Skittered Poems | Examples

Holiday Limericks

Clyde yearned for a kiss 'neath the mistletoe

   But not a gal took notice of his woe

      The ladies just twittered

         As by him they skittered

            His fly was unzipped and ALL was aglow

Surfer Faerie

Is she skating on blue gill the other faeries tittered.
She was skimming the water, her skirts were all skittered.
She is getting wet, doesn’t she care about that?
This came from a watching interested tabby cat.

The faeries watched her surfing and decided to join.
They loved this pretty fountain, so full of coin.
The cat tried to jump in thinking it was what he ought’er.
He found out rather quickly he was not fond of water.

Alice Sleeps Beside a Brook

Alice dipped her fingers into the water, grazing the top.
The brook was mesmerizing. She watched minnows and bugs.
They skittered across the top, too minute to identify.

A slight breeze lulled her into a deep slumber; her breathing slowed.
The world underneath the water came to life in her dreams.
She understood wonderland better now, and she wanted more.

If we could have found the “eat me” key, we would have returned her.

After the Hurricane

The sun illuminates where former smile,
a crimson sunset into the crypsis
fades. Optical illusion - boat upside-
down, sails sullied, the upheaval of grit.

My sight ebbs and flows, a buoy beholds
the odd. I grasp the folds of skittered skirt,
hang on tight, my fishing shock strength reeling.
My black and blue breath, a sturgeon gasping.

Funny how the ocean tides seem so calm…
The wicked wretch is two-faced, a liar.
I’d bask in her embryonic fluid —
she can roll you like a reptile, scar you

for life. Still like a siren, she calls me,
my hair drying from her sin, her music
beckons, shimmering waves prod, “C’mon in.”
I dare to turn my back on my island.

But a child’s palm nestles into my world,
my heart sinks in vertigo — I let go.
I begin to turn over hapless beach,
finding cockleshells with wet hands and feet.

These Eyes

I went to bed a mouse,
Scared to be immersed,
I ran through a wood
Of above unseen whispering owls, 
Thinking I would not know,
But I know 
taunting
when my heart raced 
as a squirrel 
skittered through the leaves,
I laughed also 
at my skittishness, 
Like a comfort, 
like whistling,
like singing,
Shining your light,
See here, 
Everything alright,
There there, 
Woman in white,
Come now, 
Where did you come from, angel? 
Now now,
Beyond a desk,
Rest here a tick,
Fill out these forms,
In the terrible gone
I’ve been here before,
Ooh, what you did!
To one with my eyes,
I got out of bed, 
And took them out and put them on the table with the car keys by the door,
and asked if you would be so kind as guide me to the sea-surmounted cliffs, 
To be mercifully immersed,
What you tell me,
What you say,
I believe,
I believe in miracles,
And you make-believe,
mock-mollify 
us both,
that a blind man can see.

Where's Mummy Gone

The car crashed with death. 
The force of fate could not hold the wheels.
Our sky shattered to million pieces hither and thither...........
My wife died.
An ear splitting yowling reverberant sound silenced all.
A blue flash of lightning suddenly disappeared. 
A curtain of pain fell upon our window panes,
and stumbling in darkness, we skittered on.
With crunched bones, calloused palms dazed in  bloody horror, 
our lurched heart rendered a numbing pain...
a pain that could be heard when my two year old asks,  "Where's mummy gone?"
 She had created our sky, lighted it with love
 the moon turned black, blown off by a bomb. 
 I show my son, a star which is now his mom.





Dated 28th April 2019
Originally submitted to two contests where it was NA
But it was written with lot of emotions from my side and I expected that many people should be able to relate with the story of some friend or family where a small child is deprived love of a mother lost to cruel hands of destiny,  accident or disease 
RESUBMITTED  to Contest --Applicable Not Applicable Contests
Sponsor	Richard Lamoureux

The Final Fly By

Clyde stood 'neath the mistletoe coy and shy,

   Itching for a kiss from gals passing by.

      Behind their hands they tittered,

         As by him they all skittered!

            Seems the zipper was undone on his fly!

Entry for Carolyn Devonshire's "Christmas Limerick" Contest

A Lobotomy

My psychiatrist told me “All things considered...
You're as good as can be expected, given that you're skittered!”
Said, “What the hell does that mean?”
Answered, “Your brain's a bit lean!”
May have to have a lobotomy... brain's all frittered

From Dark To Black

From dark to black they staggered,
felt for familiar surfaces,
they groped, until the lantern flickered,
faint glow resurrecting shadows.

