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227 · Dec 2021
Booster jab
David R Dec 2021
Thought I was astute
in getting me covid jab
in health institute
by mod science lab

what better place
to stand 'gainst zeitgeist
to turn me face
'gainst self-'claimed christs

who wax livid
'gainst the vaccine
in language vivid
profanities obscene

i'd display responsibility
like Kwanzaa festivity,
self-determination
in joining the nation

so i rolled up me sleeve
like a silver-pipe ******
steeled self to receive
gave 'em carte blanche

closed me eyes tight
as i insinuate
"do your worst!
this ain't me first"

now me arm's aching
i feel so poor
my whole body's shaking
'n me shoulder's so sore

now I'm a-thinking
i was wise as a coot
in going unblinking
to health-institute!
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#astute, #carte blanche, #insinuate, #Kwanzaa, #livid, #zeitgeist,
226 · Jul 2021
Global warning
David R Jul 2021
we told you so,
years ago,
we said we know
the weather flow

you said:
let's put on our balaclava
our ear-muffs and our blinkers
let's hear no more of this palaver
of know-alls and world thinkers


for several decades
we show'd graphs 'n grades
as world decayed
it's no charade

you said:
let's put on our balaclava
our ear-muffs and our blinkers
let's hear no more of this palaver
of know-alls and world thinkers


we gave you ample warning
of the global warming
of the storm that's storming
the troubles that'll come swarming

you said:
let's put on our balaclava
our ear-muffs and our blinkers
let's hear no more of this palaver
of know-alls and world thinkers


and now it's here,
you see the fear,
the effect severe
for your near and dear

let's put on our balaclava
our ear-muffs and our blinkers
let's hear no more of this palaver
of know-alls and world thinkers


it's too late now to turn back
we're on a one-way running track,
humanity's tired of your wise-crack,
there's gonna be a counter-attack.

altogether now:
let's put on our balaclava
our ear-muffs and our blinkers
let's hear no more of this palaver
of know-alls and world thinkers
.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#palaver
226 · Oct 2021
Bottoms up!
David R Oct 2021
pressures abound
pain surrounds
give me an out,
i'll take it.

elixir of gold cuts my throat
soothing mind 'n nerves
throws me a line, inflated float,
bashes barriers perverse

caressing wounded dignity
suppresses unconscious malignity
blinds me of untoward
unsavoury umbilical cord

i'm talking too loud - i know it,
social more - i'll blow it!
i know i'll regret this
meanwhile, ignorance's bliss!

so drink up while you can,
your worries in trash-can,
kiss your opponent and watch him go,
live in the moment, go with the flow.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#untoward
220 · Feb 2022
I am
David R Feb 2022
"so, you think i'm gone?", He said,
"you think i've disappeared?",
"you think i don't know 'bout your dead
the ill that saturn's speared?"

"ere since time and space were born
since man distinguished night from morn
did i ever say i'm here?
did i myself appear?"

"yes, i spoke from burning briar,
from midst of darkest cloud,
i declared from tongues of fire
before a frightened crowd."

"i've spoken to the pure of heart,
appeared to men 'n women of vision,
but did they ever see me part
from creation as in scission?"

"child, my child, i hide in all,
and always will be so,
all worlds i wear as a shawl
in order that you may know

that deep within, in void of ego,
where gloom and pain their arms upthrow,
where a man dissolves his name,
lays down the chase to world acclaim

realises honour's utmost futility
in the place o' deepest humility
there i am and always will be,
in the nothingness, I am me."
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#utmost
219 · Apr 2021
Incantation
David R Apr 2021
sing a song of soft intent
whisper magic incantent
feel heavenly connection
strengthen strings o' soul libation

weave a net of thought and letter
take a part in being begetter
tread your steps with surety
whispering words in purity

hew the air with mind 'n heart
see the visions take apart
mystic mist of shadow dark
letting shine everlasting spark
218 · Oct 2021
Underneath the dying skies
David R Oct 2021
down into the depth they sank
with each click and clack and clank,
down into the mires deep
where the ghoulish spiders sleep

where the woodlice gnaw and prey
on the rotting and decay
where they fret on inner core
that once was but is no more

where the ooze is black and thick
the air, polluted venom,
smog that gasps, quick and sick,
like waist in too-tight denim

where their brain to automaton
less than child with a crayon
is crucified and ossified
their IQ in its backslide

less than beasts of underworld
that rule by law of jungle
each insult on other hurled
hiding their own bungle

then with eyes that barely open
project their views onto the world
all their morals sorely broken
on crippl'd world is unfurled

down into the depths we sink
with each clack and click 'n clink,
down into the mires deep
where the ghoulish spiders sleep

it's a mercy we're not gone yet
at the mercy of these guys
in dragnet of crazy mindset
underneath the dying skies
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#fret
218 · Apr 2021
Unity
David R Apr 2021
Eternal, unbound,
Light evermore
Fill'd letters with sound,
Vibration 'n tenor

