Liguori Poems | Examples

Riders Beneath the Dying Wheel

Written: August 27, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori

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They showed without trumpets,  
but with teeth—  
Four shadows galloping through 
the marrow of time.  
One wore famine such as a crown,  
another cloaked in fire’s deceit.  
The third preached war 
in the brother’s tongue,  
and the fourth laughed  
as the stars forgot their names.  

The wheel spun—  
not to teach,  
but to tremble, 
Dharma cracked beneath the weight  
of poisoned promises  
We raised shrines from
the threads of logic, 
We offered them our views 
and named it veridically raw.  

Yet in some distant spot,  
A silver surfer glides through 
the endless expanse 
carrying no blade, 
Just a memory— a soft whisper 
of who we once were, 
Here the shadows fell  
laid claim to our light.

A Dragon’s Hope

Inspired by Tears of The Dragon Poetry Contest of Robert James Liguori

A dragon defeated, I do not fly.
I hide away inside my cave all day.
Night’s blackness conceals me. That’s when I cry
nearby the shore – enough to turn sea gray.
My many tears have caused sea’s tide to rise.
Wings meant to soar lie limply on the ground.
Great are my own fears, which I despise.
I search for hope, but where can it be found?

Then I see you shining . . . beyond the shore.
A bright new hope you’ve made glimmer in me.
I’d always thought I’d sink to water’s floor
if I should try to fly above the sea.
But oh, sweet angel, be my strength and glow!
Wings raised, I’ll soar to you, my love to show.

Tears of a Dragon

Tears of a Dragon 8-18-25 Sponsor: Robert James Liguori  Based on the song Tears of a Dragon and a Welsh Legend
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Tears of a Dragon

Into a cave without a door
Abandoned dragons dormant lie
Without the warmth of a prophet’s sun,
Their fire sacrificed by the sky.

Stumbling to a well that weeps
The forge of darkness not denied
Bullied by the loss of magic
To emptiness songs testify.

With dragon tears in moonbeam hues
Thick elixirs of honeyed balm
Restless waves of healing dews
Bid youthful ghosts find calm.

Dragon tears, white opaque gems
Sleep in bottomless pools of dreams
For future days – called to rise
Enchanted rainbows of dragon daydreams.  

Released from the unrest of the sea
With spiraling secrets washed aside
Each tear heals a bleeding memory
Where new magic now abides.

With dragon tears in moonbeam hues
Thick elixirs of honeyed balm
Restless waves of healing dews
Bid youthful ghosts find calm.

Tears of the Dragon

Tears of the Dragon Poetry
Contest //Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori
( 6th Place )

Written: August 18, 2025


I stood on the crag where the sea breathed fire,
its winds tearing at the very shape of my name.
The sky was a shattered mirror
each splinter a memory I had tried to leave high and dry,
but still they cut as they fell through me.

In the distance, the dragon turned its head.
Its eyes held storms I had feared all my life.
Its wings-- the weight of every road I never dared to walk.
I thought I’d come here, to vanquish it
But the revelation was, it had come to set me free.

Its roar did not strike me down.
It shredded the silence that had been my prison.
Tears flowed hot and unyielding
spilling the ashes of years into the waiting tide.

The wind rose, not to push me back,
but to carry me forward.
And when the dragon soared away.
Its shadow left no darkness behind.
Only a sky wide enough
for the first flight of my own wings.

Rise From Ashes

a storm in my chest can’t sleep tonight
I loved too deep, I burned too bright
shadows callin’ my name again
every loss leaves a tiny flame

walked through nights that never end
felt the ache my bones couldn’t mend
tears fall quiet, yet they still sting 
haunted by everything morning brings

i’m the dragon bleeding slow
heart fights hard but moves too slow
scars tell stories, falls make songs
i’ve been lonely, i’ve been strong

see me now, know this is true
i rise from ashes, i cry for you
world tries to cage the fire i claim
i roar, i rise, can’t tame my flame

8/15/25 

Contest: Tears of the Dragon

Sponsor: Robert James Liguori

Wings of the Withered Flame - inspired by Tears of the Dragon

Written: August 14, 2025 for contest Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori

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The wind remembers what I tried to forget—  
a voice in the fire, a name in the rain.  
I stood on the edge of the world I had built,  
watching it crumble, stone by pain.

