Poetry

[karenee]

For Caledvwlch:

As time flows through its throes of change
And all is not as once it was
'Tis then we notice with a pang
That in life there is no pause.
For poetry, at times, must rest
Within the mind wherein it grows
For change affects all, which is best,
Though why it must, nobody knows.
And yet, receding through the ebb and flow,
We watch time draw others through
The turbulence of rushing tide
Where poetry bursts forth anew.

[Caledvwlch]

Ooooo. I like it. Well, I don't, but I do. I don't like the fact that poetry is not always there to be written, but I like the poem. *cursing of the institution of writer's blocks heard in the background...*

[squire]

I can completely understand that one, as this poem took me a week to write:

Romanticized?

Of jousts, romance and feasts
Many a soul would dream.
Was living of these the least?
So the same would deem.

Of war, love and power
Wished the high-born men?
Affection of a lover
The longing of women?

Was there more to their days
Than intrigue and sport?
More that knights’ chivalrous ways
And politics of court?

Lived they morrows lacking
Of emotional pain?
For a great armies backing,
To survive, did they strain?

When the wild was yet free,
As ever it was meant,
Hunted of necessity,
Or nobles’ enjoyment?

Were the Middle Ages
In sooth what we would dream?
Or be our story pages
More human than they seem?

[ceridwen]

I don't know why I hadn't seen this Poetry thread until today...regardless, here's my contribution (written after reading "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot).

Eliot

With parched throat I wander
Through this dry and dusty land
Where no water is

A voice speaks to me
Through dim and difficult words

“If there were water
And no rock
If there were rock
And also water
And water…

But there is no water”

I thought I felt a drop once,
Falling from the scorched sky
A whisper, a name
Living water?

I thought I saw an oasis
Off in the distance
Far across the sand and rock
A breeze, a laugh
A promise?

But the rocks are too many
I stumble and lose my way
This world is still a waste land

If there were water
And no rock…

Water
I have heard rumours of it
From hushed, awed voices
Could it be?
A river under the desert?
A pool on the other side of that ridge?
Even just a cold cup
Of water?

[CynanMachae]

I have finally worked up the courage to post a poem of mine here on the SRL forum... don't make too much fun of me.

Gone Again

He has a cigarette between his lips,
With the mind for a question and the heart for a kiss.
He writes a song as time goes by,
And all the while, he wonders why
It’s him;
He’s gone again.

The satisfaction of midnight meals
Won’t take away the way he feels.
A happy clown and a red balloon –
He realizes it’s gone too soon;
And time goes by…
And time goes by…

Living his life, but he’s never really knowing;
Can’t be too sure if he’s coming or going.
Bible in hand when the spotlight is on,
Tearing the paper from the walls when it’s gone.
Writing his music to escape from the sin,
Desperate, he hollers “I’m gone again!”

With a life as hazy as his cigarette smoke,
A bookshelf of novels that all make him choke;
With a timepiece that’s counting to the beat of a drum,
He stares at the bright screen, downs a bottle of rum.

He sits on the back porch, book of poets in hand,
Time and purpose pass by like the hourglass sand.
Then he dashes to the floor the small flask of gin,
Throws open the screen door, yells “I’m gone again!”

His life disappears, like his lit cigarette,
But like the jazz saxist, the note plays on yet.
Stuck in the valley of the shadow of death,
Since he read All Too Human, ‘till he drew his last breath.

[twyrch]

Great poem, Cynan!

[twyrch]

Daddy Can You Hear Me?

Daddy can you hear me?
I'm just 5 years old.
Can you spend some time with me,
Before I grow too old?

Can you teach me how to swim?
Or how to place baseball?
Can you teach me soccer?
Or maybe basketball?

Daddy can't you play with me?
Why won't you spend some time?
I just want to be with you,
Is that so big a crime?

Am I just a nuisance?
An itch that you can't reach?
I feel I'm not important,
That's the lesson that you teach.

What is so important?
That you choose it over me?
Dad, I’m reaching out to you,
Why is it you can’t see?

The years are passing quickly now,
It's time you can't reclaim.
You're missing all my childhood,
But you're the one to blame.

One day I will be married,
And I'll have children too.
I'll be sure to play with them,
'Cause I won't be like you.

Daddy are you listening?
Can you hear me now?
One day I will ignore you,
Just like you taught me how.

[twyrch]

Precious One

Precious one, you were so loved;
But now you live with God above.
I would have liked to hear your cry;
To kiss your cheek and say good-bye.
I would have liked to hear you laugh;
To watch you smile before your death.
To feel your hand be placed in mine;
To see your eyes, so pure... divine.
But God had needs I can't explain;
A perfect plan, which caused such pain.
Now you're with him, in peace and joy;
I wonder if you were girl or boy?
Oh precious one, we loved you so...
So very much, you'll never know.
Although I never saw your face;
We'll meet again in another place.

[twyrch]

My Prayer

You said that you would be there,
To wipe away my tears.
You said that you would be there,
Not burden me with fears.
I need your touch right now.

You said that you would hold me,
When wild tempests blew.
You said that you would hold me,
Not push me far from you.
I need your warmth right now.

