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"becalmed" poems
“Angelica arguta”, He shows her his wildflowers “Angelica Susannah”, he says. And prodded further by her His heart. Lingers briefly with the night; Her affection has power, But not enough To keep him From marching off to fight. Tristan, son of One Stab, Brings wildness from the mountains. Lovely woman from the East, Fascinated by her, His passion. Revels in her bridal bower, And stops her Loving any other. Alfred, eldest son of his father, Full of rectitude and romance. Angelica abandoned, Adrift between the mountains Becalmed far from the sea. He takes advantage, Snatches her soul with riches, But never captures Her longing heart. Years pass and one son gone, The other lost and mad. Year of the red grass and Happiness found Is felt too soon. Tristan loves young Isabel, But Angelica is his doom. Yet only he survives The waves that lash her shore, “Like water in the ice, She breaks them.” And in the Spring, Is gone once more. Angelica Susannah is buried Above the box canyon in the meadow Among the many dead. Near Samuel’s heart, The executed Isabel, And others who follow soon. Until only Tristan remains, Left to hunt his nemesis, The bear inside him. And dream of one wife lost, And a lover left behind: Angelica Susannah Beside whom he should lie. He is slain by the bear in Sixty-three, After forty years of solitude. And laid to rest in the plot Between two women he loved, Isabel, his ingenuous wife And Susannah, his tragic love. Do their spirits meet at last And wander the golden fields, Or ride out to bathe in the hot springs, Under the moon of the falling leaves?
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Aug 6, 2018
Aug 6, 2018 at 10:37 AM UTC
Angelica Susannah
“Angelica arguta”, He shows her his wildflowers “Angelica Susannah”, he says. And prodded further by her His heart. Lingers briefly with the night; Her affection has power, But not enough To keep him From marching off to fight. Tristan, son of One Stab, Brings wildness from the mountains. Lovely woman from the East, Fascinated by her, His passion. Revels in her bridal bower, And stops her Loving any other. Alfred, eldest son of his father, Full of rectitude and romance. Angelica abandoned, Adrift between the mountains Becalmed far from the sea. He takes advantage, Snatches her soul with riches, But never captures Her longing heart. Years pass and one son gone, The other lost and mad. Year of the red grass and Happiness found Is felt too soon. Tristan loves young Isabel, But Angelica is his doom. Yet only he survives The waves that lash her shore, “Like water in the ice, She breaks them.” And in the Spring, Is gone once more. Angelica Susannah is buried Above the box canyon in the meadow Among the many dead. Near Samuel’s heart, The executed Isabel, And others who follow soon. Until only Tristan remains, Left to hunt his nemesis, The bear inside him. And dream of one wife lost, And a lover left behind: Angelica Susannah Beside whom he should lie. He is slain by the bear in Sixty-three, After forty years of solitude. And laid to rest in the plot Between two women he loved, Isabel, his ingenuous wife And Susannah, his tragic love. Do their spirits meet at last And wander the golden fields, Or ride out to bathe in the hot springs, Under the moon of the falling leaves?
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63
[From Fragments,  The Following...] ... so it was that the Urth bled less. The Birch Moot was becalmed by the Anvil Cloud of Impending Deluge. The Young Gods made sport of Their Names, and aimed to Oblique the colony of clever flesh groping at the tender roots of an insipid devastation. The First Ones had vanished. But Time was born and the Mortal Whirl released the Hounds of Change. Transition fused - with the Eternal; and the offspring of unloved Spirits, roamed the Tangible. All Suffering was amplified in the diamond lungs of a divine corpse, dreaming. ... for when the iron heart of The Cast Out was retrieved, the Legion of Heaven poured unseemly Grace upon the Fathoms and the High King of Doubt, forced his blade ' Nimue ' into the soft palette, of the First Mouth.  The Stars were born and The Void overheard the First Naming. A solid drizzle of enchantment cloaked the oaken Yggdrasil and The Pattern unleashed the folly of Pattern to mask the virtue of succinct Chaos. The Children of The Lower Sky ate their Masters and thereby swollen - gathered in the underbrush of the Fecund. They came to Know Regret by Answering Prayers. The Kingdoms of Wane were waning in the fearsome riot of Creation and not a boy, a man from no woman and no woman a man. ... the siege lights of the petty stars, babbled in the wake of yawning eruption and nullification. the ****** theater of blood was made Holy by way of forcing camels into eyes of needles in constant dystopian joy. ... and that's how the rain gets in. [ From the ' Kingdoms Of Wane ', a Lost Tome from Antiquity and Dada ] What ?
