Hail Holy Queen
Mother of Mercy
Hail our life
Our sweetness
And our hope!
To you do we cry poor banished children of (Mama) Eve
To you do we send up our sighs
Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears
Turn then O most gracious advocate
Your eyes have mercy toward us
And after this
Our exile
(Please) show us the blessed fruit of your womb (Father Christ)
O Clement
O loving
O Sweet Virgin Mother Mary!
Poetry Form: Free verse
Date Typed: May 19, 2025
Time Typed: 9:35pm
Brandishing the lightning lance, the sun arrives,
The mighty, majestic monarch of the day.
Kissing the mouldy mountain rows, he comes
Banishing mist and frost from night’s blotched brow.
In what rich ruby ring of radiance, he appears
Smearing and splotching liquid gold, he gracefully moves
With sparkling splashes, the world becomes bright
The prompt and punctual rooster raises his raucous revelry.
Birds and beasts wake up from their slumberous sleep.
The feathered folks tweet and twitter in harmonious notes.
The verdant vales below send up a welcoming sign.
The leaves stay bright tipped with dainty droplets of dew.
Morn, the bashful, mousy maiden with modest grace,
Peeps and peeks through half drawn curtains in the East.
Removing all trace of a tarnished yesterday,
The day arrives making me smile in burgeoning bliss.
We left our Nation's sign up on the Moon,
with footprints clear, and flag still standing tall.
A stepping stone to future times in space?
Or wars to claim the Moon- never to share?
Our footprints live- these years have not erased
the glory of that day we etched its sand.
Some have placed flags- but not by human hands,
and woe the day they fight to seize the Moon;
to change it from the Earth's celestial scene-
to victory, they'd seize through cosmic wars.
Now, this framed poem I would send up there
as my heartfelt memento on the Moon-
pray that my words inspire countries to share
its vantage point to leap from and explore!
Today I’m grateful for the stars
because on the twinkling light of their beams…
all I have to do is close my eyes
to send up my wishes, hopes and dreams.
Mysterious Storm
Sun and rain merge
Mysterious
Wild downpour
Waves send up mists
Raindrops born
Brandishing the lightning lance, the sun arrives,
The mighty, majestic monarch of the day.
Kissing the mouldy mountain rows, he comes,
Banishing mist and frost from night’s blotched brow.
With what rich ruby ring of radiance he appears,
Smearing liquid gold, he gracefully moves.
Sparkling splashes spread and the world becomes bright.
The punctual rooster raises his raucous revelry.
Birds and beasts wake up from their slumberous sleep.
The feathered folks begin to warble their symphony.
The verdant vales below send up a welcoming sign.
The leaves stay bright tipped with dainty droplets of dew.
Morn, the bashful maiden with modest grace,
Peeps through half drawn curtains in the East.
Removing all trace of a worn out yesterday,
Sun comes and mellow murmurs grow into melodies.
Two people and a dream
It is easy to start a war, send up a rocket, and get one in return and spiteful words lead to hatred of the sort
the consumes the soul and reason disappears in the fog
of odium that can only end in the slaughter of a nation
The military invasion of Gaza began with righteous anger and a thirst for revenge, but now as vengeance
has been sated it is time to end this if it is not too late
the political leader of the invading nation is tired, he knows he was overreaching himself to his enemies at home's delight, his face drawn and depressed as he senses the prize to pay for failure, a political death
His name will forever be the one who started a war that
nearly brought his own country into nuclear ashes only
stopped by those he had hated the most
In the end, we might live to see a country of two people
where religion is a private affair that does not interfere in the daily life of the people
And this nation shall be mighty and bring peace to a region that has, for too long, been in the shadows of so many
wars suffered where much blood has been spilled
His heart would flutter, so in love was he.
She was smart, well-read, and a great beauty
So under the moon, on his bended knee,
He pleaded with her, "Will you marry me?"
The answer, "yes", he was relieved to hear,
Then they both decided the time next year.
"But your diamond takes longer, true, I fear."
He rued the remark that saddened his dear.
"Oh, it will be shipped to you by and by.
'Bout ten years", he said, for he could not lie.
"It's a rare red diamond that I did buy,
And lodged in an asteroid in the sky."
"When the rock flies near to our planet's place,
We will send up a rocket to its face,
So we can dig out the gems from its base,
And you will wear a ring from outer space".
Connections continue to exist
Despite the daunting distance
Loving hard leads to an enlarged heart
Leaving left over capacity
To slice off a sliver to send up to the sky
At the same time have room to accept
Dedication of devotion sent down
Never forgetting the bond that was built
In spite of the sad separation
Twenty years have passed since that last cigarette.
