At sea where the shadows breathe,
Old ships lie, lost beneath the sea,
Corvette Donna Freja on the patrol,
Sailing waters, old stories unfold.
An island looms, radar watch keen,
But danger whispers cuts the serene.
A Seabase ship breaks the silent night,
There in the cove, no chance to fight.
Ghosts of the Triangle call out in despair,
Waves of the past rise up in the air.
Fight or flee, under moon light,
Will the Freja engage the fight?
A cruiser’s shadow, sharp and swift,
Guns pointing fierce, the air is a rift.
Captain’s blood hot as a flame,
Decide in seconds, the cruelest game.
The Commodore, monitors the chase,
Information’s life, a dangerous space.
Fins in the dark, chasing their prey,
Past and present, a to price to pay.
Caught in fate and courage worn thin,
Echoes of battles, places they’ve been.
Water graves whisper, every tide’s song,
History's grips, the Freja must be strong.
Through the Triangle's they’ll sail once more,
A Corvette fleeing, but her spirit will roar.
In the depth of night, courage runs deep,
She’ll return to fight, where the enemy creeps.
In the dead of night.
Lovers
Ever
Fall in blooming love,
Need brain monitors, surely
Romance human dance.
the operating room waits in a pale hush
metal holding its shimmer like a vow
shadows gathering themselves into still corners
the air hums with low mechanical dreaming
soft pulses threading through the silence
as if the room keeps time for the living
gloved hands move with practiced, quiet grace
shaping unseen pathways in the air
preparing the body’s hidden journey
the lights rise into a slow white blossoming
illuminating the table like a threshold
where flesh and hope lean toward each other
anesthesia drifts like a pale unfolding tide
smoothing the edges of awareness
carrying the patient into gentle depth
monitors whisper the first faint awakenings
life stirring back through muted circuits
as the room releases its long-held breath
Just me thinking of me.
I have a collection of myself,
As well as feathers, and old computer monitors.
And the worn out December.
Tattered like the creatures that eat spiders at night.
It’s only me in here.
In my t-shirt and jeans that seem to have too many pockets.
I have a collection that could include-
December and me.
Just me thinking of syrup, pine cones, and wavy things.
I have enough of myself everywhere.
Just like we have enough fall leaves until the leaf fairy comes through with her teeth.
I know things about the night.
Old stuff and empty candy wrappers.
Just me thinking of me.
Not because I care.
It’s just that I have a five dollar bill in my pocket today.
Old and crumpled.
The ads and displays are everywhere
crowding entries and doorways.
There are even commercials on monitors—
I can’t escape.
I rush in for a few items and conversation
but choices offered seem bigger than life.
Signs that say save and save
implore that you spend more.
I pass by an aisle of more types
of bread than I could imagine
leading to a myriad of types
of peanut butter.
I must confess I couldn’t find
the peanut butter with jelly
that delighted my tongue
when I worked long, hot days
with construction crews
some other time and place.
Every small town I passed
nestled along narrow highways
had a name on a water tower
as it pierced the sky.
I long to go to a quiet place
and list my memories
a collage of the life
I’ve known.
Electric frogs call:
hospital monitors beep
in syncopation.
A KID WISHED FOR SCHOOLDAY
(A TANKA-DUO MESSAGE)
Fun snow day fell today:-
All of the schools had to close down
For home school snow day:-
Happy kids had so much fun:
Their monitors had meltdowns:-
What a good snow day!
Jesus had to walk the waters!:
Monitors, the snow:-
The kids were home, safe and sound:
Monitors’ eyes watching snow:-
I walk from work a smile upon my face
a busy shift, 'Emergency' the place.
Where sick and injured come in through the door
and we are always ready to care for.
Alarms are sounding, monitors beep, beep,
all beds are full, and to their needs we leap.
Check vital signs, the temp, pulse, and BP
take blood, a urine test, an ECG.
Put in an I.V. Cannula I will
if veins are difficult, it takes some skill.
Next, take them to Xray to have a scan
or, if their bladder's full offer a pan.
