The Puget Sound’s wind bites through the city
Rain and wind gusts fusing into teeth and claws
Duwamish swells like a waking beast
Muddy currents devour streets, stairwells, porches
Trees snap in protest
Their limbs littering roads, blocking the pulse of the city
Thunder rolls like fists on steel hills
The lights blink once
Then vanish
Leaving Seattle blind…listening
For an hour
The city is storm and river, wood and wind
All living
All hungry
A single heartbeat of chaos
Tearing through the urban landscape
Torturous nightmares of hellish anguish
Make soul drowned in agony to languish
Torments’ onslaught disturbing blest silence
Dreadful lamentations God can vanquish.
Midst attacks of guilt heart strives to conceal
Frustration-wails reign midst hopelessness’ peal
Driving me to hide in the Lord’s chamber
Serenely safeguarded by His love-seal.
Fleeing from perilous temptation darts
Faith seeks refuge* in the Saviour’s ramparts
Hedged by grace, compassion, mercy and peace
Constantly braced upon truth of fresh starts.
When achievement is flooded by vain pride
Paralyzing sincere commitment stride
I’m driven toward failure’s grievous loss
Thus, in the Almighty I must abide.
As fervent service thrives to bear fruits well
Struggles’ inundation constantly swell---
My spirit keeps on worshipping with thanks
“To Christ be the glory” I humbly tell.
*Psalm 94:22 But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
October 3, 2022
2nd place, "Pick-A-Title, Vol 32" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Edward Ibeh; judged on 10/14/2022
Finally home, cheers, hugs, kisses abound
My head throbs, but the fierce rage I contain
On hair-trigger alert, my inner storm starts to pound
As a good soldier, I've learned to take the pain
Family and friends are strangers somehow
Their laughter and words sound rehearsed and staged
Their eyes betray fear of who I am now
In their lives I can no longer be engaged
I flinch when car lights flash and horns sound
With dread, all night I pace the floor
Sunrise, I depart, Greyhound station bound
Too lost to be found, I've no home anymore
Written 9/14/22
Pick-A-Title, Vol 32 - Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
"ONSLAUGHT"
Grief comes uninvited, like a marauder,
like a one man army charging,
he makes an unexpected onslaught.
A thief in the dark who comes stealthily,
without pausing to seek permission
and settles in the heart like an intruder
His stay is long and tedious.
He eats away our vitality,
sups on our vulnerability,
sucks our life sap and fattens on our gloom.
Like a tenant who hasn’t paid
a single dime as rent, he invites our wrath!
Even under threat, he would never vacate
It is at night, he revels
and makes the most fierce onslaught
He snubs out our sleep, disturbs our calm
Wide eyed, we have to watch
the nasty antics of this tyrant
He drives out all hope,
battles with our cheer,
evicts all positive vibes,
and invades the entire space.
Weaving sticky gossamer threads
to ensnare all happy thoughts
which come our way and like an ugly spider,
he arrogantly dwells in our heart!
__________________________________
Sept. 11.2022
~ Placed First~
Pick a Title, Vol.32. Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Edward Ibeh
Facing thought onslaught,
lower mind begot,
we struggle and grieve
but get no reprieve.
Our desire thought's cause,
which we put on pause,
choosing to be still,
that voids within fill.
Body has it's need,
so dark desires breed
propelled by ego,
we're loathe to forgo.
Moments of silence,
sans thought violence
are when joy seeps in,
pulsating within.
We remain alive
and in-form nodes jive,
more so when thoughts cease,
in a blissful sneeze.
We are in a fog
since tail wags the dog.
Thought's an instrument
needing improvement.
Tapping higher mind,
rid of ego's bind,
in divine embrace,
we imbibe God's grace.
Silence is the key
for us to be free
of desire and fear,
as thought forms that sear.
Thus by letting go,
in staid stillness slow,
we become the flame
that carries no name.
07-September-2022
In the aftermath
Some like It some not
In the forefront
The beginnings are not
The end is not
First be at the first is last onslaught
9/12/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2021
This is my lyrical onslaught
I can fill up a page of rhymes from just one thought
I pick up the pen and put it to the page, then begins a strong force
As I start my lyrical onslaught
By the time this ends I'll have blood on my hands from making the pen bleed
I'll go to war if it means gaining inner peace
I remain true to myself no matter what's happening in the world around me
I've spent my life swimming with sharks and they couldn't drown me
I've got new scars on top of old wounds that are still bleeding
I've battled suicidal thoughts but I'm still breathing
Why would I fear another when I've already had a war with myself?
Writing doesn't take away all of my pain, but it sure does help
I've been too busy battling depression to worry about how people attack my character
Maybe I'll never reach my full potential like Ricardo Quaresma
Depression tried to destroy me, I had to take the time to rebuild me
I managed to kill the suicidal thoughts before they could kill me
This is my lyrical onslaught
I filled up the page from just one thought
I picked up a pen, put it to the paper and felt a strong force
This was my lyrical onslaught
got caught when I sought
to find another onslaught
then they had me shot
D-readed
O-utbreak
R-abidly
S-preads
N-astiness
O-f
C-oronavirus
I-n
D-irty
O-nslaught
Topic: Birthday of Sister Dors Nocido (June 12)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
K-iller
A-trocity's
Y-ucky
L-ink
A-nd
J-eopardy's
O-utbreak
Z-one
E-mploy
L-ethality
L-etting
E-erie
O-nslaught
G-ruesomely
A-pply
D-isease
Topic: Birthday of Kayla Jozelle Ogad (June 11)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
C-lean
H-ands
A-re
R-eally
L-ikable
E-vading
N-asty
E-pidemic's
P-oison
A-s
C-oronavirus
H-orribly
E-mploys
C-ontagious
O-nslaught
Topic: Birthday of Charlene D. Pacheco (May 25)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
D-readful
O-nslaught
N-astily
I-mplements
T-he
A-ilment
L-etting
A-nother
Y-ucky
D-isease
A-ttack
Topic: Birthday of Donita A. Layda (May 16)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
L-ethal
O-utbreak's
R-abid
N-astiness
A-pplies
E-pidemic
C-oronavirus
H-orribly
A-dvancing
N-otorious
O-nslaught
Topic: Birthday of Lorna Echano (May 15)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
L-ethal
E-pidemic
N-astily
I-mplements
E-eriness
B-ringing
O-ne
D-readed
O-nslaught
T-o
A-nyone
Topic: Birthday of Lenie A. Bodota (May 15)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
L-ethal
O-utbreak's
R-abid
E-pidemic
L-ets
Y-ucky
N-astiness'
V-irus
A-pply
L-ink
I-n
D-eadly
O-nslaught
Topic: Birthday of Lorelyn G. Valido (May 09)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
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.