Paths of ogival arches lead my sight
In one tunnel-drive of light
To behold bridges, seven in number,
As they straddle the tenebrous walkway we lumber,
Man and beast, towards expected glorious dawn.
Rock-solid, the bridges stand firm but drawn.
Between neither here nor there
an entire life holds its breath.
as I straddle the inevitable,
marking time between life's lines.
Caught in transition,
Almost here, yet almost there,
living in the footnotes
of an ending hard to bear.
My shadow crosses the line;
the rest of me hesitates.
Time gathers its coat,
weary of waiting at the gate.
Almost this and almost that,
in-between here and there,
the parallel lines at last converge;
there becomes here; then becomes now.
When all horizons disappear
and distance dissolves,
every elsewhere becomes an arrival.
Here and there intertwine at last,
and every therewith discovers
it's been a herewith all along.
You're a charred sweet bramble
a mosaic of cloud and blood
a pantry of wound and balm.
You fester, heal, then repeat...
at times the flesh must protect the peel.
Straddle the moon-nobody to harm you there.
To judge your jagged necessities...
just you and the lint of time entwined.
You'll come back down, that's for certain.
Strong as a mountain at twilight
or a blue bird song in black bird refrain...
Retrieve your soul from the mossy stone.
As the parched blue eye bleeds out red rain.
With that spicy dab of mad moon woman revenge.
For now, lay low-while on the mend.
Debride from the mockingbird's glass song.
The murder will eventually hang itself.
Upon chords of your mad moon woman wisdom.
Time was a man was known for what he did
Or didn’t do
Did you stand for the flag
Did you fight for the Red, White, and Blue?
Did you keep it real?
Say what you feel?
Work with your hands
And the iron and steel?
Stand on your word?
Make a fair deal?
And bow your head
And take time to kneel?
Do you keep it real?
Are those days all in the past?
Have we lost our direction, and common sense?
Surrendered our honor, our liberty
To straddle the fence?
Can’t keep it real
Or say what you feel
We’re working remote
With AI not steel
Promise in pencil
Look for the steal
Look down our nose
Force others to kneel
And then call it
Keeping it real
I walk the distance between us on burning coals
Straddle the high wire between mountains for the
memory of your eyes/blue green
Like the blanket spread over sands
In the wee hours of never, where
Dreams fell like shards of shattered clouds
And I knelt before you spellbound, never
Fathoming the keenness of your lonely
Sad soul/spirit and we left still a
Distance from understanding your woman
Needs, unanswered by everyone
Like a soul song fading so softly
On a night breeze
steeped in an ocean of time
slow motion’s recurrence reverberated
concentric circles rippled the tide
moored its anchor
in illusions of safety
yet the harbour was far away
a mere tug at a distant shore
once more it sent out its signal
as he finally snapped ready to drown
never again said the mermaid
leave the sinister hobgoblins
and straddle Atlantis with me
secured at last he acknowledged
that letting go of the past
meant freedom and safety
I've been to the well
Too often to tell
The sky from a spell
Of ice salted dunes
Of threadbare cocoons
If there's a contrast
From future to past
The light sees it last
I breathe the allure
Of spaces obscure
Of nights darkly pure
Who else can I be
If I am not me
To straddle the sea
And follow the moon's
Melancholy tunes
I gave you a box of giggling clowns.
To make you laugh during all the downs
I gave you a spray of golden fins.
To swim far away from your jagged jinn.
This cracked heart you'll never have.
For it has turned into a pulsing hive.
A bouquet of hornets at the ready.
To sting away your whitewashed lies.
The windchimes are chilled and quiet now.
Gone are the stingers and giggling clouds.
A pile of dust where there once lay fleece.
I pray that you'll straddle a ragged peace.
Passions portrait does dark in your eyes when you can't separate the pupil from the light there's dark in your eyes when you see nothing but Darkness plates this dark in your eyes when they're blacking and there's no Ivory silhouette you are feigning you're Blinded By Your Truth by the Light this dark in your eyes when you straddle when you fail this dark in your eyes when you're blinded and you're dismayed and you're an egg so Freedom's plight darkness is the night but yet a pinch drop of Lights displays the dark and your longer blind before you see the light shines through your hearts eyes
There are those who think with their head
From the time they’re born until dead.
For them, things always seem logical.
Sometimes profound, but never magical.
Then there are those who think with their heart,
And they live in a world quite apart.
They wear their hearts on their sleeves low
And end up like Venus de Milo.
Most people straddle the fence
In order to ensure life makes sense.
They spend their precarious days
Avoiding heads and hearts from both ways.
Bird that glows amber
Shines even in baddest weather
Even if it's in still straddle
It attracts the nosy feeble
To have a bite of its apple
June 13, 2023
Although you've watched the world
and rode the word
You've never known your age
until at 60 it arrives
Decidedly single
albeit with penfriends
you straddle the torments
70s music for recompense
Your garden overgrown
to save on gardeners fees
demeans what should be your glory
like a full set of hair
that you lack
but i carve my rune on the elm bough
in Croham woods that hold me
Hey St. Nick! You’re my pick for cheerleader of the year.
Your neat little trick, where down the chimney you slip.
Way cooler than doing the straddle splits.
Flying in a sleigh, with Rudolph leading the way.
Beats any mount or pyramid display.
Stuffing stockings with toys, for good girls and boys.
A much better deal than any cartwheel.
A back spring is a really neat thing.
But a little round belly shaking like a bowl full of jelly,
Now that’s a move above and who doesn’t love,
A right jolly old elf.
Yelling, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!”
5AM the haywire of light
you've framed the vista
from your frosty window
Stacked sachets of cos lettuces
ponder for an outcome growth
Whence the day of blossom
Salvation is always a cost
Once you rode the world
but now you're part of the pack
eager for their morsels
Talk is easy
like hanging fire
Blackened clichés parade
You straddle the foundations
for the fear of listening
to your own sage
unfold in your mind!
You often pondered,
behind your plastic door
and pretentious smile,
could I be her friend? The pressure
of being needed could hijack
your life, your perfection,
your impassive popularity.
Then you saw her
close her eyes tight
as if she were playing dead,
and noticed the tiny trenches
of all her tears.
Her weak smile scared you into feeling
something far away and true,
and when she laughed, you knew
it was genuine.
Her humanity left you
bleeding, and you could taste
the earthiness of the elements
at your core.
So you forgot her, but in your dreams
she is more alive. She is freed
by her imperfection and
becomes the world
you straddle.
Maybe you weren’t the only one.
Maybe she was lonely.
If only you had more time
to understand her permeable existence,
she could have uncaged you,
and you could have been
her touchstone.
If only...
Contest: Pick-a-Title, Vol. 30
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Date: 5/10/22
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.