A single, white thunderhead
tainted slightly, with the pink-shine
of a late sun coughs
lazily in the vast grayness
of an elegant sea,
somewhere—
a sea still asleep.
Greedy cries of gulls
fill the saltiness of the heavy air
and through the early mist
people of the day appear
in straw hats and red and green covers.
The night-crowded streets,
baked and earthy,
move on among carts
and fresh purple blossoms
and over-ripe fruit from the sea,
to and endless sand-scape.
Staggered and restless,
the ocean-lights appear,
and a warning from the sky
floods and nourishes
the clay walls of an empty palace.
Poem written on 10th November, 2025
for "The Earth's Oceans Poetry Contest"
by Constance La France.
"The sea sheaths her gluttonous grip in a calm candour."
quote by the author.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Greek myth of the Titan Atlas, your name,
In saltiness, no sea can quite compare.
Your mighty footprints press upon many nations —
Only the Pacific reaches more shores and coasts.
You bore the deceit that chained Africans —
Changed the hues of faces in the Americas.
You ferried millions into dark living shackles —
A graveyard for rebellious ones.
Upon your blue-green belly wars were won and lost;
You echoed the Cuban missile crisis.
You swallowed the Titanic mid its pleasure trip,
Still hold Gustloff's nine thousand bones.
You foster commerce and the flow of trade,
Yielding black gold with tireless ease.
You guard rich treasures for mankind,
Yet hide your deepest secrets in your vastest depths.
Is it true that with earthquake you sank Atlantis?
Do you have a triangle that vanish vessels?
Have you assigned a coast to the Sargasso Sea?
All these rumours your silence spreads both far and near.
the saltiness of my tears
drips upon my lips and tongue
after rolling down my face
from the blandness of our love
that was a savored passion
until the dawn of heartbreak
when our portions of love changed
and love became spoiled and cold
There is an immersive beauty you experience walking along the shore…
when you experience the sea….
as every sense your body possesses…feels it instantly.
You see an eternity of ocean heading over the horizon
like an endless watery floor…
You smell the salt air all around you…you hear the ocean roar.
You bend down to touch the water.
You taste its saltiness on your hand.
You remove your shoes and allow your feet
to become acquainted with the sand.
You find your voice is silent from the moment you begin
which allows your elevated senses to take all this beauty in.
As you gently walk in silence
finding peace and balance on the shore…
your senses having been unlocked…
are crying out for more.
It feels as if time slows down
just long enough for you to take a closer look….
and you cannot help but smile in this moment
happy this is the path you took.
When it’s time to go you thank the ocean…
whispering, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back to visit you some more.”
because you know you cannot stay away too long
one you have experienced the beauty of the shore.
The smell of cigarettes used to make my chest ache
and my lungs hurt
The bitterness of whiskey made my eyes tear
and my throat burn
But I have picked up the habit of smoking
when I am screaming your name so that whenever
I light up a cigarette It would make my room smell like you.
Whiskey no longer tastes bitter
It tastes sweet at first like your lips
but as I lick my lips all I can taste is the saltiness.
Perceive me through your senses,
Like God in the Old Testament.
Feel the warmth.
Enveloping, comforting your cold heart.
See the sand.
Shimmering, hypnotising you into a trance.
Hear the bubbles.
Stroking, nursing those half-open wounds.
Smell the tranquility.
Meditation, teleportation, unending calm.
Taste the saltiness.
Following, escorting you back home.
Or was the sea shore your home?
Or just a therapy you sought?
Tambourine tears fall with such grace
They actually make music on my face
A festival of salt on blackened skin
Pickled smile teasing the audience again
Bitterness is an acquired fruit
After fasting, it is at least something…to eat
A means of consuming protein…the meat
Of getting back to business and reconstructing
Changes shuttle as seasons flavor the wind
Like melting snow
The saltiness gives way to new perspective
Like lemonade from lemons
Tambourine tears begin to sing
Of jaded joy
Of laughter after loss
Of love and light again
The day you passed
Empty is my heart, full is my mind: filled with what ifs the Shoulda Woulda could have been. Cold nights now, no longer enthralled by your raw essence saltiness after shave and metal. Just thinking of it sends Shivers up my spine, and drives me mental.
The shenanigans twinkling in your eye, the shape of your lip as it traces on my thigh the touch of your hand caressing my shape and back up again.
Sensing your breath upon my neck, callused but soft are your hands, as a mere whimper escapes my mouth.