Cold and flaggy, floors uneven,
up and down they skittered
like two drunkards on a binge,
finding legs, orientation.

Gaslight blue-flamed 'neath the kettle,
blanket grabbed, the bed was ransacked,
tea was swallowed gratefully,
with a pinch the lamp gave up the ghost.

From dark to black, not even starlight
gave relief to weathered eyes,
huddled 'neath the self-same blanket,
wide-mouthed yawns and muffled sighs.

From Dark To Black

...inspired by 'Goodnight' by Seamus Heaney



From dark to black they staggered,
felt for familiar surfaces,
they groped, until the lantern flickered,
faint glow resurrecting shadows.

Cold and flaggy, floors uneven,
up and down they skittered
like two drunkards on a binge,
finding legs, orientation.

Gaslight blue-flamed 'neath the kettle,
blanket grabbed, the bed was ransacked,
tea was swallowed gratefully,
with a pinch the lamp gave up the ghost.

From dark to black, not even starlight
gave relief to weathered eyes,
huddled 'neath the self-same blanket,
wide-mouthed yawns and muffled sighs.

The Minotaur

In the tunnel, cobweb-stricken and dank, a rat skittered to and fro, hitting his shoe as if drunk. The cockroaches joined in, slicking the floor with a beetle-black sheen. Unable to keep his footing he slid to his knees and, cursing his misfortune, he cried out loud,"where the hell am I? God rid me of this mess!" as the roaches covered him with a shroud of wriggling toes and waggling antennae. He staggered to his feet, brushing off the bugs, and placed his hands flat against the wall, feeling his way to the only source of light, a flickering candle on a mat, sticky with melted wax. The light brought into view a huge oaken door. He could barely pull the door ajar, and when he did, he caught a sign thereon which read, 'Beware all ye who enter here.' "Aaargh!" he groaned, "what the hell have I gotten myself into now."

...to be continued

From Dark To Black

...inspired by 'Goodnight' by Seamus Heaney

From dark to black they staggered,
felt for familiar surfaces,
they groped until the lantern flickered,
faint glow resurrecting shadows.

Cold and flaggy floors uneven,
up and down they skittered
like two drunkards on a binge,
finding legs and sturdiness.

Gaslight blue-flamed 'neath the kettle,
blanket grabbed, the bed was ransacked,
tea was swallowed gratefully,
with a twist the lamp gave up the ghost.

From light to black, not even starlight
gave relief to weathered eyes,
huddled 'neath the self-same blanket,
wide-mouthed yawns and muffled sighs.

From Dark To Black

...inspired by 'Goodnight' by Seamus Heaney

From dark to black they staggered,
felt for familiar surfaces,
they groped, until the lantern flickered,
faint glow resurrecting shadows.

Cold and flaggy, floors uneven,
up and down they skittered
like two drunkards on a binge,
finding legs, orientation.

Gaslight blue-flamed 'neath the kettle,
blanket grabbed, the bed was ransacked,
tea was swallowed gratefully,
with a pinch the lamp gave up the ghost.

From light to black, not even starlight
gave relief to weathered eyes,
huddled 'neath the self-same blanket,
wide-mouthed yawns and muffled sighs.

The Changing Sea

I have seen the sea be a mill pond,
seen it like a mirror 
where mountains reflect 
unshimmering there.
And herring skittered
on the surface to escape
the mouth of the killer whale.

But I have seen the sea
off Newfoundland's Cape Ray
when waves were mountain high
and on reaching the wave top looking down
into a vast valley of iron coloured water,
The grave of many a man.

To me the sea is a changing thing
like life and breathing in
and the salt moistened air in my face
forever gives life to me.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Before the Party

Friday night 
and here I am

caught.

I fought            yes I did,
cried till my eyeballs hurt.
       Dad said  NO.  He tossed me down
cellar   with the rest of the trash --

he said.

Oh        what he said,
“How would he know?
Did it show?”

I fell.   I    climbed
damn the grime.   He took my shoes 
so I could not run.

No coat, no shoes, where could I go?
The snow was falling outside.

I could hear the dance music
from the window   high and small.
I sat and      I listened from the ladders rung.
Mice skittered at the edge of the floor--
one light  sickly yellow
the door locked.

I’m scared. 



Prompt:Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Painting: Exploring the Basement

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