Section C In October 2016 …a Showcase For P H Poets....[ Expanding Horizons For P H Members; Different Poems For Different Tastes; Long ] Poem by Bri Edwards

My appeal for October poems has been a success,
so I'm constructing Section C; excuse the mess.
The foundation is now being laid by yours truly.
I hope, while you're waiting, none will be unruly!

I've got one more (?) slot to be filled in 'B',
but I've got poems waiting to get into a 'C'.
Some are offered, some I steal (with permission) ,
and I hope nothing interferes with this transition...
from a TWO-section showcase to a showcase with THREE.

If you have any questions or concerns, send them to ME!

(October 21, 2016)

bri :)

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ON THE POEM'S PAGE THERE IS A LOT OF MORE WRITTEN BY ME ABOUT
HOW I'VE DEVELOPED THE SHOWCASE STRUCTURE, and SOME SUGGESTIONS
FOR READERS AND SUBMITTERS OF POEMS. i leave all that 'extra
stuff' out of this message. bri :)
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i just added the last (15th) poem to Section B. It is a very long and personal poem by Brian Johnston. well worth looking at, ESPECIALLY if you like stories of unhappy upbringings.: (


Section C's:


THE POETS AND THE TITLES:
[Up to fifteen (15) listed in chronological order as they were received, from first to last]:

1 - Eugene Levich

Americans Now

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2 - Bharati Nayak

For Them Whose Sweat Flow For My Comfort

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3 - Della Perry

Baby Cried

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4 - Bri Edwards

Shy Bri ….[ The ‘other' Me; Fantasy; Shyness To The Extreme? ; Humor; Long; Growing To Adulthood]

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5 - Clarence Prince

A Season Once In Eden! !

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6 - Andy (aka Paul) Brookes

Blankety Blank Frank.

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7 - Tom Billsborough

I Am Here

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8 - Ging Taping

Zamboanga Sibugay


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9 - Ruth Walters

October

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Bri's Note: Ruth has an 'October' poem similar to this one in her list of PH poems, but i don't think she has this one.

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10 - Annette Aitken

Reclaiming Sunshine

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11 - Lynn W. Petty

What Would I Say?

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Bri's Note: i've put this poem also into Section A of November's showcase. Lynn says his doctor asked him the question, AND now the doctor shares the poem with some other patients.

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etc. up to # 15 in this section.....Bri may end it sooner, as November is fast-approaching. :)
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ok, folks. i'll stop at #11 on October 29th. please go to November's showcase for more poems by my PH friends.
:)
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THE POEMS for Section C of October showcase.

(up to 15 poems, listed in REVERSE order of when i received them. THEN it will be time to start a November showcase!)



etc. up to # 15 if need be.

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15 -? ?
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14 -? ?
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13 -? ?
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12 - no more this month! thanks for reading.

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11 - by Lynn W. Petty


What Would I Say?

What would I say to someone diagnosed
With cancer? I was asked by my Doctor.
What words of satisfaction would I speak?
Some pithy aphorism would I say;
Some passage from the Bible? I think not.

But, what I say must reach the inner man,
That place that goes beyond the ego depth;
Beyond the realm of consciousness. Deep down
It lies; that power of man's healing self.
It could be called the soul-mind of the brain.

The physical and soul-mind then resolve
Themselves into a forceful strength, both work
Together now as one creative force,
Which manifests, through one's inspired thoughts;
An image of one's body in repair.

There is a strong reliance held between
The mind and the corporeal. They form
That picture of oneself completely healed.
One lives as though it were a fact, a truth.
We know, we feel, we see, therefore it is.

The builder is the mind, the physical
Becomes the outcome. The awaking
Of one's creative power is a blend;
A merging of the physical with mind;
A prompting of the Will, to heal, takes place.

One must exclude all things that constitute
The negative; all fears, all anxious thoughts,
Which interfere and block the soul-mind's act
Of creativity. They will destroy
The vision of one's fitness and good health.

One must maintain one's might to fight this scourge.
One eats to live, despite one's lack of taste.
Maintain the strength to concentrate, through food.
For undernourishment is cancer's friend,
And malnutrition overwhelms one's goal.

Depending on the power of belief,
The force of one's conviction, will create
The actuality of one's good health.
The embryo of all existing things
Was but a thought and, then reality.

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Poet's Notes about The Poem'
Take this work for what you will. It worked for me and, I survived that scourge we call cancer.

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10 - Annette Aitken


Reclaiming Sunshine

Behind the Mask
he hides away
shunned by people all his days
he craved for love and understanding
the simple things this life could offer him
to walk beneath the sun at noon
to swim between the blue lagoons
for crashing waves to knock him over
to run so fast, his heart will flutter
to climb the mountains far and wide
yell HELLO to the other side
to hear his echo grow and grow.
to make snow angels in the cold
the simple things in life we know
he craves from us to be included
to reclaim sunshine so far eluded.

Who are we to stand in his way?

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Bri's Note: on the poem's page Annette has, above her 'Reclaiming Sunshine' title, the extended title: 'Reclaiming Sunshine (Stand Up To The Bullies) '.

