“My crown exults with the morning sun.” — The Poet Tree
A bird perches on my branch and leaves
while an insightful dog barks at my inner bark
as the elephant slowly approaches
Around my trunk the elephant wraps his trunk
straining to wrest the rest of me from
my roots, while the flora and fauna root for
the victor they are leaning toward…
either the elephant as it leans forward
or me, as my branches lean sunward
Tired, the elephant lumbers away from my lumber
the insightful dog still barking at my inner bark
as the owl arrives to contemplate root causes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sky is an ancient map,
drawn by hands that forgot their names~
figures named and strung together
by the thin thread of human need.
Here, a hunter forever chasing
what his arrow will never pierce.
There, a bear that never tires,
never lumbers down to earth.
We point and say Look~
as if the stars agreed to this arrangement,
as if they whispered their shapes
into the ears of shepherds and sailors.
But the universe is careless with its light.
These are only accidents,
burning debris caught in the dark,
and we are only creatures
desperate to make patterns
from the scattering.
Playful mood that changes from stomach's growl,
He lumbers from the food-scarce forest hill,
Where naught is found, not fruit nor wing of fowl.
The shop in town he enters to a chill,
Where's found iced cream. He stuffs until his fill.
A bear, a meal, and a mood quite cheery,
His favored flavor eaten? STRAWBERRY.
pain is strange
its range
you can walk
it inhibits
how fast
more than that
it hurts
now I get it
no one knows
but the soul
who lumbers
along
I look and see
all the other bumblebees
and my buzz
resounds
in my own
head
it’s not
that no one
cares
it’s more
that so many
are limping
you only notice
when
you have
the same
ailment
oh boy, age
is deranged
arrange yourself
in the lineup
point
point
point
what’s the point
“OUCH!”
My body is too big
My bones loom over me
and my flesh wraps around them
Heavy like the bricks of a lighthouse tower
The waterfall of my tears posted proudly on a magazine cover
Eighth wonder of the natural world
A thousand miles before it reaches the pillowy ground
My skin stretches over my frame like a canvas
painted with freckles and scars
Enough paint to cover the world twice over is needed to cover it’s expanse
My body lumbers around like I giant when I move
Collapsing in on itself under it’s own weight when I stumble
My souls feels like an ant trapped in the body of a lion
The pins that hold me together are silk needles trying to hold wool
I am a pebble in the body of a mountain, unsure if the wind will whisk me away or if I was ever supposed to move in the first place
I feel bulky and gangly
Shaky and frozen
Filling a room like water fills a cup, cold and loud when all i want is to disappear quietly
Because I feel like my soul could walk through the eye of a sewing needle like a grand palace gate
And whenever my soul feels small
My body is too big
I am riding my bear to meadow bird terrific town.
He lumbers over the hill and we slide all the way down.
Such a great day to whistle, listen, glisten and clown.
The bear and I tell jokes all the way to meadow bird terrific town.
I hear them in the hallways
They are using raised voices
Everyone is excited
Because the KC Chiefs mascot was here
They are running flat out now
Too excited to stop
Their voices are higher, they are thrilled
Even the ones who know nothing of sports.
The mascot lumbers around and gives high fives.
He gives hugs. He twirls them and spins them.
He gets to do all the things the teachers want to do.
But don’t.
I am glad I am the counselor.
I can still get by with doing some of these things
Believe me, I do.
A scholarly man of numbers,
when confronted said, “Chance be gone!
He who believes the lie slumbers.”
A scholarly man of numbers
challenges the mind that lumbers.
“Probability is the brawn!”
A scholarly man of numbers,
when confronted said “Chance be gone!”
The ship of state lumbers along the horizon
Like a gigantic seagoing vessel, she struggles
To stay afloat in turbulent waters she lies in,
A pilot must keep her afloat during troubles.
Like a gigantic seagoing vessel, she struggles
With a recalcitrant, unwieldy operational crew,
A pilot must keep her afloat during troubles
Knowing how and when precisely what to do.
