P p p poetry!

[Gina B]

Who are your favorite poets? Poems? Do you write poetry? Will you share?

My fun week...spent the first half at home writing, now the second half will be in English classes.
I enjoy those ones because the students will write me poetry without complaint because they know if they do they get candy. LOL (yes, it still works in high school!) Some even write them and hunt me down with them in the halls because they know I exchange candy for their poems. :smilewinkgrin:Love it...wish my writing inspiration could be triggered by sugar!

So share. I can't give you candy but I'll sure enjoy your input and others will too!

 

[billreber]

I LOVE poetry!! Favorite poet? Too many exist to decide. Favorite poem? One of my own (see below). Do I write poetry? Working on my fifth self-published book. Will I share? Already answered that one!

God Speaks​

God speaks - - -

Out of nothing, something is formed:
A ball of stuff in the darkness,
And then light! stars! sun! moon! life!
With the greatest creation, man, saved for last.

God speaks - - -

While most hear nothing, Noah listens
And begins building a large boat
In the middle of the land; when it’s finished,
Everyone hears God’s voice as the rains begin.

God speaks - - -

His voice booms forth from a bush
That is burning, yet not being consumed.
Moses listens, argues, complains, and then
Reluctantly complies with the command of God.

God speaks - - -

“It’s far too small a thing for You to do,
To simply save the tribes of Israel.
You will also be a light for the Gentiles,
My Salvation to the ends of the earth!”

God speaks - - -

He teaches with authority others don’t have;
His words burn into me like coals of fire;
He even commands the storms and the sea!
Who is this Jesus, who sounds like God Himself?

God speaks - - -

He hangs on a cross, beaten and reviled,
As the world and the devil gloat loudly
That God is finally finished, until, after He cries,
“Father, I commit to You my Spirit,” He chooses to die.

God speaks - - -

“As you are going into the world,
Make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them
All I have commanded. And I will be
With you until the end of the earth.”

God speaks - - -

“If My people, who are called by My Name,
Shall humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways,
And pray, then I will hear them from heaven,
Forgive their sins, and will heal their land.”

God speaks - - - but are we listening?

©2010 William L. Reber​

Bill :godisgood:

 

[Gina B]

Very true. Awesome poem! I like your style, outright and honest and pure. I'll have to bookmark your site again, lost it in my bookmark cleansing and organizing fit a few months ago.

Billy Collins strikes a chord with me. One of his poems (Statues in the Park) inspired me to write one titled "To Billy Collins, Because I like Your Way of Titling Poems in Non-Traditional Fashion" :smilewinkgrin:

One of my favorite yet most disliked one at the same time is one I wrote in a time of anger and frustration while desperate to be back I should have been in my relationship with Christ and wasn't getting there.

Chasing Glory

This is what I offer:
My heart, my soul, my desire
Body, mind, and spirit.
There's just one catch.
It's framed in humanity
Frail, weak, responsive
To lusts of the flesh
Thoughts of the illogical
That which you hate.
You created me human
With divine expectations
I will never fulfill
Cannot fulfill
While breath is in me
Yet this is your command.
To believe is to obey
So I rise to your challenge
Only to fall to the earth
Once again part of the dust
As was before life was formed
Is it more natural to return
To the terrestrial or to yours?
The struggle drags on
You the spotless lamb
I the black sheep, your shadow
Finding merit only through you
Who veils himself invisible
Calling yourself light
While I follow in the dark
My grasping thoughts pursuing
The unattainable glory of you.

© 2008 Gina Locke

 

[billreber]

Unfortunately, I had to let my website go. I can't figure out how to delete my "signature" from BB, though!

You can check out my books on www.lulu.com. Search for my name.

BTW, I love your poem! Thanks for sharing it.

Bill :godisgood:

 

[billreber]

Tried something, but it didn't work to delete my HTML. Mods -- any suggestions?

 

[Gina B]

Thanks. Sounds like you got stuck when we used to be able to use html and they changed the board, cuz that's not an option anymore, if I have it right.

If it makes you feel better, I can't change from being a minor under 13 on here and no mods have even answered my requests for help. I get a notification every time I change my own profile since I had to enter a parental email address so I just used my own. Really messes with my inner child. LOL My kids are older than the board tells me I am!

 

[Alcott]

This one of mine won last year's county poetry society adult division contest.

SOOTHING SAPPHIRE



In Yellowstone Park, where millions go yearly,
The attractions are many and vast.
The geysers and bears are looked on so dearly
That others are too quickly passed.

The canyons and cliffs and rivers and falls
Are crowded with sightseers, too.
But in a lesser known basin with no canyon walls
Lies a vista of most calming blue.

Northwest of Old Faithful, along Firehole River,
It’s seething, yet looks very cool.
Its most pleasant hue to your senses deliver—
The most regal Sapphire Pool.

To stand by its side and look over its glow
Is a treasure its name so implies.
Just strolling and gazing, its beauty will grow,
And your love of the color will rise.

By its calming effect you can hardly believe
That the water could cook your next meal.
Such gentle deception, we like to believe,
Is Nature’s reminder and seal.

So if you vacation within this great nation
Remember the lesser known sites.
Even short occupation of such a sensation
Is a jewel among memory’s delights.