2nd Annual Poetry SLAM! Recap

I had such a great time tonight at the second annual poetry slam. I was honored and humbled to be performing along-side so many great poets. I was gifted with the honor of winning "Best Poem in the under sixteen category" with my poem "The Hooves"! Along side me was the winner of the "Over Sixteen best original poem" who was awesome. He recited a poem to an urban beat about his grandmother who recently passed away. It was very touching and also amazing that he could remember such an emotional and lengthy work from memory alone. Here is us with the awesome MC who was just great.

Us together with our certificates!

And with the MC.

And my new Writer's Profile Picture for now at least.

Photos taken by my awesome dad who's work can be found here: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Points-North-Photography-Images-by-Frank-George-III/439457806186989

Thank you to the Sandy Public Library for hosting and the Friends of the Sandy Library for supporting and making it possible!

And remember... The words are already upon the page. All the writer must do is reveal them to the rest of the world.

2nd Annual Poetry SLAM!

Hey everyone, thank you for reading my poetry, you all are so motivating and influential for my work to flourish! I have been given the opportunity to compete in the 2nd Annual Poetry SLAM! being hosted by the Sandy Library on the 17th of this month! I will be reciting "The Hooves" for a chance to win first place in this year's competition. The library will also be publishing a book containing the poems written and recited in this year's SLAM. I have also submitted the same poem for possible publication in Sandy's East County Gazette! Thank you all again for reading, you all are what makes my work possible. And remember, the words are already upon the page. All the writer must do is reveal them to the rest of the world.

Sorrow

Sorrow
A Poem by Frank E. George IV

My heart is filled with sorrow,
But is it really my own?
Or is it something I have borrowed,
something I have never known?

Only the wind, only the rain,
Truly know why I have pain.
Only the birds, only the trees,

Know what I see.

My heart wavers as tears fall,
But are they mine to let go?
Have I truly loved and lost,
or is that something I will never know.

'Morrow I may wake to find,
pure joy and no more pain.
I may have never been left behind,
Until then, let fall, my friend, the rain.

Darkest Days, Lightest Days

Darkest Days, Lightest Days
A Poem by Frank E. George IV
In hope that all may one day see the Light.

Darkest Days, now behind,
Darkest Days, turned to light.
Darkest Days, now in sight,
Darkest Days, in the night.

Lightest Days, will take flight,
Lightest Days, into the night.
Lightest Days, now in sight,
Lightest Days, slays the night.

Dawn of Spring

Dawn of Spring
or Memory of the Tsars
by Frank E. George IV

Dawn of spring eternal and flourishing, bring unto me that memory, of a time with the sound of laughter echoed through the air, and the smell of herbs and wildflowers wafted through the manors of our success. Spring, sending forth babbling streams that flow without a care, birds nesting in the Aspen trees as the shouts of delight echo in the field. Spring, filled with frocks of white that flow with gentle ease that brings Renaissance of childhood and friendship spent in the meadows and forests by the sea. Without a care I sing of that glorious spring that through man's reckless desire for power and strength has killed. That Spring i sing of is gone, never to be seen. The singing of the birds replaced with the clamor of engines, and the laughs of maids replaced with the cries of disease and industry. The song is sung in memory, that too is nearly gone, existing in the hearts of the few who cherished the dawn of spring. Oh the dawn of spring, eternal and flourishing! Bring unto me that memory, so that again I might sing.

this was inspired by the piece Liebestraume No. 3 by Franz Liszt

The Hooves

The Hooves
A Poem by Frank George IV

Across the wintry scape did look,
My eyes, blue like crystal brook.
As mantle of fog and song of quail,
Set upon wood of Elm, so frail.

Echoed through my heart, a drone,
The sound of hooves upon quiv'ring stone,
And breeze from distant mountain peak,
Fell upon Earth's cold, pale cheek.

River danced over lifeless bone,
And wind ran over empty throne.
Echoed through my heart, a drone,
The sound of hooves upon quiv'ring stone.

Kono

A series of Haiku, for she who is fading -

Velvet of Eden,
Thou hast diminished from here,
None will see again.

Red is your sweet skin,
The night hath become thine veil,
Perfume in shadow.

You are night, then day,
You are the moon, then the sun,
Heart of Antheia.

Woven in the dusk,
Blooming in the light of Dawn,
Your secrets untold.

Your tears are the rain,
Falling to my mortal heart,
Your voice is the wind.

The woods are thine dress,
Beauty, return unto me,
Sing unto mine soul.

Tears fall from mine eye,
I am alone in this life,
without my Kono.

Sing again of Moon,
Upon the mountain, your throne,
Be with my heart.

