By adewpearl
Do lions know upon their birth
they'll rule the Earth,
that they will reign
upon the plain?
Do cubs who wrestle in their play
foresee the day
herds fly in fear
as they draw near?
Or is ascent to regal throne
once they are grown,
a fate assigned,
far from their minds?
| Author Notes | The minute poem is composed of 60 syllables, divided into 3 verses of 8/4/4/4 syllables. The rhyme scheme is in couplets. |
By adewpearl
"Lugubrious," most doleful word
I've ever heard.
It drips with gloom,
impending doom.
Each anguished syllable conveys
our worst dismays,
our deepest fear,
devoid of cheer.
Discover in its drawn-out sounds
where grief abounds,
where nightmares creep
and widows weep.
| Author Notes |
Lugubrious - excessively mournful, doleful - from the Latin root lugere, to grieve.
My mother read poetry to me, like Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Swing." My father recited poetry to me, like "Snowbound." I fell in love with the sound of words I hadn't even learned the meaning of at a tender age. But my love affair with words grew even more because of wonderful teachers who wrote the word of the day on their blackboards. One junior high English teacher selected "lugubrious" one day, and I fell under the spell of this word, which remains, to this day, my favorite word among many beloved words. Just say it out loud, and you are pretty darned sure it has nothing to do with bluebirds and rainbows. LOL |
By adewpearl
I've never known a skipping stone,
once it's been thrown,
to turn around
from where it's bound.
Some travel farther than the rest --
not all impress
before that plunk
that says they've sunk.
Yet not one stone through doubt or dread
has ever fled.
Could that be I,
I might just fly.
| Author Notes | The minute poem is a 60 syllable poem in 3 verses with lines of 8/4/4/4 syllables. The rhyme scheme is in couplets. |
By adewpearl
A lightning bug, who lacked esteem,
or so it seemed,
would always pine
although she shined.
Turns out she didn't like her name --
she felt ashamed
that some, so smug,
called her a bug.
Until one day she swelled with pride
as someone cried
when she flew by,
"a firefly!"
| Author Notes |
The minute poem consists of 60 syllables divided into three verses, each in 8/4/4/4. The rhyme is in couplets.
I am using the two syllable pronunciation of fire - fi/er. |
By adewpearl
They claim the lady's slipper calms -
the best of balms,
a soothing herb,
sleep unperturbed.
I happened on one in the wood
and understood
just what they mean,
for thoughts serene
flowed through my mind with sheer delight
at such a sight.
No purchase made
for my sleep aid.
| Author Notes |
The minute poem consists of 60 syllables divided into three verses of 8/4/4/4. The rhyming is in couplets and the meter is iambic.
Lady's slipper is a rare and gorgeous wild flower now cultivated for herbal medicinal use as a sleep aid and stress reliever. One can crush it up, I suppose, to create a calming medication, or one can feel serene by walking through the woods and enjoying the beauty of nature. :-) |
By adewpearl
My mother's kiss healed any hurt,
made sobs revert
to sunny smile
through any trial.
In her embrace, my tears were dried,
cares cast aside.
Please tell me where
to take my care
when now my pain feels just as real
and needs to heal,
but she has gone,
her kiss withdrawn.
| Author Notes |
The minute poem is a 60 syllable poem written in three verses with syllable count of 8/4/4/4 in iambic meter. The rhyme scheme is aabb ccdd eeff.
I am using the one syllable, second preferred pronunciation of trial, as listed in the freeonlinedictionary.com. My memories of my mother, who died when I was in second grade, fifty one years ago, are sketchy at best, but I do remember well the feeling I had around her of being safe and protected. |
By adewpearl
Waves echoing Poseidon's roar
rage toward the shore,
his dark command,
to storm the land.
No mercy do white horses show
while wild winds blow
to toss their manes
as chaos reigns.
Will gods who rule the surging sea
spare those who plea?
They long to know
as billows grow.
| Author Notes |
The minute poem is comprised of three quatrains, each with a syllable count of 8/4/4/4, and is written in iambic meter.
