"staved" poems
My world is not of the written word
It cannot be numbered
held captive on a so called page
My world is liquid
as sea , rain , snow or ice
It can be hot , cold , or entice
My world is cloudy
It thunders after it flashes light
My world is wrong , my world is right
There are no words that bind my life
I won't be delegated
to exist in the black on white
I will not be staved
by the limited sways
of the written words upon the page
Apr 22, 2015
Apr 22, 2015 at 6:58 AM UTC
Passing through mid-century
these jazz oneironauts reached Apollonian heights
while society drifted into Dionysian drunkenness
the merchants caught on too soon
The most beautiful parts of humanity
enamored to serve the ugliest:
The merchant class, the bourgeoisie
Buddha’s undeserving in charge
If only in past centuries
those noble princesses embraced
even more lowly patronages
all this potential today could be staved off
Saved from the drive to be commodified
People stopped buying jazz as it reached its height
No more smiles to appease the whites
Jazz for the few
the noble, the individual in the know
Until this too becomes the simulacrum
The Ornette Coleman on the bookshelf
to signify your snootiness
your refinement from wealth
Aging Dads in thousand dollar sweaters
kicking out their 22 year old kids
for being ****** addled hipsters
meanwhile Bird on Verve is nodding out
and Dad’s girlfriend pops a Percocet
to deal with all the stress
Jan 15, 2022
Jan 15, 2022 at 10:50 AM UTC
a conscious
stake was
city of
justice where
grand duchy
staved it
from the
dark and
rubbed unions
particularly swank
then treaty
millennia till
Brexit left
their reckoning
with covert
aspects of
haute recovery
Oct 25, 2018
Oct 25, 2018 at 2:10 PM UTC
Love is like the fear in hope,
When men gain too much pride.
Although it seems to ever fade,
Love will never die.
And while the world is staved of faith,
And evil will be ever great,
Love can change and save the world,
And love will never die.
Peace on earth has never been,
But it will come with strong-willed men,
Charging through with open arms,
Love will come again.
We do what's right,
And fight to see the light.
It beckons, shining through a tiny hole. For as we get stronger...
So does the burning coal.
And as we know in our hearts
That love will come again,
We raise up flaming souls
Undefeatable within.
Aug 18, 2014
Aug 18, 2014 at 12:55 AM UTC
Seldom though eventually
His words will wash away
The human mind's a yawning sieve
That siphons thoughts away
For all we are is flesh and blood
And dust, in all due time
His face embedded in my thoughts
Will someday leave my mind.
Each grain of sand; each thought of him
Will slither down the glass
Slow and steady, one by one
Until he's in the past.
For now my mind's a youthful cache,
No wave can wear or wash
Impressions left upon my soul
Cannot be staved or quashed.
-Un-rhymed Notes-
*Every once in a while
The human mind is all it's built up to be;
A sieve, where the balm of time
slowly mends and knits
The torn edges of the chasm.
Every once in a while
It is as if the wound has healed
And the flow of muscle memory
Ripples beneath the unmarred surface*
Jun 18, 2015
Jun 18, 2015 at 8:55 AM UTC
Suddenly the world stood still
Erupting goose bumps chill
Piloted by those who terrorize
Twin Towers they'd jeapardize
Emotions of shock, disbelief
Mourning, moaning and grief
Bombed by aircraft killing all
Extraordinary sorrow ... pall
Resultant heroes came to call
Eleviating pain where they could
Lifting to safety as they should
Everyone who could be saved
Venom's evil could not be staved
Even would we wish it to be so
Numbers trapped perished tho'
They will be forgotten not ever ...
Honored in tribute, remembered forever.
© Carmela M. Patterson, All rights reserved.
Nov 1, 2014
Nov 1, 2014 at 11:25 PM UTC
Well you twinged my nerves
as you may be swell
but your words sure taste
like the floors of hell
So how are you ?
