the metropolitan library has a legacy of hosting unknown entities
reputed to be severely haunted since the early eighteen twenties
is it Goth? Celtic? what is her story I asked my eager brother
He wanted to go there on Hallows Eve, but did not invite our mother
Ghouls, goblins, ghosts and gremlins have been seen there
There might be vampires or cricket bats lingering in the air
a witch or two might be stirring a cauldron bright
we don’t know what to expect on this rare night
I thought it odd he did not mention book or a story
But decided to go because I am my brother’s sister, Glory
around the corner I saw an open book with sitting creature
she gave me the evil eye, with a gruesome face, an evil creature
it is a baby bat, my brother said, no reason to worry
But then we heard scratching and scratching, and something scurry
the bat transmogrified into a vampire with evil intent
spilled the cup of tea, and proved he was not heaven-sent
We ran out screaming, my brother and I
I yelled really loud “I thought I’d die!”
Then I noticed my brother had not made it out
I could hear him screaming as he was thrown about.
The area where the coffee scent fills the air
Where the homeless see the well off and just stare
Everyone has their heads down into their phones
Beautiful buildings and waterfalls running off stones
The people are too educated to be nice and polite
Front desk security is called if something isn't right
Plenty of places to choose from to fill their hunger
People on the move are bumping into one another
Everyone seem to have the same serious expression
Leaving you with that strictly business impression
Businesses lunches, Brief cases, and due dates
Demanding bosses and paperwork that can't wait
It's a fast pace world and it must be hard to keep up
The metropolitan area is not a place to interrupt
Metropolitan city, a fast-paced city
Tantalizing desires, dazzling fame stealthily bound to disintegrate
Swelling population, clustered houses, disparity among people, gazing with pity
High ambition, stiff competition, insensitive attitude sneakily tend to deflate
Flashback memories come to foresight together
Once, dense woods stand tall, creatures under one roof altogether
A mark of solidarity and in cohesion, help each other
Drooping trees bemoan, ‘How callous mankind axe us for pleasure’
‘How anyone tear us apart, lament in displeasure
Selfish and greedy, in equal measure.
Confronting setbacks, man with nature hasten to discuss nitty- gritty
Realized, hankering after mundane objects, inner self tend to degenerate
Thereafter, exchange pleasantry with one-another
Harmony and unity exist, a priceless, glorious treasure.
THIRD PLACE
DATED: 01.08.2021
CONTEST: WRITING PROMPT-FRAGMENTED SPACES POETRY CONTEST
SPONSORED BY: CONSTANCE LA FRANCE
A gilt and rusted nest of steel,
stone and brick and concrete,
haunted by its own electric soul,
awaits the tangled light of early spring.
Throughout the restless night,
heavy boats have cut across the bay
leaving scars upon its cold
and gray and gleaming skin.
But every sin committed
on the landscape by this sprawling city
suddenly appears to be forgiven
with the rising of the sun.
“Live again, and work.”
A million clocks have sprung.
The ragged threads of countless dreams
that clung to countless minds
are brushed away.
In unison they rise,
they wash,
they work.
The moon alone is left to take its subtle time,
to wander narrow strips of sky,
to climb the steel lattices and gaze away
across the moving clamor of the day.
Times Square
Intersects the television screen.
At the crescendo of the scene
A starlet sings a melancholy song,
Hiding in a costume that disguises
The method she employs
To hypnotize the audience.
Copyright © 1997-2018 by Benjamin Toney. All rights reserved.
After watching
a political speech
on
my T.V
I become more hopeful this afternoon
The speaker pledged
to aid the unfortunate homeless
out there in the cold
he pledged to
"bring us together"
rather than divide us
and he promised
that all he is saying
will be achieved
The speaker brought me some
hope
in the cold, cold afternoon
Winter in the metoropolis
It is quite frigid outside
But inside the hearts of the citizenry
there is warmth
At this time - the beginning of a New Year
Let's open our hearts
Spread a little kindness around
As they say "What goes around comes around "
Good Karma!
and the joyful expectation
of a better day
Unfamiliar flag,
It's up and down
Today I saw it
Weeping on its knees.
Murmuring students
Hold tears, someone
Else is dead again
The university mourns.
Death, why in our abundance
Is your harvest so rich?
Rusty rotten dirty domes,
Wound the Heaven’s azure heart,
Chimneys’ souls rise to part,
Black giants’ filthy foams.
Metal hooting centipedes,
Pierce the hills’ rocky chest.
Shaking the jungles’ breast,
Roaring saw on trunk feeds.
Life’s teasing irony,
Knife to cut on the barks
Save trees in the parks!
Man’s mocking destiny...
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