In white she smells of snowdrops
Or of the mistletoe’s pale berries
Then donning a cape of red and gold
She is the poinsettia and the holly
Her hair of brown, her hair of gold
Glitters with tinsel and stars of ice
Crowning her in season’s charms
Ushering cheer and fireside nights
And when she walks upon the snow
Not a trace mars white perfection
Whilst firs clad in light and colour
Reflect her gay complexion
© 2012 Elizabeth Cook
Chased through the day by Arabian knights
From the dunes to a dock, to a deck I alight
One of sweet solid beams and sails like gold
In the catching of the sun, noon-high and bold
And with a creak of the keel out we sail
As I dance up the rigging, a spiderweb trail Continue reading “On the Wing”
When I remake this city
He shall be at its heart
As the pillars that I crumble
Frame him in vain art
As the cornerstones groan
Beneath my every step
As the temples are leveled
But their filigree kept
The canals will run straight
When I move my hand
The statues will shatter
And the libraries stand
When I remake this city
It will gleam sharp and white
And he will be buried
In marble, deep inside.
© 2012 Elizabeth Cook
Unfair charm and rakish hat
Their powers known too well
Offering jocund morsels that
Would mirth and heart soft swell
–
A dashing turn, a float of cape
Brazen in the London night
Beckoning on to such a place
That sobriety blushing slights Continue reading “Night on the Town”
He brought a cow to the zoo one day
And her lowing, vacant aspect made
All the safari animals run away
© 2012 Elizabeth Cook
And to the other students out there:
I close my eyes to thee forthwith,
Troubles abounding in thy lines
Thou motley-hided reading list
Thou scourge of sweet, free time;
Devil of nightly and waking dreams
Oh dark demon of labour assigned
Thou puling, ever-wretched being
Vile harbinger of deadlines nigh Continue reading “To All Manner of School Work”
“Some saw only a pauper/ But I beheld a king”
The following poem by Paul is short and touching, and it reminds me of how powerful simplicity can be in poetry. He tells a story in three verses which your imagination automatically fleshes out with faces, gestures and expressions, a setting…
I imagined an old European city, maybe a particularly narrow street paved in stones, where the characters meet.
Love poems are not my forte, but because of this poem, Riches, I would like to create a love story in poetry some day.
Come stand close and follow me,
To where shells and sand
Embrace sunkissed seas.
Our hands touch where those two meet,
As the tides ebb and flow
Across the glittering beach.
Into the water, if you dare follow me
Ripples of light over skin,
And shells cold under feet.
Calm and quiet wait in the sea
Along the sandy floor
Move into the deep.
Surf overhead now farther away,
Drift below the coral reefs—
And stay forever beneath the waves.
© 2012, Elizabeth Cook
Were it but drawn on a canvas of dunes
Our celestial guides would spin and vault
In route’s alteration, their hazard to choose
The improvisation of man in seeing through
His miles over earth, miles over salt Continue reading “North of Direction”
When Icarus fell the angels cried
His feathers dwindling, trailing fire
They cried once more, once more unheeded
By the beautiful boy, eyes full of sky Continue reading “Icarus”
Connecting to nature through poetry and prose
| Heart on Fire |
Thoughts, Stories, Poems
Un poème n'est jamais fini, seulement abandonné. A poem is never finished, only abandoned."Paul Valéry"
The Poetry of Emotion
Read on, it's good for the brain.
Serial Outlet 