The gods! Ah, the gods
The little silver gods
How fairy-like a melody there bloats
Within their throats
From their fire and brimstone spewing throats
From the parched and arid throats
Of the gods, gods, gods—
Of the gods!
The gods!-ah the gods !
The heavy iron gods!
The horror of their power floats
From their throats
From their ever-infallible throats
From their melancholy idol throats
How I shudder at the notes
Of the gods, gods, gods
Of the gods !
With apologies to Edgar Allan Poe and Mrs. M. A. Shew
The original idea for The Bells, is believed to have been given to Poe by his friend, Mrs Shew. An earlier draft, (titled, The Bells, By Mrs. M. A. Shew.) Contained only two stanzas, totalling seventeen lines.
Categories:
totalling, god, religion, satire, war,
Form: Rhyme
Setting sun carved a path over the Humber
From Hessle right across the river bend
To join the banks at Ferriby Foreshore
Where that path came to its end.
The great smelter chimney
Rising there darkly up high
Sent its stream of carcinogenic smoke
Crawling across the reddening sky.
The resident old transvestite man,
Beach combing the bank for wood
Let the small boat he pulled drift so it
Crossed the path from where I stood.
To my rear the Bridge dominated
Striding the river from side to side
Then the longest in the world
With its span totalling a mile wide.
That strange mixture of past and present
Not there to be seen anymore
For the smelter was pulled down
And taken to pollute a foreign shore;
And the old man in his strange garb?
Not even sure if he’s still here.
I’ve not walked that old path
For far too many years.
But the bridge, now second biggest,
Still spans the waterway
Carrying the road’s traffic
Day after day after day.
A hush in the gathering darkness.
Fading to silence bird song.
And as the sun lowered to earth
My scarlet path was gone.
Categories:
totalling, memory, river, sunset, water,
Form: Rhyme
Tanka contains five lines
This form of poetry
takes us to a moment
that brings ecstasy in
the mind of the reader
through fixed syllables count
totalling thirty one
03rd February 2022
For pleiades poetry contest, Joseph May
Syllables checked at PS
Categories:
totalling, 10th grade,
Form: Pleiades
Please Advise:
If the Universe posted a submission of my poem six times today ( yours yesterday. Or tmorrow) how best to remedy this situation? Nothing is damaged if two CLiCKS posted the same poem ( on 7 the Jan 2022) multiple times, or is there?
The important point for me is "Do I lose the names or clicks of those on the copies I delete from PS?" There are perhaps 5 copies totalling 48 clucks, the one leading with 17 clucks at this hour. Thanx so much. Shalom shalom (The Universe waves Hi to you: Happy 2022)
Categories:
totalling, addiction, angst, anxiety, art,
Form: Prose
Carrying that extra weight on me
Doctor’s order, to cut my calories
Boiled eggs and a orange juice
Fewer carbs now on my plate
An apple now, my lunch date
Soup and salads are my fate
Totalling calories for me to lose
This calorie count burns my fuse.
07.10.2020
Theme picked:4
In Praise of the Ode Poetry.
Categories:
totalling, 2nd grade, change,
Form: Ode
The sleeping man awoke filled with dread
Not a sound to be heard he lifted his head
A leg suspended from the end of the bed
Was swiftly grabbed by hands of the dead
He was flung to the floor with a mighty thud
Dragged out to the garden and into the mud
Cast out and discarded - there he lay in a flood
Which turned out to be a volume of blood!
Arms flailing wildly he swam through the gore
Ghosts floating beside him totalling four
As one jumped inside him he began to soar
Flying higher and higher away from the floor
The ghost using his body he began to glide
Like a roller coaster he was afraid of the ride
He wished he could close his eyes and hide
His life surely over he thought as he cried
Having seen what it wanted the ghost did leave
Guiding him back down to earth by his sleeve
What would his wife think would she believe
If the ghost had killed him would she grieve
Ashamed and filled with disgust and disgrace
As quickly as he could he packed his case
This manor - never again would he grace
One sleepless night was enough in this place
Categories:
totalling, funny, scary,
Form: Rhyme
The pounds are just melting away
You might think I'd be a bit concerned
Well actaully I'm on a mission
To lose 30 pounds before the snow flies
There's no particular reason why
I set that particular number as my goal
It just seems within my reach
Given my age and life style
One thing I've always had is “sticktoitness”
But when I get on a mission, I tend to over indulge
Up to now it hasn't caused me any great problems
I must remember I'm not a young chicken anymore
But as the old saying goes, “use it or lose it!”
And this guy's not ready to cash in my chips just yet!
Started out riding my exercise bike
Once a day for 20 minutes
Recently I've upped it to twice a day
Totalling 40 minutes and am even thinking
Of making it three times a day if I can
I told you I'm on a mission!
Wish me luck my friends... I once heard it said
“No one ever died from TOO much exercise!”
Sure hope that's right... wish me luck!
© Jack Ellison 2014
Categories:
totalling, dedication,
Form: Narrative