Long Unlatch Poems

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


The Lichen

The lichen clings to his trunk 
Like she has for ages 
Holding fast, curling tight
In pale green companionship 

The oak tree smiles down at her
Craggy smile, chafed and gnarled with time 
To admire her diligence, to coexist 
At the meeting place where two form one 
 
When the rain taps in multitudes on his leaves 
When the night sweeps over like a funeral veil
When the day lifts it as a morning bride 
Still she holds him, squeezing herself to his chest

He begins to wonder, as trees sometimes do
If it is time for her to uncurl, unlatch 
For all the gifts that she provides, and he returns
Perhaps it’s time to diverge, to greet separate horizons

But a stubborn, steadfast thing she is 
And for all his hoping and itching for progress 
She holds on, past the eleventh hour
Past his need for her embrace 

And now when the wind whistles through, 
It sounds more like a wistful sigh, 
For the lichen promises and whispers 
And the fond old oak tree complies 

“Loving someone enough to let them go
doesn’t always work.” 

Saturday, January 30, 2021
For Joseph May’s contest “Fabled Musings”


A Recalling Tongue

Rain drags words out of a dark sky.
Words raw enough to grow antlers,
lightsome enough to slip between
parting flesh,
unmade words grown
from mouse ears and the stringy lips
of hollow reeds.  
A long untrammeled Celtic rivering
unabridged and uttered sheer.

If I croon a cobbled nursery hymn 
then that blank meaningless verse
might transmute into the ancient rattle
of pebbles on a Scottish beach,
or a seagulls blare from a bobbing coracle.

Something frail and Irish stumbles by,
size it up, seize it, snare it,
unlatch its tenuous tones, the lull and hum,
let it rest between harboring cheeks
recall itself through the hollow bones 
of the fierce and fallen.

I cannot understand languages,
not broken languages and their scrabble
their luggage was ever too heavy on my tongue,
but Gaelic is a raptor in my blood
or a cuckoo born 
in a ten thousand year old nest.

Here in the flood of a singing rain,
I could be damaged enough 
to be what I seek,
then perhaps faraway mountains
would haunt no more.

The Other Side of the Gate

The other side of the Gate

There’s a feeling of sadness
A feeling of loss
A feeling of loneliness
A melancholy feeling
It washes over me
 As I make my way to the garden

 I unlatch the old wooden gate
step into his favorite place
Our special place
 I wait for him to come
Watch for his faltering step
Look for his wagging tail
Listen for his bark 
I kneel down in his favorite spot
 Pick up his favorite toy
see the hole that he dug
The one he buried bones in
I feel his presence

I close my eyes and I can see him
Ebony muzzle  
Glistening black coat
I see his easy gait as he runs to me
Hear his not too ferocious bark
Feel that nose always wet and cold
Hear his breathing
See those dark brown eyes
Eyes that saw into my soul
I whisper his name
I tell him I love him
And I know he hears me

Cancer Patience

A blowing wind spins up from the still and serene
Late at night a summer heat
When the sun’s not there to instigate

Knocks upon the old forest doors
Jiggles handles of Walnut trees
Latch unlatch latch unlatch

Jounces the stars from their blackberry jars
Bread crumbs for the young treasure hunters

Embers of Pied-Piper mice
Scurry from the lady’s midnight fire
Deep to the black woods

She stands up
A scarecrow of cancer
Brings down her arms

Allows the airy wand
To tap her body
Throat stomach thighs

She throws open the door
Lets the wood dance and sigh
With this charged billow of summer magic

Her skin soothes as chambray
Hair grows like wheat in fields
Bones weightless leaves in the trees
Ruffling ruffling

She is free she is free.

Premium Member Wounds like windows

Wounds, like windows,
when opened,
let in light and the breath of something new.
But it takes courage
to unlatch what pain has sealed shut.

We board them up,
plaster the cracks,
pretend the draft isn't there—
but silence has a smell,
and you can only hold your breath for so long.

Sometimes, healing sounds like wind
whistling through what broke—
a quiet reminder
that damage doesn’t mean done,
that ruin is not the same as ending.

