Poetry competition CLOSED 23rd February 2024 4:25pm
WINNER
Northern_Soul (-Missy-)
Northern_Soul (-Missy-)
RUNNERS-UP:
wallyroo92
and MadameLavender
Naval Gazing
Weather-Worn
'Tis
a foolish folly
to build one's house upon the sand,
so they listened to the Lord
and built upon the rock
instead.
Yet
the storms still came
with winds and waves
and shifting, pelting sands
that crept to the door
anyway.
How
beautiful it became
weather-worn and sea-scarred--
I wanted to touch
the crackled paint
and trace each edge to the next
but
I admired the ocean's masterpiece
from behind the windshield
because it was not my art
to handle.
and
drove on, along the coast
gray and silent
save for the roar of the swells
that stir something in my soul.
I shall live here
someday.
a foolish folly
to build one's house upon the sand,
so they listened to the Lord
and built upon the rock
instead.
Yet
the storms still came
with winds and waves
and shifting, pelting sands
that crept to the door
anyway.
How
beautiful it became
weather-worn and sea-scarred--
I wanted to touch
the crackled paint
and trace each edge to the next
but
I admired the ocean's masterpiece
from behind the windshield
because it was not my art
to handle.
and
drove on, along the coast
gray and silent
save for the roar of the swells
that stir something in my soul.
I shall live here
someday.
Written by MadameLavender
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Anonymous
<< post removed >>
Distant Lands
The night came on all dismal and dark
the sea acting ever so violent
by the rapid wind howling hark
I long to vanish, to flee
Higher and higher the seas did surge
gale winds louder and louder
vessel consuming water, partly submerged
with torn and shivering sails
Up ahead bleak hills and barren sands
lighthouse flashing so bright
grateful our vessel spotted land
home is where I want to be
the sea acting ever so violent
by the rapid wind howling hark
I long to vanish, to flee
Higher and higher the seas did surge
gale winds louder and louder
vessel consuming water, partly submerged
with torn and shivering sails
Up ahead bleak hills and barren sands
lighthouse flashing so bright
grateful our vessel spotted land
home is where I want to be
Written by Vision_of_insanity
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Navel-Gazing
or
The Mysteriousness of a Cramped Worldview
*
Each year on gazing out across the briny's winking waves,
I spy a quarter million folks slow drowning in the sea,
to whom I wave till all on flailing sink to salty graves --
though eyeing me yet just before, they wave their hands in glee.
*
The Mysteriousness of a Cramped Worldview
*
Each year on gazing out across the briny's winking waves,
I spy a quarter million folks slow drowning in the sea,
to whom I wave till all on flailing sink to salty graves --
though eyeing me yet just before, they wave their hands in glee.
*
Written by Jordan
(D.O.C.)
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Coastal navigation
Gigantic sea of forgotten
silent sea that does not bring
your voice in the turbulent waves
sea of island eyes on fire
that doesn't imitate the sound of your voice
sea that limits the roof of your mouth
and swallow your voice mythologically
like a desert island lighthouse
human marks of desert sonar
quasar pulse and virus analysis
sea that salts the throat
sea that stretches the rope
chained from anchored boats
in the deep brown
from the beloved shores
volcanoes and currents and coves
your smiling river mouth
voice of river-sea eldorado
your voice is the salt of one's
lost forgotten lust paradise.
silent sea that does not bring
your voice in the turbulent waves
sea of island eyes on fire
that doesn't imitate the sound of your voice
sea that limits the roof of your mouth
and swallow your voice mythologically
like a desert island lighthouse
human marks of desert sonar
quasar pulse and virus analysis
sea that salts the throat
sea that stretches the rope
chained from anchored boats
in the deep brown
from the beloved shores
volcanoes and currents and coves
your smiling river mouth
voice of river-sea eldorado
your voice is the salt of one's
lost forgotten lust paradise.