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Jan 27, 2013
Jan 27, 2013 at 7:07 PM UTC
LOST TOME LULLABIES, THE KINGDOMS OF WANE [ WITH COMMENTARY ]
[From Fragments,  The Following...] ... so it was that the Urth bled less. The Birch Moot was becalmed by the Anvil Cloud of Impending Deluge. The Young Gods made sport of Their Names, and aimed to Oblique the colony of clever flesh groping at the tender roots of an insipid devastation. The First Ones had vanished. But Time was born and the Mortal Whirl released the Hounds of Change. Transition fused - with the Eternal; and the offspring of unloved Spirits, roamed the Tangible. All Suffering was amplified in the diamond lungs of a divine corpse, dreaming. ... for when the iron heart of The Cast Out was retrieved, the Legion of Heaven poured unseemly Grace upon the Fathoms and the High King of Doubt, forced his blade ' Nimue ' into the soft palette, of the First Mouth.  The Stars were born and The Void overheard the First Naming. A solid drizzle of enchantment cloaked the oaken Yggdrasil and The Pattern unleashed the folly of Pattern to mask the virtue of succinct Chaos. The Children of The Lower Sky ate their Masters and thereby swollen - gathered in the underbrush of the Fecund. They came to Know Regret by Answering Prayers. The Kingdoms of Wane were waning in the fearsome riot of Creation and not a boy, a man from no woman and no woman a man. ... the siege lights of the petty stars, babbled in the wake of yawning eruption and nullification. the ****** theater of blood was made Holy by way of forcing camels into eyes of needles in constant dystopian joy. ... and that's how the rain gets in. [ From the ' Kingdoms Of Wane ', a Lost Tome from Antiquity and Dada ] What ?
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23
Lie still, sleep becalmed, sufferer with the wound In the throat, burning and turning. All night afloat On the silent sea we have heard the sound That came from the wound wrapped in the salt sheet. Under the mile off moon we trembled listening To the sea sound flowing like blood from the loud wound And when the salt sheet broke in a storm of singing The voices of all the drowned swam on the wind. Open a pathway through the slow sad sail, Throw wide to the wind the gates of the wandering boat For my voyage to begin to the end of my wound, We heard the sea sound sing, we saw the salt sheet tell. Lie still, sleep becalmed, hide the mouth in the throat, Or we shall obey, and ride with you through the drowned.
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4.2k
Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed
Atmosphere pervades this place: A subtle, spiritual background So surreal. Far from haunted manors Or flashing disco halls. Soundless surrounds ****** my soul As I’m serenaded by serenity. Peaceful plains becalmed: Punctuated only by gently rustling trees And the distant twittering of birds. I cannot feel any force Except some sublime emanation Of peace and tranquility. Satisfaction soothes my mood As I make the most of these lingering moments. So good to chill out in the snug Of my local pub. Paul Butters
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Sep 20, 2016
Sep 20, 2016 at 6:34 AM UTC
Atmosphere
dragging forth a smile i stand before the storm of teenage angst set down on worn carpet we are in the eye at rest, becalmed but just for now soon the winds will blow and crack and the seas will roil and seethe and from the mouth all things vile will spout and spew and I and my albatross will rue, having awakened but I will smile even as the albatross whimpers and hides for my smile is my defence against this incoming kingtide of hormonal  soap  opera that is  this class of seveteen teenage pains in my **** this farce of bed hopping and sloppy breakups followed by anguish and x rated make ups all played out before me like reality tv and I and the albatross smile and stand thinking .... one more semester then I am gone from this land..... My albatross and I ... can take to the sea
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Oct 6, 2016
Oct 6, 2016 at 7:45 AM UTC
albatross days
I go unwilling and unarmed Recruited by age I lay me down The medals gleaming on my coat Mean nothing now, my vessel weak Hard for my ship to stay afloat The ocean once sparkling blue A dingy grey of lowering clouds Dark and foreboding as a storm I recall standing proudly on the prow My crew would not know me now There are things to accept, things to learn Time to know my place, take the stern My orders once barked in strident tone Now a whisper, not my own My ship becalmed, canons disarmed Her flag that once flew with pride Is still, no wind can stir her, colours bled I salute and a gust raises her high, A blood red pennant in a star filled sky I am not afraid to die
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Oct 5, 2021
Oct 5, 2021 at 8:15 AM UTC
The Last Voyage
Soothing that we aren't at war Soothing that the thunderous skies Show bright quiescent lightening flash In battle field where no man dies. Soothing that we sued for peace Soothing that the tempers calmed In altercations' quarrel lake Where differences are drowned or charmed. Soothing that your grey eyes sleep Soothing that I walk away, Walked to seek another life Where conflicts' brat is held at bay. Soothing now the day is still Soothing that the air is calm, Tho now I long for happenstance In cut and ****** of battles' harm. Marshalg Becalmed. 4 November 2012
