The 5 Senses Poem Challenge

[UnderYourSpell]

..sigh

[champagne1982]

and Annie..

Your poem evokes such powerful feelings of sadness and a poignant regret for those missing good times. You deserve a thank you, too.

hear: horses hooves
smell: new mown hay
taste: bacon
see: large bird (your choice)
feel: tired

On the bluff above the westward bend
just before the trestle bridge
you can smell the sweet grass shorn
close along the lines of the upper ridge

The triangle alarm hangs from the porch
post hewn from straight jack pine
and as the clangor fades the clopped
rhythm of hooves sounds down the line

in hasty pursuit of that salty melt
of pork belly fat fried on the hot grill.
Two eggs stare back as they perch
on a nest of toast. You wonder will

the big, fat hen be saddened. Her clutch
stolen as she slept, sated on corn,
tired and replete as potential chicks die
saved by death from a life of chicken porn.
_______________________

hear: breaking glass
smell: smoke
taste: tea
see: blazing buildings
feel: anger

[respeito]

thank you for welcoming me, Neonurotic. i hope i don't get into too much trouble for this, but i saw BooMerengue's post the afternoon it was posted and worked from that list. i've posted champagne's original list below if it will help to keep the thread moving.


BooMerengue's original list:

hear: church bells
smell: lilacs
taste: dry mouth
see: something (your choice) in the mist
feel: happy and frightened

church bells on santorini awaken the aegean sea
even in the mist, the oia skyline is breathtaking
oleander and lilacs dot the rustic cliffside and perfume the air

the marketplace springs to life
my eyes are drawn to the rainbow of fruits on display
the smell of exotic spices seduce my senses
my bag is filled with souvenirs made by loving hands

i sampled my first salt cod and chloro cheese,
tasted a vinsanto that was ever so sweet
an older lady with well-aged olive skin
suggested that i not miss the sunset.

"see it from the water," she said.
the thought alone gave me dry mouth
but by the time evening graced the sculptured island
i found myself at the harbor-- happy and frightened

the catamaran sailed into the caldera
my anxieties were calmed by the unobstructed view
of that impressive, golden sunset

i'll always remember this experience fondly

champagne1982's original list:

Originally Posted by champagne1982

hear: breaking glass
smell: smoke
taste: tea
see: blazing buildings
feel: anger

[BooMerengue]

hear: breaking glass
smell: smoke
taste: tea
see: blazing buildings
feel: anger


I saw the flame of burning buildings
in his eyes as I calmly drank my tea
and let my anger build. His look seared my heart
turned my love to smoke
and when I hit him the sound
of breaking glass
was music to my ears.



hear: children laughing
smell: charred meat
taste: ice cold Coke
see: dogs
feel: despair

[BooMerengue]

don't stop now, y'all. this is fun!

[BooMerengue]

Originally Posted by UnderYourSpell

..sigh

what??

sighing is so melodramatic...

come have a dance w/ me...

[UnderYourSpell]

Originally Posted by BooMerengue

what??

sighing is so melodramatic...

come have a dance w/ me...

beat me berate me even handcuff my ankles to the bedpost but please don't ignore me! *congas off stage left behind Boo*

[Neonurotic]

Originally Posted by UnderYourSpell

..sigh

I corrected my post.

[UnderYourSpell]

Originally Posted by Neonurotic

I corrected my post.

awwwwwww thank you

[Angeline]

Originally Posted by BooMerengue

hear: breaking glass
smell: smoke
taste: tea
see: blazing buildings
feel: anger


I saw the flame of burning buildings
in his eyes as I calmly drank my tea
and let my anger build. His look seared my heart
turned my love to smoke
and when I hit him the sound
of breaking glass
was music to my ears.



hear: children laughing
smell: charred meat
taste: ice cold Coke
see: dogs
feel: despair

2nd Avenue Deli

We were laughing
but hushed when the waiter
hunched tense to his pad
though patience was writ
on his sagging face.

He nodded some signal
across the clatter and slurp,
and a few words boiled
over the crowd:
No, past Delancey
and Somebody
shut that door!

It's hot outside.

You'll eat kasha varnishkas?
he asks me as if my father
weren't right there
to tell me to eat my lunch,
but all waiters are fathers
here and lawyers, matchmakers,
judges, little Solomons
in white aprons.

You eat your Kasha
and I bring you rugalach,
you like chocolate
or cinnamon?

