Short Batten Poems

Dark tornadic skies
batten down the Oz hatches
twisters by the score...

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when hatch down did batten
then up would have to fatten
when I learned Latin...

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A confirmed landlubber is my friend Pete
  At water sports my friend Pete can't compete
    Once he tried on some skis
    Almost drowned in the sea
  Going rafting? ~ Batten down Pete's aisle seat...

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Batten down hatches
as hurricane season is
with us once again.

The alphabet will
roll out names like Katrina
fraught with memories

even for west coast
voyeurs in awe of weather
we never have felt....

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fluttering lashes soon part
cheek touching toward heaven
through their weave the stars appear
pin pricks on black batten night


Contest: Hammock in the Sky - Tanaga
Poet: Debbie Guzzi
Date: 9/5/12

*Cheeky /saucy, audacious, bold....

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Radar plays out Space Invaders;
Yellow, red: they swarm our base.
Thunder booming like a cannon;
Batten hatches, just in case.
Rain is falling at the moment;
We need at least an hour more.
Drop the shields, lower defenses;
Come on in, clouds - time to score!
...

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As howling winds whip up the sea,
and foamy waves crash on the beach.
Autumn storms begin to speak
The summer sun is out of reach.

There’s lashing rain and darkened skies
It’s time to sit by the fireside
With shorter days and longer nights
Batten the hatches and prepare to hide!
...

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The best trip of all

The gentle sounds
The ultimate peace
Safe from the ground
I'm a masterpiece 

Muted beats
Slow waves of satin
Entirely complete 
Clothed in cotton batten 

Nothing to fear
Utter serenity 
I exist here
Where I am meant to be

This blissful room
Is my mothers womb...

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Life is full of fun;
But without batten 
Of values beacon
Life will be just a hun.
If you want in life won
Approx values bidden –
Not money, values one
Can lead to success done.
Difference between bison
And you is not a billion
But values based action.
It sets your steps begun
From beast to a good human....

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Let me tell you a tale
Of a wild ride on the tail
Of a whale

So through the water he splashes
Hither and fro he dashes
Batten down the hatches

I never thought Id ride a whale anywhere
Its fun up in the air
But terrible under the water down there

So up and down I go
For how long I don't know
I just hope he doesn't blow...

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The dust dappled panes of window 
glass shiver,
in their winter finery of frost crystals.

Elaborate patterns form, 
lace-like in their elegance;
cloaking the everyday remnants 
of drearier days.

And, as the morning sun rises higher
in the cotton batten sky,
the finery transmutes, tears form;
streaking the dirty face of dawn....

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spirit hunter,
you stalk the shadow moon
neck straining to uncoil upon diaphanous night

what whisper have you heard
above the creak of batten board
the shiver of a window pane

arched and graceful  is your silhouette
cat eyed guardian
moonlight prowler 
paw prancer

settle the unsettled ones from
fear and in insubstantial light
protect with tooth
and claw your Mother’s
night...

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- Underway
Batten down hatches,
Engine order telegraph...
Clangs full steam ahead.

- Crossing The Bar
Gray sky’s foreboding,
Waves crashing over the bow...
The steal womb shudders.

- Making Way
The days grow longer,
As gulls climb on the fresh breeze...
Betwixt and between.

- Arrival
Red, right, returning,
Tugs hasten our arrival...
Heaving lines are thrown.

...(fall, winter, spring, summer)...

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Hurricane Matthew is lurking like a message from the Devil.
It is sinister and daunting, putting millions in peril.
The forces of nature are giving us an ominous hello,
Putting on an enormous and frightening show.

This is a sobering reminder of our fragile mortality.
We pray that disaster won’t be a sad reality.
You have to respect the size of this monster storm.
Batten down the hatches, and watch it perform!...

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A frayed nail loneliness hovers there
up in the cobalt evening's heaven,
screaming

Curved like a cat's claw it scrapes the sky
down, down, night's batten clouds hover, cover,
screaming

Some sounds bring only silence, stoke the fear
of loneliness within this clay shell,
screaming

No one's here so who can really hear, tell,
of the pain the hang nail moon relates
screaming 


Dixdeux O

See About the Poem...

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Listen to poem:

Written: October 21, 2023, For Mohan Chutani Minichu Dream Contest
                          ______________________________

Orchards in glowing pink
dream blossoms swung in a tone of crimson pattern
nectar drink 

would dare to dream
orchid bow bring bright breath batten
wind stream!

ghost chime
the moon may learn
climb!!

orchards in glowing pink
orchid bow bring bright breath batten
climb!!...

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Batten down the hatches – 
A storm is on its way.
Don’t know when it’s comin’
Or how long it’s gonna stay.

Every market’s crowded – 
People gathering supplies.
No one wants to be caught short
Or taken by surprise.

Plans are being canceled,
Dates all rearranged – 
Phones and laptops busy as
New info is exchanged.

We’re ready for the tempest – 
We’ve got flashlights, candles, matches.
I’m prepared to do some battening,
But what the hell are hatches?...

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An effervescent ever-pheasant's
   odyssey really ought to see
   my grain's migraine
      and Lem 'n Ma rang pie

Of course, no bull's noble
   as Maple's may pull
   and gopher's go-fer
     dozen 't batten I

Camel-flesh is camouflaged
   yet a manatee's not a man 'o tea
   though a miss is a miss
      a baby is a bay bee

Enclosing in closing, Ion I must say
   (that) while bee gone is begone
   (still) Hi and high need hie
      but a by is a buy is a bye...

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