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173 · Feb 2022
G-d's spirituality
David R Feb 2022
the bloom of a flower
nine months in coming
in heavenly shower
heavenly stunning

a new life in arms
celestial charms
life elixir
in innocent peer

feel immortality
shake hands with mortality
the ongoing chain
through birth of wee bairn

though memory's failing
red cheek's paling,
youth's gone a-sailing
libido's ailing

this newborn vitality
overrides mortality
its individuality
is G-d's spirituality.
172 · Apr 2021
Whose cry?
David R Apr 2021
Speak soft words
Your soul to Soul
Whisper. You're heard.
Your part in Whole.

There's a little bit of G-d in you
That's feeling the pain, the cry in you
Listen to its cry, too,
Feel its pain, and cry too.
171 · Jan 2022
Beware
David R Jan 2022
though saints there are and holy men too
beware of the priest that bows too low
for his overt servility makes fool of you
as he treads upon unwary foe

for in his eyes, the layman and laic
are way beneath his dignity
just placed there to create mosaic
'gainst which to display his divinity
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#layman
170 · Jun 2022
Celibacy
David R Jun 2022
the celibate never married
yet had both spouse and kid
from spouse incessantly harried
till from his children hid
in dread of marriage dorm
perfunctorily duty perform'd
as allied with the grinning elf
he decried the hand he held
in that sumptuous loss of self
as the two as one did meld
he suppressed his soul vocation
in slim excuse of procreation
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#meld, vocation, perfunctory, decry, sumptuous
169 · Jul 2022
Stoned
David R Jul 2022
h                                                    
a          ­                                  
l                                    
f                              
                         a  glass  o'  wine                     ­ 
               a peck at ol' sleep-pill
has turned this head of mine
to [s]l                         ing standstill.
u                 r               
        m        e                      
   b                
    
        mind full of cotton wool
caught in a briar                            
             dumber than a king's fool
      court-jester for the hire                      

can't do a drop o' work,                                                      
thoug­h conscientious to a fault,
may as well go berserk:                                                      
"M­ake that a double-malt!"
LT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#conscientious
169 · Jun 2021
Cause and Effect
David R Jun 2021
the whip cracked across my cheek
back i staggered faint and weak
couldn't answer, couldn't speak
little knew the havoc t'would wreak

as for him, i'm sure
he'd think nothing more
of scar with no cure
i'd for life endure

he thought it didactic,
part of art and tactic,
which made it more tragic
the henceforth prophylactic

against all emotion
a rhinoceros' hide
that he'd set in motion
leaving me inside

raw to to the touch
in constant clutch
aquiver in hutch
a broken crutch
prophylactic
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
169 · Jul 2021
Memories of violation
David R Jul 2021
he's there lurking, in the background,
sometimes a woman, sometimes a man
sneering, smirking, i feel drowned
helpless i lie there, a ***** bedpan
168 · Sep 2022
The Wave
David R Sep 2022
Will e'er that wave be seen again,
royalty in the flesh,
duty coursing in blue blood vein,
eyes smiling, ever fresh?

did ever loyalty to a nation
better to its god coalesce
than in this woman of higher station,
impeccable manners and dress?

through constant batter from the press
through broadside and invective
never ever gave in to stress
never lost perspective

never bent before harasses
laconic maligning from guys 'n lasses
unkind comments from the masses
as they peered through vergrößern glasses

flagship to her people
a tower and a steeple
stood ramrod straight as maypole
shining love rays from a sun-soul

now the fluttering flag's at half-mast
as she's lowered into ground
as the thousands rally past
as her son is newly crowned

exponent of her christian faith,
substantive, positive hope
now pure essence, elusive wraith,
gone in swift elope

Never again will we see that wave,
so true and fast and pure.
for duty now waves from the grave
on stone for e'ermore.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#coalesce broadside invective laconic exponent substantive
168 · Jul 2021
Word of the Day [2]
David R Jul 2021
I take a look at the Word of the Day
And I honestly don't know what to say,
Or to put it in another way,
I'm nonplussed about the word today.