Until, like ball
Blown to capacity,
Shell burst, letters fall,
Light in captivity

Broken shell-parts scatters below
With sparks of light, life to endow,
Soul of letters ascend on high
To be reborn, to live and not die

In murk of desire
Unfulfilled fire
Urges and shadow
The ebb and the flow

Rejected and hurt
I found my beloved
In mud and dirt
Longing to be loved

I whispered her name
In her guilt and shame
With light from above
I showed her love

Until she arose
From darkest shadows
As letters and light
Together unite
217 · Aug 2021
Sunshine on afterglow
David R Aug 2021
Autumn brushed her golden hair
curling locks of auburn-red
as she shed the gold 'n fair
as she donned her white to wed

she swirled around for me to see
the colours cascade, as waves of sea,
her rain of auric crimson leaves
over hay and golden sheaves

and round about, upon the ground,
a scattered patchwork of earth's finest
clothes of copper, bronze 'n browns,
as befit her regnant highness

weathered skin of palest alabaster
with hints o' coral hue,
glistening dew on whitest plaster,
as cream of marbled statue

as she shed her harvest raiment
stark beauty in the sky
heady jasmine and cider scent
betray her unclad thigh

and he waited, bided time,
with snow and crystal'd silver
bedecking ice-king in his prime
still and patient Winter

wrapped himself in single sheet
of luminous, crystalline ice,
as he laid his ivory feet
on mount of edelweiss

for Autumn, she had melted
'fore his numinous gelidity
invisible she lay pelted
'neath his averous cupidity

he tapped his toe in single tone
in beat of coldest shiver
as in the moonlight, there alone
shot arrows from his quiver

darts of hail and blustering wind
his army of projectiles
hid benevolence as he grin'd
a warm, pulsating smile

for now sweet earth, beneath her blanket
of whitest, softest snow,
giveth forth roots for sumptuous banquet
sun shines on afterglow
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#numinous, #regnant
217 · Oct 2022
Black magic
David R Oct 2022
give me water, give me fire,
let me scribe with blood my ire
emblazon vellum with his name
blot it out, end his game

languid, lazy, sunny summers,
blackened by the bombinating
darts of death from droning drummers,
breath of babies desecrating,

permeating peculiar fragrance
hypnotised by his own cadence
 avuncular charm to the rabble
made himself a Tower of Babel

as he faces interlocutor
forked tongue slithering with sick ease
he the notorious persecutor
refusing onus of war-freeze

proffering peace with guileful lips
whilst he plans apocalypse
ignore the innocent, defile the dying,
hell created through his lying

O give me fire, give me water,
let me scribe with blood his slaughter
let me scrub out cursed name
blot it out and end his game
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#emblazon bombinating peculiar cadence avuncular rabble interlocutor notorious onus proffer defile languid
216 · Nov 2021
no name
David R Nov 2021
swinging in the corner
lifeless limbs a-droop
blind to tears of mourner
head in hangman's loop
215 · Jun 2022
Hearts of Darkness
David R Jun 2022
all around is murky water
children sectioned for the slaughter
gone is truth, gone simplicity,
rare the jewel of authenticity

we live in world that champions strength
tread on the weaker, ignore the stench,
laugh at fidelity, those with sincerity,
trample theosophy, arrogate authority

two thousand years back wise men sighted
in their writings, prediction inscribed,
the head and face of generation
like a dog of no veneration

and, within, beats heart of gloom
longs for rest inside of tomb
'scape from all-engulfing shadow
end the running, end the show
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#arrogate, fidelity
215 · Jun 2021
helter-skelter
David R Jun 2021
an angel and a devil
chanced upon a star
said latter 'i'll be on the level'
[it really was bizarre]

"it's time we got together
to pool our creative resource,
no, it's not some silly blether,
we've got immortal force"

"let's make a guy of us combined,
he'll be driven silly,
we'll run him out of soul and mind
from here to Piccadilly"

"ok, i'm game", said angel fair,
"Let me taste your ware",
and from that all too brief affair
was born this Voltaire

up and down and turn around
i'm being driven dizzy,
either to hell or heaven bound,
it's making my hair turn frizzy.
214 · Nov 2021
The Tree
David R Nov 2021
Clung steadfast to rocky crag
zaftig roots spread deep and wide
waxing eloquent in perpetuity
as if to say, i've nothing to hide

for million years i've been in this show
embellished land and air
i've seen the dinosaur come and go,
and Arctodus Simus bear.

