Home » Poems » Best » Joseph Awante » Best Joseph Awante Poems

Best Poems Written by Joseph Awante

Below are the all-time best Joseph Awante poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Joseph Awante Poem

Doxology

And at the day's end
When I'm feeling tired
And I'm all alone

And when my head speaks
And my heart churns
The battle rages on

And I've got God sitting
And his counterpart
On one shoulder each

And they're voicing it
What they've come to say
What they've come to teach

"See it's your fault
You don't pray enough
Where's your time with me

I see you over there
Chasing after her
Who are you trying to please

And can you blame this all
The guilt you feel right now
On anyone but you

You're writing poetry
Instead of reading with me
My time's overdue

You don't trust in me
I'm growing tired now
Of these empty games

Your mind's wandering
You're a lazy one
After selfish gains"

Yes you're right of course
On every account it's true
Your shoulder has grown cold

And yes I am 19
But now I must confess
I'm feeling pretty old

Because I'm recognizing
That they way I feel
Is from a battle that's real

And every now and then
I get a burst of fire
And it makes me feel

Leaf by Niggle
Tree grows bigger
Heart goes deeper still

And now I'm breathing heavy
Staring at the lies
Staring death in the face

And accusations flow
"You'll never really live
You're only just a fake"

But excuse me Vile
Every misspoke word
Every blunder and gall

Every terrible night
Every walk away
Every stumble and fall

Every unkept promise
Every broken heart
Every guilt and shame

Was striped upon his back
Slammed into his brain
And that day sin was slain

And I have no clue
Why he chooses to call
Me beloved son

But I'm made new
And here's more good news
The battle's already won

Furthermore I do count
I am set apart
I am only his

Look at his hands
Look at his side
They scream out to prove it

And he held the stone
To end my own life
Firmly in his hand

Yet look at the Script
I am not condemned
It's written in the sand

And with that it ends
When I'm feeling tired
And I'm all alone

When my heart speaks
And I hear you say
"Son I've been here all along"

Details | Joseph Awante Poem

Ghost

Your ghost in me do I sometimes perceive
A gentle phantom, heartbeat violently
For through my eyes do you see what I see
And through reflections find yourself as me

A childish image upheld all the while
Defying laws of nature and the mile
Your presence in the journey as a trial
Your ghost in me does me sometimes beguile 

Residing in it all you are not missed
My heart contends the paradox it is
Your ghost in me do I often dismiss
Yet often are you found on premises

I fix my eyes to that which is refined
Your ghost in me have I learned to resign

Details | Joseph Awante Poem

Blur

A calculated click
Falls from the cold bike chain
To bounce off the ground
And land in the ear

A bright polygon blurs by
The bike just blew a year
Smooth click, gear shift
See a man made something new 

There passes another one
An orange diamond
Don’t hit! don’t hit!
The fine parallels the speed

The clock ticks as the gears shift
Years melt into oncoming traffic
They wed and conceive a newborn
A child birthed yesterday named Tomorrow 

The beauty of dynamics 
Streak the child’s hair
A symphony of calculated clicks
From the score of the Great Composer

The traffic obeys a brief respite
The newborn falls into nap
Steal a quick breath: breathe in! breathe out!
Glance over the shoulder behind

Inspection during suspension reveals much
Introspection reveals even more
The bike weaves through growth and change
As Tomorrow faithfully awakes

Details | Joseph Awante Poem

Away

I half expect to hear my dog
Come clomping down the stairs
As I sit on fresh, new carpet
Not the same of former years

The basement’s cool; it always is
Its walls the brightest white
But there will be no dog today
I fear she’s left this life

The movie ends, my parents leave
I continue to wash clothes
Up the stairs I walk and stop
To think in my repose:

In my brother’s room is a box
A wooden crate long forgotten
It resides on his closet floor
Retired from its purpose of upholding the box television
We used as kids to play video games

My brother, who would sneak downstairs
To catch a midnight moment on computer games
My brother, who would sneak out at night
To pursue his romantic interests
My brother, who grabbed me by the hand
And dunked me by the Father, Son, and Spirit…

My brother has moved away

And his is not the only marriage
They are popping up left and right
All around in all four seasons
As boys grow into men

And here I am, heart full of turmoil
As I sit in the spot the Christmas tree resides
As it has for 18 years
As it does on every year
When Christmas rolls around

But its summer now and my days are long
And my time at home is short

To get good grades
And win a heart
Is the desire of every student

I’m leaving, too, severing all ties
Thinking of the graduation caps blooming with balloons
All saying equivalently “Adventure is out there”
And my next step is forward
But my heart screams “Backward”

But I, too, am moving away