Last year, we planted California poppies
For the first time. Only one plant survived,
But we were delighted and proud that our
Poppies thrived and thrilled all who saw them.
This year, desirous of a great show spot,
I transplanted California poppies
On top of our dirt pill.
To my sore disappointment,
They all withered and died.
I wanted to cry, but because
The poppies of '25 were so
Popular, I will continue to try.
Hoping to spread the beauty,
We have shared some poppies
with our wonderful niethbors
And are anticipating their success.
50.
My 7th Leaf
Pulled thee near from earth
A short shoot – new birth
Among the humblest
One of the smallest
Behold!...a “kamia”!
Obtained by father
From bank of river
Whoever planted
Not known by my head
Transplanted and then
Tenth day – September
Twenty-third's over
About nine morning
Mist sprayed – thought raining
‘Bout nine thirty – wrote
Before – bank river
Now – “takas” – father
There he transplanted
On land adopted
Bless it to prosper
This one is special
Birthday memorial
So far the only
Written so early
While sun not yet gone.
-09/10/2011
(Dumarao)
*My Toladas Collection
“If you give me rice, I’ll eat today; if you teach me how to grow rice, I’ll eat every day.”
- Quote by Mahatma Gandhi
------------------------------------------------
sprouted, sowed, dressed, transplanted
soil rich, fertile, warm
puddled field, drained well, weeded
panicle to grains
gently harvested
life staple
food
From thirteen colonies, a nation rose,
With liberty's flame, forever it glows.
Delaware first, its colors bold,
"Liberty and Independence" proudly hold.
Pennsylvania next, with virtue's might,
"Virtue, Liberty, and Independence" burning bright.
New Jersey joins, with freedom's plea,
"Liberty and Prosperity" for all to see.
Georgia stands tall, with wisdom's grace,
"Moderation and Justice" in its embrace.
Connecticut thrives, a spirit true,
"He who transplanted still sustains anew."
Massachusetts strong, with courage pure,
"By the sword we seek peace, but peace secure."
Maryland follows, with arms held wide,
"Fatti maschii, parole femine" as their guide.
South Carolina rises, prepared and free,
"While I breathe, I hope" eternally.
New Hampshire’s cry, bold and clear,
"Live Free or Die" without fear.
Virginia’s might, through tyrants' fall,
"Thus Always to Tyrants," freedom for all.
New York stands tall, with dreams so high,
"Excelsior" calls to reach the sky.
North Carolina, steadfast and true,
"To be, rather than to seem" is what they pursue.
Rhode Island, last, but forever bright,
"Hope" their beacon, guiding the light.
Feeling kinda cruddy, yup, that's the word
Too many fries, too many burgs
When will I learn I can't handle that stuff
Stomach rebels, starts causing a fuss
Once could eat nails and all kinds of gunk
Now I eat mush and ground junk
My teeth are all gone, can't chew anymore
Things go down whole, my tummy gets sore
So such is the life of this senior type dude
Head for the washroom, each time I eat food
Food disappears like famous greased lightning
Or I sit there for hours, really quite frightening
Irregularity's my name, I'm “IRREG” for short
Hope an operation, I don't have to resort
An artificial esophagus transplanted in me
So I can go regular like it once used to be
Oh for the days when I could eat all that junk
Those days are gone, who woulda thunk
That one day I'd be eating my morning cereal
Laced with Metamucil or some such material!
disgusting little red creature
beating on the floor
with its ugly feet
like tubes — rosy and violet-colored
sucking the air like an ameoba
wanting for flavors long extinct
disgusting red little creature
pumps its little legs
spilling itself on every
creature it lands on
like a bee stinging frozen leather
wanting for victories long extinct
ugly little red creature
transplanted itself
only to be attacked by the system
you poor, stupid thing
loitering in foreign territory
waiting for hope long extinct
little red disgusting creature
wants what it wants
and gets what it gets
stomped, and broken
until it’s just
a disgusting creature
flowers naturally gravitated to this beautiful meadow
they arrived renegade, their seeds transplanted by the wind
bluebells, lilies, carnations, roses and daisies thrived here
the ancient battlement in the near distance was thrilled
he had never expected to see anything this gorgeous in this life
a gift from god, he told himself, and of course, they were
I have always liked the hollow dark,
the cave, the sealed carcass of the night,
the lightless womb of the closed seed.