i laugh at your nomenclature
feeble attempt to classify nature
as if me your academic stature
could reduce to whim o' legislature

at your cabal of odious greed
that seeks to truncate my life
destroying all my breed and seed
with fire, saw and knife

it's you you're sawing
you're your own arch-foe
as ice-cap thawing
you'll come and go

and i'll be here to wave adieu
as i stand firm on my rock
and you as flakes of gossamer snow
melt into flow of earth's time-clock
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#steadfast, #truncate, #arch, #eloquent, #nomenclature, #zaftig, #perpetuity, #gossamer, #embellish, #cabal, #odious
214 · Nov 2021
Honesty
David R Nov 2021
butterfly with eyes on wings
feigns appearance of predator
fools the bird that flying sings
of crunching grubs as creditor

clown with plastered face and grin
jovial and facetious,
masks the dismal depths within
pretext of roister specious

the solidness of form material
cloaks the inner truth
the vacuous space of air ethereal
that fills the world in sooth.

authenticity is hard to come by,
that's this world's DNA,
but that don't mean we shouldn't try
to be as honest as we may.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#facetious, #jovial , #feign, #roister
214 · Dec 2024
The Shamash
David R Dec 2024
i lit one candle, then i lit two,
i lit another and I thought i was through,
but then a fourth popped up together with his brother,
then a sixth, and a seventh, and an eighth and another,
i said, "hello? are you a ninth light?
the menorah has eight, to light up the night,
where can i put you, where d'you fit in?"
said he, "i'm the servant, i'm the linchpin!
I'm the one who makes the others give light;
You won't hear about me, i keep out of sight,
down below, high above, i'm not of the eight,
but without me they're nothing, so don't underrate
the schlepper, the beadle, the one behind scenes,
we're the join in the seams to make life what it means.
BLT Word of the Day Challenge #menorah #linchpin
213 · Nov 2022
Clock ticking
David R Nov 2022
once i was alive
my heart had a beat
i felt my emotions,
i felt cold and heat

i heard the music in the ocean wave
the angels singing in the grass enclave
the mountains strumming with careless abandon
the honey-bees humming with the blooms in tandem

but now my heart is still like a stone,
eyes vacant like effigy, flesh turned to bone,
my ears are deaf, they hear no music,
save constant reminder from clock with death's tick.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#abandon
211 · Mar 2021
Matzoh
David R Mar 2021
three thousand years of Passovers
in paper-thin bread,
three thousand years of sweat and tears,
of happiness and dread,
three thousand years of martyrs' biers
and of giggling new weds,
three thousand years of history
in flour, 'n soul imbed.
211 · Jun 2021
Little Robin
David R Jun 2021
there once was a little robin,
frequent visitor to our garden,
how i loved to see it bobbin'
on sun-drenched soil, paths well-trodden

it came within a foot of me,
with tilted head for me to see
into innocent, soulful eyes
that had soared the hills and flown the skies

well puffed was he on plentiful diet
of grains and seeds and slugs so quiet,
he loved to sip from the water tub
and shelter 'neath the bay-tree shrub

but now alas i see him no more
that robin redbreast that came to my door
i know it now but not before
he made life richer and now i am poor
210 · Feb 2022
ancient friend
David R Feb 2022
i met him once
so long ago
seems like centuries
covered by snow

and beneath
the miles of ice
he's still there
from paradise

a place where rivers
and lakes join hands
and sing in joy
with trees on land

a place where music
and light combine
where multi-colours
radiate shine

a place where water
is made of wisdom
revealing order
unending kingdom

a place where waterfalls
gush forth bliss
speaking the secrets
of eternal kiss

a place where angels
sing like stars
where thoughts are sharp
like scimitars

where sun 'n venus
mars and moon
collaborate in one
infinite tune

aye, he's still there
i feel him still
but up above
on lonely hill

i live as madman
in drunken stupor
oblivious, blind,
to past or future

subsist without aim
a non sequitur
actions as child
with no genitor

one day, i'll wake,
i'll find him afresh,
let's hope, for my sake,
i'm still in this flesh

or else, i know,
it'll be too late
for there's no going back
once you've passed the gate.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#non sequitur, collaborate
208 · Feb 2022
World Castrated
David R Feb 2022
beard, ashen grey, swept by the winds
of years and centuries, aeons gone by,
misunderstood, forever chagrined
by the earth and the men and the sea and the sky

on staff he leans, weighed down by sins
of the heart and the mind and the hand and the hip
wild hair and locks bellowed by winds,
white shredded sails on wreck'd mast of ship