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9 - by Ruth Walters


October

October's leaves are our flowers in Autumn,
their beauty, natures way of colouring dull times
until the ground is blanketed by snow
in Mid Winter.

Some turn to mush on wet pavements,
trodden in by
heavy footed men
on their way to work.

Parks are carpeted in red and gold
but folk hurry by
too busy to enjoy
the warm rich hues.

Cold, bright sunshine dazzles eyes
on odd October mornings
teasing us into false security
just before the frost

and as the early Tulips and Daffodils die,
October fades
awaiting a chilly November
as we sigh for their loss.

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8 - by Ging Taping


Zamboanga Sibugay

It's so nice to be back to where your heart belong.
if only I could stay just for awhile
'please I would love to'..
reminiscing those old days
the valleys the mountains and the hills are standing still
seasons sculpted each perfect curvature.
Clouds gliding down the Bermuda grass
like a blowing cotton falling from the sky
shrouded the countryside.
bare feet walking on farm dyke the view savor my eyes.
wind blows softly swayed my hair so i grasp and clip to my ears
Mayas chirrup in the rice field but Scarecrow stir them away.
Clasped hands i'm feeling cold morning breeze embracing me.

Its been long years memory blast
picture vivid clearly I was waving goodbye
the hardest part in parting ways
You want to go but you left your heart
It's tearing me apart.

Now I'm leaving again soon.
bring my heart back to Manila
Don't worry i packed all the memories
I once had with you Zamboanga Sibugay

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7 - by Tom Billsborough


I Am Here

'Chacun en soi et son ami vivra' Louise Labé


I am here and you are there
And you are here and I am there
As each to each the other moves
Constant as the murmuring waves
Breaking in soliloquies
Upon a silent shore,
The sea and sand together and apart
Yet always touching as you touch my heart.
For I am here and you are there
It matters not how far the where.
Each to each the love shall move
Since you are here and I am there.

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6 - by Andy (aka Paul) Brookes


Blankety Blank Frank

I find as I stutter to a grinding halt,
wondering if this writer's block's my fault.
lines that flowed are now surely stopped;
pictures in my head clipped and cropped.

no rhyming's not worked
so I'll try a brand new tack,
try writing a sonnet on my back,
my head's thinking clack clack clack.

rhyme it seems is my only bow
and my metres like treacle won't flow.
tricky thing this slippery verse
oh my, this ditty's worse and worse.

free verse it seems doesn't float my boat
I'll go for a walk, now where is my coat?
a breath of fresh air will sort me out
inspiration, I'm sure will gush and sprout.

sadly it dosen't it seems that I lose,
no nothings coming, I've lost the muse.
but hey if I'm able to write of the block
maybe this poem was my way to unlock.

So the days started poorly I'll go back to bed
try to reboot the Muse in my head
and tomorrow I'll be back to mangle and construe
and think I'm a great poet, so hey what is new.

so end I this ditty and say don't despair
If I write these lines with nary a care.
remember this poor guy's got no street cred
for no poets as bad as the one you've just read.

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5 - by Clarence Prince


A Season Once In Eden! !

When I look back down in life's memory
And I thought of the Adam and Eve story
I considered that man was clothed in glory
But to the taste of a fruit man lost his clothes
Shame stepped in, man sought leaves for cloth
The sound of feet drove him to hide
It was that season once in Eden
Why life for man is, as is

It shouldn't have happened, yet it did
Man to live forever is still just a bid
He was deceived by the evil one
Then life for man was lost once
He was beguiled by evil in disguise
God went in the evening to reason, but....
It was that season once in Eden
Why life for man is, as is

One is wise, His name is God
When you are sad He will be your Dad
If you've done wrong don't try to hide
But, by His side run to abide
By wisdom He re-clothed man
The Lord used skin then to cover sin
It was that season once in Eden
Why life for man is, as is.

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4 - by Bri Edwards


Shy Bri ….[ The ‘other' Me; Fantasy; Shyness To The Extreme? ; Humor; Long; Growing To Adulthood] - Poem by Bri Edwards

Some of you think you know me well,
but I doubt you do. Now I will tell …
‘the way it is'.
My life that is, specifically that I AM shy ….,
almost since I was 'Just a Twinkle in my Dad's Eye'.

Even my fetal brain thought: 'I don't want out.
I don't want to go where I hear others scream and shout.
I like it here, all alone, all by myself. I DO.
‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. That's very true.
Please, if anyone is listening, I think I'm TOO SHY ….
to enter the unknown world. Do I have to? WHY? '

[When they ‘did' the ultrasound, I covered my 'private parts'. What DID they want to know? If I had too many hearts? ! ']
Yes, I was THAT shy.

But, apparently No One listened, OR no one cared,
‘cause months later I heard 'Mrs. Edwards, are you prepared? '
And then Mom's response: 'Doc, get this over RIGHT Away! '.
AND THEN 'my home-for-nine-months' began to sway.

