A tall white tower in stones I stretch high,
Towards the expanse or the starry sky;
I stay awake through all hours of the night,
Shining afar my steady, sparkling light.
Pitched at edge of land and sea crashing white,
It is my humble duty and delight
To guide sailors sail safely past the shore
And dread the squally stormy seas no more.
Even If storms should turn the sky to lead,
My beam ever remains where sailors tread;
Even when thunder shakes the hollow ground
I direct them to the shore, safe and sound.
Beyond the reach of warmth and far from home
Sailors trust my tower through mist and foam;
They track the trail of my bright rhythmic glow
Despite the whirling waves and tides below.
My years flit by in midst of salt and spray,
My paints from my walls are peeling away,
Yet still I hold darkness of night at bay
Until the safe and soft return of day.
Apologies From the Tower
Gotten good at your Readings
You laid out the cards one day
And asked them:
What do I bring to our marriage?
Answer: The Tower
Agent of Chaos
Destruction
Change
Disorder
I'll not deny it.
Drunken Sot.
Intellect Without Plan.
Ego Sans Merit.
All of these I am,
Because of which
The Tower trembles.
It trembles for itself.
I'm not sure how to fix all this;
Not sure if I can.
But the Tower cannot stand alone.
It needs a Keeper.
To keep that Keeper
It shall look out from itself,
Far Afar
Until it finds a brighter future
To keep standing for.
So Apologies from the Tower -
Though much battered by itself
It still wants to stand
With its long suffering Keeper
In the Sun,
In your Sun.
France is for Fun
France is for Romance.
France is for Always making memories.
France is for Nice days.
France is for Coffee.
France is for Eiffel Tower.
the clock tower held her hostage
she knew there was a message
aren’t you asleep yet? called her mother
she was quiet, feigning sleep
knowing it was not going to happen tonight
School
Learning
Form a group
Choose a problem
Brainstorm solutions
Pick one. Go fix the world
If it bombs, pick yourself up
LEARN PERSISTENCE ~ NO QUIT IN YOU
I present
my strategy:
a dignified tower
constructed entirely
of questionable choices
and one slightly hopeful
thought.
I sit beside it,
perfectly docile,
like a guard dog that
only guards snacks
and even then
not well.
then comes
the facetious
breeze—
that tiny smirk
the universe gives
right before nudging
and the
tower
leans—
leans—
le—
a n d
I
p r e t e n d
t h i s
w a s
m y
p l a n
a l l
a l o n g.
Bright light not at night.
Fly in the sky as the rainbow grows earlier into colorful that turns into shapes in the atmosphere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
her gaze pinned on that crumbling silhouette~
ribs of stone gnawed by centuries
as violet bleeds through the parapets
Damsel in distress seeking knight
Muffled cries resound from distant castle tower
~ haunting pleas on moonless night
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2025
The Tower was engineered
by Monsieur Eiffel in Paris
the Wheel was favoured
by Mr. Ferris
Michelangelo in Rome
contributed St. Peter's Basilica dome
Eddystone Lighthouse the first
was constructed by Winstanley and
in St. Paul's Cathedral
Sir Christopher Wren had a hand
the seated Thinker
was carved out by Auguste Rodin
the Taj Mahal (Mumtaz') tomb
commissioned by Shah Jahan
all roads lead to the Colosseum
started by Emperor Vespasian
Borglum executed Mount Rushmore
while Hadrian gave us the Wall
and Ferdinand de Lesseps
secured the Suez Canal
in Byzantine Constantinople
Justinian I built the Hagia Sophia
in Italy Bonanno Pisano began
the (later leaning) Tower of Pisa
the Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre
inspired the Sphinx
but in Scotland who designed
the Musselburgh (golf) Links
An ominous water tower
Stands tall in Starin Park
Barricaded by a spiked fence
Iron clads the stained-glass windows
A steel door bolted shut
What secrets lie within its walls?
On the night of a blood moon
Witches shrouded in crimson robes
Conducted a satanic ritual
To call forth a demon from hell.
The ceremony was a success, but at a cost.
Hellborn claws slew the High Witch.
The remaining members stood firm.
Combined their strength to subdue the creature.
Calling forth the spirits of nature,
The witches configured a tower
To confine the bloodthirsty beast
So none shall meet an unfortunate end.
They say on a full moon night,
You can hear otherworldly growls
Echoing throughout the tower
Rattling the bravest of souls
Who'd dare to venture forth
To the Witches Tower.
Teleological
hypotheses bore me
Tautological phraseology
snores me
A beer and a burger ~
I adore thee
An amazing structure stands for centuries.
Icon of France in Paris, the Eiffel Tower.
Gem of the paintings, portraits and poetries.
An amazing structure stands for centuries.
To feel its beauty, replicas in many countries.
Stands tall to enhance the tourism power.
An amazing structure stands for centuries.
Icon of France in Paris, the Eiffel Tower.
- S. D. Tiwari
Inspired by Bob Dylan's "Mississippi"
I was the backbone of your dream—
ribs shaped into beams,
my blood seeping slow,
cementing your tower’s base.
You promised a sky of stars,
a rise beyond all shadows—
but I was just a ghost
etched in your blueprint,
a whisper beneath your tower.
We built forever on lies,
stacking stones on my shoulders—
I was your ground,
your silent sacrifice,
the shadow no one names.
You spoke of freedom—
but all I felt was the weight,
a hollow echo in my bones.
You spoke of love—
and I swallowed the silence
you left behind.
Now the dream is dust,
the sky a fractured lie,
and I stand—
an empty scaffold,
a ruin in the wind.
You vanished in fire—
and I’m left to fall.
The tower dark and cold, a conquest for the brave.
My hands shake, a sign.
The bed unmade, Mother’s throne.
My cheeks lift, freedom.
The jougs bite, a bit looser.
My talons reach for it,
Click. Thud.
The crickets and wind sing, a perfect recipe.
My limbs remember the weight, stillness lingers.
Hunger gnaws where helplessness once slept.
Instincts awaken, survival bound.
"Mother could not keep me bound forever."
The trap is set, candle in the window.
Bread in the oven.
My brave knight, come rescue me.
The song rides the wind, siren slick.
My hair, golden destruction.
A noose spun long.
The pig comes, snorting vows and steel.
Exhausted, he falls, butchered clean.
My hands steady, my stomach full, sleep calls.
The jougs returns, familiar, a crown.
Mother must never know.
For she will do to me.
As I do to the brave.
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