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Nov 3, 2012
Nov 3, 2012 at 6:58 PM UTC
Becalmed
We had dreams about the crystal sun the juniper wind, apple blossoms and glowing evenings comfort and quietude We had dreams lollipops and no one crying no pain-and love if not everlasting solid and smiling every day We had dreams about great ships sailing wind filling all speed ahead never becalmed, no one dead, no rotting bodies on the deck no witness to inexplicable agony We had dreams garlands from gardens nobody had to tend ice cream cones piling sidewalks high shade for the asking from every uncomfortable ray of sun water enough for everything lawns and trees flowers and livestock children running in sprinklers water for the taking every day We had dreams soft conversations in the lamplight, hands to hold slim and strong whenever we needed, voices filled with understanding and strength for every fear and every tear dried by gentle caring touch We had dreams that did not include random bullets sudden death and no clouds exploding to rain death on helpless heads We dreamed we would never be helpless we had dreams we bought on time amortization forever and no one would ever have to pay the bills We had dreams someone would always save us mother always did even when she didn’t want to even when we made her mad even when we broke her china and her heart We had dreams laughing and crying talking into loud speakers shouting our claims and never thought how to make them come true We had dreams of glory and taking down every flag from every highest hill and no one would ever be found face down in two inches of water drowned on ***** and disaster We had dreams that did not include spit on the sidewalk, in the gutters, but only clean skies and apple pie, organically sweet every day and endlessly billowing wheat, and sailing ships and all the pure water we could drink for free and play in We had dreams that we could demand pain away consequences and guilt and the necessary play of our dreams that mothers would if we dreamed hard enough and played hard enough and the nasty old piper never called for his fee We had dreams and when they didn’t come true we had curses We cursed the lollipops we cursed the ice cream we cursed the wheat the cornucopia the great sailing ships and the sea the mother the sidewalks the highest hills and the trickling ditch we cursed the livestock and the stereos the loudspeakers and the glory and we cursed crying and apple pie we cursed suffering and anguish the pipers who demanded to be paid the ones who paid and complained about the mess we made we cursed fine china plates filled with hard-earned harvests we cursed love and freedom we cursed crystal sun and shade.
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Jan 25, 2013
Jan 25, 2013 at 1:40 AM UTC
My War.
We had dreams about the crystal sun the juniper wind, apple blossoms and glowing evenings comfort and quietude We had dreams lollipops and no one crying no pain-and love if not everlasting solid and smiling every day We had dreams about great ships sailing wind filling all speed ahead never becalmed, no one dead, no rotting bodies on the deck no witness to inexplicable agony We had dreams garlands from gardens nobody had to tend ice cream cones piling sidewalks high shade for the asking from every uncomfortable ray of sun water enough for everything lawns and trees flowers and livestock children running in sprinklers water for the taking every day We had dreams soft conversations in the lamplight, hands to hold slim and strong whenever we needed, voices filled with understanding and strength for every fear and every tear dried by gentle caring touch We had dreams that did not include random bullets sudden death and no clouds exploding to rain death on helpless heads We dreamed we would never be helpless we had dreams we bought on time amortization forever and no one would ever have to pay the bills We had dreams someone would always save us mother always did even when she didn’t want to even when we made her mad even when we broke her china and her heart We had dreams laughing and crying talking into loud speakers shouting our claims and never thought how to make them come true We had dreams of glory and taking down every flag from every highest hill and no one would ever be found face down in two inches of water drowned on ***** and disaster We had dreams that did not include spit on the sidewalk, in the gutters, but only clean skies and apple pie, organically sweet every day and endlessly billowing wheat, and sailing ships and all the pure water we could drink for free and play in We had dreams that we could demand pain away consequences and guilt and the necessary play of our dreams that mothers would if we dreamed hard enough and played hard enough and the nasty old piper never called for his fee We had dreams and when they didn’t come true we had curses We cursed the lollipops we cursed the ice cream we cursed the wheat the cornucopia the great sailing ships and the sea the mother the sidewalks the highest hills and the trickling ditch we cursed the livestock and the stereos the loudspeakers and the glory and we cursed crying and apple pie we cursed suffering and anguish the pipers who demanded to be paid the ones who paid and complained about the mess we made we cursed fine china plates filled with hard-earned harvests we cursed love and freedom we cursed crystal sun and shade.
