Long Barged Poems
Long Barged Poems. Below are the most popular long Barged by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Barged poems by poem length and keyword.
Summer like an eagle has swooped down
Under its tearing claws, the Earth shrieks and groans
Days and nights breathe out the stench of dribbling sweat.
Roads rage and roofs steam like an overly heated pan.
The midday Sun flares right overhead,
Spitting fumes and fire all around.
The Earth lies scorched under its burning breath.
An oven pre heated, hot enough to grill and bake.
Rivers and streams pant in wild unrest
Canals and cisterns lie distraught
Dry leaves in whirlwind swirl around.
Fallowed lands yawn with mouths wide agape
From the woods, rise coils of sooty smoke,
As the dried undergrowth burns in the forest fire,
Sucking the last vestiges of grass and green.
The flames of fire dance in wild ecstasy.
Alas! The self same summer has barged into me
Burning outright all my unsung songs.
In my ears, echo the rustle of dried up thoughts,
Which waggle round me like disembodied spirits.
How I lament the loss of my lovely rhymes,
As the ink in my pen also is drying up.
Oh! I wish it were moistened by the waters of Helicon
And like a stream, trickle down into the paper I hold!
The Elephantipede
( as introduced in ‘The Tigerilla’.
Have you ever heard about the elephantipede
A very mixed up creature which it’s commonly agreed
If mother nature tried to score a hit, it’s clear she missed
Because the elephantipede should really not exist
It seems the elephantipede had only come to be
When a witch sneezed suddenly and let a spell go free
So now she roams the jungle seeking out enough to eat
Not easy when you’re forty tons with hoards of stomping feet
Today she gave up searching for another tasty treat
For now she’s found a highway and she’s tearing up the street
The elephantipede is leaving potholes in her wake
For every step she takes is like a miniature earthquake
The sign she sees says ‘Nearest Town’ which pleases her because
She’d trodden on a thorn but didn’t know which foot it was
Just to make it clear how come she knows which way to walk
The elephantipede knows how to read… and how to talk
Also, in this jungle, Tigerilla lives as well
Another crazy creature caught up in the witch’s spell
But even Tigerilla who had been her mortal foe
Crouched there at the roadside as he watched his rival go
So now the creatures that had feared her for so many weeks
Clap and cheer as she clears off, they don’t care what she seeks
Later on she finds some shops and one of them sells shoes
And somehow she just seems to know that shoes are sold in twos
She barged in through the door though she could barely squeeze through it
And asked the owner if he knew which size her feet would fit
The owner stammered when he said, “Would you like leather heels?”
And with a tremble in his voice he said, “We have some deals.”
The elephantipede said, “I don’t care which ones you choose,
I saw you had a two for one deal on all of your shoes.
Frankly, Sir, that is the very reason that I came,
So I’ll buy 25 pairs and take 25 the same.”
Then Tigerilla walked in and said, “Best do what she says,
Or you had better pray she only leaves you in a daze.
The elephantipede could wreck your shop and trash your house
And there’s no way to stop her… unless you have a mouse.”
Aren’t we the leaves in the towering tree of life
Giving it a diadem with the green grace of foliage.
Are we not the pages of a tome or text of cryptic script
Unable to decipher what scribbles are scrawled on it
With every page bringing unexpected twists and turns.
As I turn the leaves of my life one by one
I see my childhood in great sheen and shimmer,
Like the tender sprouts of spring's splendor
Fluttering and flitting in whispering wind.
In scorching summer sun, got crumpled and curled
At times, twirled and swirled with the needle pricks of rain.
Yet I survived and held hard on to the mother tree,
Weaving dusky dreams even through the bleakest nights
And lifting my glistening gaze to unimaginable heights.
In those times, how I wished to catch the crimson sun
And my mind longed to chase the sudden spark
Never knowing, the faster the light flares into brilliance,
The quicker it is to slide and slip away n' die out as a flash.
When autumn came, strangely I turned wise and wizened
My tenacious attempt to cling on and clutch seemed in vain
One by one as the leaves of autumn drop down
And litter the roads and pathways to be trampled over
I see 'the foliage of farewell' and the one that awaits me
I know well, I too will soon fall and fade and lie lifeless
In the sodden soil or sand, defenceless and desolate.
My dream was never to drift drowsy downstream
But to soar high into the seamless sky like a bird on wings
In the spring of life, love was such a sweet sensation
But now it is watered with saline tears and silent sobs.
