Section B In December 2016's Showcase … [ A 2-Or-3-Or-4 Section Display For P H Poets; Expanding Horizons For P H Members & Visitors! ; Different Poems For Different Tastes; Long ] Poem by Bri Edwards

Three cheers for Bri Edwards! Hip hip hooray! !
But, hark, say again what did you just NOT say?
NO cheers were called for from you or others? ? !
I guess my mind was hoping for my hoped-for druthers.

But I'll be consoled if a PH friend, …..just …ONE …,
speaks up and says she/he found the showcase FUN,
or TOUCHING, or EDUCATIONAL; ‘ANYTHING', I'll accept!
And, you'll know, it will have kept Bri from having wept

Ok, now that I've gotten that massive load off my chest,
I'll start Section B of December's showcase. 'no REST ….
for the ‘wicked' '!
And so now, on December 6th, at 6: 38 p.m. Pacific Time,
I'll cast my poesy nets, in search, as usual, for fitting …….rhyme.

NO rhyming is REQUIRED, but I seek poems good enough …
to please at least this aging bard, who is Quite Tough!
I may 'suggest' some editing, which I am willing to do, but ……
I prefer the poems to be proofread and edited by YOU!

So, if that ain't too much to ask, get out your pen and ink,
or send me an ‘old one' [ IF it doesn't Terribly-Stink ].
OR no need to share a poem here if that's your choice,
but take time to browse. You may find that you'll rejoice**** ….in what you find.

(December 6, 2016)

bri :)
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[****I just want to share with PH friends what I say is a big MISTAKE by whoever typed the following definition for ‘REJOICE', which confronted me when I Googled the VERB ‘rejoice'! ! !
Aren't the 'synonyms', below, all nouns? ? How can nouns be synonyms for a verb? ? IS bri WRONG HERE? ]

FROM Google:

're•joice
rəˈjois/
verb
verb: rejoice; 3rd person present: rejoices; past tense: rejoiced; past participle: rejoiced; gerund or present participle: rejoicing
1. feel or show great joy or delight.
'he rejoiced when he saw his friend alive'
synonyms: happiness, pleasure, joy, gladness, delight, elation, jubilation, exuberance, exultation, celebration, revelry, merrymaking
'news of the war's end unleashed a spectacle of rejoicing in the streets'

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Some information for Contributors AND Readers of the showcases:

Each Section (A, B, and maybe C) will hold 15 poems, maximum. EACH Section will accept ONE poem per poet, any length, any topic, any style, BUT I, Bri, will decide which poems are used. Unless a poet has arranged for me to ‘help myself', I shall wait for poems to be offered by the authors, all of whom ALWAYS will receive recognition for THEIR words.

The poems need NOT be new, need NOT be on PH already, and need NOT be in English [BUT English translations of non-English poems will be appreciated! ]. PLEASE proofread your poems! :)

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THE POETS (and titles) , up to 15, listed chronologically (more or less) in the order I received them:

1 - Bri Edwards

Jake's Christmas Eve.....[exploration; Food Gathering; Fatherhood; Santa; Rat; Long; Humor]

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2 - Bharati Nayak

Parrot

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3 - John Westlake

412. Will You Be My Ship's Captain

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4 - Lynn W. Petty

Within My Heart

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5 - Elena Plotkin

The Bitter Cold

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6 - Della Perry

Soul Poem

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7 - Clarence Prince

From A Christian's Heart!

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8 - Paul (aka Andy) Brookes

I'M Going To Sue Santa

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9 - Douglas Scotney

Owlish Serendipity

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10 - Brian Johnston

Telescopic Dreams

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11 - Eugene Levich

Hunting On Belleayre Mountain

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12 -? ?

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13 -? ?

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14 -? ?

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15 -? ?



(UP to 15)

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THE POEMS (and their authors) , up to 15 (usually) , listed in REVERSE ORDER of when I received them.

