The Lonely Weed Poetry Contest
Craig Cornish
I set out across the country,
hitching a ride on boxcars
to wherever the wind takes me.
I tumble here, and I tumble there,
across the steel of eyes,
voices of condemnation,
and the hands of fate.
Yet some days are better than others.
For I bask in the green grass.
Other days, I hide through the cracks,
lonely, dark, and cold.
When I'm hungry,
I take the soil from crying babies
and disrupt the lawn.
Along every stop,
I ward off the pesticides of life,
teetering and tottering with the pull of the wind.
It could be windier ... it could be sunnier
It all started on a whim.
Life is so much sunnier now
just knew it would be somehow
After decades of delay
when inertia held sway
My mental stones gathering moss…
I at last pulled the plug
on my addictive a.m. drug:
No more newspaper on my front steps
no more negativity to vex
me all day and all night
‘bout who’s wrong, what’s not right
Now I eat undisturbed, sleep like a baby
wake up hopeful, fresh as a daisy
No addiction is harmless, not even ‘the news’
~ ending the pain was up to me to choose
Clothes in a wardrobe still so neat
Your favourite fragrance makes it so complete
A task set without choice for me
To sort your things not so easily
The jacket you wore for colder times
And the hat for your head for sunnier climes
Are all hanging in their place
Ready for you to wear for your worldly face
I open the drawers in your bedside chest
Where there are things you treasured best
Here’s your watch still ticking away
And pictures of us on Christmas Day
I pack them up or give them away
Mementos of the life you left today
Each one a memory of you
A smile for you now to remember too.
© Paul Warren Poetry
Always look on the sunny side
The sunny side of life
It's where you'll forever find me
Life's just one big slice
A slice of joy and happiness
Waiting for you to call
Doesn't even require a passport
It's there to welcome all
A thousand times more enjoyable
Than stumbling round in a funk
Your step will have a much livelier gait
You'll smile a whole big bunch
All are capable, my very good friends
Matter of mind over matter
If you think positive and grin each day
Happy genes will get much fatter
Now it's very well known knowledge
Happy genes can go a long way
To extending your days here on earth
It'll be a much happier stay!
And the praying mantis is baying
for an excursion to sunnier chimes
The Sun goes down
bored casting shadows
Have you heard this one?
obscene said the Minister for good taste.
And the Moon wishes it was somewhere else
as our sprawling vows break up
like the crumbling of rocks
Fortitude dear one
said the purveyor
never to raise again
Roses look redder
Sunflowers sunnier
Chrysanthemums brighter
Queen Anne's lace whiter
Leaves waving like pennants
Puffy clouds sail along
Grass green and refreshed
Birds sing their song
The breeze lifts my spirits
One click saves and submits it
I read You – less to learn,
for words are not Your
language nearly, but to touch
the spirit of You, Your dear presence
my soul pronunciation – “I live...
but not I” – more the spirit of Your
reflection seeking sunnier clarification –
Light is Your signature; warmth Your
essence further forming me, rising and baking
new patterns into my atoms, for greater worship
and ever brighter expression – Love is Your
essence, the bread of my being, and the voice
of my longing heart – I yield, not to lose
myself, but to gain livelier access, to You,
my sole source of ever resplendent identification –
I am authentic only when You speak, and I listen...Christ
is Your gift of relationship -- Our Family and
eternal bond....
The tiny seed wasn’t certain it wanted to sprout
It had been through such trauma above the soil
winds buffeting it this way and that
striking sign posts and trees
bouncing off them before being whisked away
once again with no idea when or where it would end
everything out of its control
Finally the gusts died down and it had landed
where it now found itself
trampling feet and the activity of animals
pushing it down into the ground
buried where it was safe and warm
but it knew it had a job to do
so it sent the first small tendril creeping
out of its shell and took a look around
only to discover it had come to rest
at the base of a big oak tree which
shaded the sun
its roots spread in an extensive network all around
selfishly soaking up all the water when it rained
I came across the brown and suffering little shoot
identifying with its plight
as I had experienced much the same metaphorically
since the morning I had emerged
from my mother’s womb
Retrieving a trowel I carefully transplanted it
to a sunnier spot where it might have a chance
to survive and thrive
Fizzing with excitement
Teaming with fruity flavor
Zesty and delightful
My color is beyond compare
I am a painter, and cannot imagine
Any painting without it.
