“O My Stars by Stewart Stafford Sweet stars of my youth I have aged, but you have not As a child, you were the wondrous dreams I aspired to In later life, you were still so bitterly distant Yet always mesmeric in your beauty With awe and gratitude for your companionship If there is another side, you shall be the celestial shore I walk upon With earthly depths beneath Where others see and dream and reach up for you. © Stewart Stafford, 2020. All rights reserved.” PoetryStarsSpacePoemAstronomyAspirationPoemsReaching For The StarsReach For The StarsTimeless Beauty Author:Stewart Stafford
“Poetry is the articulation of emotion through language.” PoetryPoetPoemPoetry QuotesPoemsPoeticPoetsPoetry QuotePoetic QuotesPoetry Quotes Art Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Green Rose by Stewart Stafford Through fractured eyes, I see the rose I once plucked, In another man's hands. And mistakes that cannot be unmade, Sins that must go unforgiven, A resigned reluctance to surrender all hope. Those fingers enwrapping, The slender stem, That only holds spiky thorns for me now. I watch and reminisce, So close and familiar, Yet so alien and barren. I turn and walk away, Leaving the green rose, In place on the grave of what once was. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryPoemEnvyJealousyPoemsLost LoveBreaking UpPoems On LoveGreen Eyed MonsterPast Relationships Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Dead Rock Star's Bar by Stewart Stafford I went for a drink in The Dead Rock Star's Bar, Phil Lynott was drinking whiskey in the jar, Jimi Hendrix was rocking the place, Elvis Presley was stuffing his face, Sid Vicious was grumpy and gruff, Freddie Mercury strutted his stuff, Marvin Gaye had plenty of soul, Lennon and Cobain compared bullet holes, Jim Morrison declared he was The Lizard King Buddy Holly sported an aeroplane wing, Such an array of talent leaves one's mouth agape, But they're all still alive on CD and tape, Wherever you live, you don't have to travel far, To have a damn good time at The Dead Rock Star's Bar. © Stewart Stafford, 1996. All rights reserved.” PoetryMusicPoemMusicianPoemsRock StarRock MusicThe BeatlesElvis PresleyFreddie Mercury Author:Stewart Stafford
“In Search of El Dorado by Stewart Stafford A meandering mountain path awaits, Build a bonfire of remembrance, With crunching staff on gravel, Certainty slowly becomes a stranger. The funereal pace of the brand-new, Is reborn in accelerating steps, In concert with liberation's adrenaline, And a cooling breeze through the brim. Startled young fox on a crag, A hawk circles overhead, Sage standing stones keep counsel, Their shadows pointing the way forward. Sheep stare and chew in nearby wet fields, Occasionally bleating confused directions, A pillar of black smoke stretches into the sky, A beacon on the horizon. A ridge around a corner, The crêpe shop comes into view, Relief exhaled upon reaching El Dorado's gates, Golden sustenance and home via the car park. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryWalksWalkingPoemPoemsWalkWalkerTreasure HuntEl DoradoHill Walking Author:Stewart Stafford
“Life Cycles by Stewart Stafford From fair youth’s day, To dark-spotted age, The blooms of May, Usher out winter’s sullen maze. When the bars of the juvenile cage are splayed, And our stars have run their course, The debt of carefree times gets repaid, As we from this earthly plain divorce. We crawl to walk and stoop alone, As the dead remain uncured, Until Time grants us further loans, Immortality is a bloodline secured. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” AgeLife LessonsPoetryPoetPoemPoemsAgeingCircle Of LifeLife HacksLife Cycles Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Easter Vigil by Stewart Stafford Nightfall on Easter Saturday, A church in darkness, Flickering fire through stained glass, Hope so close yet out of reach. The Paschal candle is lit outside from a small garden bonfire, And, in reverent procession, brought indoors, The flaming beacon makes its entrance at the rear of the congregation, The mother candle bows, bestowing blazing brows on the humbler candles of those assembled. The welcoming brightness gently spreads among the pews, Confusing darkness now a sea of light, United in illumination, And He is there. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryChristianityPoemPoemsCatholicismRitualEasterReligious PoetryEaster SaturdayEaster Vigil Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Burning Chorus by Stewart Stafford As clawed lightning, love strikes without warning to scorch the heart, And, as it is painful to be born, love, make love, and die, So we may surmise that life itself is pain in different guises, Some unwelcome interlopers but all necessary. More than passing sensations, We are shocked into living, And in that shock, the heart plots a different course, To beat for the first time or quicken with excitement or cease. Sometimes we stray into pleasure’s realms, Diverted there unknowing, And resolve to be passengers no more, But masters of when and where the burning chorus strikes. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” LoveLifePainPoetryPoemPoemsLightningLove PoemPain And PleasureLife Is Pain Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Walker by Stewart Stafford The walker takes a step forward, Positive but possibly fatal to them, Brave but perhaps foolishly ambitious to onlookers. Concentration and breathing, the antidote to cynicism, The pole, like cat’s whiskers, In feline prance. Moment to moment, Heartbeat to heartbeat, The procession continues. With creeping inevitably, The destination is reached, And the walker falls to their death. Another adventurer steps out onto the wire, A descendant of the expired walker, Determined to complete life’s tightrope. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” LifePoetryPoemPoemsLife Goes OnPoems On LifeCircle Of LifeBloodlinesTightropeTightrope Walking Author:Stewart Stafford
