By Scott Bailey © 2018
The things that we hoard
Entrance us and enslave us
A lifetime of toil
To sit on an empty throne
Why not take the easy road
Entrapment
Tag: #Tanka Tuesday
Enchanted Forest
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Forest
Verdant, alive
Roots reaching out and down
Branches stretching up to the sky
Spellbound
#Cinquain
Merry
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Hobbit
Brave Brandybuck
Bringing sense to his friends
Finding honour in Rohan’s ranks
Small knight
#cinquain
Passion
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Passion
Wanes while years pass
Becomes something finer
Matured, refined, rich with wisdom
Mellowed
Do not be fooled by its calmness
Maturity and depth
Do not weaken
Passion
#Cinquain #Butterfly-Cinquain
Entrapment
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The things that we hoard
Entrance us and enslave us
A lifetime of toil
To sit on an empty throne
Why not take the easy road
Enchanted Forest
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Forest
Verdant, alive
Roots reaching out and down
Branches stretching up to the sky
Spellbound
#Cinquain
Sway
By Scott Bailey © 2019
All
That I
Survey is
Under my sway
That is what they say
The evidence is slim
So I start to understand
How perfidious is the world
And the darkness begins to seep in
The entropy of hope, and dream slayer
So I must strive to remember the truth
My eyes are my window to the world
What dwells behind them in my world
My kingdom and my domain
So here I shall remain
That is what I say
Under my sway
In my eye
That is
All
In response to COLLEEN’S 2019 WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 132 #SYNONYMSONLY
Influence & Perception
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A double Etheree
#Etheree
Galaxy
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Swirling, whirling milky clouds of stars
Spiralling down to the black hole
Supermassive hungry dark
Swallowing all it can
Axle of the wheel
Sparkling star arms
Shining cloud
Holds our
Home
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 113, HAPPY DECEMBER! POETS CHOICE OF WORDS
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
Going for a Nonet as it now included – plus, I am really lacking time so here’s one I made earlier 🙂
#Nonet
The Solace of the Night
By Scott Bailey © 2018
When the fire goes out
The heat is dissipated
Darkness falls again
Only then do the creatures
Of the night find their solace
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 112, “COLD & SAFE,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A tanka this week.
#tanka
Engage
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Life is engaging
Creatures decipher the truth
They peruse it all
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 110, “PLEASANT & READ,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A haiku this week. Keeping it simple.
#haiku
Remembrance
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Gone
The sound
The thunder
No silence reigns
And the poppies bloom
Nodding respectfully
To the brave that lay beneath
The swathe of red that remembers
The blood that was shed here for freedom
And the folly of man to his brother
So we may never forget all that pain
To ensure it will not come again
We respect them with silent thoughts
Resist any violent trends
Talk, build bridges, not walls
While the poppies bloom
While silence reigns
Honour those
That are
Gone
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 109, HAPPY NOVEMBER – “POETS CHOICE OF WORDS”
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A double mirrored Etheree that is fitting for the time of year – particularly this year.
#Etheree
Future
By Scott Bailey © 2018
This is serious
The future makes me tremble
These frightening days
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 108, “AFRAID & GRAVE,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A senryu (sort of) this week. Very late and a little hurried
#senryu
Lost Realm
By Scott Bailey © 2018
For a sweet moment
This green forest was all mine
My own secret realm
Now, it is fenced off, private
Playground of the privileged
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 107, “HAUNT & SPELL,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A tanka this week.
#tanka
The Long Dark Night
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Orange
King of the hues
When autumn starts to fall
Slowly, fear steals over the land
Chilling
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 104, HAPPY OCTOBER – “POETS CHOICE OF WORDS”
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
And if you are feeling in the mood to get creepy – check out this
#CINQUAIN
Blind
By Scott Bailey © 2013
We
are blind
to the truth
Everyday
Suffering goes on
And we deny it all
Unable to find a way
Through the maze of our modern lives
To a place where we can be ourselves
And hold out that hand that helps our neighbour
Instead we clench our hand in a tight fist
Holding tight onto what we have gained
Not seeing what we are losing
What slips away from our grasp
Diminishing our souls
Focused on our goals
With such passion
That we are
simply
Blind
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 104, HAPPY OCTOBER – “POETS CHOICE OF WORDS”
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
Not feeling very well and as it is the poet’s choice of words and the Etheree has been added to the list of forms – thought I would include this double Etheree I did some time ago.
