Long Illumes Poems

Long Illumes Poems. Below are the most popular long Illumes by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Illumes poems by poem length and keyword.


The Dream of Penelope - Source Homer's Odyssey

Her loom is still, the moon illumes her bed
Penelope sleeps in the still of night
A step betrays the living or the dead
Is her dream a warning or second sight?

Penelope sleeps in the still of night
Odysseus or his shadow’s presence felt
Is her dream a warning or second sight?
The threat of her suitors with danger spelt

Odysseus or his shadow’s presence felt
A veil of drifting mist obscures his face
The threat of her suitors with danger spelt
Long years of waiting leave their patient trace

A veil of drifting mist obscures his face
She wakes and touches bed of olive tree
Long years of waiting leave their patient trace
Her heart takes wing until her doubts spring free

She wakes and touches bed of olive tree
Is this a dream or is Odysseus here?
Her heart takes wing until her doubts spring free
Familiar now with longing, not with cheer

Is this a dream or is Odysseus here? 
The figure fades, her hopes and doubts remain
Familiar now with longing, not with cheer
Her strength must carry her through all the pain


Is this a dream or is Odysseus here? 
Her loom is still, the moon illumes her bed
Familiar now with longing, not with cheer
A step betrays the living or the dead
Form: Pantoum


Premium Member Castle By the Sea

There stands a desolate castle on England's venerable shore,
That once sheltered a royal line that ruled its sprawling realm.
Now, according to local lore, eerie things are seen and heard,
In that castle by the sea, in that haunted castle by the sea!

On blustery nights a spectral sentry is seen pacing its towers.
Clad in mail, armed with lance, he's heard to herald the hours.
His disembodied voice is heard e'en o'er the raging storm,
Atop that castle by the sea, atop that haunted castle by the sea!

On stormy nights as thunder crashes and the savage gale shrieks,
Lightning illumes a princess wraith, tears coursing down her cheeks,
As she waves to her handsome prince who goes forth into battle,
In that castle by the sea, in that haunted castle by the sea!

On moonlit nights a phantom hearse drawn by six ebon steeds,
Trailed by ghostly figures intoning haunting dirges is often seen.
As drifting clouds overshadow the moon, it fades from view,
Nigh that castle by the sea, nigh that haunted castle by the sea!

If only those barren, lichen covered walls could only speak,
But, alas, they now stand forlorn, eternally mute and bleak.
The haunting secrets they might reveal are forever buried,
In that castle by the sea, in that haunted castle by the sea!

Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved

Honorable Mention in Debbie Guzzi's "Jack OUT Of The Box" Contest - Jun 2011
Form: Ballad

Premium Member Verse Freed To Break

*
dear john she replies - dipping her pen into tears
*
listen to the pause - silence is golden

A tribute to Erik Satie
*
the school-bus departs - she eats the advent candy
*
on garibaldi's retreat - the cookie crumbles
*
moss carpets the roof - the blackbirds make over
*
carol concert prelude- - chatter of innocents
*
footsteps in the street - echos of a distant youth
*
filaments in ferment - the elements touch base
*
a tumbleweed,windblown - the bounty-hunter dismounts
*
at ease on my bookshelf - yesteryear's leisured hours
*
a rainbow arises - through a curtain of tears
*
between wind and water - skating on black ice
*
shadows of yesteryear - distortions in todays dreams
*
as a sequence
a perambulator arrives - emptiness takes its leave
                                          .
 a quietness descends - fresher term opens
                                          .
room-to-let sign illumes - emptiness returns
Form: Monoku

The Mid Autumn Festival

Night falls and the mirror moon illumes the 
heavenly starry skies with gleaming ivory beams.  
Shiny and mellow, a splendrous silver orb, 
the delight of the night sky!

It is the evening of the 15th, and the cool air is fair,
filled with chirping crickets and reason for revelry.
Kinfolk gather to rejoice within the warmth of their hearth,
toasting with mulled wine  ; munching moon cakes!

But today is also sacred and solemn, and offerings 
must be made to Heaven and Earth. Thus, scented 
sandalwood incense are lit ; apricots and pomelos are placed 
upon lacquer plates before the plaques of divine gods,
and dear ancestors.

Away from laughter and lanterns, besides a quiet lake,
and under a lofty peak, sits a sagacious couple. She smiles 
and plays the guqin, sending with each skillful stroke, 
soft and serene sounds that grace the ethereal night's air. 

As for him, he stands pleased under the pavilion, inhaling 
the sweet scents of blooming peach blossoms, and admiring 
the moon as it rose and the beauty of his wife before the 
bright shimmer of moonlight.

Content, he recites a poem:


“The moon is luminous,
  Heaven is harmonious,
  Autumn has come, 
  And Summer is gone,
  I toast my cassia wine,
  To a harvest most fine!”



All rights released into Public Domain

Premium Member A Haibun Doublet

A HAIBUN Doublet
A HAIBUN DOUBLET
An empty space,filled by light brings simplicity to life,the empty heart,fills with pain,
cries out why,again,again,and still the emptiness remains;Simplicity forgotten
in complexity will drown,darkness overwhelms the mind,despair see nought,with eyes blind;light fills up the empty space  and illumes the vacant place,hope blots out disappointment as my emptiness relents.


Within the soul of my experience unconscious seeds of tomorrow's joy, awaiting the warmth of encouragement lay dormant,seeking inspiration's light; Times,past,times present,amalgams of verse Unshaped,until imagination's birth,burst from the spring of my maturity

spring rain today
how green my memories-
ah I live again

Singularity brings forth clarity
on which imagination then flies free.