You said you were human,
and I laughed until my belly shook the earth.
I Imagined your bones cracking
from the heat of a great fire.
I ground my teeth with the ash
of a few brittle words.
"No one is 'human',
we are alien seeds replanted,
into a fertile blindness.
Humans are the shells,
the pods, the skin of a reality
they have yet to realize or reveal.
The garden,
what you call 'soul',
is a transplanted being,
it lives concealed,
within that alien you.
Keep that garden,
hidden from any who would,
proudly claim to be
remotely human!"
It's a divine quality. It demands inner stasis
Iron-hard mind, petrified with pessimism, is altered
Ego gives way; generous grace cells form a fine basis.
Inauspicious elements of selfishness get faltered
As from freshly transplanted seedlings, there's transformation
Noble feelings, attitudes, and behaviours, like spring, thrive.
Resentment giving way to kindness, there's new creation
Elevated needs and enhanced optimism are alive
Sows hope-filled seeds of the future, decreasing depression
Like new wine in a new skin, angles of outlook alter
Repentance, reconciliation, and restoration
Lead to restitution and redemption with no falter.
Soul, like jubilant birds in the blue sky, is exultant
Within, divine graces, like flooding rivers, are abundant.
Determined, she moved to Minnesota to grow a coconut tree.
We wondered about her sanity, our cousin Diamond Lee.
Wouldn’t it grow better in a warm climate instead of the snow.
She said “are you kidding? Santa is always here with a ho ho ho.”
We could not convince her to stay in Maui, so she transplanted herself.
Took her coconut tree along for the ride, plucked him off her shelf.
She sends us Christmas letters that say the tree is sixteen feet high.
We roll our eyes, believing that as much as every other kind of lie.
the screen door closes with a rattle
like a man trying to throw Yahtzee
despite the odds
shortly after, the familiar footfall of my father
calling ‘Baba boy, baba boy’ to me on the porch
I life my mug in reply, filled with hot coffee,
he fills the watering can with cold water
a low breeze rustles the fronds of a palm tree
father pours water on transplanted roots. it grows here
despite the odds
that old fellow resting on a park bench
that kid holding a short stick
with a bouncing red balloon tied to it
that spotty dog barking at the balloon
all are a temporary shelter
the homeless
don't look for benches to rest upon
they have stuff and they fear to carry it far
the benches were transplanted elsewhere
when the homeless turned up
that old fellow on a bench
that kid and the bouncing dog
know a temporary shelter
when they see it
most benches are planted
by those that have moved on
DELIBERATIONS
nonetheless
a deliberate
continuance
in
a
realisation
of
the
emotional
an exp!osive
apocalypse
to
mark
a
poignant
awareness
where
timeless
passions
&
idealogies
are
suspended
in
a
humbler
resurgent
inheritance
strengthened
transplanted
transfigured
&
tempered
by
valid unbroken
tradition
When you hollow HELP to the LORD
In sincerity He hears your called
Before you fall to the soil
Riches or wealth accompanied with pride
Nor shall it bloom transplanted to that call.
Help, help you may called
In sincerity you much stand tall.
H is for Heaven which is above
E is for Eternity for the called
L is for Love He has for all
P is for the present
He hears your call
After all He is God Almighty
Sovereign, Supreme He is there
Even when you fall
Now stand tall
Unlimited even when you fall.
I died on surgeons table
Before surgeons knife sliced my chest
Before anesthesia put me to rest
I died in imagination as hopes die in fable
Vivid thoughts ran amok
Which new abode I will go, if I die
What new way I will live, if I survive
Mind clueless, thoughts at dead end fork
Malfunctioning Valve plucked out
New Heart Valve transplanted
Ribs cut, Heart put on ventilator
Surgery over, operation table light put out
With dangling drips, in ICU, I was shifted
Resurrection hopes shifted to ticks of monitor
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.