#Double Etheree
Arise
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Water
Drops from the sky
Yearning to reach the sea
It’s path always heading downwards
Tumbling
Humans
Are not water
Humans yearn for the sky
They strive and climb up and up
Struggling
Sliding
Down from the heights
Steps faltering and weak
Bringing us down into the deep
Failing
Thinking
Measure the path
Assaying obstacles
Planning with forethought and wisdom
Reason
Rising
Against the rain
Climbing the steep ascent
Aiming for the sky, for the stars!
Soaring
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 103, “FALL & TRY,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
Had a go at a crown cinquain this week
#crown-cinquain
Youth
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The passion of youth
Fires the body to action
After a lay in
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 102, “VIGOR & ENERGY,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A quick senryu this week
#senryu
Follow
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Starting
Taking small steps
Closely follow the guide
Take every instruction to heart
Ending
In response to COLLEEN’S #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE RECAP NO. 100, “POET’S CHOICE OF WORDS”
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
A cinquain this week
#cinquain
Traffic
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Brushed by death today
Twice.
Metal boxes speeding
Too fast, too near me
Driven on by the wrong thoughts
Or expensive wanderings
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 100, “POET’S CHOICE OF WORDS”
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
I couldn’t think of two words to start with – harder than doing an actual poem! I also ran out of time so this is a complete cheat – I am using an old one,
#senryu
No Change
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Screaming at the storm
The words lost in the thunder
Storm undeflected
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 99, “CHANGE & DEFY,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
Another senryu – I have taken the opposite of one of the words this time so a bit of a cheat.
#senryu
Dying Dreams
By Scott Bailey © 2018
My pen to paper
The dream I just cannot grasp
Er, except for now
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 98, “SAD & WRITE,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
I think this qualifies as a senryu?
#senryu
Passion
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Passion
Wanes while years pass
Becomes something finer
Matured, refined, rich with wisdom
Mellowed
Do not be fooled by its calmness
Maturity and depth
Do not weaken
Passion
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 97, “LOVE & TIME,” #SYNONYMSONLY
Check the link for the guidelines and rules
I had a go at a butterfly cinquain this time around.
#Cinquain #Butterfly-Cinquain
Soaring
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Soaring
High in the sky
In synchronicity
Gathering, readying to leave
Flocking
In response to Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 96, “Congregate & Passion,” #SynonymsOnly
A Cinquain this week, I am sure I have used this theme and certainly this image before, but it suits
#Cinquain
Entrapment
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The things that we hoard
Entrance us and enslave us
A lifetime of toil
To sit on an empty throne
Why not take the easy road
In response to Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge NO. 92, “Bewitch & Treasure,” #SynonymsOnly
A tanka this week
#Tanka
Enchanted Forest
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Forest
Verdant, alive
Roots reaching out and down
Branches stretching up to the sky
Spellbound
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 91, “Magic & Green,” #SYNONYMSONLY
An attempt at a Cinquain
#Cinquain
Sun Cycles
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Dawn spills on the land
Sharing its free, warm bounty
Nurturing the seeds
Feeding the grazers in turn
Then stolen by the hunters
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 90, “Give & Receive,” #SYNONYMSONLY
An attempt at a Tanka
#Tanka
Storm Birth
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Where the great desert
Meets the rolling of the waves
And sand and sea seethe
The wind is stirred to battle
Between heavens and earth
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 89, “DRY & WET,” #SYNONYMSONLY
An attempt at a Tanka
#Tanka
Dancing Waves
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Celebratory
The warming rays of the sun
Making the waves dance
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 88, “PRAISE & EXCITE,” #SYNONYMSONLY
A quick haiku as I am behind and ill.
#haiku
Together
By Scott Bailey © 2018
A little more give
And a lot less just taking
More uplifting hands
If we just stop competing
Ivory towers will fall
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 87, “CARE & SHARE,” #SYNONYMSONLY
An actual Tanka this time. Of sorts. Not strict to the form though beyond the syllable counts.
