GOD'S ONE FINE DAY
Where be God's grace
On this fine day
As you passed by
I heard you say
Hid, mourning lace
Your face within
Bustles black
A raven's wing
Satin soft
Your whispered talk
So not to wake
The dead, you walk
Through your glove
You spin your ring
Another day
Remembering
Horses white
Ribbons tied
Braided manes
You rode beside
Dames and doves
Filled glade and sky
An altar made
Time brushed aside
One wish bade
One wish would I
Lift your veil
Once more my bride
Come, lets walk
This prison's gate
I bid you leave
Here, I must wait
Wonder, walk
By stone and grave
They who share
My ghostly fate
When Sunday chimes
Your sweet bouquet
A rose, you'll lie
Now where I lay
You'll lie beside
And so I'll wake
Until, I'll bide
God's one fine day
METRONOME
The Arctic winds blew
The bitter cold slew
High in the sky
The birds of prey flew
The Heavens reached down
Wings, white as whey
We gathered around
The metronome played
We walked in the clouds
We died where we lay
Still begging for bread
Hands frozen, we prayed
The pendulum swung
The traitors, hung, swayed
We gathered around
The metronome played
Before the sun rose
We crawled and we cleaved
The flesh under snows
We ate, so we breathed
The sirens, slow wailed
The traitors, shot, brayed
We gathered around
The metronome played
872 days of cold, hunger & death was the siege of Leningrad. When the radio was not playing patriotic music to boost the morale of the citizens, it broadcast the beat of a metronome ... The faster the beat, the more imminent an attack.
I loved you
But God, I had to leave
It wasn't you but it wasn't me
We just didn't work and I had to leave
But I need you to know
It hurt me too
Saddened sunsets flare their final glories.
The call of the wild never more beckons.
The wilderness has been all too soon tamed.
No longer are there unknown lands to walk.
No more does the wind call a man onward.
Buildings scrape the sky where once eagle flew.
Parking lots lie where elk and deer once grazed.
Buffalo no longer cover the land.
The wolf no longer howls his ancient rune.
The Cherokee, Comanche, Lakota
No longer stalk their game in a wide land.
But still within my heart I hear the call
That summons my soul to walk the wild lands
And I long to stalk the forests and mounts
And ford wide rivers that run who knows where.
There’re deep valleys, still, where no man has walked
And water holes from which no man has drunk.
There is much to see and so much to do,
But here I sit, matched with an aged wife
And joints that no longer move as they should.
I will stay till my heart no longer beats
And I walk in an undiscovered land.
the pendulum swings
s i l e n t l y
inside of it's chest,
the iron tongue
that can no longer move,
but the brass and copper wheels
have come to a rest,
and silence
curls its head like a cat.
they measured life
in little mouthfuls before,
dividing sunshine
from the encroaching shade;
for all our days
and all of the nights
that set a metronome
to save a warden
of the promises made
now the time beats
o u t s i d e
and spills out of service.
beyond the measure of years,
beyond the ringing of bells,
those seconds gone
never gain their temporary title,
breaking free
from the shackles of their prime.
sleep on, old custodian
in your wooden shell,
the rust has given way
to your frantic heart.
there are no more hours left
for you to narrate
where tick and tock
decay to rust.
In the wilderness of want
A mirage reflects imagination
Exposing secrets of the heart
Rippling rhythms of sensation.
Even without experience, a heart can find itself
In the wilderness of want - and why?
Humans were designed with the need for mutual love.
One can't avoid this inbuilt force however hard one tries!
"What is a ripple without its rhythm?"
When "Tortured by the taste of Touch"
Those ripples pulsate their rhythm through
Something special the heart needed very much.
"Tortured by the taste of Touch"
Of something pure and true
Aching for the impossible return
Of what I had with you.
"Tortured by the taste of Touch"
Of how relationships should be.
Ripples wave rhythms of heartache
Ghosted by certain friends and family...
In the wilderness of want
You know you're still alive.
Rhythmless ripples run flat
And Tortured Touch you can survive.
"What is a ripple without its rhythm?"
Let it be your determination
To fight on through disappointments
To become an inspiration.
When "Tortured by the taste of Touch"
You will find out in the end
That the hurts are well worth conquering -
They teach you how to be a true friend!
