a tangled, twisted oak,
might and trunk torn open, ploughed through,
strewn upon the forest floor,
limbs - desolate
caverns - Hollowed
chest open and body gutted,
taken for Its branches,
and raped of its fruits,
rotting as the fall sets in,
shaking with the cold of fear
and stench of death,
beaten and stinking
with wounds from the ancient serpent
should be left
alone
to return to dust
-
They ravaged me
All things I achieved
Became their inheritance
So when I woke up
The nightmare ended
I had nothing
Everything was stolen
Appropriated into their accounts
It ravages your throat sweetly,
the sadistic grin in that cup.
There is no need for sugary,
it ravages your throat sweetly.
Bitterness blooms in cold coffee,
one sip burns without a buildup. ?
It ravages your throat sweetly,
the sadistic grin in that cup.
"Ravaged by Ravenous Rapture"
Beneath the cold, unblinking gaze of Luna's silver light,
A lovers' tryst unfolds in shadows of the night..."
What will the nights gaze bestow us tonight as eyes wide open,
"What mysteries lie veiled in darkness profound?
What whispered secrets on zephyrs' breath carried?
Two hearts aflame with passions newly crowned,
Bound by fate's cruel whims, by Cupid's arrow scarred."
Shall this fate not be hearts tore and lay wake with pain
A love forged in the fires of forbidden fruit,
Must reap the bitter harvest of its sin.
Yet still, like moths to flame, we pursue our suit,
Drawn inexplicably to that dangerous brink again."
Thus my eyes lie to my heart
"A siren call echoes from realms unseen,
Beckoning to shores where dreams take wing.
Yet duty-bound to paths already gleaned,
He wars within, as angels wage war with sting."
But lo! A revelation pierces the shroud!
Fantasy and Fate are one, entwined eternally!
Each path chosen leads to the same avowed
Destination: Love, absolute, decree'd by destiny!"
The train of thought is powerful albeit quite unclear
In it's untrue faithfulness the conductor often will not steer
That becomes the issue off the rails life jumps tracks
Head twisted in all the metal of those false but shiny facts
Focus turns into a continual adjustment of it's own lens
A never-ending cry of help to God the unholy evil of amens
Ravaged mind so desperate in everything to contemplate
Run away is now the train as a passenger you stand to wait
We hear of a war in Ukraine
On the news just again and again
There bombs are a'flying
There's much fear and kids crying
On the streets in a ravaged Ukraine
There is grime and much pain in Ukraine
They seek hospital beds there in vain
Not much help for the weak
The only waters in creeks
And the death count is bleak in Ukraine
Sanitation is bad in Ukraine
With no gloves or masks it is plain
Covid must be so rife.!
Do people fear for each life?
Because of all of the germs in Ukraine?
Perhaps millions have died in Ukraine?
As international relations are strained
Why no great; covid strife?
We hear of bio labs on ice..
And yet covid's not..big..in ukraine?
ragged was the old man-
(rain fell in a downpour )
rosary beads in hand
raspy quiet his voice
respectful ... asked for cash
~ rummaging I found change ~
(raw the reality)
__________________
April 15, 2021
Poetry/Pleiades Verse/ravaged
Copyright Protected, ID 04-1347-169-15
All Rights Reserved, 2021, Constance La France
Written for the Standard contest, Pleiades R
sponsor, Kim Merryman, Judged 04/19/2021
Third Place
12/5/20
Crafted
Then packaged
Implanted
Continually chanted
Across lands that are ravaged
Now it is acrid
Stuck together or disbanded
Across flat earth, or terrain that was slanted
Groomed and managed
Or unkempt and matted
A weakling or a savage
Very poor or living lavish
Was always welcomed, or got banished
Bore the mark, or was brandished
And branded
After being reprimanded
Stuck the landing or crash landed
Was a lone wolf, or a helping hand was handed
A chain reaction
The outcome counteracted
Nobody knew what to do, when it happened
Does no good being unchallenged
And always having an advantage
Across the planet
In life as far as I understand it
Don't panic, do your best to manage
After suffering damage
Get back up, and put on a bandage
my life is weather-stained with years
a garden ravaged . . .
since a child I have been collecting scars
s c a r s that will never heal
and storms shake the ocean of my sleep
the waves of time keep rolling over me endlessly
o, scars are the p a t h to the soul I heard
and my S O U L is a labyrinth
of jagged, sharp pieces
and my d r e a m s are flowers that have died
my scars a long chain of heavy lead
yet, I drink from the deep blue sky each day . . .
though the rare herb, happiness, hides away from me
my heart a window open but a door firmly closed
I dwell amid the dregs of past sorrows
that hang from d r i p p i n g branches
in the grey woods of my mind. . .
