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Best Poems Written by Ina Goodling

Below are the all-time best Ina Goodling poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

Two Ravens

Two ravens in the summer dusk
Were, back and forth, debating
From two phone poles, loud and brusque
They kept deliberating

When one gave their rebuttal
The other answered back
But far be it from the kettle
To call the raven black

And while I stood observing
They looked at me askance
A creature undeserving
Of a simple sideways glance

On this one thing they did agree
Those two birds of a feather
And, mocking all humanity
They flew away together.

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

The Tumbleweed Prayer

The sun is setting in the west
While crowned in gold, the eastern crest
Stands sentry in its scrubs and sighs
Offering its sage advice

A single lizard darts about
Driven forth by searing drought
Towards healing waters beckoning
Seeking Horeb’s rocky spring

Among the endless rocks and weeds
Between regrets and sinful deeds
Above, a pale blue sky so clear
Who knew that Heaven was so near

And through it all, this wayward soul
Uprooted outcast, blindly rolls
By gentle zephyrs carried on
Comforted by desert psalms.

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

No Regrets

If I could take it all back
Every wrong ever wrought
Every regrettable thing
Every broken wing

I'd lay it all to rest
In an unmarked plot
Over which I would plant 
Quiet thyme
And no-leaf clovers
Lilies of denial
And forget-me-nows

There would be no memorial
No elegy, no eulogy 
No monody, no dirge
Not even a calaverita
Unless one is desperate
Enough to count this poem
This nobituary, if you will    

No lamentation
No regrets
No go-away birds 
No mourning doves
Nor egrets to bear the pall 

Only leave the dead featherless
Laid down without down
To comfort them
And the egrets
Stand stilted and white 
As nothing
Melancholy
As marble statues
In the silk gray dusk 
Like lilies on a grave.

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

Meeting At Dusk

I told my love that we should meet
He asked me when and where
I said “At dusk, of course, my sweet.
Let’s meet up then and there.”

Yet of my love I see no trace
For the dusk is wide and vast
As I wait here in our trysting place
Alone in twilight fading fast.

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

Vacuum the Moon

Somebody ought to go vacuum the moon
All the space dust is starting to show
Somebody ought to take care of it soon
For the wolves are all restless, you know

They say it’s too dingy to give a good howl
And we’re starting to get complaints from the owls
How is it that in the great “vacuum” of space
Someone still left dirty prints on its face?

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

Happy Valloween

Roses are red, goblins are green
Just like my buddy, Frankenstein
Well, it’s February fourteenth
And I don’t have a valentine
So let’s declare it Halloween
And now, my love, will you be mine?

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

Beachcomber's Prayer

Leave all else behind
And bring only pockets to fill
Sandals to kick off at will
And a very open mind

Collect shells and rocks
The holey ones and sacred
And pearly bits of nacre
While you collect your thoughts

Lastly, leave no trace
No sign, no mark, no clue
But let it leave its mark on you
In the sun, salt, and smile on your face.

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

Almond Blossom Moon

In this blue hour between branches
The waxing gibbous moon
Hangs like an almond blossom petal
Gleaming bright at noon

And the little tree that wreaths it
So breathtakingly blooms
That I’m inclined to float away
With this almond blossom moon.

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

When Last the Lilacs Blossomed There

When last the lilacs blossomed there
Outside my childhood home
The losses I would come to bear
Were hitherto unknown 

When last the lilacs blossomed there
Beneath the shady elm
To sweet star jasmine’s scent compared
They did so underwhelm

When last the lilacs blossomed there
We both were green and small
Though decades passed without a care
I’ve barely grown at all

When last the lilacs blossomed there
Be it memories or in dreams
Their tender fragrance fills the air
Much stronger now, it seems

When last the lilacs blossomed there
When last I called them mine
I knew home could not be anywhere
But Twenty-first and Vine.

Details | Ina Goodling Poem

Rats

Rats! Rats! Rats!
Romping, frolicing, ruckussy rats!
Cuddly, bubbly, lovably rats!
Pestering, menacing, troublesome rats!
Rats! Rats! Rats!

Getting in your hair
Crawling through open holes
Bouncing ‘round from chair to chair
Licking leftover food out of bowls

Tickling, bothersome
Pickling, lothersome
Just plain nuisancy 
RATS!

*I wrote this poem at the age of 12 and I want to share it here in honor of World Rat Day (April 4)