BITTERSWEET (A PARADELLE FOR AUTUMN)
Gone is the bird song that once filled the sky
Gone is the bird song that once filled the sky
Now the wind moans low like lovers in need
Now the wind moans low like lovers in need
In need like a lover, that once filled the sky
Gone is the bird now like a low moan of wind
We have gleaned from the earth its bountiful fruit
We have gleaned from the earth its bountiful fruit
The fields are empty, the harvest is in
The fields are empty, the harvest is in
In the harvest gleaned of its bountiful fruit
From the earth we have empty fields
The leaves are beautiful in their dying
The leaves are beautiful in their dying
This is the swan song of earth
This is the swan song of earth
In their swan song dying
the leaves of earth are beautiful
The sky we have gleaned, empty as bird song
fields the leaves beautifully, in the harvest
dying, bountiful fruit gone, once
of earth in need like a lover’s swan song
filled by the low moans of wind
We beg you, please hear our pleas.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees,
for there are no truer words than these:
"Praise the man who invented cheese".
The Dying—do not question—
If Heaven waits—or Not—
Their Lips mouth Hallelujah—
The Soul—what it Forgot—
The Church provides a Compass—
Though Maps—are rarely True—
We Pilgrims—clutch a Candle—
And call the Darkness—Blue—
A grave—becomes a Promise—
The Dust—a kind of Trust—
And Nothingness—is padded—
With Hymns—we learned to trust—
Yet—Somewhere—in the Silence—
A Skeptic—counts the Stars—
And finds—amongst Oblivion—
No Fear—as soft-- as ours --
I dearly love a good loofah
indeed I do how about you
I'll loofah here loofah there
loofah nearly everywhere
and whomever invented
the lovely loofah
did an excellent thing
even the name 'loofah'
has a mighty fine ring
but I'm willing to bet
when day is done
buying a loofah
better yet
for the price of one
is definitely a twofer
and would you be so good
if you pretty please
don't throw those loofahs away
do you think they grow on trees?!
Before time was invented
A long time ago when our world was much bigger than it is now and had a landscape pleasing to the eye and no steep hills to climb Since seasons had not been divided into summer spring, autumn, and winter, the weather was mild and no one knew the what a day was when it rained, not too often people walked outside and took a shower.
The land was full of potatoes, carrots, and beans as for meat there was Dogger Bank with millions of cattle and wild hogs, no one was going hungry A man from Glendale was walking across a field to meet another man to see his walking cane but he wasn’t there, he looked up and said, I wish there were a set time for everything
The World paused, then shook violently and when the dust cleared there was a mountain in front of the man from Glendale he had to walk around the berg and that took time Dogger Bank was a sea full of cod, the Portuguese caught and made into bacalao they traded in time for the cold winter season and America was a continent
“Orville, let’s go to Kitty Hawk -
And make this trip by 6 o’clock”
“Wilbur, from Dayton and back again
By 6 o’clock, we’ll need a plane.”
Why were tears invented
Why does pain invite their flow
Why must someone feel so hurt
These are things I’ll never know
Walking in the morning sun
May as well be dark of night
When my tears immerse my heart
When it seems that nothing’s right
I know that they cleanse my soul
That’s what all the wise men say
I would rather never know
Than to cry just one more day
who gets the credit for the lightbulb, Dad?
Dad scoffs, easiest question he has ever had
That is Edison son, Thomas was his first name
Ask me again, and I’ll tell you the same
What about the motion picture camera, who invented it?
Dad is bamboozled now, but determined to not throw a fit.
His wife? He guesses, making his wife smile in her cutest way.
Edison dad! yells the child, who runs out to play.
RISKING REPUTATIONS (written in Samantha's invented form, a poetic trinitas)
Lipstick smears,
Pillows stain.
Lack of forethought?
Surprising tears –
A cleansing rain.
Noah knew
What was coming –
A boat
Comes in handy in storms,
but
A captain,
Wishing to avoid an iceberg
Must think ahead.
Still, it can’t always save
A reputation from its fate.
---
Samantha Terrell is an internationally published American poet whose work has received five-star reviews. In 2021, she earned First Honorable Mention in the "Anita McAndrews Poets for Human Rights Awards" organized by Poets Without Borders. Her book, Things Worth Repeating?, features her invented form - the poetic trinitas. Terrell and her family reside in upstate New York.
It's time's like these
Why and what watches must have
been invented for
So we can mark the exact date in time
in order to record it
For history and prosperity for generation's
to come and so look back upon with aplomb
With heavy joyous heart
Both thankful and with gratitude
we played some small part
We were in fact there and are the 1
who get to tell other's
You had to be there I suppose
Type any word in YouTube search
and pick music
then scroll down and stop
and listen to that track
I'm calling it Someone else's tube
or not
Just a thought
Bells began to ring
while my eyes roamed
the sky-white walls of my apartment.
The bells were small and silvery,
not Yuletide chimes
more like the ankle bells
of a Bollywood dancer.
My mind began to dial into
an as yet, unprinted future -
very, very slowly;
something was trying to download,
but back then
I had no idea what.
I
retired from education, sharing with (not scaring)
OUR YOUTH
oblivious of persistent prejudice, labor migrant past piercing
the present
until i left America for South Africa, returning to Natal nativity,
COMPLEX TRUTH
missionary in Eastern Cape province, an elder of Newtown blurted:
"coolie man"
Yes, siblings, labels like "Hotnot, Coolie, kaffir" are rife, despite
LEGISLATION
II
A missionary, absent from South Africa for 15 years straight, no
VISITS
My life, wife, and children lived on America's East Coast then:
PROVIDENTIAL
Now, with a new family in my native land, I am stunned I'm The
"COOLIE"
Yes, it hurts. My ancestors came as virtual slaves on British ships:
LABOR MIGRATION
They may have worked as porters, "coolies" in India and China then:
PAST SINS
Continue in Nelson Mandela's South Africa, against "Hotnot and Coolie,"
STILL
Who made these words commonplace in so many places:
TRINIDAD, Jamaica, Guyana, Africa?
My cat sits on the window sill
My cat sits on the window sill
Watching the birds and bees fly by
They flit and flutter in the sky
Her antics more than meet the eye
Watching the birds and bees fly by
My cat she lets out such a sigh
My cat she lets out such a sigh
Watching twinkling stars as they dance
Her wide golden eyes in a trance
Hoping to see a ghost perchance
Watching twinkling stars as they dance
My cat naps on warm summer days
My cat naps on warm summer days
Sun puddles sing their lullabies
She dreams of birds and bees that fly
Sun puddles sing their lullabies
Sun puddles sing their lullabies
Sub Categories
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.