Long Woodsmoke Poems

"Peace in the Nowhere"

Ghosts remain in this place
they read their words 
marked each day on walls
like prayers, it gives them
peace in the nowhere

someplace relevant to go

Ghosts commune in this place
disowned long ago or walked
off the...

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October: I'm eighteen, shortcutting home
through an autumn-burnished churchyard -
copper-lustred leaves, moss-skinned stone -
a jaunty swing of skater skirt and arm,
college folder square-sturdy in my hand.
In the moment. In the last pale pulse of sun.

Hey, can...

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I wandered from a dream into a nightmare
when a desperate voice I continued to hear.
As her weeping grew louder, I felt her near
catching a glimpse of white lace hovering in the air.
Too quickly to see...

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"A melody whispers through the trees in the Autumnal season.
A colorful song, a sing along, and nature's beauty is the reason."
              ...

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A jerrybuilt jumble, so shoddy, diminished;
just cubes of grey concrete with windows and doors.
It started to crumble the day it was finished.
Franco’s “solution” for gypsies and moors.

It’s called “La Dehesa”, the pasture, the grange.
The old...

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"Nellie MacGuire"
        By Rachel Heffington
Each little room in our house is so nice
But the nicest of all, full of woodsmoke and spice,
Is the kitchen--we almost don't dare to...

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Is it autumn, when silence has come to a lonely lakeshore?
Throngs of reveling summer tourists are flocking here no more.

Is it autumn, the water's sitting still in the swimming pool?
The rowdy children have gone, unhappily,...

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Born in the breath of woodsmoke and fire,
I learned early to love the art of falling.
Leaves tumble like poorly kept secrets,
trees strip down without shame -
modesty’s for summer, after all.

October hums with rebellion:
bonfires blaze, sunsets...

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I always wanted to be a real cowboy.
A Buck-a-rue with scars on my cheeks and worn boots,
I wanted my spurs to jingle and my saddle to creak and
 deep lines and sun burned skin decorating...

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As I walk among drifted leaves
watching as a few more fly
One by chance clings to my sleeve
and I'm reminded of years gone by

Where I am deep with in a fall leaf pile
that Grandpa was raking...

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Contest: Breathless
Sponsor: Constance La France
Written: 24/05/2025

Quote "To breathe is to live, and without breath, there is no life." — Lailah Gifty Akita

A breathless house wheezes

Winter looms with frost-laced breath,
this house shudders in anticipation-
Its narrow corridors...

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Thoughts keep coming back
of late afternoons
with the dark wings
of currawongs weaving
pathways through the high 
branches leaving long threads 
of song draped across trees -
the drifting skeins
of woodsmoke from winter fires
burning in cozy rooms,
eyes fixed in...

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Primavera  Comes

Lightly she descends--
 her feet move toward us,
over the crest of the Vermont hills.

In her footsteps  
spring vernal pools;
in her hair are golden 
willow twigs,
tangled goldfinches
with black-barred wings 
fluttering.

As she passes,
her breath...

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There is a place i go that is deep in my heart and soul
remembrance of my incredible childhood fills my mind.
Building sand castles on the beach and watching the Victorious Ocean
crash high above the rocks....

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In the stillness lies unbroken
The fragile silence of the day
When a whispering, winter wind
Comes in to rest from play

In the silence of the wood
Lies the peace, so hard to find
Lost, then found, as well I...

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on a cold clear night
they huddle close together with 
    scorched fronts and icy backs  
eyes reflecting the flames in ruddy faces 
    woodsmoke permeating hair and clothes
fine...

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When I think about you, 

I can see the sun streaming through the trees as we lay underneath them, 
staring up and the blue and white and endless of it all. 
I smell woodsmoke and...

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Too dark to see 
   but I know you're there.
wild wind blowing through your hair.
  Across the river,a white canoe,
      takes the rapids,
    straight...

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When  butterflies float downward like a leaf
As air of Autumn dances everywhere
Whispers of wings become a bright motif
Floating, drifting, wandering on blue air.

Scents of cinnamon whisper treats to come
As wondrous woodsmoke warms us from...

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Author's Note: This is about a long distance relationship

I don't know 
My lover's scent
I know the scent of rain
And wet fur
I know the scent of frost
And woodsmoke
I know the spicy scent 
Of wet leaves
But I...

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My long-lost winter is here
Even if it has not snowed,
For by and by, woodsmoke is near
Drifting slow across the road

A most distinctive scent
It carries to the nose,
Up, up a chimney vent
Where a fireplace glows

Quite pleasant,...

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All year I wait- anticipate the 
rusting of the leaves.....the
mad disorder of them blowing
filling up the eaves
I long to brace against the chill
with woodsmoke in the air.
and walk these orange corridors
where all the trees are...

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