You make me sick
with your chameleon schtick
You come on hard
and you leave too quick
So fine you say ?
You're a dull moon hanging
over a fetid swamp
You will o'wisp
as you begin to taunt
So good to here .
I is the first word
from your mouth
Aye I say ever
tis thee out
So kind of you .
Green grounds
out the sills
as you have to say
What's mine is will
No other way .
Here's the bag
of bones you save
the flesh ripped off
the barrel's been staved
So bye bye you .
There's a moment
I take to pause
to pass some more
of Murphy's laws
So I'll not be seeing you .
I'll not , I'll not , I'll not
be seeing you
Goodbye , Goodbye
to all and you
to all and you
ALL OF YOU !
May 21, 2015
May 21, 2015 at 10:40 AM UTC
All the questions I could ask myself
About you and I and we and us
Does not hold a candle to the truth outshining us.
I do not need to hear your words, although you know I long to.
You've slipped away, a swaying phase, unsteady as the moon
In your island you're always hiding far out of reach for me.
I know the rules and I try to tip-toe around them.
Caught in a roulette wheel, shooting myself in the foot.
Swinging on the vines like Tarzan in the jungle, my Jane
Does not belong to me, enamored, enchained,
To this life I'm in, I shall indeed remain.
You are a glittering spotlight far away,
The light tower,
And I am only a glint in the corner of your eyelash,
I might cower,
The instant you turn to me, the minute you decide to fight for me.
The right hour
I am able to be yours, in this life, if ever, you have me,
So clever, wrapped in maroon silk cocoon, staved away,
For you, alone, always unable to love another, steal me from my lover like plunder, come find me on my shores
And take what has always been yours.
Jun 11, 2017
Jun 11, 2017 at 4:12 AM UTC
And your love is like
The change of the seasons,
A warm sun
Its friendly glow
Luring the unwary
To a security undeserved,
A safety feigned
In selfish indulgence,
The beauty blinding
The trusting,
Dazzled by the magnificence
But I can see
The rage of the storm
Approaching in the fury
Of the angry, grey clouds
Bringing the death
Of this illusion
On swift, merciless wings
Taking life from
Those who once found
Such solace
As now that sun
Has gone
Abandoning the fruitless
Hope that is held
Devastating as a disease
The pure white snow
A clever disguise
Its true perfection
Hideous in its flawless form
Lost in translation
A mere shade
Of what once was
Sinking slowly
Into desolate despair
To place so low
It is to be known by no other
But rather is to be saved
Only for my wretched bitter eyes
Staved with mockery
And falsities sublime.
Oct 11, 2011
Oct 11, 2011 at 10:33 PM UTC
Aroma of sweat in the aura of ***
Sounds of vibrations mutter a hex
Lungs breathe shallow sighs of death
As curses are moaned in hollow breaths
Give and give, the ***** deeds done
Little beads vanish until there're none
Quivering smiles held under gasping lung
From the sting of whips and praise unsung
*Chains and cuffs
Dildos and leather stuffs*
Inhale in pleasure, Exhale in pain
Bruises covered in blissful vain
Blood and sweat mixed in Sin
Exhaustion staved by a ****** again
Red and battered across swollen breast
Time to relax and let the Devil do the rest
Dec 6, 2011
Dec 6, 2011 at 12:25 PM UTC
I await a slip of paper
Foretelling of my death
I await a slip of paper,
For I've not received it yet.
I've staved my curiosity,
Like a tiger in a cage
However, eventually
Tigers want to eat,
To hunt,
To be satiated
And so does my curiosity.
Though morbid,
Though vague,
I wish to know my end
By fire,
By age,
By disease
or by vehicle?
Vague enough to open questions,
Concrete enough to give me something
I want to know
How I'll die.
The reaper with his crystal ball
Stares
With no eyes
From the faded machine
A hand reaching from the coin
Slot
Reaching to shake mine
"Congratulations, you've paid
the piper, child."
