Home » Poems » Best » Christopher Berry » Best Christopher Berry Poems

Best Poems Written by Christopher Berry

Below are the all-time best Christopher Berry poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

Burning Sun

I could catch a hundred stars,
Simply steal them from the night
And hold them closely to my heart,
But none would burn as bright

As you. For these stars are fierce,
Surely meant to strike and stun,
But not a single stolen star
Could match my burning sun.

You are my sun, my cosmic star;
And the lamp that lights my way.
A day without you burning bright
Is not a welcomed day.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

Sanctity

You think you know, but you can’t see
All the pain that you cause me
Each time you speak your wicked words
Of flawed equality.

My pride disrupts the ‘sanctity’
Of marriage, apparently;
And can cheapen it to a such an
Overwhelming degree

That when I kneel on bended knee,
Showing love for all to see,
I am not met with simple joy,
But with hostility.

I am then told that I can’t be
Married to the man I see
As my equal. As my partner;
The better part of me.

Please tell me when a court’s decree
Could give right to guarantee
That I can’t marry who I choose,
With such audacity

To condemn my identity
With broken rights, bigotry,
And the somehow growing norm of
Blatant iniquity.

So now I stand with clarity,
Sense of pride, and dignity
To say vehemently that I
Demand equality

And ask that you will stand with me
Readily and willingly
To battle the decisions born
Of amorality.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

A Brightly Burning Flame: Part 1

My teardrops stung the steering wheel
As I drove into the black
And kept my heart upon the feel
Of never looking back.

I took off down that winding road,
Wounded; far beyond all sense,
Carrying a most taxing load
So terribly immense.

The sheer weight of disappointment
Was just more than I could bear
And in a moment of lament
I wished that you were there.

A single thought that made me ill
To the reaches of my core.
How could I even want you still
When I was nothing more

Than a means to an end? A toy
Used in such a senseless game
That, given time, would soon destroy
A brightly burning flame.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

Alas, We Sit In Silence

Your silence nearly deafens me
Because I am not prepared
To sit and wonder quietly,
Uncertain and quite scared.

For scared is what I surely am.
I am scared to face the fact
That instead of saying something
You choose to not react.

You hold your tongue and clench your jaw
And refuse to say a word
As if the things I shared with you
Had somehow gone unheard.

I sit here with my mouth agape
Waiting for a single sign
That I am not invisible;
That we are somehow fine.

But alas, we sit in silence
For a length of time unknown,
With you engrossed in thoughtlessness
And I trapped in my own.

I’ll not sit here any longer.
I’ll not give you precious time
To carry on your silent ways
And interrupt my climb

Toward a life of happiness
Where finally I can be
Unmistakably unburdened
And altogether free.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

I Speak For

Forsaken are the dying trees,
Poisoned skies and barren land,
The wilting plants and lonely bees,
Who cannot take a stand

To wage a war against the thieves
Taking life to meet demand;
Each rolling down their dirtied sleeves
To hide their bloody hand

In matters far beyond repent;
Lives unable to withstand
Their broken homes and the ill intent
That spread from rock to sand.

So now I speak for all the trees,
All the grounds that they had spanned,
The septic skies, dejected bees,
And all the deaths unplanned

That came as a result of greed;
I speak for the voiceless land,
And surely ever-growing need
To stop and take a stand.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

The Rising Tide

I can’t erase or even hide
All the things I feel inside
Each time I look at your brown eyes
And quiver with such pride.

For even though these tears I’ve cried
Spilled for you, I smile wide
Each time we fight for one another
Against the rising tide

Of life. Simply put, the world outside
Won’t allow a love untried
And of the love I have ignored,
This one can’t be denied.

We’ll wait until the waves subside
And the tears of life have dried
To love each other with our best;
Hand in hand, side by side.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

I'M Assuming God Was Busy

I stepped into a church today
And I somehow did not burn.
The congregation looked at me
And I at them, in turn.

I then simply started laughing
And I could not stop the flow.
The situation humored me
Far more than they could know.

I expected God to smite me
And to strike me where I stand
For they had always told me that
The church was holy land

Where outright sinners had no place.
For in church good Christians dwell
And being gay is the sure way
To claim a seat in hell.

I’m assuming God was busy.
Or those Christians got it wrong.
Perhaps they boldly told their tales
And strung the world along.

I guess we’ll never know the truth,
But I somehow now surmise
That even God does not believe
In faulty Christian lies.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

Maybe

The man who looks but does not see
Is bound to his eternity
Of black and white broken light
That darkens what could be.

For he can’t see beyond the gray
And fails to see the wide array
Of colors; and of beauty
That takes my breath away.

To give my sight for him to see
Would be no easy task for me
But for him I would. Always.
Instantly. Willingly.

To break him from his blind dismay
And give him sight for just one day,
That would be enough for me
To give it all away.
 
For him to have the sight to see
The scope of his identity
Through these penetrating eyes
That see him so clearly.

Maybe that could be enough to make him smile.
Maybe.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

Sinking Ships

The words had come like raindrops
And tumbled from my lips
Into the sea of people
Aboard their mighty ships

Of treachery and malice
And nascent artless greed
That poisoned all the waters
And made the oceans bleed.

Soon the droplets multiplied
And doused the waiting crowd;
Myself now standing taller,
Unyielding and unbowed,

I made them feel the raindrops
That danced upon their skin
And soaked their egotism
So that we may begin

To finally make amends
And fix this broken place,
Patch up all the wicked wrongs,
And save our failing race.

Details | Christopher Berry Poem

Good Morning, God

Good morning, God; It’s just me
Asking for your helping hand,
With hope that you will hear my plea
And fully understand

That I have never been a man
With a faith beyond compare;
Always doubting your higher plan
For it only seemed unfair.

And unfair it is; it strikes a chord,
Watching lives that you forsake;
Simple pieces upon your board;
Your game of loss and ache.

But in the wake of this new day
I sit here and supplicate.
With hope that you will find a way
And choose to not negate

The beauty of his waning smile,
Gentle beating of his heart,
Strength to face your every trial
Right from the very start.

I pray to you in this hour
Despite a faith depleted
To depart your ivory tower
And fix the life you cheated.