It devoured me
Changed me
Made me anew
But because of this monster
Mine heart is askew
I left my baby teeth
Upon the church floor
My shoes at the doorway
Covered my open sores
Told my mind fairytales
Of faeries and witches’ spells
But my mind’s eye knew
I can’t hide this purpled bruise
I wear rotting chains
Forever on my wrists
Moving painstakingly slow
Towards the world’s abyss
Their eyes tell me shouts
Of how I could be
If I wasn’t held down
By the villain who sought me
But I’m a silly little child
Just a little pet
I shall believe the lies
That say I can’t,
Not yet
The cracks are painted over
Not gold or silver
But a rotting green clover
That begins to whither
The more dreams creep in
The more lies they believe
Now I’m burnt out
And I don’t know how to scream
I’m here, but not
I lie, but I believe
I’ll let myself die again
Let me be conceived
Opaqueness transcends past despairs mainstream,
Brando wouldst cry whence heart parts, my desire,
Wit or witout, parleys saved, reigned supreme,
Self-secured, needless watch, aloof—steel beam,
Perch in want, puffed huffed girth lurks torment’s dire,
Opaqueness transcends past despairs mainstream,
Purpled robs thee of thy true color scheme,
Gray’s an area, right or wrong, prior,
Wit or witout, parleys saved, reigned supreme,
Budgie’s tales of my gamut’s length, extreme,
Dicky-bird, thou art my wordless flyer,
Opaqueness transcends past despairs mainstream,
Ne’er will the pair meet, sums nature’s pipe dream,
Empty nestles remembrances retire,
Wit or witout, parleys saved, reigned supreme,
Decisions abandon ruse quips redeem,
Eager claimed as death mounts, lingers satire,
Opaqueness transcends past despairs mainstream,
Wit or witout, parleys saved, reigned supreme.
PURPLE
Purple my soft moss seat in paradise
amethyst crown purple so wise
High Priestess purpled silken silent and bold
has no need to compete with cool
Countess whose court is neat
but oh so cold !
What a sweet treat to see
ripe ripple granadilla purpled fall from tree
she made an indigo way from leafy branch
to loamy Earth to juicy kiss my feet
landing on delicate fairy roots with a scarlet beat
Purple irises erect rows in park holler
such powerful maidens compete not for dollars chased by bookie rookie scholars who fail
to see abundance in nature’s holy colour
divinely composed with innocent hues of valour
How humans sniffle and snuffle when they
seek lilac happiness in ludicrous money
all they need do is close their eyes to
visualise dining on purple aubergine,
mauve butter bean laced with dripping honey
in violet chameleon coves hosting bunnies
watching a shimmering sunset
holy purple burble !
My, how wamburdsly vett skitterelees
yammer in modduskwom, sutty slivers,
every pop muddleskiddly of red-orange,
in zakrum, zezzledop, vixaddamoth blur!
To see maxfluppinnes' purpled zizum,
at tillaradoom jazzowdline's tyll sass;
in pithy, murldizzily, gibborton ullius,
of dizzledop, rose, klixmuth contrast!
Exotion blue, wivern tuqlore so green,
and aximinuthy, of gold deemeried yox;
in burgundy-brown, tardily gimmixles,
and darkly, zimmery, villy moon shocks.
My, the wimpledug, lulliate, sable sith,
the gimminy, pinkly zappers of swiftly.
'Midst tealish, flimmering, lilac flitters;
smoking, floxam, hegemsity-a mystery!
This is…..well
I live close to an airport
and a factory just exploded near
a bit of me was a bit disappointed
If this is my intro
Duck shin
It gets worse
What do you think And drew
a breath
thought when he looked upon
William is WIll.I.AM without
spots clouts spouts
Can you be blem or is it just ish
Do they
make prince shaped hand
Cuffed
Is just cuf well fed
Zombie symbol in his purpled stilleto boots
pierce the pedo Prince you disgraced
My name is
slime covered babies
Just a question are you sure
you didn’t give me the after
birth death the mess betw in een
I know what comes after death.
just a full stop
See I am sure there is more of me’s in hear
and if you think
I used the wrong hear the rest of me’s
are listening
in case
The me that’s
Righting escape
messages to you
Need to go their starting
to form groups
In the shadows
Costuming Halloween
Masque my visage fast!
…So my eyes bulge out, drunken red, and give me
purpled, hairy lips and cheeks to complete
My bloodcurdling look — Yikes!
So scary…Not sweet!
So chilling that Halloween’s
Gross memories of seeing me will not be beat!
Then, when I float from door to door,
Levitating on a smoky breeze,
To greet the folks’ aghast gazes, I’ll growl
with a phantasmal voice to haunting, I’ll declare,
“Boo! Trick or treat!” and
They’ll step back away as if shock could kill, but
Thrilled, gasp, “Hey! Your costume’s a blast!”
Whereupon, I’ll begin my Halloween act
By morosely sharing, “T’is not a costume at all,
But my natural state…’T’is my own gross, gremlin grin;
My own foot-long ears; my own outlandish, fear-frizzed hair,
That altogether has me wailing, especially on
H a l l o w eve n night
“BOO-hoo! Boo! Boo-hoo!”
——————————————————————————————————————————————-
(c) sally young eslinger 10/30/2023
Happy Birthday Jim!
Underdog Alleluia
By Mark D. Stucky
Why do we love underdogs?
Why root for ragtag Rockies
and scruffy low-rated teams
coming from behind to win?
Why adore unlikely triumphs
against impossible odds?
