by turns,
going up
and down,
lacking
precise equilibrium;
life is...
but a seesaw.
sometimes
we rise.
sometimes
we fall.
when
you find yourself
squatting
on the down end,
never mind
the brooding gray clouds
hovering
overhead.
do not
disembark.
do not
count yourself out.
because...
come afternoon,
sunshine
will peak through it.
you're down,
though not for long!
so, sit tight
on that seesaw,
which will
inevitably rise...
up, up, up!
and when your feet
f i n a l l y
lifts off the ground,
release
white elephants
within
to the welcoming wind.
shake off
any encumberance
on your shoulder.
outstretch
your arms
as though
you're about to fly.
taste the air
with your tongue.
taste the newfound freedom
taste life
itself.
The painting jumped; it jumped at me.
Surprised, I rose to view.
The heart it beat; it’s gold, it’s red.
I blink the wings that stretch.
Pull down the sky; the moon outstretch:
For angel’s mine to fetch.
Subtle the head, did nod in fact.
The faceless nice was pink.
The halo sun, a whole-some note;
Resounds the shining frame.
The subtlety won’t fall for fame.
A slight reflective flame.
Pure white, the angel within view.
See-through; the bluest sky.
Off shoulders arc the pomp.
Serenade of wild hues.
Quickened in place; It’s quite a ruse.
Silent of toodeloos.
Pulling and pushing and dancing up and down
Like monkeys no one is watching but the behaved crowd
Who paid to expect what they came to see and get their moneys worth
In a humble and normative way as the rest of their fellow neighbors
Would brag about what places to visit and crave
The onlookers are consumers who come out during the day
Only when time allows them away from their computer and
Obligations and time with their families off the clock
And race against time to outstretch the day’s moments into
Lasting memories they rush to create
And be in the moment somehow
At the same time they wish to obscure and automate
With their own helpless hands and hearts they give their all
Of all they have to give to what they’re allowed to predict
And in these moments they plan for themselves and everyone
Else that they love and care about enough to sit down
With and talk as if time stopped ticking
Oh wouldn’t it be a dream of us in a world
That kept no clocks, timecards or mortgages to bear.
Autumn echoes slowly fade
As Winter footsteps are seen
Natures spirit tamely sleeps.
Brisk wind whined as the magic
Of the feathery snow spins,
Home warm walls keep day chill out.
Sun's outstretch scattered bright rays,
Blending orange-red streaks clouds
Poise over blue free heaven.
Kids dressed warm with wet mittens,
Looking proud of their snowman
With carrot nose and twig-arms.
1/6/2024
graying clouds advance
poles arms outstretch soundness perch~
pups on riverbank
12/4/2023
Noontide cordial sun immerse golden spheres
Birch and aspen leaves rhythmically quake
Susurrate deep in quietness appears
Timidly on soft earth shadow path wake
There, where nesting birds await safely perch,
While conceal sweet are their audible waft.
Cool breeze twine spider's web and bees who search
Stunning modest simple-ness echoes soft.
Lone senior British oak outstretch thick arm
Grasp weathered fraying pendulous tire swing;
Mid saffron blaze whilst it mingles off charm
Espy hushed cries for mortal yielding wings.
Lush meadow pigments an emerald green
Self quenching natures pulsing rapture scene.
11/19/2023
blue smile, bursting with sunshine, fervent zeal
jovial rhythm mood, fleeting in lull feel.
crisp briny ocean air, gulls beating wings
free over ripple heaven, white bird sings.
resonant resting snores as breath wind rolls,
drags its waves, outstretch ripples mere controls.
playful mood white spume, covers tan sands face
a magical erosion taking place.
embedding each grain of sand as waves force
forward leaving size seashells in its course.
8/19/2021
Writing Prompt, Oceans Or Seas - Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
Springtime touch unfolds veracious winsome,
colorful rainbow blossom to come.
Tranquil redolence fragrance,
a ballad narrated on carpet grass pleasance.
Crisp dawn enlightens fanciful golden
colors, of purples, pinks, greens, quaint and olden.
Blends float and dance amongst the valley
outstretch, toward enraptured abbey.
Glorious hanging ivy, juniper, kiss
me not plants, all in a garden's vast bliss.
As the fields blossoms quince to thirst
sweet and tender jewels among all to burst.
7/28/2021
My memories scatter, like dust of the air,
which once were more numerous than fish in the sea.
