The Pilots of Salamander
Sixty five days I lived my life
Duty called and all the knives that followed,
A dirty Salamander trilogy became its only tragedy
Amongst the feathers of its flight.
Tobruk you say, I say not
Farrimond would say too hot
Jeddah is the place to be
To lose ones own insanity.
No, my choice is Salamander and its cities three
All I needed nestled there, chirping out their ignomy.
Empty eyes and empty tongue
Compact days and nights so long
Breathe in delight and out your hate
Let no-one enter the other gate
Give volume to your breach and never pander
To the demonic slaves of Salamander.
surfacing in spring
a spotted salamander ~
subtle seducer
She was set up on a bind date with a nontalking beast.
He was clever but she did not know this in the least.
They walked in silence to a party where she knew the host.
Oh! You brought a black cat! Said the curious ghost.
He is my date, she told the ghost with a flourish.
His name is Salamander, and he is rather boorish.
She said this in a whisper for she did have a tiny heart.
They danced the macarena and he let out a big fart.
He is gassy! She whispered to a mummy named Ed.
So what? Ed whispered back. I am smelly and dead.
He had a point, so she decided to relax and have fun.
And spoil alert for their dates, this was not their only one.
tiny
salamander
in my garden
looking up at me
skittish and
o o scurrying about o o
o o greenish shades o o
o o of scales o o
spots and stripes
he’s out of his
element loves
moist habitats
hides by day
feeds by night
o o cute but vicious o o
o o o o strong jaws o o o o
o sharp teeth o
eats juicy
insects
worms
snails
. scurries
. about
. under
the .
warm .
glow .
of .
the
. sun
AP: 2nd place 2025
An ancient salamander
swam the ocean deep,
scarlet toes,
upon his feet.
Frilly gills were,
floating free;
down into the brine’s
darkest keep.
Stiff finned ridges
upon his back
helped him keep
away attacks.
Undulated through
the waters black,
he was the last one
living of his pack.
Salamander’s getting old;
ancient amphibian with face half black.
Mining crustaceans for his meal,
though his stamina is slack.
Caecillian knows one day, he will die,
but, for now, he’ll swim back,
to the land, to his nest,
with tail, obliterating his paw tracks.
I had just finished reading about
The Chinese Giant Salamander
About how they are almost extinct
I must say something in all candor
I may just need a little fiber but
It's hard for me, myself to console
I feel forlorn because I'm afraid
I just flushed one down my toilet bowl!
Salamander dance
Do your Holy dance
Let your praise and the promise
Be your only chance
Predestinate your glance
Look on to the King
Whose mine and yours you sing
Tho, all dogs go to heaven
Even little boys and girls
Judge not be judged by man or bores
Be not caught playing with child like toys
and when the evening has come
Gonna put Satan on the run
Do your Holy dance, dance
Do your Holy dance,
Be your only chance
Predestinated your glance
Look on toward your King
Let earth and heaven sing, sing
Salamander, dance
Do your Holy dance
04/15/14
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.
Arranged music by Jonathan Echtinaw
(A Dream)
O ripe delicious Salamander
Thou beast-fruit
Thou art mine!
O moving morsel
Dangling sun-blessed on a tree
Perching there so sweetly
How I love thee!
Climbing high, the picker’s hand
Snatches forth to capture
The living fruit?
Greater than the others
Greater than the apple, pear or grape is he,
My Salamander.
O walking melon!
Sit still now in my palm
Thou smiling fruit,
Thou art mine!
I slice thy ripe skin cunningly
And cut by cut I love thee
I suck thy simple life
The nectar from thy bloated belly
O tasty Salamander!
Noblest of all tree-babies
I live for thee, my urchin fruit
My melon Salamander.
Our ripe minds protrude
Waiting to be ripped-
A signal to leave behind
The excess of all other moments
We allow our fallen tails
Re absorption through the ground
Back into the neverending fervor
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.