SOMETHING 'NEW' FROM BRI: 'if you like a poem here, please consider letting the poet know it. i get no reward for you doing that, and....maybe you will not either, .....except for knowing you may have brightened some poet's day! i sometimes receive comments on the showcase and particular poems, but that does not mean the POETS see the comments.' bri :)

ETC. (UP to 15)

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12 - by? ?


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11 - by Eugene Levich


Hunting On Belleayre Mountain

Snow last night
Early this year
Flakes still flutter
White drifts four feet deep.
Deep powder,
Feathery stuff,
So cold so dry
You see the six points on every flake
Each unique

I climb straight up the mountain
Before dawn
On the mountain's other side,
Away from ski lodge and trails.
No sound heard.
But my boots shuffling shuffling
Through snow
Up to my knees

Sunlight awakens the world
Dawn
I keep moving... one hour... then two.
The trees... leaves mostly fallen
Others still hanging, yellow or red
What are they?
Maple, ash, and oak,
Hemlock, poplar, some kind of pine
Fifteenth birthday last July
First hunt
All alone
Totally clueless
Delighted to be where I am.

Stop... eat some jerky and an apple
Drink some tea
Then go on, ever up and up.
Young... I think I can climb forever.
But I stop next to a wild apple tree

And suddenly!
Listen... what is that?
It's like whispering, whispering, whispering
In my ear
It is deer moving through the powdery snow
Whisper, whisper, whisper
I hear them from far away

They come in a line. No antlers.
All does. My.35 is up
Sighted in the day before
Waiting for the buck
Stunningly beautiful scenery,
High up on Belleayre Mountain
Watching those does, six—no seven of them
Gracefully moving through the snow
All in a line
And they don't see me
Don't catch my scent
Air too dry
They pass so close
I could reach my carbine out
And touch them with its tip.

CRASH in the tree line
Just above me...
Hundred yards away
A great antlered buck and a white tail
Disappearing in the flash of an eye
No fool he...That wise old buck!

My heart is beating fast as a rabbit
Tapping its paw
I couldn't take that buck
But I don't care.
I could never have even gotten him
Down from there, anyway
If I had shot him

But I don't care.
I'm glad he's alive and free
Just like me.
One of the most
Beautiful days of my life
Hunting up on Belleayre Mountain
Near Margaretville
Just those deer, the snow,
The trees, the sun,
The mountain, and me.

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10 - by Brian Johnston


Telescopic Dreams

It stretches mind to understand
How telescopes are time machines,
Have God-like powers quite profound,
To plumb sky depths like submarines.

To go where no man's gone before,
To see a past that's clearly been,
Discover facts before man's birth
Track photons in brave's moccasin.

Light travels fast but stars aren't close,
The nearest stars 'light years' away,
So thinking you know they exist
Is really gross naivete.

A 'nearest star' could die tonight,
Man wouldn't know for four more years,
With super bright decaying flash,
A fellow traveler disappears.

Expanding shells of photon waves
Man thinks is star, just light from star
While unbeknownst to human eye
Their fiery sire is now sidebar.

If speed of light hides past so well
Can telescope help us to know?
Well yes, but in another way,
For human eye sees mostly snow.

Where telescopes see stars, though dim,
Our bare eyes fathom mostly cloud,
As onion layers peel away
We learn much more what is allowed.

Each layer reveals history,
As ancient records birth things new,
How telescopes are time machines,
Not books, God's dreams that we can view.

(December 15,2016)

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9 - by Douglas Scotney


Owlish Serendipity

As far as I knew
it wasn't taken for game,
that specific bird
to whose name was added f
for the generic,
and whose name
was squeezed into 'knedge'
to honor its mien.

I googled the marinade,
and it says here*:
the Gaelic for 'knife'
is 'sgian'.

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Douglas' note:

* The Chambers Dictionary, under 'skene'

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8 - by Paul Brookes


I'M Going To Sue Santa

I'm going to sue Santa, make him pay his debt
For all the gifts not left, my teddy and train set.
Each year I sent a letter, hoping he'd reply
But all the things he promised, were sadly just a lie.

