Bri's August 2023 Poems-I've-Enjoyed-Recently-On-Poemhunter Showcase Poem by Bri Edwards

Introductory Poem (by bri edwards) :

I'll not complain (much) about the heat we are feeling....
down South,
nor about the HIGH humidity which keeps sweat flowing....
into my mouth...
from my forehead, eye-zones, cheeks, nose and lips. Oh, ....
no, I'll not complain.
I'm in the SE of these great 48 contiguous states, not the SW.....
where humidity's lower, but 'temps' are 'insane'! !

Again, my wife's away and I'm alone, left with her PC to....
'play', mostly on PoemHunter.
NOW I'm wondering how to make a good rhyme on next line, ...
so I'll not 'bother' to do so, but invite you to enjoy...
some poems from Poemhunter which I've enjoyed 'recently', ...
OK?
Well, 'ok' or not 'ok', I'll put a few together so, 'I DID IT AGAIN'...,
I'll be able to say.

Yes, here, below, I plan to paste 4-6 poems for your, the Readers', ...
pleasure.
Of course to enjoy them will require of YOU that you forego some..
other leisure.
So stop gorging yourself on ice cream [YUM yum! ], & put down the, , , ,
TV remote, or your magazine-of-choice.
And be thankful that besides this 'introductory' poem, there'll be NO...
poems of mine. Yes, Rejoice! ! !

(July 29th, 2023)

bri edwards.....or bri w. edwards :)

aka (in other places) brian edward whitaker

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All poems (unless otherwise stated) are copied as I find them from the poems' P-H pages. If you see typos etc., they should not be 'mine'. I may add some Notes, after the poems, about such things if I feel like doing so! ! ! I 'rule the roost' with my showcases, usually monthly, for YEARS, though at my 'home'-away-from-PH I do NOT rule the roost aka 'act as the boss'. ;)
The poems are selected by me, but I MAY BE INFLUENCED by poets who send me ice cream, cake, candy, and air conditioners, or any combination of THOSE.


July 29th,2023

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THE POEMS FOR AUGUST 2023, THEIR AUTHORS' NAMES, AND ANY NOTES I, Bri, ADD:
[[ At the END of the showcase I PLAN to indicate that the ENDING has been reached. ;))) ]]
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POEM TITLES AND AUTHORS:

1 - The Holocaust - A Poem Of Remembrance

Poem by Tamara Beryl Latham

Bri's Notes: I think I 'found' Tamara listed on PH with 'New Poets', which may not be very accurate regarding how 'new' the poet is to PH or any other site. Tamara has a long, interesting bio on PH. And her poem has comments; some you may find interesting. :) AND, 'The Holocaust', the purging (removal) of various groups of residents of Germany from German society [ in many cases by death ] by Hitler's associates and their subordinates mostly occured in the 1930s and 1940s. Besides Jews, people persecuted included (I believe) mentally-handicapped, Jehovah's Witnesses, non-whites, and homosexuals; you can do research on it....and you can believe it OR not believe it, some or all, or none of it. I believe it, but I was not there before, during, or after the reported events. There are plenty of books about it, plus films.

bri
:)
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2 - A True Man

Poem by Bella Angel Douglas16

Bri's Notes: Similar to Tamara (poem #1) , Bella, was 'found' by me in PH's 'New Poets' list. And she ALSO has a biography worth my while to read, is not 'new' to poetry. The photograph which accompanies the poem on its PH page is 'great' in my opinion, but DOES leave me wondering a bit, ....about what the female in the photo is thinking. :)) OF COURSE, the man in the poem was surely modeled after me, though I, Bri, am even MORE perfect. Welll, ...to be PERFECTly honest with you Readers, I think there never has been such a 'man'. But I've read a little recently of AI (Artificial Intelligence) people whose 'photos' and words may seem VERY REAL. You may know about AI, like some 'people' who may talk to you on the phone sometimes, but who aren't literally human beings. ;) I suggested this poem to PH member M. Asim Nehal, and he wrote a poem about 'A True Woman'. It's pretty good. Maybe he had AI write it?

bri
:)
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3 - Then And Now

Poem by Khairul Ahsan

Previously I used to love spacious home;
Now I prefer small spaces,
Small corners, small cubicles,
Small circles of friends,
Small plates of meals, and less often.

