Asps (cobras) have a unique skill;
rare hood threatens enemies.
Intimidation, the goal,
rising up, their ground they’ve stood.
Warning grasped
rasping heard.
Cobra’s hasp
clasps fear's eyes
as foes gasp.
any projection weird
can be refracted seared
humans looking for canvas
on which to shine stories
my glory
stories fly
light and gory
sorry might
age sparry
__________________
[Poet’s Note : this is a wry autobiographical memory written in traditional pirouette verse viz. 2 quintains, line 5 & 6 repeat, which is the toe turnaround. I wanted to write a narrative of a weird syncopated vignette, when I was knitting a pink mohair jersey at the time of my imprisonment. I reduced the narrative to a pirouette. When in prison, one of my interrogators was knitting the EXACT jersey in the exact colour & exact wool ! ie. in the final analysis, (in retrospect) everything in human life can be reduced to a pirouette, a turn-around dance ! ]
knitting a pink jersey
mohair with cables fine
to process flying thoughts
political activist
south africa turmoiled
south africa turmoiled
security police
came with casspirs and cuffs
interrogation chamber
police knit jersey pink
~~~~~~~~~
autumn lingers unfinished
though cold drops november
rain and waits undiminished
'til native summer sun remembers
what could unmake
when days full ache
bloom autumn colors
quick winter all borders
golds greens yellows
reds purples browns
a rusted rainbow frowns
as leaves scoot over meadows
fallen from mountain forest
after fields have given harvest
a father of one teaches his son.
chase catching leaves for fun
they twist turn swivel pirouette
lunge leap slide slice 'til earth is whet
while boy staggers with arms stretched
missing while dad knows misdirect fetched
two and three leaves while son fustrated
cries to quit but egged on infuriated
at last by chance or by experience
claps and traps one in victory dance
Copyright © Cornelius Brantley | Year Posted 2024
GEOFF: A Whet Pirouette Poem
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
furry, spry squirrel, Geoff
Chaucer he doth channel
"Come and 'whet thine whistle'."
"Poof! abracadabra!"
Really?
Now Georgie,
you're silly!
be smiley,
beguilely!
Tucked away glinting thoughts
like seeds beneath the bark
of half-remembered dreams
that echo autumn’s needs
tend to duck.
Pluck them out
under muck
stuck well fast—
they bring luck.
Silly ninja squirrel
thinks he can stop the rain
and save his furry hide
from dampened disarray~
now chilly,
Willie boy
still willy-
nilly for
his Tilly!
Fair play didn’t quite feature
when reason absconded;
war and peace polarised.
When their ideals clash,
men rip, tear
hair by roots.
Didn’t they care
rare courage
found in lair?
Written: March 21, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Constance La France
Quote": The bliss derived from the splendor of nature, adorned with a stunning variety of flowers is a delight for all the creatures that occupy this earth. By Poet
****************
A crimson tulip basks in the sun-drenched meadow
Luring a dancer dressed in a jewel state of ecstasy
Tender, an array of wings glides across Kismet Gate
Pirouettes with delight mutter on velvety petals
Sipping aromatic ambrosia amid the bloom
Soaring across the air, seeking honeyed nectar
Butterflies flutter over radiant flower shadow!
elfin pirouette
flaunts prettiness of peacocks
redefined rainbow
You are the night
that makes pupils dilate,
illuminates the stars,
and conceals mistakes.
You are the night
that renders silence
a piercing, echoing,
dizzying, ring.
You are the night
cradling one to sleep,
and keeping another one
wide awake.
You are the night
which weaves reveries
---an urge to anticipate.
You are the night
which makes souls pirouette
and dances with their silhouettes.
Movement pivots lid lifted, Pandora astonishes
Actions perpetual pirouette dancer acknowledges
Glamour glues sockets smooth, figurine believed
Image incorporates graceful, a fighter bereaved
Curtsey in zenity as her stage lazy susan circulates
Tulle tickled hips scissor, treasures sage congregate
Rules spurred by war spring away from delicate damsel
Intimate fleshpink stretch legs enter audition to dazzle
Craft to elicit captivation tunes ballerina's true energy
Kills a brash sword brandishing cavalier, buried enemy
Entertaining Eighteenth of January
MAGIC TRICK
Soft and gentle, light and airy,
Gossamer and wing of fairy,
(Except those times she’s mean and scary!),
That’s my precious Mary Berry.
Impish, spritely, that’s my Ree;
What you get is what you see.
Wit (and tongue) that's razor sharp;
She’ll play a tune, then smash the harp!
Treasured more than gems and pearls,
God has graced me with these girls.
I love them when they pirouette;
I love them in their grime and sweat!
----------
for Marion and Ree, a few years back, evidently
Dance to the depths delight
Swirling in sun blue light
Pick then the perfect line
On point as in Ondine
Twirl and fall to this far
So know now who you are
Lone in waves once content
To life's lyrics well spent
Your song sounding still right
Wet whirls glow in the night
couplet 10 lines 53 words
11/13/22
Ondine is a ballet play
about a water nymph who
is the object of desire
of a young prince
Color pencil illustration
by G. Gaul
There is nothing that can make the pain go away,
but eventually you'll learn to live with it.
It will captivate your consciousness like a cage,
paralyzed and powerless you poigantly sit.
There will be nightmares,
each day when you wake up it'll be the first thing you think about.
Brain inhabited by ignited fears, at the wall you ignorantly stare.
Feeling defeated, your head fills with doubt.
It will be all you can think about without fail
until one day it will be the second thing
as hard as you tried to no avail
the pain rears it's head, relentlessly reoccuring
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