Short Harkening Poems

Harkening back to the grandeur of Greece and Rome
The dark fog of repression would slowly lift
Long cloistered souls found a brighter home
Minds free to create, no greater gift

10/29/22
This Or That, Vol 14 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh...

Read More

Lead point scratching 
Pink eraser scrubbing, 
Ticking time catching 
My eyes, I'm rubbing 

Inspiration sparing
Rhyme and word fighting, 
White lines staring
Thumb and finger writing 

Yellow #2 shrinking 
Lines ever darkening, 
My eyelids blinking 
My mind harkening 

Hours ever zooming 
Crumpled paper piling, 
Good enough is looming
I find myself smiling. 
...

Read More

TAHITI



If you leave, the island
Rests a sad face on its paws
And longs for your return,
Harkening for the oar-splash
Of your approaching boat.

If you never return,
It remembers your face
All  life  long.


...........................

Historical Note

Mutineers on the BOUNTY  had to leave the island and never return, but it stayed in their consciousness forever....

Read More

Night filters sight and sound
into separate caves of awareness,
Owls and nightjar's duet
in different tunnels of time.

For generations
the forest has gathered here,
it has its own language,
one rooted through layers
of nocturnal sentience.

In the harkening cabin 
sounds interface,
lull mind and ears,
into imaginary auditoriums.

Subliminal arboreal words
read me to sleep -
thoughts rustle like
whispering leaves.
...

Read More

September’s end descended swiftly
on the island of Manitou, as dark clouds
and strong winds vanquished yesterday’s
sun, bringing gray skies and cold rain.

In the fields, sandhill cranes gather,
then lift, en masse, silhouetted against
a sombre sky, their raucous cries harkening
to prehistoric times as they disappear across
the horizon following the east wind which
will carry them to Michigan and beyond.

We lower our heads and pedal on....

Read More

Like a painting.
Almost the same thing,
Except not so flat.
And more than that-
Blooming effortlessly.
As if by destiny.
But its true fate,
Is for its beauty to abate.
That is what happens to an eclipse.
After a moment, time will elapse.
Colors that move on.
Feels like waking up at dawn.
This afternoon,
Is not full of doom.
Just a moment of shade.
Harkening a halo of jade.
Thank you sun, thank you moon.
We hope to see another show soon!...

Read More

When a smile gives you a reason to liv
How can affection not be the first thing you choose to give
When a kiss gives you a long forgotten tingle
Harkening back to the days when the world was single
When looking into your eyes makes me see the stars
Like I just witnessed a super nova burst from a far
You are so incredible that words can not describe
What my soul, my heart, my essence, my spirt does derive
From just seeing your beautiful eyes come alive...

Read More

Fiery Flames of mornings early light,
                             A lonesome bird caws, then soars in flight

                          An illuminated sky, streaked in strains of grey,
                               Harkening the advent of another day

                             Phantom clouds pause, slowly passing by;
                          Wistful trees, shedding their seasonal display,
                                        Winter, is not far away...

Read More

Listen to poem:

*Image of Vulnerability by The Conversation.

Coma

Endeavoring eyes opened
to the nothingness ere it.

Harkening labyrinths aches
to the silence yond.

Alone spoke I and
loneliness echoed
in faint whispers.

There remains
a trace of me
airing silently

the breath of
belonging.


Inspired: 2022 March 28
*7th Place*
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 4
~~Mark Toney: Judged 2022 June 25
*1st Place*
A BRIAN STRAND 1098
~~Brian Strand: Judged 2022 March 30...

Read More