But that doesn't mean I can't make a rhyme,
if somewhat crass 'n not too sublime,
and I've kept the beat in this wonderless chime,
So here's my offering, offered in time.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge:
#nonpluss
167 · Dec 2021
Getting old
David R Dec 2021
I wondered how i'd got so old
How the time had gone
How my bones had gotten cold
Before my time had come

I wondered why my eyes they flickered
Before the written word
Why it seemed my mind was liquored
And my vision blurred

I wondered why the steps had grown
steeper in incline
why they creak'd, me joints and bones,
and moved like slow bovine

I wondered who that old man was
with grey whiskers and goatee
a venerable Santa Claus
that winked from mirror to me

then i recalled the passing years
i'd left my youth behind
in veil of laughter and of tears
and now decrepit mind

so i'll paint a smile on senility
pretend i'm glad 'n fine
i'll drink to youth's virility
and close eyes to my decline
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#venerate
167 · Nov 2021
Quaker
David R Nov 2021
why do i shake as i go amongst others
like a leaf blown by the wind
a yacht on the waves that sways and shudders
a ship, without anchor, unpinned

others smile, at ease,
and i'm like dust in a breeze
******* in a corner where no-one can see
hide me behind a bush or a tree

i love people and want to embrace
speak to others with intellectual grace
but i'm different from others and don't seem to match
so i leave down the shutters and stay in my hatch

oh, my shell wants so much to be cracked
but the chick wants to stay put
while i need an answer to help me act
it's becoming increasingly moot

So this milquetoast will end his life
with nothing to show at all
because he never learnt to play the fife
at humanity's quirks and gall.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#Milquetoast
167 · Apr 2022
Spring
David R Apr 2022
there was fanfare when she came
golden suns whisper'd acclaim
the robin had awoken
and the squirrel from her heim

ladies swirl in pinks and white
leaves unfurl to petals bright
there is music in the air
spring's arrival all declare
166 · Jun 2021
A Rigmarole
David R Jun 2021
"it's the swolgamouth", he said,
"and i thought he was dead!
he's clearly gone ahead
and on my swoth he's fed".

"a swolgamouth?", i challenged,
"are you quite unbalanced?"
"You mean a sort of moth
is feeding on your swoth?"

"a moth?", he cried, "why, no!",
giving his nose a blow,
"It's a type of bendigo!
I'm surprised you didn't know."

"A bendigo?", I quoth,
"you mean a type of sloth?
but, I say, in troth,
sloth don't feed on swoth!"

"the bendigo", he said,
with exaggerated composure,
but he seemed to lower his head
as he made the grave disclosure

and his eyes darted left 'n right
that he wasn't overheard
and shrank back in affright
at cry of flying bird

"Why it's", but then was silence,
as he vanished from my view,
it seems the bendigo tyrants
had him taken as their due.
Rigmarole
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
166 · Feb 2022
Stop saying 'Never'
David R Feb 2022
"He'd never annex Crimea," said political analysts.
Until the day he did.
"War in the Donbas? Never!" opined the seasoned journalists.
Then there was. Just because.
"He'd never do it to Ukraine,"
said geriatrics sans a brain.
Then flushed their opinion down the drain
Three times burnt,
You'd think they'd learnt
The word 'never' doesn't apply
to the Kremlin's mighty guy
Yet, "He'd never press the button!"
Mouth politicians over their mutton.
While world watches, eyes incredulous
West End movie in slow-motion
As the Monster, persistent, sedulous,
void of feeling and emotion,
presses button, rings the death-knell,
smiles as east and west do flounder
pulls the rope, rings the death-bell
on humanity to fall and founder
to burn in fire with their hater
the world a crisp on incinerator.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#founder
166 · Nov 2021
Wintry Secrets
David R Nov 2021
Coat whiter than face of moon
amber eyes of sinister tune
whistling hail and winds of ice
Lord Winter's Paradise

He shook his frosted grisly mane,
clawed the earth and roared,
eyed Queen Autumn with disdain,
barred teeth spat, 'I'm bored'.

