Challenges – noblethemes

Ode to Love (Recast)

Love can be so cruel, so unkind, and oh-so blind;
Enough to make the fool drool, but the wise one
Sees the forest beyond the trees and honey bees;
Love can be like only bare and stone-cold bones,
Or it can be as one small flower growing in power;
And love can be like fine wine or be high and dry;
Love is free and wild, and won’t be tame and mild;
Love is a child, ever growing into showing wisdom,
Free yet to be whatever the world around shall see;
Never contained, hardly ever restrained, and not
To be disdained, for love is love as it is, and love
Comes from Love from Above…
Yes, it can bring pleasure like an exquisite treasure
Or it can bring pain with no gain and seem insane;
Ah! is it worth the while? But what is life without
Love except bland with no real demand? This love
In all its complexity sells itself to the soul and
Then compels, propels to great heights with might!
Love is and shall be … for you, everyone, and me…
For love defines our life as it is and ever shall be …

Note: Previously published in April 2016

Seven Day Poem (Day Seven)

On November 29th I began a seven-day poem with one stanza, and committed to adding one each day thereafter for seven days. This is the final result of that seven day poetic journey:

Seven-Day Poem

You intrigued me by being intrigued by me
As I wondered, ‘how can this possibly be?’
Am I to have another ‘she’ in my poor life
And will it be but another knife to my soul?

Now part of my heart feels young once again
As I begin to ponder all of the possibilities
But reality attacks and smacks me in the face
Reminding me of my actual place in this life

I am not really old but I am growing old
And though my heart is warm, my body is cold;
And I have not the strength to chase rabbits,
Or to form new habits or weather the storm

But you, you would shove all else aside for love,
To drink deeply from the rich cream of full life,
To fulfill your most cherished childhood dreams,
And no team of strong stallions can tear you away!

You deny reality staring you straight in the face
As you pace back and forth considering the worth
Of a bond newly birthed in raw desire unearthed
Never thinking we’ve nothing to give for this to live

But roses still bloom in season for good reason,
And then their beauty fades, having bade farewell,
And those roses do die and never try to live on and on;
Ah! There truly is propriety in the society of life!

So now, even as my heart dances and soul prances,
Truth lances illusory dreams and advances reality;
What seems so lovely and beautiful is found only
In the crucible of fantasy and is simply not to be . . .

Note: The completion of this poetic journey was first posted on December 5, 2016, and is being reposted now due to some renewed interest as well as for the enjoyment of new reader-followers. Blessings to one and all!

Never to Leave nor Forsake

Heavy is the pack
By your side, I’ll be your back
No help you will lack

Long the road ahead
Here, my chest to rest your head
And you’ll be well-fed

Deepest sea to sail
I will guard you from the gale
With me you’ll prevail

Carry on . . . I am with you,
Never to leave nor forsake!

Seven Day Poem (Day Six)

On November 29th I began a seven-day poem with one stanza, and committed to adding one each day thereafter for seven days. This is Day Six. (For more info on why I’m doing this, please read my previous article.) So in the end I should have one whole poem with seven stanzas, each one having been written on a different day…

Seven-Day Poem

You intrigued me by being intrigued by me
As I wondered, ‘how can this possibly be?’
Am I to have another ‘she’ in my poor life
And will it be but another knife to my soul?

Now part of my heart feels young once again
As I begin to ponder all of the possibilities
But reality attacks and smacks me in the face
Reminding me of my actual place in this life

I am not really old but I am growing old
And though my heart is warm, my body is cold;
And I have not the strength to chase rabbits,
Or to form new habits or weather the storm

But you, you would shove all else aside for love,
To drink deeply from the rich cream of full life,
To fulfill your most cherished childhood dreams,
And no team of strong stallions can tear you away!

Note: Thank you to Maja at Business in Rhyme for inspiring me to take up this challenge! By the way, her own 31-day poem is progressing very nicely, so if you haven’t done so, you should check it out! Blessings! For Day Seven, the final outcome, go here!

Seven Day Poem (Day Five)

On November 29th I began a seven-day poem with one stanza, and committed to adding one each day thereafter for seven days. This is Day Five. (For more info on why I’m doing this, please read my previous article.) So in the end I should have one whole poem with seven stanzas, each one having been written on a different day…

Seven-Day Poem

You intrigued me by being intrigued by me
As I wondered, ‘how can this possibly be?’
Am I to have another ‘she’ in my poor life
And will it be but another knife to my soul?

Now part of my heart feels young once again
As I begin to ponder all of the possibilities
But reality attacks and smacks me in the face
Reminding me of my actual place in this life

I am not really old but I am growing old
And though my heart is warm, my body is cold;
And I have not the strength to chase rabbits,
Or to form new habits or weather the storm

But you, you would shove all else aside for love,
To drink deeply from the rich cream of full life,
To fulfill your most cherished childhood dreams,
And no team of strong stallions can tear you away!

