hemlock
a shock
foxglove
no love
orchid
morbid
wolf’s bane
insane
larkspur
bad blur
glory
gory
sumac
step back
laurel
quarrel
bloodroot
a brute
jimson
no fun
bella
donna
monkshood
not good
rhubarb
grim garb
flower
power
Dear lilies,
your bulb that spring up
are memories of hope and bliss
from flora in solitude.
(A prisoner acquit from confinement)
You rove lonely like the evening Moon
for two lover lurking privily at dark;
it is wonder you unclothe them
where bulbs of you are rooted.
Your varieties, I heard, are flossy
call it a “Rip of van winkle”
with many daisies taking it stands
to flourish in all spring.
The moment I realised how charming
you gloss the month of march
my fingers began sliding into extolment
caressing the faces of your rich flush
that blooms through the venetian sumac.
The Gathering Time
Sweltering cloying wet heat.
Gladiolas in bunches displayed along the roadside by their handlers,
Covered only by sheets at night, restless, waiting for a breeze.
Beef steak fruit, sweet corn, black diamond melon sweetness.
Then without warning
The hint of it appears.
The dawn coolness laden with fallen dew.
The subtle changing fragrance of the air then dissipates towards noon,
Only to reappear more vivid in its message of fragrance upon the next awakening.
Flies now gathering on the kitchen window sills in the sun.
Still crystalline blue sky.
Greenness of shimmering leaves-but only for now.
Tassels now bend over the crisp, sun-burned leaves sheltering corn.
Red fringe to sumac covering the hillsides.
The closing down of summer soon at hand -
The gathering time for reflections and nuances of emotion and desires,
We come together to bask in the sun – waiting.
blue and white plume bird
black collar sumac shrieker
layer of green eggs
Date submitted to Poetry Soup 13/5/2020
Thirteenth Of May 2020
Sky as gray as fresh concrete. Cold like her too. Jet plane noise permeates
atmosphere, but we cannot see it yet. Plants are brown except for red sumac.
A flaming reddish blue, high class red. Winter is waiting in the clouds to be
summoned. Autumn sighs, not ready to relinquish her season.
autumns cold gray sky
her browning up is complete
jet plane noise ahead
high hot pink roses
against red sumac bushes
octobers challenge
The selfish human
will either have to purposefully
look like poison ivy or poison sumac
which has betrayed a lot of people
or emit a feeling of a really nasty plant that has
scratched, penetrated,or thorned
many in another unpleasant way.
Otherwise, she will be trusted into
another wonderful family, spreading
her poison in the most angry of ways.
The children are the first to understand.
They expose the monster, but are not
believed at first, as humans have a natural
tendency to want to nurture and rescue their she-monsters.
sumac bursting
with fiery glow
flanking highways
sumac in blazing colors under autumn sun
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Cool air over the pond,
Creates a fog this Autumn Morn,
Rising over the tops of trees,
Giving an aura of a misty sea breeze.
Oaks and Maples colored yellow and red,
Their springtime green now Autumn fed,
Burning bushes hedge the road,
The smell of grass from its last season's mow.
Roadside pumpkins, apples and gourds,
Decorating yards, gardens and doors,
A flock of robins eating berries,
From Dogwood, Sumac and Wild Cherries.
The signs of Autumn are everywhere,
The leaves, the birds and fruit scented air,
Mums of burgundy, yellow and white,
And towering sunflowers for everyone's delight.
natures artist
painting its canvas amber
staghorn sumac - red
Cathedral woods.
Sunlight streams
through stained glass windows—
mosaic of yellow and red.
Tree pillars
hold up the sky dome,
wind organ whispers.
Orange and crimson,
sassafras and sumac
light the path.
On the altar in my heart
the chalice
overflows.
How cool!
this early summer evening
after a day so oppressive
even we New Yorkers move painstakingly.
The breeze in sumac trees
so why am I not more content?
The electricity went off at the bank,
spontaneous bank holiday,
so I'm broke, drinking water.
All my needs except love
fulfilled. Woman
opens her windows. How cool!
this summer evening
in New York, dense New York
the jets overhead
the people on the ground suffering
and struggling toward vague goals
or goals clear as Harry Helmsley's.
How cool and refreshing
this glass of ice water
after today's hot pavement, clothes.
During the afternoon heat
I sleep in my underwear.
What a city I murmur to myself
looking at its map. Big,
Jamaica Bay to Inwood,
the Battery to Pelham Bay.
Nowadays novels need
a few cities to move the plot.
New York, Saigon, Paris.
The protagonist
does not walk in the park. He
uses his car to get around fast.
How cool this evening in New York!
Lost among the bars and industry,
moonrise over Bronx.
Leaving my home in the city
Gray lonely,and faceless
When the sun did shine
We'd run to the corner of 166
By Moes candy store
And jump into our neighborhood pond
The local fire hydrant
We would Frolic as girls Jumped rope
and looked on with twinkles in their eyes
Sparsely green it was and downright cold
At times this was my home
When told I'd be leaving I cried
Asking mom why
I was sent away far away
My new world my new home
Milbank where I died
And where I was reborn
The metaphor apparent
The sun always shined at Milbank
A real home with a Pointy roof
A white picket fence
Corralling daffodils
There were ducks and frogs
Of all kinds
and lurking poison ivy and sumac
Snakes and bats and more grass
But there was no hydrant
With empty cans of reingold
Beer abound
Only a brook,a lake,and two pools
There was grass galore and trees
And blue skies
As far as the eye can see
This was my new home
A place where I belonged
Even the name Milbank sounded
Homey pleasant and everlasting
When I finally left Milbank
We all sang in a lull
My friends cried I cried
Then I died
Never to be reborn
As before.....
Here within this mid-majors town, their driving her homeless down....
Chasing the broken children hearts, all about ? Truth, amid his Babylon's
Historic terms aside from such razzle dazzle hypocritic apostasy ? Vanguard's
Vexation degree and, philosophies: Phooey, your fine tuned circus choreographed
Puppet acts no pun intended; to palliate pain through Frankenstein's palsy, pageantry ?
Riding indubitable's infectious high horse spawned their poison sumac: simon-pure simple
Fractions his dossier have it your way today plexus pressage ? Stepping past a portal of where.
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