They hold their courts of pomp and ceremony in the name of history they say.
They sway the poor and destitute at arms length to avoid acknowledging their eyes, their hearts, their voices for existing in this state of way.
They laugh of joy in conceited waste, and waste and waste. Entitlement lives and must be maintained this way they say.
They expect respect for rank in society and the loyalty of blood and sacrifice with no questions ever put their way.
They scoff and laugh sipping sherrys in clubs of oak panelled, vaulted halls, their derrières on the softest leathers while outside beggars crawl out of their way.
My Prayer For Today
Miracle Man
10/15/2024
Before today’s sunrise I awoke feeling blessed,
ready to do bidding with some new day’s test.
In prayer, I ask you, to make me an advancer,
it's me again Lord, seeking from you an answer.
I pray, Lord I’m weak and need your strength,
that I’ll feel your nearness, not at arms length.
That those requesting prayer, I will remember,
both those unknown, and each church member.
Lord, send me to one, whose faith has grown weak,
then give me the words that you’d have me speak.
Increase my faith toward this day’s unknown,
and at my day’s end bless the seed I have sown.
From your given mission I pray I’ve not wavered,
from one who feels blessed, and highly favored.
Amen
Blessed And Highly Favored
By: Miracle Man
6/13/2024
When I make the mistake ,
of keeping God at arms length.
Sometimes I forget that,
He’s the source of my strength.
It’s always easy to trust Him,
when things are going my way.
Sometimes He directs circumstances,
just to get me to pray.
Blessings have exited Heaven,
during some of my darkest hours.
God has always shown up,
demonstrating His powers.
When Doctors had done all,
and said it’s in God’s hands.
God was proving once again,
His power was greater than mans.
Since the first time my eyes met yours, my heart was completely captured by you without any possible way of escaping your clutches. I never imagined you'd break through my defenses so easily before I knew what was happening you had already destroyed over half of my defenses.
With just a simple smile, touch and the simplest way you call for me. Before I could even blink much less prepare more defenses against another one of your attacks, the damage was already done without anyway to repair what you've already destroyed.
I desperately tried to keep you at arms length to protect myself from getting hurt, but somehow you managed to slip under my guard and claim my soul along with my heart I was completely taken by surprise.
By:Vera Rice!
Is there ever going to be a lonelier picture
of me facing a moon that hides
behind a cloud of rain?
Or of me watching you from afar
and loving you at arms length?
Is there?
It happens over there,
a suburb, a state or half a world
or more away from where I live
in a quiet street with roses and hedges
hanging over front fences
with newly planted trees spaced
along a footpath the council truck
waters once a week.
For anything to get past
and make it to here must be filtered,
sanitised and packed in biodegradable
pouches and come with conditions
clearly stated in print bold enough
to see at arms length and most
important of all, have an off switch
that can be activated by an app
on a phone or a remote control.
What's more, it must be kept short
not taking too much time for it to clash
with commitments I previously made
over a coffee at the gym or make
me feel bad by its content or tax
my nerves by taking me to a place
which I have no desire to go.
So, I would be pleased if you kept it
over there, housed within the confines
of a television screen and sandwiched
between ads and promos for the latest
"Reality" show. And to keep
my conscience pristine, provide
an address I can send
a small donation to on my credit card
with a receipt so I can claim
the expense on my next
income tax return. Thank you.
forgive all evil
go on turn the other cheek
perhaps in dreamland
hug enemies at arms length
kiss ~ but first pull out their teeth
By
David Kavanagh
At a glance, I felt the fire.
At a distance, I felt your warmth.
At arms length, I blazed with desire.
The first touch, it fueled an ember.
The first embrace, it fanned the flame.
The first coupling, it torched a timber.
Hand on heart, had branded a life.
Hand on hips, had ignited a passion.
Hand in hand, had sparked a wife.
United together, we scorched a plan.
United together, we kindled a child.
United together, we forged a man.
Years later, a cold smoking gun.
Years later, a hot funeral pyre.
Years later, a dead ashen son.
Still today, with mad burning coals.
Still today, with sad smoldering eyes.
Still today, with dim flickering souls.
Till tomorrow, our past blistering sands.
Till tomorrow, our daily simmering lives.
Till tomorrow, our eternal welded hands.
From the place of Broken-ness,
Comes a new beginning.
You enter in pieces, shattered,
You come out grinning.