But I heard Doc say (hours later) : 'Forceps. Get THOSE! '
And next thing I knew, something cold clamped onto my nose!
Well, 'the water' had 'broken', I was not feeling swell,
so I decided to not resist. They yanked. I fell …….
out of Mom.

I was shy. I kept my eyelids tightly-closed, against the light;
I'd never had them open. I didn't even know WHAT WAS ….'sight'.
But I found out soon enough, when Doc gave my butt a slap.
My eyes opened to a brand new, busy world. I was NOT hap-
py! !

And I was SHY. If I could have spoken, I'd have said:
'Cover me, please. I'm cold and covered with wet and red',
but the Real Reason I thought 'cover me' was: I WAS SHY!
I've learned since then that most newborns AREN'T. Tell me, Why?

I at first was too shy to 'take' my mother's breast,
but soon enough I learned Mom's milk was 'The Best'.
I could have drunk for hours but Mom soon ran out,
at which point, if I hadn't been So Shy, I'd have let out a shout.

Diapers! ? I didn't need them for nine months straight!
I didn't want them now, but Mom and Dad thought they were great.
STILL, I only let my diaper be changed twice a week,
by which time each of my diapers would severely REEK!
But I was VERY SHY!

Oh! The camera. Who made such a ghastly invention?
Click, click, click. I KNOW my shyness I did mention,
but STILL they aimed that thing at me Night and Day,
while I ate, slept, cried, laughed, did ‘work' or play.

Yes, 'work'! Did you think it was easy to learn …
to focus my eyes, endure the noise, AND twist AND turn? ?

'Bath time'. Yuck! yuck! Imagine my mood!
Yank the clothes off I'd gotten used to. I think that was RUDE!
Couldn't they at least give me privacy? I guess Hell No!
They had to see AND touch me from my head to EACH toe!

Oil here and powder there. Run a comb through my hair.
But enough about my infancy! ! It was rough; I swear.
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Parents think 'the Terrible Twos' is hard (for them) . I'll tell you what.
For me it was like ‘first time on golf course, having to sink a putt ….from twenty feet'!
And whatever I did was watched and closely scrutinized.
If YOU aren't a shy person, like me, you'd be surprised …
how anxiety-provoking it was for ‘SHY BRI'.
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Fast-forward ….WAY FORWARD. Try 'college'. You bet!
[I'd had some counseling while in high school. I got upset …..
that the psychologistS could (for my shyness) NOT find a cure! ]
Imagine: I arrived at my freshman dorm and was told: 'You're..
out of luck, we are sorry to say. No private rooms available ……today.'

And so it was I roomed with an extrovert …no less!
At least he was polite and well-spoken. His name was Wes.
It was very difficult, but I told him how shy I was.
So if I was undressing, Wes would look away ‘cause …
he respected me and my 'condition'.

I was lucky. Very lucky. The next three years I spent …
living with Wes in a two bedroom apartment …I did rent.
And, of course going to classes where I was forced to speak …
in front of fellow students. I did ok, but my voice was weak.

Wes had a girlfriend, Patti, and she was very nice too.
I kind of envied Wes, and finally asked what I could do ….
to meet a girl, maybe someone shy like me. Patti said 'I'll see …
what I can do.'

That's how I met Joyce. For 'looks' she wasn't my first choice,
but, gee, she was GREAT! And shy. She too had a weak voice.
Our two weak voices spent hours talking to one another,
but (remembering each other's shyness) we tried to not smother the other.

After we graduated, we married. Ten years already!
We have twins, a girl Sonya, and a red-haired boy, Freddy.
Sonya is a bundle of energy and so Out-Going!
But Freddy is like his dad, Bri; his shyness is always showing.
……
We're working on it.

(October 19,2016)

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3 - by Della Perry


Baby Cried

Baby cried
She wanted love
Baby cried
She needed care
Baby cried
Mother was there
But she was absent.

Baby screamed
She needed love
Baby screamed
She wanted care
Baby screamed
Mother was near
But she refused to hear.



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2 - by Bharati Nayak


For Them Whose Sweat Flow For My Comfort

I pass by them
As they carry
Loads of metals and
Sand on their heads
In building roads
Houses, dams and bridges
I feel nothing
When they are
Engaged in hard labour
In factories working near
Hot furnaces and sharp machineries
I do not feel
When they work underground
In the mines
In toxic smokes and black dust

My ride is smooth
Because of the rickshaw puller
My shoe shines
By the brush strokes
Of the cobbler

But when they look at my silk saree
And the bag of vanity
The smoke and the dust in the air
Leave me with a sense of guilty.

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1 - by Eugene Levich


Americans Now - Poem by Eugene Levich

They are informed of their needs by TV ads
They don't write long letters to their loved
They tweet

They don't grow corn and tomatoes
Or skin out a deer
Hanging from a scotch pine

They don't look into faces and hearts
Only into Facebook
That compendium of moronic nonsense

Their vegetables come from hot houses
Their meat in packages
Everything plastic wrapped
Like their lives

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THANKS FOR JOINING US.

bri :)