The reaper says,
But only in my day dreams
I want to know my death,
Wow, this takes forever,
I've paid the toll,
I've done what's necessary!
Why is there no paper in my hand!
Wait, I hear printing!
My heart, is sprinting in my chest!
Oh dear heaven above!
I get to know my death, God!
You can't hide it from me forever!
The slip of paper finishes through the machine
Printed, it spits out at me.
I take it, gingerly, excited all the while
To know my death, oh death machine,
Will make me smile.
I stare at it, giving great diligence
To find that I'll die by...
Patience
Dec 31, 2012
Dec 31, 2012 at 10:36 AM UTC
Solitude.
Such an ancient adversary. Our history runs as long as time itself.
Once again it has decided to come forth, having been staved off by our once glorious companion.
Or perhaps not so glorious. As we peer into the past, the taint and tarnish become clear.
The heavenly songs filled with promises were harmonized with clashing shrieks and piercing screams. The sweet basin of affection was poisoned by twisted manipulation and deception.
Our courtship with the Fallen One has left us broken, yet functioning. We thought we had triumphed over despair, but the Solitude has begun to tear its way into us.
It whispers with blades that sink deeper than our flesh and bone. It declares that it is an inevitability, that no matter our attempts it will not be defeated.
We repel its whispers, but only on occasion. Its words slither through our deaf ears, and with each victory, they become harder to silence.
Yet there is one who can quell even the mightiest of his attacks. Her gaze alone causes it to fall silent. Her smile loosens his grip on the body's heart.
Yet the Solitude is cunning. It knows of the doubts that linger in the mind. It points out the flaws in us. It taunts us with our incompatibility.
We cannot deny what it declares. We are aware of our shortcomings.
But we cannot ignore the nerves that twist beneath the skin as we look upon her.
We cannot dismiss the passion in our heart when we hear her laughter.
We cannot overlook the radiance of her very presence, ridding the darkness and sorrow in our mind.
Yet the wounds from the Fallen One have yet to heal. We are hesitant to torment ourselves with another lost companion.
But we are strong in our resolve. We will combat the Solitude.
We shall stand firm against its whispers.
We will not break under the weight of our adversary.
We will endure this war, for we have the Perfection who watches us, ever vigilant, and infallible.
Jan 9, 2015
Jan 9, 2015 at 2:08 AM UTC
The illusion set before, so magnificently made,
It is for this very reason, which I have not staved.
There are aspects we will never know, some we do not care to witness,
In this world of so many lies, truth is more afraid in the darkness.
All this smoke fills the land, as we peer into our own mirrors,
Attention drawn away, from the problems much nearer.
Looming shadows in the blackness, cancel all our dreams,
Making maniacal monsters, as they feed of broken esteem.
We make our own cage, while whispering about frustration,
Bashing head against wall, in a never-ending occupation.
The only release from this monotony, two blinks called a weekend,
But every day is a battle, the middle of the whole has been weakened.
Still we rise every morning, putting on the same boring face,
Because it seems no matter how hard we try, it is still the same rat race.
Jan 31, 2014
Jan 31, 2014 at 5:31 PM UTC
I am walking, alone through dusky sunset streets.
I remember the warmth of your smile, the joy of your laughter.
I remember your eyes, how they staved off the pain.
I remember your blood on my arms, his footsteps like thunder in my ears.
I stop in front of an empty house, silent, save for the wind whistling through broken windows, and the grass in the flower pots, waving in the wind.
I turn away, the tears in my eyes burn, but they do not fall. Why don't they fall?
I walk on, her memory roaring in my ears, a waterfall of grief, and remembered joy.
Her eyes were so dim. How could they be so dim, when they were once as stars, shining bright, a beacon, to guide me home, away from my tormenting night?
The sun, still shining, hides it's face, beneath sheets of stormy gray.
Why is it still shining?