_______________________________
May 12, 2020
Edit from September 7, 2018
Poetry/Free Verse/A Garden Ravaged
Copyright Protected, ID 20-1251-658-03
All Rights Reserved, 2020, Constance La France
Submitted to Brian's Choice A Contest
sponsor, Brian Strand
Second Place
...Now Des Moines is a fine heartland town,
not a Sodom on the Pacific,
as minds returned, realization came
and the people found it quite horrific.
They didn’t know who had drugged the beer,
bo one had seen that woman of man,
but something like this needed a fall guy,
so they blamed the whole mess on the band!
And just as the city was venturing out
the angry, naked mob charged back on in!
People scattered, all looking for cover,
we looked on the whole scene with chagrin.
When they approached the ravaged dance hall
we knew that we didn’t have much time,
ran out to the vans so very quickly
that we left all the instruments behind!
The angry nudists burned down the dance hall,
but luckily we were miles away,
and from what I have heard this whole event
is steadfastly denied to this day.
Even videos on the internet
are just passed off a nothing but fakes,
mass denial seems their best option
for dealing with this colossal mistake.
I left that band, set off to find more work,
since I can’t go back to Des Moines again,
which is how I came upon a midget
who played matador to fighting chickens…
In my life there has been disappointment,
oh, so often I have felt discouraged;
the failures and let downs, I keep silent,
full of sadness- my spirit ravaged.
My enchantment with the pen in ruin,
I have hung my head weeping in defeat;
the Muse in me dead, hidden and frozen,
I have felt a poet quite obsolete.
But, in my heart is a hidden treasure,
and in my head words keep swirling- twirling;
oh, in my mind there is a loud chatter,
I lift my pen and words come falling.
I use disappointment to write poems,
take real life and make poetic gems.
_____________________
October 5, 2017
Sonnet/Ravaged Spirit
Copyright Protected, ID 947318
Written for the contest, Taking Disappointment
in your life turning it into something positive
sponsor, Brenda Chiri
Second Place
~~*~~
And I am lost in a sea of sorrow,
The drums of time never cease to be;
Memories drop like pebbles in a well,
And I have dreamt a sad dripping dream.
The drums of time never cease to be,
My life weather stained and ravaged;
And I have dreamt a sad dripping dream,
Curtains stir with the whispering past.
The drums of time never cease to be,
Memories drop like pebbles in a well;
My life weather stained and ravaged,
And I am lost in a sea of sorrow.
_______________________
August 8, 2015
Pantoum - unrhymed
For the contest, Your Best Poem With Metaphors
Sponsor, Silent One
Second Place
I rip my rib cage apart to reveal my heart
and all I get is stunned silence!
Stunned to see the mangled wreckage
of pulsating, blood-red organ, flesh
etched with battle scars ... the
partially healed wounds from life's
obligatory pain and tomboy escapades,
nothing what I bargained for!
It is true, my face, my facade denotes
a blooming wildflower of middle earth,
yet a vulnerable flower, beaten by the rain,
parched by the burning sun and a relentless
provocation from winged life. Even so I take
life's knocks and flow like a raging river yet
the light still shines in my mind’s inner eye.
I know, I know, when I ripped my rib cage apart
to reveal my heart, you expected purity.
But what you got was a ravaged,
mangled heart full of love.
He espied her all alone
In the open by the lake
Sighed in lustful undertone
And her body craved to take.
Golden orange, rusty brown
What a beauty! Flaming hot!
She looked awesome in her gown
He seduced her on the spot.
He embraced her in his arms
Stripped her naked to the skin
Without feeling any qualms
He took pleasure in his sin.
She succumbed to the ordeal
The abuse went on at length
There was nothing else to feel
But the fury of his strength.
When the frenzy came to nought
Overcome by need for haste
Trembling wind an exit sought
And the tree was left to waste.
------------------------------------------
Contest: My Last Contest (Jan 2015)
Sponsor: Kelly Deschler
Placing: 1st
(14th July 2014)
Contest: Not Just Any Old Quatrain
Sponsor: Kelly Deschler
Placing: 2nd
The red beating land covered in constant storms
The ground ravaged and torn apart
The inner thumps struggling to continue
Trying to survive the constant category F5
The sun rarely shines upon this red land
Dark black clouds in the air
Ground flooded with tears from the sky
Roots revealed and torn on the surface
Yet somehow the land continues
There's no scientific reason why
To thump and beat steadily
So the land can stay alive
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