Daddy's pastrami
is charred and pungent,
my mouth puckers
around a half sour,
opens for icy Dr Brown's
Cream soda.
There's nothing

like despair here,
just a seeing eye dog
waiting on the tile
and an old man at the counter
who davens at our money
and says
Papa pays, Papa pays.


hear: trumpet
smell: gasoline
taste: popcorn
see: crowd
feel: wind

[BooMerengue]

hear: trumpet
smell: gasoline
taste: popcorn
see: crowd
feel: wind


Wind. Always the wind
Out here in the desert
even as the sun leaves
to warm the other side of
the mountains.
But theres music, too
and as I pump the gasoline
I feel it moving me, the wails
of those who've passed this way
my hips move to the dirge
blown from a trumpet as
a lone goose flies overhead.
The young girl hands me a sawbuck
and swirls back to the blacktop
rocks hitting the windows
like popcorn gone wild.
I sit again on the old crate
and tell the wind
You have to start over. I
missed some of it.


hear: snowflakes
smell: salty ocean
taste: a flower (your choice)
see: an old abandoned house/cabin
feel: a dirty china plate

[respeito]

Originally Posted by BooMerengue

hear: breaking glass
smell: smoke


taste: tea
see: blazing buildings
feel: anger


I saw the flame of burning buildings
in his eyes as I calmly drank my tea
and let my anger build. His look seared my heart
turned my love to smoke
and when I hit him the sound
of breaking glass
was music to my ears.





hear: children laughing
smell: charred meat
taste: ice cold Coke
see: dogs
feel: despair

when that particular instance of despair invades my mind,
i think about summer and our younger selves.

ice cold coke poured over homemade vanilla ice cream,
the neighbor's dogs barking when our frisbee landed in their yard.
the dollhouse we decorated ourselves
trick or treating-- you were a bumble bee, i was a witch

uncle sonny's famous ribs; even now
the smell of charred meat sparks up nostalgia
and the enchanting sound of children laughing
reminds me of you.

i was angry when you went away
i learned at a young age that for all time was a lie
pouncer, your favorite stuffed animal was in the basket that day--
that day our lives changed

after the accident, your parents insisted that i keep him
today, pouncer attended my daughter's tea party
she asked about him
i smiled tearfully and told her all about you.

hear: harp
smell: leather
taste: caramel
see: a circle
feel: tranquil

[respeito]

late again... i'm sorry.

[Curious_in_Cali]

hear: harp
smell: leather
taste: caramel
see: a circle
feel: tranquil


she's locked inside a circle of friends
hungry eyes and sharp forks amend

notes of old leather season the air
buttery caramel hidden somewhere

he plucks at the strings between her legs
an angelic song it calls and it begs

humming softly to tranquil resonance
silencing pains fickle dissonance



hear: laughter
smell: rain
taste: salt
see: elephant
feel: bliss

[BooMerengue]

Originally Posted by respeito

late again... i'm sorry.

dont be sorry. no time limits here. just fun and creativity.

[Angeline]

Originally Posted by BooMerengue

dont be sorry. no time limits here. just fun and creativity.

You're in the zone, Boo. I like what I'm reading.

[BooMerengue]

Originally Posted by Angeline

You're in the zone, Boo. I like what I'm reading.

I'm trying. Tryin hard. Its not there like it was, but somethin is. Glad to feel you breathin down my neck.

[respeito]

Originally Posted by BooMerengue

hear: snowflakes
smell: salty ocean
taste: a flower (your choice)
see: an old abandoned house/cabin
feel: a dirty china plate

i owe you an apology
see i didn't see the three story victorian home
with gingerbread trim and turrets or even the wrap around porch
gothic architecture i believe were your words

all i saw
was an old abandoned house

i didn't see the feather-like crystal
fragile and intricate
falling carelessly from the clouds during the winter solstice
with a spirit as free as the wind

all i saw
was a snowflake

i didn't see the cerulean mass of water
glistening below the moon goddess
waves moving sinuously
toward the sandy shore

all i saw
was the salty ocean

please forgive me
i did not see the the elegant patterns
painted on this porcelain
or the secrets contained within the gold trim

all i saw
was a dirty china plate

i did not see the anemone
or know that they were a product
of aphrodite's tears when she
grieved over the death of adonis

all i saw
was a flower

i'm sorry that your way of thinking
was theoretical and could only
be appreciated intellectually
while i was inclined to think more practically

all i saw
was a difficult connection

hear: silence
smell: coffee grounds
taste: cornbread
see: a city bus
feel: free

[Angeline]

Originally Posted by respeito

i owe you an apology
see i didn't see the three story victorian home
with gingerbread trim and turrets or even the wrap around porch
gothic architecture i believe were your words

all i saw
was an old abandoned house

i didn't see the feather-like crystal
fragile and intricate
falling carelessly from the clouds during the winter solstice
with a spirit as free as the wind

all i saw
was a snowflake

i didn't see the cerulean mass of water
glistening below the moon goddess
waves moving sinuously
toward the sandy shore

all i saw
was the salty ocean

please forgive me
i did not see the the elegant patterns
painted on this porcelain
or the secrets contained within the gold trim

all i saw
was a dirty china plate

i did not see the anemone
or know that they were a product
of aphrodite's tears when she
grieved over the death of adonis

all i saw
was a flower

i'm sorry that your way of thinking
was theoretical and could only
be appreciated intellectually
while i was inclined to think more practically

all i saw
was a difficult connection

hear: silence
smell: coffee grounds
taste: cornbread
see: a city bus
feel: free

I buried my silence
in the coffee grounds
like the goldfish I won
at the New Jersey State Fair,
orange disappearing under brown
the little bump of dirt
in my backyard doesn't last
the winter anymore

than my words muffled
in a coffeecup or chewed
up in cornbread. everything
swallowed in shades of yellow
and that peculiar palette
of early evening when traffic
is distant and a bus heaves
a far off sigh then wheezes
dusty into the distance.

