Tether Poems | Examples

List of Member Poems

Premium Member Eternally, Eternally

Eternally, eternally all clocks unwind;
To be rewound — a life untethers to be re-bound
Old eyes forget the forewarnings wisdom teaches;
They widen to look anew where experience beseeches

Set sail into the ancient light anew—
Adrift upon a mirrored sea of stars and lulling waves,
Rocking steadily and toward an enlightened litany
Of ideas and shapes that mould us as we wake,
In loving arms and eyes that behold us
And each little breath we take,

One new timid star, shining amongst so many,
Outshine and out-reach the distant rims;
Cast an urging light for our daunted whims
Held in check by the shackled limbs,
The instilled deprecation that dims.
And let my eyes unbind, aglitter—
The horizonal-line—
Trans-destine—
And free.

An iteration—
A fantasy—
Adream midst destiny—
A new you, a new me.

Premium Member The Tether of Our Souls

The Tether of Our Souls

People who plant the great oak trees
will never live to see the wonderful,
cool shade it will provide.

You see this act is not for only oneself,
but for all, a triumphal tribute
allowing all things to survive.

These acts of kindness,
the tether of our souls,
bring the ultimate reward
to so many branches,
it is wondrous to behold.

This gift to nature and mankind
comes from an unsullied origin,
a purity that resonates
through all things that are intertwined.

Soothing the soul of the source
will linger forever,
but it's the roots, limbs and leaves,
that bind us all together.

Premium Member The Shadow’s Tether

                     s
                     t
                     a
                     n
                     d
                     i
                     n
                     g 
where gravel morphs into 
grains of sand 
his curious eyes fixed
at a raven tap-dancing 
with its beak. 
             the raven 
doesn't ask why 
the afternoon sun is pale
or why the air reeks 
of wet stone and exhaust;
              it only wants the shine 
his coat unsuitable 
for the January damp 
the zipper stuck halfway - 
a jagged metal teeth-grin 
biting at his chest 
he watches the commuters pass 
their faces blurred 
like charcoal sketches 
pelted by cloudburst 
he feels the weight of 
               his own shadow 
a dark, heavy ink 
spilled across the sidewalk 
tethered to his heels by 
a thin line of habit 
               he wonders 
if he's the man 
or merely the space 
the man occupies 
a hallowed-out shape
 on a crowded street 
waiting for the light to change 
or the ground 
to finally... 
          speak


Caveman

Civilisation's got me down
taking me to the tail of my tether
driving me round the bend
I'm not going to stick it out
to see where it will end
I'll do my best to regress
back to the stone age
cook on fire paint the walls
sit on rocks keep my cool
do what I have to when nature calls
humanity gets my goat
making me vote skins no clothes
leading me to lunacy's throes
I'm not going to see it through
to find where it all goes
I want to be a cave caveman
a tough rough-and-ready caveman
and do what cavemen do
and if you feel the animal urge
I'll make caveman love to you

Eternal Tether

Threads unseen, yet tightly wound,
Hearts in silence, ever bound.
Through time and space, a soulful call,
One love found, one love all.
A fleeting breath, a whispered vow—
Forever starts in the here and now.

Infine Tether Bound

“Whatsoever that be within us that feels, thinks, desires, and animates, is something celestial, divine, and, consequently, imperishable.” Quote by Aristotle

The aurora borealis glowed above us,  
Beckoning us to the stars,  
where meteoroids and asteroids challenge,  
microgravity becomes our new reality.  
stardust speckles our skin,  
creating an ethereal glow.  
I’m lost in your soul's windows,  
diving into your solar plexus,  
drowning in the Milky Way's whirlpool.  
Our bodies sweat, cosmic confetti bursts,  
celestial hallucinations haunt my mind,
my engine is ready to combust,  
asteroid ashes and space dust swirl.  
As our lifetime dissipates,  
I stitch my lifelines to your skin,  
in shimmering ink,
we await the encore of rebirth,  
new bodies formed from cracked constellations,  
descending from heaven's opalescent gate.


Premium Member Tether

I never realized nor told you 
My love has always been a lie,
Because I never wanted to tell you,
Or else you would cry.

I never wanted to hurt you,
But to be fair in love and war
You had emotionally hurt me too,
As my heart became what you tore.

I never want to be with you anymore,
Because I found what I needed,
A sense of paradise lost made my heart sore,
As I felt the seeds blooming from an old love long ago seeded.

