John's poems might never pay the rent
But even so they are time well spent
Capturing the rhythms and rhymes
Of a life, building a portrait
from snapshot moments
By: J.N.R Dutton
There’s a quiet heart upon the wall
that breaks the day in equal parts,
blind to the heavy tears that fall,
and careless of our weary hearts.
It treats a life like one quick breath,
counting the hours, cold and gray—
a gear that grinds away our breath,
where every second slips away.
And yet... time bends when passion burns,
and minutes stretch to touch the sky;
a single look, where longing turns,
can make a decade pass us by.
For all those weeks spent on routine
fade out like smoke in morning air,
while depth reclaims what life can mean,
and stays with us when we are there.
A clock measures duration, but depth counts time.
"If I am your refrain, let my name burn"
in your heart, darling ~ I love you so much,
We're yin and yang; for you, my core does yearn,
as I am "tortured by the taste of touch";
I crave your creamy caramel caress,
the language of love's lilt when our lips meet,
My purple passion, to you I profess,
in you, I'm content, you make me complete;
"I beseech the sun to undress the stars"
and clothe you with their shine and soft glimmer,
You deserve the moon, and the midnight Mars,
in the stardust glow, may your soul shimmer;
Your devotion dictates drumming desires,
mi amor, I come alive when you're near,
Your ardent affection, my heart aspires,
my faith is renewed by your trust sincere;
Let me "wake within the rose wilderness",
where you and I live and love forever,
May the hope of heaven not hinder us,
as we pursue our tender endeavour.
into …
the mountain pool …
I dive, headfirst - the suit I was
born in prickling with
bumps as the shivery wet rolls
down my length …
I soar in the cold, inky-black weightlessness
slowly rising as I let the
motion coast my body up to the
polished, star-mirrored
surface …
I break the dark, pearly plane and
take a hungry swallow of the warm, dewy,
bloom-scented summer night air
letting it saturate my core and
fill me to the marrow …
I come back to
reality just long enough to see
the full moon's porcelain glaze on your skin?
the Milky Way's swath shimmering
your tresses, and the
pleading, sublime, sensual gaze that
you pierce me with …
I breathe one
final soul-deep inhalation of
your nectarous fragrance and plunge
again, full into the
cool, shadowy abyss, letting it
take me, complete ...
sinking ever deeper as the
wavy moonbeams wink from far above
deep, deeper, and gone -
lost now, forever ...
in …
your eyes.
Copyright © 2022 / 2026 Gregory Richard Barden
~ POETRY AGAINST POVERTY ~
( photographic art created copyright-free by the author with Gemini AI / Meta AI software )
As moths, man draws near to light --
Sun bathing by day, moon bathing
By night – they both can burn, you
Know – days, more apt the skin,
As for nights, brave play a potentially kindling
Part -- Love, the oldest inflaming protagonist~
And the theater, a highly, combustible human
Heart….
"murder me"
she whispered ...
lips pressed to my nape -
soft-nipping skin
for her betrayal of husband and
family meant as much …
we both knew the sacrifices
and we accepted the cost that instant
then, and for the scandalous
time to come …
she was lost in me -
straddling, pressing … and I, lost in her
so rooted that I was becoming
her in flesh - in all senses …
nothing mattered anymore but
passion and its pyre
torching all in its torrid wake -
all that had mattered
'til then …
it was a horrid
thing for her to speak aloud -
to place in such dire phrasing
yet it was ALL I wanted -
all that I needed and cared
to hear … "murder me”
she whispered again, pressing down
"for I am nothing now ...
“but yours."
~ POETRY AGAINST POVERTY ~
( photographic art created copyright-free by the author with Gemini AI / Meta AI software )
We're built so very different. Yet we perfectly fit.
Like an herb rolled 'rillo, or Bruce Wayne & the Bat fit
My whole life, 'fore we met, was to make me fit.
I know you hate it when I'm bratty; pitchin a fit.
Your kisses melt me, and compel me into a lovesick fit.
I get that life's kept you busy. Is there a slot where I'll fit?
Cuz I've been burning to link up as your naughty miss fit.
We're built so very different. Yet we perfectly fit.
Like an herb rolled 'rillo, or Bruce Wayne & the Bat fit
My whole life, 'fore we met, was to make me fit.
I know you hate it when I'm bratty; pitchin a fit.
Your kisses melt me, and compel me into a lovesick fit.
I get that life's kept you busy. Is there a slot where I'll fit?
Cuz I've been burning to link up as your naughty miss fit.
Before the sky claimed them, they were only a man and a woman
two mortals foolish enough to love
The gods took pity on no one.
He became the Red Man Sun,
a blazing titan shackled to the sky,
forced to rise each morning for a world
that feeds on his fire
but denies him freedom.
His heat once warmed her skin in the autumn wind
now it burns him alive from the inside,
She became the Blue harvest Moon,
cold with grief,
the long dark nights she brings light autumn is gone
her love lingers on
She chases him endlessly,
a breath too late
he rises and she falls
As the full blue harvest moon chases the autumn sun
awaiting an eclipse
A glimpse of their love that once was
the sky itself is their prison
Still, they reached for each other
forever almost touching,
forever denied.
