Right or wrong it won't take long
to see whose side you're on
as for me I'm on my mine
although I know
no one's in my corner
and that's fine
body and soul will survive
in control I'll get by
stay whole get out alive
for when the fan is hit
then down are all the chips
but never lost at sea
or in the bewilderness
unlike passing ships
tried and true it's no or yes
will they won't they
as whichever way
the breeze may blow
in sunshine rain and snow
or apparently prevails
born with a built-in BS-detector
I'm my own whether vane
known to keep wind in my sails
Not nearly long enough, a king’s words
what to expect from a tyrant's paradox absurd
She holds the cobalt blue bowl to her lips
making sure not a drop is lost as consumed
a grape tint gauze tied gently around her hips
it tells of an impregnated womb
a farewell toast to the warriors aboard ships
or a drink of what they’ll lack, that and more
of the destiny a young husband has in store
departing are ships, she ponders them upon the sea
the open book in front of her kept unread
behind her, replacement ships underway, as relief
what has been too long, for any sailor this dread
out at sea in despair of the unknowing, the grief
Of sailors jumping overboard, an S O S ignored
what any wife can’t bear, their king has no empathy
furious are the wives of the lies told
a sword has stricken through the hearts of gold
replacement ships finally, underway to relieve
what has been too long for any sailor out at sea
If my despair can sink ships like a storm,
and my shores are consumed by tidal gloom,
like apples spoiled by a devouring worm,
where rot and mind's decay lead to my doom,
then its poison prevents me from relief
and cure—and the escape from manic death!
This weight of sorrow crushes out my life,
and drains from my lungs God's life-giving breath.
But thou, sweet Rose, restore my soul and joy.
(Grant me your healing grace, your balm, your light.)
If fate grants me one more thing to enjoy,
it is your hand that holds me through the night.
Though life's despair may never quite depart,
I live because you hold me in your heart.
This old lighthouse wants to say,
about the cold clouds of gray.
When it rained all night and day,
with the keeper wanting to pray.
Then the sun would come out to play,
making the blue sea a pretty highway.
This old lighthouse saw many ships,
some sailed by and some smashed like a souffle.
Sailing by were many birds of prey,
telling the old lighthouse it was like a cast away.
Old lighthouse even on Christmas day,
I can not getaway.
For the old lighthouse and keeper was it judgment day?
Why did the keeper want to stay?
Why not just run away?
The keeper knew he could not leave ~ no way,
telling God they both were not a runway.
rugged wave battered
rocky coast of Maine
ships easily smashed
in to kindling
cold Labrador current
sweeping down from Canada
claims many lives
sixty-five lighthouses built
from Lobster Point in the south
to Whitlock’s Mill in the north
bass fog horns and
flashing lights
guide the sailors
home from the sea
The stench of freedom gone,
Trapped in a cage on water,
Chained to mirrors of their own fate,
Condemned to a slow death - with their own neighbours
Slowly roasting in a human sized oven,
Contrasting to the cold waters beneath -
A new home for those who choose to rest in peace
Trapped like sardines packed in a can,
No hope, no oxygen, no way out,
Bodies become one,
As their flesh seek help,
As their blood leaks out,
Their mouths a drought,
Voices caught by deathly sounds,
Echoes of whips travel around,
A warning - a preview of what is to come when they reach land
Passing Ships and Fools
When you define yourself
and bare all to see,
the truth revealed
is that they’ll see a fool.
When I was young,
they said I was foolish,
and now that I’m old,
they say I’m a fool!
“No fool like an old fool,” they say,
“clinging to the past!”
When we were young
and tussled in the grass,
some cried uncle, some didn’t;
most of us wavered.
With age, you’d think
we’d learn and get smarter,
but instead, we got dumber.
“If only” woke up
and walked out the door;
chalk it up to experience.
In my youth, I was a sailor
who sailed the seas.
Today, I make merry
and tell stories.
***
how many people do you think go missing on cruise ships?
My grandson said seven thousand
I asked how many years
he thought one
Obviously, he has been watching too much C.I.S. Miami
I researched this “for fun today”
because I am strangely weird.
In the past two decades guess how many have gone missing?
Hint: seven thousand is way too high
four hundred people have gone missing from cruise ships
in twenty years
that’s twenty people a year
In ten years two hundred people have gone overboard and been seen
forty-eight of them were rescued
Now do you see why I never plan to go on a cruise?
It is May 1872
The Mary Celeste, a large ship has been abandoned
where is her crew?
where is the captain?
they have disappeared without any trace.
Forty-five years later
The USS Cyclops disappeared
Three hundred and nine people have never been found
This time, things were different
The ship was gone too.
Nine ships have vanished.
Many of us have speculated what might have happened.
Did a giant sea monster take these ships down to the ocean floor?
Did she eat all the meat and release the Mary Celeste so it could bob to the surface?
Is there a giant aquatic bigfoot down there?
It is curious.
I’ll speak of me past of stories once told.
Of men that rode waves out in the cold.
Tales of the strong, the courageous, the bold.
Most of them died young, a few were quite old.
The things that they done sent chills up my spine.
They’d eat mush and swill and drink rum and wine.
When they were happy, they had a swagger.
When they were drunk, they could hardly stagger.
Over and over to battle they’d go,
They’d fight dragons and monster, toe to toe.
They faced their sure death with almost no fear,
They’d charge into battle with a loud cheer.
They looked for treasure, none was ever found.
Pirates ’til death, by their pledge, they were bound.
'Follow your dream'
easier said than done
as the girl of my dreams
for me she is the only one
and yet for her I don't exist
she sees through me sad to say
don't have what (it) takes her fancy
won't even look my way
as ships which pass in the night
our two hearts will never meet
I find mine's a dead-end dream
on the wrong side of a one-way street
The lighthouse hums beneath a ghostly sky,
fog bruises the restless sea's breath,
no ships will come tonight.
The wench was eagerly thrown overboard
Why did you do that? I asked Captain McCord
That dolly said a pumpkin is an overgrown gourd
The wench sprang from the sea carrying a sword
Became the new pirate queen after slaying McCord
To the moon above
On mission of grand conquest
Men in lunar launch
Defining moment
In “One giant leap for mankind”
Prints in lunar dust
Stars and Stripes planted
The flag flies but does not wave
In moon’s atmosphere
In that adventure
Proud men and women served
I was among them
Soon many giant steps
Were made on terra firma
To visit again
Time has written much
Since the day of that landing
About ships in space
To the realm of stars
Will mankind rise to the task
Peace in hostile space
LIVING LIFE LOOSELY, I CHOOSE TO DREAM MY DREAMS LUCIDLY
LIVING LIFE LIKE ME IS DREARY WOE IS ME.
LIVING LIFE IN A DREAM, I'VE NEVER FELT SO FREE .
LIVING LIFE IN REALITY, SLEEPING SOLACES ME.
LIVING LIFE IN A DREAM TRANSLUCENT, HAPPY, AND GLITTERY.
NOW I SLEEP PEACEFULLY BECAUSE I'LL STAY FOR ETERNITY. - Maleeeon
11/14/23
5:34 PM
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.