Wednesday, 22 January 2014

Where my True Love Lives - A Ballade

Where my True Love Lives - A Balladexomba.com

Seared upon my soul for ever more
That break of dawn upon a summer morn
As I made my way along that rocky shore
Strewn with remnants from a ragging storm
When through a rising mist of gray - so forlorn
I saw a badly broken sinking ship
With canvas wings of white so sadly torn 
There beneath those majestic purple cliffs

And as that mighty fearless ocean roared 
With salty breezy breath so filled with scorn
I saw it rise up from the ocean floor
Wrapped in a velvet coat so frayed and worn 
A red, red, rose impaled upon a thorn 
Where passion bled like rain from ruby lips 
Upon a vivid memory reborn 
There beneath those majestic purple cliffs 
      
The wind - it whispered - in my ear - Lenore  
As black clouds in the sky began to form  
Into a face I’d never seen before   
With hollow cheeks that endless tears adorned 
That fell in frozen crystal drops so foreign.....   
Then from those clouds his face began to slip   
And I cried  the tears of a women scorned    
There beneath those majestic purple cliffs  

Lenore, the love he would forever mourn
That from his pen on page in words did drip
As I read his poetry and love was born
There beneath those majestic purple cliffs.


~~~~

 Author:  Elaine George
 
Written:  February 28, 2011

A tribute to: Edger Allen Poe and his Lenore
Contact

I felt him breathe within a breeze
Responding to my anguished pleas
...and leaves blew by abandoned trees
.........and leaves blew by abandoned trees

“I miss you too, my darling Beth”
Re-echoed from the Ship of Death
...the future buried in a breath
.........the future buried in a breath
 
The Stone lit up a ruby sheen
And clouds were kindled crystalline
...with consequences, unforeseen
.........with consequences, unforeseen

Above, the wretched Raven soared
To where the Ship of Death lay moored
...beneath, the icy ocean roared
.........beneath, the icy ocean roared
The Quest

Awoken by the ebon Wight
And beckoned by the baneful bight
...I left before the morning light
.........I left before the morning light

Throughout the realm I rode a roan
Until, in time, I reached the Stone
...where shades and dreams in darkness groan 
.........where shades and dreams in darkness groan 

While skipping up and down the sky
A missing moonbeam mocked my eye
...enough to make a Swallow cry
.........enough to make a Swallow cry

For someone stole a star or two
And something else that fate withdrew –
...my jewel of joy, my James Bijou   
.........my jewel of joy, my James Bijou

The shadows of the evening swelled
Where demons of the dusk had dwelled
...and in the far, a vesper knelled
.........and in the far, a vesper knelled

The Stone, beneath the sky, stood cold –
Between the runes, a vapour strolled
...a cloak of fleecy fog consoled
.........a cloak of fleecy fog consoled

A Raven on a branch, enthroned,
Her wings waved once, a wail intoned
...beyond the bay, a banshee moaned
.........beyond the bay, a banshee moaned

I lay beside the Stone, his bride
I lay beside the Stone and cried
...but were it I, instead, that died
.........but were it I, instead, that died

The rainbow of the moon fell dim
A midnight Swan soon ceased to swim
...as if to hide all hint of him
.........as if to hide all hint of him

Between the willows in the swale
There sang a Bird, a Nightingale
...which left me faint and feeling frail
.........which left me faint and feeling frail
   BETH’S TALE

1.              The Dream
One night, within a dream deformed,
The cawing of a Crow informed
“...a Ship was stripped where winter stormed
.........a Ship was stripped where winter stormed

Midst winds and waves the thunder boomed
The Ship of Death was surely doomed
...the sea engulfed, the sea entombed
.........the sea engulfed, the sea entombed

Your James... denied by Davy Jones!
His spirit gone, his flesh and bones
...are resting now amongst the Stones
.........are resting now amongst the Stones”
  Preface

Well James made Beth his lovely bride
(And angels smiled, though teary eyed)
...their bodies bound, their spirits tied
.........their bodies bound, their spirits tied

Upon her hand, a shimmer shone,
As bright as blood, a ruby Stone 
...and brighter still, as love had grown
.........and brighter still, as love had grown

Soon James was sent to man a sail
So Beth removed her wedding veil
...her eyes were bright, her face was pale
.........her eyes were bright, her face was pale

“Well, I’ll be here when you return”
Said Beth to James, who kissed in turn
...a kiss that made her body burn
.........a kiss that made her body burn

Monday, 20 January 2014

Easter EGG, Abecedarian: with egg shape-

                            
                          =====
                       April Aroma...
