Your Beautiful Blue Buckle Shoes- an original poem

"First Shoe Blue" by Gabby Dawnay
First Shoe Blue” by Gabby Dawnay

On days where the sun near rolls over the hill,
and the summer winds dance endlessly,
I notice something that makes all time still,
on the porch by the cherry blossom tree.

They’re beaten and worn and crusted with dirt,
and tarnished from long days of use;
the sight of them lying there makes my chest hurt-
your beautiful blue buckle shoes.

You wore them on Sundays, kicking pews in mass.
You wore them on rainy days; they splashed and they splashed.
You wore them paired with your favorite red dress,
and you wore them to bed, despite the protests.

Now they lie on the porch under that cherry tree,
soaking up sun and fading to gray.
They’re empty and forgotten and I wonder if they plea
for someone to take them away.

But they’re happy, I think, to be left there in peace,
and I know that you wouldn’t refuse
to let them lie in the dirt gathering sunshine and grease-
your beautiful blue buckle shoes.

Red

"Red horse" by Tiago Xavier
Red horse” by Tiago Xavier

That night, I ride a red mare.

With hands frozen upon the reins,
I can not shake myself from
its saddle.
On it gallops through fields
of amber,
leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.
No scream can pass my lips,
and I weep silently as
phantom winds
murmur over my skin.

Is this a dream?

The horse halts at the base
of a valley gilded in gold,
and dips its head to drink from a brook.
My limbs loosen, and I fall to my knees
at its side.
So thirsty…I’ve never been this thirsty before…
Crawling, trembling, withering-
I claw my way to the stream,
and lower my lips to the water.

I scream.

The water is red and rotten,
no, not water at all…
it stinks of blood and
flows thickly like blood.

The mare drinks on.

Then across the crimson brook-
a figure from a memory,
someone I once knew,
dressed in tattered whites
with blood on her fingers.

“You don’t care,” she whispers.

Her cheekbones sag,
her flesh melts.
I try to cross the river of blood,
but it sears through to my skin.

“No!”

She’s something else now.
A monster.
And I want to wake up,
wake up
from this wretched nightmare.

The red mare lifts her head
and screams
and screams
and screams.


So, I know this ‘poem’ is a bit abstract. I tried this exercise where I take a passage from my writing and try to turn it into a poem. Let’s just say I don’t think I quite succeeded with this one. It is a fun writing experience, though.

Something Silver In The Wind- an original poem

"Windy Day" by Jana Emburey
Windy Day” by Jana Emburey

There’s something silver in the wind
that whips and writhes against the glass,
sometimes I think I hear it sing,
but then all at once it’ll pass.

Black winds break trees and seas,
pink winds prance and fair the air.
but there’s something silver in this breeze
that hums a strange, forgotten dare.

Like a lover it lulls your name,
tempting you to take its hand,
but then all at once it shrinks away,
to stream across some other land.

There’s something silver in the wind,
with a siren voice that bows and bends.
But still I long to hear it sing,
before the stormy night can end.

 

 

The Boulder Knight

source
source

The Boulder Knight! The Boulder Knight-
who moves mountains with his hands.
The Boulder Knight! The Boulder Knight-
he’s the backbone of the lands.

The eve was orange and the fire was blue,
and the Boulder Knight stood over his men-
“These lands of smoke,” he said, “Are ours to rue,
Will you stand with me and take them again?”

“With blood and flame we’ll make the Titan’s splay
for the crows across the ash splattered ground,
and then the un-burnt will become the blazed,
when the final wailing traitor is downed.”

Then with steel in hand and glory in heart,
the Boulder Knight lead the charge through the mist,
and they pulled the leeches and land apart
before the Titans could even persist.

The Boulder Knight! The Boulder Knight-
who moves mountains with his hands.
The Boulder Knight! The Boulder Knight-
he’s the backbone of the lands.