'why must i procrastinate,
linger in this state?
days will soon be lengthening
veins of warmth strengthening.'

'there'll be life and trees of different shape,
unevenness abound,
a multi-coloured landscape
and colour on the ground.'

'cut me free and let me rule
i'll paint the vista white,
a multi-faceted diamond jewel
that'll blind you with its light.'

the Queen gave royal chortle
spun round without a qualm
'I am like you immortal
and have eternal charm'.

'i'll keep you tied till last leaf
has fluttered to the ground,
and then your reign will be but brief
for my sister must be crowned.'

'As you'll see, she'll brook no nonsense,
for Queen of Spring is she
so when you spy the purple crocus
and Lily-of-the-Valley

peeping through your nival blanket
you'll know her time has come,
she'll want to share her banquet
with warmth from golden sun.'

'she'll shoo you from her place
no sign of lenity
for though benign in name and grace
she'll show no leniency.'

'but i know i need not tell you,
you know her better than me,
for Lady Spring is your shrew,
your wife for eternity.'
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#qualm, #grisly, #procrastinate, #lenient
165 · Oct 2022
Dust and Ashes
David R Oct 2022
canvas black, as black can be,
he tries to make it blacker,
like wolf skilled in lycanthropy
like corpses for hijacker

not enough of world starvation
too few souls in deprivation
not enough pain and hurt and hunger
the world it needs a new war-monger

the evil itself will self-consume
but first consumes the others
but 'til the sun its shine resumes
he'll **** off his own brothers

so huddle close humanity
take shelter while you can
and watch as lurid insanity
turns world to dust 'n pan
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#lycanthropy
165 · Nov 2021
Demise of Humanity
David R Nov 2021
words drip with oil
ooze fat, as spirit dies.
the flow of light
like earthy chunk
smashed out of skies,
wet and weary,
plunges into the sea
in blood of gargoyle
smatter'd 'n spat
o'er crimson splattered highs.

still, the dead fight
o'er trunks empty of thighs,
once a huckster's prize
****** at humanity
now tired 'n bleary
floating as spoil,
a corpse, blinkered by lies,
blind eyes, no longer leer
stare in insanity,
at demise of humanity.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#huckster
165 · May 2021
A Smile
David R May 2021
a crack of sunshine
the human smile,
as matured wine
poured down the aisle
of suffering humanity
creating sanity
in world inanity
illusion and vanity
like the split of reed-sea
like biscuits and tea
it saves man 'n country
it'll save you and me
164 · May 2021
Weighing up the good
David R May 2021
for posting my suicide attempt
yesterday, on this floor,
someone showered vile contempt
calling me 'attention-*****'

doubtless they thought i'd fabricated
a tale to garner your notice
that i was a guy so frustrated
i'd lost my moral focus

now, though they're incorrect
in disbelieving the story
maybe there's some aspect
of self-seeking glory

in posting any of my rhymes
on this delightful platform
in searching afterwards ofttimes
for likes or comment warm

but here's the point to contemplate
if this site were not here
i'd hardly write or create
my aptitude may disappear

instead of being honed through practice
through seeking to learn new tactics
would i grow, as i should?
would i write, as i could?

on this site, I see art
different style 'n image,
as other poetry writers impart
their tales to envisage

so, though there is veracity
there's some attention-seeking,
it's just possible this site's capacity
to hone our public-speaking

to find like-minded persons,
to delight in others' verse,
may outweigh the divergence
from strictest moral traverse

so for the moment, i'll still be posting
lines of poetry and rhyme
albeit, I own, there's measure of boasting,
in displaying one's art on line.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
164 · Feb 2022
Wheezing Skeletons
David R Feb 2022
moving mass morphed myopic
homogeneous heaving humanity
killed 'n culled in catastrophic
hatred, hostile enmity

six million souls pulled together,
stuffed into a devil's mouth
reached out from the nether
to quench unending drouth

red-brick nostrils belched black smoke
blood dripp'd from barbed fangs
in iron fist a throat did croak
emaciated body now lifeless hangs

