vessel captivates
warm waxing finesse waning
more color less stress
glowing going with flowing
lugubrious globular!
vibrant pink guava
incandescent liquid groove~
pahoehoe lava
Lala land by the street lamp -
The lemon and lime raindrops
Land, one by one, on my tongue.
The flavors mix with the storm
And sugar cone; tangy cold
On my lips. Warmer with melt -
The sour savor of colors
And sip of rainwater muse.
By the street lamp I savor
my cherry-cola snow cone
while licking deliciousness
from a mound of shaved ice as
I slowly sip its sweet tang
and relish at intervals
nibbles from a lemon bar
whose icing gladdens my tongue
BY THE STREETLAMP
Poem written for SENSE OF TASTE POETRY CONTEST, Nette Onclaud, Sponsor July 28, 2025
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
she hunkers by the streetlamp
wrapped in a tattered blanket
lost in the cracks of concrete
swallows tangy bitterness
bitter brew of circumstance
choking on acrid despair
savoring sweet solitude
By the street lamp we stand by,
our favorite restaurant.
Seeing people are eating,
hot dishes being devoured.
Food plays with my hungry tongue,
senses are jumping for joy.
Another heavenly meal,
mouth and stomach did enjoy.
When not out clubbing
hey-ho the merry oh
at night with the Inuit
I suspect by intuit
an intrepid Inuk named Nanook
a-hunting walrus he would go
with his trusty harpoon
traipsing 'cross the ice and snow
then when paddling afloat he went
in the harsh Arctic environment
to keep out the bitter cold and damp
in the very bottom of his boat
there was a fiery seal oil lamp
which eventually burned a hole
and without trace into oblivion he sank
with nothing to mark the place
in those deep dark blue depths so dank
even so who can ever forget
this tall tale chilling yet true
as his demise to the pithy proverb gave rise
'You can't have your kayak and heat it too'
Middle of the dark night
New moon uncloaks the stars
My wife snores gently in bed
My border collies resting comfortably
The warm night entices me
I stand in the dark yard
The heavens are spread before me
A lone streetlamp glows in the distance
Its ghostly light a small beacon
Yet it does not disturb me
I have a lamp,
It glows in stages.
I use the brightest,
It lights all places.
Its color’s lovely,
It brings me peace.
The lowest glow
Helps me release.
It casts a rose upon my wall.
Then mom walks in,
so mad, so cruel—
She breaks my lamp, it starts to fall.
I have no lamp,
My room is bare.
No peaceful dreams,
No flowers there.
Carry The Lamp
Through the noisy streets.
The darkest nights.
Through many burdens.
Recognize your salvation.
Do not complain.
Walk brave not knowing.
Potential to achieve.
Hath discipline, continue growing.
Carry the lamp.
Be open minded.
Nourishment to the soul.
Be the light on a dark road.
Ignite the fire.
Have faith, move forward.
There was a lamp post, just one,
in the middle of a field at night—
no road leading to it,
no fence surrounding it,
just light standing there
like a question no one asked,
glowing for no one.
The ache in my chest opened wide
when I saw it—
a hollow, bottomless thing,
like longing without direction,
and I fell in.
I thought:
If that’s the light, then I must be lost
in the outer darkness,
and didn’t even try
to move toward it.
Sleep claimed me for nearly a week,
dragged under by a gravity
no one else could feel.
Until one day a song
on a distant radio broke through—
The Eggplant That Ate Chicago.
It was so ludicrous
I snort-laughed—once—
and the dark cracked slightly,
just enough for air.
Then I unwound my grave shroud
and breathed.
Lights now off,
Yet the room stays bright—
With a lamp
Still aglow,
Chasing the dancing harlots
From pillar to post.
Contest: Spin a shardoma Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Nette Onclaud
Date: June 2nd, 2025
Placement: Second
nocturnal mistress
external light ascendant~
eternal reigning
Words: Use the following words in a poem. Pretzels, shout, threshold, pine, now, sulfur, ladybug, percolate, cap and lamp
Let’s give a shout out
to the one who eats hot
salty soft pretzels.
Who holds a pine scented
lamp that sputters and flares
in the darkest night.
While they watch gooey
black tar percolate from
the bowls of the earth.
A cautious ladybug creeps
across the felt cap of
of the pretzel eater.
Now is the time to swat
the nefarious ladybug
as she steels across their cap.
Smack! The ladybug is
no more as a sudden soft scent
of sulfur permeates the air.
Hope glows in the lamp of the firefly
Here and gone in the wink of an eye
The Lamp in the Darkness
In shadows deep, where fear takes hold,
And no doubt a chilling story told,
A flicker starts, a tiny gleam,
A fragile hope, a waking dream.
A lamp it is, with gentle light,
Dispelling gloom, embracing night.
It casts a glow, a warm embrace,
A beacon bright in this dark space.
Though winds may howl and shadows creep,
This tiny flame, it will not sleep.
It burns with steady, quiet grace,
A guiding star in this lost place.
So let it shine, this guiding light,
A beacon true, a radiant sight.
For in the dark, where hope seems lost,
This lamp provides a guiding cost.
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