"coastlines" poems
One moment can hit the core of our soul
Creating ripples, reaching out to unseen shores
Long before we realize, the ripples fade away
Leaving us with the moment which has sunk deep
For its weight we have to carry, memories do not fade
Somewhere in the bottomless pit of our life, it remains
Coastlines have long faded away, as it was only ripples
Which just touched the edge, and kissed it goodbye
Long before we realize, the ripples fade away
Leaving us, with its far-reaching effects
Jun 9, 2014
Jun 9, 2014 at 8:29 AM UTC
Coastlines create beautiful circles
and I wade between them
But I wish to stand at the edge of the earth
and scream over to the sun, now
brushing the blue desert
at dusk
"Where do I go from here?"
and she just replies as she always has
with a rising moon.
beams scattered
on my sandy, small toes
Aug 2, 2017
Aug 2, 2017 at 8:22 PM UTC
The cauldron bubbles and sputters and pops.
Odors from a foul witches' brew
Fill the mansion. It's called the Nightmare
On Pennsylvania Avenue.
A ghoulish warlock babbles gibberish,
Spreading deceit, anger, and fear.
He summons his lackey ghouls to his chamber.
They bow to the ghastly profiteer.
Their incantations reverberate
Through the rooms and down the halls.
The din stifles the voices of reason
And bounces off the windows and walls.
Witches assisting the grisly assembly
Grovel and spew nonsensical chatter,
While friendly ghosts, horrified,
Grab all their belongings and scatter.
The leading warlock raises his staff
To silence all the ear-piercing shrieking.
"Our work here has barely begun,"
He shouts, "in a manner of speaking.
"We have a lot more poison to spread
To circulate anxiety and doubt.
All we must do is stir the ***
To give them something to worry about.
"Fan the flames of division and discord.
My techniques are tried and true.
Keep 'em guessing; then you've got 'em.
And then you cater to the chosen few.
"We have more rivers to poison,
Coastlines to alter, lands to sell,
Coffers to fill, coffers to rob,
And voices to quiet. Welcome to hell!"
The glowering sycophants dance and cheer--
Thirsty for blood, eyes agleam.
"Dishonesty is the best
Policy," they fervently scream.
Oh, it's a frightening Halloween night
When one's worst nightmare comes true:
The gruesome, macabre, spine-chilling Nightmare
On Pennsylvania Avenue.
-by Bob B (10-31-18)
Oct 31, 2018
Oct 31, 2018 at 9:53 AM UTC
Golden sand tickling your toes
Pebbles gleaming, glistening, slushing
When the tide comes back to shore.
Sand dunes hiding wildlife,
Multitudes of migratory birds,
Safely returning every year to
This beautiful, marshy paradise.
Skies so orange, pink and red,
An artists palette of natural art
Greet you at sunrise and sunset.
***** kippers, cod and plaice
Shrimps, cockles and whelks,
Mushy, minty peas and chips,
The show at the end of the pier.
The lifeboats and their hardy crew
Risking their lives to save others,
When visitors run into trouble
At the mercy of the cold North Sea.
Crumbling coastlines, cliff walks
And nature reserves full of the
Scent of wild garlic and herbs,
Norfolk lavender. Steam engines,
Fishing boats, river boats,
Paddling boats and cycles
Take you on journeys
Around the Broads or
Past the famous Castles.
Tigers and leopards peer
Through the bars of their
Zoo homes by the sea.
Easterly winds that bite your
Fingers as they whistle and
Howl through the City.
Guest houses closed for
The winter as you stroll
The lonely promenades
Breathing in the air.
Queen Bodicea, Normans,
Vikings and Romans all
Marched through this
Historical landscape
And yet we remain
Stalwart and strong
Proud of our heritage,
Our roots, our birthplace
There's only one place
Better than Norfolk,
And that's the
Beautiful Ozarks.
Oct 17, 2014
Oct 17, 2014 at 6:56 PM UTC
There is a Softness in the Shadows,
On a breezy, Sun~filled Day.
Splashing Contrast divides the Colors,
trading within the shade,
An interlacing patchwork, Arrangement by Rotation,
Earth's Grandly Spun Bouquet.
Movement amongst the shifting Patterns,
playfulness in~All direction,
Like children chasing randomness, Laughing in the garden
that echoes through with effortless, nonchalant Expression.