The dragon I drove was born from fire,    
It flew through the dusk of my silent revolt,  
chasing the ghosts I could never tame,
Its claws were echoes, and its air was dire. 

I cast off the armor, I buried the sword,  
but the war in my chest would not cease.  
Each heartbeat is a drum, each silence a scream,  
each tear a fragment of peace.

The sky opened wide as a wound in the soul,  
And I leapt with no promise of ground.  
The dragon dissolved into vapor and song,  
And I fell where no chains could be found.

Now I walk through the ashes with wings of my own,  
not golden, not whole—but free.  
And the tears of the dragon still fall in my dreams,  
But they no longer belong to me.

Carnival Night Was Special

Carnival Nights Poetry Contest
Robert James Liguori

There was a special carnival set in my memory
Rides, games, and food, cherished, and a prelude to our first kiss
And a second date where we watched Rambo: First Blood
But on that night, he held me in his arms dearly and lifted my spirits
Where the moon and stars looked down and smiled at us
And I remember passing a cow with big brown eyes
She proudly wore a blue ribbon garland around her neck 
And as we exchanged glances, my eyes peered at my blue ribbon
He was standing right next to me, as the cow seemingly knew
As we closed the first chapter, the sights and sounds sing in my heart
Circus clowns, cotton candy lady, acrobats, and little kids playing
But it was my man, future husband, that my eyes were really on
Those blue jeans, long-sleeved white dress shirt, cowboy hat, paint that night
A true gentleman, he was, he handed a prize teddy bear to a little kid
Where the little girl clutched the brown furry one happily and beamed at mom
These montages are now old but forever golden beam the big top of my heart 
I always remember those words, "ma'am, do you want to go on another ride?"

IN A GILDED INSTANT

IN A GILDED INSTANT

The monarch’s wings opened as a picture book, fluttering by. It glided, uncertain but undeterred, through a gentle haze of gold and shadow, the garden’s hush punctuated by the faint murmur of leaves. Sunlight filtered in rare skeins, dappling the monarch’s patterned wings as it hovered, hesitated, and then pressed onward—a flicker stitched between petal and air. The world, for one gilded instant, seemed spun from elegant silk.

Painted in oranges, kissed with black lace,
the monarch glides through the air and
pirouettes in a ballet of grace.

Oh, to witness her beauty, a fleeting affair
a living poem, a jeweled muse~
a moment suspended in delicate air.

(Poem written for USPS Stamp Poetry Contest, Robert James Liguori, sponsor)

CANDY APPLE RED FOREVER FOX STAMP STILLS-

Ole’ to the bland bated solid baby blue-hued sky viewed
Left handed white arrows stacked pyramid left side two points up north? looks cool,
Forever almonds eyes slanted aligned  with cheek triangular faced,
Vivid stares in graced sitting tail staged right tipped black on end looks cool man
Sitting in on rippled lined white background represents layers of snow
Almonds stare eyes of  slanted almond wearing coat of candy apple red
Solid beauty is the image blue skies, white evergreen tree, looks cool 
Candy apple red forever fox a stamp of my hearts eyes sees so cool man



07/14/25
For Usps Stamps Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori
Ekphrasis poetry form only.

The Indigo Crest - On the Commemorative Stamp of - Purple Rain By Prince

Written July 14, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori 
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So tiny, yet so vast: a square of purple flame,  
A postal stamp formed from forever lame.  
Houses at its center a half-cast, cloudy glass, 
Trapped in a gilded cage of grief and lilac crevasse. 

Bedecked in the hue of storm-light, a figure stands,
A gaze carved from ache, hair as comet strands.  
Static roses, suffused in blue, stood behind,
Each petal burned by cords, yet spirit did not mind.  

Rain doesn't soak into his skin or asphalt as he vies, 
Yet, unshed tears flow from the dream to the sky.  
The water leaves his clothing with faint rings, 
But in this dampness, nostalgia unfurls its wings.

O, how you bend and blaze, purple witness— 
A design firmly woven into the yarn of threnody.  
Your quiet strength lingers as words fade,
A melody that pain cannot shatter or jade.