Most of my dreams have flown away fluttering like autumn leaves
Those that I once held fast now stay distant as stars of the sky
Sleep, once a visitor who barged in at short notice,
Has become a fading fugitive, giving me dreadful nights.
Yet I turn the pages of my life with anticipation
Until I tremble at the edge of time and tumble down
As the last lingering leaf from the tree of life-
Then I will tell myself- 'neither dusk nor dawn can delude me’.
I am not in dark despair, but in calm contentment,
For I have
Lived
Loved
and
Dreamed
Can I move forward in faith to believe,
That you still have someone out there for me,
I recalled when it all started when I was so hopeful, and at peace,
Abuse barged through my door as if it recognized me,
It was forceful, and controlling to try and break me down,
It threatened my life over and over trying to keep me around,
I desperately tried to run, but it was evil and relentless,
Every time I got a moment of peace, it intentionally tried to prevent this,
Like it had feelers and knew I was coming back to myself,
It quickly interrupted any peace I began to have felt,
It intentionally tried to replace hope and peace with fear,
Now that I am alone, I can see,
And thank God that He saved me from everything,
And that hope and faith from the beginning that I now thought was gone,
God gave me back twice the voice I had, and the strength to sing my song
Winter’s cold chill cuts through my chin.
Within its bleak and brazen embrace,
My brisk days are turned brief and barren.
They are lengthened into sordid sepulchral insomniac nights.
I slither and slip and am hurled into hibernation.
Once I stood with you immune to wanton winter’s wild whiplash.
You wrapped me warm from the wrath of winter’s whirlwind.
Our life moved in homogeneous harmony.
With one glaring glance from you, my heart hummed halcyon tunes.
I danced blissfully in tandem to your sweet soulful songs.
Your luminous, lambent light shone brightly,
Blazing the dark and desolate caves and crevices within me.
Now I stand and stay rooted like the trunk of a leafless tree,
Giving no shelter or shade to anyone.
With despondent dread and disappointment,
I watch the sap and serum in me going dry,
And the feathers on my wings wilt and wither like dead leaves.
With the flaming fire put out, winter has brashly barged into my life.
My lips once so eloquent now have fallen still and silent.
All the words I have carefully gleaned and garnered,
Have slipped and slid into a bottomless abyss, never to be heard again.
My lulling lyrics are replaced with the reverberating refrains of a lament.
An icy crystallization is speedily spreading,
Through my sentient soul like an ache, I have never known.
Grey cumulus clouds of pain have rolled into steal,
All light, luster and luminosity from my bright sky.
Now my world has cracked and crumbled into a bleak void of grey.
I twitch and tremble in cold as you have withdrawn your warmth.
A late realization has now daringly dawned outside my door.
I am not to perish and putrefy in this cold,
But be dauntless and dashing to fight, thaw and tread my way,
Battle the intense cold in flaming, flaring fires.
After every frosty and freezing winter, other seasons will arrive .
Summer is an inviolable and unassailable power within,
And in its warmth I can vanquish the chilling cold.
I shall wake up with a syrupy sweet song in my lips
And find myself in the luminous light of a dawning day!
Finding Happiness
My life has been nothing but a challenge since I was born
My parents were frequently absent from the house
And when they were back from their trips, they ignored me
They gave me enough money for my survival
And a set of rules that I had to comply with
The main rule being never to reveal that they were gone
While the consequence wasn’t spoken of if I did speak of it
I was too terrified of finding out the answer
But then the next challenging stage appeared: School
Here I had to juggle lying to the teachers with false tales
Informing them that my parents were bedridden and such
But that wasn’t the worst part of school, as I lied skillfully
Not making friends with the other children was nearly impossible
They were always trying to include me in their activities with bright smiles
But I quietly rejected them with tears hidden in my eyes
I didn’t dare make friends, as that might open the gate to questions
Ones I couldn’t answer
Eventually, they left me alone as I desired, smiles fading
But they forgot on as they ran around
It was torturous at first, as everyone else had fun
But as time passed, I became numb to this pain
Years passed, and school became a distant memory
And I have yet to make a single friend besides my loneliness
My parents abandoned me after I graduated from school
Giving me enough money to survive a bit
I have long since accepted the reality of me being alone
Until that fateful day that I cherish deeply
The most chaotic yet amazing group of people
They barged into my life without any warning
Dragging me into their adventure despite my loud protest
And as time passed, I felt my loneliness slowly disappearing
I felt myself growing excited and ready for more fun with them
Because of them
I’m no longer alone in my life
And I couldn’t be more grateful for that
So thank you
They suddenly barged in their tanks and trucks
Covered in various armaments of war.
