Submissions by Graham
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
I write what comes to mind. I collect inspiration throughout my day, then come home and put them into words. Some days are more inspirational than others, so naturally the stretch of time between each poem release is rather inconsistent. Sorry about that!
Tigris and Euphrates
My mind falls upon the timeless Tigris.
From her mountain source she flows,
Along her path written in the sands of destiny.
Passing the forgotten cities of Babylon,
No heed is paid by her endless meander.
Vaguely she flows through time,
Sweeping with her the secrets of the City of Wisdom.
The ghosts of Umayyads and Abbassids drink from her still.
Her sapphire sister, the maiden Euphrates,
Keeps course along her own destined way.
The gem of Sumer,
Gilgamesh himself still bows his head to her fate.
From silks and gold,
She...
From her mountain source she flows,
Along her path written in the sands of destiny.
Passing the forgotten cities of Babylon,
No heed is paid by her endless meander.
Vaguely she flows through time,
Sweeping with her the secrets of the City of Wisdom.
The ghosts of Umayyads and Abbassids drink from her still.
Her sapphire sister, the maiden Euphrates,
Keeps course along her own destined way.
The gem of Sumer,
Gilgamesh himself still bows his head to her fate.
From silks and gold,
She...
#river
#fate
#historical
405 reads
1 Comment
Company of Fools
In the company of fools,
You are guaranteed
To neither win or lose.
While I'm lying in my bed,
Wondering why good times,
Are always one step ahead.
Like a diamond jubilee,
The dust inside my room
Welcomes me.
Best not let it get to my head.
Only reminds me
If where time has led.
Looks like I'm high again.
I guess I'm better off
Not trying to pretend.
Having nothing left to lose,
Tastes sweeter than
Just being confused.
There's a kingdom in the night.
One I'm...
You are guaranteed
To neither win or lose.
While I'm lying in my bed,
Wondering why good times,
Are always one step ahead.
Like a diamond jubilee,
The dust inside my room
Welcomes me.
Best not let it get to my head.
Only reminds me
If where time has led.
Looks like I'm high again.
I guess I'm better off
Not trying to pretend.
Having nothing left to lose,
Tastes sweeter than
Just being confused.
There's a kingdom in the night.
One I'm...
#LifeStruggles
#addiction
#SelfReflection
356 reads
3 Comments
Footprints In The Sand
My footprints in the sand.
With each step I scar
The perfect desert's face.
So careful are my steps,
That my gait never staggers.
Even are the marks
That I leave between the dunes;
Never stopping to impress deeper,
Nor sitting to rest
To thus disgrace the sifting bed.
As day brings heat that we may know
The relief of the cool night,
So my footprints scar the sand
That I may know rest.
And when I rest,
May the wind erase my path.
So that others who wander
May find the same journey
In their own right. ...
With each step I scar
The perfect desert's face.
So careful are my steps,
That my gait never staggers.
Even are the marks
That I leave between the dunes;
Never stopping to impress deeper,
Nor sitting to rest
To thus disgrace the sifting bed.
As day brings heat that we may know
The relief of the cool night,
So my footprints scar the sand
That I may know rest.
And when I rest,
May the wind erase my path.
So that others who wander
May find the same journey
In their own right. ...
#peace
#SelfReflection
448 reads
1 Comment
I Am A Snake
I am a snake coiled beneath your feet,
And you can walk all over me.
But cry not will I with plea,
Yea my venom in time you shall see.
I am a snake coiled in the grass.
You'll hear my tail shake as you pass.
Be it a warning so take by me,
Yea my venom in time you shall see.
I am a snake beneath the rock.
I hear all, unbeknownst, your talk.
But as you fall before me pon' your knee,
Yea my venom in time you shall see.
Not to marvel yet not to bemoan,
My teeth in flesh be sown.
Curse me not and curse not my...
And you can walk all over me.
But cry not will I with plea,
Yea my venom in time you shall see.
I am a snake coiled in the grass.
