On spewing wave, our departing ride
Crazed currents crack, an azure slide
Freedom mingles in sea foam seethe
Cobra throat coast gulps river relieve
Estuary entry rests, rushing ruthless
Canoe oar dip downtempo soothe us
Convulsing closing, seen from stern
To mayhem mouth we shan’t return
Silver silt filters salt, lake lap littoral
Ranges ahead etch graduating blues
Drift beside reeds, bird pews hymnal
Harp strum seraphim strike chords
Nacreous nematodes writhe towards
Tiny sun centre lace tutus feverfew
Pirouette pirogue wet on dawn dew
Papery apron snapdragon bonnets
Bloom ten a stem syllable sonnets
Cut log capsule covets its heritage
Forested foothills fix ship wreckage
Fir hands welcome hung hammock
Cosy ocean recoil, mountains titanic
Sixth of November
- upstream -
Cupid nacreous clouds
Cradled near setting sun
Creamy temple pillars
Cyprus grow in spirals
Cloud nine is for lovers
Clasp me close in your arms
Closer to the divine
SHRIEK
As Edvard Munsch walked with friends
Across the bridge spanning Oslofjord
His sister’s situation struck a chord
Admitted to the lunatic asylum nearby
He saw the blood red colour of the sky
Nacreous clouds now hovering lower
Perhaps it was a symptom of Krakatoa
That famous volcanic eruption of late
And had an impact on his mental state
A strange overwhelming sense of dread
But inspiration for an impressionist work
A Peruvian mummy was a regular quirk
And featured, as the scream never ends
Bright
leafs swirl
rapt torrents
o'er harvest moon
gemstone portent of
motley hued topaz glaze
nacreous in sullen haze
as grey dawn wail from tawny tree
house crib heralds wildlife orchard surge
Togetherness
Have you ever seen those beautiful sky paintings known as Fire rainbows?
You are one of them sparkling my life.
Have you ever seen those halos known as Ice crystal in the clouds?
You are one of them chilling my life.
Have you ever seen the spinning column of flames?
You are one of them when we often fight.
Have you ever seen those cute penitents?
You are one of them when I see you every day.
Have you ever seen Pele’s hair?
You are of them when we wake up together.
Have you ever seen the Blood Falls?
It is when we stop talking even for a minute.
Have you ever seen the desert roses?
You are one of them who blossomed my life.
Have you heard about giant permafrost explosions?
You are one of them when you get angry.
You are my rainbow eucalyptus and waterspouts.
You are clonal tree groves and eternal flame falls.
You are the spotted Lake and Nacreous Clouds.
You are my Green sand beach and starling murmuration of black sun.
Nacreous and opaline iridescence
Scattered through my gated garden
Million white tendered blossoms
Oozing intoxicating perfumed bursts
Most divine exotic jasmine
Beaded lily of the valley
Melodramatic calla lily
Trumpet playing lilium
Oversized amaryllis
Inspirited hyacinth
Lotuslike magnolia
Tall spiky foxgloves
Rock garden candytuft
Innocence of baby’s breath
Exalting nacre for my opalescent muse
AP: Honorable Mention 2020, Front Page Pick 2023
In the endless expanse
of what exists
and the magic of what can be...
fantasy is the luster of opalescence
conceived in a continual curve of mother-of-pearl panache
spinning through a sacred spiral in effervescence
they arise - in bare necessity
and break the surface -
perceptions of prismatic potential
bending colors in the light of consciousness
daydreams delve
between realms of serenity and dampened spirits
amidst meditations
to unfurl the waves’ curl of life’s mysteries
where faceted riptides flash sun-diamonds
and twilight’s bruised beauty is but an abstract -
in mixed moody moon-shades
of earth’s passion and human nature
enriched with celestial nuances
I reflect within this mirrored space
as I search to adorn my naked thoughts in nacreous chic
breathing bliss and sipping soulful seas
my wild whimsy in wanderlust glides like an albatross
seeking the iridescence of the abalone shell --
a marvel of profound imagination
Susan Ashley
January 10, 2019
~ First Place ~
Premiere Contest: Free Verse Style Only Poetry
Sponsor: Emile Pinet
*nacreous: consisting of or having the luster of mother-of -pearl*
Foretelling nacreous cloud
In the midday sky
Mother-of-pearl
Beautifully priceless
Mother of Game smiled
Rainbow cloud sent by the ancestors
Announcing spirit would send animals
To the men tomorrow
A successful hunt
First rainbow cloud she had ever seen
Foretold by Wise Woman
Bringing joy to the tribe
The fire dance would be
Fantastic tonight
The elders were now
Starring at the sky
PEARLS
rare stones
from grandma
adored and so loved
her gift on my debut
silky, ivory, treasure
"nacreous and iridescent"
_________________________
June 28, 2016
Poetry/Pyramid Verse/Clarity In A Treasure Box
Copyright Protected, ID 16-804-717-0
All Rights Reserved. Written under Pseudonym.
For the contest, Clarity In A Treasure Box,
sponsor, Nette Onclaud
Fifth Place
through wisps of star dust she flies on nacreous wings her light burns so bright
Abracadabra! Bountiful crystals drop effulgently from God’s heaven.
Icy jewels kissing landscapes move - nacreous - over pristine quietude.
Refreshing souls, this unruffled, velvet white Xanadu yields zephyrs!
Cupid’s Arrow
Walking through the bar;
Her nacreous smile grew wide,
He fell to his knees.
A little of the flaxen locks to twiddle,
Taken she melts to the thirsty lips,
En caged the liquid burning desire,
Knocks to navigate to my pleasure?
Ice flavors smack a spicy conflict,
Twits the tongue with exhilaration,
Liquid passion in a joyous hot mix;
Foreplay chides to move my gut.
The mystic chalice bumps with passion,
On the rocks to conjures a dream,
Nacreous crescent in seductive muse;
A hitch and she rests in solitude.
Nacreous trees
reach into goldenrod skies
autumn wheat hissing, envious!
Tassels of crown hang, lifeless.
Queen of a barren kingdom
where silver suns trek horizons,
never in reach for the looking glass
to swallow, and reflect,
inside out.
Another sunrise sets
all as the pearl harvest eclipses behind,
the apple of her eye.
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