#tanka #tanka-tuesday
Merry
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Hobbit
Brave Brandybuck
Bringing sense to his friends
Finding honour in Rohan’s ranks
Small knight
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 86, FANTASY & MERRY, #SYNONYMSONLY
Late again for this – a cinquain – of sorts – this week. A little bit of fun this time around.
#cinquain
Running
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Running
So fast we run
Stay ahead of the game
This is the story we are sold
Suckers
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 85, HURRY & LAST, #SYNONYMSONLY
Late again for this – a cinquain – of sorts – this week.
#cinquain
Triumph
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The white wolf’s triumph
Hunt over, hunger sated
No howling tonight
In response to Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 81, DIGNITY & SUCCESS, #SynonymsOnly
A haiku again this week. My brain is too fried for anything more.
#haiku
Snake
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Basking in the sun
The snake saw lunch in his mind
Movement brought him back
In response to Colleen’s 2018 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 82 – BELONG & DREAM #SynonymsOnly
A haiku this week. I have inferred the given words rather than use synonyms so breaking the rules a bit. This post was also prompted by the fact that on a country walk yesterday my eldest nearly stood on one of these – an adder – the only venomous snake on these isles. I think it was a juvenile as it was small but definitely a viper rather than a grass snake.
#haiku
Swansong
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Swansong
All clap along
As the end approaches
And the triumph lifts us all high
Cheering
In response to Colleen’s 2018 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 82 – The May Day Edition: SING & CELEBRATE #SynonymsOnly
A cinquain this week
#cinquain
The Song
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Plainsong
Rolling, chanting
Granting the air a form
Bestow shadow and light purpose
Singing
The crafting of ancient wisdom
To bear us something new
Brightly shining
Lyric
In response to Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 81, ENCHANT & SHAPE, #SynonymsOnly
A butterfly cinquain this week
Also – by serendipity – for the Daily Prompt Bestow
#cinquain #butterfly-cinquain
Pillows
Cloudy
Dusky pillows
Huddle in the valley
Like a giant’s bed covers
Misty
In response to Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 80, GATHER & SOFT, #SynonymsOnly
A cinquain this week
#cinquain
Murmurations
Dusk murmurations
Like a ballet in the sky
Whirling evening swirls
Ordered by some hidden sign
Steeling for the long flight home
In response to Colleen’s 2018 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 79, DANCE & COMMAND #SynonymsOnly
Actually did a Tanka this time
#tanka
Shoots
In exultation
Shoots arise, reaching skyward
Until sharp blades sweep
In response to COLLEEN’S 2018 #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 78, GROW & HONOR, #SNYNONYMSONLY
Tenuous synonyms for my haiku – again
#haiku
Mayfly
The day follows night
Repeating the witching hour
Except, the mayfly
In response to COLLEEN’S 2018 #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 77: CHARM & TIME, #SNYONYMSONLY
Tenuous synonyms for my haiku
#haiku
Thunder
Arise
To the thunder
The raging of the skies
Rain, that splits the drought asunder
Rejoice
Tremble
Beneath the aweful majesty
Of natures might roar
Making your heart
Thunder
In response to Colleen’s 2018 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 76: JOY & FURY, #SnyonymnsOnly
Had a go at a reverse cinquain this time.
#Cinquain #reverse-cinquain #CinquainPoetry
COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 75: “PATIENCE & GREEN” #SNYNONYMSONLY
Nature
Claws back its realm
Over many ages
Verdant fingers prying apart
Even
The strongest of our creations
With persistence of growth
Old and fertile
Mother
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 75: “PATIENCE & GREEN” #SNYNONYMSONLY
Had a go at a butterfly cinquain this time – and I had the perfect picture to go with it – one I took myself for a change.
#Cinquain #butterfly-cinquain
Thaw
By Scott Bailey © 2018
I watch the snow melt
The green shoots of grass rise up
To greet the new dawn
Taking a bracing shower
In glistening morning dew
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE, NO. 74: “RENEW & FRESH,” #SNYONYMSONLY
#Tanka
If Only
By Scott Bailey © 2018
If only I knew
What I know now years ago
My time would have been
Spent in a much better way
Less effort on silly things
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE, NO. 73: ENERGY & KNOWLEDGE, #SNYONYMSONLY
#Tanka
Scott Andrew Bailey - Author 
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