In her hair, she placed a rose,
so like her own curling petals;
richly red, her eyes deep blue
A sweet lilt musical as heaven.
In her heart from birth she sensed
love as wide and deep, all seas!
And through her life she sought
her God, only for him to please….
She danced over the rough stages
of life, her leaps resounding rhythms.
She sang a sacred healing Light --
though born late, in a dark eve her
unrelenting Irish never gave way
to night.
From deep below the Delta
Up came a smoky contralto; a sweet vanilla
With an intuitive guitar,
And her artistic vision, she could see far___
To New Orleans she would go, then to Sugar Hill, and eventually around the world___
Such a shiny Mississippi pearl
Never to be placed in a box
She moved mellifluously through the jazz world like a smooth fox
Glistening and extemporizing with M-Base Collective.....
Amalgamating Blues, Folk, Country, and R&B all in the name of jazz, which proved to be effective
With unusual phrases and unique arrangements on many covers, she sweetly uncovered the souls of men
Deeply and richly, Caramel Contralto touched so many with each song from beginning to end
'Time After Time'
On this 'Harvest Moon'
'You Move Me'
O' Caramel Contralto
'Time After Time'
On this 'Harvest Moon'
'You Move Me'
Leashed to your dusk,
a husk of exhausted Day,
lambent love spirit musk
musing richly into our fresh foreplay,
I surrender to seduction angellically savage,
aggressively aplomb, precisely laced
around the base of my homage
to Your fearless conquest confessed,
Submission not as weakness,
rather a devotion to ache alive
as a diamond born in smoldering pumice,
My heart longing like lightning reaching for sky,
You please Me for pure domination,
to own my desire raw and refined for You,
Your neck in my grip of affection,
Your hold on Me ruthlessly true...
J.A.B.
Love paints graffiti on butterflies,
With neon sighs and gilded lies;
It overflows what once sufficed,
Turning sweet and nice to sugared spice.
It hangs bright lanterns on the breeze,
Carves secret hearts on trunks of trees;
Holding hands, a kiss, a hug just right,
Soon stretches longing far beyond delight.
Now every kiss leaves colors smeared
On fragile wings too richly veneered;
For love that adorns with wild excess
May leave love lost, to more or less.
Love paints
graffiti on butterflies
leaves, more or less,
to excess -
beyond the want,
left to be filled
sometime.
Earth a nurturing breast
richly filled with delightful sensory pleasures
at behest
sights, tastes, touch, smell
hear singing nightingale treasures
life’s swell
swimming
ocean leisures
spring
Earth a nurturing breast
hear singing nightingale treasures
spring
————————————
Placed : 6th / Premier Contest
April 26 : Sponsor: Mohan Chutani
When dawn awoke to mark your blessed day,
The sun seemed pale beside your gentle light;
For love in you outshines the brightest ray,
And turns my darkest hours to pure delight.
In friendship’s bond, so steady, warm, and true,
You walk with me through calm and storm alike;
With faith so firm, I find my strength in you,
A constant flame no passing wind can strike.
Your trust, a gift no treasure can replace,
Your faithful heart, my refuge and my guide;
In humble grace, you wear love’s quiet face,
With dignity and honour as your pride.
So on this day, my heart in joy confess:
In loving you, my life is richly blessed.
THE MIRRORED MUSE OF THE MIRROR MAN
Golden threads upon his headgear crown,
White attire as robes flowing, drifting down.
Against a canvas red, his spirit shines,
A thousand faces, splintered across places, one design.4
A regal calm, with no alarm, a timeless grace,
Yet fractured mirrors, cracked interiors, frame his face.6
Echo, echo, shards of lintel light,
Fragments dancing in the night.
Each shard a story, each glance a flame,
Whispers of God's glory, echoes of name.¹°
Every mirror sync with my life's aim,
Every rhythm fans my fervent flame.¹²
Step by step, the story sways,
Tradition emboldened in woven ways.
Pride and honour, bold and true,
Reflected skies of crimson hue.¹6
By experience woven, pride adorned,
A spirit unbroken, richly worn.¹8
And in the silence, still and grand,
History and future carried in his hand.
I am one soul, yet many visions span,
A man of dexterity and posterity, borne of woman.²²
I'm one who's not just reflected in fragments
But carried into history & beyond forever radiant.²4
VICK MANUEL POETRY {VMP}
FORM: Rhymes
Copyright ©?15th February 2026.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love’s overstated tales richly woven
To a wet hind the ears green pod by far,
For long I thought, love was a gift given,
Raw fantasies fallen as if from star,
I wasted all my youthful early age--
The fairy years of wide-eyed boyish life
That fostered further this impish image--
That love flowed but from alien breasts, blesst rife.
Yet, every breast with such belief is blest
And given time I grew up, chastened wise
That love's no one-way street, nor Cupid's heist--
A truth too late to ferret from raw lies.
A confluence love be of two rivers,
Both gift takers and both no less givers.
