Shrouded
They’re shrouded in mist almost
as dark as the shrouds
they wear to cover themselves,
to cloak themselves
for their journey.
Shrouds like dusty abayas
uniformly grey,
shapeless,
bloodless,
formless,
lifeless
grey.
Only their mouths still red,
stained by their final feast.
The feast of what was left.
And now there’s nothing,
nothing any more.
No more.
Nothing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG2TY6R?fbclid=IwAR2Cr_izUh5gisn2pUAt-RaSQC3HYV7ofpiuTtVKq4UAIibGvEQMaXcx4BY
Bejewelled
This little piece of gold
will not be enough
to feed the fruit
of my swelling belly.
And it will take bigger scales
to weigh out the quantities
we will need to survive.
But I still have jewels to sell
and I think they will be
enough.
I shall weigh them carefully.
It’s in the balance
but I think there will be
enough.
https://www.inkpantry.com/poetry-drawer-bejewelled-to-the-time-of-the-season-god-given-by-lynn-white/
To The Time Of The Season
It’s that time of the season
midwinter
coasting from
one year
to the next
from old to new
facing both ways
still
unable
to move
on
watching
a gleam of light
caught in the falling
all too briefly
before it becomes
part of the old
before it turns
to mush
and decays
like all things passed.
https://www.inkpantry.com/poetry-drawer-bejewelled-to-the-time-of-the-season-god-given-by-lynn-white/
God Given
If such a creature didn’t exist
we’d have to invent it for sure.
Whether Zeus or Allah,
Jehovah or any of the rest,
all fulfil the same
purpose.
All create a framework
of behaviour,
the laws of god
which must be obeyed
without argument,
without thinking,
without due process.
All create a framework
of rights.
Some have them,
others don’t.
They’re god given
so no argument,
no thinking,
needed.
And all need a territory,
a god given territory
from the beginning of time
and for evermore
No argument,
no thinking,
god given.
https://www.inkpantry.com/poetry-drawer-bejewelled-to-the-time-of-the-season-god-given-by-lynn-white/
Brides of Fire
Who will be the chosen one,
the one to join the virgins
wedded to the fire
the one to keep it burning
until the new prince comes.
Who will wait for him
to put it out
remodel it
then rekindle it
as the new era begins.
A new fire for new times.
What will become of us then.
https://freeverserevolution.com/2021/09/25/issue-iii-released/
NOMINATED FOR BEST OF THE NET 2021
From The Beach
Nature is the best of artists,
able to render down to beauty
the decayed life forms of the past
into a form that can grace my walls and shelves
and remind me of the stories about where I found them,
about where they washed up,
the chances they took.
I strain to hear their stories,
strain to hear
the trees from Loch Ellen
once blown by the wind
now rustling silently.
But I think the dragon fish can hear them.
He looks as if he’s speaking,
telling them all
about his journey
from a living tree
to driftwood on the shore
and now he’s here on my wall.
waiting for the next wave to break
waiting to see what happens.
http://www.activemuse.org/
Are We Any Older?
Am I any older
my dear, tell me
I cannot tell
can you
tell me,
are you any older,
my dear tell me
if you can
tell,
can you tell?
Can you tell
if we have aged
from the inside out
or the outside in
or is it just on the outside
only on the outside.
I think
we should keep it outside.
Tell me
that we can keep it outside
my dear, tell me.
https://ephemeralelegies.com/2021/08/30/are-we-any-older-by-lynn-white/
Come On In
“Come on in the water’s lovely”
they called out to me
with their arms outstretched
and the sweetest of smiles.
And I was tempted for sure,
their smiles were as entrancing as sirens
but their arms waving a welcome
reminded me of spiders
with their stretched out legs
waiting to pounce
in this watery web,
or the tentacles of sea anemones
whirling and waving
while awaiting their prey.
Come on in the water’s lovely
lovely
lovely
lovely.
The word echoes through my head
enticing me
for sure,
entrapping me
perhaps.
I’ll soon find out.
Sirens Call
I wanted to know her.
With her silken hair
hanging past her waist,
yes, I do believe she
was sitting on it
and it was everything
that mine was not.
It hung straight down,
Straight as a dye,
not in the crinkly waves
and corkscrews
that were the bane
of my life.
And where did she find the lippy
to make those bright red lips
while sitting there on a rock
in the middle of nowhere.
They told me that she was a siren
who would lead me into temptation.
I told them that I would take a chance.
https://dansemacabreonline.wixsite.com/neudm/lynn-white-137
The Lady In Red
They called her the ‘Lady in Red’
Seen only in winter walking near the trees
she emerged from the mists and muted colours
so vibrant
so colourful
so elegant,
so they said.
Should I believe them?
Could I believe them?
I hid in the trees
and waited
watchful.
I think I saw her.
I don’t think she saw me,
except maybe
as a figment of her imagination
or a face hanging out in her dream.
https://dansemacabreonline.wixsite.com/neudm/lynn-white-137
Flight Of Fancy
Fly with me my fancy man
and I’ll take you to places
that you haven’t been,
but only if that’s what you fancy.
We’ll flit over mountains flapping our wings
on our magical flight of fancy.
We’ll hover above cities of silver and gold,
and stopover wherever we fancy.
Come fly with me, my fancy man,
and find a little of what you fancy.
But hold on tight as we climb up
close to the sun, then go
sliding down moonbeams
avoiding the planets, way over the spires
and the earth towers, over the clouds,
right out of the rain showers.
There’s no plain sailing for us in my fancies.
Then hold on tight as we start speeding down,
down under the clouds in our fancy
we’re still tripping the light fantastic.
But we’re frantic to find our fantasy land
at the end of our flight of fancy.
https://spillwords.com/flight-of-fancy/?
Voice Of An Angel
Once I thought love
would be enough
to fly us away
spinning
past planets and stars
reaching up to them
breaking through
the atmosphere
to grasp that moment
and put it in a glass,
our own shining orb
that would stay forever
gleaming and shimmering
and singing at my touch
with the pure notes of
the voice of an angel
breaking through
the atmosphere,
your voice
a voice so pure
it will never shatter
the glass.
It’s lustre has faded now
but it will stay forever
a still shining sphere
and dreams.
https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic-writing-challenges/ekphrastic-responses-joseph-cornell?fbclid=IwAR2_Tua6_EUVJyv8MBUp3XvLspLRRgLyJwAyQvPG8-ogoC4jeXhCDI7_7L0
Seagulls
She’d always loved to watched them
as they swooped and swerved
riding the thermals raucously
as they waited for the tide
and it’s flow of fish.
She could see them now
from the mouth of the cave
and she wondered
if it would be enough
to sustain her
she wondered
if it would be enough
as the tide flowed in.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scissortail-Quarterly-4-August-2021/dp/1955814449/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1289727496319819&dchild=1&hvadid=80608056598932&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=42057&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-80608176505703%3Aloc-188&keywords=scissortail+quarterly&qid=1631206123&sr=8-1
Holding On
I love the rock pools
when the tides are gentle
and the sea creatures survive
their comings and goings
sucking at the rocks
holding on tightly
or hiding
in the sand
in the gravel
under the stones
always holding on.
But now the tides are angry
and few can hold on
tightly enough
to survive the ebb and flow.
The crabs
and molluscs
the shiny stars
all lose their grip
and are washed up
then washed away
disappearing like a dream,
a dream
which becomes a nightmare
crashing them into reality
on the turn of the tide.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scissortail-Quarterly-4-August-2021/dp/1955814449/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1289727496319819&dchild=1&hvadid=80608056598932&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=42057&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-80608176505703%3Aloc-188&keywords=scissortail+quarterly&qid=1631206123&sr=8-1
Scorpio’s Secrets
I’ve kept our secrets a long time,
the mystery of our passion
and, ever resourceful,
I stored them
deep in the watery underworld.
But now I’ve forgotten
where
they were buried
and my crabby comrades are long gone.
Their hard shells tell me nothing,
perhaps they never did,
but they was guarded by Pluto
to make sure they were safe.
We had a deal then,
back in the days
when I thought him reliable
now I’m not sure
if I can trust him.
Perhaps he’s already dug them up,
he wouldn’t want them to rest in peace
but I won’t know till I find him,
if I can find him,
and when I do
their resting place
will remain
my secret.
I’ve already lost our passion,
it’s buried for ever.
And now it’s ended
I shall transform myself,
become a hermit,
give up my hard shell
keep myself secret,
I need no one else
to judge me.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scissortail-Quarterly-4-August-2021/dp/1955814449/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1289727496319819&dchild=1&hvadid=80608056598932&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=42057&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-80608176505703%3Aloc-188&keywords=scissortail+quarterly&qid=1631206123&sr=8-1
