Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
Nat Lipstadt Jul 2018
~weary weighted~

flummoxed are the sea watchers;
the long rhythms of sea change reveal only minor modesties,
difficult discerned are the tidal subtleties

though repetitive thrashing extracts it toll,
only the weary-weighted see the true meaning of the beating,
knowing full well,
it beats for them

recalling their early day’d fascination with its endless chaining,
now knowing all are similar
detained-chained,
and  the ******* churning but a cover up masque,
they need not longer conceal,
an unrevealed confess:

water is heavy-weighted, you cannot forever float,
constancy is of a thing to be wary,
its sadder longevity,
a chipping away erosion of wearing,
‘tis is the knelling noise of  sad respite,
an unlight lighthouse



~for Victoria, a year later~
David Barr Mar 2014
Truth bares the deepest recesses of her concealed modesties.
Can you feel the resonating equilibrium of tantric sound as we connect across humanitarian divides?
Tears fill my eyes, as I bask in the presence of such elevated humility.
I am grateful for the wisdom of simplicity, as opposed to what may be deemed to be stupidity.
Let us join hands around this circle of cultic agreement.
Poetic T Aug 2015
She was beauty personified, but in truth
She was a wish upon a star,
Like folk lore of times before,
Buttons blue,
Straw veined,
Cloth used from plague victims before, she was
Diseased,
Afflicted,
Unclean
Of mind and body that would bind a soul
Vilified by what was sewn in before,
She played her part well, A real girl,
But the toll on a father now frail and bone,
Two sisters not of blood
And a mother not her own,
A father pasted on midnights charm,
Was it cinders or the sisters?
No one knows.

"Sisters two. What time does mothers clock chime,

And for those words in the basement mother kept,
but old houses have space in walls,
And cinders spied on all,
The letter came of a dance at princes hall.

"We three shall dance the heart of the prince,
"My daughters two,
"One will be queen and we shall rule,

Cinderella anger spent, now just vengeance,
She called upon the one who brought her life,

"Fairy godmother,
"Entombed am I to the palace,
"I must dance,

"My child birthed from my wanton words,
"I will gift you freedom,

As a wand did flourish and skin was nicked,
Blood will birth your desire as arcane words were spoke,

"Let the rats be you steads as black as night,
"Eyes redder than blood moons night,
"The pumpkins out of season but will have to do,
What of a dress my mother of magic?

As barley cloth did hide modesties touch, I have
Suffered this indignity for far to long I need to be
As I was when flesh did grant upon my touch.

"A dress from the blues of your eyes,

As whispers and smoke descended
Out of tatters did beauty radiate,
A goddess seen in all men's eyes.

"Beware the time little one,
"At midnights moon,
"The Twelve chimes shall undo this magic's words,

Upon steeds and a carriage crimson orange
She travelled though ranchers wood,
And the kingdoms castle did reach upon the clouds

"Introducing,
Are you on the list,

Cinders  looked for witnesses at what was to perspire?
And blood specks did taint the floor,
As wiped was the shard, a heel diamond  
That cut like a  guillotine upon soft flesh.
In awe were those who saw her beauty,
A Princes attention taken from sisters two,

"My lady, pardon your name.

"Cinders kind sir,
"Would you like to partake in a dance,

The moments were gaining pace,
As midnight was about to grace, lips so near to touch.
Chimes counted down as Cinders ran,
A slipper did slip it fell.

"I will find you my beauty,

As steeds did squeak,
Pumpkin did fester and burst covering
Cinders now once again tattered clothes.

In the basement found tears did pour,

"Mother cinders is here filth and all,

Then the knock of authority did strike upon the door,
Unlocked,
Forgotten,
Released
Was cinders from her hell hole,
The prince did enter this home
Crystal slipper in his gentle hold.