still the cavern was not filled
still his hellfires burnt and grilled
till there was no man left breathing
save a mound o' skeletons wheezing

and 'neath the pile of thousand shoes,
'neath heaps of bodies, black and bruised,
'neath the filth, the stench'd refuse
earth wept wet for those lost Jews
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#myopic, homogeneous
164 · May 2022
Dreams
David R May 2022
of ounces, pints and pounds
dreams the Eaton schoolboy
who rules UK's surrounds
self-belief in charm uncoy,

rotund in thigh and tum
bloviates ad absurdum
secure in his plush income
lies 'til kingdom come

in conclave o' best o' chums
distorts the figures 'n sums
indoctrinates, lies propagates,
regardless of outcomes

oh, governed by repartee
land of glory and hope
what epithet befits thee?
which clever literary trope?
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#conclave, propagate, indoctrinate, bloviate
164 · Jun 2022
Spirit Talk
David R Jun 2022
walk, he said, on tiptoe,
make sure your voice unheard,
leave the body far below,
the soul with wings of bird

fly to place untouched
soft, he said, with tenure,
each space with mind enclutch
spirit on soul adventure

meld unto the substance
step by step the climb
head bent in allegiance
in place that's void of time
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#meld
163 · Mar 2021
Air
David R Mar 2021
Air
Air, transparent nothingness,
Sustaining life with lovingness,
Shining fairie confronting us,
Embracing us, loving us.

Sweet oxygen and nitrogen,
Carbon dioxide 'n hydrogen,
Awe-inspiring leviathan,
Vitalising Heineken.
163 · Sep 2022
Integrity waves good-bye
David R Sep 2022
yesterday i saw a guy
looked all human too,
facsimile of you and I,
had learnt a thing or two

but his soul had gone away
left him rotting through
outside, sure, he looked okay
inside was askew

for morality had doffed its hat
waived to him at gate
now for years his heart closed shut
his god obliterate

and as the massive star collapsed
creating blackest void
the evil grew and grew and waxed
till ethics all destroyed

i saw a guy yesterday
not at all like you
typical of the modern sway
unbridled lust worldview

now the centre of society
is all-******* hole
it laughs loud at plain propriety,
it's ******* in the whole

gone the love for modest dress
all respect for chastity
all eyes are on the tv press
creating their own gravity

"we want new, we're educated,
chuck all ethics down the spout,
we'll see ourselves vindicated
as the truth will out"

the guy i saw yesterday
he looked like you or me
but today the rot and decay
are all that's left to see
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#facsimile obliterate
163 · Aug 2022
Overwhelm
David R Aug 2022
what need for gold
when sunshine pours
makes heaven's abode
on lush green moors
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#overwhelm
162 · Mar 2021
The Graveyard
David R Mar 2021
Silent, grey,
Memories call,
Bodies decay,
Spirits enthral.

Forest of stones,
Soldiers *****,
Markers of bones
Command respect.

Here, a soul,
In shadow, hides,
Tries to console
Young widow-bride.

There, a spirit,
of little merit,
dallies in grit,
whit to inherit.

Sobbing, a child
Kneels by her father,
Lips that once smiled
Buried before her.

Love-blind groom
Aches for his partner
Asleep in her tomb,
Asleep to his ardour.

Sighing tears,
Wind and rain,
Love and fear
Entwine the twain.

And gravel and grass
Watch from afar
as death and life dance
with bid, 'au revoir'.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#dally
161 · Jun 2022
Fulcrum
David R Jun 2022
not upon the concrete structure
nor in the roar of man
the etiquette of modern culture
or governmental plan

nor in the sound of raw cascade
of rocks or shining water
in mountain hills, 'pon forest glade
nor in the lightening slaughter

of lions 'gainst their weaker prey
of men against each other
in steepled church of moral decay
'midst hugs of strangled brother

but in the breath of sweetest child
that whispers to his God
in humility of person mild
that lets himself be trod