I walk alone, numb. I thought, that if I stabbed myself though the heart right now, I wouldn't feel it, and I could just....go.
I keep walking, my eyes are dim, the sounds of the sunlit world mean little to me now.
I am trapped in a Twilight of grief. Of guilt. Of the terrible pain of a cold bed, and a silent house, where once there was joy and laughter, and an ear to whisper to, my melancholy, and to be able to watch her burn it away, like a candle to a grey air, and to feel her arms about me, a shield, against myself.
Now she's gone.
I'm....alone.
Goodbye.
The grey is all about me.
It's time to find an end.
It's time.
Oct 7, 2014
Oct 7, 2014 at 9:26 AM UTC
In early morning,
Mist revolving joys,
Everything so glorious,
The grey fox on the shores,
The great blue herons,
Light houses of dawn,
Arching into heavens,
Overlooking all souls,
Such colours by the sounds,
Lilting in the scores of clover,
Of bees notating and staffs,
Sway of staved dragonflies,
Dropped dew belled in petals
And whole world lathed
With harmonious light.
Across the silvered pond
Were deep woods without name,
For journeys into wrested sleep
And light poured, raining
Through the spring leaves,
Staining the glass of the sky,
Ordaining the stationed hearts,
Held by the still deer, who walked
On waters, wading into sun,
Each night destroyed
By freshness and rays,
The mottled waking meadows,
Green as ever growing,
More alive then old legend,
O to be a pilgrim with eyes,
Opening!
To be shy lord in the fortresses
Of fallen trees and savour such
Piney sense as rooted sassafras,
The smells of mosses and leaf,
On the shores of the painted
Turtles, shaded by lurching trees
Mushroomed over shallows, sunning
And hear the foghorned frogs
Alerting the dark gleeming, red-
Winged blackbirds to their reeds
Among the rocks a child
Skips, hums upon.
So breaking was the boy
In the hood of the pond,
More alive, golden, than a star,
Round that very crested shire,
In the berry vines of ripeness,
Winding marshes at play,
Where blush of wild ducks
Endlessly saunter and rooks
Dot the airs circling eternal.
Now in ages past,
After, pond enameled
So far away still sings
Of childhood to come,
For any lost soul who waits,
Beyond cries, a warbles lulling,
What songbirds might ring,
For newborns who break,
Into some future paradise,
Births of new days dawning,
Dominions of the sun.
Mar 14, 2016
Mar 14, 2016 at 3:44 AM UTC
You walk with a cigarette adorning the corner of your mouth
What about you inspires me?
Your dark glasses that taunt my intelligence
My ability to read you
staved off annoyingly like throwing a daisy at a brick wall.
Unlike me, you pick up your feet when you walk,
Refusing the ‘just rolled out of bed shuffle’
You walk with a purposeful air that challenges those who pass you
And dares them to gaze at those shades for eyes coupled with bronze hair that shags out from under your snug hat like a fuzzy carpet which needs cleaning.
Tendrils of smoke intertwine with said hair,
If you were still, they might create together a halo, an aura around your head and add to your not so holy mystery.
But you move on
Always moving
Slipping from the corner of my left eye and sauntering on
On to your profound purpose
Or perhaps one not so purposeful at all.
Maybe you are just strolling to meet another with dark eyes and faded jeans to enjoy a simple white cigarette
Which adorns you both so nicely.
Jan 3, 2012
Jan 3, 2012 at 1:54 AM UTC
.
what would stand out!
nothing is left to come back
do not wait
for fate
even if your eyes are staved off
on the dark canvas
draw a dream
life is such
broken game
.
