Metaphor Poems
Spelling
by Margaret Atwood
My daughter plays on the floor
with plastic letters,
red, blue & hard yellow,
learning how to spell,
spelling,
how to make spells.
I wonder how many women
denied themselves daughters,
closed themselves in rooms,
......
The Wish
by Abraham Cowley
WELL then! I now do plainly see
This busy world and I shall ne'er agree.
The very honey of all earthly joy
Does of all meats the soonest cloy;
And they, methinks, deserve my pity
Who for it can endure the stings,
The crowd and buzz and murmurings,
Of this great hive, the city.
Ah, yet, ere I descend to the grave
......
The Rape Of The Lock: Canto 5
by Alexander Pope
She said: the pitying audience melt in tears,
But Fate and Jove had stopp'd the Baron's ears.
In vain Thalestris with reproach assails,
For who can move when fair Belinda fails?
Not half so fix'd the Trojan could remain,
While Anna begg'd and Dido rag'd in vain.
Then grave Clarissa graceful wav'd her fan;
Silence ensu'd, and thus the nymph began.
"Say, why are beauties prais'd and honour'd most,
The wise man's passion, and the vain man's toast?
......
Fetch
by Jeffrey Skinner
Go, bring back the worthless stick.
"Of memory," I almost added.
But she wouldn't understand, naturally.
There is the word and the thing
adhering. So far so good.
Metaphor, drawer of drafting tools--
spill it on the study floor, animal says,
that we might at least see
......
Incendiary
by Vernon Scannell
That one small boy with a face like pallid cheese
And burnt-out little eyes could make a blaze
As brazen, fierce and huge, as red and gold
And zany yellow as the one that spoiled
Three thousand guineas' worth of property
And crops at Godwin's Farm on Saturday
Is frightening---as fact and metaphor:
An ordinary match intended for
The lighting of a pipe or kitchen fire
Misused may set a whole menagerie
......
Before you pour
by Aditi Hayaran
Empty glasses everywhere,
Everyone's in despair.
You're the soul, kind and warm,
Comforting ones who experienced harm, Emptying yourself for others' sake,
The comforting shield you make,
Getting hurt while trying to heal,
For others, neglecting how you feel.
Before you want to help more,
You need to fill your glass before you pour.
......
"Broken Promise, Withered Growth"
by Aditi Hayaran
In the flower pot we had,
We planted a seed.
We'll take care of it, we promised,
We'll provide its every need.
It germinated soon;
As the seedling started to glow,
The sweetness flooded,
Without anything restricting it's flow.
......
The Gardener of a Plant
by Aditi Hayaran
You trusted the plant for its beautiful blooms,
But I'm the one who loved its thorns, who faced it's dooms.
You may have nurtured it, but I gave it my life's blood,
I loved it even when surrounded by a vibrant flora's world.
You may not have ignored it, that's true,
But can you protect it from winds wild and new?
You desired the blossoms, I embraced the fall,
......
My metaphor - Sanja Atanasovska, North Macedonia
by Sanja Atanasovska
My metaphor – a robber who takes hostages,
a free picnic in nature,
a tent that can be placed
between two encyclopedia covers,
a rainforest with giant lungs,
my metaphor – a pharmacy with medicines
for all possible diseases,
a simultaneous translation booth,
a noblewoman who waltzes
with even and odd numbers,
......
Ribbons
by Nora La King
They are pulled from me;
Stretched, knotted, and
Burned in a fireplace
Where trust and human emotions,
Are turned to blackened ash
I am left an empty roll.
The ribbons of my feelings,
Manhandled, manipulated
Mitigated, and misunderstood.
......