Previously I used to cling to whatever I possessed;
Now I want to loosen the grip
And let things go!
Things once most desired no more attract me now.
Yet, voluntary dispossession is a big exercise not easy to do!

Competitions neither inspire me now, nor attract;
Engaging in arguments seems futile.
Life is shrinking and the shadow lengthening,
It's time to let things go as they would.
A peaceful end is what I want, like everbody else.


Regina, SK, Canada
21 July 2023adesh

Khairul Ahsan
Saturday, July 22,2023

Bri's Notes: Besides this poem's high quality and its topic, which I think will 'ring a bell'
in the minds of many 'aging' PH members, I have come to think of Khairul as being a
person of high quality as well. Even if I've failed to receive gifts of ice cream from him,
.....even though he claims to be temporarily living in Canada, not India, .....I've welcomed
him and his poem to this month's showcase.

bri
:)
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4 - Form

Poem by M.J. Lemon

When the televangelist
isn't telling you to press
your afflicted parts against
the TV screen for a healing
that will take place
in less time than
it takes me
to nip round the corner to
my favourite English pub

The poet is extolling all
virtue in and of the human
form
Organs, even when shattered,
search for the love
the lust the one
to make them whole
and innocent again

But who'd write
a poem
to sepsis?

I won't
be the first
I'm not that one

M.J. Lemon
Thursday, June 22,2023

Bri's Notes:
I was not 100% convinced about giving Mr. Lemon a
5-star rating, which recently has been one way for me
to decide which poems to use in a showcase. BUT,
as 'an old saying' goes/says: 'When life gives you lemons,
make lemonade.'

bri
;)
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5 - Loneliness Abounds

Poem by Cowboy Ron Williams

‘It's lonely not to have a lover, '
says my good friend LeeAnn.
Perhaps together we'll discover,
as only lovers can,
true love, and not just mere attraction,
but happiness galore.
Stop dreaming and let's have some action,
and see what there's in store.

Cowboy Ron Williams
Wednesday, July 12,2023

Bri's Notes:
I would 'love' to visit Ron in Colorado, see him try to mount
his horse [[ I mean onto/into its saddle ]], see him catch, fillet,
cook, and eat Colorado trout, washing it down with gobs of Vanilla
Bean ice cream, and SHARING some ice cream with his friend,
ME. Well, one can dream, can't I? ? Ron is one of 'us' funny men,
I mean humorous men on PH. And though I've teased him about
his alleged age, I think he would welcome me to his home.....IF
I supplied the dessert.
Ron, do you have Hershey's chocolate syrup by any chance?

bri
:)


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6 -
Perfect Day

Poem by Ruth Walters

The perfect day sits in old photographs
on mantlepieces and console tables
but it was never really perfect.
Moments of it may have been,
but marred by irritating blips
that we choose to forget.
We coloured in the rest
in shades of rose,
boasted the day
was flawless.

Ruth Walters
Tuesday, July 11,2023

Bri's Notes:
Like me, Ruth, an English lady no less, seems to be a very nice person. When I say 'Like me' I mean she seems nice, NOT that I'm also a lady! !
Here poem deserves to be here; I 'love' the arrangement of the poem's lines. Its shape makes me think of half of an 'upside down' wedding cake, cut pecisely down its middle. The bride and groom, which were on the top, are now embedded inside the top (now 'the bottom') of the cake.
Please excuse Ruth's use of 'coloured', as she is 'one of them' who has not learned the.....
PROPER aka American spelling.: (

bri
;)

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READERS: Ok! ! ! If the above, with 6 poems I've borrowed, gets published as it appears to ME now, you can consider this a 'wrap' aka an end to this August 2023 Showcase. MAYBE if this 'works', I'll edit another day to add the texts of poems 1 & 2. We'll see, won't we?

Well, I still ended up editing more, but still may not add texts for poems 1 & 2. Tamara and Bella, do you KNOW how MUCH I like ICE CREAM? ? ? ? [[ hint, hint ;) ]]

bri
:)

July 30th,2023

Thanks for joining me.



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