DU Poetry Slam: "Show Your Love" Edition

[noiretextatique]

:hi: it's been quite some time since i started a slam thread, so i figured :shrug: what the heck!
:loveya: is what's on my mind and in my heart, and generally driving me towards greatness of late so please share your poems, thoughts, wisdom, etc., on the subject.
it's a tense time with the impending election and all of the ugly possibilities regarding its outcome, so let's put some :loveya: nrg out there for the country.
:loveya: is the thing we most need in the seat of our country's soul, the thing that should drive its leaders, policies and actions. imagine a :loveya: government, one that nurtures its children, cares for its citizens, honors its elders, respects its artists and intellectuals, is a good stewart to the earth, and is a good neighbor in the world. i tell ya...the mentality of ruthlessness, mistrust, callousness and violence that dominates in the world today has got to end.
goodness knows...the other side isn't acquainted with the :loveya: concept.
end of rant :7

Please share your message of :loveya: here, if you are so inclined.

Now...on a more personal note, this is something i'm working on right now. I need to finish tomorrow and present it to my friend on her birthday.

I wish you Love

i wish you Love
heartfelt and true
tender, warm & precious
the love that awaits you
in the shadows of every
forgotten dream
and caresses you gently
in the cold quiet of twilight
a love that showers you
with gentle kisses
in sweet embrace

i wish you Love
patient and forgiving
faithful, loyal & kind
the love that holds you
in the light of every
waking moment
and supports you effortlessly
a love that accepts you
with graceful wisdom
in loving kindness

i wish you Love
intense and earthy
soul-deep, whole & real
the love that excites you
with the heat of
ever-present desire
and burns only for you
a love that satisfies
with smoldering sensuality
in shameless passion

i wish you Love
spiritual and romantic
magical, beautiful & new
the love that awakens you
with the promise of
greatness delivered
and endless possibilities
a love that nurtures you
with delightful creativity
in unpredictable joy

I wish for you: the Love
you've always wanted
the Love you've always needed
the Love you've always deserved.
@2004 karenx

[oneighty]

1. The Lover

The lover
Like spring air
Smelling of new life,
Lilacs and roses
Fliters through cracks
Under doors
Beneath windows
And quietly settles
Beside you
As you sleep.
The lover kisses
The tears from
Your eyes
Draws forth
From your sweet
Mouth,the fears
Of yesterday.
He leaves
As he came.
Silent.

180..a poem for a friend of mine.

[noiretextatique]

2. thanks 180...

for sharing that lovely piece. you are a prince :D

[Fovea]

3. A Vilanelle for George the Lesser

The dais lifts you to the waiting throng
who swore an oath to cheer hypocrisy
a clacking toy is drawn behind a string.

Your second in command declares you wrong
You piss on science and morality
The dais lifts you to the waiting throng.

A drink, you muse, would be the very thing
to get your mouth around your policy
a clacking toy is drawn behind a string.

But through it all you pose and jape along
to slur the daily Rove mendacity
The dais lifts you to the waiting throng,
a clacking toy is drawn behind a string.

------------------------------------------

Not a new, or very loving poem, but I needed to get it off my chest.

[noiretextatique]

5. the love of the truth

is reflected lovingly in that poem :toast: plus...you loved yourself enough to get it off your chest :D

[sysoprock]

4. feel the love - for the ladiezzzzzzz

show me love girl
i know you want my love
i come from above
with tha jimmy in tha glove
i know you anticipatin
you aint waitin or hesitatin

as i touch yo chest
i can feel yo heart beatin
like you deanna troy and i be wil wheaton
like i be batman and you diane keaton
like a tetnus shot, you know how we do
good in the long run, sore for a day or two.

word.

[noiretextatique]

7. LMAO

:D thanks for that one too. do you post at defpoetryjam.com?

[sysoprock]

12. haha nah.

my shit is too gangsta.

actually I just wrote that up when I was sitting in class bored.

