The Atlas of Us

This is the title of a book I'm reading right now and I thought it would make a good subject for a poem so...I'm tossing it out for anyone wishing to grab the title and post their efforts here first. I'm only going to take the first 7 poems so....get going...remember post them here first.

The Atlas of Us....

Your perfect body and mind
Was ever the map to the stars;
Not this barren wasteland
That stands before you now.
Your eyes were pools of hope
From the soothing springs
Of the Highlands.
Blonde tresses, the gentle
Wash of the waves that lapped
On the golden sands of Queensland.
The plumpness of your ruby lips
Were always, to me, the sides of
The Grand Canyon, begging
To be explored and their sweetness

savoured.

Those breasts! the curvaceous
Rise

and
fall
Of the Himalayan mountain range,
Calling for me to conquer;
Apples that callously called to
Adam and Eve in the hallowed
Garden of Eden.
Fingers that encased my own -
The great Amazon delta -
Winding and entwining and
Leading me precariously to sea.
Soft buttocks, like the ripest peaches,
Picked at the perfect point
In time, when sweetness is as
Sweet as sweet can be.
And legs that wrapped longingly
About these listless ones,
Like the giant Anacondas
Of the wild Americas,
Embracing and.......squashing their prey!

I wonder, now, that you were
Ever The Atlas of Us;
That guided, persuaded, coerced
And forced me down wild rapids
When I never wished to go.
The Atlas of Us was only ever
The Atlas of YOU!

Wow...Ben has definitely laid down the gauntlet with this cracker....six places left now guys....

I think Ben's poem has scared everyone off! Is he the soul entry? will he win without a contest? it's up to you guys....

I wonder, now, that you were
Ever The Atlas of Us;

really wow

*

Beautiful poem Ben...better then Beautiful!

The Atlas Of Us

Because we loved the chance,
we'd drive far away,
past flat fields of canola laid bare under towering skies,
patchwork yellows against forever blue,
past bald, bumpy hills with cows on them,
and little towns with funny names.

I don't remember where we went.
Sometimes we had a plan.
Sometimes we'd drive in the rain.

We'd go out again and again,
roaming the landscape,
the volcanic rocks, the stunted trees,
demanding that something should happen.

Then we'd return to the city with
brittle shells, odd pebbles, stolen apples,
and no horizon in sight.

Lovely poem - full of lovely wording and imagery - well done!

Uncle Ben... that line..

Sweetness was as sweet as sweet can be...

that just..
that just was the sweetest thing ive ever read... wowww. :P

Thanks Purvi. What a ...........sweet thing to say!
Take care.

Hi Abby...nice to see you back after such a long time and...what a comeback it is!

Five spots left now :)

Our World Limitless

I met you on the riverbank
it was in the spring of the evening
your summer dress was blonde
my jeans were grass stained
from where I clowned for you
hoping you would notice me
embarrassed that you would

Our first real date was in the park
among ancient oaks and elms;
the path turned to dirt,
dusted your shoes
so I wiped them clean
with my shirt tail.

You loved the mountains
that skiing trip at New Year
brandy in the glass, fire ablaze
you lounged in my lap
as it were your throne
and so it was.

The first cruise was a disaster
with power lost aboard
food put out to eat it up
before it all went bad
wine substituted for water
(they couldn't get provisions)
yet you were fascinated
by the flying fish we could see
from our room's port hole.

They may have made it up
by giving us Alaska free
for that cruise was a lifetime
crowded into the space
of an adventure.
I'll never forget your face
horrified then delighted
at the sight and sound
of the glacier calf
crashing into the sea.

Who else has ever
honeymooned in the dessert?
You lips so cracked
your skin so soft
and the ugliest camels ever
on the day trip to the dunes.
Weirdest of all
the Mercedes passing our hotel
with a grown lion,
head out the window like a dog.

The cliffs on which we stood,
the valleys with sweet wine,
volcanoes climbed, lagoons swum,
reefs snorkeled and beaches combed,
canyons rafted, fields of corn;
wherever we have gone
it's as though your spirit
has infused the land
brought it to a new life
brighter than imagined.

