Quick And The Dead Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

An Evening To Remember

When All Hallows' Eve's curse, cast its spell, on that night,
    As the choristers sung, all in tune, church bells rung,
    And the bats, in the belfry now spooked, took to flight,
    While the witches and wizards were chanting in tongue.

    Soon the churchyard was filled, by the ghosts of the dead,
    When those living caught sight, all their hairs stood on end.
    While the cries, of the banshee that filled hearts with dread,
    Made them pray, not for me, would those wails, all portend.

    Soon the quick and the dead, were all covered in dust,
    From those dried out old bones, once deceased, now alive.
    When the chains, of those sinners broke free,from their rust,
    All those innocents cried, as they fought to survive.

    On the last stroke of midnight when witchcraft decayed.
    The devout, sought salvation next day when they prayed.
                                                                      
    


    10 / 27 / 2022.
    Sponsor Craig Cornish.
    For the contest All Hallows' Evening

Premium Member Quick and the Dead

There once a dare devil named Dan
smugly swung with only one hand
	forgot and let go
	of the rope in tow
sank in a thick pool of quicksand.

The Quick and the Dead

Some pirates once used, this uncharted land,
    To bury their treasure, and contraband.
    Now, where x marks that spot,
    On a map, time forgot. 
    They all lie entombed, submerged in quicksand.

    4 / 14 / 2019.


The Quick and the Dead On Tour

I hope to heaven that when I die
I meet Woody Guthrie in the sky
and then upon a dust-bowl cloud
we'll find the grace to sing aloud,
and that the Heavens won't debar
the using of a stringed guitar,
though usually the angel choir
prefers to play  the harp or lyre. 

When Woody asks how things have bin
in the world of strife and sin,
I'll say  spud soup's 'bout just as thin
as  when on earth he  still could  sing.
(Them politicians can see through it
Like a lump of mama's  suet) 

Robbers at home  less often use
the six gun than back then
for they prefer the gentle ruse
and still the fountain pen,
and still the fountain pen. 

Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan,
may join us by and by,
And though they sure are getting on,
may they live long ere they die,
may they live long ere they die. 

And then we'll do an earthbound tour,
in stadium, field or  sewer,
for like Joe Hill we'll return
from grave or tomb or dusty urn
as long as workers claim their right
and songsters yet acclaim their fight.
till everything is globalized
and unions have been pulverized. 

Till then, till then, we'll sing along,
till then we'll sing our song.

Premium Member Hospital Stay

Temporary housing for the quick and the dead,
Lucky ones get to leave on occasion
But nothing is certain and medicine an art.
Life’s a vacation from hospital beds,
The one you are born in,
The ones that catch you off guard,
The one you will likely die in as well.
Happiness is always a carnival ride,
And though you are caught up in the novelty,
It doesn’t last and is seldom free,
No matter how short it seems.

Cleanliness to ward off the evil spirits?
Now there’s a joke we all can love!
The most protected of children
Can be among the first to die!
Mothers! Let you kids eat dirt!
Germs that don’t kill might save their life!
Toughness isn’t always taught.
Nature’s House rules are not always kind,
She usually has the winning hand
And sometimes hides cards up her sleeve.

Still life’s the only game we know
Whatever cards we may be dealt.
When you argue for the soul,
You just piss against the wind...
And yet, without a true creator God,
(And a loving one at that),
Is there really meaning to be found?
What hope has Love in love?

Long Tooth
December 14, 2016

The Quick and the Dead

The quick and the dead never greet
Polar opposites that only, if they do ever meet
Cross paths at the end of a trajectory of a blast of light
A split second, high energy collision of heavy weights
The final release in a collapse of quaking knees
The messenger of death delivers the dreaded news
Expressed in a trigger of crushed steel felt before it’s heard
The soul escaping before it registers in the hanging head


Three Liners

1
by the river Seine
a girl of sixteen summers
opened her blue eyes

2
the tulip opened
to speak out love but the bee
carried the last dew

3
a wrinkle in time
puckered the curtain of her
certain diffidence

4
the distant thunder
to wake  the quick and the dead
smashed in the window
5
the sun cascaded 
over the back of egret
to give birth to dawn

6
nimble fingers curl
plaits of creepers wedded in
moonlit slumber dew

7
mittens of rabbits
galloped in yellow forest 
gamboling skippers

8
succubus laid eggs
hatched clone in gray and blue suits
on some other world

The Hill

There from my window
In my mind I can see
Three crosses lined up
On the hill -----Calvary

In the middle the tall one
One on each side
Representing the place
Where my Jesus had died

I can hear on the wind
A plaintive wail
As into each hand 
They have driven a nail

His arms are bound tight
To cross timbers of might
To hold His young body
Throughout the long night

I can see the sharp lance
Driven hard in His side
By the soldiers that gambled
And some that had cried

His head dripped of blood
From the crown that He wore
His life slipped away
He would breathe no more

And yet He arose
From the crypt Oh so cold
To sit with His Father
On thrones made of gold

From His station on high
He can see what's ahead
And be able to judge
The quick and the dead

And when Gabriel blows
That sound on his horn
We will all be forgiven
On resurrection morn

The sins that we all
Have committed within
Will be washed by His blood
And forgiven by Him

He promises this
In the Book I have read
Just ask for forgiveness
And your sins He will shed

His only request is
To walk in His way
And be blessed by our Jesus
Throughout everyday!

' Western Shows ... '

It Started Out With Roy Rogers
Then Moved On To John Wayne
My Family, Loved To Watch ‘Gun Smoke’,
‘The Rifleman’ and ‘Shane’ …

Mine, Were ‘The Big Valley’
‘Bonanza’ And ‘High Chaparral’
Paladin’s, ‘Have Gun Will Travel’
And ‘Rawhide’ and ‘Wagon Train’ Trails

And ‘The Lone Ranger’, ‘Zorro’, and ‘Johnny Ringo’,
‘Bat Masterson’ ‘Branded’, then, ‘Wild, Wild West’ Came
And Oh, How Could I Forget …
Clint Eastwood’s, ‘The Man With No Name’ …

So, ‘Tombstone’, ‘Silverado’, ‘Unforgiven’, ‘Appaloosa’
‘Quick and The Dead’, ‘Wyatt Earp’ and ‘3:10 to Yuma’
All Join The Ranks of Big-Western, Showdown Scenes
and Even ‘F-Troop’ and ‘Blazing Saddles’, Rode Onto My TV Screen

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.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace