Albert's Poetry Cafe Forum CAMEO DUELS ANYONE?

SONGS OF SUMMER
(Sal)

Swallows
balance themselves on
the high electric wires like
music notes
dotting a staff of song.  A crow
on the top tallest wire
a clef.

                 #

Rivers
(Nancy)

Rivers
Flow in whispered tone
Splashing up on the bank by day
But by night
Quiet calm and shimmering moonbeams
Sparkling on peaceful waters
Glisten

      #

COUNTLESS
(Sal)

countless
stars in the heavens,
each one named by a loving God,
adore Him.
Even the garden flowers bow
before the works of the Lord’s
kindness

    #


KISSES
(Sal)

kisses
if untrue can kill
the unwary who freely give
their two lips
as if in the giving their love
can be considered true love
always

    #


Dragons
 (Nancy)
 
Dragons
Lived in ancient times
Legends tell us they’re mystic souls
Royal hearts
Knowledge with understanding minds
Fighting the battles for all
Mankind

           #
 

Blades of Grass
(Nancy)

I walk
In the daylight hours
Barefoot through soft blades of grass
Quietly
I dream the dreams of childhood days
Of butterflies and lightning bugs
Filling my days and my nights
With song
 
             #


In the Midnight Hour
(Sal)

Silence
Prevails against night
And all who have worked the long day
Go slumber
In their beds: the midnight hour
When night people and creatures
Rejoice

                    #


Give Me Your Hand
 (Nancy)

Your hand
Clasped tightly in mine
I feel the warmth of your soft touch
Tenderly
Gently taking my breath away
Give me your hand in marriage
My love
 
                     #

Nocturnal
(Sal)

day ends
and the sky conceals
its blueness under coats of black
nocturnal
brushstrokes in God’s artistic hand,
then with a dab of yellow,
the moon

          #

Asters
 (Nancy)

Asters
Blanket the landscape
Blooms in white, pink and violet
Family
Of daisies, the sweetheart flower
Colors fill eyes with joy
Delight
 
     #


CAFé
(Sal)

Shadows
That fall around us
Float across the wet pavement streets
Attached to
Bodies weary of long work days
Race to fill seats at the town
Café

    #


Summer Rain
(Nancy)
 
Dancing
In the summer rain
Feel the cool droplets on my skin
Summer rain
Splashing sounds as I tap my feet
It’s a whimsical moment
Tap dance

         #


WISHING WELL
(Sal)

pennies
tossed in wishing wells
pay the forest elves who collect
these brown coins
as payment for carrying out
the wishes whispered by all
hopefuls

       #

Red Slippers
(Nancy)
 
Ding Dong
The old witch is dead
Red slippers in the Land of Oz
Magical
Ruby Slippers on Dorothy’s feet
Follow the yellow brick road
Wizard
                     #

 
HOT TAMALES
(Sal)


Chili
With jalapenos
Or those steaming hot tamales
I turn down
In deference to a stomach
Made of flesh, not of cast
Iron

             #



Jubilee
(Nancy)

Birthday
A celebration
In ancient days in Egypt land
Jubilee
Celebrated birthday of kings
Moses gave the king a gift
His tomb

    #

TOMB
(Sal)


Jesus
on Easter Sunday
played the biggest joke on Satan
who was sure
death was for all a one-way street
but when Christ arose, Satan
ate crow

        #

Marathon
(Nancy)

To race
A long distance run
Finish line is the final goal
Marathon
Put your endurance to the test
Feel your heart bursting with pride
Winner

                  #


AFTER THE RAIN
(Sal)

Rainbows
Light up a gray sky
And span the heavens with an arc
Of new hope
Infused with colors to alert
Those below God is sending
Graces

        #


Keyboard
 (Nancy)

Concert
One wears tux and tails
Pianist tickling the keys
Recital
Auditorium piano
Ebony and ivory
Magic
 
           #


GOSSIP
(Sal)

Spread tales
About your neighbor?
That’s not what neighbors ought to do.
Once spoken
Tales take on a life of their own
And there’s no way to delete
gossip

       #


Picnic Ants
(Nancy)

Crawling
Picnic Ants attack
Carrying off my picnic lunch
Springtime blues
Fills my basket with crawling feet
Look, there goes my fried chicken
Pie too

#


LICORICE
(Sal)

Bitter
Might well describe it
Stretched out like long black shoelaces
Licorice
Turns teeth black like an empty mouth
we race to Jake’s candy store
For more

        #

Pardon
(Nancy)

Pardon
Statue like he waits
Six people will decide his fate
Repentant
He was sorry he bought the gun
More sorry that he used it
Parole

       #
 
 
GUN
(Sal)

beware
the man with a gun
whose courage resides in the grip
of his hand,
his intimidations, bullets
on which he relies to quash
dissent.