                     Beckons Beauty.
                   Come Children!!!....
                 Daisies Daffodil.........
               EASTER EGGS EVERYWHERE
                Fun Filled Freedom.......
                  Giddy Giggly Games...
                    How ya' Hangin'???
                       Just Jolly Joey!
                           =====

              HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!
Poet Destroyer A  Avatar
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Indian Ink

“Indian Accent”

Hear the whispers inside

Chanting from long ago
Echoes come and go
Losing time in a soft eternal glow

A beautiful and delicate autumn mountain scene
Dry blue eyes enchanting melodies!
Voices falling from the sky
Rising hymns release ancient demons that cling to the soul

The darkness dwells under gentle moonlight
Ancestors of the Spirit World,
Exposing Indian hands that weave native smoke into the air
Their spirits taunting burrows from the muddy Earth
Moccasin makers rise from underneath
Guardians of dream catchers
Smooth thread from the outer edge, bowing heads.
Luminous gems of ivory,
Chasing a florid kiss.

Through the winds of enchanted drums, voices cry out for rain.
The hollow chimes mesmerize  
An ancient rage begins to flare
Stale madness, 
The spears of the perfumed buffalo skin pierced my senses
Removing the veils that cover my eyes
The hands that cover my ears
Washing the scalp that bleeds on my face
They collect tears from memories of the past.

KINDRED IN EVERY WAY!

Raven silk braids, feathers fall from my hair.
Dancing in a horrid hallucination of Peyote,
Waking up from the “American Dream.”
Holding out my arms, I am free, I can fly.

I AM A BIRD!

By; PD

Saturday, 18 January 2014

My Grandmother's Sewing Machine

My grandmother always made new Christmas outfits for her children with the stiff waxed cloth my grandfather bought from Kenya
Ten different shirts and dresses
She never used patterns
Women waited for days sitting along the benches outside my grandmother's house 
for patterned skirts and bustled sleeves

Her children fell asleep
Christmas Eve nights to the murmur of my grandmother's foot pedal

She sewed good wishes into the seams with grace in every thread
My grandmother and her sewing machine every year
loving and clothing a village
                                              Written by: Sharon Rose Piwang 

BLESSED IS THE TOMB IN QUNU

BLESSED IS THE TOMB IN QUNU
They return to me the wax
Of the candle I gave;
When I ask for the wick
''We bind our Nation with it'',they plead
They return to me the shaft
Of the kernel I gave;
When I ask for the oil
'' We heal our wounds with it'',they say
They return to me the flesh
Of Rolihlahla Mandela;
When I ask for the soul
''We abide in its shadow'', they vow
Tears now inhabit my eyes
But all like bats they bow
And on their kneels they roar;
Blessed is the tomb in Qunu:
Its wick binds our Nation
Its oil heals our wounds
Its soul our refuge

                                                                                                    Written by: KAYOD5 Kayode 

Thursday, 16 January 2014

SOMETHING IN A VOID


For we perceive beyond the rainbow,
Beyond the shadow of gravity holding ISS.
Caught not in a void
But like bees wading in their own honey,
Pollinating space with thoughts …

Our tent did blow from on high
Exposing this nakedness.
They, uncomprehending,
A soul did incarcerate; 
Feeding barest morsels shared with rats;
Though famished eyed her fleeting skirt.
So did she infiltrate his racked dreams?
Spittle healing cuts; kisses soothing bruises,
Milk nourishing hunger … 
Tears washing away grimy sorrow.

Such comfort in the bounds of direst misery …

Written by: Patricia L Graham 

A Patch of Old Snow


There's a patch of old snow in a corner
That I should have guessed
Was a blow-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.

It is speckled with grime as if
Small print overspread it,
The news of a day I've forgotten --
If I ever read it.
About This Poem

African Skies


I hark to freer days of childhood
Life simplicity in itself
days of laughter, of playing in the sand
so so soft and fine
golden white sands from the coral reefs
sparkling, dazzling bright
Staring into coral pools at Tides ebb
Beautiful rainbows of fish
endless darting, sea cucumbers sleepily still
a child's total delight
coconut palms wave gently in the salty breeze
scale them I tried in vain
inland to the vast savannah's teeming with life
tall grasses the lion hid
a wondrous baobab tree reaching up for the sky
look it grew upside down
for all the world to see, branches like roots
beware the croc log
hippo's snorting, noise vibrating as they plunge
then resurface amidst bubbles
all these wonders through child's eyes seen
Africa my heart you have still
I tell you what my friends, I swear to you
blindfold me, put me to sea
around twenty nautical miles or so
and I would know alone
by the vibrant scents of rich earth and spices
that I am back there
near heart's home, the East African coast

A Minor Bird


I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.