Seven Day Poem (Day Four)

On November 29th I began a seven-day poem with one stanza, and committed to adding one each day thereafter for seven days. This is Day Four. (For more info on why I’m doing this, please read my previous article.) So in the end I should have one whole poem with seven stanzas, each one having been written on a different day…

Seven-Day Poem

You intrigued me by being intrigued by me
As I wondered, ‘how can this possibly be?’
Am I to have another ‘she’ in my poor life
And will it be but another knife to my soul?

Now part of my heart feels young once again
As I begin to ponder all of the possibilities
But reality attacks and smacks me in the face
Reminding me of my actual place in this life

I am not really old but I am growing old
And though my heart is warm, my body is cold;
And I have not the strength to chase rabbits,
Or to form new habits or weather the storm

But you, you would shove all else aside for love,
To drink deeply from the rich cream of full life,
To fulfill your most cherished childhood dreams;
No team can tear you away from what seems right!

Note: Thank you again to Maja at Business in Rhyme for inspiring me to take up this challenge! By the way, her own 31-day poem is progressing very nicely, so if you haven’t done so, you should check it out! Blessings!

Seven Day Poem (Day Three)

On November 29th I began a seven-day poem with one stanza, and committed to adding one each day thereafter for seven days. This is Day Three. (For more info on why I’m doing this, please read my previous article.) So in the end I should have one whole poem with seven stanzas, each one having been written on a different day… We’ll see how this goes!

Seven-Day Poem

You intrigued me by being intrigued by me
As I wondered, ‘how can this possibly be?’
Am I to have another ‘she’ in my poor life
And will it be but another knife to my soul?

Now part of my heart feels young once again
As I begin to ponder all of the possibilities
But reality attacks and smacks me in the face
Reminding me of my actual place in this life

I am not really old but I am growing old
And though my heart is warm, my body is cold;
And I have not the strength to chase rabbits,
Or to form new habits or weather the storm

Note: Thank you again to Maja at Business in Rhyme for inspiring me to take up this challenge!

Day One

Day Two

Seven Day Poem (Day Two)

On November 29th I began a seven-day poem with one stanza, and committed to adding one each day thereafter for seven days. This is Day Two. (For more info on why I’m doing this, please read my previous article.) So in the end I should have one whole poem with seven stanzas, each one having been written on a different day… We’ll see how this goes!

Seven-Day Poem

You intrigued me by being intrigued by me
As I wondered, ‘how can this possibly be?’
Am I to have another ‘she’ in my poor life
And will it be but another knife to my soul?

Now part of my heart feels young once again
As I begin to ponder all of the possibilities
But reality attacks and smacks me in the face
Reminding me of my actual place in this life

Note: Thank you again to Maja at Business in Rhyme for inspiring me to take up this challenge!

Day One

Seven-Day Poem

Today, November 29th, I am beginning a seven-day poem. I will begin with one stanza and add one each day thereafter for seven days. (For more info on why I’m doing this, please read my previous article.) So in the end I should have one whole poem with seven stanzas, each one having been written on a different day… We’ll see how this goes! Oh, and if you want to pick up on this ongoing poem at any point and begin adding your own stanzas (maybe because you have a better idea for the direction the poem ought to take), then by all means do so! Now … here we go:

Seven-Day Poem

You intrigued me by being intrigued by me
As I wondered, ‘how can this possibly be?’
Am I to have another ‘she’ in my poor life
And will it be but another knife to my soul?

Note: Thank you again to Maja at Business in Rhyme for inspiring me to take up this challenge!

Maybe Not Quite 31 Days, But …

Okay, so Maja over at Business in Rhyme has taken up a 31-day Poem Challenge in which she will literally write a 31-day poem, adding about three stanzas to the existing poem each day through the month of December. She has also invited her readers to do the same. In her words:

. . . in the next 31 days, in the coming December I intent to write 31 day long poem. Sounds strange? Well, what I actually want to do is to write ONE poem for 31 days. The goal is to add at least three stanzas each day . . . In this way, I think I will practice more my focus and attention, because as the time progresses I will have to each time read my poem from the beginning in order to continue it. So after couple of days, it will really require to keep up my concentration and follow the thinking pattern.

Well, I for one, found this very intriguing. Maja gives some other good reasons for doing this, and then invites her readers to participate. (If you think you’d like to do this, then please visit her blog and read the whole article. That would be helpful, and you can courteously let her know that you also are participating!)

To be honest, though, 31 days sounds and feels a bit daunting, soooo . . . I’ve decided to challenge myself a bit less. I’m going to give this idea a “go” for seven days. (Okay! Call me a whimp! LOL) And, well, I will be doing this for basically the same reasons; I just don’t know that I’m quite up to 31 days… But you know what? If at the end of seven days I think I want to continue, then I’ll just do that! At any rate, this should be interesting and fun!