You said that you would love me,
Despite my wrongs in life.
You said that you would love me,
Not weigh me down with strife.
I need your love right now.

You said that you would bless me,
In both my word and deed.
You said that you would bless me,
Not take away my seed.
I need your blessings now.

You said that you'd protect me,
Give meaning to my life.
You said that you'd protect me,
Not fill my days with strife.
I need protection now.

So much has happened to me,
You know that all too well.
So much has happened to me,
Life's been a living Hell.
I need your help right now.

No matter what may happen,
In good times or in bad.
I'll put my faith in you, Lord,
Not wish I always had.
You have my life right now.

[karenee]

Entranced by rippling leaves,
Balanced on a wavering branch,
I'm touched by the air;
Caught by motion not my own.
Do the leaves move,
Or is it the invisible wind
Casting its hand over my position?
Whether seen or implied
The motion is there.
Guided by the unseen Director,
I merely breathe
His existence.

[CynanMachae]

He knows not how close he passes to civilization,
He cares not; his mind is wrapped in the treasure
Of a trickling stream. He cries in jubilation,
Of better worlds, running without measure,
Over rocks and sand that form the shallow floor.
He skips, not to avoid getting wet, for that
Is inevitable. He skips for pure joy, and more,
(Not twenty yards from where the broken city sat),
For freedom, a stark contrast to the slaves, the
Oppressed, trapped in brick and mortar, for
A few pieces of paper. Not the truly free, like he
Who tramped, rejoiced, rejoiced a thousand more,
Bygone trials left behind the thrice-locked door,
Inside the brick and mortar.

[rhiannon]

Possibly my favorite sonnet from Christina Rossetti.
Remember by Christina Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad

My other favorite is A Road Less Traveled by Robert Frost.

[CynanMachae]

All I Have Left to Give Myself

I
Long I lay and planned my glorious distress,
And hers; one the same – hers the agony
Temporary, yet never again to rest,
Always haunting, like thought rested on me.
Me, whose ruin is the crude punishment
Of eternal hell, for three years lasting,
From the act to the forgiveness, faith spent.
Not looking back, answering, or asking.
So it begins, one or two, one instead,
One who does not see the everlasting
Love, love, LOVE, I repeat it in my head
For a moment or lifetime passing–
Unsuspecting, she follows, and then cries,
Looks in my loving, unforgiving eyes.
II
It is not I – it is the demon in;
Or is it inexcusably an angel,
Knowing he is falling, and not caring
Not caring, not caring, not caring, not–
Unable to stop, stop, stop, thud, thud,
The pounding rhythm in my brain. Sweat buds,
On flushed cheeks and furrowed flushed brow,
Lifts blood to skin, to form a reddened glow.
This evil thing, from whence my sin has come–
Or was it her heart? But now it is done.
III
The act completed; the finished result:
The ivory gleam of unused canvas–
Save for the dash of flowing, blood-red paint,
Which runs freely to mar the work of art.
This union longed for, the sinner and saint,
The effect only of two battered hearts.
With weight of heinous, unforgiven sin,
But no weight of conscience, in my black soul,
I turn to exit the way I came in,
Not quite broken, but never again whole.
Will God forgive this evil thing? I have
Within a certain time believed it so,
If only for her beauty, for her laugh
Which I would love, long before I let go.

[Evangeline]

Feb 3, 2005 12:25:08 GMT -5 twyrch said:

I don't know if there are any poets among us, besides myself... I only write poems when I feel inspired.

I write poetry when i'm inspired, too. Here's my most recent one:



Song of the Stars


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Stars glisten in their depths of night
I sit and stare at their crystalline
beauty, their lofty heights
Before me their glittering diamond
faces reflect in a clear night pool
My face upturned, I behold them
and, my longing is made known
to my Father God
The tall trees, pines, surrounding
they whisper in the night
Timeless secrets in night standing still
They know, they know...
They whisper to the stars, who
cry their diamond tears into
the glassy water
Their melodies allign with
the crying of my heart
Oh Lord..! My Father God...
......bring him to me...


The trees whisper on, through
the night, continuing their silent song
of the secrets they have known
since time before time...

The night wind on its blue horizon
whispers with the trees
Its own song harmonizing with
them, and the stars

My eyes, reflect the diamonds
of the stars, their crystal tears
reflecting into mine
each one its own night pool
each tear its own clear star
Oh Lord.....Oh Father God.....
.....bring him to me...


Time stands still and yet whirls on
At night here by the pool,
beneath the deep blue satin of
the sky, the emerald velvet
of the trees, the liquid crystal
of the water, with its
bright reflection of the
diamond stars glittering,
glistening liquid like the tears
that fall from the night pools
of my eyes
Softly I lay my face against the
ground, the soft grass touches
my skin, And the stars in the
limitless heights of the heavens
swirl higher above me as
I lay my head down
Like a child I trust my Father
Like a child I cry out to my Father
As the liquid stars fall into
the pool from my eyes
Here in the night beneath
the timeless whispering pines
I join my song with theirs
And the song of the stars
Oh Lord....My Father God.....
.......bring him to me...




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


~MLP, 10/18/10

[CynanMachae]

Great imagery, Evangeline! I like it a lot!