he'd put down his scythe, his sickle and reaper
bought a break as death's doorkeeper
but the hubris of world dictator
bade him grasp the detonator

soon swarms of poppies blood-red
scarlet and pink as tired sunset
angry as the blood of maidens
blushing as illicit bedspread

scattered as myriad bloodshot eyes,
of mothers mourning as child dies,
as gore spurting in the skies
as brothers shot amid war-cries

ploughed the fields with hearts that bled
plagued burnt hills as barrows of dead
mutilated, youth-abated,
limbs of lives amputated

the squeal of babe, the cry of lamb,
crushed as raspberries in a jam
mulched the fields in pants o' breath
****** by masters of their death

for death now trampled underfoot
the innocent boys, girls and babies
turned their skin to gunpowder soot
ravaged their limbs with famine 'n tabes

ash and hail, desolation,
earth reeling from stagnation
sent death pleading for abation
from the lord of creation

but 'twas nowhere to be seen
not in the heavens with his queen
nor in the throne-room overseeing
for he is forever the elusive being

now hiding from celestial choir
now living in eternal fire
now head burning in funeral pyre
at one with souls as they transpire

as the madness and the envy
mad desire, lust and frenzy,
continue, continue, unabated
till all consumes, as is fated.

broken, bent, o'er his staff,
bent over countries in bloodbath,
o'er the bodies rent in half,
o'er waste of human wrath

over the greed that never ends
never pays dividends
devours 'n divides family 'n friends,
itself consumes, in the end.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#transpire
205 · Nov 2022
At the Cenotaph
David R Nov 2022
ribbons 'n posies, royal salute,
guns and canons in chorus shoot

poppies to adorn the sleeping dead
o'er rocks 'n pebbles and bullets of lead

blood that splashes on chalk-white stones
on dusty granite and weary bones

death and silence drown the cries
as no-one hears as soldier dies

plastic posies, nugatory salute,
together, forever, canons shoot
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#nugatory
205 · May 2022
Life Ephemeral
David R May 2022
aroma of wine
as golden sunshine
as tide in mid-ebb
a lone cobweb

as moonlight shone
'pon dew-kissed lawn
puff and it's gone
the brief-lived dawn

soul empyreal
flame on a wick
life ephemeral
passes too quick
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#ephemeral
204 · Jul 2022
Ostentatious Waste
David R Jul 2022
Jealousy, lust, and honour pursuit
Remove mankind from the world,
The yen for more, the 'don't give a hoot'
About the waste that's hurled,
Resources used, as *******
Now weary and up-curled,
Sends man's soul down the chute,
As Man dies out from world.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#ostentatious

(Based on Ethics 4:21)
204 · Nov 2022
Yesterday
David R Nov 2022
i remember a more tranquil world,
of grassy hummocks and neat tamed lawns,
lazy clouds and flags unfurled,
upright backs 'midst hard-earned yawns

i remember a more tranquil beat
people cared how others fared
there was laughter in the street
there was joy as bread was shared

i remember a world relaxed
uncreased brows, a world untaxed,
tuppence bought a pint of beer
camaraderie and heart-felt cheer

in the bustle at the airports,
in the stations underground,
queuing, handing tickets, passports,
there were humans all around,

somehow feelings were more simple,
******, purer and untouched,
like the soft skin of a dimple
of the smile i miss so much.

yes, i remember a world serene
people cared how others fared,
there were smiles to be seen,
but now that scene has gone and been.

is my memory playing tricks
a child's impression of Lego bricks?
was the world a different place
or was it always a big rat-race?

or perhaps today there's still grace
behind the neons and plastic face,
scratch away the false surface
morals 'n manners will surface.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#hummock
204 · Nov 2021
Cankerous rot
David R Nov 2021
mirage of bogus camaraderie
the chuckle of doppelgänger without a brain
as putrid pond in rancid rockery
shimmering shallow and inane

ad-lib cracks of demagogue
as soporific croaks of puffed-up frog
cheered on by gnomes struck deaf 'n dumb
stuck to rock with chewing-gum

seeking to propitiate hectoring masses
with bevy o' platitudes like banal molasses
dripping treacle-like, with facile devotion
as petroleum leaks on rotting ocean
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#bevy, #demagogue, #soporific, #propitiate, #camaraderie, #ad-lib, #inane, #doppelgänger, #treacle, #facile, #hector, #mirage, #bogus, #devotion
203 · Jul 2022
Adverts & PR
David R Jul 2022
slowly, darkly,
creeps the creeper upward,
gently, softly,
seeking subject subvert,

squeezing, choking,
round and round it winds so,
clutching, grasping,
as in Hitchcock slide-show,

chloroplast it seeks,
in the silence it you speaks,
in dreaded game o' hide-and-seek,
deadly snare that slides and sneaks
binds together wild and weak
tames them unto mild and meek

deftly, smoothly,
pulls you up on seaboard,
unawares he smiles at you,
plants his tentacle deep in you,
plays on you as keyboard,
poisons inner mind-ward,
extradites your innocence,
chaste and untouched inner sense,
skillfully and neatly you are his.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#extradite

