Poetry Thread Options

[Burnt Sierra]

I thought it might be nice to have a place where members can post up some examples of their poetry. Usual rules apply, no flaming, no spam etc. I would also ask, if you're going to comment on a poem, not to just do a one line reply, along the lines of, "yeah, thats cool." Nothing is more soul destroying than putting up a piece of yourself, and then getting a response with no thought behind it. Anyway, this is one I wrote a couple of months ago, and with the departure of Sinder today, I'd like to post this up as it sums up my feelings quite accurately.

As you leave
the birds, who've been patiently perched on my window sill
fly up in unison
heading towards the sunset
heralding the darkness to come.
Golden shades of summer start to fade
as the night sneaks in
stripping my colour away.

And so I sit here.
Lit in a room of false hope.
The light of a smoke, burning into ash.
The glow of a screen, showing words in black and white.
Choking on my tears.
We've lost some of our sparkle
with one less star glinting in the sky.

[bbqplatypus]

Here's a poem I wrote about - well, I'll see if you can figure it out. It's called "Epoch." I pretty much just wrote it in my spare time. Most of the second stanza is pretty much lifted from Poe, but I liked it because it fit.


Sure as King Harvest he is coming
To thresh, to purge, to burn, to drench, to destroy, to create
To shatter the leaden deadbolt on heaven's gate
And unleash the hounds of hell that they may run free

He rides a painted horse, whose name is Chronos
And whose colors shift day to day
And his face is not of Christ,
Nor of Mohammed,
Nor of Buddha,
Nor of Zeus and his kin
Nor of any Hindu or Egyptian god

Instead his countenance is legion
And forms anew with every change of season
His eyes are an abyss,
Dark, swirling pits of terror and rapture

Should you see him on the road, make way
Bid that he continue upon his path unmolested
Always moving; shiftless, glacial
A host of men and beasts of Earth in his thrall
Harpies without wings or claws

If you do not see him,
And he has come for you,
Do not despair
Nor resist his coming
Inevitably he will come, and when he is finished
Your broken body shall be tossed aside
Old parts devoured; new ones grafted on

"Leave the heart," he says
"Carve it into a new shape
That it may beat anew,
The rest you may take
And do with it what you will"

You lie there - helpless, natal
As all that you once thought immutable
Shrinks to dust before unshut eyes

You cannot watch.
You cannot help but see.
You are terrified.
And yet you laugh.

For what is laughter but a scream interrupted
By fits and coughs of knowledge of one's own absurdity?
Fleeting expressions of what you feel
When encountered with the unexpected

Things which you could never have dreamed of
Are dispensed to you freely every day
Imagination exceeding that of any man
Incalculable; better than perfect

So fear not laughter
And fear not fear
And welcome that which in its passing
Brings them near

This post has been edited by bbqplatypus: Dec 1 2008, 05:41 PM