Into Night's Dwelling


There is a night so starry bright
I recall with such pleasure
it was in the middle of summer
the day had been a hazy hot one

I was in the wilds of Exmoor
sat quietly enjoying the solitude
as dusk lengthened into night
so the heavens light up with moonlight

No human noises up here to intrude
listening I hear first the sheep
odd whinny from a horse or two
as my ears attune I pick up much more

The whisper of wings as bats and owls fly by
mystical shapes appear from the mundane
I am transported and transfixed by it all
the crowning glory a stag backlit on the hill top 

ah night you do enchant my very being
I love to roam or ride your shadowy countryside
to see the world in your stunning luminous light
the shades of which change by the hour 

night I honour you and your mystic way
here in your dwelling my head I lay
and watch in wonder the unicorns
as at play they stray my dreams

written 01/12/2014 by Shadow Hamilton

A Line-Storm Song


The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift,
The road is forlorn all day,
Where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift,
And the hoof-prints vanish away.
The roadside flowers, too wet for the bee,
Expend their bloom in vain.
Come over the hills and far with me,
And be my love in the rain.

The birds have less to say for themselves
In the wood-world’s torn despair
Than now these numberless years the elves,
Although they are no less there:
All song of the woods is crushed like some
Wild, easily shattered rose.
Come, be my love in the wet woods; come,
Where the boughs rain when it blows.

There is the gale to urge behind
And bruit our singing down,
And the shallow waters aflutter with wind
From which to gather your gown.
What matter if we go clear to the west,
And come not through dry-shod?
For wilding brooch shall wet your breast
The rain-fresh goldenrod.

Oh, never this whelming east wind swells
But it seems like the sea’s return
To the ancient lands where it left the shells
Before the age of the fern;
And it seems like the time when after doubt
Our love came back amain.
Oh, come forth into the storm and rout
And be my love in the rain.

A Late Walk


When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.

Walk With Me

Come take a walk with me
let us stroll the savannah
I want to show you the beauty
to introduce you to East Africa

A land seeped in dark history and mysteries
where once the Tembo roamed in their thousands
mighty animals who feared no-one not even lions
capable of uprooting a tree yet also tender to young

Most Majestic king of beasts lays sunbathing
his job is protection and to father strong cubs
replete from a gnu feast he dally's the day away
at dusk he will, with his brother do a patrol

There are hidden water holes if one knows where
here the birds swoop in, parrots and love birds
weavers and horn bills, egrets and fishing eagles
all flock to drink and then if safe a lovely bath

Thorn acacias adorn this lush land their tops flat
a treat for the long neck reticulated giraffe
they nibble away and seem to avoid the thorns with a-plume
then gracefully bending down to snack on buffalo grass

Vast changes in landscape, deep rift valleys
amidst the hills filled with peace and grace
lakes that startle as so bright they sparkle
once teeming with fish now sadly rather depleted 

Villages of mud and straw huts, naked children
women with just a skirt, many men in throngs  
cauldron in the centre where all share the cooking
a communal building where the young men sleep

Scrub trees line the deep red soil with clumps
of dry grass, little cover here for hunter
the herds on high alert ready to take to heel and flee
the slightest movement enough to spook them

Wondrous baobab trees with root like branches
a favourite place for natives to stash food
the landscape is continuously changing, some things no more
animals hunted to verge of extinction for what good?

The herds of Tembo once numbering up to 300 per herd
with ancient leaders who had the knowledge to survive
the harshest of the droughts that can plague this land
Africa the continent of fire, of spices, filled with flora

This continent of dark mystery holds me spell bound
it hosts a vast treasure of so many things all precious
from the smallest to the largest, from stones come gems
how can I convince you that here you must visit and soon

For here in this land are so many stories to delight,
to inspire and even to soothe, and some that will enrage
the gentle poet heart. And inspired by the vast array
here on display your poets soul will be totally inspired
Written by: Shadow Hamilton 

A Dream Pang


I had withdrawn in forest, and my song
Was swallowed up in leaves that blew alway;
And to the forest edge you came one day
(This was my dream) and looked and pondered long,
But did not enter, though the wish was strong:
You shook your pensive head as who should say,
‘I dare not—too far in his footsteps stray—
He must seek me would he undo the wrong.

