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Best Poems Written by Josephine Ck

Below are the all-time best Josephine Ck poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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Trinkets

These i spy with my little eye
tossed aside, two black-and-white die
silver glinting of a spoon
little green soldiers in a platoon
things you forget around the house
things i pick up, quiet as a mouse
a pencil here, a postcard there
pins and buttons to fill my lair
and ever so softly during the night
when the owl hoots and the moon is bright
when the house is still, there’s not a peep
and you’re counting little sheep
i pick these up, you’re unaware
but look under if you dare
what was lost will come to you
i’ll give them back, they’re overdue
but what a funny thing to know!
a few lost pins won’t stop the show
the only conclusion is that humans
love these small things, it’s proven
how strange! how odd!
what seem like trinkets to us gods –
may be one’s greatest treasure

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Elegy To Calafia, Part 1

dear Calafia,
i saw you on the day you died
standing on that cliff with
fire in your hair, wind blowing it back
standing on that cliff with
not a care in the world with
the forest behind your back and the ocean
wide vast sparkling ultramarine
your arms were spread and your head turned up
and i thought i saw you smile at me before
you, with your golden eyes
and tangled scarlet locks
sun-kissed wood-brown skin,
stepped forward and plunged into the deep dark sea.
dear Calafia,
you left a whole world behind, full of
redwood forests on rugged mountains on
fruitful soil growing almonds and tangerines
and the call of the wolves, echoing everywhere
east of eden, this place you called paradise
paradise, with its wild coast, humming with
the booming calls of sea lions and
the chirps of birds circling far above in
the cloudless sky, and i must confess –
that i hated you for a moment there,
more than i had ever loved you because
you left us behind too.
dear Calafia,
don’t you remember how we
sat in a circle around the campfire
telling jokes and anecdotes, roasting marshmallows
as the forest came alive with its own nightlife
you said it was so different from the neon lights
and smog clouding the air, down in the city
you said you loved it here, you’d live out here
and your eyes met mine as you spoke, and
don’t you remember how we
stumbled down the curved road drunk on
our success at life and love, the streetlights blurred
and the moment teetering on a precipice
you said we’d live forever, our hands linked
as the world spun on around us.

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Terpsichore

dance, dance, dance!
to the skies – to the seas –
to your heart – to your hands –
as if you were a butterfly,
a falcon, a wind sprite
as if you were made of water
of flowing sleeves and golden bells,
close your eyes and imagine
as it sweeps you along gently
close your eyes and imagine
as it shimmers over you
– like a selkie skin, lifts you, transforms you
come on now,
step to the beat of the drums
thrumming in your heart, vibrating
slide to the strings of the violin
ethereal forever, an image in your mind
tap to the lively tune of the flutes
floating above the rest, beckoning
let it take you, open your arms
jump and spin and twist
let it take you, perfection incarnate
back and forth and around, around
can’t you see it?
the lilt of the black notes circling you
a crown of music – a sign
of your three-minute rule
over this spotlighted stage, coming to an end
won’t you let go?
the smile slides onto your face
the final piece of the puzzle – a gem
born from your lyrical movements
created in a world alone, breaking apart
don’t you want it?
the flourish of your fingertips
every second grows closer – a gift
from your dancing heart
music roaring to the tumultuous finale
so please,
don’t hesitate – fly, soar on the winds
forget yourself in the embrace of sound
let it entrance you – transform you –
let go and
dance, dance, dance.

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Background

waves of silver foam
crashing, roaring, call me home
where i once belonged

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Fantasy

Fantasy, the delicacy of royalty
Hundreds of worlds served on silver platters
Dragons’ wings and faerie dances whirl
Spinets of castles, swords and shields
Arranged for your feast – accompanied by
The magical flutter of capes concealing your meal
Caged birds sing of lands far away
“Just where am I?” – don’t question, dear reader
For the silk of this tablecloth will tear
And forever you’ll be blinded to the possibility.

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Last Night I Dreamed

Last night I dreamed of you
With roses blooming in your eyes
I of late had often seen this
But today this image wavered, differed
Was it really just a dream – or,
Was I so desperate as to believe
That when you, dearly departed and back
Said hello to me, it would be real?

Last night I dreamed of her
With tears flowing like silver, mercury
And I know not who caused this flood
But had you did it, what would I think?
If you were really so cruel as to inflict this pain
If you after three long years acted so flippantly,
Not the sting of rejection nor kiss of death
Could keep you back

Last night I dreamed of him
With opals and sapphires fracturing
In his own ruby heart, hardened by you
Please, don’t, have mercy will you?
Don’t be the cruel god that brought you back
Look back as you exit Hades’ realm and stay, for
More so than anything I wish
For you to return from whence you came

Last night I dreamed of us
Black pen scratched out your face
Picture frame and glass shattered, thrown from
Your hands, your arms, your fingers, all vanished
And somehow through the thread of time – oddly
I started to harbor a festering hate – and for whom?
Did I dare to push these black marks on, who?
Did I dare to let this become me?

Last night I dreamed of me
Mask of pain red and raw obscuring
Something I was not familiar with just yet
A being who dared to stand here with you
A demon who dared to smile at me like nothing
Ever had happened before – did you really not recall?
How could you, how could you not be marked guilty?
I, young and scarred, understood this unfairness not

Last night I dreamed of them
Screaming, was it of terror or joy?
Was it you or me, because suddenly I saw
As you fell out of my reach
Handprints on your chest, shape and size
For me to speak of cruel – cruelty in itself
For they were mine, bitter and strong
I, marked as guilty, understood this crime now.

