Get Your Premium Membership

Best Poems Written by J Vernal Kennedy

Below are the all-time best J Vernal Kennedy poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

View ALL J Vernal Kennedy Poems

Details | J Vernal Kennedy Poem

The Great Fall

The Great Fall (Mr. Dumpty) 


The man they call Dumpty sat up on his wall.
On one side, faith and the other, xylitol. 
Has the white house and rides front of the train
But sometimes the sun gets spite from the rain.
Starts a tear without rhyme, a tear without reason.
Minds eye shows the winter no matter the season.
Looking for something he didn't know he had lost, 
till he looked in the mirror and saw  eyes dimly glossed.

The man they call Dumpty ran away from his life.
He scoffed off his kids and looked blank past his wife.
The yoke he should bear was too heavy to take.
His hard thin white shell showed signs of a break.
The horses and men raging around in his mind 
are the ones giving orders and he follows behind.
He isn't feeling sad... He just isn't feeling.
Closing throat, short of breath, staring up at the ceiling.

The man they call Dumpty fell in a dark place.
Smiled pink lips painted on a pale split face.
The matter inside spilled out from the blow.
All color turned grey and the “yes” is a no.
He walks down the valley, alone with ol’ Jim
The gleam in his eye is now a Beam deep within.
From the outside he looks just like one of the pack
But the hull of his soul is the part with the crack.

The man they call Dumpty is happy ya know.
The smile on his face and his friends all say so.
The light he sees fleeting, can’t be that bad.
“Just get over it”, they say. “Just don't be sad.”
“He’s not drowning as he says. Surrounded by us.”
Words of console are like love without trust.   
The sound of his laugh sounds just like a cry,
At the base of the wall, face up to the sky.

Copyright © J Vernal Kennedy | Year Posted 2022



Details | J Vernal Kennedy Poem

The Pit

A feral battle between two starving men
That rages for ages with no knowable end. 

Deep in the pit, exchange blow for blow
No escape, never free, forever held down below.   

Brown bloodied rags hang off their skin
A visceral clash deep, deep therein. 

Deep beetled brow looks rabidly down
Into hopeful pure eyes, neither making a sound

The silent exchange of resolve and of blood. 
None else exists but man's will and the mud. 

Neither will die no matter the force. 
The fate of the men rotate in due course. 

There is nothing else after, and was nothing before.
One wins a battle but neither wins the war. 

The upper hand depends on the day. 
A layer of flesh is with what all men pay. 

One man breathes red and has ruby’s for eyes. 
The other fights tempered with measured bled tries.

Pure savage ferocity against patience and poise
With the thrashing and crashing, only grit makes a noise. 

From just the right angle they both look the same. 
But the battle yet rages, they strangle for his name.

Copyright © J Vernal Kennedy | Year Posted 2022

Details | J Vernal Kennedy Poem

Red Herring

Meandering paths through the forest of voices
We all hunt the Fox, the fox of truth and of choices.
Let loose the hounds that lose the scent.
The foul fishy flash that keeps their nose bent. 

Sell your head scratching questions to buy the cheap thrill
From the glossy silver lips of the letters on the hill.
The grand distraction of planned attraction
Gets a bland reaction 'till they force down the pill.

Count on the fact the books make us bored.
“Is it time for the signal from Greenwich?” 
This just in...your minds been twined with a flaxen cord. 
Keep your eyes on the chest, leave the treasure ignored. 

The gluttonous fat man with round swirly eyes
Circles through the channels as he shoves in the fries.
Ignorance is only the fault of the one.
He never opened a page or his mind ‘fore he dies.

The man on the horse knows his time is soon spent.
The dogs and the fish have open resent.
Cunning and silence keeps the fox so majestic.
The pray of the fish is to keep doG domestic.

Copyright © J Vernal Kennedy | Year Posted 2022

Details | J Vernal Kennedy Poem

Demon

Sixty four (bars in song) bars to free my soul.
The skeleton key of rock and roll.
But no true release from pains (despair)black hole.
Only dull the blinding darkness deep inside. 

It reaches in through the eyes to subjugate the mind. 
Then casts the anchor aside and leaves you blind.
Dark sleepless nights to only watch rewind. 
We all lose some time even though we tried. 

the Hero has demons that keeps him bound. 
the dirty beggar boy has the words profound,
“Your as free as me, just pence for pound.”
The man behind the curtain is the one who lied. 

You see them walk in ruby heels so you think they're free.
You have a monkey on your back just the same as me. 
Except yours is a broken ring and mines as green as money. 
I guess we lost the key the day aequitas died. 

Somewhere is a silver bullet. I just haven’t found it yet.
The only thing to kill that demon but they called it a let. 
Some people sell the silver bullet to try and forget. 
To try and buy a silent cry and let the demon hide. 

The only solace in the cell is the stained glass window .
That let’s in enough light for a seed to grow.
The biggest loss of life is the death of hope.
It’s up to all of us where we let love abide.

Copyright © J Vernal Kennedy | Year Posted 2022


Book: Reflection on the Important Things