Short Startle Poems

magnolia blossoms
scattered by a leaping frog
startle drinking deer...

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Quiet New Year's Eve 
sudden bursts of fireworks 
startle sleeping dogs...

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The skies are crying…
Startle birds fly to their nests…
Worms have a party....

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Stiff neck, sore aching muscles
curse those who want to 
Startle me!! Oh the pain!...

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The future does not startle me anymore
The gift of now is my shield
Made of a native rock,
right here 
I stand protected....

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Moving at the pace  of a turtle
pick up the pace there is no hurdle!
Kindly move over
can't go any slower;
If I hop past you don't startle....

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Though the word 'Jesus' rhymes with 'please us,'
Exclaimed! -- It can startle and freeze us
  --Creates its own breeze
  --Lifts skirts above knees
Even when said just to tease us...

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a hummingbird's wings

rotating before my eyes . .  .

my sweetest startle


Aug. 16, 2018 for Tania Kitchin's Hummingbird Haiku Contest
Now for Brian Strand's Hi-Ku(3) Poetry Contest...

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Phantom ceiling squeaks
impish night owl’s egg and spoon 
race cancelled by ghost
thunder rolls startle 
mischievous sprites in a trance.
spine-tingling plot now unfolds at lightening speed
Milky Way spins an oafish chuckle....

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An inkwell cupcake if you please.
Frost it with adverbs.
Sprinkle it with adjectives.
Don’t be stingy.
You can add more.
Make it glitter.
Make it pop!
Startle yourself.
Bake it whatever degree
Coleridge, Whitman, Thoreau and Poe would have used....

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howling artic gusts 
startle flock in snow-clad pine …
frozen boughs snapped off  

Date originally posted to Poetry Soup : 8th Of December 2022

Date posted to contest : 9th Of December 2022


How Many Syllables and Poetry Soup Grammar verified...

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i think we do agree,
before we are born , 
to spend some time together, 
the ones that draw and startle some, 
but never stay no never, one,
a flash in the pan,
a labour of love, 
and then they're gone forever???  
some?

Don

re: "Another Life"
Debbie Duncan...

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The melody gradually filters
Through my being 
Filling my soul with joy
I go with it savouring, anticipating
It’s genius – no other thoughts enter
Just floating with the melody
Surprised by some discords they startle me
Prepare me for the majesty of sound to come...

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People who do not know me
ask me when I will retire.

My plan is this
To go out in a body bag
when my body stops working.

With a neon pink toe tag
but not in front of the children
I do not want to hear their crying

It might wake me up and
that would startle the EMTs....

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Off with the old
Into the new
Januarys gallant attempt
To startle the Year
Except we’ve been swimming in the rain
Refashioned old shoes with stitches
Missed the right pub
Spoilt for choice
Photography at Blackfriars
Perhaps its muse time
Find my friends keys
he needs a new mojo...

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Turtle Hurtle sat on a myrtle
                                       And Waving kisses to Mrs. Startle
                                                   Startle fell apart
                                                  Lost her a la carte
                                       Old Startle had nothing to smartle...

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Drink her water
Breathe her air 
Bask in sun's bright glare
Feed upon natures delights 
Lay and watch the starry night 
Stroke the faithful
Dig the soil
Sail the seas 
Climb the heights
Lunar love 
Rivers run
Milk made
Beast beings marveled
Birds startle
Fish swim
Her and him
Planets giddy
Stars collide
A great universal ride...

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The dawn speeds swift upon night's lovers
Dark nooks surprised by harsh sunlight
Soon startle to their morning manners
The dawn speeds swift upon night's lovers
Their sweetness, daybreak swallows not
Last kisses linger, liquid, long together...

The dawn speeds swift upon night's lovers
Dark nooks surprised by harsh sunlight...

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I pissed off my spiritual advisor
Just how precious are the lessons
Ghosted by the spirits
Echos—it’s not me it’s you
Everything green and golden
Is this the eye of a hurricane
Darkness whispers—
Extinguish all hope
I think I am in love
Ever startle awake to knocking 
No matter what they say
If you happen not to wake
Never ever answer that knock...

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Yes, my darling, she whispers real low,
tenderly egging him on in  the shadow
as on her ample and generous breasts
the lusty man greedily sucks and feasts.

Behind the door everything I overhear,
the sounds that the lovers make there;
blinded by wild rage the idiot barges in
and in a tryst I catch and startle them…

my unfaithful wife and our day-old baby boy!...

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Set your sights here
On willing cheer;
What's there to fear
But anxious peers?


Old stray dog sights
A morsel here;
Why that sure flight
To startle cheer?


Some pain brings gain
If you but see;
Can touch feel vain
In what may be?



Yes on and on
Sad tale looks grim;
What lies beyond
The stray dog's dream?




Leon Enriquez
01 May 2016
Singapore...

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I've started being able to recall your face
Which isn't always the case with me.
I've been known to fail to recognise
Someone I've chatted to for hours!

But my fingers feel again the texture of your skin
Your eyes startle me with sudden blueness
And the straight-lined mouth unfolds
To make me also smile. 

Your head inclines; does it really 
Mean that I have touched you?...

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Autumn bites the air
sharpening a September morning.
Fields of wrapped summers lie
in rolls of harvested hay.
Berries bruise tart hedgerows
their sprinting thorns startle
a dandelion sun.
Thistle heads tuft purple
tossing seeds into a fleece breeze.
A patchwork of seasoned meadows
sleep beneath cauliflower clouds.
Castle ruins crumble
among sheep cotton fields
on a hearty harvest noon....

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This morning you want to walk outside.
But my pet, you need me to act as your guide.

Remember you are beautiful everyday.
And always ready to be on display.

But me in my pajamas and hair awry.
Would startle anyone passing by.

There are things that I need to repair,
before I walk out into the fresh air.

Please give me an hour or two,
Then I will be glad to walk with you....

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I woke up in morning with blood in my hand.
There on bed I saw myself slayed an old man.
Started to startle and rushed in the bathroom,
Splashed volumes of water in my whole room.

Then I woke up again realized it was just a dream.
I saw morning birds flapping their wings with prim.
That morning You gave was truly my favorite one.
As nature’s scene sparkly flickering – God’s best one....

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