Not far, but near, I stood and saw it all
Behind low boughs the trees let down outside;
And the sweet pang it cost me not to call
And tell you that I saw does still abide.
But ’tis not true that thus I dwelt aloof,
For the wood wakes, and you are here for proof.

Love


love fills up the soul
casting out all other thoughts
love can conquer all

love flourishes most
in warm climes of hot passion
shared together

flowering blossom
full circle has now love come
soak up love's sunshine

love's shadow overcast
hidden away from our sight
trust sets our love free

A Considerable Speck


(Microscopic)

A speck that would have been beneath my sight
On any but a paper sheet so white
Set off across what I had written there.
And I had idly poised my pen in air
To stop it with a period of ink
When something strange about it made me think,
This was no dust speck by my breathing blown,
But unmistakably a living mite
With inclinations it could call its own.
It paused as with suspicion of my pen,
And then came racing wildly on again
To where my manuscript was not yet dry;
Then paused again and either drank or smelt--
With loathing, for again it turned to fly.
Plainly with an intelligence I dealt.
It seemed too tiny to have room for feet,
Yet must have had a set of them complete
To express how much it didn't want to die.
It ran with terror and with cunning crept.
It faltered: I could see it hesitate;
Then in the middle of the open sheet
Cower down in desperation to accept
Whatever I accorded it of fate.
I have none of the tenderer-than-thou
Collectivistic regimenting love
With which the modern world is being swept.
But this poor microscopic item now!
Since it was nothing I knew evil of
I let it lie there till I hope it slept.

I have a mind myself and recognize
Mind when I meet with it in any guise
No one can know how glad I am to find
On any sheet the least display of mind.

 
About This Poem

As Winter Passes On Her Way

As winter passes on her way
and icicles do fall away
we wait to greet summer's day
for sunshine and time to play

To bask in the rays here to stay
take pleasure as aromas past stray
to watch gulls swoop around the bay
fishing the sand bars of the cay  

Later we know for this we have to pay
for all too soon winter will have her way
plunging landscape in white smothering hay
our hearts now long for the return of may 

When daffodils wave and tulips look so gay
and to when new love comes winging it's way
the ships bouncing merrily at the quay
the lapping waves seeming with them to play

A Cliff Dwelling

There sandy seems the golden sky
And golden seems the sandy plain.

No habitation meets the eye
Unless in the horizon rim,
Some halfway up the limestone wall,

That spot of black is not a stain
Or shadow, but a cavern hole,
Where someone used to climb and crawl

To rest from his besetting fears.
I see the callus on his soul
The disappearing last of him

And of his race starvation slim,
Oh years ago - ten thousand years.
------Robert Frost

A Brook In The City


The farmhouse lingers, though averse to square
With the new city street it has to wear
A number in. But what about the brook
That held the house as in an elbow-crook?
I ask as one who knew the brook, its strength
And impulse, having dipped a finger length
And made it leap my knuckle, having tossed
A flower to try its currents where they crossed.
The meadow grass could be cemented down
From growing under pavements of a town;
The apple trees be sent to hearth-stone flame.
Is water wood to serve a brook the same?
How else dispose of an immortal force
No longer needed? Staunch it at its source
With cinder loads dumped down? The brook was thrown
Deep in a sewer dungeon under stone
In fetid darkness still to live and run --
And all for nothing it had ever done
Except forget to go in fear perhaps.
No one would know except for ancient maps
That such a brook ran water. But I wonder
If from its being kept forever under,
The thoughts may not have risen that so keep
This new-built city from both work and sleep.