I'm as free
as the coffee I can drink
or free to pour my words
down the drain and wait
for the gurgling echo, free
to pretend someone
is listening.

hear: scream
smell: rain
taste: jam
see: a crow
feel: confused

[BooMerengue]

Respito!

That was beautifully done!!

Thank you!

[BooMerengue]

Originally Posted by Angeline

I buried my silence
in the coffee grounds
like the goldfish I won
at the New Jersey State Fair,
orange disappearing under brown
the little bump of dirt
in my backyard doesn't last
the winter anymore

than my words muffled
in a coffeecup or chewed
up in cornbread. everything
swallowed in shades of yellow
and that peculiar palette
of early evening when traffic
is distant and a bus heaves
a far off sigh then wheezes
dusty into the distance.

I'm as free
as the coffee I can drink
or free to pour my words
down the drain and wait
for the gurgling echo, free
to pretend someone
is listening.

hear: scream
smell: rain
taste: jam
see: a crow
feel: confused

Ange. You're picking on me now.

I stood on the hill
and screamd out my pain
thought no one would hear
covered up by the rain
and all while I thought
that no one would know
I glanced over my shoulder
at that goddamned ol crow
he thought he'd confuse me
change my mind into jam
But I pulled out my Ruger
Ended him with a Blam!

HA!

hear: parade
smell: decay
taste: sand blown cotton candy
see: Stephen King
feel: happy

[Angeline]

Originally Posted by BooMerengue

Ange. You're picking on me now.

I stood on the hill
and screamd out my pain
thought no one would hear
covered up by the rain
and all while I thought
that no one would know
I glanced over my shoulder
at that goddamned ol crow
he thought he'd confuse me
change my mind into jam
But I pulled out my Ruger
Ended him with a Blam!

HA!

hear: parade
smell: decay
taste: sand blown cotton candy
see: Stephen King
feel: happy

I'm just saying I love your poem and it made me laugh. I am not writing about sand-blown cotton candy cause it sounds too yech to me.

[respeito]

BooMerengue-- thank you so much for that positive feedback. it means a lot
i cheated with your list a litte. i have no idea what "sand blown cotton candy" is, and i used the word "blissful" instead of "happy"

Originally Posted by BooMerengue

hear: parade
smell: decay
taste: sand blown cotton candy
see: Stephen King
feel: happy

my legs fervently grip your waist
inviting you to push deeper inside me

arms and wrists twisted around one another
you melt into me like sweet cotton candy

low soft moans escape my lips
as you seek salvation in my essence

my body rises to meet yours
i'm intoxicated with lust and will admit my addiction

that sexy "v" under your lower abs grinding against me
strong steady beats like a bass drum at the parade

you beg for my climax and i rupture in erotic delight
a heavy burden so violent, stephen king would want the rights to it

the decay of our release subsides and i stroke your face
gazing longingly at that blissful expression

hear: rustle of leaves
smell: mint
taste: honey
see: taxi
feel: a massage

[BooMerengue]

Originally Posted by respeito

BooMerengue-- thank you so much for that positive feedback. it means a lot
i cheated with your list a litte. i have no idea what "sand blown cotton candy" is, and i used the word "blissful" instead of "happy"



my legs fervently grip your waist
inviting you to push deeper inside me

arms and wrists twisted around one another
you melt into me like sweet cotton candy

low soft moans escape my lips
as you seek salvation in my essence

my body rises to meet yours
i'm intoxicated with lust and will admit my addiction

that sexy "v" under your lower abs grinding against me
strong steady beats like a bass drum at the parade

you beg for my climax and i rupture in erotic delight
a heavy burden so violent, stephen king would want the rights to it

the decay of our release subsides and i stroke your face
gazing longingly at that blissful expression

hear: rustle of leaves
smell: mint
taste: honey
see: taxi
feel: a massage

The rules say you can change stuff. I had 'sand blown cotton candy' there on purpose tho. Think about how that could happen... A windy day on the Boardwalk? (Ange?) a poor child who found it etc. I like gumming up the works now and then. Have to when Ange is lurkin- she's too damn slick!

[BooMerengue]

hear: rustle of leaves
smell: mint
taste: honey
see: taxi
feel: a massage

Sir Rustle of Leaves wanted money.
"May I ride in your taxi?" asked Honey
"Well, massaging's a hint
and I'll pay YOU a Mint!"
"Well I just do not think that thats funny!"


This is a good example of what a limerick sounds like when you're watching Anthony Bourdain, getting dressed for lunch out, and trying to catch a crafty cat who needs a pill!

But like ol Johnny said... "Let it be..."


hear: any old Beatle tune
smell: Mississippi's Muddy Water
taste: Eat A Peach (Allman Bros.)
see: 59th Street Bridge
feel: a hot summer night

Of course this is for anyone and all if you like, but specially for Ange, and ee? Get off yer duff, boy! Throw a pen at him Ange. Hard.