Shagged in the back of a shotgun shack
at night by moonlight
peeping past curtains of burlap sack
such a sore sight
surrounded by fields of green
willing as she'd been
tho' torn
she surely wasn't about to be seen
with a child out of wedlock born
so with a bun in the oven
she had her Dad invite he
who did the dirty deed
and plant the seed
the Father-to-be
down south way out on the steading
to shape up show up and in the end
attend a shotgun wedding
L-ines
I-n
E-motion
Z-one
L-et
J-uxtaposition
O-ffer
Y-ou
C-ontemplative
E-xpression,
A-s
S-ome
T-houghts
R-ight
O-r
L-eft
A-re
V-ertical
I-n
O-rder
©bfa042925
Monocrostic (Birthday of Liezl Joyce D. Astrolavio)
You are beside me. I am beside you.
None else is seen around, besides us two.
Cessation, by ceaselessness, is erased.
Unknowingly, are our hearts now replaced?
These streams of fresh water that flow around
These song-filled swaying reeds that make no sound
These tiny lovebirds that chirp our murmurs
Aren't these springtime nature's play performers?
As rains soothe the earth with love, let's be soothed.
Ups and downs of our hearts' cores are smoothed.
Ships in our seas of bliss make merry trips
Should even by slip kisses slip the lips?
We've got more to give; why should we give less?
Should, when filled with love, souls feel any stress?
Drinking from the wells of God-consciousness
Shouldn't our souls be raised to Blessedness?
We won't always be this poor.
Walk with me through the door.
One day, we two will ride
In a carriage, side by side.
I've known you since I was five,
Since the day you were alive.
You were fine and pretty then.
You'll be at one-hundred ten.
One day, treasures you will have.
You won't always work this hard.
We will make it hand in hand
On this seven-acre land.
Sometimes, hardship, life will bring.
Through life's journey, we will sing,
When together we're in tune,
In December and in June.
Now our life was lived complete,
My dear Mary MacFleet.
Yesterday, we both died.
Now, an old man and woman ride...
In a carriage, side by side,
In a carriage, side by side.
Janet did not know how well her boyfriend would do with her daughter.
She kept them separate until she was sure he might be “the one”.
Daisy, at four, did not need to fall in love with someone who might leave.
She had lost her own father, a man who died of cancer in two months.
Tom loved children, he had a plethera of nieces and nephews.
Wbo thought of him as a big teddy bear, nicknamed him “uncle Teddy”.
Uncle Teddy arrived with a little cosmetic case for Daisy, impressing her.
After dinner Daisy and Teddy sat in the “daisy chairs” watching TV.
This is when Janet knew she could fall in love with this man.
You and Me
So many vehicles
So many journeys
So many destinations
So many countries
Exploring life
Side by Side
From teenagers to parents to retirees
Copious conversations
Decisions made
Disagreements
Abundant laughter
Grief
Rivers of tears
Music throughout the decades
Silly songs sung
Coffees aplenty
So many years
Side by Side
The yellow moonlight had gone out.
The moon beats quietly.
The stars have fallen on you.
arrived during the day.
The wind mumbled scattering the stars' dew.
Dust
The sky above is gleaming.
Desire is sent out, and love is infused with kindness.
The moon can make the night exciting, once more to you.
How cleverly the night is transformed into play.
Will you and I meet again?
Have you ever really, or is it just you?
The star sent out a message before falling
The beach is calling.
Sponsored by Brain Strand
Contest your Preference.
There together, side by side.
He, the pilot; she, the ride.
Same but different is their focus:
Hers a pattern; his a locus.
His, of old, a line of red;
Hers coerce a twisted thread.
Hers, producing loops and cables;
His, a safe trip home enables.
His propels across the vast;
Hers are going nowhere fast.
Hers produce a supple fleece;
His, in excess, draws police.
Neither, for the other’s, wheedles;
Each observing different needles.
My little feet tripping walking begun
To keep up with my mothers bigger ones
And quietly years just roll alongside
With walking running matching stride for stride
I wonder when those little feet outgrew
Laced up booties buckled shoes gumboots too
And as we both stand with my feet all grown
Tall as the mirror stands with laughs outshone
Looking at the grey with so many wrinkles
And as we slow our pace and rest rekindles
Holding hands of grandchildren small feet abide
With walking resting matching stride for stride
The circle of life we walk with much pride
Two sets of happy feet walk side by side.
8.3.2021
Hexsonnetta-10 syllables per line.
I witnessed pure love spilled out in front of me
I watched him caressed her lovely face,
a tenderness of his touch eased her distress.
I heard him spoke of their love,
and the melody of his voice gave her strength to gaze at him awhile.
I saw his hazel eyes filled with unconditional love overshadowing the sadness creeping up behind his voice whilst a smile never left his face.
I knew then what the true meaning of love,
she’s the everything that matter to him!
She lay there,
motionless!
Brown eyes focused only on him,
and I glimpsed deep into her brown eyes,
her soul yearning to reach out to him,
wanting to speak of her unconditional love.
But in spite of her condition,
her love for him is written all over her lovely face.
Never fade never halt,
pure love shine on.
I knew then what a true love is,
He’s the reason she’s still breathing!
Through smile they communicate.
Holding hands they are forever one,
love embraced them peacefully,
forever side by side...
~ I wrote this during my vacation on Guam 9/9/19
And I was so captivated witnessing true love...
Akkina
Hand by hand, through the frosty night
I walk with you, no sight of fright.
Through clouds and fogs, through cold and dark,
through bricks and walls and all as bad
I follow you ,side by side.
Until we see the morning light.
let's go for
a drive and
you tell me
shotgun and
climb inside
the driver's
passenger
side but i
ask where
else would you
be but next to
me if i'm driving
but by reading
my own poetry
i take myself
back before i
could even try
to tag my words
influenced by
this this is my
style affirming
that i have
a grip on the
terra fauna
after all i've
only read
Turtle
Island two
times so
I'm not
to be
followed
by followers
that i know
what they
want i won't
be capable
of telling
them to
do what i do
forgetting to
say load your
gun with shells
with pellets that
will tell you by
their spread
what is to be
read then
that's where
i've failed for
none of my
shotgun
words hit
their mark
On the couch they sit and draw
On matching sketching screens,
For as they grow we get to see
Such sweet domestic scenes.
From solitary play
To sibling rivalry, or worse,
This side by side togetherness
Is friction in reverse.
Of course, it's just occasional
But when their play's in sync,
It's really something special.
(Though it's over in a blink!)
side by side
the two of us texting
in separate worlds
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Not exceeding that moment of the shift,
decades of pomp and circumstance,
that Gatsbyesque snap of jeweled fingers,
halted,
like a race horse after the win.
Now nature in her worst mood,
feverish and pacing,
placed one next to the other.
Farm worker and trust fund baby,
in their red cross refuge, to
see each other in the mirror of faces,
as a thought of a diapason of harmony
seeps into the room like an aromatic breeze.
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