I never want you to forget me either,
Just never try to win me back,
And never try to force me to your tether,
Just please cut me some slack.

From tether frees tied up ease

Day ends to  be eve, 
And mounting come memories
Gloomy heart to grieve.
Yet, sets in when late eve’s breeze,
From tether frees tied up ease.

O thou late eve’s breeze,
What if ye come all alone
Without memories,
To let me linger till dawn
When pleasant dreams play nigh prone.
_____________________________
Tanka |04.04.2024| evening, memories, dreams

Premium Member It's a Tether

It’s a tare.
A sort of find.
She’s not there.
Yet a this is mine.
It’s an after.
For a longs to be.
She’s not weather.
For a look to see.
It’s an always.
At a door a name.
She’s not there.
For a way a frame. 
It’s a languish. 
A less than take.
She’s not there. 
For a way to make.
It’s a wonder.
An always in a wish.
She’s not there.
For me with a kiss.
It’s a tether.
An ask for a care.
She’s not there. 
In a miss to bear.



for B

Tethers

Tethers

I stole upon a lusty wind
To gain the Summer sky.
A slender tail
Sustained me well
As I began to climb.

Uplifted to fantastic heights
Yet higher still I sought
But, lo, my frame
Could nothing gain
No matter how I fought.

For from below the tether bold,
A simple length of string,
Restrains my urge
And every surge
Else I would wander free.

A snap and I am reeling hard,
Convulsively I spin.
Untethered I
Am wielded by
A juggernaut of wind.

Oh would that I were tethered now,
Complicit with the breeze.
It's where I ought
To be and not
Entangled in these trees.

Premium Member Crazy Tether Ball Playing Hornet

A crazy tether ball playing hornet
Fell on her head over the game’s rope net. 
Her mamma said “What?”
She fell on her butt.
Accidentally showing her pink corset.

Premium Member Tether Lines

So deep the loss...loss

different than any of those others’.* Others

can’t help but hear my cries, cries

of help. So deep the sorrow...sorrow

keeps the lump in my heart, heart

of despair. The one I need most to hear...hear

me she never quit, until her time was up. Up,

I look for help. Down I read the tether lines, lines

upon pages in books. Books

written by varied authors. Authors —

I glean from their advice...advice

with stories of suffering, suffering

taken to the cross, nailed through feet and hands. Hands

fold.  He patiently, lovingly, mercifully listens to me.

6/3/2021

*Or so it seems

Premium Member An Emotional Tether

When we share a passionate kiss
I feel loved and completely whole;
conjoined in both body and soul.

Love fills my heart with instant bliss,
coaxing fragile, fledgling feelings
to fly to heights without ceilings.

Believing nothing is amiss,
love caters to my trusting heart;
healing the parts, time tore apart.

My doubts are easy to dismiss
when our souls intertwine as one,
like a knot that can't be undone.

Eternal; we'll cross Death's abyss;
our souls bound tightly together
by an emotional tether.

You alone make me feel like this,
imbuing my day with a smile;
always going that extra mile.

When we share a passionate kiss,
love fills my heart with instant bliss.
Believing nothing is amiss,
my doubts are easy to dismiss.
Eternal; we'll cross Death's abyss,
you alone make me feel like this.

Premium Member An Ebony Tether

The setting Sun singes the edge of Earth:
dimming down, any lingering light found.
And Sol's receding rays give shadows girth,
while ebony slowly engulfs the ground.

Twilight fades, and darkness begins to creep,
silently leashed to an ebon tether.
And from the undergrowth, there's not a peep,
as Dusk stitches silhouettes together.

While the day shuts down, stars begin to show:
twinkling against a drab backdrop of black.
And tides in a cobalt sea, ebb and flow,
while Gaia welcomes a pitted moon back.

Awaiting Dawn's releasing rays of light;
shifting shadows are shackled to the night.

Tether Me

Take my hand and tether me
my fingers outstretched,
long and unnatural,
being pulled gently, slowly,
vibrations slowing.

Don't let my fingers slip away --
do not release my weight 
or am I weightless?
Which second or millisecond
do we transform from weight to ether?
The soul knows and prepares for lift
and for loft. 

I see you now, expressionless,
or crying -- maybe dying,
as I drift upward, speed increasing.

I see you and you grow smaller.
I'm flying now.  Can you see me?
You are a pinpoint
much like an ink mark, superfine,
on paper that once recorded
who I was and
who you will continue to be. 

Tether my memory now, dear love,
I fear I am a pinpoint too.

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.

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