You'll hear my tail shake as you pass.
Be it a warning so take by me,
Yea my venom in time you shall see.
I am a snake beneath the rock.
I hear all, unbeknownst, your talk.
But as you fall before me pon' your knee,
Yea my venom in time you shall see.
Not to marvel yet not to bemoan,
My teeth in flesh be sown.
Curse me not and curse not my...
#betrayal
#revenge
630 reads
2 Comments
O Sleepless Eyes
Face the dawn, O sleepless eyes.
Face the troubles you have seen.
What went wrong, caught by surprise,
Only meaning to be free.
Cast your gaze, O sleepless eyes,
On what weariness you have known.
Unanswered, risen with helpless cry,
And to the wind were thrown.
Know your strength, O sleepless eyes,
That which bid you fight.
Hold the tongue found in your gaze,
They know not the war you fight.
And soften up, O sleepless eyes,
On those that look back into you.
May you come to realize,
What...
Face the troubles you have seen.
What went wrong, caught by surprise,
Only meaning to be free.
Cast your gaze, O sleepless eyes,
On what weariness you have known.
Unanswered, risen with helpless cry,
And to the wind were thrown.
Know your strength, O sleepless eyes,
That which bid you fight.
Hold the tongue found in your gaze,
They know not the war you fight.
And soften up, O sleepless eyes,
On those that look back into you.
May you come to realize,
What...
#hope
#peace
595 reads
2 Comments
Rowan and Oak
Winter-worn but bade I spoke
Of coming Spring, of rowan and oak.
And lowley, sweetly sang with mirth,
The fires lit neath waking earth.
For what cause do men suffer,
Put to task against his druther.
Against encroaching mounds of snow,
And against the tempests laying low.
But put to rest are thoughts of peril,
Green once more, not barren and sterile.
And songs I cast to the winds e'er free,
Again mimick the swallow's soliloquy.
Rivers run, giving proof,
By brook-babble and muddy hoof.
Winter-worn, but bade...
Of coming Spring, of rowan and oak.
And lowley, sweetly sang with mirth,
The fires lit neath waking earth.
For what cause do men suffer,
Put to task against his druther.
Against encroaching mounds of snow,
And against the tempests laying low.
But put to rest are thoughts of peril,
Green once more, not barren and sterile.
And songs I cast to the winds e'er free,
Again mimick the swallow's soliloquy.
Rivers run, giving proof,
By brook-babble and muddy hoof.
Winter-worn, but bade...
#forest
#trees
#spring #nature
#spring #nature
574 reads
2 Comments
Colonial Garden
The twisting flagstones lead me through,
The vibrant colonial garden.
Many foods grow there, and medicines
To keep the Reaper's pardon.
Echinacea, Valerian root,
To pluck and ease our ills,
The closest thing I've seen to magic,
Is this power to them instilled.
Tobacco and Tulsi by the gate,
To appease what spirits drawn,
By the sacred scent of the sage,
Rooted within the lawn.
Rhodiola and Motherwort,
For respite from mental wear,
Passionflower bright and blue,
To soothe our minds from there.
...
The vibrant colonial garden.
Many foods grow there, and medicines
To keep the Reaper's pardon.
Echinacea, Valerian root,
To pluck and ease our ills,
The closest thing I've seen to magic,
Is this power to them instilled.
Tobacco and Tulsi by the gate,
To appease what spirits drawn,
By the sacred scent of the sage,
Rooted within the lawn.
Rhodiola and Motherwort,
For respite from mental wear,
Passionflower bright and blue,
To soothe our minds from there.
...
#earth
#summer
#nature
625 reads
4 Comments
Verse for the Morning
Come together in my wake,
In the arch of the mounting Sun.
For in endless war with the tide of Night,
This battle I have won.
My glint and glisten adorn your songs,
As you praise my hope and promise.
I bring with me either dew or frost,
This danger keeps ploughmen honest.