The rhyme scheme is AABB CCDD EEFF. It is called a minute poem because there are 60 syllables. A white horse is a wave blown by the wind so its crest is broken and appears white. A billow is a large wave or swell of water. Poseidon was the Greek god of the ocean and of earthquakes. |
By adewpearl
Light unimpeded through your wings,
what joy this brings,
a sheer delight,
pellucid flight.
You don't block out one brilliant beam
of sun supreme,
but scintillate
as sun's soul mate.
No need have you to steal the show
from star aglow,
but so polite,
let through its light.
By adewpearl
He jumped atop piano's lid,
then danced and slid
on magic feet
to funky beat.
He pounded boogie-woogie keys
loud as you please,
his voice a scream,
a rebel's dream.
With "Tutti Fruity" on his lips,
he swung his hips
to crowd's delight,
and won the night.
| Author Notes |
The Atlantic City Pop Festival was held the first three days in August in 1969. Some of the featured acts included The Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Santana, Canned Heat, The Mothers of Invention, The Chambers Brothers, Iron Butterfly, the Byrds, Joe Cocker and Three Dog Night. On the third night, one act is not what one would have expected in this line-up. Little Richard performed.
Little Richard was in his late 30's at that point, and his hits were all over a decade old. Many in the audience considered him a fish out of water. Nobody knew quite what to expect. And then he came on stage, as flamboyant as he ever had been, and he performed some of his greatest 50's hits, like Tutti Fruity and Good Golly, Miss Molly. Talk about winning a crowd over. People were almost instantly on their feet, dancing and screaming along as he first stood at the piano, pounding out the notes, and then jumped atop the piano to dance. I've honestly never seen anything like it before or since. The minute poem consists of three four line verses in rhyming couplets. The first line of each verse is 8 syllables in iambic meter, and the next three lines are 4 syllables. It is a minute poem because that is a total of 60 syllables. I find its beat quite appropriate to Little Richard's exuberant music. |
By adewpearl
I mourn the boy before the fall,
whom God gave voice and gift of dance,
who captivated one and all
with Thriller beat and moonwalk stance.
I mourn the child of tender age
whose talent blazed across the stage.
This is the boy whom I believe
God in His loving arms received.
| Author Notes | There are few people more iconic in any field than Michael Jackson was in the world of pop music. My personal religious beliefs are that God receives us back in the innocence and perfection with which He created us. No matter what sins any man has committed in his lifetime, it is not mine to judge them upon his death. I prefer to remember the best of a person, which does not mean at all I dismiss or condone the worst. Please do not respond by reminding me of all the things this tragically flawed child of God did to displease you - I'm aware of them. |
By adewpearl
Gulls soar above Atlantic seas --
with grace and ease
they swoop then rise
into the skies.
But puffins, shaped like cargo ships,
can't come to grips
with fluid flight
though try they might.
Like hummingbirds, but overweight,
their wings vibrate
with frantic beat,
a crash to cheat.
When landing they will often clunk,
like flying drunks --
the hard way down,
these ocean clowns.
With orange feet, bright motley beaks,
and form not sleek,
they live their lives
in comic guise.
Some creatures God gave lissome grace,
a fine-wrought face --
but auks He styled,
then slyly smiled.
| Author Notes |
The Atlantic puffin, a type of auk, live in large colonies along the northern coastline and on offshore rocky islands.
Because they are so darned cute, they have become beloved figures in popular culture in areas where they live, like Iceland and Newfoundland and Maine. Unfortunately, their numbers are gravely declining because the type of small fish they eat (sandeels) are falling victim to global warming. Decades ago I went on a whale watching tour in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, that included a stop near an island of puffins - it was one of the most endearing and memorable sights I've ever seen. How sad it would be if someday they only survive as toys and brightly colored paintings. There is a marvelous video on youtube called Puffins and global warming if you would like to see more puffin images and read about this ecological crisis. |
By adewpearl
Far past the grasp of life's concerns
is where I yearn
to sail away --
beyond the fray.