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115
Standing, on the other side of lonely looking in waiting,like a becalmed sailor for the wind looking , for a reason not to shed another tear feeling like a paper doll tossed by the wind But those long goodbyes are taking up our time bring forth all your tears those long goodbyes strain our two lives desperately , clutching the years Talking,to help myself remember who I am Journeys a thousand miles out and back I've been discovering, what a loss and what a fool I've been hoping, for redemption and another invite in But those long goodbyes keep taking up our time bring forth all your tears x2 those long goodbyes straining our lives desperately, clutching the years Seeing, you standing in my doorway once again knowing, that this is exactly where you should have been touching, softly kissing the one that I've missed loving,for forever it's always where we've been But those long goodbyes keep taking up our time bring forth all your tears those long goodbyes straining our lives desperately clutching the years X2
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Apr 24, 2013
Apr 24, 2013 at 7:49 PM UTC
Long Goodbyes
*If I could wave a magic wand, as if to wave away everything to becalmed, would you, would I, look up at the sky, and tell me if you can see, if you cannot we still aren't free, as the sky has taken overview, over us, we must learn to love ourselves, **** it up, and not fall down, but rise up. we all must stop trying to play with magic, and get our heads out of such tactics, but uses our mind, to lead our souls less blind, than wands won't matter, no matter how big a disaster.*
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Jan 12, 2016
Jan 12, 2016 at 5:30 PM UTC
Magic Wands
I dwell alone,--I dwell alone, alone, Whilst full my river flows down to the sea, Gilded with flashing boats That bring no friend to me: O love-songs, gurgling from a hundred throats, O love-pangs, let me be. Fair fall the freighted boats which gold and stone And spices bear to sea: Slim, gleaming maidens swell their mellow notes, Love-promising, entreating,-- Ah! sweet, but fleeting,-- Beneath the shivering, snow-white sails. Hush! the wind flags and fails,-- Hush! they will lie becalmed in sight of strand,-- Sight of my strand, where I do dwell alone; Their songs wake singing echoes in my land,-- They cannot hear me moan. One latest, solitary swallow flies Across the sea, rough autumn-tempest tost, Poor bird, shall it be lost? Dropped down into this uncongenial sea, With no kind eyes To watch it while it dies, Unguessed, uncared for, free: Set free at last, The short pang past, In sleep, in death, in dreamless sleep locked fast. Mine avenue is all a growth of oaks, Some rent by thunder-strokes, Some rustling leaves and acorns in the breeze: Fair fall my fertile trees, That rear their goodly heads, and live at ease. A spider's web blocks all mine avenue; He catches down and foolish painted flies, That spider wary and wise. Each morn it hangs a rainbow strung with dew Betwixt boughs green with sap, So fair, few creatures guess it is a trap: I will not mar the web, Though sad I am to see the small lives ebb. It shakes,--my trees shake; for a wind is roused In cavern where it housed: Each white and quivering sail, Of boats among the water leaves Hollows and strains in the full-throated gale: Each maiden sings again,-- Each languid maiden, whom the calm Had lulled to sleep with rest and spice and balm, Miles down my river to the sea They float and wane, Long miles away from me. Perhaps they say: "She grieves, Uplifted, like a beacon, on her tower." Perhaps they say: "One hour More, and we dance among the golden sheaves." Perhaps they say: "One hour More, and we stand, Face to face, hand in hand; Make haste, O slack gale, to the looked-for land!" My trees are not in flower, I have no bower, And gusty creaks my tower, And lonesome, very lonesome, is my strand.