Written with *The Music of the Night* [from "Phantom of the Opera"] in mind.
203 · Mar 2021
the chain
David R Mar 2021
i remember my grandfather
white beard 'n saintly,
soft of countenance,
smiling faintly

his grandpa passed early,
he, an unborn babe -
but his grandfather saw his,
Grand Rebbe of Ropshits.

So goes back a chain,
passing years, time immemorial
Rashi, from Rabbi o' Mainz
from line of Judaic kings' inaugural
Up Time's jugular veins
to royalty, King David's arboreal

So, surely, will come a time
generations hence'll form a line
of men and women so sublime
and i amongst them?

It gives me fright,
makes me ponder
i have no right
to stand, to maunder,
'mongst such august
gold stardust,
a link betwixt
new souls untold
and G-d-transfixed
prophets of old

and yet, as scion,
i'm more than a tie
between earlier aeon
of angels on high

of great lions
attached to the Sky
giants of Zion
who rode on high

and offspring hence
of future ages
babes of innocence
and learned sages

i am to serve
as loyal transmitter
a royal nerve
of heavenly glitter
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#scion
203 · Sep 2024
Nature's Light
David R Sep 2024
turning eyes within the self
dark black foreboding
but earth below, with pixie elf,
the frog, the slug, the toad-ring ...
nature helps to lift one's mood
to strive to break the mould,
nectariferous is G-d's sweet food -
There's light when all is told.
202 · Jun 2021
abc
David R Jun 2021
abc
we teach a child abc
as toddler on mother's knee
learns for life (for life learns he),
the person and being he'll grow to be

so it's vital to know which abc
you teach your child, adult to be,

is it a for apathy, in face of suffering,
b for brusque at child's snuffling,
c for coldness at beggar's uncovering,
the abc of demonic discovering?

or a for assistance to those in suffering
b for benevolence to child snuffling
c for concern at beggar's uncovering
the abc of devout discovering

the abc your child learns
will steer him in his life's sojourn,
when you're no longer by his side,
that abc will be his guide

so make sure those first small steps
set him right on life's project
so when he's faced with life's neglects
his instinct knows what to do next

for beneath an urbane veneer
can lie a devilish sneer
but mother's early applaud 'n cheer
sets an unshakeable frontier
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge:
#urbane
202 · Jun 2022
Bom Bom Bom the Djembe Goes
David R Jun 2022
boom boom boom the djembe goes
a dance, in rhythmic throws,
on bougarabou and ngoma drum,
the frenzied beating thumb

ooooh ooooh ahh the spirit grows
body at soul's behest
twists 'n turns, the birthing throes
soul 'n spirit possessed

bom bom bom, the djembe goes
in prance the rhythm flows
dum patter pat, together we hum,
ashiko and djun-djun drum

bom bom bom, the djembe goes
in trance, cataclysmic pose,
with doumbek and the talking drum
sing spirits in fingers' strum.

bom bom bom goes the djembes
ashiko and ngoma drums
dancing rhythmic on the embers
body to spirit succumbs.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#behest
202 · Apr 2021
Nostalgia
David R Apr 2021
i can't go in the room
you're wrapped in white
why everywhere a gloom
why a candle as your light

they're putting you in ground
you can't really be dead
you're not making a sound
is this what they dread

it must be my head
it cannot be real
you're still there in bed
you'll ask how i feel

i'll wake up soon
you'll be there for me
you'll sing me your tune
you'll tell your story

i'll comb your hair
I'll scratch your back
with your love in the air
there's nothing i lack
201 · Mar 2021
Soul rise
David R Mar 2021
He bent over
The shadow in grey
Kissed the lips
Of life away

Eyes, closed buds,
Ne'er more to open,
Veins of blood
Weary and broken.

Spirit released
From skeletal prison,
Body deceased,
Soul arisen.

