The sky and sea intermingled as a mist evolved.
Soon a moon appeared surrounded by tiny stars.
From the beach, a whisper of awe arose, all wondered
Onlooking the misty phenomenon of a beauty rarely seen.
Night fell and some bathers rested on the sandy beach.
Could the sky kiss the sea, most wondered musing a lot.
It was a sensation of wonder and mystifying occurrence
Yet finally most lay down into a deep sleep and dreamt.
A summerlike breeze swirled around them prodding dreams.
Most wondered what could one find beyond the horizon.
Many felt that beyond was a void, others dreamt of sunken ships.
But many dreamt of fantastic beings that hovered around.
Soon the sun rose from faraway. Ships sailed placidly
And on the horizon, a cruise ship manoeuvred to far off lands.
Categories:
manoeuvred, sea, sky,
Form: Free verse
A girl from the Folies Bergere
Manoeuvred her feathers with care.
One night, to a gasp,
They slipped from her grasp
And there she stood totally bare
Categories:
manoeuvred, woman,
Form: Limerick
Spill the tea, tipped up spout, stirred
Friction mixes fiction into fructose
Whispers pull expectant ears close
Muffled message can barely be heard
Listen where truth and lies intertwine
Hot off the press, a hopscotch
Pebble thrown, trending watch
Manoeuvred over as squares 3- 6- 9
Folded inside last week’s newspaper
Transfer blur, ink bleed injury
Tear away band-aid gingerly
Atrocities reduced to peculiar caper
Shrine to memory melts fact, flimsy
Shadows spread black plague
Smokey mirror, images vague
Cloak and dagger funhouse whimsy
Pressed for truth, tea bags shrivel
Leaking last drips of drunk dribble
21st November 2024
Written for Contest:
How the Echo Filters Reality
Sponsor: Di11y Da11y
Categories:
manoeuvred, anger, conflict, prejudice, sound,
Form: Enclosed Rhyme
I watched a dog sweep across the land where no man stands;
So delicate in his every step—
He manoeuvred across it with a strange familiarity:
The mud to him was not a problem,
Though it clung to his feet like it was trying to drag him deep down.
He lifted his nose into the air to sniff the scent of death,
And trekked over lumps and bumps to find where a cold man lay.
He was half-enveloped already—
The living, breathing mud having started to swallow him whole—
Even the dog was able to tell his fate:
His breathing was quiet and he laid so eerily still; like a ghost.
Anything done now was too little too late.
So the dog, empathetic in its very being, lay down at his side,
To comfort him as he said his final prayers.
The dog let the man stroke him, watching (with fixed intent)
The shaky rise and fall of his chest—waiting for death.
Soon the blood exiting his pale body began to slow,
And the dog knew it was over. His job was done.
He had offered the one thing he could in his primitive being: mercy.
To a scared and lonely man, in the final moments
Of his short life.
Categories:
manoeuvred, animal, death, dog, feelings,
Form: Free verse
The pure pleasure or the serene pain
That oozes helplessly out of the deeds honest
Leaves no burden , nor squeezing strain ;
The cordial words of solace are blest
And are duly prompted by the just mind
The pure joy of a dancing flower ,
The warm touch of the moderate sun
The sprinkling drizzles from the clouds that hover ,
Have no match for the joy beyond fun ;
Enough and more, often choke the breath
An ignorant lie or manoeuvred gesture ,
A manifest design or clever artefact ,
Perhaps could never settle like the pearly moisture
On the lean grass or along a leafy tract
And instill keen delight in the wilderness .
Categories:
manoeuvred, nature,
Form: Lyric
Magnificent places I tiptoed and stepped
dashed like the wind, manoeuvred and leapt
reminiscing those memories I treasured then kept...
for most of my life I slept.
Categories:
manoeuvred, dream, life,
Form: Verse
Sleeping book slept through years within a box
Never once woke up even through the knocks,
Transported interstate across the countryside
Manoeuvred here and there around the nation wide.
Sleeping book dreamt he was significant; held dear
Even though long storage he was just a bit of gear,
One day removal of tape and styrofoam
At last sleeping book awoke to a loving library home.
Now propped on a shelf in a feathered golden stand
Upright and proud for now he is not crammed,
Happy to be picked up and sometimes even fanned
Never wished to be the best or be on high demand…
For sleeping book faced toward Novel of much love
People only handled her with lint-free cotton gloves,
Illustrated pages every reader had admired
Sleeping book around her always felt inspired.
To be read is the ultimate goal that we all books do have
Essays, Publications, Pamphlets-all of them are glad,
Regardless where we are- a shelf or near ones bed
Every book contented when only being read.