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1.7k
Autumn
I dwell alone,--I dwell alone, alone, Whilst full my river flows down to the sea, Gilded with flashing boats That bring no friend to me: O love-songs, gurgling from a hundred throats, O love-pangs, let me be. Fair fall the freighted boats which gold and stone And spices bear to sea: Slim, gleaming maidens swell their mellow notes, Love-promising, entreating,-- Ah! sweet, but fleeting,-- Beneath the shivering, snow-white sails. Hush! the wind flags and fails,-- Hush! they will lie becalmed in sight of strand,-- Sight of my strand, where I do dwell alone; Their songs wake singing echoes in my land,-- They cannot hear me moan. One latest, solitary swallow flies Across the sea, rough autumn-tempest tost, Poor bird, shall it be lost? Dropped down into this uncongenial sea, With no kind eyes To watch it while it dies, Unguessed, uncared for, free: Set free at last, The short pang past, In sleep, in death, in dreamless sleep locked fast. Mine avenue is all a growth of oaks, Some rent by thunder-strokes, Some rustling leaves and acorns in the breeze: Fair fall my fertile trees, That rear their goodly heads, and live at ease. A spider's web blocks all mine avenue; He catches down and foolish painted flies, That spider wary and wise. Each morn it hangs a rainbow strung with dew Betwixt boughs green with sap, So fair, few creatures guess it is a trap: I will not mar the web, Though sad I am to see the small lives ebb. It shakes,--my trees shake; for a wind is roused In cavern where it housed: Each white and quivering sail, Of boats among the water leaves Hollows and strains in the full-throated gale: Each maiden sings again,-- Each languid maiden, whom the calm Had lulled to sleep with rest and spice and balm, Miles down my river to the sea They float and wane, Long miles away from me. Perhaps they say: "She grieves, Uplifted, like a beacon, on her tower." Perhaps they say: "One hour More, and we dance among the golden sheaves." Perhaps they say: "One hour More, and we stand, Face to face, hand in hand; Make haste, O slack gale, to the looked-for land!" My trees are not in flower, I have no bower, And gusty creaks my tower, And lonesome, very lonesome, is my strand.
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63
Such small things, so little command the flash of cold steel - my honour becalmed. Treat every action as all of your life, and I'll be your conscience... your lover, your wife.
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Jul 26, 2013
Jul 26, 2013 at 7:06 PM UTC
The Mistress
~~~ the wind of correction *those invisible currents for which we create labels like most everything, comes in shades of vagaries, colorations of fierce and gentil some bear the names of hurricanes, gale forces, and those, the knotted stiff ones, welcomed by man's power mills and sailing ships, and the softest of summer breezes, caressers of my isle sheltered, for which I must winter~survive, that have far too short a half-live, those summer winds that rejuvenate my sinking soul but the wind that gets no acclaim, is the wind behind us that straightens the hunched, the wind that has no illustrations of its un-famous name, 'tis the wind of correction that lifts the wings of the becalmed, the bewitched, and the downtrodden, the one that lifts chin from chest, the one that energizes, cures the curvature of our spines to make us sally forth, clear eyed and optimistic, leaving behind the residue of debris of destruction when blown off course, be patient, for a course correction by a kinder kindred force will set you aright, push you into flight., for this wind comes to everyone, someday, sometime you do not know the wind of correction? unfamiliar where and when it blows? perhaps you call it something else? I have heard it said, that its other, more correct, truer name is love*
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Nov 18, 2015
Nov 18, 2015 at 6:28 PM UTC
the wind of correction
Sailor come hither and harken our song and be calm and becalmed on our uncharted sea, and unhindered by storms that would sully thy sails and the thunderous waves that would pummel thy decks; oh sailor come hither and harken our song and our voices will sing joy to thee Rejoice and remain in the waters we share with the planks and the plankton, the rainbow of fishes, the garments of sailors and whalers with whale tattoos over their chests and their necks; oh sailor remain in the waters we share and our voices will bring joy to thee Swim deep to the depths of our uncharted ocean And see the fine wrecks of the ships of thy fathers, the littered bones strewn from the deck hands in hand-me-downs, anchor chains rusting and bells of submariners; oh sailor swim deep to the depths of our ocean and our voices will give joy to thee Draw breath from the water to taste the fine fragrance of wines and of gold and the many fine horses that sailed from old cities to trade with the new towns and ventured to hear of our song of their happiness; oh sailor draw breath from the waters fine fragrance and our voices will sing oft of thee
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Jan 21, 2015
Jan 21, 2015 at 11:43 PM UTC
Song of Sirens
*my poetry has become a seagulls cry my soul is adrift on a becalmed sea. This sailors wife knitted his death into his sweater. the sea shall swallow me with its infinite greed. The cloudless sky will take my poems and recite them from a place on high. the verses melt to a single sound. my poetry has become a seagulls cry.*
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May 12, 2016
May 12, 2016 at 7:07 AM UTC
Lost at sea
Carstairs had been waiting for the boat for three days and there it was, suddenly appeared. He had dozed and it had appeared. He trained his binoculars on it, but it was too far away to be clearly recognisable. It seemed motionless, becalmed in a sheet of unruffled water.   He had dug himself into a bank in the sandhills. He still had a little water, some raisins; there was a final cube of chocolate carefully wrapped in the whole of its paper. It was the thought of this hidden pleasure that had sustained him during the hours of darkness when the slight rain and the chill of inactivity had forced him to exercise, to move about, though always afraid he would lose his burrow.   From the earliest light of dawn the day had been clear and still. The sea birds had muted calls, the sea itself more a presence than a sound. The tide had steadily retreated beyond his expectations. He knew he had to wait for the arranged signal.   Turning on his back he looked at the sky. A few clouds floated hesitantly in the glazed blue. He remembered suddenly a moment from his childhood,       above the beach at Red Point. He had escaped his parents, his adored sisters, and hidden himself in the marran grass. He had lain on his back and felt himself levitate into the clouds. He had looked down on the whole scene, a waking dream. Those moments floating above the long Highland beach had never left him. Sitting in the examination hall for his Tripos that memory had come upon him; he had been paralyzed by it, unable to write or think. He had closed his eyes and strange geometrical shapes had ensnared him. He had felt extremely sick . . .and then very calm. He had returned to the task in hand, a translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, that opening passage describing Eurus, Zephyr, Auster and Boreas: the four winds.   . . . he felt something wet nuzzle his hand. A dog, a black shape no more. As he struggled to move himself a larger shape obliterated the sun and shot him.