Written by PAR
(PAULO ACACIO RAMOS)
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Corrosion
Looking out across sea salt scapes
Full of life beneath the surface of what seems an endless void
Setting sail amidst the beauty and the treachery of strange rhythms
Winds pull further out
The moon and waves in a harmony of war
Storms as obstacles to preset destinations
I’m caught between rain clouds and tsunamis in a hurricane
With overcast hearts that obstruct blue skies
And walls of unpredictable slabs of liquid concrete
No horizon or shoreline to speak of
Seeking for lighthouses in the gray
Relentless waters of marine life amid the graves of broken vessels
Treasures unseen, shipwrecked for riches
Lives wagered against bets placed on curated and broken homes
Compromised integrity of our hearts like a fractured window pane
Cracks begin from divots gradually growing like cobweb outlines
Just a breath away from shattering…
Full of life beneath the surface of what seems an endless void
Setting sail amidst the beauty and the treachery of strange rhythms
Winds pull further out
The moon and waves in a harmony of war
Storms as obstacles to preset destinations
I’m caught between rain clouds and tsunamis in a hurricane
With overcast hearts that obstruct blue skies
And walls of unpredictable slabs of liquid concrete
No horizon or shoreline to speak of
Seeking for lighthouses in the gray
Relentless waters of marine life amid the graves of broken vessels
Treasures unseen, shipwrecked for riches
Lives wagered against bets placed on curated and broken homes
Compromised integrity of our hearts like a fractured window pane
Cracks begin from divots gradually growing like cobweb outlines
Just a breath away from shattering…
Written by ClovenTongue34
(Nathaniel Peter)
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Anchors, weights, and other emotions
Drowning, the cold sea overtaking,
like a cruel and evil king
the waves rushing to keep me from surfacing
as is the way of war, always facing
so into his cold and unfeeling hands I go
never sure if I will return or remain below
but I must try, must fight to live
for this tyrant of the world will not forgive.
like a cruel and evil king
the waves rushing to keep me from surfacing
as is the way of war, always facing
so into his cold and unfeeling hands I go
never sure if I will return or remain below
but I must try, must fight to live
for this tyrant of the world will not forgive.
Written by LongTubiFree
(JustinSizemore)
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The Cargo Ship named Helen
Helen sailed upon the mighty sea
so pretty and ready was she
she went on a journey far and wide
travelling with ocean's tide
the waves danced and the wind sang
nature's soothing symphony
she push on the wind against her sails
smooth upon the waves as free as can be
her sails unfurled embracing ocean's tide
the sun shone down like a blessing
golden hues around her abide
night breeze send her a-sailing
on every crest and trough she sailed
until to a distant dock she reached
where her cargoes were unloaded
back towards home, again she travelled
so pretty and ready was she
she went on a journey far and wide
travelling with ocean's tide
the waves danced and the wind sang
nature's soothing symphony
she push on the wind against her sails
smooth upon the waves as free as can be
her sails unfurled embracing ocean's tide
the sun shone down like a blessing
golden hues around her abide
night breeze send her a-sailing
on every crest and trough she sailed
until to a distant dock she reached
where her cargoes were unloaded
back towards home, again she travelled
Written by Grace
(IDryad)
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I Am The Ocean
because today I am water
because salt is more than wounds
because Pisces brands me on a Sunday
because gulls cackle like covens
because I’ve tattooed wild selkie skin
because I’ve never drowned on land
because submergence is risk
[I crave risk]
because I stuffed a message in a bottle
because wet paper feels like kelp
because I am holy, holier still
because God is humble at sundown
because I am late night thunder
because I am a lighthouse of warnings
because my skull is a clifftop suicide
because I am waves
because I cannot save myself.
Written by Northern_Soul
(-Missy-)
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In the Crow's Nest
Far out at sea in the middle of the night
Under the moonlight the waves are calm
The ship rocks back and forth, up and down
As the lookout watches from the Crow’s Nest
All the seamen are asleep below deck
Except for the lookout in the Crow’s Nest
Watching the horizon, looking for land
As the ship bobs up and down at high sea
And the lookout perched on the Crow’s Nest
Tired from the long days out at sea sees a thing
But it’s not a whale or any other known creature
It’s something bigger than the entire ship
Should he ring the bell and wake the captain?
Instead the lookout stands there pondering
Perched up there cold in the Crow’s Nest
He writes down the details in his diary
Months later the ghost ship washed ashore
Beaten and broken with no souls onboard
The logs were empty with nothing to tell
Except for a diary found in the Crow’s Nest
Written by wallyroo92
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