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A Door Stands In My Way

a door stands in my way.
it is charmingly carved, vines curling
around the smooth lacquered edges.
still retaining the original hue of the wood
yet brighter now, gold shines from within
surrounded by the walls of the forest
hidden away from prying eyes, it seems
to flicker more in the shadows of afternoon sun
first cinnamon – then colors ripple across the caramel surface
till it is less like wood and more a faery-touched pool
mahogany, russet red, amber and umber
adorned with a copper knocker of a proud bird
spreading his free wings wide – a vision of who I could be
and I know some magnificent trove of treasure is waiting beyond
knowledge of what I have wanted since I could want
my hand reaches out, longing in every slender finger
the shining handle is so close – everything I yearn for
could be at my command.
but do I even dare? Could I even do it?
indecision burns every bold stroke of confidence
and the whispering sunlit forest burns too
quicker then I can stop it, smoldering fire turns to ash
ash to dust, and dust to darkness, and then –
a door stands in my way.
it is smooth steel, heavyset and towering
almost like stone, no imperfections to be seen
and through the murky darkness swirling around me
it is the only thing I know now.
one single line runs down it, ready to be pried open
and I could. I could push it open, smash it to bits
I could walk straight through it.
but – how could I? what lies beyond?
nothing but uncertainty and falsehood, maybe
a lone silver mirror with the glass in shards
reflecting everything I do not wish to see
reflecting the person I see in the door
who is blocking my path now. but still,
my memories – long since turned to ash – long gone
piece themselves back together
and I, standing there unable to go beyond
am the only one who has chained myself up.
hope peels back the veils of darkness
I could go running through it, heart pounding
and soaring, and dancing, and reaching,
and finally flying free through the glorious sky
I could.
so I do.

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As the World Spins On By

The schedules on the walls,
The clock hands never stopping,
The shadows falling over the room
Fading from simmering scarlet, orange
Fading to sapphire blue and diamonds in the sky
can't you see
The dishes in the sink
The dust beneath the fridge
The light of the half moon
Waxing to a glowing orb
Waning to a sliver of light
how alone you've been
And before you know it, you’ve
Seen three decades and slept two
Watched as cars rolled by your house
Watched as parades and protests marched on by
Seen the world move on.
so darling take my hand
Tread lightly now, not a sound
On this velvet road of time
Step after step takes us further back
Memories – all of them grey, aging
Become infused with color once again
come along with me now
We stop here.
You’re twenty-three, in a dark room
All alone, curtains shut and blankets in disarray
We stop here.
You’re twenty-two and laughing as lights shine on you, and
i’ll show you the world, please
Don’t hesitate to step in
Between the black and the white
The day everything faded to grey
If only you could see
What you meant to me
don’t leave again
And I know that
When the world abandoned you
It stopped too
You became an analog – a piece frozen in time
Still and silent as the world went on.
i’ll come with you, maybe
We can go up to the roof together
Two little figures stuck in a pocket of time
All by themselves, watching the cars
Forgotten to everything
Watching as the sun rises
we could make a world together
Two people all alone in this lonely life
Would you be happy then?
Would you remember?
If I left for you
If I dared remember you?
and we could watch…
Maybe then you’d come out of that border
Where you’ve been stuck in time
And we could watch…
As the world spins on by.

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The Taylor

The Taylor’s an ordinary man
He spends his time in his workshop
Or on the cobblestone streets, searching
For lengths of exotic fabrics and shimmering threads
His hands are covered in bruises
Made from the pricks of needles over and over

The Taylor’s an ordinary man
He lives a lonely life, sewing and stitching
He looks at the girls passing by in fine clothes
Clad in swathes of silk and feathered bonnets
He wishes he could don his own works
And become a dashing nobleman

The Taylor’s an ordinary man
He loves his regular clients, though they’re an odd group
One’s a tinker, an inventor, eccentric and bespectacled,
One’s a captain of the navy, rigid and prone to his pipe
One’s a simple soldier fighting a war he never signed up for
One’s a poet, a favorite of the Queen’s court, mysterious elegance

The Taylor’s an ordinary man
He’d never leave his job, for who else would provide?
But sometimes he wishes to be in their shoes
To be dressed in finery and pearls, bowing before the Queen
To be at the helm of a grandiose ship, sailing the vast sea
To be in a cluttered workshop, ideas buzzing in his head

The Taylor’s an ordinary man
He knows clothes can speak as loud as words
And so he’ll keep on sewing and stitching
It really is fine, for him to fade into the background
But maybe in another land, he’d be
The hero of his own story.

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Elegy To Calafia, Part 2

dear Calafia,
i saw you then
whirling around the house with
a face painted with Dior and MAC
a dress of carmine and ruby
a suitcase crammed full of clothes
walking out the door without a doubt
as you went to say hello
to your new life full of red carpets
glittering awards and cameras.
your name was on the news
every day, for something or other
the house was empty without you and
every day, i waited and waited –
for something or other
i thought you would be back.
dear Calafia,
you left yourself behind
when you went off to London and Paris
Beijing and Manila, anywhere but here
so then i knew, or so i thought
that you’d forgotten about
everything you promised me,
every time you said you’d stay,
everyone who loved you
because i see your face on
billboards, magazines, screens
beautiful, passionate, lonely
and i wiped the tears from my eyes
because ‘we’ had been broken.
dear Calafia,
i got your message this morning
to meet you at our old place
where the waves meet the rocks
and the evergreens stretch into the distance
and against my own wishes, maybe because
you remembered it or because
i never stopped waiting for those words,
i went.
you had barely changed – immortal in time
and i’ll always remember how you
with tears glistening on your face
said a sincere ‘sorry’ before
you kissed my cheek and that was it
before i realized, you disappeared
leaving that sad smile hanging in the air
like the last time, i had let you leave
and so –
dear Calafia,
this time, you won’t be leaving alone.