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Jan 19, 2013
Jan 19, 2013 at 3:46 AM UTC
The Beach
Carstairs had been waiting for the boat for three days and there it was, suddenly appeared. He had dozed and it had appeared. He trained his binoculars on it, but it was too far away to be clearly recognisable. It seemed motionless, becalmed in a sheet of unruffled water.   He had dug himself into a bank in the sandhills. He still had a little water, some raisins; there was a final cube of chocolate carefully wrapped in the whole of its paper. It was the thought of this hidden pleasure that had sustained him during the hours of darkness when the slight rain and the chill of inactivity had forced him to exercise, to move about, though always afraid he would lose his burrow.   From the earliest light of dawn the day had been clear and still. The sea birds had muted calls, the sea itself more a presence than a sound. The tide had steadily retreated beyond his expectations. He knew he had to wait for the arranged signal.   Turning on his back he looked at the sky. A few clouds floated hesitantly in the glazed blue. He remembered suddenly a moment from his childhood,       above the beach at Red Point. He had escaped his parents, his adored sisters, and hidden himself in the marran grass. He had lain on his back and felt himself levitate into the clouds. He had looked down on the whole scene, a waking dream. Those moments floating above the long Highland beach had never left him. Sitting in the examination hall for his Tripos that memory had come upon him; he had been paralyzed by it, unable to write or think. He had closed his eyes and strange geometrical shapes had ensnared him. He had felt extremely sick . . .and then very calm. He had returned to the task in hand, a translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, that opening passage describing Eurus, Zephyr, Auster and Boreas: the four winds.   . . . he felt something wet nuzzle his hand. A dog, a black shape no more. As he struggled to move himself a larger shape obliterated the sun and shot him.
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5
Becalmed, the doldrums bear down frowning. Hull fouled by weeds, persistent barnacles. The ship is steadfast in her silence, The light alone enough to shatter us. Beyond us, off the bow the dolphins plunge And leap toward home While we, a company of refugees, Lie static on this open ocean. Our eyes are burned by distance. No breeze to flutter them, Our tattered flags of truce no longer fly, But hang like limp, compliant prisoners. We pray for wind, The puff-cheeked gods of weather Drawn upon our useless maps. A force 10 gale, The flecks of wave tops on our faces Rage, determined demons, In our dreams.
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Oct 30, 2013
Oct 30, 2013 at 10:39 AM UTC
Sargasso Sea
The sea has gone to sleep: Become a mirror of the sky. Lapping onto the land With subtle churnings. It’s a brightly sunny day, Uplifting the spirits. Hardly a hint of breeze As the tide creeps out. I slumber in the languidness of Willy’s beer. All angst buried as I settle down to sleep. That mighty, massive ocean is so still now. Its monsters have been well and truly put to bed. Blue sky With lightly painted clouds upon the horizon. My porch is warm today In the golden sun. Paul Butters
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Jan 20, 2017
Jan 20, 2017 at 9:42 AM UTC
Becalmed
#*‘Tis but the flapping of the sail, And not a rent made by the gale*!                           H. W. Longfellow When bureaucrats, with obfuscation monotone in data-speak and mumble to their mutinous nation, bloodless vessels spring a leak. Scan in vain the rolling breakers; leadership is out to sea. Overscripted undertakers claim to speak for you and me… The Ship of State, adrift, becalmed floats on; a most ill-fated craft. The body politic, unembalmed begins to ripen fore and aft. The crew, grown callous to the rot and numbed by such expediency with one last desperate cannon shot forsake all hope of mutiny. While computers spit statistics, crewmen spread the expectant word; (no more trust in mere ballistics… hope delayed is hope transferred.) “Make ready to abandon ship ! The captain’s just a talking head. Lower the lifeboat, let her rip – before, like him, we end up dead…” The Ship of State is rent with breaches data-leakage, data driven – the lifeboat flounders, coral-riven seeking distant wave-washed beaches.