Flowers of light,
Music immortal,
Embrace a child
Unto God's portal.
200 · Jun 2022
Tears in Eden
David R Jun 2022
beyond this world of make-believe -
far above this world of sorrow -
where the hearts of grown men grieve
blind to see the hope of morrow

in green plains, in the meadow
where the rivers four do meet
where the sun shines, source of shadow,
drenching yellow fields of wheat

there i met my true beloved
saw him with the eyes that see
saw him bless a world corroded
bless a race that's lost at sea

and there i stumbled 'pon the sighing
'pon the tears that bitter be
salty tears of his crying
flowing to a deep blue sea

there they mingled and embraced
with the tears of the dying,
the faults of man, of souls debased,
souls of men that lost hope trying.

kissed those tears that bitter be,
became as one in bluest sea,
carried those souls in his embrace,
carried those souls to highest place

to the palace of Messiah
soared distillate of pariah
turned from darker than the night
sweetened to the brightest light

as the essence of omnipresent
turned the bitterness evanescent
turned the bitterness opalescent
the shine of sun in moon-like crescent
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#evanescent
200 · Aug 2022
Before the Internet
David R Aug 2022
if you can try
to cast your mind
to times gone by
left far behind

those days of yore,
aeons ago,
long before
men kneaded dough

before time begins,
before internet,
when man wore skins,
and a woman, corset,

those days when Luddites
meant English weavers,
'n churches were tight
with avid believers

when a Yankee still dreamt
his country was golden,
a queen, monarch meant,
if quaint and olden,

when people still dialled
to each other on phones,
implied lazybones [that idled]
when they carped on about drones,

when block was an obstacle
placed in a road,
canoe, pointed vehicle
by one paddler rowed

when catfish a marine creature
dwelling in sea
and cloud a sky-vapour
that veiled clarity

when tweet was sound chirped
oft by a bird
and old text was a script
inscribed on a sherd,

when RED was a colour,
as indeed was blue,
e'en then, my dear fella,
we still knew a thing or two.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#Luddite Yankee carp
197 · Jul 2021
tale of misery
David R Jul 2021
i tell a tale of misery
a tale that must be told
a part of human history
of men whose hearts were cold

they dressed in human clothing
that hid inhuman loathing
urbane and winsome smile
that veiled poisoned bile

one day the sun forgot to rise
as thousand men and women
the young, the old, the daft, the wise
were led on evil mission

made to march on gravestone
away from home and house
this people, flesh and bone
victim of cruelest chouse

no doubt there were the children
who knew not where they go
knew not how much a villain
upon this earth could grow

and pushed and shoved upon the ground
the matriarch of year threescore
who every day would knead and pound
the bread for all the poor

towards the forest's warning frame
these starving hordes were forced
as mounted beasts grinned at their game
with gunshot force endorsed

betwixt the dumbest trees
who held their heads aloof
in winter's freezing breeze
as hungry dogs cried woof

three ditches long and wide
were hacked out in the frost
and 'fore the thousands died
into thence were tossed

no doubt they'd left their clothing
in a pile so neat
as bodies decomposing
as souls their Maker meet

the shots rang out in cold air
spelt death and dark despair
as skittles to abyss
as spirit to God's kiss

the crying groans were heard long after
as night threw on its gown
like bodies swinging from the rafter
like ghosts around the town

the devil's fiendish laughter
sought this world to drown
in this and in hereafter
he'd knocked off G-dly crown
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge:
#urbane
True story of my father's home-town [Glogow, Poland]. Thousands massacred in Glogow Forest, including the matriarch in the story, my great grandmother.
197 · Dec 2021
Sleeping Beauty
David R Dec 2021
Life recedes, unbidden,
into the shadow,
depths, dark and hidden,
start of embryo

the earth is breathing
suppressed desire,
the enigma of living
the hidden fire
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#enigma
197 · Apr 2021
Ode to the Dandelion
David R Apr 2021
a myriad solar stars
danced on rippled river
moving, broken bars
silver of largesse Giver

leaping light in flits of fun
as arrows from archer's quiver
glancing, lancing cracked mirror
with searing rays of sun

as footsteps mine trod a-bank
a host of dew-blest drops
upon the blades as soldiers' rank
green rifles on hilltop

and thereupon, beheld did I,
a myriad suns of shining sky,
laid out scattered 'neath my feet,
laughing, dancing, notes on sheet,

safron heads with garlands gold
as spokes of wheel, of chariots old,
lemon-yellow and amber blond,
plates on stem as juggler's wand

scarce a week of nights gone by
and in same field did I spy
in place of golden suns of sky
a myriad moons, with heads held high

and from the ivory spheres of pearl,
as wafts of breath did cause to swirl,
a newfound life of newborn soul,
as sparks divinity from the Whole

for though the sun gives life untold
honey'd nectar and heat from cold,
the seed of future is in moon's hand,
as fairies 'light upon the sand
196 · May 2022
Smell
David R May 2022
smell a rose or freesia,
an odoriferous bloom,
a crocus from Venetia,
delight in its perfume,

succulent natural oils
that in the sunlight glint
'midst aromatic soils,
oregano, rosemary, mint.