@Musfiq us shaleheen
Nov 5, 2017
Nov 5, 2017 at 12:32 PM UTC
i liked to be closer to death because it made life just a little bit sweeter.
sitting on ledges, just for the occasional heart flutter, slight gasp.
smoking cigarettes, seeing people walk by with faces of disgust, because your ***** second hand smoke was robbing them of their precious lives,
or pity, because i was robbing me of mine.
drinking until i feel my insides come back up, harshly, and, without dignity, id bow down. and the weakness in my knees and the precarious state of my stomach.
starving myself, feeling the twists and the turns and the pangs of hunger, seeing if i can go longer, seeing if i can eat less, seeing if i can be less.
or all the drugs that made me lifeless, limbless, paralyzed for too short of a time.
the constant ever approaching, never arriving death, made me more thirsty for every breath, a little happier to see the sun rise, a little happier.
and then you befriended me, death.
you consumed only smoke.
you were sweet and enticing, as you slowly ****** the life out of me. you were toxic.
but we built a beautiful castle of darkness. we staved off the light as if it would **** us, and maybe it would have.
we made crowns of wilted flowers and sipped sin from the bottle. we'd hold hands and frolic among the valleys of sorrow.
we danced with the devil and then you ****** him while you drank my blood.
things would blacken and shrivel around us, and i blamed myself. and you blamed me. and the sun never rose on our empire of darkness.
i was your prisoner, as you slowly killed me, drained me.
death, you are a soulless, selfish, manipulative blackhole of a being.
you blamed me for killing you, and that almost killed me.
so i ran from you, crying and shaking, life no longer tasted sweet.
you spoiled everything.
death, you will continue to feed off of the life around you but you cannot live just as much as i cannot **** you.
Apr 19, 2016
Apr 19, 2016 at 1:58 PM UTC
You’re too nervous around me
He said
Though it shouldn’t matter much really
Just a personality trait
And true at that
Maybe it was just fate
But honestly
What did he expect?
Ignored me half the time
Distanced himself
Made me feel unwanted
-Unloved
It shouldn’t really matter, truly
Silly child-like beliefs
In love
But it was just that,
It was heaven
Till paranoia crept in
Like the monster from under my bed
Depression seeped in with nightmares
With every blank glance and words unsaid
I tried being there, I tried pulling away
I tried what I could bear
Day after day
Watching my own tragedy
Break at the seems
The cracks poured in and drowned my depths
-Shattered beyond belief
Because of my
inability to work socially
Too awkward to talk
Too shy
Terrified of saying the wrong things
So alone in my own mind
Is there anything I can say?
Anyway that it’s untrue
My anxiety came off as nerves
Mostly around you
Cause with you it mattered most
Someone for whom I cared
But you’re right it’s my fault
I couldn’t love enough to stop being scared
So I’ll watch from the backseat
As the movies go on
The confidant chick gets the guy
Or he fixes the insecure one
But nothing goes wrong here
Not like it does in reality
Guess I’m just trying to justify his excuse and its finality
Too nervous around me
Oh, really.
But the truths I could already see
I knew, how I knew, and knew all along
He’d never truly wanted me
So I laugh at the comments I bit back
Bleeding lips from words too tongue
In cheek I thank you;
Graceful bow
For helping me along
For ripping away the stem of nervosa
You’d brought flowing with you since the first day
For the harsh remarks
-a slap to even those ***** stark
And the steel that I grew as I say
It was you
You who didn’t care enough to help
Who could not see the panic and fear I battled to try and stabilize myself
For you
To make us happy
Yes I had problems of my own
But I was there for you
And what did you do?
Nothing but leave me alone
Saying the cause was all me
My anxiety
My nervosa had won?
You know how insulting that can become?
I staved off the dragon in the mirror
To keep safe the tower climbing prince
But in truth I know now
Princes don’t exist
I was really my own companion
Fighting my own weakness’
With my own strengths
And now I know my own reason
Has to forever be only myself.
Oct 31, 2015
Oct 31, 2015 at 12:52 PM UTC
.