[noiretextatique]

14. no...it isn't

you should check it out. i post there on occasion...and my shit ain't gangsta enuf :shrug:

[DS1]

6. Since I'm on a roll today

*ahem*

Gimmie head,
till I'm dead

[noiretextatique]

8. hmm...strangely reminiscent of prince's "head"

derivative, i must say, but not exactly plagarism :D

[noiretextatique]

9. kick

note to self: post in the meeting room next time

[bloodyjack]

10. wait ok here

april played a fiddle
my heart began to falter
or did it dance a little
as I staggered toward lust's altar

a girl asked for my digits
I shoved them down her pants
she writhed and she did fidget
and called it great romance

we chattered over chickenwings
I scrutinized her body
her dress consist'd of everything
that's neither chic nor shoddy

I tossed her salad lightly
she kindly flossed my teeth
her limbs were lithe & sprightly
though pinning mine beneath

now she lives in Braintree, Mass
(a butcher did she marry
from her graduating class)
and a butcher's baby carries

[noiretextatique]

15. thanks :)

love...is a lost art.

[bloodyjack]

18. who will put the "form" back in "art form"?

[oneighty]

11. Digging through unread unloved poems writ long ago when the earth was youn

I lock my eyes
Onto her own.
And project
My love
For her
Alone.
My love
For her
Returns
To me.
Unused.
Unwanted.
Eternally.

180 Oh boy! Twenty five years or more past.

Hee hee hee.

[noiretextatique]

16. you still got it!

what kahlil gibran calls "knowing the pain of too much tenderness." makes we want to dust off "the prophet" and read it again. thank you.

[the Princess]

13. OH OKAY - but just one...............

Kindred

eyes to eyes
face to face
mouth to mouth
soul to soul
keeper of the flame
I am the water you thirst
you started a fire in me
it threatens to burn me alive
I flow in your heart
softly - yet ever present
Oh kindred spirit
twin soul
be near me
in body or in spirit
be near me - is all I ask
so I may finally
not feel so alone.

[noiretextatique]

17. thanks, Mrs...beautiful!

only one? seems like you might have more :D

[the Princess]

23. Oh OK ...............LOL ............ One more

Dance in the Moonlight

I could live several lifetimes
Alone or with another by my side
I could be happy and content
But in my heart I would know
Something was not there

The sun would shine just a little less
the moon would show just a little dimmer
the joy I felt would be tempered
and love would be almost - but not quite enough
pasisons would burn but
not with the white hot intensity of you

I could dance in the moonlight
with a million willing lovers
but I would always see
your eyes reflected in theirs
your smile in the moonlight
and feel your lips on mine when another kissed me

I knew my heart would fall
and I knew I would never recover
from the moment our eyes met
one special moment a long time ago
our eyes locked and my heart cried out
"It's him - it's him - where have you been?"

A million times I could
tell myself to let it go - he can never be mine
but my heart has a mind all its own
and in my heart I dance with you
in the moonlight in a thousand different lifetimes
aware of what this lifetime brings - sadder for it

[noiretextatique]

31. ahh, another beautiful one...i am again reminded of "the prophet"

there is a beautiful passage in the section "on love" that goes something like this:
if seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, then you will be cast into the seasonless night where you will laugh, but not all your laughter, and you will cry, but not all your tears.
loving takes faith...and courage doesn't it?
thanks for that timely reminder...with my apologies to khalil gibran :D
i knew you had more in you...thank you so much for sharing :hi:

[noiretextatique]

19. the art lost on a minute man, and his future wife

a lament...

fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...fuck it!
my friend is going to marry
a "minute man"
he only does it in the dark
"the act" must be missonary
and cannot involve too much kissing
it's over in an instant
so only he knows it happened
like the first time i did it
"is THAT what all the fuss is about?!?!"
my friend is going to marry
a "minute man"
he can't do those things with her
he thinks are for prostitutes
the things that please her
the things that might please him
those things are not for wives
so his act doesn't please her
but he respects her(?)
my friend is going to marry
a "minute man"
who does not satisfy
so her eyes wander
she says it's only fantasy
so it's not cheating...yet
cheating(?)
the prostitutes aren't cheated...
my friend is going to marry
a "minute man"
and when i ask her: WHY?
she says that she loves him ?!
it must be his soul
no money
no sex
no nurturing
no tenderness
a few fists thrown already...
the trade for "the title"
i suppose...
my friend who is going to marry
a "minute man"

tells me *i* need to get laid :eyes:

fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...fuck it!!!!

[redqueen]

20. OUCH

Damn, norietblu... that hits too close to home... damn.

[noiretextatique]

21. sorry, sweetie

i lost that :loveya: feeling for a *minute*. today is her birthday...and i was thinking of or last conversation. i know she means well, but i told her to stop trying to live vicariously through me.
:grouphug: back to love now :D

[noiretextatique]

22. here's on for you, red queen: let there be love!

i have but one wish:
Let there be love!
bathe my soul
in the colors of love

deep within the heartspace
where god lives
where love begins
where love remains
when the colors await
their soulmate
bathe my soul
in the colors of love

the yellow glow love's warmth
the orange beat of love's intensity
the red brilliande of love's passion
the blue depths of love's peace
the purple radiance of love's majesty
the green aura of love's patience
the white shadow of love's pain
the black light of love's dawning

deep within the heartspace
where god lives
where love begins
where love remains
where the colors await
their soulmate

i have but one wish:
Let there be love!
fill our souls
with the colors
of the rainbow.

this always makes me cry...i wrote it for a friend who passed away in 2000...she loved rainbows.

[RetroLounge]

24. Here's one from about 11 years ago

Bluegrass

- After a photograph by Ralph Eugene Meatyard

He scales the mile through waist-high weeds
from the old county road to the open doorway,
carrying a thin black case and a red steel can.
The farm house sits high upon a knoll, its walls
unpainted, buckling outward around windows
boarded and shuttered, prepared for a storm.
Entering, he drops the can and opens the case,
removing a tarnished flute, its dull shine
like an unpolished diamond. He steps outside
and lifts the flute to his lips in a chromatic kiss
appreciated only by himself. He returns here
every week to an image of an evening spent
in front of the hearth, the percussive popcorn
of split oak logs accompanying his wife's fiddle,
his flute and the neighbors' guitar and mandolin.
They called it bluegrass, but nothing grows here now.

Stepping inside once again, he sets the flute on top
of a three-legged stool and leaves. Tossing a wooden
match through the doorway, he turns and walks
the mile back down the hill, his arms outstretched,
brushing the tops of the weeds until he's back
at the road. He turns and lights a cigarette,
listening as the sound of crackling oak walls
keep time with the music in his chest.

RL

[noiretextatique]

27. that's very touching

if it must burn, then let me light the match. sometimes one has to do that to move on. thank you so much...that is beautiful.

[RetroLounge]

32. Glad you liked it.

I did a whole series of them based on phots from a book I found by Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Very moving photod.

This poem was published back then in the Cream City Review.

RL

[noiretextatique]

25. kick

i'll see y'all a little later...off to do some chorres.

[NashVegas]

26. So I'm Twisted

Call me a needle in the haystack of thorns
you fell into
one prick’s as good as any other
and I am only one of so many
here’s the first one that broke your heart
your bitter, pungent heart
you hand it over too easily, my dear
she ran with it all the way to San Francisco
Tony Bennett chasing all the way
the second, well
there is some resemblance similar
hair, and the mouth could never
silence its viper tongue (I’m learning, I’m learning)
it salivated every time you ran back for more
and me? don’t get too bruised the next time
you come looking for tender words
these lips just can’t spit out
but watch the hands, they tell another story
no need to read between the lines
a raw stroke like this writes a page on its own
and I am only one of so many.