She colors lilies and dragons,
leaves, and wild women’s hair
I lavish her upon a canvas with finesse
She does not hold back, and neither do I
We are exuberantly delightful.
We splash ourselves into life,
loving what comes
We are zealous zealots
Making no apologies for our actions
Not as blatant as stop signs or fire trucks
A near relative but sunnier
We need no glitter or sparkle
Our joy comes out in soul force
into the meadows in the form of tiger lilies
We are confidence, we are hope, we are delight
Beaks and legs of ducks are beholden to us
Harvest moon would be dour without us
We are glamour and excitement
We are enthusiastically and unapologetically ourselves.
sunnier than the sun
her disposition is golden
she exudes rays of happiness
enthusiasm gleans forth
she spins and twiirls us easily
she is invincible, powerful, funny
a miracle, who lights up the sun
Grandpa and I are both entranced and charmed
Be still my soul, soon love will come calling
Sunnier days and bliss, my raptured heart
Will no longer search the whole world over
Yearning for your sweet endearing embrace
Your whispered sighs are drifting on the breeze
Speak softly to me the promise you vow
My distant lover come soothe the hunger
For your kisses, and hold me tightly, dear,
I can feel the comfort of your caress
Know you are mine forever and ever.
May 21, 2021
The days quickly fade
easing into the flowers of early to mid-May,
a glance across the garden's edge
strewns the path where footprints wedge,
the irises rise in gangly stalks tall
buds forming as if in a ladder sprawls;
first, short exuberances bleached ivory and white
then yellow bearded brown tongue delights,
these later sunnier days announce
deep passionate purple velvets that bounce
deep dark burgundy silks appear across scaped land
the tallest, regalia mesmerizing and grand
May with little rain
entices Iris blooms once again.
It's time for the warmer and sunnier spring weather
Which brings out young girlies in their shortest shorts ever
Must watch my heart
Rhythm's off the chart
You could knock this old bird over with a feather
if our story ends
as all stories must
i’d want to
remember
each chapter
unfolding
as i sift through
the pages of
memories past
see fate's
written word
scribe how
we first met
recollect
sunnier times
treasured within
hear in my head
out from pages
come to life
the echoes
of laughter
in hindsight
reassess
certain chapters
rested against
their bent corners
not time yet
for dreams
to be ripped
at the seams
nor tattered
and tossed
much rather
i'd fancy
deeper meaning
unveil
lenience and mercy
turn angst to dust
make amends
whilst
old bitter flames
turn to ash
smoldering
bury the past
peaceful at last
unfettered
free to etch
on blankness
of pages to come
draw with ink
of dreams
perched
on the wings
of new love
yet to be
written
collaboration with Line Gauthier
posted on November 28, 2019
if our story ends
as all stories must
i’d want to
remember
each chapter
unfolding
as i sift through
the pages of
memories past
see fate's
written word
scribe how
we first met
recollect
sunnier times
treasured within
hear in my head
out from pages
come to life
the echoes
of laughter
in hindsight
reassess
certain chapters
rested against
their bent corners
not time yet
for dreams
to be ripped
at the seams
nor tattered
and tossed
much rather
i'd fancy
deeper meaning
unveil
lenience and mercy
turn angst to dust
make amends
whilst
old bitter flames
turn to ash
smoldering
bury the past
peaceful at last
unfettered
free to etch
on blankness
of pages to come
draw with ink
of dreams
perched
on the wings
of new love
yet to be
written
Collaboration with Sandra Adams
AP: 3rd place 2020, Front Page Pick 2021
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