Yes I'm going to sue Santa, for me he's in disgrace
After what he's done to me, how can he show his face.
This admonition Santa, is just a warning shot
Oh yes dear old Santa, I'm suing for the lot.

Sure going to sue Santa, I'm going to have him shamed
For all the joy I am missing, for it's he who is to blame.
It's not that I'm vindictive, it's not that I'm unfair,
But he's let me down for years, left me in midair.

I'm going to sue Santa, really make him pay.
Impound all his reindeer, take away his sleigh.
I've sent off all the papers, sent them all first class,
With any luck they'll reach him, just before Christmas.

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7 - by Clarence Prince


From A Christian's Heart!

Friends this is a free message
It has been here from age to age
Then let no one say that it is new
Not even those who are the foolish few
It is as old as every human being
In Genesis God brought it to man's ears
A message that the Lord had dared
That all need to hear and share
The Lord is for human to fear
We need to obey and do as He dared
Listen to words from a Christian's heart
Please God and He will surely take care

He will move from your life every snare
As long as you will seek after His care
Knowing to Him we are all in arrears
For a debt we can never pay
Since He died upon Calvary's cross
Then let's try finding a way
To praise, obey and please Him
Just a little work into His harvest field
Could be a good start to find and shield
Those souls that Satan wants to steal
Listen to words from a Christian's heart
Please God and He will surely take care

Whilst one has become a Christian
One has to begin living like Christ
Taking part in spreading God's word
In one's own true and gentle way
To as many people in the world
Since it is good to think of the cost
Of a soul that could've been lost
Time to give a thought to this matter
Just don't watch soul go to slaughter
We must find souls for God to shield
Listen to words from a Christian's heart
Please God and He will surely take care.


All rights reserved.

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6 - by Della Perry


Soul Poem

My soul, you must understand
Is within these poems
Truth is hidden within the lines of verse
I have to write my life, my worth onto blank paper
Those feelings have to be set free
Or I will explode with emotions
Guilt, sadness, grief
Happiness, elation, confidence
They burn inside my chest, erupting
As those words tumble from the pen
Telling my life with prose.

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Bri's Note: i have left Della a comment on her poem's page asking her
why 'prose' is used at the ending and not 'poetry' or the like. i'm
waiting for a response. :)

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5 - by Elena Plotkin


The Bitter Cold

When winter comes the temperature quickly drops,
And Halloween candy gets replaced with cough drops.
Sweaters come out of hiding, as do scarves and hats,
mittens and gloves are unearthed like lost artifacts.
Boots stand guard by the door waiting for orders to march,
Coats thick and furry, have you barely fitting through the arch.
Layers and layers, with only your eyes peeking through,
and you wobbling under that strain of a least a ton or two.
Sweating beneath it all, as if it were pouring from a spout,
All the while, you're praying that the wind never finds out.
Coming home to a house colder than inside your own icebox.
cursing your soggy, damp excuse of a pair of warm socks.
Discarding each item as if you were peeling off a banana peel.
Hoping against hope, it all dries out and doesn't congeal.
Just in time for tomorrow's nice warm fifteen degrees,
chance of fog, ice, flakes, and blustering breeze.

(C) 2016 Copyright

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4 - by Lynn W. Petty


Within My Heart

Within my heart there is a place,
Where you, a living memory,
Reside with all your pleasing grace,
And shall through out eternity.

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3 - by John Westlake


412. Will You Be My Ship's Captain

Will you be my ship's captain
someone needs to take command
the first mate is a decent sort
but cannot give the right orders

Will you help be my navigator
and plot the right course for the vessel
the helmsman is good enough at his job
but he cannot use a map very well

The ship takes good enough care of itself
the cannon and mast are in reasonable order
you don't need to worry about maintenance
as the ratings will take care of that

Will you be my ship's captain
someone needs to take command
get us to your home port
where we can unload our cargo safely

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2 - by Bharati Nayak


Parrot

Though winged
I am caged
I flutter my wings
As if to fly
They get hurt by the iron railings

The milked rice
And the good nuts
That I am served
Do not satisfy
As I dream
Of the open sky
Where I do belong.

