Thematic Poetry Previews (6)

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All Poems © Marie Faverio

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*Traditional*

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ABC of Happiness

 

Accept what cannot be changed

Break rules now and then – just for fun

Clear your mind of negative thoughts

Dare the impossible

End all your actions on a positive note

Forget negative experiences

Grant yourself a reward for your efforts

Harmonize your actions with the divine plan

Imagine heaven in your backyard

Joy – find it in small things

Keep to the Path

Learn to smile even when you are sad

Minimize resentment

Never say no to opportunity

Open your eyes to the hidden beauty of the everyday

Practise meditation

Quench your curiosity, don’t give up

Remember to say a friendly “hello” to at least a person every day

Sorry – never be afraid to say this word

Try hard to be yourself

Unity with the divine should be your only goal

Vying with others won’t make you happy, you know that

Witness miracles whenever you can

Xenophobia – make it your enemy

You are your own destiny

Zest your life with a touch of humour

 

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Acrostics

 

Autism

 

Amazing

Unerring

Terrific

Inspiring

Superb

Mesmerizing

 

Chopin

 

Charming in his sadness

Hypnotic in his simplicity

Oblivious of the materialistic world

Personal and universal

Intense to the outmost

Never to be excelled

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Entropy

 

Escape civilization

Nod to the hints of nature

This or That

Realize you are not alone

On the swing of life

Pursue your dreams

Yield to their beauty

 

Insanity

 

Inadequate

Non-conformist

Sneaky

Ambiguous

Nostalgic

Idiosyncratic

Tormented

Yearning

 

Life

 

Laborious

Illusory

Flippant

Enigmatic

 

Meditation

 

Mystic

Enticing

Dazzling

Inspiring

Tantalizing

Aspiring

Timeless

Intimate

Original

Noble               

                                                                                                                                                                         Mozart

 

Mesmerizing in his simple joy

Optimistic

Zealous and ingenious

Always childlike in his emotions

Ravishing through his trills

Thumbs up to him

 

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Ezra Pound Couplets

 

The apparition of birds on a branch –

flowers singing for the sake of it.

 

The apparition of clouds in the sky –

suspension dots on a poetry page.

 

Leaves cracking through the air –

railway flag swaying a tangent.

 

The rain tiptoeing on the roof –

or is it the devil’s dance?

 

Everything effaced but shadows -

frogs frolicking in moonlight.

 

Souls waiting for the ferry -

Degas’s little dancer in a corner.

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Your face in a drop of rain -

slapped by the cat’s paw.

 

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Tears of Beauty (Haibun)

 

I often go for a walk alone to find inspiration for my art in nature, the naturally obvious as well as the hidden to the hastening eye.

 

Take care, my eyes,

to tear the veil of maya,

let tears of beauty flow.

 

No sound but songs of birds breaking a deafening silence, blue so deep it almost bursts, I keep a tiny notebook in my pocket, but the beauty surrounding me is too evasive for words.

 

Winged words

veering off into freedom,

preying on the heart.

 

Back to a civilization less courteous than the most savage nook of nature, my tallying eye goes astray in a stream of grey, noise benumbing thoughts.

Greyness all around,

a blooming branch in the heart,

perched on memories.

 

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Palindrome

 

Art

 

Art is life,

all-in-one and one-in-all,

beauty manifested in colours, shapes,

heaven and hell revealing joy and pain.

Art is subtly posed questions and answers,

complexity in simplicity,

past, present, future.

Is it

art over mind

or

mind over art?

It is

future, present, past,

simplicity in complexity.

Answers and questions posed subtly is art,

pain and joy revealing hell and heaven,

shapes, colours in manifested beauty,

all-in-one and one-in-all,

life is art.

 

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Out of the Maze (Sonnet)

 

Still young, I have seen too much to cope with,

fair-weather friends, stars that don’t shine or blink,

and I often wonder about life’s plinth

and if there are still fair people who can think.

 

Thinking is no more a cherished habit,

genuine love has fallen into disuse.

We seem to have totally lost our wit,

no more do we try to enchant our Muse.

 

Perhaps this is how the world goes these days,

they will tell you you have to play the game

if you don’t want to get lost in the maze

and thus become the sure target of blame.

 

Yet hidden in the maze the thread of love

leads you to the ultimate treasure trove.

 

***

 

Villanelle

 

Life Is a Test

 

There are times when life is a test,

times that truly break your heart

and you can only hope for the best.

 

Pain can truly oppress your chest

and feel like a sharp dart;

there are times when life is a test.

 

It can be difficult to obey fate’s hest

when sorrow tears you apart

and you can only hope for the best.

 

Sometimes you just wait for a gest

and hope for a new start;

there are times when life is a test.

 

You often think that all is but a jest

when pain is too smart

and you can only hope for the best.

 

Yet you should never stop your quest,

always keep fighting like Bonaparte!

There are times when life is a test

and you can only hope for the best.

 

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