FOR HONOR
The powerful oak doth tower above
while the willow whines and weeps.
The snow bunny toughs out winters
trials the grizzly groans and sleeps
Can the make of a man best be assessed
by the size of the dog in the fight,
or character's bent that can't be spent,
in matters of wrong or right?
A rebel's soul, a wander lust,
a spirit freed, a cloud of dust.
No blame lain, or broken trust.
A rambling man's feet never rust.
The fool without tools, learnt getting burnt,
often lept into the fray.
His lone wish, don't serve empty dish,
like the love on his plate each day.
Was never taught how to be a man.
The streets teach do or dying
If only heard, these simple words,
"The honor is in the trying."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pixie lept on sweet air,
laughter spun from golden thread.
Moon winked, and she tossed her hair.
Said, "together let's abed!
I took pixie's beguiling hands in mine,
her wings aglow like crimson twilight wine.
She laughed and spun me through fairy dust air~
romance and starlight tangled in my hair.
Oh, pixie, you glittered bright (fey delight),
your allure was so wild, so brief~
bewitching me all night
portentous thief!
bye!
Testa
Undone work
On a corner
Passing daylight
Timing in my afterlight
Caught between no canvas Pietro
Illustrations disappearance
Two see no other rain in sight
We passed true as our ghost lept
Fide et Amore
By faith in love
Fidelity as anul
Being Borrowed
For Film
By Another Woman
When We Come Aboard
A Military waited
In grasses tan, too low
Asnt in the future
Her return, ran from more
And in our time
All stood wide
Armed in rejection
Of a betters letters, above alls door
Oh stormy night
Dani Woodward,
Can we write tonight?
The nights editor
In The Times
Curtains of light kid,
Fall on my fold
Before you turn it in
Under the evacuation
She appears
It's easy cloth I fold for you lady
He's edited headlines besides it once
She's missed page before
Also why your wise.
Copyright © kevin mathenia | Year Posted 2025
Good Scene Sasha
Unsuppression
Exact wild convoluted digressions
Dispatched rap to re ramp tan
Hide all important novelties
As I confuse the vile
Stagnations the ball sawed dust till
Legends found tall
Ballerina indignant
The definition that wouldn't kiss
She wanted rules in verbs
Out of poison
Longing for idiom
We played out a sunlight
So I could pass on to heaven
What he might
A long a line in times
Well righting zincs
Wipe after wipe
I built a heart she never lept
Four cloves to the heart did grow
And removed her shucks from my lies
Brexit
chandeliers hung by dead feathers
cannon balls of years when time hated fairly
left over promises i'm not friends with
getting lept out
hanging death
to find a friend
running away
marrying the wash out
battling for empty
filling up the old crimes
inside my healing head
to destroy their evidence
useless when its good
too ugly for views
prisons too important
for me, the left overs
i was the addiction
now another contraception
hailing ghosts
tangled in timecards
under hung
and still voting
to take my spots
I played on the phonograph, some serenade,
I was listening to it, while I layed.
The serenade with my feelings created a fusion,
Then I stepped into the world of my delusion.
She was holding my hand tightly,
This made me believe that this was a nuisance kind a illusion.
Then a hot fleeing piece fell on to the phonograph creating a diffusion;
Soon flames lept on me,
To save myself i took out a shove,
But no sooner covered with flames not of fire but of love.
The demon bound
through the years
grew wise,
found it a ceremonial thread.
He tore it
lept with hysterical joy,
the numbing bondage
no longer confined him.
He danced in newfound glee
yet wondered,
"What a fool, I have been all along,
to let this thread bind me.
Free at last,
with wisedom gained
a changed life began -
a wiser one.
Who knoweth thoust toad
than thoust legless load
be ye first to croak
than thoust frog's now croak.
Frog caught sight of croc
toad cast eyes on site
got six of eight legs
ate frog's two, toad all
Thoust frog apiece lept
thoust toad peace hadst kept
lily pads, frog's faith
toads, bottomless fate.
Love was in the wrong places
Out of luck, there'd none at all
Veered cross his eyes on faces
Ebbed men and numbers to call
Twilight drops an altered star
A Shephard field of lept sheep
Knight, armor, pixie friends bar
Ensues shambles wakes asleep
Time's that love takes a ferry
Id's was naught the main issue
Might next time there's no hurry?
'Ewes then fairies they'd won't do.
Thistles caught tweed bows untied
He'd seen somebody, seemed sold
Anyone, mind-freeze, shame; pride
Night shows, fine cuisine, digs gold.
