Forgive me , it’s love , I’m falling for you
My heart can’t disguise
For your sake , I would fight till the skies , with courage aflame
Through fire I stride .
No fear can conquer , what I feel inside.
They whispers , ‘Such love can never survive’ ,
But what do they know of hearts kept alive ?
For you , I’d part with heaven’s own light ,
Even lose god’s hand if it gives you delight.
I can even win the battle , fierce by design ,
My soul reflects you perfectly fine ,
Powerful , intense spirits are align,
Our hearts forever are intertwined .
If Harold had spied with his little eye
the arrow flying his way
at the Battle of Hastings in 1066
the English may have won the day
but the French bastard William the Norman
prevailed and won the upper hand
to conquer the last Anglo-Saxon king
of this green and pleasant land
when King Henry V led his army of archers from Wales
at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415
in revenge the English to the French did bid 'Adieu'
which began the tales
longbowmen were first to finger the V-sign 'pluck yew'
but it's merely a myth it's not true
Uranus once ruled the ethereal realm
And for a while was at the helm
Until his son, Cronus, overthrew him
But Cronus, too, would have the crown seized from him
Cronus feared he'd lose the throne
Which caused him to swallow more than his pride
He swallowed his children; his wife did groan
But Zeus, she managed to hide
Zeus would eventually rescue his swallowed kin
A potion given to Cronus caused him to 'hurl' them out
But for the throne, there would be a war to win
In their battle with Cronus, victory came about
Thunder rumbled, and a dark cloud coils
Now it was time to divide the spoils
Cronus was imprisoned, never to be set free
Zeus got the sky and Poseidon the sea
Pick-A-Title, Vol 54 Poetry Contest // Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
( 2nd Place )
Written: August 13, 2025
It stalks in silent corners of the mind.
A whisper, jagged, dark, and undefined.
Its claws creeps walls we dare not show,
eyes ecstatic where our hearts should glow.
It scoff on mistrust, on every hidden fear,
gnawing at the edges of what we hold dear,
A silent growl underneath the laughing sound.
A truth too fierce to face the day unbound.
Yet deep down inside the marrow of this fight.
A spark ignites a flutter of quiet light.
We don’t meet the beast with sword or shield
but with the quiet courage the heart alone can hold
It howls, it rampage, yet we will not fall,
it's shadow recoils before our inner call.
The beast is vicious, but we are more vicious still--
Adepts of the darkness by our iron will.
(“Splendid Isolation Merit Badge”, 2010, original oil)
Not My Battle
It’s not my battle
Not my hill to die on
Or claim as king.
I’d rather just sit peacefully
On some lonely mountain
Enjoying the sounds of silence.
Sure I can see the dust rise
And hear occasional horns blow
Of the little battles raging far below.
But it’s not my battle
Nor hill to die on,
At least not on this fine day…
(8/9/25)
In the mere blink of a nightmare, I found myself rechained
and trapped where my peace of mind had once before
collapsed.
The die has been cast, an old challenge from the past, one
I thought long ago smashed, has incited another battle and
painfully thrashed my peace of mind like collateral damage
to aloofly leave behind.
It’s twenty-seven years later, and I’m altogether strength-wise
lesser for this matter. I’ve got mighty prayers but the sum-total
of tassels for the best in life have battered and frayed my energy.
It is retired and at rest, not lying in wait for another day or test.
Now, I’ve no choice but to fake it, declare it is just hiding and
there’s no abiding such when it's time for fighting.
I know I screamed denial, felt a heavy weight disintegrate all
to black. I remember holding him, sharing a crying jag while
watching my peace of mind pack.
My very heart, my special needs son, now full grown and still
at home, woke me in the night in a state of fright, “Mama, I
think I just had a seizure.” The next day came four more and
my peace of mind took its suitcase out the door.
So many beauties to choose from,
None could be referred to as scum.
They becloud my sense of duties ~
To choose from, so many beauties
Many of them wear their smiles proud,
My sense of duties they becloud.
Their hearts beg for true love and care.
Their smiles proud, many of them wear.
The love I will give, none can peg,
For true love and care, their hearts beg.
My sin of lust, they will forgive.
None can peg the love I will give.
I have to earn their love and trust,
They will forgive my sin of lust.
To be loyal, my heart will learn ~
Their love and trust, I have to earn.
To win in this battle royal,
My heart will learn to be loyal.
I will discard lust as a sin,
In this battle royal, to win.
