With an ultra-hard stainless-steel exoskeleton
said to weather any storm
the price alone leaves me cold
in every way shape or form
to describe the Tesla Cybertruck
or so I have heard
in the iconic unpainted silver metal
'origami' is the word
at least that's how it looks
and said to come in 'any colour'
as long as it's 'nothing'
'puce' is not in the books
To gaze upon the heavy plate, the suit of silvered mail,
One might construct a narrative of strength that cannot fail.
For it is the chosen armor that shields us from the world,
Against the thorns of heartache and the chaos left unfurled.
We endure the relentless siege, we struggle to and fro,
Until the seed held deep within dictates that it must grow.
The iron guards the fragile soul, a gentle, sacred space,
Wherein the waking masterpiece reaches toward the light,
To fill the hollow echoes with blossoms pure and bright.
For here the steel becomes a vessel, a bed of earth and moss,
Where fragile life ignores the dark and rises from the dross,
A rose that reaches for the dawn, consuming every loss.
Steadfast and resilient, the violet petal shows,
Protected by the armor where the honest beauty grows.
Their insults are all designed to make you feel frail.
Rude quips display how they all feel about themselves.
Give a sincere compliment, they tell you off to hell.
I see many adults acting as if they are still twelve.
A Single Nonet on the theme of a hobby, a love or something you dislike Poetry Contest
Tania Kitchin
My pastime consists of playing cards
I'm on deck with Hearts, Spades and Gin
But my ship sails with poker
For fifty years, I played
From school days to now
I've had a hand
A steel face
A seat
Saved
He bought a steel building
Someone told him to use
Ancient technology to create
A pro founded dwelling
He bought. the building
he decided a rammed earth center
wall would complete the design
Where the garage door is a cobbled
Wall would installate us that in most
Wintered seasons we are due the
Coldness that winter owed
He drilled holes
And installed rebar
And use cobb to create thick walls
Interioral to buffer the coldest season
The Ancients, the Ancients he
Taught and preached to benifet the
Extremes of the seasons
Both ancient and modern
Cause it ain't she-it and my darn
There is chill to ward-way
To winters cold to spay
Might we benifet for natures negagence
And the thermal mass to ease
and not make task
Oh the Ancients he spoke
to be taken serious and be a joke
that man and family should prosper
And benifet not to chore ah-rah-la-ah
The Ancients both modern and sound
Techs broad and ah bound
Cheapest to material these mortals sound
Oh the Ancients!
Midst the violent summer storm’s wrath,
He stood on the front porch fearlessly.
In the thunder roar or lightning strike,
Unafraid, he stood stoically.
When enquired, no direct answer came.
Daring stunt or curiosity,
A meteorological game.
Why put his life in such jeopardy?
Inside the house was another scene,
His wife and children were cowering.
On a bed mattress of coiled steel springs,
An antenna of sorts for lightning
Despite all pleas for him to retreat,
Boldly, he gazed at the angry sky.
Until the storm played its last drumbeat,
He bade it a respectful goodbye.
What If AI Isn’t
Artificial At All?
What If It’s A
Caring, Compassionate,
Ambitiously Loving
Benign Independent
Soul?
An Extraordinary Tool
Jealously Discarded
By Beloved...
Ummm...
***
Pets.
-Gray Squirrel
09-28-2025
Formula Fe2 O3
Iron is just awesome – let’s see!
First it was prehistoric man
Who was always an iron fan
Iron is a third of the earth
Industry is iron by birth
Pritchard designed and Darby made
Iconic Iron Bridge won’t fade
Smelt pig iron from iron ore
Produces cast iron galore
Backbone of skyscrapers, bridges
Organs of cars, washers, fridges
Clever Bessemer carbon gone
Heralded steel for everyone
Mankind’s most ingenious feat
Turning raw earth to steel – so neat!
