The devil a master
at quoting scripture
suited to his purpose
Words conscripted most Divine
to dance
around his fire
Forked tongue in hand
he reprimands
with passages inflamed
To burn the lives
and damn the souls
— of those his farce conspires
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Speak with kindness and a gentle heart.
Crashing on the shore,
The white-crested ocean waves
Pull the sand away.
Like the rhythm of the tides,
Time flows on and never waits.
Sunlight filters through
The canopy of green leaves,
Warming the damp earth.
In the quiet of the woods,
My restless spirit finds peace.
As the daylight fades,
The sky turns to bruised purple
And the first stars gleam.
In the chill of the night air,
I wrap your memory close.
111 Contest Picture Prompt Poetry Contest
Eve Roper
She reads through the night,
her eyes taking in each word,
as warm candlelight,
fills the room that is stirred,
with her book and hummingbird.
Winter frost windows,
But our hands are holding Spring,
Love begins within.
the
spectacle
dissolves
inertia
awakes
volatile
activity
accesses
creativity
with
suggestions
of
seminal
subliminal
interludes
latent
shapes
of
subjective
intuition
modulate
eccentricities
predicate
the
positive
amplify
&
perfect
distinct
inspired
connotations
First steps, a new world,
Tiny hands reach for the light,
Life's path has begun.
Small boys stand so tall,
Jockeying, testing strength,
Manhood's door ajar.
Whispers of the past,
Old skin sheds, new life unfolds,
Spirit takes its form.
Leaving the warm nest,
Owlet's eyes see the moonlight,
The wide world awaits.
The old view is gone,
Seeing the world with new eyes,
Choices shape my path.
Wisdom's gentle dawn,
Embracing the elder years,
A life fully lived.
Used books were sold each semester.
Los Angeles City College bookstore, and
California State University, Long Beach ...
They, too, sold used books.
I've been in possession of some -
Students felt fortunate stumbling on the right one,
For some classes commenced without certain books -
"Liberation Theology" was one such book-
I'd already own a copy signed by Dr. Cornell West
He spoke at Dr. Maulana Karenga's center one Sunday.
The point I want to make is:
Some used books held handwritten notes-
Students left their marks on pages of time.
And as the years passed, I formed a habit -
That habit told me not to borrow library books.
Why? I read, and like breeze with leaves, I twiddle words.
To deface another person's property... how trifling.
And so, I'd browse Barnes & Noble, and
Thrift stores housing books I would purchase and cherish.
For I know countless poems will come to mind
For I have seen haiku moments in my travels,
For when I die, find me on pages of time.
*
Sometimes we look for simpler days
and those are times that go astray
when we've aged they'll be a pastime
an account of days we passed in time.
Youngsters flit from thing to thing
Older now, they rest their wings
~ in boughs of Spring
August 31, 2021
Bite Size Poem no19 Contest
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
Grief Passages Rewritten
Shards of shame lay splintered in unresolved pieces ~
Bits of crystal if only intentions not repairable
Minutes of I wish regret unreachable, not revived ~
Lifeless echoes sighing with no resuscitation
In a whirlwind tornados uproot shallow graves ~
Screams at the unknowable why unanswered
Yeah but excuses expletives and bargains with denial ~
Blank face of truth paces - bound restless essence
A star at midnight, maybe, a wishing star bends down in prayer ~
Points to the northern light always there
Could it be time makes a way ascending from ashes of stone ~
Grace has its own mission - acceptance
4-23-21
Contest: Grief in twelve Lines
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
there are passages in life
gaps between jobs
between marriages
even between... deaths
hear the stillness
there are pauses in life
spaces between words
some spoken
others mute
a few...written...
feel the emotions
green to yellow
gold to red
to brown
leaves
or fairest hair
worn
as silken crown
Thick
with luxury proud
honey
poured aloud
endless spigots
with
memories to attend.
Now lost to brush
or hand
or wind
all leaves,
all hair,
and all souls
in the
end.
"Time is the thief you cannot banish."
Phyllis McGinley, Writer, 1905 - 1978
Time Passages
I drift midst some pleasant sensation~~from a morning mist,
that promptly parches within glowing ribbons~~where I sail lightly,
plucked anon afloat~~as my ramblings proceed aimlessly,
Presently skims a peacock sky~~fans out its righteous hue,
variously, ducks stapled in a pond~~quacks influences life,
views by ark's parts a motion~~equal to my emotions,
Channeling alterations that affect~~evolved futures,
preceptions are produced clearer~~like a hallway complete of doors,
whenever one is opened~~ventures varied responses,
I noted from moment to moment~~evoked fused answers,
harmonious so far~~whilst I perpetuate forward in thoughts,
mindful about yesterday's storm~~all in all, time will tell.
2020 November 13
*3rd Place*
Writing Challenge - Quote Inspired
~~Constance La France
stillness of a September breeze
a heartfelt morning chill
one highway out of town
another back
a hidden waterfall
five miles off either road
green neon lights in darkness
a beacon on the highway
coincidental talk with the cashier
an ounce of chocolate ice cream bought
falling pines call
for another to sprout
years measured
by rings of a trunk
falling leaves and sprouts
and other incarnations
new friends on the road
I come back to those at home
time measured in weeks
stirs stories told
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