No matter what has become
Not willing to ponder or succumb
A moment of temptation's best
Breaking off wanting rest
A battle may be won
Battle Cry
Standing on the front line.
Determination to survive.
Yelling out in a chant, Battle Cry.
Encouragement to stand and fight.
We are soldiers
Unity to rage on forward.
We are warriors.
Protect our own.
Side by side with our brothers in arms.
Raise the flag in red white and blue.
Remember the soldiers lost before us.
Across the battlefields, we are one.
Protect us for our freedom
After the bloodshed, come home soon.
Wars are never ending.
Never understanding.
Thank you for taking a bullet.
We will never forget.
Fight! Fight! the Lord God cried
Ready for battle, stand your ground
The dead spirits are 'round about
Spreading evil to take us down
Oh no we will fight the people said
We know our God is on our side
Thank you Lord for all you've done
You have gone and saved our lives
The Centerfold On Frost Field.
As I lay on my back dying I heard the cry for help.
With the last of my endurance I stand on my feet.
Valiantly I break ground!
As I grasp my axes within twain of my hands.
Though exasperated, I release my mournful cry!
With my last aggression, I let loose my inner berserker!
To bastion, for glory, for thy honor, for thy blood, for thy bonds!
Feet thunderous as I break earth upon each step!
As I run my breath hits the frozen air, like lava melting even frozen fear!
Valiantly my body adapts, with the fortitude of the gods.
Volatile is my mind as I rush into fighting the fowl fiends!
Alone I stand against the devastating foes!
With the tenacity of the witcher I fight against their enemies!
With blood, sweat, grit, and tears, I shred them to bits!
One by one they befall my feet, in thy raven's eyes they feed.
Only by Valkyrie's hand on frostfield, may I be saved!
With my battle born cry I continue to slay!
~ Benjamin Luke Aguas.
My mind is so prismatic,
constantly thinking all erratic,
the perfect cage,
to hold the rage,
but wait...
I am all that it can hate,
whilst inside it is trapped,
I must find a way to adapt,
but it makes me feel inept,
maybe locking it away I will regret,
I've lost it's skill,
it bends my will,
this is a deep battle that I can feel,
within a loose free verse,
shadow holds me to its curse,
bound like a mothers purse,
trying harder to just stop me,
like the jail cell in monopoly,
it screams self doubt,
but I have no doubt,
on creating rhyme schemes properly.
The love is overpowering,
the insecurities buried beneath the shadow of helplessness.
The desperation to touch your soul,
your unspoken words,
your life’s puzzles—
it veils my mind like an illusion.
You are slipping away from my fingertips,
you are hiding your broken pieces.
You have sealed your lips with untold stories.
You are evaporating into the twilight.
You are pushing the boundaries of your unseen self,
you have consumed yourself in disguise.
But I ---
I’ll be the listener of your never-heard stories—
stories that unleash the pain within.
I’ll be the beam of light to guide you through the anguish,
through the alleys of memory lane,
through the scattered pieces of your soul.
You and I ---
We will illuminate our world with a ray of hope.
We will find our love in a hopeless place.
How do you fight when the battle is within you, and every attempt seems doomed to fail,
When you thought you were strong, but now you see you're caught in the web of doubt,
A stranger in your own skin, searching for a self that once seemed so certain,
I try to rise, but I fall again, chasing pieces of myself that have disappeared.
Once I was confident, but now I'm full of uncertainty,
Wondering if I'll ever find that part of me I'm searching for,
A labyrinth of intertwined thoughts, where the echoes of doubts constantly resonate,
Like a river flowing endlessly, taking me on unknown paths of the soul.
Every step is a battle with shadows, a search for the light hidden deep within,
When the heart remembers the times when faith was simple and clear,
Now, lost in a thick fog, I seek the fulcrum to find myself again,
In a world that changes incessantly, like a dream from which I cannot wake.
I gather strength from memories, from moments of courage and instants of peace,
From the brilliance of a clear morning when the sun warmed my soul,
And I try to remember who I truly am, beyond doubts and fears,
For deep in my heart, I know my true power awaits to be rediscovered.
The wind doesn’t howl here--
it warns.
Each breath drawn
is borrowed
from the bones beneath.
They told me to fear the shadow,
but never the silence that follows.
I walk where others knelt,
blade dulled,
spirit frayed,
still searching for the summit
that keeps shifting skyward.
I do not ask for light--
only the strength
to keep walking
where ghosts refuse to rest.
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