“Sweet Elephant of the Morning by Stewart Stafford O sweet elephant of the morning, What loud noise you make, With your leaden feet, And trumpet voice. You spray water, On your thick, dusty skin, And on anyone in proximity, To your body. Your trunk is a grey, reaching arm, And your tusks resemble curved lances, Or elongated walrus teeth, To fight off rivals. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryPoemPoemsAnimalsElephantsWildlifeZoosElephantWild AnimalsChildren S Poems Author:Stewart Stafford
“In Old Savannah by Stewart Stafford Quaking earth unleashed, An immigrant stands proud in the mêlée, Takes up the standard of his adopted country, And joins the charge. Blind in the cannon smoke, Grapeshot ricochets past, Then the patriot holds his gut, And falls bleeding. His wife awakes, To see his apparition at the foot of their bed, Morose and fading fast, Tears hang like ever-present Spanish moss on live oak. The immigrant stands proudly once more, Motionless and eternal on the plinth, A child with his father at the base points up at him, With future glory in his eyes. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” WarPoemSoldierPoemsAmerican HistorySavannahBattlefieldSavannah GeorgiaSavannah GaSiege Of Savannah Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Hibernal Realm by Stewart Stafford The compass knows not which way to go, And Life's submerged in winter's snow, The path before us fit for sleds, Dusted with a blizzard's web. Clear a path and the light the way, And get us through to break of day, Step through the ice-encrusted door, That shows the way to the dawn thaw. Stay too long in the hibernal realm, And the chill begins to overwhelm, Sit, rest, and take respite, And become at one with fading light. See The Winter King and then bow down, With frostbite smile and holly crown, Icicle sceptre makes the heartbeat slow, Lonely as the North wind blows. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryColdPoemWinterSnowPoemsBlizzardFrostbiteWinter KingWintry Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Shadow Waltz by Stewart Stafford She lays with me by night, Hewn from dark solitude, Without malice aforethought. Creaking springs as she crawls to me, In a frantic state, Babbling desperately about her pain. Nails caress my abdomen and chest, Strange warmth emanates from her, Then she rises. And is gone, Melting with the corner darkness again, Watching my slumber from the shadows. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryPoemPoemsSandmanSuccubusGhostly EncounterSuccubus DreamsNight VisitorShadow PeopleShadow Person Author:Stewart Stafford
“A Contagion Abroad by Stewart Stafford Overblown epidemic, Inferno pandemic, Death takes a vacation. Bird flu, Bat stew, Churning, gagging virus brew, Man the panic stations. Contaminate, capitulate, Sickly state, funeral date, A lost generation. Depopulate, inoculate, Virologists thwart fate, The world's rehabilitation. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryPoemPoemsCoronavirusCovid 19PandemicVaccinesVirusEpidemicInoculation Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Anatomy of Trades by Stewart Stafford Detective Toes, Senator Nose, Eye-eye Captain, And Rhinologist Blows. Banker Bum, Painter Thumb, Judge Mental, And Dentist Gum. Dancer Hip, President Lip, Dermatologist Peel, Goalie Fingertip. Beautician Eyelash, Barber Moustache Boxer Fist, And Doctor Rash. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” JobsPoetryPoemIronyPoemsSatireAnatomyFunny PoemFunny PoetryTrades Author:Stewart Stafford
“In Bastet's Thrall by Stewart Stafford A sight unseen, Eyes of feline green, Make me do their bidding. That whiskered mask, In adulation basks, Affection makes a killing. Great but small, In Bastet's thrall, It dares me with a licking. In regal fur, A seductive purr, And tail brazenly quitting. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryPoemCatPoemsCatsFelineEgyptian GodsCats And Other MythsCat LoversBastet Author:Stewart Stafford
“Daily Bread by Stewart Stafford Butcher short-changed me again, There’s sawdust in the sausages, Grocer’s growing grosser and then, A proposition with my messages. The driving instructor’s pissed on bends, I went and told his mother, The barman’s watering down pints for friends Like he’s feeding his baby brother. The barber’s still one hair off, One side doesn’t match the other, Bookie won’t take my bets and lends, The landlord another sucker. Tossed out in the street to fend for myself, With all the other refuse, Garbage man fills his truck with me, At least I still have one use. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” JobsPoetryComedyPoemWittyWitPoemsPoems On LifeFunny PoemOccupations Author:Stewart Stafford
“Numbers leave me cold. Words can make you laugh, cry, fall in love, see life and the world in new ways, make you feel nostalgic, give you hope for the future and a zillion other things. Give me poetry every time.” PoetryLanguageNumbersPoetMathematicsWordsMathPoemsMathsNumbers And Words Author:Stewart Stafford
“December is... by Stewart Stafford December is all that we give, And whatever we receive, It is those who surround us, And those who have taken leave. December is celebrating light, Where only darkness dwells, It is the ripping of wrapping paper, And tempting culinary smells. December is letting go, Of all the past year's fails, And starting anew in January, As time again chases its tail. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” TimeFamilyPoemChristmasPoemsNew YearDecemberJanuaryChristmas SeasonWinter Poetry Author:Stewart Stafford
“Different Reflections by Stewart Stafford Hatred is a many-horned monstrosity, Not one of them contains any sense, No one would mention what colour a horse is, That’s thrown them through a fence. With our fellow humans, it’s different, Race is the first port of call, When the storm of life is already upon us, The safe harbour should welcome us all. So we continue to obsess over surfaces, When the depth lies just beneath, If we could only see different reflections as our own, Victory over intolerance would be complete. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryHateRacePoemRacismHatredPoemsIntolerancePoems On LifeRacial Harmony Author:Stewart Stafford