Eastwardly to Westwardly,
Tracing loftily between Tree leaves, Mountains broad projectories, deepening the Shadows Shade,
Yawned in stretching reach,
Duality of Accolades,
like Coastlines of a Beach.
Lost in Lover's parting Kiss,
In Amorphous Amore,
Animates explicitly,
A shy Shadow's story.
Into the deep embrace of Night,
A lingering at Sunset's Crest,
Hallowed out in Shadow's shade,
Sewing~dreamy patchwork Seams
of Fabric feathered Sleep.
May 22, 2014
May 22, 2014 at 7:56 PM UTC
APEIROPHOBIA: [n.] the fear of infinity or infinite things.
—
you are love at the end of the world, something spelled without a glottal plea
the stars on my crown hang heavy tonight and i’ve barely slept for an hour but my mind drifts off to weary constellations and i sometimes wonder if we were aligned at all
you, vague hurt, you, toothache in the middle of a birthday party
you, a love like no other
and running without wolves to guide our journey, the forest scratches every inch of bare skin and i would cry out if you hadn’t done the same to me in your restless tossing and turning, there is love in your eyes but no love in the blood you make me bleed
there is still something left to be said. but my mouth is dry and full of sand, kiss it and catch a fly on the wall, smear ointment on its wings and maybe i’ll tell you about how i feel
and it isn’t a good one, it isn’t a love i towed beyond fathoms of seawater and across miles of irradiated coastlines, it isn’t me, count the distance and end up with infinity in one sitting, infinity with end, infinity to beg you of love
beg me of a message unclear, home sweet home
it’s better than nothing. the woozy way i walk into the ocean with a pocket full of rocks and a mind full of bitter sloshing around, is better than nothing, love
it’s better than everything love
because it’s something i still wish to keep, wish on a nebulae cluster that doesn’t exist the second you force yourself to breathe out, screams
no comforting the choir, i’ll drape mine around your bruised shoulders and shake both of them softly until i’ve killed half the universe with my hubris, until we’ve killed off every erstwhile incandescence just to look a little off-kilter, early morning, i’ve never felt better despite never finding out what repose meant
the sky is red at sunrise and then what
and then we, and then we
feel fine
you are love at the end of the world, and i am ready to struggle for survival. invite me into your rose-tinted apocalypse and allow me to decide a fate which was never mine to rewrite
it’s nothing
it’s better than nothing love
Feb 28, 2022
Feb 28, 2022 at 2:07 PM UTC
a swindler, sneaky yet gentle,
disguised as an island in the Mediterranean,
i think i may have left my heart there
in the pale limestone and the hissing
accents and the sun oozing into my skin
i wonder if there grows a garden of hearts,
from tourists wandering stumbling
onto late night buses on the coastlines
whose hearts have found a second home
under the limestone ribs
a botanical garden of our blood pumping organs,
what would it say on my description?
a gentle harvest, grown with 5 days
and mitski's pink in the night
and the waitress's soft smile
on the lantern lit streets of valletta
now i'm home, heartless, and yet
sickeningly longing for you,
a thief, a monster, to steal it again
Jun 17, 2019
Jun 17, 2019 at 10:15 AM UTC
have you ever noticed anything that sent you spinning
off into the empty infinity of blossoming cognizance?
pupils dilate,
sweat beads,
words collapse back into what they imply; we only know
because we watched the footage.
yes, we watched it together
and yes, it is the only father figure that pays for her own dinner these days.
i wish i was worth forgetting in the future.
i wish people didnt feel they had to be anything but here.
i wish people would teach their children about how i could market loose teeth to coastlines.
im laughing at your puzzled aura
from the next epochal shift.
(man enters and exits stage right, nervously)
it's deep is a depth but really nonsense.
Nov 10, 2018
Nov 10, 2018 at 7:36 AM UTC
Well, I'll sail away
on this effortless sea,
from fortune and fame
and celebrity.
Off to a world,
where all is in place,
where God is a friend
and all doubt is erased,
off to a world,
where scars turn to skin,
where all passion is pure
and hostility, sin.
Off to a world,
where the coastlines will be,
where discovery lasts
for all eternity,
that's where I'll sail away,
to the motionless sea,
to the bringer of 'I'
and all infinity.
