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Best Poems Written by Paul Callus

Below are the all-time best Paul Callus poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Paul Callus Poem

The Poet Who Never Was

I thought I was a poet who had a pen of gold
With clear access to writing that was mature and bold.
I thought I could go roaming beside the foaming sea
And watch the seagulls gliding to give a show for free.

I thought I was a poet who walked along the beach
In awe I stood and wondered, my hand stretched out to reach
The silver thread dividing the water from the sky
And traced Selena’s features as slowly she went by. 

I thought I was a poet who knew what joy could be
On hearing water roaring cascading down with glee.
I looked for inspiration, experienced utmost thrill
When climbing down the valley or up the verdant hill.

I thought I was a poet in charge of heat and cold
But lost my true emotions when I was duped and told
I had to reach perfection to please my heart and mind
By means of imitation. My soul I left behind.

I thought I was a poet who had a pen of gold
But now all of a sudden I’m weary, frail and old.
I thought I was a poet. My pen is of no use.
With teary eyes I whisper to my dejected muse. 


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Contest: First Place Only
Sponsor: Laura Loo
Placed 1st ~ 18th June 2016

Contest: Any Poem #36
Sponsor: Poet Destroyer A
Placed 1st ~ 13th March 2016

Contest: Million Dollar Poem
Sponsor: Poet Destroyer A
Placed 1st  ~  13th June 2015
Chosen Poem of the day ~ 8th May 2015

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Unspoken Words

I often scribble in the sand 
The words I find so hard to say
And hope the wind will come along 
And blow them all your way.


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Contest: Simply Beautiful 
Sponsor: Kelly Deschler 
Placing: 2nd (April 2015)
 
Contest: Five Lines or Less 
Sponsor: Black Eyed Susan 
Placing: 2nd (April 2014)

Published in:
PS: It’s Still Poetry Volume II ~ (1 Jan. 2022)
ISBN-13:? 979-8793344418

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Love Is Free

a puppet dances

   to its own merry tune

    no strings attached

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[Inspired by Jan Allison’s 
      poem “Love is Bind”]

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Halloween's Mask of Comfort

In a house beside the forest lives a woman and her son

He is scarred by burns and fire – hidden kept from everyone

There is land where he can wander far away from prying eyes,

But he misses friends to play with; all alone he often cries.


That is why he gets excited at the thought of Halloween

He can mix with other children without fear of being seen.

Mother picks the perfect costume that will fit his height and size

Then she adds a mask for comfort – the completion of disguise.


The boy behind the mask wishes every day was Halloween

He'd gladly offer friendship to any child who wasn't mean

But he knows that one day he will be too old for trick or treat

And he prays each morn to see the sunshine on a public street

 
Even though he realizes his wish may never be fulfilled

For he'd have to learn to avoid stares and let confidence build

After reading the sad tale of Frankenstein, he sheds a tear

As he can relate to Frankenstein and sees him as a peer

 
And so he keeps reading stories of people judged by their looks

His greatest fear is what will happen when he runs out of books


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This is a collaboration between Paul Callus & Carolyn Devonshire

Details | Paul Callus Poem

To My Granddaughter

I look and ponder, watch you grow in haste
Explore with wonder, new experience taste
No fear encountered as you learn the ropes 
Your sails adjusting, full with winds of hope.

But there are moments when the seeds of doubt
Without much warning spread and start to sprout 
Then you need guidance, words which shed some light  
Advice and promptings which once more excite.

I weigh my options when the waves rise high,
Stay in the background, tactful, on standby,
Not interfering, yet with cautious eye
Give needed help should threats intensify. 

I am a lighthouse built on sound terrain 
In times of darkness, you won’t call in vain.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Placed 1st in Contest 540
Hosted by Brian Strand 
in Jan 2019

Lighthouse Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Eve Roper
Placed joint first
POTD on 24th Dec 2018 
© 22nd December 2018

Note: This is a poem dear to me, as the title would suggest, so
receiving a POTD award undoubtedly brought added satisfaction.

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Shoreline

The ocean waves come rolling in
There’s not a soul in sight
With heaving breath they break on shore
And burst in brilliant white.

The sound of wind is in the air
The jutting rocks stretch high
Tall redwood trees defiant stand
So tough, and yet they sigh. 

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Theme: No 2 ~ Shoreline
Form: ‘common meter stanza’
Author: Paul Callus ~1st April 2015
Contest: Let Me Feel Your Lines
Sponsor: Nette Onclaud
Placed 1st
----------------------------------------
Poem of the Day ~ 2nd April, 2015.

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Invisible: Co-Written With C Devonshire

clad in rags, he wanders on Wall Street
   he is invisible to hustling stock brokers
       he is a man with no money, no property
          a hapless struggler of excessive loan burdens
 
bitter winter winds blow across Broadway
   he is invisible to affluent theatre-goers wearing warm winter coats
      he is a man who watches them scurry past the cardboard box that is his bed
        like a rain-dog, huddling in the shadows of alleys and doorways
 
he hears deafening explosions of New Year fireworks
    he is invisible to the revellers
       he is a man who cowers, recalling gunfire of a war he fought
         echoing through his mind in restless nights
           the incessant thumping of traumatic stress
 
he is invisible...a victim of post-Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq
    who once bore a uniform and served his country with pride 
       he is invisible suffering alone, paying the price 
         through severe disabilities and permanent scars
 
with sadness, he watches voters going to the polls
    he is invisible, a veteran with no voice in elections
        he is a man who cannot vote without an “address”
           a placard on a pavement might catch the eye
   
unemployed, homeless, unseen
    but most of all forgotten
       he is a man who seems invisible
          but he is still a man


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This is co-written by Paul Callus & Carolyn Devonshire
in remembrance of our war veterans.

[Published @ Muse to Move (A.P.F. Publisher UK 2017]

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Cross My Heart

Come to the
River
Of my 
Soulful
Sentiments

Meandering silently
Yearning for release.

Hasten
Earnestly
As my love flows by
Rushing through the flood-gates
To your heart.
  
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Contest: 100 in a row # 10
Sponsor: Poet Destroyer A

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Creeping Roses

Tender tendrils climb the wall
Up towards the sky
Past the latticed windows tall
Clinging on from high.

Then in springtime buds in red
Pout with lips apart
Inhibitions they all shed
And seduce my heart.


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Contest: A 7/5 Trochee
Sponsor: Andrea Dietrich
Placed: 1st

Details | Paul Callus Poem

Rain Over Vietnam

There is the calm before the rain
It’s almost silent all around
The clouds expectant in the sky
Foreboding birds are homeward bound.

The soldiers stare at looming clouds
There is the calm before the rain
And yet there’s tension in the air
Will all this waiting be in vain?

They know the feeling well enough
The sun gets left out in the cold 
There is the calm before the rain
They have to be prepared and bold.

The sound of planes will soon be heard
Torrential bombs will fall again
But ‘til the heavens burst in floods
There is the calm before the rain. 

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Inspired by the song “Have you ever seen the rain?”
Sung by Credence Clearwater Revival.
With underlying reference to the Vietnam War.
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Contest: Screwed (Mar 2015)
Sponsor: Rob Carmack 
Placed: 7th


Rock N' Roll Contest sponsored by Kelly Deschler. NA