[noiretextatique]

28. thanks, crisco, i can relate to this so much

i suppose one of the gifts of love, even in its painful aftermath, is to simply understand one's own capacity for loving. or perhaps we are fools for pain. just the other side of the coin.
thank you so much for sharing.

[noiretextatique]

29. kick

[noiretextatique]

30. one last kick

:shrug: i'm going to be now. defintely the meeting room next time :D

[noiretextatique]

33. i wish ME love...new and improved version

thanks to some input from friends.

i wish me Love
heartfelt and true
tender, warm & precious
the love that awaits
in the shadows of every
forgotten dream
and caresses gently
in the cool/quiet twilight
a love that showers
with gentle kisses
in sweet embrace

i wish me Love
patient and forgiving
faithful, loyal & kind
the love that holds
in the stark/proud light
of every waking moment
and supports effortlessly
a love that accepts
with graceful wisdom
in loving kindness

i wish me Love
intense and earthy
soul-deep, whole & real
the love that excites
with the raw/heat of
ever-present desire
and burns eternally
a love that satisfies
with smoldering sensuality
in shameless passion

i wish me Love
spiritual and romantic
magical, beautiful & new
the love that awakens
with the true promise of
greatness delivered
and endless possibilities
a love that nurtures
with delightful creativity
in unpredictable joy

I wish for me:
the Love I've always wanted
the Love I've always needed
the Love I've always deserved.

@2004 Karen X

[noiretextatique]

34. steward, not stewart

damn...i missed that the first time. a good stewart to the earth is not bad either: i've known some good stewarts i'd elect for earth steward.
(yeah...this is just a shameless :kick: for all the stewarts and stewards)

[jus_the_facts]

35. Love....

Love...
Sweet sounds from the music of the heart
Composed of flowers and flattery
Played by instruments - each has its own part
Sung with passion and delicacy

Love...
Faded pages with meaning beyond comprehension
Written with strength and fervency
Read by many with constant devotion
Stored on shelves of diversity

Love...
Strokes of vivid colors and happiness
Drawn by the instinct of desire
Painted with tenacious tenderness
Displayed in galleries of grandeur

[noiretextatique]

36. thanks for that

jus the facts of love :hi:

[vinnievin777]

37. Cool

They are all great --Thanks --here is my contribution.

Have a great day everyone.

Vinnie Vin
http://www.vinnievin.com




The Different Man.




On the way home from school
I met a man
A different color
Than I am
I often wondered
What he had
That made my friends
So very mad

On the way home from school
I saw him again
Getting called rude names
From my best friend
And more of my friends
They did the same
Making jokes all in song
Like some kind of game

As I came up to them
I asked what's all the fuss
Are you blind said John Jones
He's not like us

I walked home and wondered
What he had meant
How is this guy
So different

But nevertheless
I hate all his kind
If they don't like him
He's no friend of mine

As I walked past a pond
A girl yelled from the water
I reached out to save her
And thank God I caught her

We walked and we talked
And we had fun that day
I gave her my number
When we said all we could say

When I got to my house
John was waiting for me
Let's get that guy
He said in hostility

He lives right downtown
Said John with a smile
We'll break up his store
And he'll starve for a while

Well that's what we did
And that was that
We broke his whole store
With some rocks and a bat

When I got home I said
Mom did anyone call
Yes she replied
Its right there on the wall

You saved her life
And I'm proud of you
I blushed and said
I did what I had to do


In the morning
Before I could give her a call
John woke me up
Tom's in the hospital

What happened what happened
I excitedly said
The different man's friends
Hit him over the head

I looked at him funny
Now don't think me dumb
But you keep saying different
And weird but how come

John said just look at him
When he comes around
His color is different
Than anyone in this town

Until John had said this
I just didn't know
It's his color that evil
Why who'd ever know