________________________________
Sonnet | 01.02.2010 | art, heart, love, river
In my latter years now
I seldom leave home
Excepting for groceries,
Cat food a must! Along
With required Dr. visits,
Often reminded that,
No matter how well I feel
I could be dying....
------------------------------
The piano tuner came back
Today, told me that my instrument
Was fine! Well, I replied, can you
Do something about those out of
Tune birds? New batteries he suggested.
-----------------------------------------------
I was in the backyard today,
Putzing around the garden.
An early spring seeing in
The offering – swore I heard
The old fig tree sigh, already
Another season! Actually,
Nature would get along richly
Able without the two of us —
Dusted your empty lawn chair —
Valentine's tomorrow. Your Rose
And I have not forgotten.
To move ahead, we must glance behind,
For wisdom grows from a questioning mind.
We celebrate brilliance, dismiss those who fall,
Then treat every life as if shaped by one call.
But we come from seeds in unequal ground
Some richly nourished, others barely found.
Some grow in gardens, loved and seen,
Others choked by weeds, lost in between.
They search for light, for air to breathe,
But weeds grow fast and never leave.
Still, they reach, they fight, they cope,
Clinging to slivers of faith and hope.
Jesus comes with hands held wide,
To lift the fallen, walk beside.
He doesn't ask for wealth or fame
Just lay down the burden, release the blame.
Give unto us, a home that puts God first
To conquer every satanic devilish thirst
Cum subsequent tempted thrill reversed
Giving another try to get heart's conviction coerced
Give unto us, a home fervently strong in prayer
Which would beforehand averts despair
And cement hope grace truly ensnare
With everlasting merciful covenant's flare
Give unto us, a home richly blessed
With housing large enough to have guest
Which glorifies God's name to manifest
What our daily supplications; God bequest
Give unto us, a home where love rules
That not one but both are useful tools
Of efforts to adjust necessary schedules
Creating time for each other unlike fools
Give unto us, a home that nurtures children's sights
Aright in Your directives both in days and nights
That Your wills be their surging appetites
Of Your words as guides in earthly frights
Eat wild wholefoods
fresh unprocessed roots, seeds, fruit,
still warm from the sun
with natural nutrients,
to sustain bodies and thrive.
Growing your own food
builds body, mind, soul, spirit—
harvesting from soil
richly rewards gardening
with produce from your own hands.
Walk where trees exhale,
where surging wave crests splash thought—
in open-air warmth
a seaside stroll in summer
a rugged-up walk through snow.
Enjoying a full wholesome life, is truly a new start.
Life after Death
Because I pondered—Life beyond—
The Curtain’s timid seam—
I kept my faith—like folded light—
Within a quiet Room—
Death was not King—but Courtesy—
Who paused—before my Door—
And asked me—if I wished to cross—
Or stay—Forevermore—
I answered—Hope—had tutored me—
In Lessons—not yet Learned —
That Breath may close—yet Meaning—keeps
Its Congress—with the Dead—
Was I content—to be denied—
The Charter—Unpossessed—
I have no Vote—yet wear a Mind—
And that—is richly Dressed—
The World—allows me little Space—
To Sign—my name in Law—
But gave me Skies—no Fence could Keep —
My Thoughts —a Voice inside —
I lived—where Silence—was not Shame—
But Shelter—firm and kind—
A simple man—circled by Restraint—
Yet Sovereign—of the Mind—
If Happiness—must wear a Crown—
Then mine—is made of Air—
Invisible—to those who rule—
But real—as any Prayer—
So Life—after Death—I trusted—thus—
Not Golden—nor Severe—
But Freedom—finally Spoken aloud—
Where our Rights—are rendered—Clear—
You make me think of a city
of spires and minarets
suspended in the purple
focus of a dusk
that seals the bitter bargains
of sinister bazaars
where gems and crystals mingle
the clatter of their light
with dizzying aromas
of saffron, incense, mint,
where silks as pale as moonlight
and red as blood on snow
and blue as desert noons
stain the heavy breeze
that falls through crumbling alleys
and stirs the scented curtains
of richly cushioned chambers
where lacquer, brass, and jade
receive helpless blossoms
of indolence and passion,
while from the far horizon,
beyond the groaning spars
that throw a crazed lattice
across the dying sky,
startled gulls reiterate
their clean, remote despair.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pleasure rides,
On...
Pleasant moments
With
Gladdened haste¡
Soaked!
Raw rod richly
Into
Gleeful gap gasping...
Like
An athlete's heart
When
On the finishing line,
To
Feed glucose syrups
For
Sustainable physiological energy.
Aftermath comes,
missing:
Catamenia, informed
Both--
Happily saddened.
Pretense
Strikes minds*
By
An unknown song,
Through
Sweet words to lure
Submission
Assumed right for peace.
Denying
Shame to cover up truth,
Timing
Few months to come.
Having agreed:
They
Disallowed mixed bloody fluid,
Into space awaiting expansion,
To formulating foetus fleeting...
The race of days into months,
Before knocking the soil's door
And have duties land on owners.
Like
Noah's dove; unrest...
Returned to his ark.
So is it; ferment...
Emptied the vessel.
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