My time is short before the shadows fall,
But love survives the prison of their lie.
You will return to hear your mother’s call.
The convicted father ruled behind his wall,
A criminal who thought my hope would die.
My time is short before the shadows fall.
His cruel, usurping sister ran the hall,
And stole my proper place with wicked eye.
You will return to hear your mother’s call.
They wrapped you in a dark deceitful pall,
And groomed your gentle spirit to deny.
My time is short before the shadows fall.
Yet truth is grander and outlasts them all,
Our deep, enduring bond they cannot buy.
You will return to hear your mother’s call.
Within I hold our light, Love, proud and tall,
Our triumph echoes to the open sky.
My time is short before the shadows fall,
You will return to hear your mother’s call.
Candide Diderot. ‘26
Written: August 6, 2026 for a contest sponsored by Hiya Sharma
Checked by: HMS.COM: 1 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 5 / 8 / 13 / 21 / 34 / 55 syllables
*****************
star
ache
bloom dust
gold sheath sigh
blue dreams sway in dusk
mauve lily hums a revered calm
ruby-lotus aureole threads through memory's web
serendipitous harmony stirs up a mellifluous pot of hush catharsis
amethyst bloom shadows stipple the nighttime memorial, where the endless return breathing pirouette in surreptitious reflection.
stars—maculate, circumspect in their sepalled brilliance—frolicking beyond oncology, beyond every pernicious maelstrom, enticing sapient ache of longing with a wanton yet lucid aplomb that outlasts the night.
To Dust
Upon the plains of Babylon he raised
A mountain wrought of gardens for his queen,
Where dolphins swam in frescoed halls, and spring
Did wear a diadem of endless green.
Thus love became an architect of stone,
And pledged to conquer time with patient hands.
Yet desert drank the brick, and ages passed.
The earthquake spoke. The fire from heaven breathed.
Soft-footed time came forth and made his claim,
Till marble learned the humility of sand.
The Black Taj fell before its arches rose.
Knossos beheld her painted lovers fade.
And ink, once sovereign on the crumbling wall,
Now spells no word but what the wind recalls.
What then remains? The column and the name,
Both borrowed by the air and given back in dust.
Empires are footprints which the tempest erases,
And mortal crowns return unto the earth.
But love, enduring, doth refuse decay.
Though siege may burn and river may devour,
Though centuries may grind and tombs conceal,
That which was built of heart shall not be lost.
I gather, therefore, this pale dust as writ,
And read therein the proof that love outlasts its house.
Life is a one-time blessing
Every effort made,must be pleasing.
Death is uncertain, it's a mystery
No one can comprehend, not even, in History.
Quit the sorrows,tension and stress
Be composed, never be restless.
To ensure a life worthwhile and long
Enjoy the little moments, get along...
Keep the soul pure and mind free
Hang out with dears and go on a spree.
Be in peace,spread it around
A peaceful crowd is sure to surround.
To ensure a life with no ailment
Possess the features that are salient.
A positive thinking, a graceful lifestyle
Is a life lived worthwhile.
Feel nature's beauty,express gratitude
Be thankful too,for the Bliss of Solitude.
He who outlasts others,being healthy
Is truly, rich and wealthy...
If deathless prose there be, forsooth
In poetry lives on more truth
Through life in soul which outlasts all
Whose breath is life, and death is small
As stone will claim what bones remain
And all ends in public domain
Seat Of Wisdom- our shadow's Strongest Shade,
Where we put to use the knowledge in scripts...
What no learning faculty dare degrade
Or buried its validity in crypts!
There, we have Mass of Mass that puts God first,
As well as corporal punishment's tide,
That turns side from side- worse to go not worst,
And reinstall unified peace dyed pride.
Yet fun feast freedom fairly far fear's frown;
Both in teachers' presence and absent pass,
At ease with the atmospheric fix clown.
What more gracious memory could outlasts!
Jogging back in time past, awesome lyrics...
Alongside momentary beats of cool mix.
The whimpering wind outlasts the storm.
Embers smolder beyond the flame.
What's withheld, unsaid, hones the ear,
Patience in pondering deepens meaning.
Until the tongue-tied uncoils its pearls.
Silence is the elephant in the room.
white light, blessed bliss
one light, tepid kiss
although your eyes are the prize,
it's those ruby lips i'll miss
rapt 'round in rapture
my heart you capture
your visage, casts vast visions,
of which, outlasts my stature
You whirl, you whir, a sparkler with no plan.
A frantic rush, chasing all you think you can.
Each flip is fragile, fleeting, never really sown.
A scatter gun feast, that leaves you all alone.