Categories:
manoeuvred, adventure, books,
Form: Rhyme
The aeroplane lay upside down
At the bottom of the lake quite profound
How it came to be here
Was a story that was not clear
There were no markings that would last
And it appeared the water landing was not very fast
Its door was blown off the side
And it sparked my interest of what was inside
There was a sealed box bobbing around
So I manoeuvred it without a sound
And it floated out and up to the water’s surface
I pushed it over to the landing place
The box itself was so very light
I was able to put it in the van and close it tight
And I pondered what to do next
Thinking what was inside made me so perplexed
I drove it home and locked the garage door
Sipping a scotch I thought some more
Picking up my pry bar
And with one push it opened up with a jar
It wasn’t peculiar in its shape
With a video screen to contemplate
And when I touched it came to be switched on
With scenes of an alien world to wonder upon
But the biggest surprise was the fade to one
Back to a being whose speech had just begun
The universal translator said to me
“Contact made we are locked in, we will come and see.”
© Paul Warren Poetry
Categories:
manoeuvred, science fiction,
Form: Ballad
Am I pretty enough?
A question oft asked by adorable little girls,
But also a question lingering
At the back of every teenagers mind.
A question that haunted Me,
Every second of my teenage life.
Am I pretty enough?
I soon stopped asking myself.
'Cuz I always assumed the answer
Would be in the negative.
I looked unto others for the
Appreciation I'd denied for myself.
Am I pretty enough?
I soon stopped wanting to know.
Manoeuvred around every mirror,
To avoid having to answer.
The weighing scales oppressed me, and
Food- such a loyal friend- remained a friend no more.
I am pretty enough,
I finally told myself.
Stopped looking unto others,
And looked deep within.
Stopped obsessing with the scales,
And embraced me for who I am...
Categories:
manoeuvred, appreciation, beauty,
Form: Blank verse
A voyage of dark mists swoops and swirl
In and around my once strong body
The strength breakers disable a part of me brick by brick
Laughing at me as I struggle to rebuild
In my growing confusion
The whispers inside
Causing conflict and mistrust
Creating enemies from innocent voices
This dark devil grows inside
Leaving my conscience
A long lonely road behind
Now feeling controlled and manoeuvred
By this power hungry curse
Is it me that it wants destroyed?
Or just chaos and destruction
Of all that is around me
Where I am the culprit controlled
By this misty being from a hell unknown
Categories:
manoeuvred, confusion, depression, me, dark,
Form: Bio
SANTA'S SURPRISE
Santa Claus stripped off his beard and red suit
And left the show in the officers’ mess
Pulling the last tiny pieces of cotton wool from his stubbled chin
As he ran to his position
At the end of the starboard bow catapult of the Carl Vinson
Eighty feet above the stormy grey Arabian Sea
He watched as far off down the flight deck
The final touches manoeuvred the F22 into the cradle
Its ordnance today a hundred kilogram fragmentation device
For a rebel bunker in Afghanistan an hour’s flying time away
A surprise delivery for them;
The salt wind whipped the last cotton from his face.
Then his thumb pressed the green all-clear button
Engine screamed to maximum and the catapult released
The flying load into the grey sky. Another successful delivery.
He checked his area of the mechanism after the aircraft blurred past
And hurried back inside to finish his Christmas dinner
Merry Christmas Santa, they all yelled as he came in again.
Categories:
manoeuvred, war, christmas, christmas, flying,
Form: Prose Poetry
It starts with fragments of pain
Like tiny pins being pushed into the heart
The heart thinking he could take the pains; ignored
But this pain is like no other, so he cried
Crying out to the whole body to take it away
The body tries but the pins are like colony of ants
Tiny but lethal and infectious in unity
The heart skipped and is out manoeuvred by pain
Jerking in rebellion with all its strength
Too late! Pain has invited guilt, with guilt- regrets
Now a trio, their strength is stronger than body
The heart defeated, betrayed and battered, beats in his fastest succession
And eye tears for the chaos and confusion of the body
All hail sorrow, the conqueror of man.
Categories:
manoeuvred, devotionheart, pain, body, heart,
Form: I do not know?
Freedom of the soul to pierce through new scenes, dimensions, heights and regions
Brevity taken and sometimes manoeuvred to serendipity
Glorious asunder from the usual
Footprints of pathways a must to display victory
Persistence, despite barricades, obstructions blurring visions, unfavourable conditions,
situations …
An attempt trying to answer unanswered questions and questionable answers
Going into un-explored areas, giving meaning and attention to areas un-noticed, unseen,
un-discovered
Makes life worth sacrificing for
Not present in the mathematical equations or discoveries but the heart of love, dedication
to service, a wholehearted sense of commitment, willingness to help, support, assist,
create, deduce….
There lies the power of a beautiful mind breaking barriers and deviating from the usual
normal, toward the ideal perfection that lies upward, higher not necessarily what lies ahead……
Categories:
manoeuvred, on writing and words
Form: I do not know?