 

Here is yet another song/poem from the project I’m working on. Taken out of context, it might be a bit difficult to understand. I am also writing music to go with the ‘lyrics’.

let me sleep- an original poem

"Cet ete" by j-acques
Cet ete” by j-acques

sleep isn’t always a matter
of rest
or relief
or rejuvenation

i am safe in the dark
unbeatable beneath the blankets
without worry when
tendrils
of
sweet, silky nothingness
murmur over my lids

there is
something about the not knowing
that comes from dreams
it’s warm
and nice
and soft
and sometimes scary

but sleep
is what keeps me safe
even through the nightmares
and when i wake
it all seems so dull
so grinding
so rough and razored and rude

and the day is so long
and these sheets are so warm

please
let me sleep

Might and Light- an original poem

"Dark Thoughts" by David Senguin
Dark Thoughts” by David Senguin

Sometimes
I dream that a mighty hand
will thrust through the sky,
pulling apart the clouds
and letting in a light-
a light not of this world,
a light unfelt in ages.

If such
a light exists- a beam
beyond the blood splattered sky
and brighter than the dying sun,
then why hasn’t it shone before?
Why does gloom make its home
in the air, and why hasn’t the hand
batted away the smoke?

Sometimes
I dream that I am that hand,
titanic and teeming with the prayers
of a thousand weak and strong.
But are my fingers sharp enough
to rip apart what has been sewed?
I dream that there is a larger light,
but I fear that I’m too small.

 

 

I’ve Touched The Sky- an original poem

Source
Source

I’ve touched the sky, you know.
It feels like ice on the verge of melting,
strong and solid and drumming with life,
but lithe and loose and flowing with an
energy unspoken, a force not felt through
two feet on the ground.

I’ve tasted the sky, you know.
It tastes like unsweetened cream, freshly whipped,
light and fluffy and seasoned with stars,
but dark and heavy and looming with night,
an eve burdened by shadows unsavored
in the dishes of earth.

I’ve smelled the sky, you know.
It smells of a sea tossed across the world,
salty and ancient and familiar with time,
but summery and fresh and friendly to my
heart, like an old acquaintance long
lost across the land.

I’ve heard the sky, you know,
and it sings of what it’s seen;
of the the beastly and the beautiful,
the bygone and the brand-new-
I’ve heard it both repine and rejoice
in a voice as eternal as existence.

Existential Crisis

Steampunk- Spiral- Space Time Continuum by Mike Savad
Steampunk- Spiral- Space Time Continuum by Mike Savad

I’m having an existential crisis.

Another one.

The third one this week, if we’re being wholly honest.

It usually starts when I remember that
we’re all ants sitting on an orb
spiraling through a universe
filled with other orbs
with probably other ants
sitting on them;
other ants who could be pondering
if their realities are parallel
with other realities,
or if the monotony of their existence
will mean anything when the galaxy implodes
on itself and all of time collapses.

That’s usually how it starts.

After the initial ‘awakening’ to the
fact that I am indeed an ant
floating through eternity,
a tempering of corporeality washes
over me, and I somewhat come to terms
with my inevitable ending and invisible influence.

Somewhat.

Because really, how can we ever
shake the notion that nothing is fixed,
especially ourselves,
and
what even is a self?
Why are there selves?
Am I a self?
Out of all the selves in society,
how come I am this self, and not another self?

No, not again…

I’m having an existential crisis.


I wasn’t sure whether to tag this as poetry or not, but I decided to go ahead, because poetry is a very flexible thing, I think. I’m one of those people who has existential crises left and right, if you couldn’t already tell. Whether that’s a bad thing or not, I can’t say. Probably a bad thing.

The Bard’s Hymn

"Campfire" by Temarinde
Campfire” by Temarinde

Gather ’round the fire, friend,
we’re not such a scary lot.
Sure, that one’s been condemned a witch,
and the drunk one here’s a sot.
But we’re nomads, braced against the world,
adventurers rare and true,
and the fire here’s so warm, my friend,
and we cook a lovely stew.
I’m a bard of many songs, you see,
for you I could weave a tale,
of golden knights and silver ghosts,
and fair ladies of the vale.
You’re a stranger ’round here, aren’t you?
But that’s just fine with us.
See, we’re vagabonds and castaways,
the roughest of the rough.
But don’t shy away, come sit by me;
I’ll strum you a mellow hymn,
and together we will share this toast,
until our bellies brim. 


When I wrote this, I pictured a bard sitting on a log by the fire, surrounded by nomads and strumming his lute. It’s yet another piece for the project I’ve been writing. This is just a “rough draft”, so I might tweak it in the future.