Twelve feet of water,
it feels so good to go deep.
Swimming with the stars
green eyes full of my high dives,
fireworks without insurance.
Touching the surface
for the briefest of moments,
give me forever.
Trading everything I have
could never feel like too much.
Sprinting through the pool
my split second fins fly like wings.
I add swift designs,
stills on a rolling canvas.
Dangerous, but so is fear.
Shadows tightly folded
into the hour of noon.
Clock hands clasp
and time stands as the stork does:
unmoving and going nowhere.
Venerable old men,
anchored on park benches,
idly stare in hagioscopic squints
at panting patrons
of sidewalk cafes.
A fly buzzes,
decelerates,
comes to rest…
The dog twitches,
unhitches the fly,
stretches under the table.
Another glass of wine sedates thirst
in warm sips.
A waiter trips.
The dog growls.
Time unclasps its warm greeting.
The stork repairs its stance.
The old men look the other way.
Shadows begin to unfold slowly.
And, as the last chime of twelve
hangs in the air,
only the waiters rush about
like buzzing flies.
(Premier Trophy Win)
The clock strikes twelve bells,
the time is here,
all in their minds
seemed reasonably clear.
Time to go home
and find one's bed,
uncertainty may be welcomed
for others instead.
Light breaks
as the horizon starts to shimmer,
pillows and blankets
lay a peculiar shape.
Eyes are closed soothing pain
from the cheer and wine,
now the pillows are moving,
it is not too late.
The telephone rings
which hangs on the wall,
the alarm clock goes off
from down the hall.
The blinds shutter up and down
dazzling sparkling light all around.
The fan overhead
circulates the air,
cooling the pillows
nestled between our hair.
Sleepiness is calling
and the pillows now quaint,
the simpler days
of collegiate dates.
Why, why nine, why nine cupcakes in the pack?
Only nine friends, or three, can share this snack;
no tea for two without a fight,
four or six have to be polite;
or be wracked with guilt if I hold one back.
i
We’re all different.
Must be something.
ii
Cut off your finger:
you’re still there.
iii
Alive: breath.
Dead: gone.
Do the arithmetic.
iv
Man hides behind a rock.
Bird sees him.
v
No reason then
shouldn’t be now.
vi
For something to vanish
it has to exist.
vii
Einstein's soul:
Does the train move
or does the track?
viii
A number carries a forever:
why not a body?
ix
Pleasure, anger fade:
love, hate, don’t.
What are you?
x
Assume it:
see what happens.
xi
Music lives when it dies.
What about us?
xii
We’re all the same.
Must be something.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
December the twelfth.
12:12
(for my reference only)
Welcome October you are the best.
So glad to see you before winter,
You took a twelve month rest.
Singing birds are in their nest.
Flowers blooming no more bright colors,
Welcome October you are the best.
October is from the east to the west.
We have both hibernated way too long,
You took a twelve month rest.
I see the sun coming up off the crest,
Beautiful colors to start the day.
Welcome October you are the best.
We are truly blessed,
Even if the clouds are gray.
Please be our guest.
We have missed you,
Glad you are back.
Welcome October you are the best,
You took a twelve month rest.
Twelve years ago today, I sat
In a garden, where the birds
Chirped and frolicked in the fountain;
I was waiting for the words
Which would let me know that I’d become
A nana to a boy
And making room within my heart
For some never-ending joy.
No matter what you hear or read,
There is no way to know
How a grandchild stakes his claim on you
And never lets it go.
Of course, that’s if you’re lucky,
And the way things have unfurled,
I’m among the very luckiest
Of nanas in the world!
Darkness is once more, interrupted. Shadows recede into the cool mud below.
Swollen with knowledge gained from their observations above ground.
Daylight burns bridges. Hours setting limits.
Mankind awakens. No longer bewitched. Nor between
Color slowly replacing, a charcoal canvas called night.
Old hands counted fingers to define,
That the hours in a day chime twice twelve,
That the months in a year toll what the old hands told.
Twelve apostles, tribes and days of Christmas do unfold
Twelve jurors decide, the twelfth is the hanged man card,
12 inches make a foot, 12 notes in an octave for a song do abide.
12 eggs in a dozen, 12 faces on two dies, does craps decide.
On 12 lunar cycles and 12 months in a year, does the seasons reside.
The annual elliptic zodiac journey passes through 12 constellations.
So it's so true, that so much of how we count and conceive,
Our universe, fate, course and the passage through time,
Depends on how our ancestors counted with their fingers.
"When stars align, and you're on track, she's all signs of the Zodiac"
~ the author, after a twelve-pack
If in your heart (a paradise) I'd delve,
'twould multiply my love for you by twelve.
I would be declared by any jury
completely mad, in a trice or hurry.
Your voice rings in a dulcet twelve-tone scale.
Your eyes enchant and wink behind a veil.
Each hour's an eternity on the clock,
as I wait, impatiently, to unlock
the latch on your affection's secret door,
I'll do the tasks of Heracles and more.
My Guinevere, the queen of ev'ry knight,
my love ever burns for you, twelve times bright.
oh clouds that drift and hover above
a journey a trajectory and path unknown
ocean waves battering thundering to shores
oh woods where tangled vines creep birds sing
birds of many species singing with joy each day
flowers wild and unruly twining and creeping
winds with their constant solemn music
rain that the forests and woods drink
blue water in ponds streams rivers and lakes
oh creatures that sleep in hollows safe from harm
sun in the azure sky shining on earth
moon up there trustworthy for night dreams
2025.2.2, CNY 5th day
There are twelve Zodiac in Chinese Fung Shiu.
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon and Snake
Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar.
There were terms "Tam hop, Tu s/xung.
Meaning three for, four against.
Best matches are in the following strict order.
Rat, Dragon and Monkey.
Ox, Snake and Rooster.
Tiger, Horse and Dog.
Worse against are
Rat vs Horse, Hare vs Rooster,
Dragon vs Dog, Ox vs Goat
Tiger vs Monkey, Snake vs Boar.
These rules apply to all partnership and life long relationships.
If one does not believe it, one will face the consequences,
Especially when comes to worse matches.
All of the above was my knowledge,
Before I converted to Christian.
Chinese culture soon will be forgotten,
Resulted by mix races marriages.
twelve thousand years ago in our night sky
there was a vulture constellation, no one knows why
ancient lost temple carved it into its outer wall
also, a headless god, about nine feet tall
aliens and dragons were recorded in this temple too
I would have loved to have been there, wouldn’t you?
Day two, poem number 11
=================
These challenge poems
I'll make them quick
I've got the flu
I'm sick, sick, sick!
Poem Number 12
============
A cough, a cold,
Sounds like the croup
I'm sipping tea
And chicken soup
My fever rages
And makes me shake
But I'm writing poems
For the challenge' sake!
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