Their vehicles droned, piercing the silence,
Cutting deep wounds in that fertile land,
And desecrating the once sacred ground.
Rockets flew like meteors across the skies;
Bullets sprayed from the barrels of the guns.
Some found their mark, but some strayed from their path,
Leveling all that within their reach stood
While fire, smoke, and dust turned day into night.
The cries of the wounded were all but drowned
By mortars and missiles that hissed above,
Spitting out deadly incendiaries,
Causing grand monuments to come tumbling down
And the once fruitful fields to vomit ash.
Scarcely had the blood of the slain been dried,
More bodies fell to fertilize the soil;
Some were washed, dressed, and decently buried,
But some were left to rot in shallow graves--
Unknown, unclaimed, and, oh, unmourned.
Innocent souls were expelled from their homes--
Only sanctuaries they had ever known.
Clutching the remnants of their former lives,
Forced to be crammed in dingy undergrounds,
They lived each day in constant fear of death.
Oh, how ghastly the scene that war had wrought!
How heartless must be he who does not weep
To witness such bloodshed and suffering
Of a people who just want to make a stand
And live safe and free in their borderland*!
*The name “Ukraine” likely comes from an old Slavic term for “borderland.”
March 23, 2023
Up to Calvary Jesus went;
died and rose again for me.
Now that he lives forever,
I'm sure to live hereafter.
Thus, the day he smiled at me,
I thrilled, realizing I'm his.
So, when the killer cancer
barged in to cancel my life,
on his face, a victor's sneer,
I looked past his threatening,
and saw Jesus' face beaming;
a sign that death was lying.
I braced up by faith and stared
flush on his murderous face.
Cowered by the doomful glare,
he jiggled, fizzled, and fled.
I reeled with hearty laughter
at Satan's shameful slaughter.
In Christ lies the victory;
He's the answer to cancer.
© 2014
Ann left her half-done villanelle
and rushed to answer her front door.
Her husband’s mama, Kay, barged in
and growled out snarky barbs galore!
“I’ve never seen such disarray.
Ann, when--for cleansers--have you shopped?
Have you washed clothes this century?
When were these nasty floors last mopped?
Look! Dishes piled up everywhere.
Dishwasher’s broken, I suppose?
Now TELL ME why you live this way!”
You might presume they came to blows.
Ann calmly said, “This house looks good.
You should have seen it Saturday
before I started cleaning up.”
Half-conscious on the floor Kay lay.
When she came to, she tried to speak.
Her mouth moved but no words came out.
Ann kindly walked her to the door,
so glad to say “good-bye,” no doubt.
Ann told her husband, “Hon, your mom
says our home is in disarray.”
“Our house looks fine to me,” he said.
"A silly thing for her to say!”
Date: November 18, 2019
Contest Title: Disarray
Sponsor: Nina Parmenter
Date: December 8, 2019
Contest title: Favourite Poem from November 2019
Sponsor: Julia Ward
The house is boiled cabbage
goose fat, gizzard stew, and beets.
Windows steam and simmer,
you can write your name on the glass
winter or summer.
If you can live among rutabaga
or borscht; if pickled eggs haunt your palate
then this house becomes air in your lungs.
The landlady was Polish or Russian;
she spoke with a burly churlish tongue,
she moved like a Turk, her walking cane
was a scimitar. She supped a tarry tea
from a Serbian samovar.
We shared a toilet with a slim man
who was slinky and still in the closet,
he would saucily wink over strong drink.
His lips were rosy not pink. He washed
argyle socks in the kitchen sink.
There were others, they left early
riding pushbikes into the grey streets.
The lady groused, patrolled perimeters,
barged prying hands into private matters.
Hairclips and rubber bands fell from her curlers
as forewarnings and threats.
The Bulgarian or Croatian crone
had broad bad hips and liked me not
for back then
I used a substance to ease my mind.
I would smoke in the shared toilet
leaning my thin mouth through
a small slanty window,
she absolutely knew, and threw
passing daggers
with tightly curled Estonian lips.
We stayed like that for months
until the city regurgitated our lives
once more.
Once more seeking low rent rooms,
from those cosmopolitan guardians
of small city spaces.