Cautious, his are bottomless
And hers, plainly cupboard bare
Snaps, lest he'd be penniless
He'd share the ring. Ring bearer
'Tis times like this, hopeless
Help's on course, though bit too late
Entertain the senselessness
Need your eyes fixed seize your fate
Cruise control seems storm ahead
All deckhands, drop anchor --goal
Raised sails, prep boarding, unwed
Divorce, tagged chief walls, single
Now far offshore and beaten by the waves,
into the wind, they pulled to no effect.
The choppy seas, enough to quell the brave,
lept o’er the gunwales, merciless, unchecked.
He came to them, the fourth watch of the night;
not recognizing him, they were dismayed.
Thinking a ghost, they cried out at the sight.
Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.
Then Peter answered, Lord, if it is you,
command me, Walk, and I will come on out,
walked on the water till his fear broke through;
O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
Then, making far more progress than before,
with Christ aboard, they pulled for the far shore.
. for public domain
Wind has long formed ripples,
pebbles too, upon a shallow river bed,
a hand agrasp a wooden oar,
fingers dangling in play,
skipping rounded stones,
a gentle breath exhaled,
a sound so soft and brief,
a water bug lept off a fallen leaf,
rumbling hooves upon the ground,
an earthquake miles away,
a sonic boom high in the sky,
a blast of thunder from a storm,
a raindrop, a teardrop, a dewdrop,
a letter torn to pieces tossed upon the waves,
a sealed bottle with hope in a message,
a piece of litter thrown thoughtlessly,
bows of gliding canoes and great ships,
muscular arms chopping in competition,
cannon balls and falling masts in war,
sailors who stepped off the plank,
melted ores from raging craters,
and kites and balloons with broken string.
In every ripple a partial record of a history,
some great, some small,
much forgotten, but not all. That's all. That's all.
In the dark of the night, on an All Hallows' Eve,
as I lay down my head and got snugged in the bed,
'twas a shadow that bloomed, caused all senses to leave,
as a huge hairy spider crawled, eyes gleaming red!
Out in front, a large sack that she shuffled along,
so I watched as she loped with that load full of gore,
like the beat from a dirge or a horrid old song,
da-duh-DUM, da-duh-DUM, as she moved 'cross the floor.
Shaking hard, to the edge of the bed, silent crept;
There she was, hairy legs, abdomen bulging fat.
Sweaty palms, frazzled nerves, in the darkness I lept,
closed my eyes, held my breath, threw my slipper - Kersplat!
and as she scuttled off, protecting precious eggs,
I wondered how she'd sound with two more dangling legs.
---------------
for the All Hallows' Evening Poetry Contest
sponsored by Craig Cornish
written on 10/19/22
using anapestic tetrameter for the first 12 lines
and iambic hexameter for the last 2 for effect
(howmanysyllables.com incorrectly reports line 3 as 11 syllables due to the ')
She danced with the moon
For the stars in the sky,
Then into my heart;
I’ll never know why.
Her laughter, contagious;
Enchanting her looks.
Lept right of the pages
From storied old books.
She sings up the morning
And tucks in the night.
That lilting, sweet voice
Tells me everything’s right.
When she’s gone, I’m empty
And filled with despair:
An unfillable void,
Black nothingness there.
And then she returns
On the rays of the sun,
Glittering, sparkling,
Like gold thread, finespun.
She danced with the moon
For the stars in the sky,
Then into my heart;
I’ll never know why.
----------
for the POEM ON POETRY MUSE Poetry Contest
sponsored by Beata Agustin
written on 03/23/2022
In storied old ages,
He lept off the pages.
He lived on the waters;
His story engages.
Though was not intended,
His legacy ended.
He had only daughters;
His name, time rescinded.
No sons were begotten;
His seed, some said, rotten.
He slept with his fathers;
He soon was forgotten.
He lived on the waters.
He had only daughters.
In storied old ages,
He slept with his fathers.
----------
Experimenting with the Rubaiyat (aaba) by taking the 'b' from the first three stanzas to form a fourth stanza, using the first line of the poem for its 'b' line.
Kind of interesting...
They’re off! A half a dozen deer
Lept, racing up the hill.
For sure, it caught us by surprise;
An unexpected thrill!
We tried to remain motionless,
To hold perfectly still.
She lacks a certain discipline;
It’s not in Missy’s will.
It seems my little sledding dog
Then found me quite off guard.
Though she is partly Labrador,
She played her Husky card.
She pulled and pulled and we gave chase
Seemed near a hundred yards.
Successful, straining ‘gainst the leash,
She tried to move my lard.
I much preferred remaining still,
I’m now a breathless, sweaty bard.
On her, I guess I won’t be hard;
We too are now atop the hill!
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