Most Commented Ballad Poems (503)

Are winter sparrows in the park
In its top branches are perched
A cheerful song a sweet note
A hungry eye for berries searched
Folded wings and a tiny shiver
A flurry of many fluttered wing
Then as one voice in a chorus
The little creatures begin to sing
The joyful news of a newborn king
Their message pass year to year
Triumphant in such solstice cheer
In that long twilight bright aureus
The sound of nature glorius
Atop the twigs of golden laurus

the 'Raven' is a diner
that lapps the sea foreshore
it haunts my mangled memory
as it raps upon my door
apple tart and finest cheesecake when I can't eat no more
yet alas quoth the raven :

ordermore!

broad bearded, prone to rages
I have slept in many cages
but I've always paid the wages
of society and more
but this subtle evil keening..
like the ghost of hungers meaning
darkens up my mind demeaning
all the goodness in my chore
still yet quoth the raven :

"ordermore!"

after working in the oceans
and toiling in it's potions
to the gym with weighted motions
to rid my thoughts of lore
ice water by the bucket
and the urge to utter 'f*ckit' '
as the ghost of fried chicken
knocks upon my chamber door
still yet quoth the raven :

ordermore!

with my car key slowly listing
and my sad eyes sadly misting
I find myself resisting
that dark relentless shore
yet the road it takes me quickly
to a shore that makes me sickly
to those arches painted thickly
with blood red signs above the door
yet alas quoth the raven

ordermore!

with my sanity at its border
the smiling waitress
takes my order
as my savagery implores her
to feed me more and more
with the devil in the kitchen
and the smells emerging bitchin'
I devour like a lion
all the carcass blood and gore
still eternal quoth the raven :

ordermore!
ordermore!
ordermore!

If I could hold the quill of truth..over the page of unfolding story.. and hold it still and let the page itself.. write the words of your defining glory

If I could read your name in the vast retreating sea.. and follow the tides in a raft made.. from the bones of you and me

if I could see the candle, reflected in your eyes.. that lights the table beside your bed.. and see that light in constant fight.. against the dowsing tears you shed

I would pray with actions.. outside the gate of all you hold.. most true.. and guard from devils and unworthy men.. the very thing that make you, you

our tale begins midwinter
in austere and ancient rooms.. where landlords sold satanic ales to drink away life's glooms

a tortured artist drinks alone
his circumstances dire
sheltering in his suffering ways
adjacent to the fire

the world had moved on a'pace
and many were left behind
the artist eye that made him wealth.. now obsolete and blind

in matters of the fairer sex
he punched above his weight
two droplet eyes of emeralds
coupled with his fate

she had a savage logic
he lived by dint of heart
when friendly tides
bid both goodbye
they had no course to chart

the clock struck the bell's lament and soon he was last guest
when the landlord offered free a dram.. he thought it for the best

"I hear you are an artist" the bearded barman said
then pointed to a landscape
that hung above his head

"I take no joy in your poverty
as once I wore your shoes..
take that away.. for a year and day.. and I'll buy away your blues.."

dawn brought in fractions.. memory
the artist woke in bed
yet felt an uneasy presence
hanging overhead

he hung it in his study..
he hung it in the hall.. he hung it in an outhouse.. still he heard it's call

he tried to block it's echo.. by hanging in reverse.. but every colour mocked him.. his mind was now a curse

it terrorised his psyche.. it mirrored his unease.. it altered with the seasons.. trees did shed their leaves

his sanity divorced him.. to run away with pain.. he wondered if in waking dreams.. the landlord did the same..

a town called Another
a town like the others
where people dug coal mines
drank with their brothers

I met her in winter
when cold slept in slumber
behind the mountains
out of the rains

a world of rough labour
the hardest endeavour
peabody rail track
on peabody trains

I danced with her tightly
because that's what you do
a weeks worth of magic
in one hour or two

tracing her hips
through the thread of her dress
she moved like a songbird
leaving its nest

it ain't like no movie
no breath taking scenes
but black nugget mining
means coffee and beans

I never.. kept a picture
but her features are scripture
frescoed tiles
on the walls of my dreams

she was crying
in the sea
unloved and worn
she spoke to me

her heart and boards
were long ripped out
her diesel engine
left in doubt

yet I heard her
heard her true
in her estuary
of blue

mud it held her
held her fast
a defiant finger
for a mast

porthole eyes
that saw the years
open sores wept
salted tears

the odd bewildered
passerby
would enquire
of me "why?"

this dishevelled
bearded man
eating something
from a can

yet twas she
who rescued me
with my work
upon the quay

less days
to think of you
my retro thinking
hours few

I slept and ate
upon her deck
I found a haven
in her neck

and I lifted her
that year
out of wet rot
out of fear

I spent everything
I had
removing varnishing's
of sad

a friend helped me
with her coat
a rising tide
helps every boat

I thank the thousands
that walked past
who saw her place in life
as last

they failed to stop
and read the the signs
and saw no beauty
in her lines

when the playing cards fall
from the poker game of life
in name or in spirit
I'll always call you wife

you watched me live my dreams
as I trapped the river, free
you only caught a fleeting glimpse
of how we used to be

the river shares my life
she is gracious.. that I know
a willow signs your name
in the transit of it's flow

the snow here checks my rage
it qualifies each sound
the deep root of family
unchanged beneath the ground

you left this place too early
but you never left me Lil
your black hair dresses trees
and it rains strong whiskey, still

when the river is gentle
when sound runs and sighs
when starlight is music
when I first heard your lies

your blonde hair silk curtains
fell over my world
and it robbed me of daylight
on the night it unfurled

some nights I can't sleep
some days I can't eat
sometimes the curve of your memory
trips up my bare feet

I'm too tough to hate
I'm too strong to moan
when kissing her body
I still feel alone

the mist coats my bones
the air stings then soothes
some people are happy
and some sing the blues

Speak to me of worlds
We'll see
And byways we will take.

Hold me close and
tell me what a lovely
pair we make.

Kiss my hands
And sing my praises
Stroke my silken hair.

Look into my loving
Eyes and tell me
That you care.

Wait I will each
time you leave to fight
your battles long.

With your sword
and horse a blazing-
mystical and strong.

Through thick and thin
through good and bad
forever I will stay.

Because my knight
I love you true,
forever and a day.

One day in life, I may know
That what I feel will really show
I'll be not anymore afraid
Of worthless thoughts that I have made
Of shining parts my heart contains
I'll spur my horse, grip tight the reins
That whom I love shall really know
Once I was in fear to show