for smell is nonpareil
a truly heavenly gift
there yourself to avail
that darkest clouds may lift

so next in wood or dell
when chance you 'pon sweet trail
wild garlic 'n bluebell
stay moments, hear their tale

let speak through their bouquet
to tell of things sublime,
the scent of fresh baled hay
herb robert, basil 'n thyme.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#nonpareil
196 · Aug 2022
Soul vs Sun
David R Aug 2022
i caught a ray of sunshine
and followed it up to source
up up along its golden line
and around its frolickin' course
i breathed its aura of divine,
of pregnant loving force,
then slithered back down the earth-bound vine
of texture rough and coarse

i smiled to my fellow man
and greeted him in kind,
in frown, in scowl, in face deadpan
i sought the soul refined,
and through that beam that human can
reflect from temple mind
i found legion suns more brilliant than
yon fire in groove assigned
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#frolic
189 · May 2022
UK or The Fall of an Empire
David R May 2022
remember bowler hat
the brolly'd aristocrat
the starch'd white collar-ruff
the city toff 'n buff

who crunched beneath his foot
the primitives of his world
in bodies black as soot
his hoisted flag unfurled

who sailed the world on junket
to drain the world of nugget
to boost his fiscal budget
to finance a Royal Buffet

now white 'n grey his beard tumbles
o'er crooked staff
skin dried parchment flakes 'n crumbles,
steps from epitaph:

"here lies a once proud empire
that ruled with pomp and quake
but as all things expire
will ne'er 'gain awake."

"hear the tale of hubris [here the tail of hubris]
the end of crooked path
buried 'neath the bootlace
of cruelty's aftermath."

hear the scorn, contempt
behind the paper walls,
thought himself exempt,
now 'mongst ruins falls.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#junket
David R May 2021
I am the very model of a modern poet laureate,
I've information rhythmical, poetical and lexical,
I know the poets of our land and quote their plays historical,
From Macbeth to Much Ado, in order categorical;

I'm very well acquainted, too, with rhythm hendecasyllable,
I understand assonance and refrain octosyllable,
About pentameter theory I'm teeming with a lot o' news,
With many cheerful facts about the style of poet Edward Hughes.

I'm very good at couplets and at blank verse very fabulous;
I know the seventy-one plays ascribed to Aeschylus:
In short, in matters rhymical, poetical, and lexical,
I am the very model of a modern poet laureate.

I know our poem-history, Caedmon's Hymn to Chaucer's works;
I can cite bards' acrostics with volatility in my vocal box,
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,
In dialect ionic I can cite Semonides of Amorgos;

I can tell undoubted Aratus from Aristeus and Sophocles,
I know the croaking chorus from The Frogs of Aristophanes!
Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.

Then I can write a decasyllable as a dactyl or tetrameter,
And tell you ev'ry detail of soliloquies in Shakespeare:
In short, in matters rhythmical, poetical, to elloquate,
I am the very model of a modern poet laureate.

In fact, when I know what is meant by a "septet" and a "sestet",
When I can tell at sight a literary from a prose effect,
When such affairs as odic and idyllic I'm more wary at,
And when I know precisely 'to be or not to be' by Dane "Hamlet".

When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern rhymery,
When I know more iambic than a novice in a nunnery
In short, when I'm audacious, vexatious and dilatory
You'll say a poet laureate has ne'er been so conciliatory.

For my alliteration knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;
But still, in matters rhythmical, poetical and etiquette,
I am the very model of a modern poet laureate.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#conciliatory, lexical
[To the tune of 'I am the very model of a modern major general', H.M.S. PINAFORE (W. S. GILBERT) ]
187 · Dec 2021
Eternal Light
David R Dec 2021
Paucity of light
causes spirit's yearn
to exit dark of night
to feel that spirit return

and when at last he makes connection
he knows that his prostration
is one with the benign Creator,
the Worshipped with prostrator

[when at last you make connection
know that your prostration
is one with the benign Creator,
the Worshipped with prostrator]

For creation is not adventitious,
coming from another source,
Creator is not capricious,
tumultuous immortal force

when all the world exasperates,
when all around seems lost,
remember your congenial state
with the One Who dwells aloft.