For pain, give medication, reassess?
but if they vomit, I'll clean up their mess.
For patient comfort always tops the list,
and to ensure this happens I'll assist.
When cold, a nice warm blanket brings a smile
sometimes I'll hold their hand a little while.
With reassuring voice allay their fears,
if they're upset then wipe away their tears.
Write up my notes including all I've done,
hand over to the next nurse one by one.
The hours seem to quickly run away
and soon my shift is finished for the day.
I'll say goodbye to patients in my care
be glad, that on this day I have been there.
I walk from work a smile upon my face
A busy shift, Emergency the place.
I watched you grasp for air
You fought and fought hard
I felt helpless
I wanted to help but didn’t know how
Your hospital monitors were going crazy
I wanted to cry but couldn’t
It was like voices in my head saying shouldn’t
Witnessed your agony and pain
Tears wanted to fall
I held back
Your eyes and body went into a seizure
I knew from within
You would be leaving this Earth
Suddenly your body went lump
I felt your leg and it was cold
Your eyes were closed and then totally breathless
You got your heavenly wings
I cried uncontrollable
Into the skies your soul soared
You roam now in the ever after.
My sisters stroked my girlfriends hair
Saying lovely hair
Then both of them went into
a cupboard under the stairs
Like something a la Burton
Sorry my ex-girlfriend
I am ashamed by my country
Where do you hand in your documents to leave the human race
Glad you enjoyed space
Cause everything is melting
Watch you don’t burn your lips
on the earth
Trump I mean really was there nobody could do a half decent Kermit impression
What do you get if you cross chocolate with children
a visit by Prince
and drew a breath
Those things that monitors speed
Pedo
meter
We need someone to invent hope
as we choke boke
a clicking in my throat
with the stroke
of a note
this I have wrote
They said you’d never survive,
That there were complications with the pregnancy,
They told me it would be painful,
Yet they made you stay in my womb.
They said there was nothing they could do,
That you were too weak,
They knew they couldn’t save you,
But that they could save me.
There used to be a choice for me,
But I don’t have a choice anymore,
We’ve been stripped of the rights to our own bodies,
Now I’m in danger.
Carrying you could kill me,
My life is a ticking clock,
I wish I could have saved your precious life,
But you might end mine.
My face is turning pale,
As I lay here in this hospital bed,
Blood runs down my thighs,
As my body slowly shuts down.
Monitors beep around me,
Each one forms a part of a song,
I’m being pumped full of fluids,
With IV tubes in both arms.
My life hangs in the balance,
I get weaker every minute,
But all they can do is hope for the best,
Because they can’t save me without removing you.
A bottle of sore throat relief spray lies on my desk
Along with sixteen torn up pages of past written poems
My cell phone sits here too, a box of Kleenexes, six notebooks
There are two computer monitors on this desk
I like clutter, it makes me feel safe and loved
Is that a barrette? I watch it moving steadily away
A tiny pincher bug, adding a bit of life to this mess
Chickens
Much better things to use chickens for are:
waiters, school crossing
monitors, paper
weights, door
stoppers, getting us
soda cans, handing us
toilet paper, mowing the
lawns, changing channels on the
TV, washing cars, reading to
us before we go to
bed.
Don't ignore the stop sign
on the yellow school bus.
You may be in a hurry
but safety should come first.
The bus is full of children
slow down just take your time
Something unexpected might happen
so please bear that in mind.
A little consideration
goes a long long way.
So keep your eyes wide open
and give the bus the right of way.
Then those school bus monitors
who always do their best.
Will feel much more content
having put their minds at rest.
what do you write about?
I look on my desk
besides two computer monitors I have
sore throat spray
plastic owl with a rotating head
snowman Christmas felt craft kit
two-sided ceramic dish in crisscross design
Disney princess counting numbers game
red sunglasses with lens that are black
nickel coin collection from my dad
large print thesaurus and dictionary
broken pencil
Dick Blick catalog
tiny scrap of gum
hair gel
empty glass
toy glow creature
Yes,
I could clean this off
but in a week it would look the same
just new contenders
Sub Categories
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.