Let this stamp be a symbol in all mortal prayer—
For timid souls who dare not weep amid silk fare.  
A poignant lament for love wrapped in mauve grief, 
A message sent to a visitor, destined for the glyph.

USPS Stamps Poetry Contest

To have your picture on the face of a stamp,
Is a honor reserved for the ones who cultivated change
Among the mèlange of inspiring faces,
Lays the face of someone who served on the basis,
Of freedom

Behind a small black and white picture,
A mighty face lays
With eyes of a fighter,
eloquent hair, neatly parted
The words, 
Black white
Trust danger
Defiance hope
All line the bottom
Words of hope, words of courage

That picture is of a strong willed soul
Oh what a wonderful life, one bloke stole
Late at night, she deployed her clandestine runaway
With peers, she warily walked, not knowing where she was destined

Little did she know,
She would make this trip many times again, not knowing what each bestowed
Harsh winter nights, where the breeze grew as cold as coal,
She walked, walked and walked
Till’ days grew into the lines of a bole

She is a freedom fighter
She is a activist 
She is a mother
She is a motivator
She is Harriet Tubman

Usps Stamps Poetry Contest - 07/04/25
Sponsor: Robert James Liguori

BETTER MAN

Glenn Hughes Poetry Contest - Robert James Liguori
BETTER MAN (Hughes) : HUGHES TURNER PROJECT (2002)
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When I see calm sky I feel your eyes
When I gaze at the range of mountains
I see how you stood by me at times
Feeling gentle breeze I sigh your name
As waves tease my feet I sense your smile
I see you everywhere I tell you why

I'm a better man now, I feel peace
I have found my calling, I now know
I Won't let go now, you complete me,
My destiny. That is what I found
I'm gonna tell you I found you are
My calling. That is you and you alone

I've never felt strong ever before
I've dallied away, I think too long
It's time I gather myself to ask
Let me live to feel weather with you
Now on, you are my destiny, you
Make me better man, better than ever

Life is gentle if you are with me
A weed looks lovely with you by me
I believe in fate, I am aware
I no longer pretend I'll be free
Don't let me down, you are my calling
Take my hand, take me along from now on

Touch My Life

Glenn Hughes Poetry Contest - Robert James Liguori
TOUCH MY LIFE: Glenn Hughes: TRAPEZE - MEDUSA (1970)
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I've been waiting
For so long
For Lord for you My lord
To touch my life
Now I feel it inside

Lord, stay with me this life
All of my life I’ve been running away
Around and around
Never turning inside
You are my soul, my voice, my life force
Lord, stay with me this life

I can’t wait 
To embrace you like a child
Feel your love, Lord touch my life
Without your grace, I am empty inside

Oh this wilful life
I have lost much time, I now
Need you more Lord, 
I want to feel your grace

Touch my soul
Touch my life
Dear Lord, I feel blessed
Now that I realize I need you
I need to visualize

I have got to have some
I’ve got to feel you Lord
I kneel and bow to feel so
The touch of your hand Lord,
I feel, I feel, Oh the feeling’s  now inside

Heavy

Glenn Hughes Poetry Contest - Robert James Liguori
HEAVY: Glenn Hughes:RESONATE (2016)
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I know that strange feeling
A ton weighs on my heartstrings

The Ears yearn to listen
Language of the given

The Eyes wish to rest
In the dust of land born

My gut waits unmindful
For dishes made by mom

It’s so heavy, I got to go home
To my mom, to my land, to my folk

I wanna see that teared smile 
On wrinkled face of mom

I wanna feel the tap & hug
By my folk, by my kin

Every time I feel the fear
I fear death away from home

It’s a crime if you don’t feel that way
It’s a crime if you just walk away

The air of motherland
The soil of motherland
The tongue of motherland

Worth known to only
Those far away from home

You know that you’re not alone

Inside stirm

Rumbling flows inside my very essence. 
Storms on the inside, mimicking tornados on the outside.
Feelings of despair flooding out the hope that is in my heart.
Pain leaving darkened footsteps behind. 


Contest:Glen Hughes Poetry Contest
Sponser: Robert James Liguori

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