in the vapour of the nothing
in your heart upcurled
there the word of God Who's loving
there the base of world
161 · May 2021
Free Therapy
David R May 2021
snip-snip go my shears
there's 'motion in the gears
rhythmic music to my ears
let's get rid of hidden fears

here's a tough one to sever
but we shan't give up, no, never
as shears bear fruit of my endeavour
there's innocent joy, innocent pleasure

here's another gaining girth
badly hiding snigger 'n mirth
let's see shears what you're worth
send it toppling to the earth

this treatment is absolutely free
works better than any therapy
so those of you who are like me
give it a go, let yourself free.
160 · May 2021
Seven Sins
David R May 2021
I see another and think i'm better,
tying my ankles with shackle and fetter,
the pride vile not allowing advance,
for fear of someone looking askance

at what i do, perhaps not perfect
enough to feed my self-respect
or rather my need to be correct
in eyes of the world, in extrospect

the chocolate in jar, the biscuit in tin,
i'm not free o' greed, or lustful sin,
constant hankering after the superfluous,
and hidden darkness i daren't discuss

and when i see a person succeeding
who in my eyes is exceeding
the heights i've reached or attained
it's envy to which i'm sorely chained

enveloped in physicality,
the gluttony that is in me,
venality and carnality
forgetting spirituality,

when awakens the righteous spark
wrath is stirred in seeing the dark
in others that me seduces
though mine own, i've plenty excuses

but sloth is my overriding guilt
that puts a stop to anything built
crowning me in crown of thorns
to decorate those devilish horns

to shrive i yearn, to be assoiled,
to rid me finally of the soiled
raiment of my spirit 'n soul,
to fly unhindered to my goal.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
159 · Mar 2022
Prisoners
David R Mar 2022
ever seen a restless lion,
impatient, antsy, a lion on-edge,
roaring at his bars of iron,
longing for the rocky ledge

yearning for the arid savanna
the sweet smell of savage hunt
the scuffle with the young hyaena,
the vanquished's final grunt

ever seen the tired ape
the depressed orang-outang
lying captive, a worn-out cape
benumbed from all pain or pang

lost all hope of hanging branches
the overgrown Amazon marshes
forgotten the delights of the wild
the call of tribe and his sister's child

ever seen a prisoner's despair
locked away from all society
his loss of self-worth and self-care
his state of mental inebriety

once-gregarious reduced to staring
never hears the music blaring
a listless, languid, brainless zombie
outside world inane cryptography

ever seen your mate in club
your chum-friend at the local pub
smiling, laughing, without a care,
taking part in truth-or-dare

beneath the outer charm and suaveness
calmness of a Greek Adonis
lies a restless, confounded soul,
prisoner with no parole

lies an intelligence rattling the bars
peering out through aged scars,
muffled, muted by cruelest medicine,
fated eternal jail denizen

longs to escape to outside world,
break the bars, flag unfurled,
but as those captives in the zoo
has lost all hope of living like you.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#gregarious, cryptography,
159 · Jun 2021
Roses of my garden
David R Jun 2021
what is this that grips my senses
its magic grasp inveigling,
the mauves, the reds, as blood of ******,
as fairest ****** beguiling

depths of salmon orange,
the deepest, velvet pinks,
bid me pay them homage
as Pharaoh to his Sphinx

i gaze in heartfelt wonder
and touch her deepest secrets,
scented lightning, silent thunder,
quenching soul with her streamlets

of ever transient virility
of flower of fertility,
her arrows o' Cupidian agility
blushing unashamed fecundity

words cannot paint your beauty,
or describe eternal mystery,
they cannot do their duty
unlock thine vernal divinity
inveigle
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge

first stanza original:
what magic is this that grips my senses
in its grasp beguiling
the mauves, the reds, as blood of ******,
as fairest virgins smiling
159 · Oct 2022
The Necrosis of Utopia
David R Oct 2022
every day the death-toll rises
every day catastrophes
every day no more surprises
just more new ... calamities

wading through the corpses dead
as they fade on news front-spread
swift they fade from memory
as swift arrives new treachery

