Goodbye cuts the air
with an odd, misshapen lance-
too sharp to swallow
it lingers on ragged breath
it's aftertaste scalds the soul
It feeds like a beast
clawing at the heart's locked gate
demanding more tears
its anger never subsides
its hunger never sated
Yet inside the wound
a new dawn begins to break
away from parting
sweetening bitter sorrows
with a palatable sauce
Goodbye has a seed,
to be cast in barren fields
fragile and daring
when given a chance to grow
now the stubble has been cleared
Kneading the old clay,
we shape what remains behind,
sculpting mementos
into what can not be done
before the goodbyes are said
Each farewell when made
to echo in memories,
fierce, bitter, and sad
can welcome what's to follow
by seeing sorrow as sweet
Like flowers blooming,
let us scent the air with peace;
breezing God's sweet love:-
No eyes to see
its beauty
no nose to smell
its fragrance
opening buds
in silk elegance
nourishing bees
and butterflies
coloring day
with rainbow
and sweetening air
with fragrance
then bowing stem
to life's demands
it drops its halo
of colors
on sparkling
morning grass
or heart of rocks
in sorrow
to ripen fruits
it cannot taste
picked by thieves
or saints
with secrets
of life
encoded in seeds
miracle of
rebirth
it serves neighbor
without lament
as programmed by
the Creator
and if man took hint
from humble plants
switching
from ego demands
to God's
sweet commands
all earth would rejoice
and sing hymns of glory
to life's Creator
Love.
First Place Winner: Brian Strand-Only Feb 2025 Posted-2/26/25
The search
Names all experience:
Discomfort searching for comfort
Poverty searching for more
Death searching for life
Unsweetened searching for sweetening
The not-yet searching for already
And on and on..
Then there is that star and
The cradle...
My worst nightmare sat down beside me
With the most angelic face
And whispered things too hard to swallow
His smile sweetening the taste
“All that’s wicked has the upper hand
“All that’s pure has gone to waste.”
Sweetening is the morning due
sheets of mist enveloping two
Shower curtain our naked view
balmy gazes, we see right through
Sight to behold, her beauty true
saturated, midst honey dew
She walked in the natural belle of Yule
lit up like the glitter upon the trees;
Holding a dove waiting for it’s release
in her arms the white bird appeared a jewel;
Harmony poured from every molecule,
joy rang in and sang of freedom and peace;
Flying off fingertips into the breeze
it’s wings carried an iconic symbol;
Encompassing each of the Northern Lights
her smile grew like the return of the Sun;
Sweetening the lips like a candy cane
something to believe in rose to new heights;
The journey to warmth and light had begun
bringing some hope that all year would remain.
Valley Haven
Swooping down across the valley,
Glistening green sequins reflecting the sun,
Dozens of green parrots playfully rally
As their sunset ritual has begun.
Misty rain along valley walls
Brings a mystical Hawaiian rainbow
Sweetening the air as it gently falls
Enlivening the tropical foliage below.
I watch, enchanted, from my lanai
Awed by nature's brilliant display
Surely, none is more fortunate than I
To dwell in such beauty, day by day.
My refuge during this challenging time
With the world appearing tempest tossed
This valley exudes an atmosphere sublime
Assuring me that hope is not lost.
Molly Moore
He tightly sermonized on Harmony,
Neatly anchoring it in More Money:
How none of it unleashes Acrimony
And could crush A Holy Matrimony.
Soon, he alighted on Ceremony
But still built it on More Money:
The Humorless it clothes with The Funny,
A fiesta sweetening like Honey…
A public preacher, then, on More Money,
Now, his listeners fooling with Harmony
Next The Thing titling Ceremony.
More Money Man’s Doubly Assured Harmony,
Even the seeds from Strangled Matrimony,
Keeps tending with Authorized Alimony.
