Unlaced Poems | Examples

The Songbird Still Sings

2025 Poetry Marathon Mile 14  Contest // Sponsored by: Mark Toney
( 1st Place )

Written: September 04, 2025


They said the songbird
her wings twisted and torn
should quiet herself...
that the sky held no place
for the fragile or the worn.

Yet she kept a sky tucked inside her - a 
place untouched by any hand.
At daylight she let her voice rise
and though her body stayed earthbound,
her song lifted past the edge of flight.

The wind slowed to listen,
branches bent nearer
and the horizon seemed to pause,
stirred by her willfulness .

Each note unlaced an old wound,
each chorus pushed against the walls
of a world that once turned her away.

Her feathers never mended,
yet her dream grew wide enough
to shelter every broken one who followed.

From her we understood:
reaching the sky
was never about wings at all.

Moonstone Melodies

            A translucent bluish-white mineral with a mysterious sheen


I hear them rustling behind heaven's plisse,
fabric seersucker curtains, opaque but unlaced 
One breath and suddenly 
I'm a teleported being 
letting go of all faculties and senses; 
A prayer on the lips searching for everlasting hope.  

These precious substances of color and charm
both calm and confident, ignite the soul    
and usher it to peace, love, and harmony.  
 
Filled with Goddess energy
exuding warm tones of luminescent, ephemeral light 
the hand receives what the eyes have encased 
lost inside clairaudient auditory movements  
Moonstone Melodies; 

Yokiko reveries fill me like no other  
listen to the sound they make
Angels dressed in crinoline gowns, 
swooshing and spreading light
everywhere...
Lost in their chime like sound of tinkling glass  
they are un-comparable, 
A thousand stars of heaven could never compare 
to these moonstone gems, 
who seem to claim the heart bit by bit
and then, all at once.

Strong

Strong family bonds
unlaced by inheritance
went down the toilet.

Strong friendship for years
evolved into their technological 
imaginary life, 
against the purity 
of enjoying a simple conversation
having a coffee.

Stronger laces among us,
should be knitted before we 
are blown out by the storm.

The strong sun, moon and stars 
should join their light
to make us to reconsider
to be, instead of not to be.

Are you a bad guy ?

Fourty six years since our lives collided,
on sand swept paths, mostly sunny, some blighted.
I was taking a hiatus from men.
You came to rent a room in my heart.
It wasn't open back then.
A struggling, single mom with a young son.
There wasn't much space for any other one.
I worked evenings and some times slept in.
You showed up unexpectedly, a stranger, not kin.
He was in his pj's with Tenie's unlaced,
opened our front door to your unknown face.

My son, my protector, all of three feet high,
inquisitively asked, "are you a bad guy?"
Fourty six years later, this still brings a smile.
He opened our door to so much more which
made this life worth while.

A Weary Heart

Author Dana Redricks
October 17, 2023

In the depths of solitude, I often ponder, am I worthy of love, or destined to wander? Rejected and wounded, never truly embraced, lost in a sea of tears, consumed by fears unlaced.

Do any souls comprehend this ache within me? The longing to be loved, accepted, set free? Yearning for solace, for a gentle touch, to erase the scars of rejection, to heal so much.

In the realm of darkness, my heart does weep, but within this pain, a secret I keep. For there lies a spark, a flicker of light, a belief that someday, things will be set right.

I seek understanding, a compassionate ear, someone to hold me close, to draw near. To see beyond the surface, into my soul, embracing my flaws, making me whole.

Oh, to be loved, cherished, without condition, to banish this feeling of constant inhibition. For in love's sweet embrace, I yearn to dwell, to rise above this ocean, where loneliness fell.

So, I'll search and I'll hope, and I'll never cease, for a love that will grant my weary heart peace. And until that day comes, I'll hold on tight, believing that love shall conquer the darkest night.

Love Poets and Rime

AS ONE a love story

Each whispered word,
the lovers heard;
Each lingered look,
thrills on tenterhook;
Each tingling touch,
as fingers clutch;
then caress and cleave-
Feelings heighten and perceive
a senuous smile,
on lips,tactile;
Twinned thoughts unlaced,
held in passion's embrace.

The Ghost

Oh trepid specter in the night
Making bold thy cursed plight.
What zealotry provokes thy mournful cry
Allowing thee to linger nigh?

Did Heaven bar thee entry first?
Did Hell itself not quench thy thirst?
And why this fuss and sordid gloom
To foreshadow some impending doom?

Did unrequited love convey despair?
Was the deprivation too much to bear?
Did thou stumble at Heaven's door
Causing thee... to tread my floor?

Was some crucial task left undone
To hinder the setting of thy sun?
Was true-love's knot unlaced in death
Which took from thee... thy final breath?

I know not the story of thy worth
That tasks a Ghost to walk this Earth.
But if such a state is now to be...
Let's hope it's not eternity.

Oh trepid specter in the night
Making bold thy cursed plight.
What zealotry provokes thy mournful cry
Allowing thee to linger nigh?

            The End

Frowziness

The epitome of frowziness
Unkempt, with a dash of wild
Stylishly disheveled
Beneath an unexpected
Yellow bow.

Soft stains accentuate
The drape of her dress
Highlighting invisible features
Pencil drawing
On a moving canvas

Gliding smoothly
In unlaced ballet slippers
Leaving no trace
But the hint
Of her presence

Poolside Vision

I was walking through Woodruff Park
again today, although it felt a little
bit more like swimming; I had to backstroke
my way through viscous Summer air. 
As I stopped to catch my breath
and towel off, I saw him.