You may hear me recite this haibun and much of my PS anthology on youtube under my pen name ichthyschiro

Catch my short form poetry @strandpoet on youtube
Form: Haibun


Premium Member Beauty In The Darkness

a Cinqopet

Let there be light out of the dark
to dazzle the eyes like a spark,
stripteasing six flavors of quark,
delighting the sense of sight
with the artistry of light.

It is but a dream. I have known
darkness that chills down to the bone,
a cold that time has only grown~
if there is light let me see,
if there is light set me free!

A voice softly speaks a whisper,
then another more sinister,
a soul fight for this lost sister~
a fight to dispell the night 
and to give the blind one sight!

The darkness has been pulled away
and beauty now illumes each day,
at night the bright starlight holds sway,
casting shadows from corners,
sealing the mouths of scorners.

The beauty in darkness is this,
you may find the light if you wish,
just throw out the bad with a swish 
of the hem of your garment,
stars will be your betrothment

as light overcomes darkness!
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Keeping God Search Simple

Along the way, in the flow of life I follow 
the brightest light, brighter than the searing sun,
energy soars and fills me instantly with emotions
As the orange orb sinks into night, I embrace silence,
a satin moon it lanterns the way at twilight
an enchanting delight, a kinetic kindness
without one there is no other, gentleness has fallen upon me  
‘tis mine to share yet to give an account of the ineffable
no beginning of the enchantment within me 
no end of its primal purity 
How does one script into words? 
Shivers of sensation feast, overjoyed 
a gyrating playful positive plight my heart has taken flight
To resist effortless rapture when the light illumes just right
I would not have captured what bristles of brushes paint, 
by my hand, wistful wishes stream 
Whimpering of wisdom now reigns over me, joyful tears I cry
The universe stops searching alas, unbounded  from,
nor do elongated clouded skies with pent-up desire dare try me
Ancient alibis absolve the soul that seized a nap,
there, like the koi fish that gasps over waters ran dry
sleep ends, I’ve not turned to stone 
The spring flows freely as I drink its rhythms
Butterfly dreams beyond my logic guiding 
The lulling lighthouse, helms the keeper of safe passage
I, the absorber of this moment, am content with growth 
and nature’s vast array, aligning graceful currents,
my course, it’s where you’ll find me day by day
© I Am Anaya  Create an image from this poem.

The Buddha's Masterplan

Beneath the sea of glistening stars,
Between the ethereal evening air,
Lies a forest of glowing dreams,
But as diverse and rich as they are,
None escape the same Moonbeam.

Under the lucent morning glow,
Roll waves of raving emotions, 
Turbid fortunes and cruel woes,
The burning craving of billions, 
Yet the same Sun illumes them all.

Princes, beggars and pretenders,
All dance their own tango with
Fortune’s jeering taunts and tantrums,
Each gambles to grapple with fate,
Yet upon the same soil they all tread.

The canopy of a grand old oak
Casts a wide and mighty shadow, 
Ruffling with a myriad of leaves,
Adorned by blooming blossoms 
That sprout in spring and wither in winter,

With branches amber in autumn, 
Green in summer, and lean and bare
In Saturn’s season of barren frost.
Yet for all its lush richness, it still rests
Upon one abiding unchanging trunk.

So even as human affairs steer here and there,
And wander and meander like wetland streams,
The timeless source remains the same,
For all ripe fruits return to Buddha’s root.

https://purelandsutras.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/the-buddhas-masterplan/

Poem released into Public Domain
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Castle Walls

Its ghostly, desolate shell resposes atop a craggy tor,
Overlooking the restless sea on England's venerable shore.
Though its walls have withstood the ravages of countless ages,
Its name and former majesty are lost in history's pages.

What gay times must've abounded within its sturdy walls!
Sumptuous repasts with joints of meat and elegant balls!
The chase for stag and fox with the running of the hounds!
Celebrating with games and picnics on its compelling grounds!

Now, according to local lore, eerie things are seen and heard,
Scenes portrayed by phantoms of events that once occurred!
On moonlit nights a spectral guard is seen to pace its towers;
Clad in mail, armed with lance, he's heard to herald the hours!

On stormy nights as thunder crashes and the savage gale shrieks,
Lightning illumes a princess wraith, tears coursing down her cheeks.
She waves to her prince sitting astride his steed of white, 
Who goes forth into battle, this, her handsome, valiant knight!

Did in this once magnificent castle reside a royal line?
We are forever left to wonder about its calamitous decline.
If these cold, gray, massive walls could only speak
To reveal its secrets!  But, alas, they now stand mute and bleak.
Form: Rhyme

Did We Exist Before We Were Born

Did I exist before I came—
To Time’s reluctant Door—
Or was I but a voiceless Name—
In Silence—evermore?

The cradle of a Nothing vast—
Where neither Breath nor Form—
No Heart to quicken—nor to fast—
No Memory—to warm.

Yet here—I stand—amid the Grass—
The Moon—observes my stay—
She lifts her Lantern as I pass—
And will—when I—decay.

If Death returns me to that Place—
That hollow, unbegun—
I must bestow—while in the Race—
Some kindness—til it’s done.

Compassion—like a secret Fire—
Illumes the darkened air—
Empathy—becomes the Choir—
Where none—may yet Despair.

The Sky receives my trembling Word—
It vanishes—like Rain—
But Love once uttered—will be heard—
Beyond the mortal Plain.

So let me weigh my brief Estate—
As Stars record my Breath—
And make my Living adequate—
To justify my Death.
Form: Lyric

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