Feb 4, 2014
Feb 4, 2014 at 4:14 PM UTC
If I could I would write letters to the wind and ask for lessons on how to blow you away
If I could I would take a star out of the sky and put it in a ring and ask you to be it’s replacement in my life
If I could I would keep you between my second and my fourth rib, so they will tell you they’ve missed you.
The first time I saw you, I smiled with my mouth open to let go of the crickets I buried in my voice box so I could say hello
How else can I explain to you that our stories are God written guitar solos to the keys of our DNA, and I’m more electric and you’re more acoustic.
On some days you look like there are lingering pieces of a boombox etched in the framework of your spine. In simple terms your body speaks volumes.
On other days you feel like there are too many fault lines on the rail track of your spine
Those are the days I want to tell you I’m a pretty good conductor
Your voice sounds like an unfinished love song stuck in the throat of an ’80s jazz musician and I’m more of a hip-hop kind of guy, but I would make kissing you the perfect symphony.
I’m more like the odd boulder on a sandy beach and you're the entire ocean but I've drawn coastlines on the chambers of my heart
With you I could build sand castles in hourglasses, cos I wouldn’t feel time pass.
If I could I would write this poem on the wings of a butterfly and say to you “Here I think this belongs to you, I found it in my belly”
Dec 4, 2013
Dec 4, 2013 at 1:43 PM UTC
Looking West, I think I can see you
In summer clothes, in sunshine, in light
Surroundings that fit and embrace you
Yet, hoping your eyes search for mine
I can't tell if you are looking Eastward
I don't expect you could pray to the East
On a globe, which horizon is forward?
Which sacrifice will guarantee the yield?
And meantime you shimmer on coastlines
On sand, and at parties, in bars
But I recall you when you were all mine
Quietly answering each other's prayers
Your love is scaffolding built overnight
Surrounding, supporting weathered stone
An unexpected artisan, you revitalise
You renovate and salvage and own
Own me, and this immobile cathedral
Impervious rock to skilled test
A sanctuary for prayers that come Eastward
A place where our love can be blessed
Jan 21, 2014
Jan 21, 2014 at 6:39 PM UTC
Find coastlines along the edges of your body,
mark your territory
and invite gallant young men to try their hand
at crossing a huge wall made of crystal glass
and steel verses.
Let them be afraid of the tombstones gathered
at the gates; tremble at their own risk
because your heart can't handle an unsteady hand:
it's filled to the brim.
And as the tourney dies down,
as the men scratch the surface
and leave with pieces of your arms,
your eyelashes, your cheeks,
there will be one
who is there when the dust settles.
Allow him to love you,
in a most consuming way; let him
take your body a shrine and let him
call it his only home.
Finally,
break his heart,
and watch as the poetry
spills out of you like
an angry river, from a spear
he wishes he'd hit into your chest
not cupid's arrow instead.
May 2, 2015
May 2, 2015 at 11:12 PM UTC
my mind is a painter, thinking of colors in the form of stories and scenes
thinking about the brightest of city lights
streets teeming with foreign language
people passing by with stories i'll never know
silent seas along the coastlines
mountains towering above us, old and wise
cabins in the forest with little firesides
trains full of strangers to fall in love with
airports with people, greetings and goodbyes
postcard-perfect towns and friendly rivers
neighborhoods showered with pretty autumn leaves...
these are the stories painted in my head, the stories i'd love to paint with my own hands.
the places i'd love to see when i'm alone in my bedroom, the stories i want to see for myself.
and sometimes, i fear i'll never reach these works of art,
but with a brush and some paint, what's impossible?