As my golden fingers stretch from sleep,
At the first crack of the dawn,
I bring with me the lament of the Moon,
And the stars which now have gone.
But mourn not such brief parting,
For my Sun too soon must die,
And it will be clear by...
In the arch of the mounting Sun.
For in endless war with the tide of Night,
This battle I have won.
My glint and glisten adorn your songs,
As you praise my hope and promise.
I bring with me either dew or frost,
This danger keeps ploughmen honest.
As my golden fingers stretch from sleep,
At the first crack of the dawn,
I bring with me the lament of the Moon,
And the stars which now have gone.
But mourn not such brief parting,
For my Sun too soon must die,
And it will be clear by...
#sun
#morning
783 reads
5 Comments
Hypocrisy
I went up on the hillside,
With a loaded .45.
Sitting among the meadowsweet,
I heard a raven cry.
"Wherefore do you sit, you Man,
With a loaded .45?"
Without hesitation I replied,
"Bad Men are bound to die."
First my neighbour rounded the foot,
My aim was good and true.
To rid the world of his like,
My only aim to do.
The shot rang between dunhills,
A crack that grows thicker.
And so the man lay in the grass,
Surrounded by his ichor.
"How long do you seek to sit here?"
That black bird...
With a loaded .45.
Sitting among the meadowsweet,
I heard a raven cry.
"Wherefore do you sit, you Man,
With a loaded .45?"
Without hesitation I replied,
"Bad Men are bound to die."
First my neighbour rounded the foot,
My aim was good and true.
To rid the world of his like,
My only aim to do.
The shot rang between dunhills,
A crack that grows thicker.
And so the man lay in the grass,
Surrounded by his ichor.
"How long do you seek to sit here?"
That black bird...
#PopCulture
728 reads
2 Comments
As I Watch the Barley Grow
I sing of you, my darling baby,
I sing of you a song.
Of how I saw you by the river,
And of how I saw you drown.
You had two grains of golden barley,
And you kept them in your hand.
At the break of morning early,
Two shoots stood in the sand.
I will take the golden barley,
The grain with which to sow.
I will think of my darling baby,
As I watch the barley grow.
I will reap the fields tomorrow,
Half to plant and half to mill.
And I'll have bread for to eat my sorrow,
When I think of the river still. ...
I sing of you a song.
Of how I saw you by the river,
And of how I saw you drown.
You had two grains of golden barley,
And you kept them in your hand.
At the break of morning early,
Two shoots stood in the sand.
I will take the golden barley,
The grain with which to sow.
I will think of my darling baby,
As I watch the barley grow.
I will reap the fields tomorrow,
Half to plant and half to mill.
And I'll have bread for to eat my sorrow,
When I think of the river still. ...
#river
#nature
#lyrics
#uplifting
#metaphor
921 reads
7 Comments
As Above - Haiku
The Lord is with me,
As salt is with the water,
As wind is with air.
As salt is with the water,
As wind is with air.
769 reads
2 Comments
The High County Fair
Me oh my,
Look alive on the trail.
Me oh my,
Look alive on the trail.
You take the highway,
And I'll take the rail.
We'll meet together,
At the High County Fair.
I was born,
With nothing but my pack.
You were born,
With much more than that.
But we'll meet together,
Where no one will care.
We'll meet together,
At the High County Fair.
See the Sun,
She is mounting for the West.
See the Sun,
She is mounting on her crest.
The Sun will rise for all men,
With clean or matted hair.
When we meet...
Look alive on the trail.
Me oh my,
Look alive on the trail.
You take the highway,
And I'll take the rail.
We'll meet together,
At the High County Fair.
I was born,
With nothing but my pack.
You were born,
With much more than that.
But we'll meet together,
Where no one will care.
We'll meet together,
At the High County Fair.
See the Sun,
She is mounting for the West.
See the Sun,
She is mounting on her crest.
The Sun will rise for all men,
With clean or matted hair.
When we meet...
804 reads
3 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Graham