no more tears
no more sighs
ears are numb
to mounting dies

rolling, rolling, empty space
lost all sense of human grace
passed all points irrevocable
world awaits the inevitable
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#Utopia
158 · Jul 2021
Freewill
David R Jul 2021
child crafted
thought incumbent
on matter grafted
dross recumbent

child nurtured
by prevailing notions
often kerchered
by doting devotions

child waxes
in social arena
a leaf on axis
as spinning ballerina

child matures
on social mores
as plant secure
on horse manure

when as adult
he follows the cult,
as vogue and fashion
become his passion

or when he supplants
through his advance
incumbent president
or chief resident

and then proceeds to wreck havoc
on age-old values, agent satanic,
it's very difficult to point one finger
on nature or nurture as harbinger

but one things for sure
and that's freewill,
child starts pure,
child won't ****.

there's a step, different to all,
that gives him a chance to rise or to fall,
and that's why, when all's said and done,
a person's responsible for the life he's spun.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge:
#incumbent
158 · Apr 2021
Sobering Thoughts
David R Apr 2021
Youth blooms
Blossoming spring,
until the gloom
when petal takes wing,

then, slow as snail emerging,
softest passion builds, surging,
head of vernal bud maturing,
zest of life in drupe enduring

But when the fruit ripen
it's time to pick 'em,
when senses heighten
work with them

for it won't be long 'fore they're gone
'fore tree's bereft o' youth's liaison
Before the fruit drop from the tree
before the boat's swept out to sea
before the dew that's sparkling now
becomes sweet memory as wedding vow
before the earth collects it's due
before it whispers, 'it's time for you'.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#zest
158 · Mar 2021
Softest Rose
David R Mar 2021
****** softness,
Angelic colour,
Gentle to taunt us
Queen of Summer.

Still she rises
Golden wonder,
Shows her prizes
Makes me younger.

Pink's too ordinary,
It's more lavender,
Heaven's emissary,
Beauty's avatar.

Aroma intoxic,
Sweetest optic,
First Rose in Spring,
Thou art everything.
158 · Oct 2022
Mushrooms
David R Oct 2022
we heard the rumbling from afar,
smudge of darkness, smell of war,
and then the torrents burst from cloud
bullet-hail on the crowd

'twas too late to seek a shelter
from bombs that rained like helter-skelter
too late for kids who huddled cowed
donned too early their sallow shrouds

then the tyrant spoke out aloud
spoke destruction with fist avowed
no-one saw beneath brow proud
the madman saw a mushroom-cloud

no-one heard, no-one thought,
though air tingled with danger fraught
"he's not serious," "it'll come to naught",
now no-one's left to tell you aught.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#sallow
158 · Aug 2021
Aghast
David R Aug 2021
a s sweet innocence stares
g host of blackened sin
h aunts the universe
a ttacks the soul within
s oft, gentle tiptoe
t urns to shout and blow

a nd no-one bats an eyelid
g oes to save the kid
h elps the untouched soul
a gainst the gaping hole
s ucking in the piety
t o satiate society

a ghast divinity shivers
g asps for inner light
h ungers for Caregiver
a midst the ghouls of night
s inking in black river
t he tears of human blight
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#aghast
158 · Oct 2020
Salacious Spouse
David R Oct 2020
Eyes black,
Watching my back,
Gun acock,
Face a rock.

Oh, so gracious,
To friends, loquacious,
Bowing deeply,
Ever so meekly.

Words sebaceous,
Ever vivacious,
Smiling sweetly,
"I am .. uniquely.. "

But, spouse salacious,
Being-mendacious,
Do you not know
What I undergo?