Lying at the bottom of this swimming pool of a park
among the 2 o’clock trees and rugged,
rebellious weeds was a middle-aged man,
face creased and folded like fresh-pressed 
dry cleaning before your first big interview

He was on his back, still as statuary,
in unlaced jet-black dress shoes,
polished so each one winked in the sunlight.
Arms buffeted at the elbows by quickly cuffed
sleeves as they lay heavy on the ground like unsuspecting
roadkill on that new on-ramp off of Boulevard.

The spotlight was on him: golden rays upon
fragile eyelids. Cruel beams focused like a bored
eight-year-old with a magnifying glass.
He looked dead.
Just when I began to dive back in and play
lifeguard, he pulled that naked forearm
up over his eyes and took a deep, wet breath.

Incomplete Farewell

Redolent, posh lyrics have hidden flaws.
Surrounded by a rusty sapphire sanctuary
That dampened the beauteous bronze glow.
Gold-sparkly afterglows can be sumptuary.

Surrounded by a rusty sapphire sanctuary
with acidic pollens and nervous neon wisps
Gold-sparkly afterglows can be sumptuary.
built an array of dark and wicked tale tips.

With acidic pollens and nervous neon wisps
Where platinum wings are tightly encased,
built by an array of dark and wicked tale tips.
With ash, in the dawn of solace, unlaced.

Where platinum wings are tightly encased,
I wake anxious, wailing rain, loving the flute.
With ash, in the dawn of solace, unlaced.
Melding dark poem of doom into wool toot.

I wake anxious, wailing rain, loving the flute.
That dampened the beauteous bronze glow.
Melding dark poem of doom into wool toot.
Redolent, posh lyrics have hidden flaws.

Written: January 27, 2023

Beyond Reach

Beyond reach in her child's world as she plays
Lost in her magic land of flower friends
Could I but capture the remaining days

Before fleeting childhood too quickly ends.
Those days of marshmallow clouds, velvet skies,
and best friends forever, magical blends.

I'd keep her young but she is much too wise.
Nor can I relive those days that have flown
Each day her growth is in a new-found guise

Reaching toward the future, free and unknown,
unlaced as flowers growing in the wild
those precious moments before she is grown.

Life doesn't wait for an uncaptured smile.
Moments, like bubbles, fade as they beguile.

December 21, 2022
Terza Rima
for Beyond Reach poetry contest
by Mystic Rose Rose
SECOND PLACE!

Wild Words

My words in sonnets, haiku, or "fences"
Only for you my endearing true love
Worry about voice, rhymes, and tenses
Only for you my prettiest pet dove

Carefully I slip each word on your string
Meaningfully picked and perfectly placed
To split your heart open and hear you sing
Sweet, sultry nothings from bosom unlaced

Light in your eyes dispels all my darkness
From your lips honey slips, drips, and oozes
Coats my sorrow and swallows my starkest
Hardest lumps, and my ugliest bruises

I'll write you a sonnet, a song, or haiku
My wild words, I tame only for you ;)

What I Would Do To You

You got me feeling isolated
The way you unlaced it and rushed it
 when you were gettin' ready to taste it.

Once a place so sweet and pure,
You changed that Jack,
When you pinned me down nice and secure.

It hurt when you pressed on me
It hurt you ,
It ing did!!
 You continued to fight until I could not.
So when I tried to shout out for you to stop,
You covered my mouth and did what you wanted.

You treated me like a thing.
You touched me like I was your .
You made my insides cold.

I wish so ing bad that I could go back to that night,
To go back in time and put things right.
Do you know that your act was sick?
I wish to make you swallow your pride as well as your dick!! 

JACK! JACK ARE YOU LISTENING?
Of course you aint, I will never see you again.

However if I did, you would know it.
I would drop everything and lose my .
I swear to God I would smash in your in’ head.
I would hurt you like you did to me that time in my bed.

Winter Wear So Cool

Jumpers
     darned with wool
Trousers
      patched for school
Shoes scuffed
          left unlaced
Teeth frame
      in metal brace
Dripping noses &
               chilblains
Scarfs &
   finger mitts
Ears muffled 
             against the chill
Free school milk 
       solid on the sill.


repost from 2007

Gaze Upon the Sky

When the twilight embraces us, so does the Light 
and with the Light comes inspiring  encouragement.  Quote _ by Poet



When I was a young child, I would lay on the green
Grass and gaze up to the cloudy dim sky.
Captive to the evening twilight.
Sun rim sank and embraced 
The boundless horizons breast and moonlight's magics
Reserved silence and cool sweet-scented air.

It's peaceful brief shelter; lashed nightmares dissolved there.
Reflecting on the past days weaved fabrics
Weight as the evening had unlaced
And drew to a closed night.
Those moments my heart would quiver glorious high
As the opalescence clouds veiled the scene.
 
Time for bed, my bed beside the window I'd glean
The heavens and smile or couldn't help, but cry.
Famished for warmth, I'd wish the sight
Would stay, so much it graced.
The darkness would wake the night with magical tricks
As shadows danced, I'd say The Lord's Prayer.

1/2/2021

A Little Memory


12/10/8/6/12/10 - 12/10/8/6/12/10 - 12/10/8/6/12/10 
    ABCDEF - FEDCBA - ABCDEF

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