Sing of the lilies,
Of the night in the Heavens,
Of Starlight, do sing.

Your voice be the wind,
Speak softly to me, my love,
I am here with you.

Whisper to my heart,
Stay here as I pass away,
Avalon beckons.

As I pass over,
Over water and moonlight,
Sing once more Kono.

Sing of the water,
Sing of the moonlit lilies,
Fading into dream.

Take it and Learn!

Oh to me I see that now men are made of thinner stuff than once they were. Where are thou? Those dead men who fought on the Barricades in France? Where are thou? Those savage braves who fought for their homes at Wounded Knee? Let the songs of the dead men ring in your ears, and let the cries of the living boys remain with those who are lesser than true men! Let us denounce this veil of oppressive torment that hangs upon our necks like an ox’s yoke, never more to be chained to the mast of this sinking ship we call our planet earth! For too long have we sat in the nursery of our coddling mothers and done nothing, so instead let us stand up and let out a cry of nations that is to echo throughout the ramparts of our generous benefactors who have built a kingdom upon the sands of their own falsities! I am disgusted that those which are in the grace of the President have attained such a position, for in a corrupt mind, only corrupt thoughts flourish. The world has fallen into a seductive trap of self-image and ignorance! Where hath the pen and brush fled to in this short time? It has gone unto the fathers who lie in the deep grave, forgotten along with their heroic deeds of freedom and knowledge! Bestow upon yourselves the crown of the arts, that you may carry the fate of our children, and our children’s children, so as to hold at bay the forces of ignorance and stupidity. The scholars of this world dwindle, growing old and teaching none. The pen is gone, the canvas once used by the masters shredded apart by the talons of this dark force of foolishness. Knowledge has been abandoned in place of one’s perfect figure and vain handsomeness, leaving behind the broken and lonely husk of a time when the minds of men sent us to the ends of the earth and back on a quest of enlightenment and understanding that is nearly lost. The men who now control the world are now more men than my cat is a Mink, though they would soon have him skewered and sold as one in the East. This predicament cannot be solved by money or war, only by the proper education of the populace. Let us go into the streets, to the ghettos and the schools, seize up the children and take them to a room, where they are all sat down and learned the ways of the pen, and learn how to say “why” and to think for themselves! Not these brainless machines faced with a destiny of desire for the technologies and fashion trends of the week! No! Let us become literate and knowledgeable so that we may face outside forces with the ability to strike back not with the sword or spear or shield, but with the mind! Take up your mind and free yourself of ignorant captivity so that you may be prepared to live your life the way you wish and finish with a small measure of peace. The idea that we as the united and free human race are free from the bonds of work and having to attain our livelihood through hard effort and challenge must be abandoned for us to move forward into the new dawn. I call my brothers, and I call mine sisters from your slumber to begin life a new and to be brave in your knowledge, and to stand up for the right way, the way of intelligence and the mind and the heart. When I speak of the way of intelligence I speak of three main traits that all should possess in order to succeed in their life, the first being diligence, and the devotion to an idea and philosophy so that you may stand fast in the face of outside forces that try and influence you down a path which is not your own. Expectations are further numbered than the sands of shore, fading and looming in the sea. Do the birds command the wind, and tell it where to go? Do the flowers command the trees, and tell them how to dance? So the forces of the world cannot force thine heart and life into the darkness. The forces of the world cannot force thine soul into decadence! The second is Self-Control; one of the most unattainable characteristics is this, though if we all exercise this at once, we are a united force of upright humans before God in the light of day! If we give way to self-control we will find that we are not troubled with laziness and a desire for simple-mindedness, but crave for more knowledge so that we may better ourselves in the next day. The third is Spirituality, that which our countrymen have nearly lost. The land built under God is now a godless land of self-pleasure and the ignorance of what they do to themselves. Spirituality offers hope to an otherwise hopeless life, so take it up into your heart and never let it go, and you will be fulfilled. These three will pave the foundation of a knowledgeable person. Upon these, we must take up the old tomes, the philosophies and the paintings of the past in order to rekindle a flame of thought and patriotism not for one nation, but for Humanity itself so that we do not slip into external and internal decay! The world is a dark place in these times, and knowledge is nearing an end. Do not let that happen friends, for those few who hold it now cannot do it forever, for the waves of eternity shall soon take you, therefore do not live this destitute and degenerative life of emptiness of mind. Take up the pen, take up the brush, and take up the knowledge needed to awaken the Human race and begin an era of thought that will not be extinguished by the government or other force any longer. Gentlemen, do not ask me for the key to your mind, for you hold it in your own hand. Take it and learn!