Now withered, they re-tell tales of lost youth.
At times my memories congeel and fragment,
so much so,
that I label myself untrustworthy.
I feel an emptyness that my mouth can't quantify, nor words express.
Like my soul is fleeting, ready to leave the sack of bones it hopelessly occupies.
People say that growing old is a curse,
but it's not the outward complexion that grieves me so.
Rather the rattle as my marbles drop and my memories lie in tatters.
I'm scared when the people in white coats barge in.
who say they're 'here to help' , but proceed to strip me of my my dignity,
and use pills to make me helplessly compliant.
Maybe cruel karma has punished me fast.
For little did I empathise, until I truly knew,
what it's like to be a burden, societie's disregard.
And ever shall I wish that humble soul,
will see me not as useless, but marvel at my tales.
And one day, I pray, that someone will,
outstretch to me the hand of compassion.
08.19.2020
amidst the dunes of restless seas
my arms outstretch in sorrowed pleas
beneath the lash of winds i fall
atop the grains of sands i crawl
April 25, 2020
Rithimus Divisa 3 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Gregory Barden
From my poem written 12/07/2019
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/atop_these_grains_of_sand_1206046
Charms of Nature
Noontide cordial sun immerse golden spheres
Birch and aspen leaves rhythmically quake
Susurrate deep in quietness appears
Timidly on soft earth shadow path wake
There, where nesting birds await safely perch,
While conceal sweet are their audible waft.
Cool breeze twine spider's web and bees who search
Stunning unadorned simple-ness echoes soft.
Lone senior British oak outstretch thick arm
Grasp weathered fraying pendulous tire swing;
Mid saffron blaze whilst it mingles off charm
Espy hushed cries for mortal yielding wings.
Lush meadow pigments an emerald green
Self quenching natures pulsing rapture scene.
2/9/2020
amidst the dunes of restless seas
my arms outstretch in sorrowed pleas
beneath the lash of winds i fall
atop the grains of sands i crawl
in the wind my whispered prayers
this salty air my tears it bares
as your name i begin to scrawl
atop the grains of sand i crawl
the drapes of life are slowly drawn
my weakened legs cannot go on
i wrap myself within death's shawl
atop these grains of sand i crawl
the waves against the shore they lave
beneath the pounding beat my grave
and as my final breath i drawl
atop these grains of sand i crawl
tree's outstretch hand, pines
life in peace beneath coppice
smoke rise from the vale
11/18/2019
encompassed in the womb
through darkness, i felt touch
ethereal strums from fingers
against my unborn flesh
as a melody soothed
in rhythmic pulses
from your heart
...it's the only time i felt loved
you gave me life
taught me to walk
two steps shy of death's door
i crawled in the shadows, afraid
cowering in the algidity of a touch
i ached for in outstretch motions
as tiny fingers reached upward
reverting back with blades
that scribbled scores of depth
while trying to feel anything but anguish
...i wished to be unborn
you fed me
ugliness through affliction
of dispassionate glares
as you made me
unlove myself
starve myself
until i was but an empty shell
of what i could have been
...i will never be good enough
you gave me a house
filled with treasures, untouched
clothed me in ridicule
made me learn to crawl
on weakened knees
while filling buckets
with my tears, my echoes
shuddering down halls
where i curled up
and died, unheard
...you killed me inside
November 12, 2019
Pale Shelter Poetry Contest
Sponsored by John Hamilton
Sunflowers with a majestic gold crown
The blue-purple of the evening sky
The white clouds with a sunbeam inside
Flow - sweet river onwards
To a place that can't be found
on any map - directions scattered
Suddenly now - I feel its warmth
Grabbing at the corners of a freshly-read novel
Showing its strength at the peak of the day
People think that writing is simple
If that's the case - then why aren't we all writers?
I am borrowing time from an older gentleman
Seconds that he keeps in his pockets
Time is a precious thing - never waste it
I belong to a rare breed of men
A kind who see the world through the lens of a Poet
Small - we start out but then we grow
And we get closer to those lily-white clouds
We outstretch our palms
And feel the rain as it lands on our shoulders
We are giants in a world of ants and insects
We are the reason and the rhyme
I kiss your lips not to silence you
but to give your life a punctuated moment
full-stop, period, and caesura
I promised you I would return
And on that day
You felt her warmth
And you told her for the last time
How much you loved her
How much you needed her
She will always be inside your heart
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