You ask me
Oh Parrot! How are you?
You see my bright green feathers
And the beautiful red beak
I answer in my clatter
Which you can not understand
and think
I belong to rich and so live in lavish


On some careless day
My owner may
Keep the cage open
I may get a chance to fly
But my wings
that have forgotten
the art of flying
may fall a prey
to some vultures
My good owner and his neighbors
Will curse me,
O.K, O.K
Let that ungrateful bird
Meet the graceless end.

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1 - by Bri Edwards


Jake's Christmas Eve.....[exploration; Food Gathering; Fatherhood; Santa; Rat; Long; Humor]


On last Christmas Eve, to a home with NO cat,
came an unwelcome visitor ……, a rat.
Jake was the wood rat's name.
From nearby woods he came.
On his head he wore a leaf for a hat.

This house was the first-built on a new street.
Jake came in search of a nice Christmas treat.
Only seeds Jake had at home;
that's why he did now roam,
seeking softer, tasty morsels to eat.

Earlier he'd smelled smells of some baked goods,
smells unknown in his rat neighborhood.
So with exploring gear,
though with no little fear,
Jake crept ‘cross moonlit backyard ‘tween house and his woods.

Atop a brick pile he found clothes dryer vent,
then bravely through air exhaust hose he went.
When he came to lint trap
he just gave it a tap,
and, finding dryer door open, his time was well spent.

His eyes adjusted to the dim light;
(the basement had windows, but it was night) .
He smelled treats in the air,
but how best to get there?
Then Jake spied the first step and went up a stair flight.

Where steps ended, he squeezed under door,
sensing from smells he was on the right floor.
Around him now was light,
some red, some green, some white.
He found a tree strewn with bright objects galore.

He thought 'why would they have a tree inside,
and beneath it what appears to be some new sort of hide?
And why are hides of feet
hanging in a row neat? ……
Some things about this place I can't decide.'

To the next lit room Jake, the rat, then went.
To his quest for food his mind WAS still bent.
Enough he'd had of seeds,
enough of old tough weeds.
Much stronger now became a fowl scent.

Now, between him and his longed-for food,
stood a three foot high wooden wall. How rude!
Quickly Jake did then climb,
finding a sight most sublime,
a large and headless bird, tied up and nude.

In Jake's past a baby bird he'd eaten …..
before, away-from-nest, he was beaten.
Now he feasted his beady eyes
on this wondrous surprise,
and gorged quickly ……, as time was fleetin'.

As Jake turned from the scene of his crime
he found cookies colored lemon and lime,
blue, white, and red of course,
shaped like star and like horse.
'Should I take some now or wait till next time? '

All at once Jake heard a faint 'Ho, ho, ho',
and out window saw deer flying through snow.
He hid behind the tree
and from there he did see
Santa enter the room with BIG sack in tow.

Jake watched as bearded-one ate a treat
and then drank what looked like the milk from a rat's teat.
Then Santa found a plastic bag;
ears of corn made it sag.
Perhaps, Jake thought, they were for deer to eat.

To fill hanging feet took Santa a while.
Then under the tree he spread gifts in a big pile.
Santa took bag of corn, and his sack he did close,
but (before up the chimney he rose) ,
to Jake he gave a wink and a big smile.

So much Jake had seen! To him all was new.
He thought 'Was I dreaming or was all this true? '
One ear of soft corn was still there
(left by Santa he'd swear) ,
so he snatched it and out the room flew.

With full belly Jake's exit was harder,
especially dragging corn for his larder.
A treasure house he'd found
with good food all around;
from other rats he hoped to guard her.

It was fast-approaching the Christmas morn
when Jake at last reached his home with corn.
Though he brought not some meat
he still had a nice treat,
for himself and his mate and the newborn.

Merry Christmas! !

(Dec.24th and 25th,2006)

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THANKS FOR SHARING THIS SECTION OF December's showcase! Look for the next Section: C

Bri :)