Category: poetry

Ship ahoy (or boat in fact)

Chris Hall43 Comments

Ship Ahoy! (or boat, in fact)

This is a beautiful boat,
sailing around a huge ocean.
It has been a peaceful time so far,
but I can see a storm ahead.

So mind the tillers and stuff.
The rudder needs to be straight and safe;
it’s going to be a long night and day.

And it was, and worrying,
but the following day,
it was lovely again.
Next stop will be Cape Town.

~~~

Image credit: Amein Shareef77 @Unsplash

This image shows a sailboat in a vast body of water. The skyline/horizon is clear, and the water is calm. This photo was taken from another boat nearby.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #328 photo prompt.

What do you see # 328- 16 February, 2025

Those Cloisters

Chris Hall43 Comments

She stood reverently,
bowing her head,
hoping to find herself,
there was no-one around,
and that was what she wanted.

She began to walk,
trying to stay focused,
but what was the point?

But then she knew,
she must do this,
that beautiful
nunnery.

~~~~

Image credit: Yasmin Onuș @Unsplash

This image shows a long stone corridor with repeating arches, where soft sunlight creates dramatic shadows and highlights the historic architecture. Mardin, Türkiye

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #327 photo prompt.

What do you see # 327- 9 February, 2026

Around the world, and more

Chris Hall55 Comments


She got up in the night that time,
it was gorgeous and warm,
and so clear.

The moon was full and huge,
the stars twinkled beautifully.

There was planets – she knew them,
and beyond there were galaxies.

She stared, and stared again,
then she was moving, up and up.

She will meet and greet,
but who were they?

She closed her eyes,
and that was it.

And was it just a dream?

~~~~

Image credit: Steve Busch @Unsplash

The photographer described this image as; Triangulum Galaxy. Not your normal-looking galaxy. This galaxy is known as a flocculent spiral galaxy because its arms are made of patchy segments, not long, continuous spirals like you see in most other galaxies. It also lacks a strong central core of dense, bright stars. The patchy blue and red/pink areas are large star formation regions. This galaxy is 2.7 million light years away.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #326 photo prompt.

What do you see # 326- 2nd February 2026

Yet another nonsense poem (and why)

Chris Hall40 Comments

a posh bottle and some leaves

tanka Puente

not normal… that’s me
what can I say? and who’s this?
a strange animal
and that is completely fine
it’s a mental block – just odd

~~ “You need a little of insanity to do great things.” Henry Rollins ~~

my head exploded
I was going to heaven
but then I came back
not normal – magnificent!
what can I write next – let’s see

~~~~~

Written in response to Yvette’s challenge to write a poem about mental wellness or the lack thereof.

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 49, Mental Health, 1/27/26

Seven words

Chris Hall72 Comments

It said, ‘take what you need.’ It was stuck on a telegraph pole by the pavement.
She stopped and looked. Interesting, she thought.
But she moved on, although she continued that thought.

She mused as she walked along that road.
What were the seven words again?
She could remember them, and all were good, she felt.

She pondered as the rain started again. Well, it was the UK after all.
Then the next telegraph pole appeared, which also had the same words.
However, this one had been disfigured.

So ‘love’ and ‘money’ had disappeared, as did ‘passion’ and ‘happiness’ – very sad that.
Then ‘luck’ had become ‘uck’ – very unpleasant.
But, at least it hadn’t been replaced with ‘fuck’ (gosh, naughty).

Right in the middle, the word, ‘courage’ had lost part of it.
Now it’s called ‘rage’… another gosh for that.
All that was left was ‘hope’ and that seemed appropriate.

~~~~~~~

Image credit: Maximus Mazar @Unsplash

This image shows a paper poster on a pole, saying – “Take what you need”
Underneath are tabs marked- Love, Hope, Passion, Courage, Happiness, Luck, Money!

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #325 photo prompt.

What do you see # 325- 26 Jan, 2026

The Pretty Plant

Chris Hall48 Comments

She’s mine!

She is a comely gal, mindful though,
but then she’ll munch and crunch happily.
Goodness gracious!

She’s persistent, for sure, proudly too.
She’ll be on the prowl, then strike quickly.
Goodness gracious!

She’ll see a visitor, and she’ll wink.
There’s an opportunity, but no.
Goodness gracious!

She’ll sulk for a couple of hours,
but then she’ll open her pretty mouth.
Goodness gracious!

She will try her luck again, grinning.
You see, she is a Venus fly-trap.
Goodness gracious!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Colleen Chesebro‘s #TankaTuesday #48 – 20 January 2026 where this week’s host Melissa Lemay’s invitation is to follow poet Marianne Moore’s syllabic pattern in one of her poems.
I chose the pattern of 9-syllable lines and a 4-syllable refrain.

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 48, Marianne Moore, 12/30/2025

More dunes

Chris Hall61 Comments

We met in the desert that time,
just me and him,
he walked, but I rode a camel.

We started our journeys,
him from the west,
me from the east.

We’d left at dawn,
just as the sun peeped up,
as we plodded across the dunes.

We arrived as the blistering sun beat down.
We did our trading,
and then we left.

Was there a moral?
No need for that…
Just good business.

~~~~~

Image credit: Pedro Kümmel @Unsplash

This image shows desert dunes with footprints left by humans and animals in the sand. The photographer explains; Under the warm sun, the dunes carry gentle scars of passage, lines and footprints that vanish as quietly as they appear!

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #324 photo prompt.

What do you see # 324- 19 January, 2026

Nonsense, or is it?

Chris Hall47 Comments

canva.com


~~~~~~

dead metaphors, like
those dead poets who witter on:
loyal treachery and
melancholy merriment
want some affordable caviar?

such a nonsense poem
pretty dreadful I would say
so anything else?
tortuous spontaneity
that’s a nice one, isn’t it.

those dead poets are
buried in Poets’ Corner
shall we have a look?

~~~~~

For Colleen Chesebro’s TankaTuesday #47 – 13 January 2026 where this week’s host Robbie Cheadle’s invitation is to ‘choose an oxymoron and write a syllabic poem to demonstrate its meaning.’

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 47, Oxymoron, 01/13/2026

The Lake and the Moon

Chris Hall40 Comments

The Lake and the Moon

It felt like a dream,
a very strange dream, she’d been
in a weird island.

She’d stared at the lake,
so vast, so deep, exquisite
with gorgeous colours.

Hues screamed out: azure,
cyan, mauve, and even mango,
but over the top…

that blood moon!

~~~~~

Image credit: Sean Pierce @Unsplash

This image shows blood moon over strange rock formations at dusk at navy beach/mono lake (CA) The rocks stand out against a velvet purple sky.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #323 photo prompt.

What do you see # 323- 12 January, 2026

Just happiness

Chris Hall47 Comments

just outside in my office

tanka Puente

a new brood, that’s life
these are guinea fowls, cheeky;
here’s the family
there’s mom, dad, aunt and uncle
and here’s the best one – young’un!

~~ “Tame birds sing of freedom. Wild birds fly.” John Lennon ~~

a new guinea fowl
learns to chatter and squawk, a lot
he’s bigger each day
and now he’s a teenager
such fun we’re having, we’ll wave

~~~

For Colleen Chesebro‘s TankaTuesday #46 — 6 January 2026, where this week’s host Willow Willer’s invitation is to write syllabic poetry in the form of a puente [using a quote as a three-stanza poem’s bridge]. The selected quote’s topic is to be the writer’s choice. On the topic(s) of ‘new beginnings for the new year or your life.‘

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No.46, New Beginnings Puente Poetry, 01/06/26