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Thunder cracks the sky in two~
rain like nails, the world askew.
But under eaves, a sparrow sings~
wet wings trembling, defiant things
Bent askew, with shadow straight as a die
reflecting my every move and mood
I dwelt upon the hidden grace of being bent.
For curved things are strangely stronger
than straight things, so rare in nature.
So prone to shatter to pick-up-sticks, straight bits
when compliant and inflexible.
Fearing the wind will turn you into a statue
if you flap, furl, curl and yield to change,
and take a backward step, arching back,
away from the straightforward.
No butterflies at Christmas time, you and I know why
they'd freeze their wings and wouldn't stand a chance
inside this wintry Palace of snow and fanfare glow.
But little Suz with her happy trails of dreams galore
asked Santa for a butterfly, she wanted nothing more.
One with summer wings that could dart, flit, and fly
one that could light the room like a cloudless blue sky
one that could take her away to a place oh, so high.
Upon this firmament of earth what would a holiday be
without the assistance of a magic fairy's glee
So, it was on that diamond studded Holy night
that a fairy appeared wearing wings way too tight
she nipped at her pillow and whispered in her ear
"Help me get these pinions off, won't you be a dear!"
Little Suz with eyes so big touched the spongy wings of blue
they were warm and cradle soft, filled with morning dew
Soon the fairy left her side off to Netherland she flew
to get another pair of wings, with her Halo all askew.
Looking out to the horizon
The warmest colors, the sun setting just past the water
And yet all I see is a line, slightly askew
Is it me? Is it the world around me?
Why do I feel disoriented?
My heart races
Frustrated, I adjust my own posture
I study the horizon and begin to speculate
There's a problem in front of me that I must solve
Minutes, hours, days go by
The sun rises and falls, the weather varies
And yet I notice none of it
Why is the horizon slightly askew?
How can I set the lines straight?
My frustration grows
The waves crash
The voices in my head grow louder
Louder
Until finally, I forget about the problem in front of me
I move on to the next challenge
All the while
I failed to notice how many glorious sunsets passed before me
All that beauty wasted
Because the world wasn't perfect
I couldn't look past its faults
And now I remain, stoic, unphased, uninspired
And still slightly askew.
writing something new
just a bit askew
asking for the given
taking each strike with a smile
taste nothing but bile
numb comes after the pain
madness masquerades as the sane
i took a tear
and placed it in a box
buried it in the deepest loch
took a sigh
and pushed it in a balloon
sent it to the moon
took a broken heart
and ripped my life apart
Depression flattened paper thin
dust footprints leaving
merest trace
a smile lost within this face
On a clear day in the day room
he will tell anyone he has
had an askew life.
When he was a small boy
out for a Sunday walk
with his parents
his father would shout
not to walk on the edge
of the sidewalk
and in grammar school
the nuns would get upset
because he didn’t always
write between the lines
and at jobs after college
despite doing things well
and getting promotions
he had a habit of being late
and in a long otherwise
satisfactory marriage
his wife would get upset
because he didn't put stamps
on envelopes straight.
On a bad day in the day room
he will tell anyone none
of those people is still alive.
Donal Mahoney
If I were
an astronomer,
a follower of Papa
Galileo through
th'expanding years,
I should be
less confounded by
that vortex
in the sky
first spotted
when a learned bro
peeked through
his viewing lens.
"Our home"
he said, "is bigger
than we thought!"
and thus he kicked
the boot of Italy
into a cosmic ocean
where galactic islands drift,
defying that old wader
of its terra,
no longer firm-a
("oh, let's asee my fren;
we play da words,
I mean, da Medi-terra-neans")
Yes, I know signore, those
who think longingly
about their home upon
the ground beneath.
But there it is,
a starry nebulum
that just will not behave
as science thought it should.
And so she floats
albeit saucilly
with starry hands
on cosmic hips,
"Just where"
she wants to know,
"is a galaxy
to go?"
~
Apricot marmalade wispy clouds upon the blue
canvas, swiftly changing sunrise reveals a surprise_
charcoal gray, a textured smoke billowing askew
across the eastern sky, Suddenly diamond dew
drops fall upon grasses, Everything expressed anew
as the sun rises, the moon bidded
adieu, this day will pass; tomorrow, too
Apricot marmalade wispy clouds upon the blue
Sponsor: Rick Parise
Contest: Enjambment
I know it doesn't make any sense...
Written October 19, 2014
Soul Askew
the greed for power, money too,
rich think they are better, due,
halos slip, slip-slides askew,
self serving, self deletes,
self judges, self repeats,
next time on sorrows street,
reborn, the ever whining meet,
the self bought,
humble stew,
ironic its not new,
subtle ends, an sour deceit,
parasitics, souls defeat,
starvation conquers you,
does the lesson educate,
or is it pointless too,
why we suffer, calculate,
but logic says its true,
reason for debate,
be honest and true blue,
cos Africa can wait,
but suffering renews,
our spiritual estate,
you little bugger you…
Don Johnson
Lately it appears
As if something is missing
That spark's not quite there
Have you started dismissing
By becoming increasingly distant
Are you growing immune
At an inopportune moment
Unfortunate events
Are now putting dents
Causing you to lament
All the time that's been spent
Your abandonment issues
Manifest malcontent
Presenting the case
That resent will torment
It's odd
Your demeanor is this incomplete
Are their things going on
That have led to deceit
There's an unwanted tension
That isn't so sweet
Not to mention the way
You mistreat then repeat
Please don't allow love to become obsolete
.
Geese squawking askew
V-formation out of form
Headed south too late
/
/
/
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
Must be young geese
No strong leader
First flight home
No I will not ask for directions
(Haiku/Free Verse and what else who knows)
Unless you're a true celebrity
or one with real notoriety,
what you think folks think or say
of you in public or in secrecy
shouldn't bother you in any way
though your hunches persist;
for all you know they don't even
have an inkling that you exist;
and when you're down, don't blame
the world for ganging up on you;
don't kid yourself with such conceit
that's so inane and so askew!
It all started when Sleeping Beauty slapped Cinderella
Then Snow White retaliated and hit her with an umbrella
as Ariel the little Mermaid's tail turned into legs
Prince Erick and Prince Charming stole the Easter bunny's eggs.
As Alice from wonderland grew five times her size
Hansel and Gretel attacked her by surprise
While Puss in Boots fought Peter pan
Captain Hook and Ursula produced an evil master plan.
Rapunzel chatted with Red Riding hood
and the three little pigs were up to no good
Thumbelina still aspired to grow
and Rumpelstiltskin has a name he thought no one would know
Jack climbed the beanstalk which was later cut down
by the woman in the shoe who stole Cinderellas wedding gown.
The wicked witch of the west set the woman's shoe ablaze
and Dorothy clicked her heels but didn't return home for thirty days.
When fairy tales get messy this is what well never see
but this is what fairy tales would be like if it were up to me...
so
ironic
that art
subtly shares
a dubious intimacy
with the slightly askew,
with the quite assymetrical
with the somewhat . . . artless.
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