At the edge of evening,
on a late-summer night,
the garden is pretending
it will last forever.
Lilies lift their pale trumpets
through the violet hush;
roses crowd around
the knees of two girls in white.
They bend over
their paper-moon lanterns,
shielding the wicks,
watching them flicker gold.
Do you remember those days
when life was so simple,
when dreams seemed real,
our faces aglow in the light?
How night arrives
as it always does,
quietly, leaf by leaf,
darkening the garden around us.
Still, the lanterns remain—
each one a little kept summer,
each one saying
not nothing will be lost,
but carry this:
there is enough light
for the next remembered step—
two small shadows
following the lanterns
home.
crimson lanterns burn
nocturnal festivities rise
peace glows amongst them
the heart keeps maps no compass can measure,
quiet introspection drawn from joy and ache.
we walk by glimmers gathered from our losses,
small lanterns lit by everything we’ve lived.
even the shadows soften when we listen~
they, too, are teachers in the long, luminous dark.
Where molten sunset bleeds across the lake,
A single rose ignites in golden fire,
Her silken petals flushed with amber wake.
She crowns the water like a living pyre,
Each layered heart ablaze with liquid light,
While trembling ripples chase the sun's desire.
Pink sisters drift in shy, reflected might--
Their velvet heads aglow on mirrored glass,
As emerald lily pads in silence write
A secret map of shadow, gleam, and brass,
Small lotus lanterns flicker, ruby-bright,
And cast warm halos where the darkness mass.
The distant mountains blush in violet night,
Their jagged crowns still drinking dying rays,
As every ripple sings the fading light.
Yet one great rose, in radiant display,
Drinks deep the sky's last wine and holds the day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We caught it in a jar~
one pulse of gold in the dark,
a tiny lantern swinging
between our cupped hands.
Dad said make a wish,"
but the glass was already fogging,
its slow, suffocated glow
dulling to ember.
We unscrewed the lid at dawn,
found only the husk of light—
wings like charred paper,
a silence where the buzzing had been.
Now when the night thickens,
I leave the jars empty.
Some things are not meant
to be kept.
Your eyes ignite the dark, a furnace of molten gold,
Every glance a covenant, every touch a story bold,
Fingers explore hidden realms where fire has scorched the skin,
Night wraps us in its velvet, every pulse a sacred hymn,
Even shadows lean close, trembling to witness our conflagration,
The stars bow in awe, eclipsed by the gravity of our fusion.
The rainbow covered the sky
In the open night,
While the moon gives
Its smile to the
Figures dancing beneath
Its light.
A million miles of memories
Are connected
To the hopeful dream
Laying ahead of us.
With diyas lighting every corner
Of the streets,
The temples glow to cast out evils.
The smell of sweets runs
From family to family.
Under the swaying balloons
And flying lanterns,
Tribes become a family
Offering puja.
The children bow with
Excitement
To receive their parents’ blessings.
When light conquers darkness
In this hopeful night,
Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya
Is witnessed.
His victory over the demon
King — Ravana — is proved,
With music playing,
Families sharing with friends
And strangers,
While Lakshmi prepares
Wealth and prosperity
For her children.
Life is nothing more
than doing what you want
when you can,
and what you must
when you can't.
To live you need not the loudest voice
nor the most vibrant clothes,
just you, your hands and action.
A blade won't cut through dust
but will disturb it enough
for it to appear beneath the light.
Sometimes that is enough.
If you'll enjoy a grander view
then you'd climb another step,
whether it be for the mountains
or to seek the stars.
Whether it be to keep the lanterns lit
and ward off the fog
or just to feel the wind,
we have to live for something.
japanese lanterns
rubenesque and rosy red
beautiful decor
Sneaking through the graveyard
in the dead of night
to a hidden garden
in full moonlight
you want to be careful better beware
the fiery eyes
of the scarecrow's stare
if the spell is broken
you open Pandora's Box
and it's lights out
for the jack-o-lanterns
they're in for a nasty shock
you have to be careful better beware
the Halloween screams
of your worst nightmare
'cause something's jumping in the pumpkin patch
it's goblins going trick or treat
they're a-getting hungry
for something good to eat
Used in festivals as lighting the way for the souls of our ancestors
Hope, wish, and pray
we all live and let live
like the lanterns in the sky
each one spreading light
not disturbing
or
trying to destroy the other one
no unhealthy competition
no ego problems
no wish to dominate
discriminate
manipulate
others
just
keeping our individuality intact
as the light rises
ephemeral and breathless
a new beginning
unrecognisable yes
indelible nonetheless
A season of reflection,
We set ourselves apart,
We lay our hearts on the altar of meditation,
We alight from dawn’s cart.
We hold the lamp into the night,
We search the hidden places of our chamber,
We sojourn into the light,
Awakened from our souls’ slumber.
A season of rebirth,
There’s an overhauling from the inside,
We draw out from the wells of mirth,
It’s evident on the outside.
We’re remoulded as we seek the Divine,
We’re in tune with nature,
We’re joined to the pristine vine,
This behooves a sturdy stature.
April 2, 2024.
“Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom” Rumi
Once I roamed in forgotten fields of poppies,
without a metaphor or adjective to
portray sombre sorrows for tomorrow.
In the dilemma of a firework fate,
where happiness is the ultimate sacrifice,
afraid time would leave me behind,
in illustrations of illusion,
I wandered as an invisible image,
searching for the serenity of silence.
Pondering - in times of hunger do you crave for me?
In my state of darkness,
the breeze kissed in a celestial dance,
as a soft guiding gleam appeared,
my lost soul transcended
through a mirage of kingdoms.
Floating free in velvet skies,
ethereal lanterns reflected in
empyrean empathy, illuminating paths,
shimmering through congested clouds.
In every flicker, charcoal shadows,
slowly coloured into marigold tones,
with brushstrokes of amethyst and ruby,
infused with sparks of moonlight.
In their mystical embrace,
feathered whispers weaved
a cloth of compassion,
as mercy poured in
satin blossoms.
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.