And John went on
To put all these things in my mind
And I hated him more
Him and his kind

On the way home John and I
Saw the girl walking near
I looked at her then at John
And soon gasped for air

As John called her names
I said this is the end
No one of your color
Can say she's my friend

And I thought of the girl
That I saved from the water
I should have let her die
She was the different man's daughter

Well I got together with John
And the rest of my friends
We all formed a big gang
And the disaster begins

All summer we fought
Against the different people downtown
We wanted to show them
We didn't want them around


After a big fight went down
I was so irritated
Two dead on both sides
Oh I could feel hatred

I decided to act
Because I was the leader
Let's get the different man's daughter
Teach them a lesson and beat her

But even as I spoke
The other gang it drew near
The odds were on their side
With only four of us there

So they beat us and chased us
And I hid in this shed
I jumped in a barrel
And I put down my head


As they came even closer
I heard someone cry
I know that you hate them
But please tell my why

And the other one said
Filled with hatred and pain
They're a different color than us
What's wrong with your brain

Well neither side's better
But I found out too late
Because outside the shed
Was a quite certain fate

As they called out my name
I was now the odd one
But the different man and his daughter
Came out on the run

He said to his friends
Back off they're your brothers
And acts of revenge
Make you as bad as the others

And the girl who I liked
Said in yells and in cries
If you get to know each other
You'll find that all prejudice dies

And as she stood there crying
We knew she was right
And we made an agreement
To put and end to the fight

And we thanked God and prayed
For the kids on each side
It took four lives to learn
We should be unified

As for me and the girl
It's as plain as can be
You can figure it out
And the rest is history

And I guess in this life
You'll learn this to be true
There's good and bad in all
And bad could change too

[noiretextatique]

40. thanks for that love lesson

today i ended a year-long quarrel with a friend with these simple words: no matter what you say or do, i will always love you.
i realized that i had been trying to make her change, with the not so subtle message that i would withhold my love until she did...some friend, huh? i finally realized the outcome i was so focused on could never materialize as long as i refused to love, and to be loving. and with those simple words i released to the universe, the truth, set us both free. and that outcome i was so focused on...really doesn't matter anymore.
and the bad has already changed.
thank you so much for sharing that.

[vinnievin777]

43. No problem

I find good people will always eventually get it right.

Vinnie Vin
http://www.vinnievin.com

[soleft]

38. Hmmmm, my 2 year anniversary is coming up

I actually better start working on something, but I don't think I will have any creative synapses firing until after 11/2.

In the meantime, I will join your words, as I always do.

:hi:

[noiretextatique]

41. hey there!!!!

:hi: long time no see posting here :D
:toast: congrats on two years...i'm very happy for you.
11/2 :scared: i can't even think about it anymore.

[The Great Deceiver]

39. The Lifter

i've got a bone
it's meant for lifting
grass and dirt
that i'm sifting
through
for you
lifeless
and there's meaning in the marrow
but no life in the body

i've got a bone
i lift earth
too much earth
for the tears
that stream down
in the rain
this spot for you
where you can rest
leave behind
me
and everyone

i'll lift the earth
to the heaven
and i'll keep lifing for you
till it's my turn
to be lifted
see you
touch you
again
life full
again
lifted back
again

but for now
i've got a bone
that lifts the earth
to let you rest

[noiretextatique]

42. how lovely

brought tears to my eyes...thank you for sharing that.

[The Great Deceiver]

46. THanks

sorry if it was a little too much of a downer. Great stuff through out this thread.

[noiretextatique]

47. not a downer

just very touching.

:kick:

[noiretextatique]

44. well...my friend loved the poem i wrote for her

she said it made her cry. not that i wanted to make her cry, but i'm happy it touched her heart...the way she touches mine.

[JSJ]

45. this one's called 'the troops'

the troops, the troops-
you must support the troops.
if you do, i promise you,
they're killing children
just for you!

the troops, the troops.