So fallacious,
Power-voracious,
Flirtatious, audacious,
Make us or break us.
157 · Jun 2021
Old Mr Naar
David R Jun 2021
the air was thick with pipe'd tobacco
swirls o' smoke twixt mahogany panels,
an lending aura, an ancient glow,
wisps that whisper'd o' secret annals

one eye peered behind thick glass,
the other hidden by black patch,
a vague reminder of a past
ascent o' hell, young life to ******

his voice was hoarse, his voice was gentle,
his skin was coarse but kind,
his frame was firm, his frame was feeble,
his words spoke of strong mind

on the wall, in gilted frame,
in cloak of ermine 'n crimson
he stood enrobed with mayor's chain
as twice times mayor of Hendon

of a black box, to me, he spoke,
though maybe 'twas a joke
he said 'twas handed to him as mayor,
and gave him awesome, titanic power

i thought he'd fought in trenches,
on the blood-filled fields of war,
i thought he'd seen 'em fall like wenches
before the canon roar

but he'd received an MBE
for services as postal sorter
under special difficulty
during the First World War
titanic
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
156 · Dec 2021
Dance of the Letters
David R Dec 2021
a word danced in my mind
held out its hands, 'come dance with me',
called its friend, another word,
and then another, which made three.

Before I knew it, there they were,
ten dancing words on a page,
they formed a sentence, then a rhyme,
tapping time as on a stage

a dance, a ring,
as song they sing,
with lilt and lill
and jig 'n spring

then, of a moment, all was still,
no swirl of smiling prose or thrill,
a hush that said there'd never been
the tap of words as in a scene

as in a play of imagination
of cerebral recreation
just wet ink from my quill
like numbers on a shopping bill

from automated teller machine
standing fixed as ordered marines
letters silent as a winter night
the magic gone, taken flight,

waiting, waiting, for magic breath,
to rouse them into life from death,
when, once again, as talisman,
they'll sing music as no man can.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#talisman
155 · Jul 2022
To Live or Not
David R Jul 2022
To live,
Or not,
that is the question:

Is it better to suffer,
as rail-car buffer,
the hurt and harrows,
slings and arrows,
of life?

Or to stand akimbo,
the soul, closed window,
by swallowing pills
take arms against kills,
emancipation
through medication,
Is that life?
Or death?

To sleep away the heart-ache that flesh is heir to,
to dull with chemicals, and wear one's heart as Hollywood hairdo,
is that a consummation devoutly to be wish'd?

or to feel the whips of time,
the scorns of human grime,
the blood that's shaken from heart receiving fist?

the unnatural pantomime
of *******, predatory crime,
be pounded into dust as worthless grist?

To live the oppressor's wrong,
but yet to hear heaven's song,
to suffer the spurn of love,
but free to scale the worlds above,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
experience overwhelm of nerves and strife,
but to feel the needle and face it as a man?

To live,
Or not,
Is that a question?
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#emancipation, akimbo
155 · Sep 2022
Kintsugi
David R Sep 2022
i've never mastered the art
found the gold for kintsugi
so the pieces of broken heart
remain; shattered for all to see,
but when i start
to pay attention
to broken heart
of G-d's ascension,
when i search,
piece by piece,
for His Light,
in place of cease,
when i walk,
stride by stride,
in trust assiduous
that He's by my side,
then i see no broken hearts.
For all is one. There are no parts.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#assiduous
155 · Apr 2021
Window of a Soul
David R Apr 2021
in a window
of a soul
sits a naked cry
cracked
as unbaked dough
wracked
with thought to die

by a window
of a soul
that is buried
in dark hole
sits an angel
waiting by
waiting for
a wordless cry


through black window
no-one peers
not one
of the passers-by
no-one heeds
no-one needs
to listen to
a soundless cry

in the window
of the soul
whispers angel
to console
"your cry
means I am near,
your sigh
means do not fear".


through the window
of the soul,
midst the darkness
black as coal,
under crust
of ruthless world,
through mistrust
is faith unfurled,
hope is born
in wordless cry,
as heart torn
lets out a sigh.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge:
#ruthless
David R Jul 2021
there once was a lad from Hungary
who was a dab hand at trumpery
oft a quote
that never was wrote
he made into hagiography

one day he went too far
and quoted his wife's mama
as saying her daughter
next to the altar
looked like a black Madonna

said in-law to him that's true
but it wasn't her, 'twas you,
in your tuxedo
and French libido
like balsam o' peru