Sorrow and grief can lead
To an inner strength.
As you age, you keep
Them, at arms length.
Out of a hollow place,
Too dark for words.
From this point,
Only forwards.
You get a little stronger,
With each loss.
It gets a little easier,
To bear one's cross.
It leads us to find,
Who we are?
Sometimes you have
To lower the bar.
The cry of pain from
Deep within the heart.
The then and now,
Worlds apart.
The amount of wisdom gained;
Far greater then the pain received.
A great lesson to learn;
From being deceived.
From the deepest, darkest
Place in the soul.
A warrior emerges,
From deep within the hole.
Turbo1904 ?
I come from a family of thespians
Who turned hiding their problems into art.
Inside these walls,
We cry. We yell.
But from within these walls,
The sounds never depart.
Yet,
somewhere among the act,
I lost the talent.
My heart can't hide anymore.
My eyes sting, my throat burns--
They're all pretending
but my heart's just too sore.
What show will be my final?
In what performance will I truly break?
I keep pushing to my limits,
I swallow the pain but
I'm full past what I can take.
Things aren't the same,
They may never be.
But, that's okay because
the only person I really have is me.
I scream into the abyss,
and bleed on those who never cut me.
Yet, I tuck it all away
Like the world cannot see.
Maybe the biggest actress of all is me.
Acting as if the pain is transparent--
Like there's nothing to set free.
While those who really love me
stand at arms length,
As I push with all I have,
They beg me to let them love me.
Oh, how easy to see:
The biggest pretender is me.
Hot soup here
Keeping at arms length;
Face mask call-signs
~~~~~~~~~
Antiseptic atmosphere
Pockets of isolation;
Together yet distanced
~~~~~~~~~
Empty public places
Ghost town feeling;
Pandemic toll
~~~~~~~~~
Lockdown hits hard
Widespread anxiety;
Fear chokes worry
~~~~~~~~~
Global bad news
Broken economies;
A tragic retreat
~~~~~~~~~
Just a small virus
Strangles our mortality;
Deadly lung infection
~~~~~~~~~
Across the world
Colour blind viral works;
Shades of Spanish flu
~~~~~~~~~
News flash
Death toll peaks;
More on the way
~~~~~~~~~
Dangerous liaisons
Gatherings banned;
Contagious consequences
~~~~~~~~~
At last the moon
Styles luna fancy;
Magnetic convergence
~~~~~~~~~
Scary phenomenon
Downtown ghost town;
Crowded disappearance
~~~~~~~~~
Stay at home
Internet escalation;
Social creatures chained
~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
01 April 2020
Singapore
The Forge
by Michael R. Burch
To at last be indestructible, a poem
must first glow, almost flammable, upon
a thing inert, as gray, as dull as stone,
then bend this way and that, and slowly cool
at arms-length, something irreducible
drawn out with caution, toughened in a pool
of water so contrary just a hiss
escapes it—water instantly a mist.
It writhes, a thing of senseless shapelessness ...
And then the driven hammer falls and falls.
The horses prick their ears in nearby stalls.
A soldier on his cot leans back and smiles.
A sound of ancient import, with the ring
of honest labor, sings of fashioning.
Originally published by The Chariton Review
In the forest of my mind
Between the trees and sunlit glades,
There are paths I dare not take
Hidden, somewhere in the shade.
Sometimes I glimpse fleeting shadows
Apprehension floods my mind,
At arms length I keep such thoughts
Afraid to face what I may find.
So I choose to walk in sunshine
My shadowlands I bury deep,
For if I wander, if I stray,
I'm afraid I will forever weep.
another tower, rising up the skies,
a high terrasse, a night, a starry weather,
a caviar, a bird of paradise
for every towerer, a golden feather
on tux’s sleeve…
all of a sudden strike
of lightning in the pyramid of glasses,
shards! thunder! screams! crush in the dark! a spike
of panic, a lead cloud that amasses
new rage at arms’ length, furious wind gusts,
first drops of rain as bitter as the tears
that flush away ambitions, dares, lusts,
and hopes of the new babylon that nears
its end…
a soggy bird of paradise,
another tower, rising up the skies.
After The Party Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Anthony Slausin
time
drifts
then..
a flashback
a
sudden
recollection
draws
out
a face
a name
a day
clear
as yesterday
...yet
years
away
a
moment
to
savour
dwell...
relive
once
more..
at arms length
Related Poems