If only I'd horizon find
where sky meets mind --
and atmosphere
is pure and clear.
I needn't spend eternity
in distant sea --
just one calm day
is all I pray.
| Author Notes |
One meaning of horizon is the line where earth and sky appear to meet. Another meaning is "the limit of mental perception."
I have blended them here. Similarly, atmosphere can be the air in the sky or the mood of a situation. Again, I've blended them. |
By adewpearl
Trees' shadows painted on the snow,
pure white below --
an artwork formed
from winter's storm.
A gust of air assaults packed flakes,
and carving makes --
a sculpture cast
from wind's cold blast.
Each sparkling crystal in each drift,
a priceless gift --
admission free,
God's gallery.
| Author Notes |
As annoying as it is to be snowed in as I am right now, I must begrudgingly admit the view from my window is gorgeous.
A minute poem consists of three quatrains - each one is written in iambic meter with syllables of 8/4/4/4. |
By adewpearl
The card is just a little smudged --
amounts misjudged
of paste that spread
into the red.
With hearts, lopsided, it's adorned --
yet love's transformed
each fumbled part
to highest art.
Sweet imperfections glued on lace --
this gift of grace
my dear child gave --
with gladness saved.
By adewpearl
| Author Notes | In real life leaders need to prioritize how to allocate scarce resources to deal with a host of terrible problems. Philanthropists in forming foundations must focus their efforts. Even individuals with only limited money must decide whose charitable campaigns to contribute to and whose envelopes to toss. As a volunteer I cannot devote my time to every cause I believe in. So, while my poem is about a fantasy in which I have been granted the wish to end one world problem, there is a real sense in which people must try to make these choices every day. It is an agonizing choice with no easy answer. |
By adewpearl
Propped up against a padlocked door,
the paltry poor --
we walk in haste
past human waste.
They sleep in parks and alleyways,
these castaways --
we pass them by
with downcast eye.
Their pleas we've chosen to ignore --
how long before
our own worst fears
fall on deaf ears?
| Author Notes |
I do not often quote the Bible, but when I do, you can trust it means something to me:
"He who gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse." Proverbs 28:27 "He who closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself cry out and not be heard." Proverbs 21:13 |
By adewpearl
| Author Notes |
The minute poem consists of three quatrains, each one of 8/4/4/4 syllables in iambic meter. The rhyme scheme is of rhyming couplets.
This kiss took place in an old Dodge Dart in December of 1968 in the parking lot of the King of Prussia Shopping Mall. We were both teenagers, and I went on to marry this boy who gave me my first kiss. When this song plays on the oldies station, I still remember it all as if it were yesterday. :-) |
By adewpearl
I'd never known until his birth
life's fullest worth --
my firstborn son,
beloved one.
He'd strike a pose, then scrunch his nose,
or wiggle toes --
so filled with glee
my heart would be.
Back then no moments dark or drear,
devoid of cheer --
best days of all,
when he was small.
| Author Notes | This contest requires a poem of any style, about emotions. I've chosen the minute poem, with three quatrains of rhymed couplets. Each verse has syllables of 8/4/4/4 with iambic meter. |
By adewpearl
When war's declared they meet the call -
walk proud and tall,
march stride by stride
with pomp and pride.
In battle's blare and searing squall,
through muck they crawl
to guard and guide
friends by their side.
When bullet finds its mark they fall -
ungainly sprawl.
Death not defied
when worlds collide.
By adewpearl
| Author Notes | In response to my recent spate of springlike poems, I've been asked if I'm tired of the snowy winter. I figured I'd clear up any mystery. :-) |
By adewpearl
By adewpearl
| Author Notes |
the minute poem consists of 12 lines in three quatrains, using iambic meter and an aabb ccdd eeff rhyme scheme.
The first line of each quatrain is 8 syllables followed by three lines of 4 syllables. Prayer is considered one syllable in the dictionaries I consulted. Honeysuckle vines are known to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and humans. |
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