tarnished m e m e n to s
become tumbleweeds
d
r
i
f
t
i
n
g ~
in infernos
b l a z e
Categories:
tarnished, dark, deep, fire, imagery,
Form: Haiku
My own reflections are making me weak,
My own deceptions are making me bleak.
My own honesty is making me a mockery,
My own light is making me dark.
It is taking me over;
It has breached my cover.
It is neither tremendous nor tranquil,
I am consumed by my craving for whimsy.
The tranquility it offers me—
I am way above this buttery flee.
The bliss it comes with—
I am neither in my business nor between its sharp teeth.
I will not urge you to go easy on me,
I will not ask you for a serene salvation,
I will not take your heavenly throne,
And make it my own.
The share meant for me is set aside;
I only want that part.
No one can truly replace anyone,
Yet I am a stranger to who I have become.
Categories:
tarnished, depression, extended metaphor, identity,
Form: Free verse
Just on a whim I took a walk,
following the trills of a lark
Along new trails did I embark,
not recognizing a landmark
Fearing the worst, if truth be told,
along unknown paths I had strolled
The air touched me with frigid cold
Sunlight faded to tarnished gold
Cicadas sang as they took flight
'neath lavender skies of twilight
The path back home was in my sight
Before the day turned into night
Moonlight cast a soft silver glow
I smiled as it began to snow
Categories:
tarnished, day, night,
Form: Quatorzain
Cast no shadow on my grave,
Step not on this tarnished ground.
Bring no flag to gently wave,
Utter not a single sound.
Bear no witness to my life,
Say no prayer to save my soul.
Pity not my daily strife,
Worry not the Devil's role.
Blame not others for my dread,
Let no others pay my lease.
Fear not dark clouds overhead,
Let no God disturb my peace.
Categories:
tarnished, death,
Form: Rhyme
Categories:
tarnished, war,
Form: Free verse
AGAPE LOVE
There's a heart of infinite love
Which reaches down to man
But oh we have a tarnished view
Of our great Creator's plan
The Father sent His Son to us
To give us such a glimpse
Of what His glory's all about
And yet we are so dense
He wants so much for us to see
His love is really true
But with all the evidence
We barely have a clue
We have so much more to learn
Of what love is all about
But as we open up our eyes
We'll begin to sing and shout
Because when that love is in our heart
And we understand it more
Our love for all will grow intense
As we near the heavenly shore
Copyright, Kathryn Search
Categories:
tarnished, conflict, confusion, forgiveness, inspirational
Form: Rhyme
That bright young President shot down in Dallas
who turned out to be an addict and philanderer.
And don’t get me started on our most
recent former President and his insurrection.
That hundred-meter sprinter who held an Olympic
Record overnight until his urine tested positive.
That cohort of steroid taking home run hitters who
demolished Maris’ record and now in the Hall of Infamy.
That Bills back who still holds rushing records but
might well have got off Scot-free with murder.
That person you though you would become
who became the person you are.
Categories:
tarnished, hero,
Form: Free verse
Vincent vanished after robbing his friend
Because that should be the end…
Joe isn’t going to ignore it nor bend
Nor him a friend’s penny lend
Nor oh his siblings spend
Nor towards his company tend…
Never a relief to him send
Nor for his woes clothes rend
Nor their relationship mend
Saw him I when he vanished
But he has his image tarnished.
Categories:
tarnished, absence, anger, break up,
Form: Rhyme
new year's fresh promise
is quickly tarnished by war
and rumors of war
See Matthew 24:6-13 NIV
For: NEWNESS senryu Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Beata Agustin
SyllableCounter.net
January 28, 2022
Categories:
tarnished, dark, new year, war,
Form: Senryu
God's oral,
and Gaia's ancient ****
naturally spiritual laws
are win/win discursive,
not win/lose debating,
when climate polycultural conditions
are democratically healthy thriving
Not blaming,
judging,
shaming,
cursive,
as when monoculturing colonizations
of EurAsians autocratically
and kleptocratically sick
and barely monotheistically surviving
curiously endure inhumane denial
of runaway capitalist win/lose
LeftBrain dominant
straight white patriarchal
lose/lose ego/eco-fading systemic nihilism
Repression of ecowomanist mindfulness
lustiness
integrity
bilateral resilience
Suppression of post-traumatic climate stress disorder
Depression
of PolyCultural Sacred Law
for and of
humane sensory EarthTherapeutic Justice
Musical
mindfully mused
meditative medication
as Blue/Green
4/4
Who Are We For?
regenerative rhythmed
co-passioned
deeply resonant peace.