This Atlas of us is a map
of our mutual discovery;
until I can no longer walk
or crawl, or roll if naught else
I will be the explorer of your soul.

Wonderful write, Larry. The last stanza is stunning.

Great write all.

I have had a go and here it is:

Amazon tears cascade upon the forest floor as I remember...
Norway. We met by chance as we viewed:'She Lies', in Oslo

All clicked into place so we shared a flat over looking Time square.
Tokyo brought us: a marriage and two beautiful children.
Locomotives and a slow boat took us all to the Mogoa caves.
Always together, Acapulco one year, every year a new destination.
Seventeen years later we all moved to the Mumbles, then...

One summer we travelled to Cardiff, and saw The Manics.
Fun was always on the agenda: Like our romantic weekend in Cork.

Until one day brain Cancer struck, you asked me for one last trip...
So we all spent the last 10 days of your life on Kauapea Beach.

_____________________________________

Last day: One evening after sharing a happy day together and a meal of Pineapple and shrimp you rested on the bed. From the bedroom window we all viewed the sun melting away into the Hawaiian sea. As its colour drained you smiled and closed your eyes.

_____________

Life is a journey
best taken with loved ones, til
your final trip: Death

Michael, I do not know the story behind this poem (or if indeed there is one) but it is moving beyond description. A stunning write.

So...three spots left now....

For some reason I thought Mel would have jumped at this title???

I think this one had sunk in some ocean of a non-poetic atlas so....I'll give it another 24 hours and then I'm closing it....

I enjoyed this topic once I had a go. To be honest I had an idea for a much longer motion film epic, a love story full of travel and adventure spanning the years mingled with happy and sad tears. Instead I condensed the essence of my thoughts.

Ahhhh, let's see what I can come up with....

hmmmm... I can't exactly compete with the above entries, but here is my incomplete attempt.

Title: Scrambling the "The Atlas of Us.

"The atlas of us" is lost
somewhere in the letters of those words.
Yes, we searched in them not long ago.

But when we did, we tried to create the word "love"
but love was not found in "the atlas of us."

Yet somehow, after searching for way too long,
we found the word "afloat!"
And that's how we remained within the "sea of lust"
yes, that sea of lust
that was found in "the atlas of us."

But we weren't too happy
with just remaining "afloat" within the "sea of lust"
thus we continued searching and found
that within "the atlas of us" was "fate"
Thus, we remained together,
Feeling like we were missing an important word
in "the atlas of us"

Yet it was until we came to the Iceland world,
that then we found
that within "the Atlas of us"
was "AST"

which in English means "love."

Just a few hours left folks. Luce has now joined the diehard poets of this site....anyone else game enough to challenge these stalwarts?

CLOSED

Ok..first of all I'd like to thank those of you who dared to take part in, what seems to have been a harder challenge than I thought it would be. I've been reading these poems over and over and there are just two that I can't separate...I did try but...honestly I can't separate them so...we have a tie!

Ben and Michael...take a bow...I was blown away with both of your efforts.

Ben..I felt I was on a Contiki Tour with your fast moving poem as you followed your 'succubus' on a journey that was both sexy and slightly dark...I really did love this particular journey.

Michael...As you said...you really wanted to expand on this and...I hope you do. You chose to write within the constraints of an acrostic verse and still...you done a terrific job of jumping from country to country...very well done!

Once again...thanks to everyone who joined in here...

Many thanks, Hellon, and congrats to Michael too!
Brilliant challenge which I thoroughly enjoyed and one that took me out of my rhyming comfort zone!
All the best all - loved reading all these pieces,
Ben

Just returned home to check this thread out...

Thank you Hellon, for inspiring so many of us here on this site. It is threads like this that open up and challenge our minds.

Congratulations to Ben and to everyone else who posted here. Hellon, did you mention the prize was a trip to Australia to meet you and have a tour of your home town? I am sure there is enough in the P&Q coffers to pay for the flights for Ben and myself! lol

Good contest, Hellon.

Congrats to Ben & Michael!

Congratulations Ben and Michael.

I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Michael...anytime :)