The Road You Take
Happiness is not out here
grabbing us today,
saying stuff like,
“Today is going to be your day.”
Everything that’s happening now,
you might have to fight.
A lot more worries
while trying to sleep good at night.
Always take precautions—
no more personal defeat.
It’s a tough world to live
and work in these streets.
This end-of-life theory
is not for the weak,
so stop making bad choices
as we speak.
Consequences are going to respond
to everything you do.
There’s no multiple-choice answer—
you can’t pick or choose.
You have to be careful
about what road to take,
because at the end of the night,
it just might be too late.
By:MelvinJohnson2025
DARK DOWRY
Disappear
The imperfections of mortality
Your soft sensuality
neglected, resurrected
Who was there
To help you arrange
Your dark dowry
Sleeping on the mantle's wing
Awaiting your return
The debutante ball
So dark
Day will never enter
Dreams will never leave
So kind of you to bring me into this life,
You're a strong mother and a loving wife.
I asked for nothing in return, yet everything I got,
I'm nothing without the gifts you gave,
That others would have simply forgot.
A dog is a man's best friend, but that's simply not true,
'Cause my best friend is a mother in the shape of you.
You raised me well, and I inherited the good,
You're the one who always understood.
For I wouldn't be breathing and living my time,
Without your bravery, I'm lucky to call you a mother of mine.
For I see fields of blossoms, marching in pink,
All my chapters are together through the joy you link.
You're the rock that keeps me strong,
Your existence I will forever long.
You're a soothing song that I so dearly play,
I will remember your kindness every second of every day.
You're a painting that bursts into a million different meanings,
You look after me and give me all the good feelings.
The day I lose you in the mist of God,
My grief won't be sadness, but the longing will be strong.
I'll celebrate the moments that you will miss,
As I know you'll be watching, giving me one final kiss.
Mommy, I’m Home
Rictameter
Dear mom
I remember
When I was still a lad
Always want to stay by your side
If I cry I run to you, tears you wipe
But I left you when I grew up
I’m back, own tears I wipe
Stand by your side
Can’t see.
Re-post
AMONG THE LEAVES
Among the leaves
There, someone wept
Though no tears shed
Such pain was felt
It burst the clouds
It stained the sky
And all breath held
To hear that cry
With every note
The ether bled
A rosined bow
To string, once wed
Old wounds long known
Their blood had dried
Now resurrect
And scream
"Alive"
A lover left
A heart once kept
Some trees stand tall
While others die
Those naive
In love believe
Will want and wither
Among the leaves
WE'LL BE AGAIN
I lie awake
You walk alone
I hear your steps
Though you have gone
A last, Amen
Where all things end
A prayer, the night
Let dark descend
"We'll be again"
"We'll be again"
My book, "Recycled Paper: A Safe Place To Hide" is available for sale on Amazon! Thank you all for your encouragement and support!
Goodbye my favorite forever
Eternal fragments lost in abstract soup de jour
Our handshakes full of tremors
When the memories rain it's sore
My heart in freefall, falling up and out, forever's too soon
The paragraph on the backs of pictures stabs the point home
Skeletal strangers with nothing left to prove
The distance signals in real time leaving the breadcrumbs of
jarred hearts, painted candied hearts and Pacman ghosts in slow pursuit
The light of pumpkin eyes, rhymical in pursuit of boyish daydreams
Girlish looks of starving hearts depreciated, are less than pennies now
Parting words circled in funny papers still shaking with regret
When you see me in the folded memories
Just know you're not alone
Your light smiling on in the hollows of my eyes
Smiling in hindsight begging you to come home
Begging me to be brave
Goodbye my favorite forever
You're my long way out
In fading and in passing
Set me a long way down
in
falling
leaves
summer
memories
Loss Categories
Read wonderful loss poetry on the following sub-topics:
baby, brother, brother in law, cat, child, dog, father, friend, horse, mother, pet, stepfather
and more.
Definition | What is Loss in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
Related Poetry Forms
debt, disaster, accident, fall, damage, failure, cost, defeat, trouble, injury, catastrophe, casualty, destruction, undoing, harm, misadventure, dispossession, mishap, deficiency, want, need, death, shrinkage, ruin, privation