Penknife Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Wait, and words elude

Like a bowl of dry fruits
There’s a motley of words-filled books
On the writing table,

And like an empty plate
On it appears blank paper, 
As if penknife, the pen

In hand, the poet waits,
In search of the first line to start
And of inspiration

That has long deserted
Him. Alas Muse is a free bird,
So be the dodging word,

They elude all like luck,
You wait and left are high and dry,
 Wait not, the birds come nigh.
___________________
Musings |06.01.2025| Tercet, words, poet

Premium Member Opening

How reverently he removes the seal,
   anticipating the fragrance,
   the first small taste,
   remembering the warmth and
   laughter of the party,
   parties, the bar, the taverns,
   the men, the women,   
   long-tailed cigarette smoke curling.

His tongue unconsciously caresses
   the corner of his mouth
   as his left hand cups
   the shoulder of the bottle
   gently and firmly as a lover.

Drawing a penknife from his pocket
   he pulls open the blade to cut
   the black band binding the cap,
   his lips slightly pursed,
   engrossed in the process.

Deftly flicking the cap,  
   he lays it aside and pauses;
   it takes only a moment
   for the subtle vapors
   to lift to his nostrils.

Not quite a smile,
   something even more
   expressive of pleasure,
   a submission,
   a peace that fills him
   as if coming home
   from an arduous journey.

He pours.

Happy Birthday To Me

A fresh new birth has come again,
I still have got more in life to gain,
Memories of joy filled in my brain,
Been through downs 'n' mountain,
But I deserve happiness not pain.

It's yet another birthday without a wife,
To lift me up to the heights of joyful life,
Sitting down while holding my penknife,
Always busy thinking about my afterlife,
With less time to spend on my social life.

Can't believe that today is my birthday,
I have set date nineteen as my holiday,
Feels like a weekend but its a weekday,
Maybe  because a star sparkled today,
Being born in the month of June not May.

                                   ©Kelmwa


Midwife's Love

The story is about someone's life,
Written by pen and not a penknife,
Telling of a cool guy with no wife,
Who was brought up by a midwife.

Even though she wasn't his mom,
She struggled for him to transform,
By helping him to get past the storm,
Even at times when he didn't perform.

The midwife didn't treat him like a fream,
By throwing him away as if he was a heam,
All she wanted was him to achieve his dream,
So she raised him as her own and made him gleam.

Premium Member Ready Set Go

Wrap in dry onion skins and dip’em right;
you’re going to get a big surprise.
It’s colored oval onion bliss;
something you wouldn’t want to miss.

Grab those, Sharpies now, my friend;
colored poems, you can pen.
Color’em in Crayola black;
make a lightly scraped, penknife hack.

Etch your poems on every one;
this can be a lot of fun.
You can Crayola colors, too;
etch those poems very loose.

One time, I, portraits drew;
Groucho, Chico Harpo, Zeppo, too!
Dip some string, tape it tight,
swirl it ‘round the eggs, just right.

Folks will rave about your gift;
you’ll enjoy a ”fab” uplift.

Some Glimpses

Moon rose from 
obscurity, once I released 
the fury of darkness.

        *

Do not want to 
repeat; why my song was 
stolen by flight of birds.

        *

The negativity of 
the penknife. Always tearing 
away the heart.


Satish Verma


Superman

My dad told me when he was young
And fit as fit could be
As the best Saharan lumberjack
He cut down every tree

He rode a wild dinosaur
From York to Timbuctu
He took it back to London
And put it in the Zoo

Then later on in World War two
The German horde he beat
With just his trusty penknife
He forced them to retreat

He’s swam the Indian ocean
Ate crocodiles for tea
Paddled up Niagara falls
And still got home by three

I relate my fathers exploits
Friends give me such a ribbing
They say his tales are tall ones
And that my dad is fibbing

But I know my dads not lying
There is no way he can
I know my dads not fibbing
He’s a real life superman

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.

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