Oct 31, 2015
Oct 31, 2015 at 1:57 PM UTC
my heart ticks with the punctuated rhythm
of a girl busy with embroidery
i see a corpse and scrutinise all its secrets
it lingers with a purposeful dexterity
a tenacity that resembles autocrats
of a starved third world country
a dangerous presence that underpins
a blank prism
my reconnaissance reveals a frenetic arc
orbiting, humming as it does so
with intricate nightly returns
travels between light and shade
where black shadows tred
forming a link in the great causal chain
of human destiny
it is a place where stone ghosts welcome me
with threatening indifference of magical
incantations
i roam through deserted streets
with an inherent clumsiness
like waves on dark coastlines
that in hypnotic deception
form groups of disorientated sadness
where clouds of black crows fly around
sinister watch towers in the dark
Jul 28, 2014
Jul 28, 2014 at 11:29 AM UTC
He's the son of the wind and the ocean
I'm the son of the mountains and the trees
The water is his element and i, the earth
His cool demeanor made the rock beneath me
Melt becoming quicksand
******* me into the cold, dark ground below
When he comes close,
Everything feels right
When he touches my skin,
Tremors appear like the remnants of earthquakes
When he says my name,
The mountains recede,
And the birds sing brighter
But the geography does not align
Alas, the mountains will never move
To meet the ocean
Only the wind from coastlines
Can meet with the canopies of the trees
But, the waters cannot flood the summit
and, thus, we can never be.
Oct 20, 2014
Oct 20, 2014 at 7:25 AM UTC
Had we never gone home...
Had we never sung our songs...
Had we never loved to part...
Had we never cried so hard...
Here was i calling out for ye.
They could hear me from Malin to Dursley.
O me heart lost and blind.
Torn and misled through the years.
There in Kilkenny,by the water,
Kind as the hills yet cold as Moher's cliffs was me father.
'where are ye going o lonely rover...'
'had ye never been loved by yer lover...'
Sang he,a song of loss and loneliness...
'o yer eyes painted a thousand pictures of long journey,rolling hills,running streams,and rugged coastlines'
'o how i miss walking on that road down the hill to the sea'
'o ol' Erin,to ye i gave me heart a long time ago with tear'
Feb 24, 2011
Feb 24, 2011 at 7:34 PM UTC
~
Not knowing…
Walls prove unending
Collections collect dust
Socks match and no one cares
Mirrors reflect pain
Clogged drains overflow sorrow
Not knowing…
Nature breathes dreary pictures
Bent branches sway in branded winds
Pathways end without rhyme or reason
Silhouettes run from their own shadows
Ripples disappear on darkened coastlines
Not knowing…
Puzzle pieces don’t fit
Questions have no answers
Music loses all means of melody
Days are merely days
Poetry is pointless
Not knowing…
Jun 12, 2014
Jun 12, 2014 at 7:31 AM UTC
A year ago at the North Pole
Santa STILL had a sign
That read "For Sale," posted on
His slushy, sludgy property line.
We stopped by to pay a visit
And found Santa out of sorts.
He asked if we perchance had read
Recent global warming reports.
"Things are looking worse than ever,"
He said, on the verge of crying.
"The ice caps continue to melt,
And the world's coral reefs are dying.
"We'll be seeing flooding coastlines,
Food shortages, wildfires….
And some even have the nerve
To call the prognosticators liars!
"People ask if it's too late.
I tell them that it depends
We can stop the warming, BUT
We MUST reverse emissions trends.
"If the earth's temperature rises
Two point seven degrees, they write,
Above pre-industrial levels--
That's degrees in Fahrenheit--
"We'll face dire consequences:
Mass extinctions of animals and plants,
Wobbly countries, refugees….
These are NOT just foolish rants!
"The world economy must be transformed.
Come on! You have to use your head!
Renewable sources of energy
Are vital; otherwise, we're dead."
How sad it was to see a man
Who once had been so cheerful and jolly
Now become so sad and so
Demoralized by human folly!
He showed us his dilapidated
House, and then with a sigh,
He said, "I've got work to do,"
At which point we all said good-bye.
-by Bob B (11-24-18)
Nov 24, 2018
Nov 24, 2018 at 11:01 AM UTC
She draws black wings to her eyes
in a green-wash reflection, light
cascading through the shutters
of the ceiling fan, whilst red lips
rehearse a smile for her lover.
He will hold her like a wallet as
they pay their way through town.
It has been months since she felt
human touch, mammalian warmth,
or whispers exchanged across the pillow.
His eyes are on the screen as she
undresses and then falls beneath
his weight on the mattress. An empty
thud, a hollow sound, as his night is
given purpose, and then falls to sleep again.
She lies awake and wonders where
her night went. There was laughter
across the table, drinks stirred with straws,
and UFOs painting pictures in the sky.
