Short Churchyard Poems

in a churchyard
the pink dogwood
sheds it's blossoms...

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in a churchyard
the pink dogwood
sheds it's blossoms...

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Churchyard on Sundays –
The child still waits for a sound
From the empty can.

7/20/14...

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No
plants 'neath
in its shade,
no rooks in a
nest-
the lonely
bereft life
of a churchyard
tree...

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crystal flakes twinkle

through autumn's bare canopy...

leaves sparkling in the dark



yellow the tree's hues

painting attic of churchyard...

like fall's innocence





...............
Skat's Autumn Haiku
10/23/2015...

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Cold fingers of mist draw ground ghosts
over churchyard graves.

It's a pretty scene and the underlay
of shallow bones
adds a musky flavone of finality
that seeps
from the green mounds.

A Pitbull on a leash
tugs at a pale hand
eager to dig and chew,

as if he knew....

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Shall find some space upon this yard
It is just a matter of days, 
The inmates here will give no room
For they are stubborn in their ways.

Fit in here is a task I must
Though I have not the faintest clue, 
Of how on earth could that be done
But do know I am stubborn too.
        ***********...

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Rivulets of crimson blood
Ooze tantalisingly from the gaping wound on her neck
He drinks hungrily, savouring every salty drop
Dracula wraps his black cape around his shoulders
Fleeing in the moonlight to his crypt in the churchyard.

07~25~16

Crimson Contest Sponsored by Royal Ninja...

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I dreamed I saw the grave of Ernest Dowson
Bleakly set
In some forgotten churchyard corner,
Lone and wet.

The spectral London fog descended cold on 
Sentry grass
Where seldom any visitors or pilgrims
Deign to pass.

And in my reverie I bravely scattered
Roses there, 
And felt a frail and wispy “Thank you”
Warm the air....

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Crystal dewdrop jewels pendent from leafless Hawthorne
over snowdrop pearls and early golden buds of daffodil.
A blackbird upon Sparrow, Peggy Gladys does adorn,
while morning light accentuates the name of Mitchell, Bill.
I look behind, my footsteps in the dew a path have worn,
past Throwers by the row, as well as Bunting, Jane. Stowe, Daniel....

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The moonlight casts feint ghostly shadows
In the graveyard of All Hallows.
The clock strikes twelve high in the tower
And by the headstone stands a flower –
It’s Nature’s tribute and a sign :
These shades of John and Caroline
Who haunt this moonlit churchyard now,
Still faithful to their marriage vow,
Walk hand in hand eternally,
Forgotten by their family....

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eerie uncanny
                                empty churchyard sinister
                                     Owl hoots tu-whooo


                                        November 4, 2022
                     Brian Strand's Haiku, Tanka, Footle Contest

                              Bitesize Poem 55 Poetry Contest
                                      Sponsor: Line Gauthier...

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Sorcerer wearies of casting
Spells that nobody can feel,
Ghouls are impatient with fasting,
Death-knells no longer will peal.

Churchyard is grown up with wild weeds,
Marble tombs settle and crack,
Will-o-wisp dies in the marsh reeds,
Leprechauns never come back.

Vampires without an oasis,
Banshees with nothing to moan,
Ghosts who can’t find where their place is,
Skeletons, grave-less, alone....

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Sorcerer wearies of casting
Spells that nobody can feel,
Ghouls are impatient with fasting,
Death-knells no longer will peal.

Churchyard is grown up with wild weeds,
Marble tombs settle and crack,
Will-o-wisp dies in the marsh reeds,
Leprechauns never come back.

Vampires without an oasis,
Banshees with nothing to moan,
Ghosts who can’t find where their place is,
Skeletons, grave-less, alone....

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Fresh flakes come pirouetting down
To softly lie below
And cloak the peaceful churchyard in
A crystal bed of snow.

Young choristers in unison
Raise voices to proclaim
The dawning of redeeming grace
And glory of His name.

And once again this Christmas time
The Saviour’s love imparts 
An everlasting gift of peace
To humble, contrite hearts.


01.12.19

F T I SPECIAL for advent : Brian Strand...

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something that was promised

in quiet moments when 
night creeps on 
toward its soft dawn bed 
I wonder
why we agreed 
so long ago
at this time to meet

who were we then before 
blithe spirits silted 
from our mortal coils 
to lay in unknown churchyard 
or battle field
what was our reincarnate pledge
as sudden as a lightning strike
some where beneath my ribs
you came to me all swirling words

and I knew you...

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Seven beautiful lines contest, 
Sponsor Constance La France
Posted 21/3/25 

Through the auld Kirk gate in the churchyard wall 
The rough green field where my ancestors lie
Woodbine and ivy around the graves sprawl 
With Rosemary and rue growing nearby 
Where wild rabbits mutter when screech owls cry
Safe in the shadow of granite tombstones
A jewel I loved, my grandmother’s bones
...

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Teenage boys smoke marijuana in their Backyard,
The Priests make the smoke from incense grace the churchyard.

Harlots woo their clients like lovers,
Preachers spread God’s word in street corners.

Cops battle gangsters and fraudsters,
Angels battle demons and monsters.

A Pastor is on the Pulpit serving God’s Meal,
A Rapper is on stage keeping it real.

The D.J  feels the club with Jive,
The Choir Hymns make the Temple come Alive....

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Old souls once loved and grieved
long forgotten all they achieved.
Laid to rest in an old churchyard
With a solitary tree standing guard.
Eternally sleeping peaceful and shaded
names they once had, long since faded
Memories entombed behind a dry stone wall,
with the soothing chirrup of a sparrows call.
Overgrown grass, dead flowers rot
as these old souls are long forgot.
Now distant echoes of another time 
Slowly disappearing as weeds entwine...

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............
.............
...............
.................
...............
Love knows-
no division,
an open decision, 
adversity matters-
not, love seizes the-
opportunity. God's-
heart, an open-
playground. 
The world ... His-
grand churchyard. 
Empowered are those-
who know this, remain-
willing, live to show this-
be honest with themselves.
They know, peace is not fleeting.
In the offering love is abounding.
.....
......

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