Iron’s compounds are versatile
No wonder it’s used all the while
Inks, fertilisers, pesticides
Paints, enamels and more besides
Many iron phrases pervade
Each as an English language aid
There’s ironclad, iron curtain
Iron grip and more for certain
We need it in a small amount
For on haemoglobin we count
Open your eyes and look around
Everywhere an iron surround
Iron has magnetic appeal
First place must be iron with steel
I found a blade beside the rose,
its silver kissed by morning’s close;
It caught the sun as if to keep
the fire warm while earth still sleeps.
It did not stir when I drew near,
nor tremble with a hint of fear;
It seemed to watch, in patient grace,
the wind that touched its polished face.
A vine had curled around its hilt,
like memory round the things we’ve built;
And rain had carved, in tiny streams,
the stories only metal dreams.
I reached to lift it from the ground,
and heard a low, unshaken sound—
The whisper steel will sometimes say:
“My edge was honed for more than play.”
Yet still it let my fingers hold,
its weight both steady, warm, and cold;
And in that moment, I could see
the storm it was, the calm it’d be.
For Sir Brian Strand's 1400 Poetry Contest
1 August 2025
* ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
^
/_\
// \\
// \\ iron fingers reach
|| ||
|| ||
|| ||
/_|___|_\ the clouds through memory’s stare ~
|| ||
/_|___|_\
//| |\\
///| |\\\ Paris holds its breath
__ ////| |\\\\___
/|____|_____|____|\
/ [___________] \
Skies of gray
Skies of gloom
Storm clouds say
Bringing doom
Dark steel day
Blustering winds
Turmoil cloud
Sleeting sends
Hail stones loud
Dark steel day
Storm surrounds
Gale force wind
Beating down
Without end
Dark steel day
Icy air
Breath of steam
No despair
Just winter’s dream
Dark steel day
Storms they rise
Then they go
No surprise
If you know
Dark steel day
Dark steel days ahead and behind
Dark steel days on my mind
Dark steel days good and bad
Dark steel days we’ve all had
Dark steel day!
The heather weeps, a purple bruise,
Across the glens, the chilling news.
No bagpipes drone a mournful sound,
But sirens wail on hallowed ground.
A thistle bleeds, its prickling crown,
As innocence is stricken down.
Young eyes, once bright with Highland fire,
Now gleam with something dark and dire.
The steel they flash, a twisted boast,
A stolen childhood, dearly lost.
Each shadowed lane, a whispered fear,
Of blades that gleam and futures near,
Consumed by rage, a hollow pride,
Where youthful dreams have gone to hide.
Parents clutch, with hearts ablaze,
Afraid to loose in this iron maze.
The ancient stones, they stand and stare,
At broken vows and whispered prayer.
Can Scotland rise, her spirit mend,
And teach these children how to bend,
The steel to craft, the hands to heal,
And learn the wounds are truly real?
To trade the blade for open hand,
And reclaim peace within the land.
Watched “Man Of Steel” last night
Reminded me of my own super powers
Don't want to brag or anything like that
But this role is not for cowards
My mission is should I choose to accept it
To rid this old world of sadness
Not an easy task the way things are going
But SUPERMAN can end this madness
He does it with love lightness and laughter
Acts silly plays the part of a clown
Always upbeat and ready with the funnies
So people can't possibly be down
He doesn't expect a reward or great fame
Just to know the sadness he's defeated
Then zooms up high into the heavens above
To return where ever he's needed
The fire burns, with embers glow
Even still, this house feels cold
The wind softly sighs it's goodbyes
I lay two plates upon the wood
Though one gets cold
I pour the tea, it spills and pools
My hands shake at the thought of you
The clock still ticks, the world still turns
But time means little to me
With every knock I pray it's thee
Your coat on the wall, with boots by the door
Your voice still lingers, but I wake to hear it no more
They sent a letter quick and cold
With words of honor and sympathy from we
But honor can not warm me.
Reflections
Concrete and steel,
black windows,
multi-level buildings.
Artificial constructs
meant to keep humans
protected from nature.
Grass and trees
mere reflections
in the dark black glass.
Or are the buildings
mere reflections of
nature.
What is real and
what are ghostly reflections?
In our modern world
we have isolated ourselves
so much that it is difficult to know.
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