With a recalcitrant, unwieldy operational crew
Unwilling to cooperate on the better course
Knowing how and when precisely what to do
The pilot must the proper decorum enforce.
Unwilling to cooperate on the better course
A malfunctioning crew can cause it to capsize
The pilot must the proper decorum enforce,
Through a long dark night, approaching sunrise.
A malfunctioning crew can cause it to capsize
Leaving disaster in its wake, loss immeasurable
Through a long dark night, approaching sunrise,
A pilot makes decisions to many unfathomable.
Leaving disaster in its wake, loss immeasurable
To stay afloat in turbulent waters she lies in,
A pilot makes decisions to many unfathomable,
The ship of state lumbers along the horizon.
Written November 19, 2022
Large muscular strong cat
Labeled as king of beasts
Lives in grassland in pride
Lavish mane crown male dons
Lumbers elegantly
Labors hunting in night
Lunges at prey’s neck.
_______________
March 17, 2022
Syllable count : 6 per line
Checked at howmanysyllables.com
Contest : In Search Of Prey
Sponsored by : Joseph May
Lights & Numbers
David J Walker
When he said
Think ahead
I think he was
Thinking of numbers
What I heard
(Silly nerd)
Was seamless dreams
In vivid colors of
Visions in
Slumbers
As the night
Lumbers
alone
Into
Tomorrow
Morning
When numbers are
Subtracted from
The meaning of dreams
And the deep sleep of
dreams is over
Brutus, my slavering Rottweiler, growls
He knows he's tougher than pooches with tails
The long pointed studs on his black leather collar
Are matched by his canines which make poodles holler
The drooling saliva that trails from his jaws
As he lumbers about on his four massive paws
Is soaking the ground and his talon like claws
Encouraging folk to keep children indoors
Devil Dog, Satan’s mutt, hellhound and more
All labels my beast has been nick-named before
I feed him on red meat and shin bones of cattle
It’s said he eats tigers but that’s tittle tattle
The park is all ours because other folk run
But wait, there’s a kitten, now this could be fun
Brutus will rip him apart for a lark
And splatter its blood and guts over the park
Hey, kitty kitty, come over to me
Play with my dog, what good friends you could be
But kitten was clever, too clever for me
He hissed and now Brutus is stuck up a tree
In Mexico there are no aliens with visas
If you listen carefully earthquakes whisper
A carriage lumbers along on 3 square wheels
With sounds known only to God in His infinite wisdom
Plump women sing volcanic tunes to platonic old men
Leathery faces trace their lineage back through time
Struggling through dirt streets to church
Pot holiness causes the donkey to sink inside
The happy mule pulls the cart while humming
Minstrel songs in burro languages of long ago
Knowing there is a carrot at the end of the road
Volcanic Ash Wednesdays come with a cross
Once a year cemeteries come alive in November
It must be the 1st. as the marigolds are fragrant
Freshly cut flowers with aromas arrive
Day of the Dead is a colorful occasion
Picnics are fun for those above the daisies
Dancing on graves gets crazy
Spartan was a wicked task
Full unmasked the evil presence
Violence against a brother rewarded
Quick the silencer will reap
For no value kills another
Yet the process lumbers on
In the wood and city streets
Another victim preyed upon
How shall we make amends?
By the precepts of His laws?
The balance greater drifting onward
Sees the shifting of relief
One cannot help but cry aloud
For violence continues to this day
So when you see a fallen one
Ask what price demanded Him to pay?
So Baltimore the place of honor
Chicago maims not far behind
"To each his own" the saying goes
Some recompense repaid each time
a brood lumbers in the fold of an oak - slumbering
while mary go round and round - catching the affections of her father
under my bed - blooms are enchanted to leave
and a hidden mole peaks from pink lace like a blackeye susan emerging from a field of golden hairs on the hills and valleys below your waste - dew
passion and tenderness, a peter and cupid caress - springs forth bunnies and children
there innocense - now frolics from a twinkle in their parent's eyes
like laundry hung out to dry - the warmth of spring and pastels of her petals subdues children to huddle, enfolded in her downy comforter
by
Martin Braun
3/19/2020
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