                     #

Hickory
(Nancy)

Walnuts
Tasty nut in cakes
These grow on the hickory tree
Tasty treat
Aroma from grandma’s kitchen
Cookies cooking in the pan
Yum Yum
 
           #

 CAPTURE
(Sal)

Romance
Is a kind of game
That begins with hard-to-get play
and leads to
The capture of two loving hearts
Willing to remain in one
Lock-up

        #


Rasputin
(Nancy)
 
Mad Monk
A Russian mystic
Discredited the Tsarist
Charlatan
Life based on dubious memoirs
Also hearsay and legend
Pilgrim

               #


HONEST ABE
(Sal)

noble
of all presidents
who ever took that honored seat
Honest Abe
stands many heads above the rest
because he was unwilling
To lie

                #


Jazz
(Nancy)

Jazz bands
Down in New Orleans
Play their music on Bourbon Street
Mardi Gras
Singing, dancing heard and seen there
Jazz is the city’s culture
Party
                #


PARTY ON
(Sal)

Jane swears
she owns a machine
with colored dials she can set
depending
on her mood (it’s mostly happy)
“Party on” keeps the dial
on red

         #


Eureka
(Nancy)


Eureka
Feelings
Feel my heart explode
With delight and wonder of life
Eureka
Overjoyed with expiations
My heart singing a new song
I’m yours

       #


             
EXPIATIONS
(Sal)

Only
A god could atone
For grievous sin against a god
No human
Could offer God expiations
So God sent His Son who died
For us

        #


Questions
(Nancy)

Questions
Fills a doubting mind
We query what’s not known to us
Inquiring
We are discovering the answers
To all questions of the mind
Informed
 
    #


INQUIRING
(Sal)

Just ask,
I tell my students,
Inquiring minds need to know what
Makes things tick,
What this word means, that place is found––
So many things in this life
To learn.

         #


Ladybug
(Nancy)

Speckled
Red and black lady
Making her way across the leaf
Lady Bug
The fairy of the insect world
Her wings flutter in the breeze
Beauty

       #


TOAD
(Sal)

luring
curious insects
as they fly in the pond’s airspace,
it sits still,
eyes bugging forward, tongue outstretched,
a runway of welcome from
a toad.

        #


BREEZES
(Sal)


Summer
Can bring torrid days
To make all creatures perspire
And seek shade
to escape the oppressive heat
But thank God sometimes we get
Breezes.

        #


Kitchen Table
(Nancy)
 
Solace
Found at the table
Family sitting together
Bowed heads there
Prayer before eating Mom’s good food
Then talk about everything
With love

    #

HEARTFELT
(Sal)

kindness
inspired by love
walks with head erect
unafraid
of being misunderstood by
those who say good deeds are not
heartfelt

          #

Spellbound
(Nancy)

Spellbound
Ladybug can’t move
Transfixed she is frozen in fear
Dark demon
Waits in the web of destruction
If she moves she will be caught
Spider
 
                 #


CREATION
(Sal)

Father,
We are so thankful
Your great love for us inspired
Creation
And that each moment you hold us
In the palm of Your hand, still
Caring

             #


Sand Dune
 (Nancy)

Sand Dune
Ground many a ship
On nights when clouds block out the moon
Stars fizzle
Trapped they can’t move forward or back
Lost now in a sea of fear
Sky Hawk
 
           #


PARDON
(Sal)

Release
From the grip of heart
grudges that will not go away
Forgive those
Who have hurt you and remember
Jesus on the Cross gave you
Pardon

          #


Arid
(Nancy)

Arid
A heart that’s barren
Dry patches of a heart broken
Scorched, bone dry
Lost in a sea of loneliness
Praying for the drought to end
Find love
 
          #


BLESSING
(Sal)

God knows
How much grace we need
To make it through our hectic day
His blessings
Far exceed what we may deserve
So we can share graces with
Others

        #

next title:    SAHARA

Cameo Sahara

 

Heat

Shrouds the Sahara

Cactus and scorpions thrive there

Sand storms rage

In this heat, eyes play tricks on me

Mirages in the distant

I see

 

 

 

 

Next Word  Church

CHURCH

Sunday
would not be the same
if I decided to sleep late
and miss Mass.
It would be like telling Jesus,
I’m too busy today to
visit.

    #
new title: Poseidon

Cameo Poseidon

 

Sea God

Appointed by Zeus

Guards the underworld of the sea

Poseidon

Locks up the monsters of the deep

His word is law down under

Kracken

 

 

 

Next Word Zeus

ZEUS

you puff
your chest out with pride
so no one up or down forgets
who you are,
chief of all Olympian gods,
mighty Zeus who sees and knows
all things.

       #
new title:  gladiator

Gladiator

 

Death Strife

In the Arena

The Gladiators fight today

One will fall

Another becomes the victor

Victor looks toward the King

Thumbs Down

 

 

New Title: Thumbs Down

THUMBS DOWN

Sometimes
We hang by our thumbs
And wonder if we will be saved
Or tumble
Into the open-mouthed abyss.
We'd do best not to hold our
Thumbs down

    #

New title:  Orion

Orion

 

Orion

Son of Poseidon

Was a giant and great hunter

Poor Orion

Goddess Artemis took his life

He's now a constellation

Transformed

New title:   Haphazard

Cameo Haphazard

 

Jumbled

My life without you

Chaotic moments run amuck

So confused

Haphazardly darkness descends

Envelops my very soul

Come home

 

New title Confused

 

CONFUSED


Without
You to give meaning
To a life made so beautiful
Since we met,
What could I expect from my days?
I would wander lonely and
Confused

    #
New title:    Oak

Cameo Old Oak Tree

 

Oak Tree

Stands high on the hill

Many birds nests in its branches

Child climbs high

To a magical world of dreams

Old oak tree tells her stories

Of old

 

 

Next Word Dreams