It thunders through like a rampaging doom,
water cracked the stone, and carved out this chute,
the locals around here call it the Flume,
white water churning through a confined route.
Roiling, throwing mist onto the rocks,
always wet and sporting a sheen of green,
so loud is the torrent it’s hard to talk
over the noise as the water careens.
Empties out into four small waterfalls,
which widen into a wading-deep pool,
folks splash around, and the kids short and tall
dunk heads in the cascades, thinking it’s cool.
But never dare try riding the cataract,
even dumb kids know they will not come back.
You would put your paws in your water dish.
Tip it over and splash around.
Paper towel was fruitless.
You’d unravel it and tear it up.
I was annoyed in those days.
I was young and annoyed.
I hate that I was annoyed.
I hate that I would clean up and run out the door without hugging you.
That bowl cracked one day and I threw it out.
I didn’t think then.
We got a new one.
I still have that new bowl.
That bowl is now empty.
Now when I spill a glass of water…
I’m pretty hard on myself these days.
As I should be.
The therapist asked the patient,
" What shall we talk about today?"
The client shrugged and answered,
" I don't know what to say! "
Quite awkwardly, they
Sit quiet for a while.
Then a sudden flash of thought!
A blink. A weary smile...
" I don't understand what's wrong.
I've no drive. I've no desire!
The best way to describe it?
It's like I'm stuck in my own quagmire!
I'm not one to drown
In a torrent of sorrow and pain.
I don't fling out all limbs
And splash around in vain!
At times, there is this numbness
And I question if I'm alive.
Could my quagmire be deep enough
To duck in or dive? "
" Um... ' The counsellor vocalises
As though in deep thought.
( They are trained to do this while
They draw on what they've been taught. )
' I like the way you've expressed yourself!
A perfect description of what feels dire!
You may sink a little, but you will not drown
In your said quagmire. "
" Well, that's a relief!
I hope one day that there will be a drought.
Because that will be, to me, a sign
That I've got things figured out! "
Written 27th September 2021
For the Q Contest
Sponsor Constance La France
There is one kind of beauty in a morning walk illuminated by the moon..and yet…there is a different kind of beauty walking after a rain…when all the streets are wet.
The streets take on a glow…one you never see at noon…the shadows seem to shimmer in light reflected from the moon.
There is a freshness in the air…a coolness in the breeze…as it carries with it raindrops it has shaken from the trees.
Still enough raindrops remain upon the trees…those unable to take flight…giving the trees a feeling of Christmas…as they sparkle in the night.
Age seems to fade away…as you breathe the misty air into your lungs…as you splash around in puddles…like you did when you were young.
If you listen to the crickets…the owls…the nightingales…you find it difficult to decide…if you are hearing more sounds than usual…or if they’re just amplified.
You stop a moment…look up…and give thanks…grateful you’ve been allowed…to watch the moon, the stars….the planets…playing hide and seek among the clouds.
And you pause as you’re walk is ending…trying to remember everything because you don’t want to forget…
the sights
the sounds
from your morning walk…
when all the streets are wet.
I sit on the beach
My toes are surrounded by sand
My hand holds a steaming cup of hot chocolate
And around my shoulders is a cozy and warm blanket
My eyes
Drift up high
Towards the sky
The sky is getting dark
As a beautiful sunset begins to form
And in my mind I imagine
Heavenly Father painting the sunset in the sky
For all of his earthy children to admire
Beyond the beauty of the sunset
My eyes
They admire the trees
I wonder
how trees came to be
on the earth
then my mind begins to wander
and think if trees could talk
what would they say to each other?
Then my eyes
They drift towards the ocean
The ocean is so calm
It makes me want to run
Into the water
And splash around just like a dolphin
Blissful is how I feel
From my spot on the beach
Wishing I could hold on to the beautiful scenery forever
and wishing time would stand still
So I wouldn’t have to eventually leave the beach and it’s glorious view
I am drowning in a sea of despair,
Crying for help but no ones there!
As darkness washes over me,
It swallows me up like a tsunami.
I desperately scramble for the shore,
Trying just to breathe once more.
As I go under I splash around
Then slowly sink without a sound.
As the lights I see begin to dim,
I kick my legs and try to swim.
But I am weak the current strong,
I have struggled for far to long.
As another wave comes crashing down,
I except my fate and I just drown.
Something Profound We Plant
Sometimes things do seem so scant,
And if something profound we plant;
Poem prepare;
With you share;
With eloquence will always enchant.
Jim Horn
like looking at lake,
while water want to be in,
when we splash around.
There are people to see and places to go like the Ocean when the waves come and splash around and get deep and the water runs to the end of the sand castle
Give me a sign
I was a soldier of war,
the killing haunts me every day...
I don't want to fight no more,
hope God, will hear me when I pray
I've got water to my neck, but,
all I can do is splash around...
My life is in distress, and I feel,
like I'm gonna drown...
so please...
Chorus
If you exist God, give me a sign
can you hear me?
If you exist God, give me a sign
do you hear me?