Air moves different through a wound,
cool against what once burned.
Dust shifts in forgotten corners.
And the light—
not blinding, but patient—
lingers,
touching the rawness
without demanding repair.

Let it.
Let the ache speak.
Let the light crawl across your ribs
and settle into the hollows
you tried so hard to erase.

Wounds, like windows,
don’t have to be beautiful
to be open.
They only have to let something in.


Premium Member Sour Grapes

In the never ending dream I keep walking
Through the insufficient scheme I keep talking
It’s a crying shame, still not quite enough 
You may call it lame, call it boring stuff
In the morning street on a shady sidewalk 
I move on whispering inner monologue 
Wouldn’t be surprised if you do the same
We’ve got something to alter this lose-lose game
In the fading dream, that doesn’t fade too much 
There’s a hidden door, that I can’t unlatch 
But I tend to suspect it’s an exit door 
Must be cold outside, colder than before
So this narrow passage leads to square I know
And I’m welcomed in again, where I used to go 
And the waiter turns up with a tray of grapes
Offering a complimentary aftertaste.
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Spring Unlatch

In charmed slumber throbbing waves break away 
Mist of evenfall, fading from the day
Closing against vast sky into the spring
Moon's brightness. Umber earth and blue birds sing 
Beneath its coverlet. Tulips, poppies, 
Morning glory, moss rose, spring grace copies
Close to encumber their paddles for slumber
To open in the morning by the number
Fragrant gold flaming honeysuckle vine
Twining entangle braid tendrils entwine 
Around garden's heart breathing once anew
A spider's web in tears form morning dew
Daisies bright, butterflies flutter lithe reach
A romance of nature a kiss to each


4/27/2020


Spring Rhyme Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Emile Pinet
© Eve Roper  Create an image from this poem.
Form: Rhyme

Mother Nature's Way




In ancient mythology the Apple is one of the most sacred trees. Symbolizing  good health and future happiness. Since ancient times it has also been known as the 'Tree of Love' associated with Aphrodite, goddess of love.

Beneath the ancient moon the apple tree stands firm 
dressed in clinging leaves and golden rays of night 
Over by the garden where a ruby heart confirms 
a tree trunk stands upheld by the crowning of the light 

As stars of Eve appear with sparkling tails of every hue 
the diamond shimmering mist of night, befalls  
Drenching bark and branch with whisperings of I love yous 
it stands still and listens, to a Nightingale's sweet call 

This is the tree of love and here, love never dies  
long after the giving, it remains attached 
Blooming even in the thick of winter, I will now surmise 
Mother Nature holds surprises, that we cannot unlatch.
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Release

His charm was deceptive; you were easily impressed.
You held him like a chip bag, a comfort to ingest,
but soon he treated you evil, apathetic at best.
You'd hold tightly to the anger, no longer suppressed.

Soon your sweet countenance turned to lemon zest,
screaming and crying, as if demon possessed.
Revenge was your method on which you are obsessed.
Your mind, once playful, became a hornet's nest.

Let loose the necklace chain betwixt your breasts,
The metal one on which a hanging key rests.
Unlatch the crevice inside of your chest
to release the beast, between heart's walls pressed.

Free the gnawing creature, be it your foremost quest.
For I miss the princess who treated all as guest.
Forgive the great offender; put all debt to rest.
By the cross' power, you can bless and be blessed.
Form: Monorhyme

Paranoid

Guarded and closed off, that's what he knows best

It just takes a noise to peak his interest

Don't bother to knock, 'cause he won't letcha in

Caution encloses the world he lives in

Four cats are his passion he keeps them well fed

But fear sends them running back under the bed

He's gone beyond trusting, I'll never know why

He's jumpy and nervous, alertness on high

Drawing the curtains, unplugging the phone

He's almost certain he's never alone

Peering out windows from behind the chair

'Cause he never knows what's lurking out there

He sees his newspaper out on the walk

Won't open the door or unlatch the lock

In this wary obsession, he can't help but feel

a need to distinguish the false from the real.
© Gayle Rodd  Create an image from this poem.
Form: Ballad

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