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Sep 12, 2015
Sep 12, 2015 at 11:13 PM UTC
Data at the Helm
The freighter loomed from the darkness Its shadow high on our port, And Jenny screamed at the starkness Of the fate the freighter brought, Its bow wave flowed right over the prow Of our tiny little yacht, We knew that we couldn’t ride it out So whether to swim, or not? The sea was luckily clear and warm It had been a perfect day, As we had lazily sailed along The length of Innotto Bay, As night had fallen the breeze had too And it left us quite becalmed, So when the freighter came ploughing through It had seen us both alarmed. It rose above us, this rusty hulk That had seen much better days, The bridge was lit, could they see us sit Where their bow cut through the waves? The yacht was rocked by the turbulence That its mighty hull displaced, And suddenly we were swamped out there As the sea rose to my waist. The yacht had foundered, was going down Crushed by the mighty bow, And we fell into the sea where we Clung on to each other, now. It ****** us in as it glided past And we heard the turgid roar, As the giant props left a wake of froth That would **** us in, for sure. And Jenny panicked to stay afloat As I clung on to her arm, But down we went as our strength was spent Where the props would do us harm, We saw them thrash as we sank on down And a dull throb filled our ears, The blades would slice like a guillotine Was the source of both our fears. But the violent thrash of the water there Sent currents beneath the stern, And we were violently ****** on down Where the props had ceased to churn, And when we bobbed to the surface, we Saw the freighter disappear, Ploughing into the distance while We lay in the bay, to cheer. We were only a mile beyond the reef And beyond that lay the land, So struck out together in relief And I held her by the hand, We’ll never forget that rusty hulk As it passed, I caught it’s name, Riven with old corruption it Was called, ‘The Devil’s Game!’ David Lewis Paget
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Jun 11, 2015
Jun 11, 2015 at 5:55 AM UTC
Near Thing!
The freighter loomed from the darkness Its shadow high on our port, And Jenny screamed at the starkness Of the fate the freighter brought, Its bow wave flowed right over the prow Of our tiny little yacht, We knew that we couldn’t ride it out So whether to swim, or not? The sea was luckily clear and warm It had been a perfect day, As we had lazily sailed along The length of Innotto Bay, As night had fallen the breeze had too And it left us quite becalmed, So when the freighter came ploughing through It had seen us both alarmed. It rose above us, this rusty hulk That had seen much better days, The bridge was lit, could they see us sit Where their bow cut through the waves? The yacht was rocked by the turbulence That its mighty hull displaced, And suddenly we were swamped out there As the sea rose to my waist. The yacht had foundered, was going down Crushed by the mighty bow, And we fell into the sea where we Clung on to each other, now. It ****** us in as it glided past And we heard the turgid roar, As the giant props left a wake of froth That would **** us in, for sure. And Jenny panicked to stay afloat As I clung on to her arm, But down we went as our strength was spent Where the props would do us harm, We saw them thrash as we sank on down And a dull throb filled our ears, The blades would slice like a guillotine Was the source of both our fears. But the violent thrash of the water there Sent currents beneath the stern, And we were violently ****** on down Where the props had ceased to churn, And when we bobbed to the surface, we Saw the freighter disappear, Ploughing into the distance while We lay in the bay, to cheer. We were only a mile beyond the reef And beyond that lay the land, So struck out together in relief And I held her by the hand, We’ll never forget that rusty hulk As it passed, I caught it’s name, Riven with old corruption it Was called, ‘The Devil’s Game!’ David Lewis Paget
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The clearest blue sky Not perfect, but pretty close Scarred with wisps of cloud Yachts languish in the doldrums As time itself takes time out
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Jul 4, 2010
Jul 4, 2010 at 7:25 AM UTC
Becalmed - Tanka
“Angelica arguta”, He shows her wildflowers Angelica Susannah. And prodded further by her His heart. Lingers briefly with the night; Her affection has power, But not enough To keep him From marching off to fight. One son of One Stab, He brings wildness from the mountains. Lovely woman from the East, Fascinated by her, His passions. Revels in her bridal bower, To stop her Loving any other. Eldest son of his father, Full of rectitude and romance. Angelica abandoned, Adrift between the mountains Becalmed far from the sea. He takes advantage, Snatches her soul with riches, But never captures Her longing heart. One son gone, The other lost and mad. Years pass and Happiness found Is felt too soon. He loves another, But Angelica is his doom.