In early morning,
Mist revolving joys,
Everything so glorious,
The grey fox on the shores,
The great blue herons,
Light houses of dawn,
Arching into heavens,
Overlooking all souls,
Such colours by the sounds,
Lilting in the scores of clover,
Of bees notating and staffs,
Sway of staved dragonflies,
Dropped dew belled in petals
And whole world lathed
With harmonious light.
Across the silvered pond
Were deep woods without name,
For journeys into wrested sleep
And light poured, raining
Through the spring leaves,
Staining the glass of the sky,
Ordaining the stationed hearts,
Held by the still deer, who walked
On waters, wading into sun,
Each night destroyed
By freshness and rays,
The mottled waking meadows,
Green as ever growing,
More alive then old legend,
O to be a pilgrim with eyes,
Opening!
To be shy lord in the fortresses
Of fallen trees and savour such
Piney sense as rooted sassafras,
The smells of mosses and leaf,
On the shores of the painted
Turtles, shaded by lurching trees
Mushroomed over shallows, sunning
And hear the foghorned frogs
Alerting the dark gleeming, red-
Winged blackbirds to their reeds
Among the rocks a child
Skips, hums upon.
So breaking was the boy
In the hood of the pond,
More alive, golden, than a star,
Round that very crested shire,
In the berry vines of ripeness,
Winding marshes at play,
Where blush of wild ducks
Endlessly saunter and rooks
Dot the airs circling eternal.
Now in ages past,
After, pond enameled
So far away still sings
Of childhood to come,
For any lost soul who waits,
Beyond cries, a warbles lulling,
What songbirds might ring,
For newborns who break,
Ashed in sands of the quick,
Into some future paradise,
Births of new days dawning,
Rung through, dominions of the sun.
Sep 26, 2017
Sep 26, 2017 at 4:32 AM UTC
Man is not grass nor tree
Who among can be heartless
The **** with a heart of gold
The monster with a soft touch
The beast with his beauty
Sentiment is like a ****
It can never be rooted out
Staved off maybe
Eliminated for a time
But in the edge of the garden
It grows once again
Sep 12, 2018
Sep 12, 2018 at 9:54 PM UTC
Love is just a four letter word to me now. It has become a stranger in the streets that passed me by. Love passed me in the hallways without even speaking a word. I let Love pass me by everyday I saw Love. See Love hurt me. Love crashed my hopes of ever feeling a beat inside my empty chest without thinking that its a lie. I got hurt. But Love kept me warm at night. Love took my nightmares away. Love took the sting from the pain. It gave me affection when Love hurt me. Told me everything was going to be okay. Love is now a ever fading memory to me now that I only remember from the photos in my scrapbook. Love came when Love wanted. Love left when Love wanted to leave. Love left me with holes the size of craters in my heart. Love was toxic. It killed and calmed me at the same time. But I remember what Love did to me. Love hurt me in ways that normal people couldn't. Love shattered what was left in my head that told me that "Maybe people stay." I found myself hurting worst than I ever have even from the worst wars I have fought. Love made me think I was finally beautiful. But the day Love decided to leave was the day I filled the hole in my chest with pure destruction. I staved and bled when I felt the hole begin to drag me down. Little did I know that the hole was just the grave I was digging for myself. The day Love left, I decided to try that grave on for size.......
Dec 3, 2015
Dec 3, 2015 at 4:08 PM UTC
So many things that these hands have made
a faded page for which they paid
jaded pain and a heart so splayed
these hands have made a past that stayed
they are capable of making disdain and hate
staying shaky for their aiming fate
stained by debating ways as of late
these hands are making a day that can't wait
grass blades whistle and the winds do rave
the fires rage and can't be staved
there's no way you can be saved
these hands were made to dig your grave
Dec 28, 2014
Dec 28, 2014 at 3:31 PM UTC
Where paths cross people meet
some stay over for a while
others disappear completely
some staved the cane
the rear view mirror
was never
a path
to their aim.
Sep 29, 2023
Sep 29, 2023 at 4:21 PM UTC