My ladies please would you honour one with a foot,
As one did try then another,
Mother did try but size twelve was her foot.
Is there another to greet this glass as a whisper came
Though another door,
A shoe was passed through shy was she,
A farce to make the princes curiosity peek,
Mother and daughters rushed in and words did speak,
Then silence for moments,
Is in the room shard did cut upon flesh and
Mother,
Sisters,
Blood
Not of her own did spill, And into the basement limp
Bodies blooded fell.
As glass touched foot,upon the spell,
A dress did knit on her body well.

"Dear sir the shoe does fit a foot so well,

"Does your mother not to wish you farewell,

"No there just killing time in the basement,
"We said our goodbyes all is well,

Cinders now queen, but still tainted at the core,
Her festering unnoticed hidden from all and everyone,
If even a notion of thought she saw,
Then glass slipper was her weapon of choice.
Years did pass many vanished without a trace.
Then the news of Cinderella's upcoming birth,

"breath your majesty,

As new life to birth, with screams in the soundproof walls
A baby girl, of tainted cloth and rotting straw,
She had her mothers old eyes two blue buttons and cute nose,

"Fairy godmother,
"Make my child all new born as I am now,

As words of arcane gestures spoke,
Lightning graced upon ground,
Glancing others,
Flesh did cinder and smoke.
A new princess was now born,
But the prince now ending under lighting smoke,
Child and mother did rule in kind,
For now they festered in evils cloak, and the kingdom
Had an age of despair that had  never been seen or spoke.
885

Our little Kinsmen—after Rain
In plenty may be seen,
A Pink and Pulpy multitude
The tepid Ground upon.

A needless life, it seemed to me
Until a little Bird
As to a Hospitality
Advanced and breakfasted.

As I of He, so God of Me
I pondered, may have judged,
And left the little Angle Worm
With Modesties enlarged.
Minuscule Ego Mar 2015
It’s 4:20
I’m with my B bros,
Blunt and ****
Faded as hell,
High life.
Its nightfall,
I’m popping up em bottles,
Inhaling the good *****,
Exhaling the *******,
Floating ocean high,
People say it’s a crutch,
Well, crutches help people walk,
I can’t erase it,
I can’t stop it,
No one to blame,
Life is meant to be lived,
100% agreeable,
Don’t judge me,
It’s my choice,
Hope they understand,
Let em fools talk,
Talk is free,
Experience is what you get,
When you don’t stop trying,
Life is full of imperfections,
There’s no other way to be perfect,
Hold on, wait a minute,
I see *** holes,
They aren't playing any roles,
Veins are pumping,
Eyes are dilated,
Anxieties are high on the level
Modesties, lofty on the average,
One shouldn't be afraid to be different.
Jun Lit Jun 2017
My hammock swings escaping
from a highway of life hurrying
On to your caring tree trunks hanging
With orchestras of cicadas noisily serenading

The cool breeze anaesthesizes
My thoughts that’ve climbed some distant ridges
At home in the shattered temple, unconsummated promises
At peace now in modesties that only time did bless

Within the underground cathedral lie:
          The mind’s a hermit of hidden truths he’d prophesy
          The will’s a gallant warrior refusing to die
          The heart’s a playful child chasing a butterfly

Along the banks of rivers clear I weave
broken lines from silk spun, the caterpillars believe
to wait in purgatories of gold-laden chrysalises, then leave
resurrection is heaven as wood-nymphs emerge and live

When waters flow beneath the bosoms and bowels of the earth
The wizards in rendezvous, solace in endless mirth
Shadows of misty mornings embrace your trees - all heights and girth
I shall rest, heart in mind, that death’s a reality, as natural as birth.
This poem has been inspired by the beautiful forest, wildlife and caves along the banks of Lalangawan River, in Cavinti town, in the province of Laguna in the Philippines.
David Betten Oct 2016
SANDOVAL
            Your brigs of bustling pilgrims light at last
            On this sweet-scented isle called Cozumel.
            Depopulating half of Cuba’s farms,
            The skills of our six hundred souls, or so,
            Erupt now in a pitched activity.
            We’ve confiscated idols, and our cross
            Now overlooks the rising ropes and tarps;
            Our cannons hedge the campground, with our horse,
            As secret weapons, hidden in the ships.

