"A true writer must write. Ink is in their veins." By Poet
Writers love their many letters to choose from,
letters turning into words then into sentences.
Poems come from the love of writing,
writing about the past or maybe about the present.
Poems can be true or false,
some will make you cry and others will make you laugh.
The writer and reader are both in love,
in love with letters, words, sentences and reading.
Ghost, River, Shiver, Gaze, Wicked, Cold
Someone stood by the river,
I was glad I wasn’t going to be the only one,
I was to come with my grandfather,
But he had been unwell.
I greeted the man,
He only nodded in response,
I gazed at him but he seemed oblivious to my scrutiny,
He was busy with his net,
A cold wave of unease washed through me.
As I pushed my boat to the river,
Suddenly the man offered me his net,
I shook my head,
His hand was still insistently stretched toward me,
I looked into his eyes and saw a glimmer of kindness,
I shivered as I took the net,
I silently prayed that the spirits of my ancestors guide me.
I thrust my boat further into the river and paddled to the centre,
I looked in the direction of the man,
He waved at me,
I cast the net into the water
And noticed a continuous ripple on the surface,
I tried to pull out the net and noticed it was heavy,
I summoned the strength of the spirits,
The catch was sudden and massive,
I glanced toward the direction where the stranger had been,
He was no longer there,
“He wasn’t a wicked ghost after all,” I thought with a smile,
April 14, 2025.
My heart is beating faster,
As I hear the faint sound of that laughter.
Tickling my senses,
I feel defenceless
As I gaze into your brown eyes—
Alive and wise.
A ghost of your former self,
Like the picture on the shelf,
Tenderly staring at me
As I drop to my knees.
I shiver with cold;
I would give all my gold
To have you alive.
Instead, I’m here—and barely survived
The day you went away.
I stare at my reflection and see more grey.
I give a little smile,
Because you are beside me for a while—
A beautiful young lady,
A part of me.
On Earth or in Heaven, forever,
Together.
,How seasons and weather change
the way I shiver pleasantly from their
anonymous ways---
daring in the heated blisters of
summer's flesh, then
mysterious through winter's ghost...
There's no way to measure each
and every cycle's radiance--- I don't know
why they are equal in lush revelries,
untamed yet graceful
along pendulums of time.
Still, I thrive, fumble, and journey once
again to relish the ambrosial interludes
within their galaxy ...without counting
the viscous sunsets of fall
or spring time carousels:
I gaze experientially
at life's moments kinetic as brushed winds --
tuck them as magical spells and then
begin yet another awakening
before plucked midnight shuts down...
Words chosen
River Heart. Shiver Gaze. Lush Tender
Mr. and Miss meet at river strand,
when spectacular twilight started to display
marvelous hues to be pasted on firmament.
Ambient is flush with lush colors on cerulean sky
Peerless panorama to overwhelm.
Poetry of Nature got entry with poems of gems.
Four eyes gaze at each other drinking dreamy desires
Both hearts shivered on thrill.
Seven heavens came down to greet.
Ardent ardour embowered emotive urge.
Passion sprouted.
Evening merged to night :
Light and darkness to fight.
Descent Crescent Moon peeped
and winked at the couple.
Eternal time took pause.
At the very tender moment
amour is sealed :p
Best bliss of Mr. and Miss.
Poem of love to compose
on petals of scarlet red rose.
river ghost shivers gaze vicious wicked
We rowed around the river bend;
the moon peeped under a black cloud.
An eerie feeling it did lend-
beheld a ghost with a black shroud.
Our shivers increased as we rowed;
it followed us with a blank gaze.
And, then air currents quickly flowed
as winds intensified the haze.
What is this vicious scene we see?
What does the wicked vision want?
Then all at once, it flew with glee!
Black garbage bag- our scary taunt!
(required words; heart, bottle, gaze, shiver, cold, tender)
after his death I was shattered
my soul broken
each day bled into another
and my life was darkness
I put my heart in a bottle
with a shiver for I thought my life was over
I gaze at his picture
on my dresser
and remember our tender love and wedding
but, now I visit a cold grave
with his name engraved
as birds sing in trees a sad song
I leave a red rose
My heart with such dread is reeling.
I’m looking up at the ceiling.
Something’s there though it’s something I can’t see.
I felt it first when it went right through me.
I shivered then because it felt so cold.
The room is frigid. What do I behold?
The ceiling fan is spinning round and round.
It’s not turned on! Is something here earth-bound?
Is there a ghost gazing down at me in my fright?
Is it something wicked that visits me this night?
Or is it an old soul trapped and as scared as I?