Tonight, out of the clear blue, I craved a king-size ***--
The one thing out of everything I know I’d soon regret.
Suddenly, my forehead broke out in tiny beads of sweat.
I sat quietly, staring, thinking about the suffocating drag;
Twenty years have passed since that last cigarette.
Years swiftly pass and the mind still cannot forget,
It should be the first to send up the signal, the red flag,
The one thing out of everything I know I’d soon regret.
I was a teenager when the Marlboro man and I first met
In a hole-in-the-wall café where we teens danced the rag,
Twenty years have passed since that last cigarette.
At fifty I gave up smoking when my heart became upset
Over twenty-five years I have not had one, I must not brag,
The one thing out of everything I know I’d soon regret.
I know I would pass up that cigarette, even if I lost a bet,
Nothing would be worth it; the thought of it makes me gag,
Twenty years have passed since that last cigarette,
The one thing out of everything I know I’d soon regret.
Written April 8, 2021
The ice crystals that glistened like diamonds throughout the winter months—December, January, February—slowly melted away and the crunchy green grass, now supple and bright, slowed to make way for the fall’s bulbs to send up shoots and bud. The tiny pink crocus shouts, “I’m here! I’m here! Notice me!” And, so I do. I stop and gently touch the lovely, fragile petals and wonder how they had survived since last September when I had buried them five inches into the topsoil.
A crocus called out
"I am alive, look at me!"
Spring has surely come.
TENTH PLACE WINNER
Written March 9, 2021
for Springtime Haibun Contest
Sponsored by M. L. Kiser
Winter P’s and Q’s
Poised in the alluring perfume
Of dawn’s first light,
Robed in views of new unbroken snows,
Like winter’s penance of poise,
Palms of Spanish Dagger with steel blue spikes
Send up quick questions in quaint quandary
To threatening platinum skies
Of their intentions to quiver in a repeat rondeau
With the poise of a midwinter minuet
By sending snowflakes to cover the harbor quay,
The gaudy gallery of empty tree limbs
And haunting gnomes of frozen fences posts
To fill the space around their round hearts
Then leave their empty arms entreating the cold sky
Now wearing new identities as porcupine snowballs!
Based on seeing spikey plants in a snowstorm.
Eight words used:
platinum, penance, poise, perfume
quay, quiver, quandary, quaint
3-1-21
Contest: Mind Your P’s and Q’s
Sponsor: Michelle Faulkner
Think for a dad-bloomin' minute, if you will,
About a world totally free of our trash
There would no longer be need for a landfill.
This earth, I say, could replenish in a flash
If we all were not so blasted arrogant,
Wasteful and silly with our almighty cash.
Entitlement makes selfishly confident
Strewing literally tons of litter out--
We must not be so thoughtless and ignorant.
The oceans will send up a glorious shout
All the creatures will be happier and bright
The world will be much cleaner without a doubt.
And, the earth will soon be a beautiful sight
Without our dirty stinking garbage to fight.
Written on February 14, 2021
For D. W. Rodgers Contest
"While the Earth Gently Moans"
Paint me a picture, sing me a song
Show me the niche where I belong
Carve me a sculpture, build me a house
Show me the library where I can browse
Write me a story, stitch me a quilt
Inside the house you already built
Cook me a meal, teach me to fish
Blow out my candles and make me a wish
Now I'm on my own and my spirit groans
A clone of a clone, just a bag of bones
With a heart of stone sitting alone
Until I was shown what I should've known
Preach me a sermon, send up a prayer
Life's not easy and it's not fair
Scream a diatribe, deliver a rant
I won't help you I'm no sycophant
Turn on the radio, turn on the T.V.
Let the white noise drown out the cacophony
Fluff my pillow and make my head
Say a few words when I am dead
In a sycamore tree so I can see
In the canopy filled with reverie
When I hear a decree directed at me
I sit quietly and prayerfully
Hey, Brother I've noticed that you talk to God;
And you see into the Lord;
And you talk to him profusely;
And you're not ashamed,
to speak his name;
privately or publicly...
Well could you send up a prayer for me;
Could you pray for me;
For you could send up a prayer for me;
Could you pray for me;
Would you pray for me;
COULD you petition a word for me,
to the heavenly FATHER
I don't think it would be a bother;
Pray for me I'm your lost brother, I'm your brother
Could you send up a prayer for me;
Now you have two knees
Could you bend down and use one for me,
to send a praise report for me;
Because you're not ashamed
Speak his name, Amen
8/3/11
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2011, 2020
From Anthology " The Writing's on the Wall "
Sub Categories
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.