Short Bayles Poems

november gray
the whisper
of love lost
...

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in the bramble
off a quiet side street
i hide...

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midnight reflections
in my room
light turned on...

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sunny day
spring whispers
outside my window

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early sunlight
peaks through shrubbery
front yard veiled...

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to the beat beat beat my heart bears
the melody holds dear the magic spell
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love
she sings
after our brief conversations
now she lingers in shadows
dreams...

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ghosts of my dreams linger
as a truck rumbles through the alley
on its morning rounds...

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morning’s cold whisper

a moment’s flurry
disappears

a southerly breeze
warms my heart
hopes of spring
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sun breaks through clouds
as I stand alone
sprouts through ground
a day in spring
the time to live again

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icicles on gutters

glisten in light
of early morning

reflections of sun
when sitting alone
my dreams of spring
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morning stillness

I sit at my table
and look out the window

after rain
the sun pokes through clouds
waking dreams
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a heavy fall of snow

restless I stay inside
and look out the window

my future waits
for the melt
another time and place
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the
cold spell
morning sleeps
I dream of spring
north winds sweep the yard
fir branches dance and sway
with eyes closed I dream of spring...

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an unpacked suitcase is sitting in my room
the quiet side street in front of the house broken
the sky outside my window a highway to the stars 
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words i put on page
shared with librarian
at information desk
find new meanings
when read between lines
friendship defined

Bite Size Poem
May 20, 2023...

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clouds cast shadows
rain here, snow elsewhere
winds from the north
today
I sleep in, then write
verse to share
my love
I wish she was here
my love 
verse to share
I sleep, in then write
today
winds from the north
rain here, snow elsewhere
clouds cast shadows
...

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soft reflections
after rain
cardinals dance
the refrigerator hums
time whispers
not quite spring
I write a poem
my friend
she waits for me
my friend
I write a poem
not quite spring
time whispers
the refrigerator hums
cardinals dance
after rain
soft reflections

...

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a flourish of birdsongs
the new sun glows
through haze in the sky
i stand behind the house
a day of my becoming
something more
or less of myself
a moment of reflection
a poem of mine
longs to be written
line and verse
this day
when everything
is ending
everything begins...

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She lives just down the street from everyone.
Older couples like to talk about her over coffee.
She is the salt of the earth, golden shafts of wheat
waving in wind. She walks her dog, and it sits.

Lines from Everyone's Sister by Mike Bayles
Liberum Divisa Poetry Contest
September 5, 2021...

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Early in the summer
my classmates and I gathered outside
for a rededication ceremony.
A priest blessed a new bench
and we promised we would
find and replace a memorial stone

while 

a younger class
who embraced their youth
shouted and laughed
running in and out
of the high school—
theirs for the weekend.
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the lake where they hid
a memory

their song
sublimated

a cattail beaten
remnants taken by wind

a semi roars past
someone calls progress

someone says
ninety percent chance of rain

someone says
dance barefoot through puddles

a murder of crows shadows skies
someone looks to the sun

the sun reflects
faceless waters
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restless perceptions lie
in shadows they stir

in moments of silence words stir
as they wait to take form

the house is still
but it breathes

outside the window
a yard light shines a star

in the back of the house
a quiet side street

notes jotted down in haste
wait for the morning light

a love poem to be written
waits to be shared
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Sharp voices fade
when I close my eyes
so many dreams lie inside
he can’t see.

He can’t see
lingering lines
as they long for paper
and they long to be.

They long to be
poems and stories
and I hear music
and raise my arms.

And raising my arms
I want to swirl around the room
like a summer storm
so free to move

over open prairie land....

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I answer the morning’s call
under the endless sky
a touch of the sun’s gold 
on the mirrored face of a pond
by the highway as the land rises
from shadows a promise
of day as I drive
through the countryside
driving from Madison 
to my assignment
my life unfolds in silence
and I’m bearing my age
but I embrace the moment
as if my life’s just begun
...

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