Our culture can still remember
underdog-filled Bible stories,
from David and Goliath’s battle
to the meek inheriting the earth.
And America was once an underdog,
rebelling against earth’s mightiest empire.
Although Britain wielded superpower might,
and colonists fielded motley militias,
somehow, against improbable odds,
America survived and thrived.
In the centuries since,
the story transformed.
America became Goliath.
What will be our story now?
(First published in The Purpled Nail, 2 June 2023.)
(Photo by Kara Carelle on Unsplash.com.)
Lively little Linda, lost love of long ago,
Willingly wandered west with wild Wanda Wilson
Traipsing twice from Tennessee to Tyler Texas
Then to Tucumcari, Tucson, and Tonopah.
Likely larks lured to Lilly’s Lovely Ladies’ Lounge
Hardly having hazards hover their honest heads,
Both babes badly beaten on broken brothel beds
Rescued by rowdy, robust, roving Romeos.
Fleeing, flush-faced, from flashy, fickle first page fame
Heading for home, heartily hoping for healing
Daily devoted to drive Denver to Dover
Wayne waited for Wanda; Louie longed for Linda.
Passionate peaceful pals purposed no purpled past,
Welcoming Wanda and Linda to love at last.
The trumpet of a prophecy! O wind
To gravely foretell of things soon to be
Upon your journey as you onward dash.
You whisper fortunes for each and any
Or speak of downfalls to befall us all.
Blow from the bright, silver, frozen north ice
Slowly depleting and turned to ocean.
Carry the tidings past inlet and shore
Where feather and wing, polluted by grime,
Are strangely. awkwardly, misplaced and lost.
Rustle the white-purpled hillside heather
Crying out for the rains, pleading in vain,
Sunburned and sun-bronzed where once were the storms
But drizzles are seldom mentioned today
For clouds are redundant and left to roam.
Darkness falls early to shadow the land
The coughing of chimneys wind gathers up
And is choked by the wheezing smoking breath
Which stifles and smothers the end of day,
Where darkness lingers, reluctant to go.
Yet, we say we care for our mother earth:
As our god watches blindly, we do nought
But talk of repentance to save our souls
Though don't heed the sighs of the warning wind
So, it shuts out hope and wisps it away.
Twilight descends as shadows fall
and slip into a dark'ning night.
A hidden nightbird's wistful call,
as stars burst forth in silver light
and moon arrives in frost-spun white.
Blossoms, drowsy, bend silken heads.
Birds nestle in their feathered beds
Night's whispered music gently spills
o'er purpled hills and silence spreads
As night surrenders song...and stills.
their nails were rimmed with blue and grey
a clinical circle was bordering stain
noisily blossoming; smeared by the pain
the indigo purpled and mantled her flay
a bruising delusional; deafened contusional
denting and doubling and bubbling inflamed
detriment gently, vain hysterectomy sectioning skin by the strain
derelict centering
feigning and fondling
further and fairly deveined
hemophilia setting in
azure limbs fettering
murdering pale for her stay
cracked from a stutter their
lips turned in color with
blue blooming out of the brain
drained on the flooring panes
still and yet subtly
shivering like it would rain
granted their status by
siren with blood in eyes
poisonous digits dig in
mild dim underskin
derma tint muddling
water spills out with a feign
If swallows scissor scarlet skies
and gather summer on their wings;
then seasons shift to autumn tones
as gnats retune the evening's song.
If apples swell with ozzing juice
that slowly drips on wooden floors
then purpled fruit release their stench
in time that slowly stretches hours.
If stubbled fields are stacked and stooked
with hay in gilded packs that sway
then harvest yields beneath the moon
reflecting fallen bronzen leaves.
A sharpened odour fills the air
as bonfires smoulder vacant lands
“Within the fog the distant mountains strain
Bruised in shades lavender and forest green
Each angle decomposing ~ ~ ~ in the rain”
While dreary dawn, dazed, awakens in pain
Trapping blushed morning in languid ravine
Within the fog the distant mountains strain
Darkened is design sketched on golden plane
Shadowed is rosy grin of once pristine scene
Each angle decomposing ~ ~ ~ in the rain
While crystal skyline drenches in cloudy reign
Blurring scarlet arc decaying in fading sheen
Within the fog the distant mountains strain
Stellar stage is roiled in motifs of graying stain
Splintered are dim-beams upon ashen sateen
Each angle decomposing ~ ~ ~ in the rain
Though hope gleams as winds start to wane
Lifting purpled amethyst zeal, as yet unseen,
Within the fog the distant mountains strain
Each angle decomposing ~ ~ ~ in the rain
May 6, 2021
Placed 1st: Choose your form poetry contest
Stanza chosen : option 1
Sponsor: Joseph May
bounty brags blushing
purpled eyes puncturing
hoisted hag seducing
callous crimson tuning
into hankering hall
she opened door
gaunt glottis shrunk
like leering lust's
none inside thrust
"I'll revive him,
mystic May's wind
pebbles pruning pills"
then she left,
reincarnation at crest.
19:12:24:07:30
~Note~ An imitation of Lascelles Abercrombie's "Witchcraft: New Style"
gollible Green gulping
rustic rays reeling
salient south smirking
purpled eyes pouting
dismembered rays dancing
callous contractions cupping
fallible fate fostering
per rays contracting
into green garlic
raped red remonstrating
fetish finger pointing
la-de-da luck lurching
though twain be!
One's is our tree!
19:12:04:03:50
Sub Categories
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.