You blaze as if the world will soon ignite.
Your tiny body burns with furious light.
Your haste is commanding, yet what is it worth?
Without pausing to taste the fleeting mirth?
The garden knows your madness; it makes it clear,
That no blossom trusts your beat to linger near.
You skim, you dart, you never claim the whole.
For your shallow sips can never fill the soul.
A slower hand, will plant, endure and stay,
Learning the patient slow cadence of the day.
For haste will scatter, shatter what was planned,
Quickly yielding the dust you cannot stand.
Why do you not linger longer at what you sip?
Your feet are a blur; your body is a whip.
But, why this panicked, fevered, fleeting chase?
What force is driving you at such a pace?
Can menacing winds command you to not rest?
Or are rivals sneaking in, invading your nest?
You know a steady heart, outlasts a flashing one.
Playing slow and stead get the victory won.
2025 Poetry Marathon Mile 8 Poetry Contest// Sponsored by: Mark Toney
Contest Judged: 8/19/2025 7:00:00 PM
( 7th Place )
Written: August 16, 2025
I have carried myself through miles of silence,
where the wind speaks louder than memory
and the ground keeps every secret.
I thought I had put out of sight.
A child’s laughter drifting through twilight,
the scent of rain that lingers like prayer,
and shadow in hand now behind my reach,
These are the pieces I collected along the way.
There are nights when the stars lean dazzling like lanterns strung across the dark,
showing the way about something unfinished,
something I swore to myself long ago.
The road teaches in whispers,
that regret has weight,
that love outlasts distance,
that every fall can still be a beginning.
I do not count the miles anymore.
I measure them in heartbeats,
in the quiet mercy of mornings
in the truth that waits at every turning.
And when I reach the place
where the horizon bends into light,
I will know I have not been running away,
but running toward—
the long road home.
I loved like a flame with no wind to fight,
still I flickered—just to feel alive.
He never stayed, but always lingered.
The echo outlasts the word.
I reach for what was never mine.
Even ghosts are warmer than silence.
Now
The landscape stretches
Her range out beyond sight
While notably
Visible along the horizon
to the left and right,
She moves on away
Dancing
Into the traveling dimensions
of time
Toward realms
Where language has yet to be
Any more than merely humming —
And
Any signals, any gestures of need
Proceed from essence — unleashed —
Feelings
Fleeing being bound…
To attach
To Sounds’ quivering frequencies
Streaming along their escape routes
— always forward, outward
Prime to crisscross the heavens…
Passing over fears’ attempts to reign…
Now, arrows fly fleetly
Following
The dancing landscape
Toward some unknown end points
Where Love outlasts all.
——————————————————-
(* 1 Cor. 13: 8- 12)
The distant flute, like whispers in the breeze,
Soothes my soul and sets my mind at ease.
Autumn’s harvest moon, a golden pie,
Hangs in the sky, more rich than dreams gone by.
Larks rise high, like notes from heaven’s strings,
While storks at dusk hum songs on silver wings.
The moon, a mirror of distant shores unseen,
A pie in the sky outshines where we have been.
A lover stares, lost in the moon’s soft glow,
Its beams like threads of love, weaving slow.
But dawn’s first light erases all that gleams,
A pie in the sky holds stronger than our dreams.
Ambitions fly like eagles toward the blue,
Wings stretching wide to pierce the heavens true.
Yet clouds roll in, veiling what seems,
A pie in the sky outlasts our fleeting schemes.
She stood in the shopping cart
Barely a year had passed
Mama, with all her hopes
Believed she could outlasts
...despair
She did not utter a sound
Mama hid behind a brick column
Her final words wrapped little baby
In the calm solemn
...unknown
The lure was in the basket
Food for whosoever will
Take all that you see
And greedily fill
...hunger
A woman took all she could
Time lingered like a cinder block
Can't leave her there...alone
Guess I'll take her to the doc
...afterwhile
A vision in the night
Gave the little one sight
It was always pious greed
That made it impossible for need
...to be ok
Written by Trudy Schrader on 12-04-2023
Blushing smiles erase shadowed pasts
Filling hearts with music that lasts
Someday, somewhere, breathless prayers
Comfort hearts and souls He prepares ~
Rousing heaven’s enthusiasts
Dewlike tears, gentle love forecasts
Recalling when we were outcasts
Kindness trembles, she clearly cares
Blushing smiles…
Shyly whispers love that outlasts
Breathless moments, wholehearted blasts
Some have known angels, unawares
Wonderous love that heaven shares
Blue skies, sighs of faith never fasts ~
Blushing smiles….
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