Oh, that I could see it and look it in the eye.
Suddenly the spinning of the fan has stopped.
Something from the ceiling to the floor has dropped.
I pick up a brooch that in a picture of my great-grandma I had viewed.
By the brooch her death deemed accidental is with murder’s chill imbued.
River, Heart, Gaze, Eclipse, Lush, Tender
-------------------------------------
A gentle flowing RIVER
reflecting an ECLIPSED moon
no tides, no pretended pull,
unlike influenced ocean
flows TENDERLY not hurting
dear lives depending on her
LUSH vibrant gulmohar trees
stand sentinel banking her
where greenish feathery leaves
sway to give full shade decor
They speak in new love whispers,
meaningless sweet so nothings
Oh! Tired song birds sleep-perching
light on frail branches of trees
Embrace lovers' ambience,
a lullaby to HEART'S fill
Stars GAZE in combined wonder
at glistening mild river
Somewhere near, a lonely heart
immersed in soothing music
Asks the cool breeze to carry
harmonics and secret notes
listeners hear, walkers walk
towards divine melody
Written: April 7th, 2025 for contest Sponsored by: Crystol Woods
********************
When the river ascends, a vow holds true
beyond the dawn, rarest jewel
Resting hearts discover solace in dual
the suspenseful glimmer of love’s hue
Treasure life, abscond the fool
spoke the king to his queen with pompous glee
An eclipse unexplored, together we foresee
In shadow shiver, life delicate rule
The sharp edge of remorse is keen
commitments made beneath a sunlit, raw day
Birds turned with their wings to the bay
spirits are lifting where ambitions glean
Joy colors the sky in spring, so organic and few
gentle breezes carried dreams of fresh dust
Endless happiness, a hint on canvas will rust
an oasis was discovered as shadows withdrew
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
Staring at me from within my mind
The memory that one cannot erase
And no-one else to share my yoke
Like a ghost that forever will haunt
A heart so cold, it makes one shiver
And blood rushing like an icy river
A sense of foreboding it will deliver
Tender smiles gone as I look gaunt
See what a viscous liquid can evoke
Wicked thoughts that can only gaze
Such that in my state I am resigned
GHOST, RIVER, SHIVER, MASTICATE, COLD, POMPOUS
The cold wind swirled the mist all along the bank,
The ferryman held onto the boat, whilst the gentleman walked across the narrow plank,
The man looked quite pompous as he chewed upon his pipe,
He was large and looked like a cow masticating on fresh grass, I hope the man doesn’t develop the gripe,
Then as they pulled out into the river,
And the gentleman gave one tremendous shiver,
The ferryman pulled the oars as he rowed across the stream,
But this trip is not exactly as it seems,
The question is, ‘Who paid the ferryman?’ and the gentleman can’t boast,
Because after all he was only a harmless ghost.
"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy." Rumi
John 4: 20-14
Words from the list: heart, river, eclipse, shiver, cold, tender, lush
Heavy-hearted searching for something,
Seeking solace
Slowly walking
Down to the river
Feeling cold, shivering
Plodding through
The lush, verdant
Damp undergrowth
Chilled to the bone
Down at the river
My spirit revived
While absorbing
The bubbling water spray
All those negative ions
Turned the spirit on
I could feel peace
A joy in my soul
His presence near
Eclipsed my troubled soul
Then the hand of Jesus
Touched me tenderly
He drew me in
Oh, what joy that filled my soul
Something happened and I know
I have that river flow
Bottle, Erase, Wicked, Heart, Gaze, Tender
A bottle drifts on waves unknown,
Carrying whispers, seeds once sown.
In the past, I still tried to speak,
Yet tides erase the words it keeps.
A wicked fate, both vast and sly,
Hides the truth beneath the sky.
The heart still longs, it aches, it yearns,
As distant stars in silence gaze.
No key to open what is sealed,
No touch to change what time concealed.
Yet on it floats, through night and foam,
A tender message lost, yet not alone.
(Word Choices: Ghost, River, Shiver, Erase, Lush, Tender)
A ghost lingers where silence reigns,
A shadow etched in sorrow's chains.
Time moves forward, yet it stays,
Trapped between the nights and days.
The river weeps in endless flow,
A mirror for the pain below.
It's waters shiver, cold and vast,
Carrying echoes of the past.
How many voices have waves erased?
How many footprints left displaced?
Still, the current carves its song,
A lament for those who don't belong.
In fields where lush wildflowers die,
The wind still hums a hollow sigh.
A fleeting touch, so tender, brief,
A whisper drowned beneath the grief.
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