The sea roared in the distance like
a passing train, and so there must be
an escape to a far-off land for her
to start again. Start again beyond
waistlines, over coastlines, and all ties
to employment. To start again
with a half-naked lover, who will
watch as the wind kicks up her hair;
as her skin freckles once more
in the sun.
Aug 21, 2014
Aug 21, 2014 at 7:02 PM UTC
.
Bright summer coastlines
Young women giddy with life
The sea wafting in
.
Aug 10, 2021
Aug 10, 2021 at 7:33 PM UTC
We smashed through
plates of glass
on our way back down
from China.
We swam through
oceans of plastic bags
only to reach
the oily surface
of the Pacific's
deep heart of blue.
We flew through
red clouds of smoke,
feeling higher
with each breath
we took; to only find our
coastlines and insides
filled with factory stacks
of mobile empires,
run by thieves and crooks.
We thought we thought
the craziest thought.
We should have known better
than to blame our neighbor.
May 19, 2014
May 19, 2014 at 6:16 PM UTC
dawn's clouds curl upon
the cycle of horizon. light
seeps, wells up in a silent
garden of distant coastlines
and suspensions of dust
particles. torn pinnacles
arrange in geometries known
only to collapsing cities;
boulevards of tremulous
ghostlike figures, swaying
staccato below collected
damping leaves in perfect
symmetries against the sky of
tiled grains.
oh, if time stood
still. if the blood could freeze
in my capillary beds. if this
feeling would last for the
remainder of days.
Aug 1, 2013
Aug 1, 2013 at 11:53 PM UTC
science now has shown it plain as plain
that clouds and coastlines share an abstract bond
as do trees - indeed each green or grain
yes, every leaf and every twirling frond -
the large may be divined within the small,
an ocean in a single drop of rain -
minute the variation to recall
complexities of evolution's chain;
no need to travel far as either pole
to plumb the depths of man or womankind
and while there is uniqueness in each soul
our kindred nature's easy there to find
we all tell truths - yet none are free from lies
thou seest all in every person's eyes
Dec 6, 2013
Dec 6, 2013 at 4:37 AM UTC
The waves came, but never retreated
The silence grew, but never ceased
The sky blackened, but never lit
The signs of the world unraveling pierced straight through every mind,
The proof was given to mankind
The sun slipped
The ice sunk
The trees scarce
The deserts abundant
The ground quaked
The houses crumpled
The People Raged
Water departed
Food Rotten
Animals forgotten
Hopes gone
The Tide Has Turned
And people begin to regret, more and more.
People begin to see that there is so much more in life than the challenge of living.
That you have to show your humanity by creating, not destroying
You have to plant the tree, not demolish the forest
And Humanity Dreamt
Most could not imagine waking up
Others never wanted the dream to end
Some needed more convincing
And they dreamt
They closed their eyes and ventured through the world
Every era, every time
They saw creations being built, and then destroyed
New York replaced with swaying forests, rippling lakes, and expanding coastlines
They saw the Great Wall take itself down, replaced by untouched mountainous peaks with extraordinary views.
The Eiffel Tower crumpled, the city unfolding at its sides.
Everything from the Seine River to the towering Cathedrals turned into hills of vast green
They saw the beauty of the world, being untouched
But then they saw what was to come, what was created by powers unimaginable by man, and destroyed by its inhabitants
They saw things they could never forget
They saw things they could never imagine
They saw things that changed everything they thought they were
They saw things that not only answered their fears, but became reality
And the torture of the thought that this had started with the human race, and ended with the human race became apparent
It was only the truth,
That was what seamed to scare them the most
Everything was becoming nothing
Somewhere was becoming nowhere
And it was too late
Nothing could be done
The earth was slowly changing
And everything that was once living was slowly becoming only memory
And it was too late
Nothing could be done
But still,
They slept
And were swept into even deeper sleep
Taken across mountains,
Rivers,
Forests,
Deserts,
Oceans
All familiar signs of life for them
And once again, it changed
Back to The landscape of vast earth being covered in un-touched soil
The large lakes spreading their water into streams
branching left and right
The jungles teaming with life so full, noises came
in every direction
And then they came to The first sign of humanity
The first woman bearing a child,
The first man showing a smile
But then they saw their familiar way of living change
Into what all the powers of human race intended their creations to do
To Live With All Living
Jun 29, 2010
Jun 29, 2010 at 5:36 PM UTC