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Sep 5, 2017
Sep 5, 2017 at 8:46 AM UTC
Ode to Legends of the Fall
July 3, 2011 These were the orders of the day, issued by admirals who monitor the lanes surrounding this sea island and that now include my desolated, desecrated, heart waves that wash ashore.   With beacon searchlight, high powered, prowl, be a coast guard on the bay of humanity, following wakes, intersecting misaligned paths, undoing crisscrossed roads on a plane of water, forever search, permissioned only to never cease, tasked only to: Save the young ones. For there is no cost we will not bear, take our mind's light,                 our speech, the music from ears, the fiber'd essence of our tissue-thin life's weave, but let us be, leave us, to save the young ones. Leave us not becalmed, baffled, broken, discovering what sound we make when our throats are grief engorged beyond bound, so leave us the young ones. When we fail, what it is, I do not know, how to name it, cannot, for I am forever star gazing, star lost, confused, with every breath ruptured, my own value to wonder, and on and on to ponder: Is there no end to the reservoir of tears that accompany these spilled and spoiled thoughts, stained kisses on paper where ink and saltwater connect, and lay upon the surface of memories that can't be blotted, never be replaced or, cry out, cry out, be added to? How many sad poems.               must yet invade my fingers, ripping my mask of reason off, making me unhappily familiar with jagged edges of the sea, each drop - a tipping point into places I wanted never know, a rendering reminder of these days of disorder, Save the young ones.
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Sep 2, 2013
Sep 2, 2013 at 2:18 PM UTC
Orders of the Day: Save the Young Ones
July 3, 2011 These were the orders of the day, issued by admirals who monitor the lanes surrounding this sea island and that now include my desolated, desecrated, heart waves that wash ashore.   With beacon searchlight, high powered, prowl, be a coast guard on the bay of humanity, following wakes, intersecting misaligned paths, undoing crisscrossed roads on a plane of water, forever search, permissioned only to never cease, tasked only to: Save the young ones. For there is no cost we will not bear, take our mind's light,                 our speech, the music from ears, the fiber'd essence of our tissue-thin life's weave, but let us be, leave us, to save the young ones. Leave us not becalmed, baffled, broken, discovering what sound we make when our throats are grief engorged beyond bound, so leave us the young ones. When we fail, what it is, I do not know, how to name it, cannot, for I am forever star gazing, star lost, confused, with every breath ruptured, my own value to wonder, and on and on to ponder: Is there no end to the reservoir of tears that accompany these spilled and spoiled thoughts, stained kisses on paper where ink and saltwater connect, and lay upon the surface of memories that can't be blotted, never be replaced or, cry out, cry out, be added to? How many sad poems.               must yet invade my fingers, ripping my mask of reason off, making me unhappily familiar with jagged edges of the sea, each drop - a tipping point into places I wanted never know, a rendering reminder of these days of disorder, Save the young ones.
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Becalmed brides, sisters, speech so faint the spider, who can only know land as a wave of webs, could hear their voices only as the distant, fallopian sounds he always heard at human birth. The tension in his eyes was like a wake of cold water, as if the sea had parted and gravity had brought his web to rest against a bucket on the frozen floor, too cold for life. How I do love you, Little Betty Bo Peep. How I do care about your lovely, lonely sheep. And you too Miss Muffett, that such a king should play bo-peep, and go to fools while grapes hang frozen on your vines. I might have explained the clouds to you. I might have found the great breath. Do you see this? Look on her: look, her lips. St. Lucy’s gown forever fits. © Jim Kleinhenz
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Feb 10, 2012
Feb 10, 2012 at 9:28 PM UTC
St. Lucy’s Gown
I am becalmed adrift, lost at sea, with n'er a lighthouse to look for me. Alone upon the rising swells, which will not break their voice to tell. Endless horizons beckon me, yet no zephyrs fill my sail No tears are cried, no lovers sigh, all colours lost and pale No sun above, no moon no cloud, no star to guide me home. Below me only silent depths, above me mourning veil. I carry with me, broken hopes, no one will ever need And yearnings dreams and desperate prayers No god will ever heed. Islands which once held me safe are behind but always near and pain me now When turning and with clarity, remain unseen.
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May 11, 2014
May 11, 2014 at 1:04 PM UTC
Adrift