if i hadn't known 'twas you
i'd have thought you an evolving gnu,
so stop writing lies
or you'll get a surprise
as my daughter wishes you adieu
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge:
#hagiography
154 · Aug 2021
hunt or be hunted
David R Aug 2021
the predator stands at point of vantage,
back to the wall to its advantage
eyes sweeping the world its stage
anxious to take its next hostage

perhaps as child they were bitten and hurt
kicked in the dust, trod in the dirt,
so they learnt to **** before they're hurt
rather than softly self assert

can they be blamed for being the wolf
when inside they're terrified of being stepped on
of being putted as a ball in golf
into dark hole, where they're dead and gone

so they kvell to see their victim fall
as they stand alert, with back to the wall,
it's their ******, their cortisol,
'cos inside is bitter, poisonous gall.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#kvell
154 · Nov 2021
Just One Word
David R Nov 2021
touch a person with a word
move their soul with a smile
watch their spirit soar like a bird
as a bride walking down aisle
154 · Apr 2021
Sweet Robin
David R Apr 2021
o sweet robin, how view you the world
while flitting to and fro, brown feathers unfurled,
russet orange breast, black-currant eyed,
with quizzical look, head perked to one side,

sweet 'n staccato, your song so shrill,
melodic and tuneful, orchestral trill,
are you aware of the joy and the thrill
you add to the woods with your dark grey bill?

What mystery lies 'neath beady eyes,
thou enigma of the woods, of bicoloured hood,
what glory you be, darting 'cross skies,
unaware of all else save ma nature's good.
154 · Feb 2021
Poet Painting
David R Feb 2021
Dip your brush in crimson letters,
Add a dab of red-gold blush,
Paint a landscape of upsetters,
Those who need a soul to crush.

Those of hollow form of flesh
Those whose soul has left 'n fled
As they seek out weak to thresh
Till last drop of blood has bled

Here a sphere o' fire setting
'Midst a blood-hued sky,
There the haunting silhouetting
Tree with branches high.

Grasping, scratching air ephemeral,
Swaying to the sounds of death,
Knocking at the gates empyreal,
Clutching at pure babies' breath.

The dead not-living swarm like dusk
Crushing sweetest sprout
Winnowing ripe corn from husk
Winnowing the life-force out

Hear the hunted sheep begetting
Howl and wail and cry,
Watch the darting bats bloodletting
As Lord Life slips by.

Covered by dark guise of nature,
Everlasting bides his time
Safe as no nomenclature
Can guess his pantomime
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#winnow
153 · May 2021
Zodiacal Signs
David R May 2021
Let's take a tour of the Zodiac signs,
On each month, we'll scribe two lines

Aries Sun has zest and verve
A quarrel with him takes a nerve

Taurus Sun's down to earth
to change his mind's like giving birth

(Original:
Gemini Sun's social and fickle
Rely on him and you're in a pickle)

Gemini Sun's social and flexible
Friendly, affable, intelligence incredible

Cancer Sun's moody, insecure
Sensitive to a fault 'n slightly obscure

Leo Sun's loyal, a good worker,
Idealist, noble, rarely a shirker

Virgo Sun's responsible and practical,
exacting, self-critical, not always tactical

Libra Sun wants peace at any price,
refined, sociable, and really, very nice

Scorpio Sun, now there's a challenge,
Intense, willful, he'll always manage

Sagittarius Sun's cheerful and friendly,
though mind their anger, can be deadly

Capricorn Sun's hard-working, societal,
Mostly reliable though obstinately practical

Aquarius Sun goes off beaten track,
Idealistic, social, they'll usually have your back.

Pisces Sun's deep, if somewhat lymphatic,
dreamy idealist and slightly erratic

And herein ends our brief excursion
Hope you enjoyed are astral version
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
153 · Aug 2022
How?
David R Aug 2022
How do we stand
before the Almighty Being,
with outstretched hand,
or standing or kneeling?

How do we lift up our eyes
before the All-seeing?
Impossible, he sighs,
But it's eminently healing.
BLT's Merriam-Webster Word of The Day Challenge
#eminently
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