ALVARADO
            Now what a breezing cakewalk will it be
            To pacify this docile flock of lambs!
            Let’s ****** the sweetmeats from their trembling lips,
            And wean them to the yoke of servitude.
            Vassals alone make masters out of men.

CORTÉS
            Not yet so fast. For Cuba’s stewardship
            Forbids such a carnivorous regime.
            Father Olmedo warns us not to tease,
            Much less ******, the native nymphs.

ALVARADO                                                        Cortés,
            We trust that you, like all stargazing men,
            Crave glory, fortune, and above all, fame;
            That royal favor and divine accord
            Will light on those who quell idolatry,
            And carve new lands for God and His Castile.

CORTÉS
            But like a gentlemanly pirate, I.
            For Cuba’s governor deceives himself.
            His pure concern for human chattel, gold,
            And bandying the Indies as it were
            A distant annex of the Moorish war
            Has wrought a desert from a paradise.
            Long-term success requires a colony.
            And with what wherewithal! These islanders
            Stand head and shoulders o’er Carribbeans,
            With their rich-painted books and towering keeps,
            The graceful girding of their modesties-

SANDOVAL
            Their slave trades, and their binding bright bouquets-

ALVARADO
            Distilling liquor: Culture’s surest sign.

CORTÉS
            Our prime directive is to baptize them,
            Not march before their eyes the Seven Sins.
            But how to learn their Tower-of-Babel tongues?
From my play in verse, thefloralwar.com
nivek Jun 2015
I drink wine freely
and the grapes celebrate
- the union of Man and vine
leaf. For modesties sake.
Stephen Turner Dec 2019
The Wrestler

Sleek and slender with
Aerodynamic curves.
The sweat and smells of defeat
And the rapid flutter of whistle
And the occasional strained
Pulled sprained dislocated
Disjointed daunted jaunted
Stunted jammed and jostled
Human thrown across
rubber and foam and plastic.

Hurt by death
Twisted and torn and stretched to pieces
Through giveaways and usurpations
And takeovers and dominion rights
Not knowing where ends the detriment.
Strung together by wires and
Ink pens and signature lines
Mapping out adolescence
In the rearview lies a trail
Of broken promises or promising
Nothingness, a quagmire.

Screens which once shielded
Her modesties now rebuilt as
Hog troughs and kennels roofs
And tables for orangutans to perch,
A crow’s nest from which to
Target passer-bys with hurled
Feces.  Her modesty stolen yet
her Self continuously intact.

Mother

Without her presence
Random mosaic of life
Events and changes and shadows
Lifting the veil lifting the spirit
With guilt and wanton desire for
More time as if it really existed.
Answering the Siren’s song was
Unexplored by those of us
On this end, but by ink and memory
And glossy faded Polaroids.

She is idolized
Eulogized – leaving behind a beacon –
No stone nor seal nor
Piece of parchment could have
Created a more stunning
Masterpiece.  Tis no great
Rembrandt or Michelangelo
But this simple sinful woman
Created something so sublime.
No artisan would dare, no
Craftsman would be enough skilled,
No artist so bold or audacious-
But this naïve heralded an angel.

Victoria

Named for a great waterfall
Or a long standing monarch,
Her heart bled truth and
Her song wailed in agony
But her mouth, genteel and melancholy
Yet the story it told was a whisper
of something greater.  Her tongue
could speak of the sweetness and the
lightning and the immediacy of life.
And I fell into her eyes and she
Echoes in my heart.

I’ve wiped away her tears
And I’ve cradled her inabilities.
She bled on my sincerities and
Collapsed at my feet.  Solemnity
Awaits her every move, but most
Deserving of joy- something that
Evaded her for so long.

A toddler tiptoes back and forth
Moving merely inch by inch as
Balance is learned and gravity
Defied over months and years.
Passion has no such wait, yet
Happiness, the quest for the grail
Toddles toward some never ending
Oasis upon the horizon.
It is with the passing of years
That joy becomes ever more present
Long since suffered, long awaited joy.
Three poems for the price of one

— The End —