FREE VERSE

I may be a week or so late judging this one but I will get to it soon as I'm able

Rules are simple, one entry, 100 words or less, free verse, new.

more on free verse can be found below for those who need it

Free verse poems will have no set meter, which is the rhythm of the words, no rhyme scheme, or any particular structure. Some poets would find this liberating, being able to whimsically change your mind, while others feel like they could not do a good job in that manner. Robert Frost commented that writing free verse was like "playing tennis without a net."

Free Verse Poems: No Rules
Free verse poems do not follow the rules, and have no rhyme or rhythm; but they are still an artistic expression. They are sometimes thought to be a modern form of poetry; but, the free verse types of poem have been around for hundreds of years.

Following are examples of free verse poems:

After the Sea-Ship by Walt Whitman

After the Sea-Ship—after the whistling winds;

After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes,

Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks,

Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship:

Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying,

Waves, undulating waves—liquid, uneven, emulous waves,

Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves,

Where the great Vessel, sailing and tacking, displaced the surface;



Fog by Carl Sandburg
The fog comes

on little cat feet.



It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.



Free Verse by Robert Graves

I now delight

In spite

Of the might

And the right

Of classic tradition,

In writing

And reciting

Straight ahead,

Without let or omission,

Just any little rhyme

In any little time

That runs in my head;

Because, I’ve said,

My rhymes no longer shall stand arrayed

Like Prussian soldiers on parade

That march,

Stiff as starch,

Foot to foot,

Boot to boot,

Blade to blade,

Button to button,

Cheeks and chops and chins like mutton.

No! No!

My rhymes must go

Turn ’ee, twist ’ee,

Twinkling, frosty,

Will-o’-the-wisp-like, misty;


Feelings, Now by Katherine Foreman

Some kind of attraction that is neither

Animal, vegetable, nor mineral, a power not

Solar, fusion, or magnetic

And it is all in my head that

I could see into his

And find myself sitting there.


Washed Away by Katherine Foreman

Nothing's changed except me and the facts

And the sadness I didn't mean to start.

But it feels different now you've said

It's wrong, and I still can't see your point.

And I think as water runs over my hands that

That's really all there is or can be.

The gold is wearing off the infamous ring

And something wears away from around my heart.




Little Father by Li-Young Lee

I buried my father in my heart.

Now he grows in me, my strange son,

My little root who won’t drink milk,

Little pale foot sunk in unheard-of night,

Little clock spring newly wet

In the fire, little grape, parent to the future

Wine, a son the fruit of his own son,

Little father I ransom with my life.


Winter Poem by Nikki Giovanni
once a snowflake fell

on my brow and i loved

it so much and i kissed

it and it was happy and called its cousins

and brothers and a web

of snow engulfed me then

i reached to love them all

and i squeezed them and they became

a spring rain and i stood perfectly

still and was a flower


Disappointments by Vivian Gilbert Zabel
Every life has a room

where memories are stored:

A box of special occasions here,

Shelves of shared laughter there.

But back in the shadows

Lurks a trunk locked tight,

Not to be opened and searched.

There hide disappointments

Which darken every heart.

Fantasy or Life by Vivian Gilbert Zabel

So often you say you love me,

Yet you seemingly don't know

I cannot live in fantasy's fog,

Always in the blurred drug of dreams.

I need the clear, crisp light

Found in reality's realm of day,

Not the darkness of mere existence.



Samson Agonistes by Milton

But patience is more oft the exercise

Of Saints, the trial of their fortitude,

Making them each his own Deliver,

And Victor over all

That tyranny or fortune can inflict.

Fuck Your Rules

If it was up to me this poem would be
something witty, (ideally three lines)
You know what, Fuck it!

Thanks for going first, Gerard :)

   
I need your ears.. for unending night whispers


Rehearsing past midnight
the mantras  
that I love to sprinkle
over your mazing earcaves
Fills in
tempering echoes
on phelgmy throat
leaving only after
residential pauses
through lonely winter breaths

Are you in the arriving
amidst timelessness
Or, in the mischievous hiding
among our translucent valleys

You smell bloodwine
in deepembeds
on your fermenting skincombs
Thirsting tongue
drinks in the manna
Faint nicotine scents
are what I irrestibly indulge upon
from deepwells of your words
like a primitive huntress

Utopian eyes
float unblinking
until acrobatical dusts
are dawning lamps  
Whilst mindwave whispers
knock your doors
in the waking

Solitude

Not everything bad happens
on days when even thoughts
can't be shared or heard
its freeing in its solitude
yet I wish the cat passes by
or the dog next door barks
this silence is eerie
I feel goosebumps on my arms
have I died..?

Succumbing

Nightfall calls my name
And caresses my face
With chilly fingers
Shivers down my spine
Warmth flowing down
My throat
Comfort in a bottle
Humming hush baby
It'll be alright

.

Like piercing chilled winds
Sudden whisperings of the night
And the austere glances of demise
Those who drift too close
The shades of death steal away

As I'm only allowed one entry I wish to withdraw this one


Holiday Freedom

I wandered onto the beach
As the sun was rising
The tide out , the sand revealed.
I felt the freedom of the scene
My clothes were soon discarded.
Into the water I plunged
Freedom felt around my loins.
A joyous swim for an hour
Then back to the sandy beach.

Now others were on the scene,
Prompted by my naked lead
All had shed their clothes.
This nude throng enjoyed
The sun upon their skin
All exposed, prone they lay
Or played upon this shore
A natural way to spend a day
Holidaying from their toil

the truth will set me free, so let me be honest with myself,
i never loved you
"I love you" were just 8 empty characters that symbolized our relationship in a text message
which explains why your ears never once rang at the sound of my voice expressing such a lie
i thought of you a lot though,
the way your lips felt on my virgin lips were unlike anything i've ever felt before
across the hall from the exit left of the health room you gave me a memory
a memory i used on several occasions as an excuse to keep letting you break my  heart and attempt to clean up the mess you've made of me
i know... i know you didnt really love me too,
love shouldn't feel like that
shouldnt feel like im trapped in a room being mocked by 4 walls striving for your touch,  your love
screaming for you..
but you're on the other side. with the key.

This is great!, I love free verse poetry.

~6.am green-light~

Work the night
sweat upon my weary brow
lifting all night
never ending trend
I shall get done
for in the morning I leave
6 am green light stop

I look forward to
looking from the window
to the glorious presents
of the leaves
turning from the cold
fog starts to roll
head lights shining

light one last cigarette
drink my final drink
for in the morning we leave
6 am green light stop
a cup of coffee is served
and home bound we go.

free verse...

free verse and
before you know
it'll be all over
the place...

the calendar flips pages, and i have dog-eared
november
because that's when it all began
and now, i avoid tunnels, orange light
rivers, our booth in the corner
wide smiles, honest eyes
gloved fingers, long legs
slightly shivering shoulders, cold palms
warm hearts and true words
the path we occupied for hours
the rocks, the green we crossed
the sidewalk we ran laughing down
and the word
love

Her body has gentle curves, her smile infects her friends
His muscles bulge on arms and legs, his eyes sparkle with wit,
They could be a perfect couple, but they have never met

gardelover, thank you for entering
please pick one piece to run in the comp as there is only one entry per writer judged in this one
thank's

Burn the purple grass to black
Exhale grey clouds
Pour a glass of Cali red
Pass it around
Listening to the electric sounds
In this orange and purple lounge
The theme of her body is
Round
big eyes,
big mouth,
big fleshy mounds
She's next to me going
down
up
down
up
down
up
down
up
down
in
out
in
out
in
out
yeeeoooow