I'm just talking as if I don't know
how to put the weight of mistakes
on the scale anymore
a kind of beneficial oblivion
capable of sweetening the sourness of mistakes
maybe I found the right way
to lovingly tamper with disappointment
decreasing the violence of his damage
and bringing it to a comfortable size
so that it fits in my jeans pocket
and allows me to parade one more time like this:
the washed face of one
who blindly trusts the very lie of his redemption
forget.
I looked there from the other side and there is nothing.
(as if the world's green carpet wasn't enough,
the golden grain of the beaches,
the mathematical accuracy of every stone that hurts our feet).
I'm tired of sweetening what has no taste:
the porch of the house that faces a dark dead-end street,
the confused dreams that crumble in the sunlight,
the poisonous illusion that something will change.
forget.
I looked there from the other side and there is nothing,
only the air tainted in pain,
just infinite cold space,
just the feeling of nausea caused by emptiness
wherever you go
but don't be sad, please.
save your tears for the worst.
that will still come
There is a light
Surrounding the soul
Like laughter and love
Calming and joyful
Sweetening thoughts
With inspiring
Smiles
There is a light
Caressing and clean
Falling all around us
Like grace so gentle
Coloring the air
In whispery
Praise
There is a light
Delighting with insight
Rhythms and rhymes
Poetry on the wind
Dancing with dreams
Piercing the dark
Embracing
There is light
Wonders of hope
Pouring from the heavens
Like rain, so soothing
Dews of exhilaration
Flooded imagination
Serenity
There is light
Flooding the night
With stardust thoughts
Images of moonbeams
Awakening prayers
To assurance
Belief
There is light
Singing in the sky
Glorifying His Son
The One who knows us
Loves without conditions
Gives the gift of
Freedom
I know Him
I praise Him
I love Him
Pay attention to the sufficient sugar,
the sufficient sugar is the most Sweet sweetening of all.
Simple, soft, sufficient sugar.
Never forget the syrupy and lovable sufficient sugar.
One afternoon I said to myself,
"Why isn't the crisp coleslaw more net?"
Never forget the total and everlasting crisp coleslaw.
The cunning, lost love sings like a pure love
Never forget the sly and dodgy lost love.
When I think of the sure sweetheart, I see sure eyes.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the sure sweetheart,
Gently it goes - the soft, the woolly, the wooly-minded.
I cannot help but stop and look at the Sweetness, saccharine sweetness.
Does the saccharine sweetness make you shiver?
does it?
I feel like Archimedes building calculus from scratch;
Got a lever I can lean on, but the fulcrum doesn’t match.
You’ll find them on the scoreboard
And every roulette wheel.
They help you cheat at blackjack
By sweetening the deal.
I feel like Isaac Newton making gravity a game,
Setting poetry in motion, riding Kepler’s horse to fame.
They figure into interest rates
to calculate the yield,
And help the fans identify
The players on the field.
I feel like Alan Turing cracking codes at Bletchley Park,
Decrypting the enigma of injustice in the dark.
They calculate the census,
And quantify amounts.
They’re handy for those vultures
Who tally body counts.
I feel like when Bob Seeger sang of bad arithmetic,
And rocked his Silver Bullet Band in Hindu Arabic.
They give a helpful estimate
Of what we’ll have to pay.
Just amortize your mortgage rate
And wait for Judgement Day.
The kitchen is my refuge
When a respite’s what I need!
From the never-ending deluge
Of daily wants I’m freed.
I mix the oil and sweetening,
The nutmeg, flour and salt.
Add oats or chips or nuts in
With milk, and beat it all!
The warm and spicy smell
Is wonderful to savor,
But then we have, as well,
That so-delicious flavor.
Perhaps I’ll mix some bread up
And set it out to rise
Until it fills the bowl up -
That yeast smell gets the prize!
I love to cook for company
A special dinner treat.
Perhaps a gourmet recipe –
Souffle or trifle sweet.
I really need to clean out
The cellar and the shed,
But I think I’ll turn about
And bake a cake instead!
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