She greets us with a smile,
won't hesitate to go the extra mile.
She always has a kind word,
as genuine as a songbird.
No one would ever know
she lost her son two weeks ago.
Whitish and woolike
Hanging in the air and clinging to the sky
Flying across the mountains high above our heads
Come in different shapes and sizes, appearances and states
From groups of sheep to clusters of flowers
From overlapping surfs to puffs of smoke
All deceiving your eyes
As a sudden rain will come like fate
A vague face, immersed in mist
Lower lip firming, augmenting
Growing paler
Wider at one end
Like a curled up wood shaving
Mouth becoming linear
Puzzling process
Of de-existence as a face
Expression sinks away
In a cubist miasma
Embedded in a matrix
Of contorted dark vacuum
Which maintains emptiness
Despite what it contains
How many faces
Disappear into nothing
Never to be resupplied
Nor their lost words interpreted
Appearances
Don’t be disquieted about the unidentified things of the night
Nor the puzzling which occur during the day without hay
And be not resistant to rectification of any misconceptions
Nor apprehensive about intended friendly encounters
Think about the lonesome deer seen in parks
They neither cause distress like wild bears
nor strike without cause like bobcats which
are less often seen
Appearances can be deceiving much like tricks
So be careful what you think or even wish for
And open to learning – you will always be you
regardless of changes
Seven pearls robbed
Ceramic contrivances replete
with squatter rights
entombing deep necrosis
for an Oscar appearance
staged and blanched
choreographed photoshoppery
of Cheshire cats
faux poses and grins
for psychedelic strobes
beneath neon footlights
and synchronised clatter
of frenzied palms
rhythmic and rigid
Politburo manoeuvres.
Nobody ever talks about him.
He rules quietly in a matriarchal society.
He can easily be replaced.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 3rd place 2025
There
is no repetition
repetition names
separation~
appearances
accomodate repetition
which is what
makes the world
go around~~??
Appearances
are all at once
everything appearing~
this appearance and that
wide or narrow focus
whatever differences
appearances are
Appearances~~
Come closer I won't bite
I've been unfairly given a bad rap
I'm really a fun pal
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2025
Backstage it’s utter chaos
Curtains rise and perfection unfolds on cue
Much like behind closed doors
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
I am simple yet complex in my simplicity;
I have many masks and facets,
and will wear a multitude of hats.
I show the me I need you to see,
you'll never know the whole of me.
I am the person I want you to see
and am only satisfied if you're baffled
by the multiplicity of me.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Submitted on July 24, 2025 for contest MULTIPLICITY OF THE SELF sponsored by ALICE REYNOLDS
Altho' I didn't study for my Rorschach test
when the proctor a doctor a shrink
evaluating my perception in search of insight
to discover what I might really think
handed me ten pictures on a card
I took a long hard look
then knew exactly what I did see
and did not blot my copybook
as often what you're gazing at
is simply (on the dot) precisely that
so it was not difficult at all
personally from where I sat
to pass with flying colours
and unravel this Gordian Knot
it wasn't a butterfly moth or bat
sometimes an inkblot is just an inkblot
appearances
what's out there
and in here
appearances of
appurtenances, appearances require
~ society grieves passion’s passing desire
I tried to reason with the Lady of Shalott,
"Be content! Don’t be so distraught!
You may long for the world of Lancelot and Guinevere ~
but let me tell you what’s about to happen there ~
they're about to lose everything they've got."
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