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Flipped Hourglass

Life, here hangs on a filmy thread of hope Unskilled acrobats, making tight rope walks With the deep chasm gaping below Some too fatigued to feel the stress, Empty beds bearing The scars of lost battles Shaded rooms brooding in the gloom, Pervading silence speaking mutely Of burnt hopes and dreams, Of flipped hour glasses! The morbid stillness Occasionally broken By stifled groans and whimpers In a corner room, he lay, A dead heap upon the bed, With no one to keep vigil, Loneliness, his only companion! Crowds of fans queued up once To have just a glimpse of him! Now suddenly grown older With all energy vanquished, He stares into the claws of Death. His frail emaciated body, Rejecting the drops of toxic drugs, The dried up neurons refusing To send signals to the brain, Eye balls sinking deep, Cheek bones sticking out, Tentacles of cancer tightening hold On every lobe of his lungs, He lay looking at the granules of sand Sliding slowly down, so slow at snail’s pace That he wishes if the hour glass, all of a sudden Had flipped upside down! He lay- on his bed, A dead log tossed by the currents Moving in and out of consciousness He was finally trapped in the snares of Death. The vanquished soldier exited out, Sans songs, sans fanfare!
Placed First Jan.2.2022 Pick-A-Title, Vol.28 Poetry Contest Sponsor- Edward Ibeh

Copyright © | Year Posted 2022




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Date: 3/14/2022 7:46:00 PM
Congratulations, again!
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Date: 2/15/2022 11:13:00 AM
Vasal, Congratulations! on your win. Well penned. Hugs ~ Debra
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Date: 2/14/2022 8:44:00 AM
I am so happy you made First place Valsa. Congratulations! Happy Valentine's Day!
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Date: 2/13/2022 7:42:00 AM
"Unskilled acrobats, making tight rope walks", "Shaded rooms brooding in the gloom", "Crowds of fans queued up"... So many beautiful images adding gloom to the already gloomy existence. Congratulations!
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Date: 2/13/2022 6:56:00 AM
huge congratulations on your top win, Valsa. A heart-wrenching, powerful, poignant depiction of the struggles at the end of life, caused by a terrible disease. Brilliant creation! Best wishes ~ Mala
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Valsa George
Date: 2/13/2022 8:07:00 AM
Thank you very much Mala.... ! You too deserve to be congratulated !
Date: 2/13/2022 6:32:00 AM
Heartiest congratulations on your top win in my contest with this sublime write, Valsa:-) Such wonderful imagery throughout your poignant poem. Well-done!
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Valsa George
Date: 2/13/2022 8:06:00 AM
Thanks a lot Edward for this great honor ! I feel privileged to have taken part in your contest ! Thanks much for giving me this opportunity !
Date: 2/8/2022 4:40:00 PM
I try not to think about death, I push it aside as if it will be prolonged. The flipped hourglass such a great concept. Finally released from his mortal coil... to the vanquished soldier I wish you luck Valsa!
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Date: 2/5/2022 11:13:00 AM
I imagine a deathly quiet hospital room, with the occasional light cough. So many different forms : styles, & subjects if empathy. PTL
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Date: 2/4/2022 7:01:00 AM
Sensational verse Valsa, your poetry perfectly captures mortality. That penultimate stumbling block before the last speck of dust falls. Best of luck in the competition.
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Date: 2/2/2022 10:37:00 AM
People should die in peace, not pieces! Well written and enjoyed!
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Date: 2/2/2022 5:13:00 AM
Your poem gives voice to so many who struggle throughout their lives while doing all they can just to survive. Loneliness and despair surround their final hours. Time is so unkind to them. You articulated their plight flawlessly, my friend.
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Date: 2/2/2022 2:09:00 AM
Powerful verse Valsa, you captured death so well in your verse. That final hurdle before the last grain of sand drops. Good luck in the contest. Hope you're having an enjoyable week. Tom
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Valsa George
Date: 2/2/2022 4:34:00 AM
For many it is definitely a hurdle.... especially for those at the terminal stage of cancer. Thanks a lot Tom for your great comment.
Date: 2/1/2022 11:05:00 PM
A deep study of a dying hero. Alas that's how the world goes.
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Valsa George
Date: 2/2/2022 4:32:00 AM
Yes, it is how world will treat all of us. When we have fame and name, so man will surround us.... when lost, they will desert us. Thanks a lot Victor for your patience to read this long poem.

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