Categories:
tarnished, analogy, earth, education, god,
Form: Political Verse
A creosote frown mars
the stony landscape.
Time’s sundial remnant
a tilting chimney shadow
circling a homestead memory.
The foundation survives
the dream remains
tangled in ivied struggle
longing for the sound of footsteps
the creak of long silenced boards.
Uprooted stones, thrown together
solidly different
yet settling ever slowly
into a new place
bonding in a shared need.
Alone now
tarnished stones
pay silent homage
mark the passage
of timeless generations.
©8/8/2021
August 2021 NA'S Poetry Contest
Date judged 8/14/2021
Categories:
tarnished, america, change, immigration, time,
Form: Free verse
"Midnight cast its cloudy beams
From the gloom the shadows went
Smudging all the tarnished dreams"
Cimmerian moonlight gleams
As troubled thoughts spread their scent
Midnight cast its cloudy beams
Reigning in nightmarish screams
Whispers of silence lament
Smudging all the tarnished dreams
Mindful of the starry streams
Groggy eyes nod their assent
Midnight cast its cloudy beams
Aware of night's darkened schemes
Sleep vanishes in torment
Smudging all the tarnished dreams
Haggard mind in its extremes
Longs for peace to feel content
Midnight cast its cloudy beams
Smudging all the tarnished dreams
04.26.2021
For Joseph May's "Choose your form" contest
Categories:
tarnished, night, sleep, stress,
Form: Villanelle
"Midnight cast its cloudy beams
From the gloom the shadows went
Smudging all the tarnished dreams"
Lying deep inside my mind, it seems,
My thoughts become twisted and bent
“Midnight cast its cloudy beams”
Run strangely amuck in painful extremes
Synapses spark, mixed messages sent
“Smudging all the tarnished dreams”
With motion pictures in flashing streams
My overworked brain completely spent,
“Midnight cast its cloudy beams”
Kaleidoscopic visions a hundred memes
Some cruel, others entirely unmeant,
“Smudging all the tarnished dreams"
The time will come--beyond the screams,
When the mind will most certainly relent.
“Midnight cast its cloudy beams
Smudging all the tarnished dreams”
THIRD PLACE WINNER
April 24, 2021
“Choose Your Form” Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Joseph May
[Villanelle using provided quotation]
Categories:
tarnished, imagination, mental illness,
Form: Villanelle
The critics rue the day,
for they don't like the rain.
They can't look inside hearts,
where is the real pain.
People walking the streets,
some care about their gait.
While others simply try,
to keep up with their fate.
The hope we keep alive,
that the sun will return.
When it all will depend,
on what we have earned.
Something we have in life,
to make the spirit fly.
Even if the heavens,
choose this day to cry.
When comes the dark of night,
the yellow moon above.
Will shed its light on thee,
to show the humans love.
The life we all must face,
may not be all pleasure.
but we could find that life
is a tarnished treasure!
date:4/13/21
Categories:
tarnished, life,
Form: Rhyme
Memories, like treasures, are oft tarnished by time
stored in that vault in the back of your mind.
But dreams buff them,
until they shine.
Polishing forgotten thoughts with remembered loves,
you wipe away life's crud down to the shine.
And amidst tears and rusted promises;
you discover golden moments retain their shine.
Do you believe Hope's a Genie
powered by imagination?
Then, rub its lamp;
and make it shine.
Categories:
tarnished, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form: Rhyme
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