Now all I see is your death and not your member or our sex.
Your pecs Where it connects to your chest the place I would lay my head and rest there’ your gunshot wound.
In that spot as I lay listening to the pounding feeling you throbbing harder.
Now thoughts of unpleasant thoughts, atrium cardias to rigamortis spooning on me in our bed.
Nighta full of Terror and torture I'm now a mourners with PTSD and anxiety disorder.
Everyone will be salted with fire. “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
Mark 9:49?-?50 NIV
Salt once traded ounce for ounce for gold
To preserve food to not harvest mold
All humans and livestock need salt to survive
As the Queen bee is needed in a hive
Sending out pheromones to give guidance
As we shall hear when we dwell in silence
Let us become the salt of the earth
Absorbing the living water unto a new birth
That we might preserve His word
Coming together into One herd
As the spirit guides each of us in unity
To become a divine community
Each grain looks so tiny
But when coming together is mighty
How can we make salt useful again
By absorbing the the One who brings the rain
the sky abounds with stars tonight
reflections dance across the sea
from far beyond a melody
igniting thoughts of you and me
so miles apart we'd spend in flight
in eagerness to cross the sea
meanwhile distance calls in whispers sweet
and rhythmics sway as one heartbeat
moonlight sultry calls and beckons
for lovers underneath to meet
to bask in warmth and saltiness of air
arm in arm to walk for miles along the beach
AP: 2nd place 2025
I take my daily stroll across the bridge
and at it's high point
I look down upon my possible demise
It's been four long years since I lost my love
she left me and broke my heart entirely
but I'm still a love in disguise
I think about jumping to my death
but am holding out for the hope
that one day again I'll look her in the eyes
Memories of her keep me alive
as she was my one and only true love
the beauty under the bright blue skies
But to have a hug once more
and to taste the saltiness of her lips
could only be my soughted prize
Will tomorrow be the day I jump
Or will she return her love to me
For this I hope to realize
Thursday, April 6, 2023
I Only Live To Love You Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: JCB Brul
THE WAGE OF SIN.
What' should I call this?
Fortune or misfortune?
The fate of my curiosity.
Akin to that of the cat.
A child a blessing from God.
But this seem not to be.
A child out of wedlock!
A bastard they'll call.
My peers have forsaken me.
My mama I opted for.
The worst she has done to me.
She disowned me.
A salt that has lost it saltiness I'm.
What's the remedy to this.
An abortion is a sin, they say.
Leathal as well.
Enough caveats I got,
But I defied,
This grave I dug myself,
Surely I must lie in it.
My dreams shattered down.
Out of school I'm
The star that was about to shine.
Is turning dim daily.
?@Kipngeno Robin.
Tha Formidable Cheru.
one calm, reposeful day, the wind chimes
played a rhapsody of serenity and peace.
each zephyr girdled by the ocean's air
layered the saltiness onto your skin.
a stroll on the esplanade rejuvenated
your dehydrated body and soul.
like a harbor for reflection, your mind
wandered about the limitless horizon,
swayed with the coconut trees'
branches and reached for the sun
against the silky, baby blue backdrop.
it was a perfect day to marvel at the world.
but, was the world enjoying it's view too?
in a contingent episode, nature showed
it's demeanor; it's fury ignited by infamy.
the unrestrained waters were beckoning,
tides were rising and waves caused
a raucous that solicited danger.
the quiet ambience was redacted,
chaos and madness in close vantage.
like that, life becomes at risk of desolation,
the untainted, crystalline sea waters that
created an idyll of a scene shifted to
a frame of terror and disturbance.
how absurd of nature to decoy a monster
from a then- tamed body of water.
a phenomenon of a tsunami
that can threatened the mere
spans of your homeland; an island,
a minute dot holding your little world.
you prayed that this day never comes.
Salt of the earth
intended for flavor
Lacking in saltiness,
what’s there to savor?
No longer useful
ends in defeat
thrown out and trampled
under the feet
There for the world
shining and bright
up on a hill
out in plain sight
Not under a basket,
on a stand, before men
Reflecting His glory
not light from within
Works in your own strength:
a bit like leaven
Reflect your Father’s
glory from heaven
(from Matthew 5)
careening through outer space
on this giant blue marble
sailing upon the waters
called the sea of discontent
when came the time of evil
the saltiness of sorrow
yet a revival of hope
and with a return to love
bring about the paradise
we have long been waiting for
date:3/17/22
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