Love is fragile,
A slow plant to root
So water it with gentle words
And feed it with each tender caress
Never outgrow love
Fill each gaze since the first with that same wonder
That same breathless admiration
Make each kiss as profound as the first
Let each laugh be as bright
Never outgrow love
Have adventures, small or grand
Surprise each other
Dance in the rain
And above all…
Keep your arguments silly
Never outgrow love
Even if you grow apart
Don't be afraid to love
Even in the midst of heartbreak
Love is always stronger
Never outgrow love
As I journeyed through the hellish landscape of my past,
I began to put out the fires that somehow still last.
They were persistent and tried to reignite themselves, but I held fast.
Some would lunge and lick at me as the water was cast.
But I kept on working until the burning had passed.
I kept working until fertile fields were unmasked.
Then I began to plant seeds for my future. Seeds I would nurture into a landscape lush and vast.
The world burns,
The hungry yearns,
For a morsel of change,
In this new land strange.
Where the sky bleeds red,
And life lies solemnly in death's bed.
Where men watch but do not see,
And freedom is scarce while agony free.
Kids do not play hide and seek,
Racing for numbers to reach the peak.
This land works in mysterious ways,
The dead is immortal while the living strays.
Color has been stripped off almost entirely,
Save for a lone weed from an era lived priorly.
Against all odds it emerges from the earth,
Reaching towards the sky amongst the dearth.
It dances to the winds unaware,
Luring in an entrancing snare.
"Who are you?", someone wails,
"Hope!", it echoes through the vales.
Through weary eyes she greets the dawn,
The traces on her face of a night gone wrong.
To tend new life is no simple task,
And each sleepless night stacks upon the last.
She shall receive neither laurel nor laud
For the tears she’s shed and the trials she’s fought.
But no good thing is easily done,
Enduring with love is the weight of her endearing work beneath the sun.
And courage she carries in no small supply;
Each day she shoulders her calling, be it gentle or awry.
No monument will bear her form or name;
She'll receive no grand acclaim nor fame
Yet to one small life she stands above it all
A mother, a hero, deserving of every honor I can call.
a mother's care ~
nurturing her fledgings
to stengthen their wings
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Life can be merry, exciting, funny and grand
dancing in tune with a mariachi band
Or it can be staid, sullen, dour and dank
listen to my sound advice, it will be frank
attitude makes the difference and you can choose
Some choose to succeed, others are keen to lose
it’s easy to say it’s going to be a marvelous day
keep this in your head, and you will lean that way
Optimism comes with a price, you have to stay up
I advise flowers, jewelry, color, art, and maybe a pup
surround yourself with people who bring you joy
your attitude is imperative, don’t treat it like a toy
Maternal love is not to be trifled with ~
it's in all little touches and knows no bounds
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Cardiac cadence
of mama tides
keep zodiac time
tears like tides
taste of brine on baptized lips
sway me sea
in cradle-swells
between the crests
coddle me
in a pink-wombed
conch shell
for I like driftwood
have died yet survived the storm.
Nurture the virtues of your eternal soul,
those attributes that are eternal.
Share your best, make it your goal,
let them manifest from the internal.
Let others see what will unfold,
as it extends from within to the external.
Share the creative energy, as you’ve been told,
open your mind like a ripe kernel.
Allow your thoughts to flow like a river,
share your gifts, be a giver.
Don’t hold back, it’s time to deliver,
use all the arrows in your quiver.
Nothing you’re given is meant to be held,
and never a time for talents to be shelved.
None like your parents
They're irreplaceable
Even when you have a guardian
They won't nurture and culture you
Like your parents would do.
Mr man when you lose
Your wife or girlfriend
You still gonna find another
But when you lose your mother
You can never find another.
Lady when you lose
Your husband or boyfriend
You still gonna find another
But when you lose your father
You will never ever find another.
Cherish and replenish your parents
While they're still alive
Giving them the love and respect
They deserve
Because that's the only memories
They'll take along when it's time to go.
The voice within, a whisper bruised,
Fights the noise the world has used
To carve a man from primal bone
To cage the beast, to leash the lone.
The mind, a mat where wars unfold,
Instincts wild, but nurtured cold.
They tame him not with chains or rods,
But with applause and wooden Gods.
He wears the mask, rehearsed and tight,
Performs by day, forgets by night.
Painted smiles, a jester’s role
Each laugh, a wounded soul.
Temptation hangs like a golden fruit,
But plucked, it tastes of ash and soot.
He dances for a wage, a name,
A line in ledgers, rank and fame.
Rituals rot in daily spin,
A prayer to clocks, a suit for sin.
Validation, the new divine,
Poured like wine to numb decline.
Frustration bubbles, seeks escape,
But lids get screwed in human shape.
No scream escapes the echo’s hold,
The cage is warm, the bars are gold.
A one-way street with silent bends,
From cradle’s cry to coffin ends.
And what shall grace his stone in sleep?
“He lived to please. He died too deep.”
R-aindrops
O-f
S-ky
A-re
N-aturally
N-ourishing
A-ll
©bfa061125
Monocrostic (Birthday of Rosanna M. Dejumo)
love is simple yet profound
let me hold your hand
no matter the time
walks talks prayers
let me comfort you
no matter the moment
sadness pain anger
let me kiss you
no matter the place
private public
let me spoil you
no matter the occasion
just because
let me protect you
no matter the reason
spiritually physically
let me be your peace
no matter the situation
overwhelmed chaos stress
let me nurture you
no matter the provision
emotionally spiritually mentally
let me love you
peeling back the layers
not caring if I shed tears with you
love is profound yet simple
If I were a dewdrop, I'd wish I were a blossom.
If I were a blossom, I'd wish I were a butterfly.
If I were a butterfly, I'd wish I were a dewdrop.
Where does all the wishing end?
In a little house, where there is golden honey light,
a wind-kissed garden, some star-woven lullabies, and Grandmother,
laying the tapestry of tomorrow on the sandalwood table.
And Aarohi, Aarohi, sitting at that table,
eyes sparkling like monsoon rain on lotus leaves,
wishing to be there.
“I Am Woman”
From her loins
A seed grows,
Tenderly cared,
Straight and tall,
The future, hers to give.
Oh, Great Bearer of Life,
Queen of Destiny,
What is it you demand of thee?
Please, articulate your gift to me.
My honor, indeed.
I deplore you do not know.
How blind you are.
I grew the seed
that gave you life.
A cherished gift
To eternity.
How fortunate you are.
To be allowed.
I choose, not you,
To inseminate my seed.
My belly swells,
My breasts grow,
For the life that comes,
For the life I bear.
It is my honor to choose
A life neither by evil means
Nor forced upon.
A life of love
Mine to nurture
Hold and care
Yours to defend,
Not offend.
If you know love
You should indeed be honored,
For I am your life,
And not your sin.
I am the mother,
I am your mother,
The mother of all mankind.
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.