The Red Man Sun.
The Blue harvest Moon.
.
Each morning, the sun rises, full and bright,
but in the day, I'm not entranced - only in the night.
The sun may be loving. The sun may be pure.
But, I yearn for a twinkling, more demure.
I beseech the sun to undress the stars
as lovely Venus lets fall her gown for Mars.
Blushing star, you're hiding something from my eye.
I know your fire burns, though you're so shy.
A billion eyes fall on you from the earth -
show me, mine are the only ones of worth.
I reach up to you with my hungry arms.
Let my eyes caress your secret charms,
that the two of us may love and play
on harp strings - each shimmering silver ray,
until, in one rapturous cry,
we find ecstasy in the ink black sky.
The brightest flame is most doomed.
It arrives like clean gravity, sudden.
A flare in the hollow chest,
clockwork chewing the wick of hours.
It makes ruin look like scripture.
It gilds dust, names it heaven.
It teaches the dark to blink,
then laughs porcelain teeth, shattered.
We gather, rugged witnesses, alone,
palms open under ember rain.
We swear it will not vanish.
We speak vows into static walls.
But fire is a feral engine.
It eats its own oxygen, tenderly.
Marvel bleeds; the self is prison.
Release comes bright, then brutal.
O brief seraph of heat,
you governed our pulse with light.
You made the void feel mortal.
You made our names ring, once.
Now ash repeats your outline.
Stillness spins, merciless, patient.
Nothing stops. Nothing starts.
Only a glow, remembering collapse.
Let this elegy hold your flare:
a scream folded inside brightness.
Trust grew fanged, loyalty grew wings.
Then soot, soft mercy closed your mouth.
Twice around the world he sped
pursuing madness, folly
Unrequited lover he
denied, his desperate volley
Once ignited, passions roused
flames obey no limits
Wildfires scorch the tender earth
unbridled desire's afterbirth
Low-effort is the mission
Low-effort's a decision
Low-effort ambition
Low-effort nutrition
Low-effort corruption
Low-effort seductions
Low-effort deductions
Low-effort assassins
Low-effort passion
Low-effort fashion
Low-effort obesity
Low-effort poetry
Low-effort parents
Low-effort presents
Low-effort president
Low-effort arrogance
Low-effort adolescents
Low-effort embarrassment
Low-effort communication
Low-effort conversations
Low-effort imaginations
Low-effort motivations
Low-effort deterriation
Low-effort information
Low-effort physicians
Low-effort inhibitions
Low-effort politicians
Low-effort inspiration
Low-effort education
Low-effort vacation
Low-effort nation
Low-effort voting
Low-effort tech
Low-effort sex
Low-eff
low
.
.
A song for this:
Sexy to Someone by Clairo
act like you know (feat. Muni Long) [E]
Make me feel good
Make me a God
God in me
God is You
You are darkness
You are light
Light up the world
Light shines on rain
Rain creates floods
Rain creates
Creates food
Creates hope
Hope for water
Hope for mercy
Mercy on enemies
Mercy on our soul
Soul on ice
Soul poisoned
Poisoned blood
Poisoned mind
Mind controlled
Mind on freedom
Freedom doesn’t exist
Freedom is a daily struggle
Struggle for equality
Struggle for peace
Peace is colorful
Peace is wonderful
Wonderful gifts
Wonderful world
World of passion
World of crime
Crime of passion
Crime is wrong
Wrong directions
Wrong plan
Plan for safety
Plan for the future
Future blessings
Future prayers
Prayers for culture
Prayers for our children
Children in paradise
Children of the innocent
Innocent planet
Innocent life
Life needs purpose
Life needs support
Support
Purpose
There’s a fire that needs no flame,
A silent spark that calls your name,
A glance that lingers, hearts that race,
Two souls drawn closer into space.
The world grows quiet, time stands still,
As anticipation bends the will.
A whispered word, a trembling sigh,
A thousand feelings passing by.
It’s in the warmth of being near,
The kind of closeness that makes everything disappear.
No words are needed, none are planned,
Just the electricity of a gentle hand.
Passion isn't merely heat or desire,
It’s two hearts feeding the same fire.
It’s trust, connection, and letting go,
A language only two can know.
And then the heart gives way completely—
No walls remain, no distance between me.
For one breathtaking moment, nothing matters
But knowing you are here, and I am seen.
The noise of the world falls far away,
And every guarded feeling finds its place.
What began as a spark becomes something true—
A profound, trembling certainty of you.
And when the moment fades away,
Its echo lingers into day—
Not merely as a memory of the night,
But as a feeling that still carries light.
By Shawn Muñoz
Passion Categories
Definition | What is Passion in Poetry?
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.
Related Poetry Forms
lust, temper, sentiment, rage, zeal, joy, resentment, warmth, excitement, dedication, intensity, fury, devotion, fervor, ardor, anger, feeling, spirit, affection, eagerness, distress, rapture, ecstasy, transport, wrath