Subject Poetry Contest.

My love is red unlike the rose,
More like the stain of blood that flows.
You think it's from your heart. I shout
Like screaming for some clean way out.

Release me, Bittersweet.

Your blackened tendrils
like frostbitten fingers
leave scars round my throat,
burning and red.

So many times
it has been wrung,
and like a moth-eaten rag
surrenders its murky water
to a wash-lady’s hands,
I have coughed up my secrets,
the shameful phlegm
that slimes through my past
and haunts my memories.

I remember the sunshine, Bittersweet,
the warm autumn sunshine the day that we met,
and you were so pretty,
so young, pretty child,
with golden-orange hair
from which you plucked
those little red fruits
that reminded me of hearts
and stabbed them through the center
and made them into
sweet crimson wine,
and I drank it.

With a parched thirst
I drank your cloying venom.

Release me, Bittersweet,
for the sun has gone away
and only thistles remain.

By the way if you're not a person who knows a lot about plants you may want to Google the "bittersweet vine" before you read the above poem :)

HE DOESN’T NEED YOU NOW

You never had the time for him,
this child of your desire.
There were always so many things you felt were so much more important.
He tried in so many ways to tell you of the longing he felt,
but his pleas fell upon deaf ears.
Finally, he became so desperate for your attention, that he felt he had no choice,
and the sharp bark of a gun rent the summer night.
At his funeral, you shed a gallon of tears and sobbed about your loss;
and now you haunt his gravestone even though you were seldom in his room.
Your job suffers, you lose much sleep, you long to hold him close—
all noble things:
but he doesn’t need you now…

Pendragon


(It is often said that love is never really known until it is lost forever. That is the theme of this poem.)

Bump! Is this thread discontinued or something? :confused5::confused5::confused5:

Thanks to those who took the time to submit an entry. I enjoyed reading them, and now here are the results.

YesNo: I like your play upon the rather common cliche which is much used in poetry, and the way in which you twisted it around to give it a darker meaning. You paint a vivid scene when a few words and capture an intensity of emotion.

Pendragon: A very moving poem which manages to tell a story. I really enjoyed your interpretation of the subject. I like the way in which the theme of tainted love could be read in two different ways, and leaves one to question in whose case has the love truly been tainted? Was it in the unrequited love he felt for her which drove him to such a desperate action, or is it the way in which his love now haunts her in grief and slowly robs her of her own life now that she cannot reconcile what she has lost for ever.

But I have to give the win to....

moonbird: I thought you had some great imagery within your poem, the first two lines caught my attention right away and left me eager to read more. There are some wonderful lines you use which leap out at me. And I loved the way in which such an innocent picture is painted of the object of affection, who than turns around to prove to be not what at first she might seem.

3-worthy poems all.

Congratulations moonbird.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

well done Moonbird. This contest needs more publicity.

Congrads, Moonbird. And I second the motion that this thread needs more publicity!

Thank you!

The next subject will be...... Summer Break!

Deadline is June 30. Good luck!

Kids fly, a long time, fly,
Oldies lie, a long time, lie,
Ages fly, they sure do fly,
And here we sit and wonder why

Ten year olds imagine a bird sails
and forty year olds start to forget

After that I do not know
I aint that old yet

We take a break from life to lie in the sun,
Relaxation seems to be the order of the day
Who will lose their inhibitions before the day is done
And put on a graphic nude display?

The wolves out there are trolling for some lost sheep
With promises of money and fifteen minutes of acclaim
Don't you ever think of how this makes your old dad loose precious sleep
Or how you have defiled the family name?

So when these sharks come by with all their many lowly schemes
Tell them to go to hell and make them disappear
Things are never worth the price you pay when you chase evil dreams
Think how it will devastate your family if these photos appear

Now have your fun but do it all in moderation
Save your body to embrace only the one you love
Don't allow yourself to sink into public degradation
Somebody is always watching you from the window up above

You want to live your life to make your loved ones proud
But in the sea of restless sins so many folks have drowned
Everybody loves you, you stand out in any crowd
So never lose your pride of life, and never let your family down

Pendragon

Picnic for Two

A blanket's spread upon the ground.
The waves with their hypnotic sound
And midday's sun, so warmly round,
Tell us: lay back and rest.

The picnic was enough for two.
The fluffy clouds put white on blue.
The only people here are you
And me, your summer guest.

Two martins glide across the sky.
The poplar leaves above us high
Are busy as a breeze goes by.
Our laughter is the best.

Summer Heat

Bittersweet the joy
of days ahead granting
liberation to recline
carelessly.

Yet oppressive
the sweltering air
as languid days pass
slowly beneath sultry heat.

Night which provides
no relief, rocking
upon a porch swing
sipping lemonade.

While stifled
and sweat drenched
melting to the floor,
a crisp Autumn breeze
would be welcome now.

The cruel irony
this reprieve
once so longed for
with jubilee comes
now as an avenger
rendering you paralyzed.

Four awesome entries! Deadline's in 5 days, anyone else care to give it a shot?