 
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About This Poem

A Dream written with Richard Lamoureux

In my dreams I was given a seed
The elf told me to plant it deep
In a far off strangely odd valley 
A lovely place that the Angels Keep

This valley was way far beyond the trees
There would be challenges along the way
I strived and struggled to make my way through
Travelling forcefully through night and day

I found my way to Moon Valley Clearing
A special place where time does not exist
The extinct animals they all lived there
Too many to count or possibly list

I got to stroll with the great Do Do bird
Listened to his tales from so long ago
I rode a unicorn  across a field
Breathed in air so fresh it made my skin glow

I reached the end of a magic rainbow
This was the place for me to plant the seed
Within a few moments a tree appeared
Colour from the ground it began to bleed

I watched the rainbow as it joined the tree
The branches grew out creating a dome
My unicorn said thanks for bringing peace
Tranquillity spread all over their home

The magic of youth was held in it's bark
To have it work, in the valley I must remain
Eat a small piece and be forever young
Among the animals I would have no care

I thanked my new friend I could not remain
With a subtle wink and a toss of her head
she waved me off as I flew  back to my bed
I remembered all the things that she said

I smiled at the thought of that special place
A magical place beneath a warm dome
A sanctuary, beyond human kind
The animals are safe, they call it home

 
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About This Poem

A Dream written with Richard Lamoureux

In my dreams I was given a seed
The elf told me to plant it deep
In a far off strangely odd valley 
A lovely place that the Angels Keep

This valley was way far beyond the trees
There would be challenges along the way
I strived and struggled to make my way through
Travelling forcefully through night and day

I found my way to Moon Valley Clearing
A special place where time does not exist
The extinct animals they all lived there
Too many to count or possibly list

I got to stroll with the great Do Do bird
Listened to his tales from so long ago
I rode a unicorn  across a field
Breathed in air so fresh it made my skin glow

I reached the end of a magic rainbow
This was the place for me to plant the seed
Within a few moments a tree appeared
Colour from the ground it began to bleed

I watched the rainbow as it joined the tree
The branches grew out creating a dome
My unicorn said thanks for bringing peace
Tranquillity spread all over their home

The magic of youth was held in it's bark
To have it work, in the valley I must remain
Eat a small piece and be forever young
Among the animals I would have no care

I thanked my new friend I could not remain
With a subtle wink and a toss of her head
she waved me off as I flew  back to my bed
I remembered all the things that she said

I smiled at the thought of that special place
A magical place beneath a warm dome
A sanctuary, beyond human kind
The animals are safe, they call it home

 
Form: Imagism | + Fav Poet + Fav Poem | Make a CommentComment | Email PoemEmail | Print PoemPrint
About This Poem

A Dream written with Richard Lamoureux

In my dreams I was given a seed
The elf told me to plant it deep
In a far off strangely odd valley 
A lovely place that the Angels Keep

This valley was way far beyond the trees
There would be challenges along the way
I strived and struggled to make my way through
Travelling forcefully through night and day

I found my way to Moon Valley Clearing
A special place where time does not exist
The extinct animals they all lived there
Too many to count or possibly list

I got to stroll with the great Do Do bird
Listened to his tales from so long ago
I rode a unicorn  across a field
Breathed in air so fresh it made my skin glow

I reached the end of a magic rainbow
This was the place for me to plant the seed
Within a few moments a tree appeared
Colour from the ground it began to bleed

I watched the rainbow as it joined the tree
The branches grew out creating a dome
My unicorn said thanks for bringing peace
Tranquillity spread all over their home

The magic of youth was held in it's bark
To have it work, in the valley I must remain
Eat a small piece and be forever young
Among the animals I would have no care

I thanked my new friend I could not remain
With a subtle wink and a toss of her head
she waved me off as I flew  back to my bed
I remembered all the things that she said

I smiled at the thought of that special place
A magical place beneath a warm dome
A sanctuary, beyond human kind
The animals are safe, they call it home

 
Form: Imagism | + Fav Poet + Fav Poem | Make a CommentComment | Email PoemEmail | Print PoemPrint
About This Poem

A Dream written with Richard Lamoureux

In my dreams I was given a seed
The elf told me to plant it deep
In a far off strangely odd valley 
A lovely place that the Angels Keep

This valley was way far beyond the trees
There would be challenges along the way
I strived and struggled to make my way through
Travelling forcefully through night and day

I found my way to Moon Valley Clearing
A special place where time does not exist
The extinct animals they all lived there
Too many to count or possibly list

I got to stroll with the great Do Do bird
Listened to his tales from so long ago
I rode a unicorn  across a field
Breathed in air so fresh it made my skin glow

I reached the end of a magic rainbow
This was the place for me to plant the seed
Within a few moments a tree appeared
Colour from the ground it began to bleed

I watched the rainbow as it joined the tree
The branches grew out creating a dome
My unicorn said thanks for bringing peace
Tranquillity spread all over their home

The magic of youth was held in it's bark
To have it work, in the valley I must remain
Eat a small piece and be forever young
Among the animals I would have no care

I thanked my new friend I could not remain
With a subtle wink and a toss of her head
she waved me off as I flew  back to my bed
I remembered all the things that she said

I smiled at the thought of that special place
A magical place beneath a warm dome
A sanctuary, beyond human kind
The animals are safe, they call it home