Been living on the streets,
seen some things... I can't un-see
Been tangled in the sheets,
trying hard to get myself free...
Been living on the edge,
screaming without a sound...
I'm standing on this ledge,
trying hard not to look down...
Chorus
If you exist God, give me a sign
can you hear me?
If you exist God, give me a sign
do you hear me?
I've got visions of violence,
running barefoot...in the rain...
Disillusioned in silence,
there's a scarecrow in my brain,
so..
help me please!
Chorus
If you exist God, give me a sign
can you hear me?
If you exist God, give me a sign
do you hear me?
repeat chorus
I've been living on the edge,
screaming hard
without...
a
sound...
John Derek Hamilton
April 21,2018
Picture#1 -"No! means NOTHING to a duck-
(A duck chasing a young girl across a yard)
Today, I went to the pond
to sit and eat a snack
I shared a little here and a
little there with my buddy
He has a white, plump body
of down and a beak of orange
He is my friend, the duck
He shared my juice by the straw
He gobbled up much of the berries,
and quacked nothing to the cherries
We also shared my crackers with PB&J
When all was done, I got up to go
And I was given quite a surprise
With a loud, "Quack!"
My friend the duck began to attack
I jumped to my feet
And went on a flee not knowing,
"What the Cluck?"
With a sprint through the flowers
And a splash around the pond
I looked back to see where he was
No matter my need to rest
He wouldn't stop for to fish
I wasn't sure what I had...
Then holding in my hand I saw were
The very last 2 crackers with PB&J
He simply wouldn't stop
until all was gone
So I stopped and shared because
I realized
"No!" Means nothing to a duck
Together we would laugh,
we would cry until we couldn’t.
We’d talk until the sun came up,
until we saw that single ray.
We’d splash around inside the lake,
tanning ’til the sky turned grey.
Who knew that it would end this way?
We surely did’t.
The days got bitter,
the leaves dried up.
I’d hold my hands inside my sweater,
you’d simply fade away.
Sometimes you’d come back to me.
“I missed you,” you’d say.
But did you really feel this way?
I don’t think you did.
Snow began to swirl around,
just as you’d come back.
“I haven’t seen you in awhile.”
That is when I’d wear a smile.
You didn’t know it wasn’t real,
you weren’t aware I was already broken.
Did you know that I detected
the lie behind your words?
The best part is that you never knew,
I sensed it from the start.
I couldn’t hold you back much longer,
you had to be let go.
I thought that we’d be friends forever,
but there’s no such thing.
It was a cold and muddy day
as Gertrude lay smiling.
Just the kind of weather
that she adored.
She could splash around
for hours in the glop
and guzzle up
all her shlopp
when it was time.
Oh how she loved
the sound
of the hog-call.
It would signal
that special time
of day for her
when she could literally
pig-out!
Her delicate pink skin
did not tan too well,
always needing
a good coating of oils,
hence the perfection
in the weather described.
Her trotters,
she thought,
were possibly
her best feature –
could they
be called dainty?
Unlike her large snout
that she sometimes wished
could have been
more discreet-looking.
She valued her large ears
because they were
indeed an asset,
especially close
to supper time
and her eyes,
well, they were
the eyes of
an intelligent creature,
somewhat underestimated
by Man,
simply because
of the sweet tasting
tantalising suppleness
of the flesh
of the animal.
What to do
thought Gertrude,
but eat,
eat, eat,
eat, eat,
while you still
could eat,
at least.
Because one day –
every pig knew
as all pigs know –
we would all see
the blade descend
on us
and
then
splat!
I have a rubber ducky
His name is Mr. Quack
He likes to splash around with me
When I'm in the bath
Frogs
They sprinkle and splash around
Frogs jumping up and down everywhere
It is the best season of the year
Lilly- pads
Lilly pads are waiting for someone
To sit on them
Like a king sitting on his throne
Benedict (8years)
Here is my newborn brother to celebrate the day!
Together we'll splash around in mud spots eating tater tots.
Wake-up, my brother, wake-up and let's play!
There's no time for a baby snooze for the sun we shall lose!
I'll have you hold the phone books while I get a cookie from the high nooks.
Here is my newborn brother to to celebrate the day!
Slip 'n' slides and kiddie pools, otter pops and pizza!
You have no idea the magic things hidden beyond your eyelids!
Wake-up, my brother, wake-up and let's play!
You do like sleeping, don't you? This we'll have to fix.
Maybe mom can whip you up a snack of caffeinated Chex-Mix.
Here is my newborn brother to celebrate the day!
We will certainly rule the planet together one day, you and I.
As King Brothers: Your Highness Who Does Stuff and Your Highness Who Doesn't.
Wake-up, my brother, wake-up and let's play!
Yawwwckk, now I'm sleepy, move your teeny arm a smidgen.
Maybe tomorrow when we're both awake we'll catch a pigeon.
Here is my newborn brother to celebrate the day!
Wake-up, my brother, wake-up and let's play!
(Zzzzz...)
4/30/11
"Brotherly Love"
Matt Caliri
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