for all else is shadow
of the shining light
that shines eternal glow
within eternal night.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#congenial, #exasperate, #benign, #paucity, #adventitious
186 · Apr 2021
Musings
David R Apr 2021
everyone has devils
some hide them better
it's our job to channel evils
'n thereby make them lesser

think not to restrain that urge
to bind with shackle and fetter,
don't expect to purge
the malevolent abetter

show him a way forward
lift your sights higher
together swim shoreward
toward that spiritual fire

you want to die?
don't ask yourself why,
ask how to use the feeling
to give yourself a high

seek out that inner aspiration
find the glint in mud,
award yourself gratulation
for all your sweat and blood

as you work on what matters
focuse on the prize
and if your spirit shatters
from thence shall you rise

for from dark earth emerges seedling
from black coal the brightest diamond
decay 'n rot shall be your healing
in your swim to distant island
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#fetter
185 · Apr 2021
Seasons' Rainbow
David R Apr 2021
Shivering earth 'neath blanket o' snow
Lifeless, dormant, with indigo glow

Purple blue the distant mountains
'Fore spring has open'd nature's curtains

With green spray 'n veridian dress,
Ere summer displays her aureate tress

Of golden corn swaying in breeze
Of halcyon yellow beneath the trees

As to orange turn the leaves
As day follows harvest of the sheaves

And then to auburn, brilliant red
Before the earth pretends to be dead

Thus is full rainbow displayed below
Red orange yellow green blue 'n indigo
185 · Sep 2022
Silent Light
David R Sep 2022
there is a place where Love sings
without being heard
where Love rises and Love falls
like the wings of a bird

it's a place of silent whisper
talks without a voice
a place where G-d and sister
for eternity rejoice

a place that laps
like the sea o'er land
a place that claps
with a single hand

but surrounding that space is tumultuous wind,
blows hither and thither, in voice that you sinned,
knocks against hard, unyielding earth
empty words echo 'gainst raging mirth

but with constant commitment we'll crack the hard shell
conciliate G-d's sister to the outer brass bell
then, sweetest music, together, will tell,
as angels bend ear to the light in soft knell
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#conciliate
185 · Apr 2021
2022
David R Apr 2021
more darkness
before the light
deepest night
before the day

deepest black
'fore life returns
before the dawn
as new-roused fawn

shines through crack
of broken sherd
as silence attack'd
with spoken word

hope in spirit
loving kindness
infuses merit
cures the blindness
183 · Mar 2022
Send me a text
David R Mar 2022
when blood is cheap
is it time to weep?

when animals matter more
is it time to keep score?

when police abuse
do we watch more news?

as rivers run purple with human blood
earth saturated with pain
skies run scarlet as lava flood
sweeps life 'n limb down the drain

Covid and war
who's keeping score?
what will come next?
send me a text
182 · Apr 2021
knock, knock
David R Apr 2021
knock, knock
who's there?
no answer
couldn't care

knock, knock
back again
door's still locked
on latch 'n chain

knock, knock
who's there?
open lock
trepid stare

i see a wave in the air
tugs a memory in my heart
an empty whisper, empty air,
i was of you, a part apart

once a soul within you lodged
it breathed, it dreamed, it felt, it prayed,
it cried with bitterness when you dislodged
G-d from your heart to stray in shade

so now at times i knock on door
but you're so blind, you see no more,
you keep the door shut so tight,
inside you're black, dark as night
181 · Apr 2021
Different realities
David R Apr 2021
i see a world through my eyes
i hear it through my ears
is that the world you see too
or d'you have different fears?

why do i never stop to think
how others truly feel
why does our ego us hoodwink
to believe just our world is real

i like it when i hear my name
i can give others that pleasure too
that little buzz akin to fame
'coz you're important to you

if i open a door to others' feelings
how much richer my world might be
why am i frightened from revealing
my world's not a sole reality

Each person's a complete universe
with light 'n shade, blessing 'n curse,
his world might be entirely diverse
to the ambience in which i immerse

if seven colours make a rainbow
what iridescence, what beautiful glow
must myriad realities together show,
G-d's divine Glory, above 'n below.
181 · Apr 2021
The Gem
David R Apr 2021
delicate flutter
soft as butter
the green of spring
the gold of summer

untouched youth
untarnished truth
a butterfly's wings
the angel that sings

Divine soft breath
Foil of death
deific kiss
G-d's daughter 'n bliss

behold the soul
endowed in clay
makes you whole
makes you gay

unthinking man
suffocates the spark
he thinks he can
mix light with dark

piles refuse
debris and trash
throws abuse
torment 'n harass

virtuous one
soul and spirit
soil'd, outdone,
wishes to clear it

Speak less,
Listen more,
Avoid stress,
Silence adore.

It's never too late
to arouse from sleep
to help off shake
the ******* heap
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