So, do not despise tiny things
cherish the blessings each one brings.
By doing so the joy you’ll know
upon your countenance will show.

From Here

From here
I can see the morning ferry
pull out from the wharf
trailing its long tail 
of noisy seagulls, a churning
wake catching the sunlight
before healing to a calm.
I too would like to be healed,
to feel that quietening 
when resistance is laid down
and repair comes with a still.

It would be good to be
at ease with what is,
to be transparent and not impede
the course of light, to trust
and be at one with a drift
towards the unknown. 
Not to push against
the turbid swell of an incoming 
tide but to remain motionless
within it and ride its lift.

From here
I can see the trees along
the foreshore quiver in the slight
breath of a breeze.
Things happen.
From here I sense
an incomprehensible still
across which the morning moves
in a vast pantomime.
To be still is to let go
of all that is passing.



Note.
This poem is a counterpoint to
the previous poem “Yesterday”
which treats stillness in largely
negative terms. Here the idea
of stillness is seen as a means
to transcendence and a central
attribute of Being.

Tangerine Sunset

Written: Apri 26, 2024 For Joseph May Contest

2. Tangerine sunsets composing chrysanthemum hymns

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

Immersed in the saffron hues of twilight,
I roar out in gloom unsure what to write.
A colorful drape and tangerine light,
With nook of day and serenade of night. 

As the wind blusters chrysanthemums swing,
Stems capture the final ray of the wing.
A hallelujah chant fulfills the sky,
Hibiscus awe, soothing hues fade away. 

Wisteria warmth waits as leading hint,
Clad in the melody of the song, splint.
Amid whirling dragonflies, stars impede,
Junction of neat pearls in ivory bead. 

Bathed in orange dawn crafted poet light,
Chrysanthemums bloom and lyrics glow bright.

Lies Within

I’d take a knife and cut it out
like some deep-down infected gout
if only it were there under my skin.

I’d prick a vein and let it bleed,
free flowing, nothing to impede
if I thought it were streaming deep within.

I’d amputate it bit by bit
til there was nothing left of it,
then throw it piece by piece into the grind.

I’d heat a rod to glowing red,
then press and cauterize instead
of letting it live on, but I can’t find

just where it is inside in me.
I’ve stared into my eyes to see,
but all the mirror shows are signs of age.

I’ve knelt and prayed and tried to hold.
I’ve walked the line while growing old
but somehow, I can never turn the page.

And so I guess all I can do:
keep going. I suppose it’s true,
you cannot just give up and let it win.

So, I will hide the way I feel
and try to find a way to deal…
with the hidden pain that dwells within.

Judgement Call

To submit or to quit, that is the question! 

Let’s call a spade a spade, not to be rude, 
Some contests’ stipulations are quite crude, 
It’s time to learn from errors of the past 
And slam the needy judges’ tricks at last. 

Don’t get me wrong, to challenges I stand 
With my poetic musing on demand, 
Yet reading contest rules, thorough and deep, 
Oft my quivering quill begins to weep. 

While my head spins and ink’s eager to spill 
I begin to doubt if I ever will - 
Weave thoughts to words together on the theme 
Upon the requisitions of extreme. 

I do eulogize the creative sense 
Of judges’ hopes from our mighty pens, 
Just don’t impede too hard on muse in use, 
Let the great meandering minds run loose. 

Last not least, what truly boils my bile - 
When it’s a must to add a YouTube file, 
First open the link, then share to embed, 
By then my literary mind’s brain-dead.

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