Silence falls so deep
even clocks forget their ticks—
breaths cup the moment
between one thought and the next
time slips and loosens its grip.
In complete darkness—
no landmarks are left to trace
how moments should pass.
In the blind stillness of night
time wanders off aimlessly.
When laughter erupts—
time scatters like startled birds
joy suspends the hours
ticks 'n tocks flock mute in clocks
time loses count of itself.
Time loses its sway
in darkness, silence, laughter
it has no context—
no marker to start or end
it's left hanging at wits end.
God blesses me each day is a thrill
Overjoyed to learn sharpen skills
Onyx sky that once had a chill
Did change my life through Goodwill
Was at wits end as my pc died
I’m disadvantaged financially tied
Learned that help is a call away
Loving my Goodwill resources today
We’ve fallen on hard times
The roof leaks
The stairs creak
The mice, no longer meek
We’re near complete despair
Windows all broken
The parrot won’t stop jokin’
The grandkids all smokin’
We’re at wits end
Our rent’s two months late
Bedroom’s painted slate
Poisoned by what we ate
The furnace just blew another fuse
Yet we stay amused…
At this point
What have we got to lose
So, we press on doggedly
We never complain
We stay in our lane
As our neighbors
Are quietly driven insane
When feeling
really desperate
almost at wits end
Wait ~ for you must realize
many folk are so much worse
than you will ever know
So positive thinking
remembering folk
whose life ‘tis near the end
Pray to take away their pain
to free their souls once more
loving souls therefore to soar
in deep blue skies
forevermore…
1291
Brian Strand
“Oh weary hermit, etch these words in stone ~
God is within, we never walk alone”
~ quote by poet
Dear God, give us our joy back;
our life’s reached a cul-de-sac,
with heart caught in desire’s net,
our bankrupt soul’s drowned in debt.
Pathways of sin, a dead end,
for how can darkness defend
soul’s innate bliss, ours to claim,
when our head hangs low in shame?
All seems lost and yet there’s hope,
choosing with love to elope,
breaking free from ego’s chain,
becoming a child again.
In mode embrace and release,
at wits end we’re yet at ease
for lo behold, love and light,
illumines the darkest night.
Seduced by love’s healing meth,
destiny too holds its breath,
carving for us a new path,
each day, a holy sabbath.
Heart’s devout faith opens doors
and as divine grace in-pours,
when we walk, the path appears,
blissful, joyous, free from fears.
07-February-2023
This or That, Vol 16 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Locating door D-75
Of a large colony on a drive,
At last close, ah D-74!
I must be right at destiny’s door.
But the next turns out B-68!!
What, lost at the very Pearly Gate?
So I felt midway through my poem—
Roots in air, hangs down to earth tree’s stem!
Old wisdom, the time turns when adverse,
I recalled oft-quoted holy verse
From Bhagavad-Gita’s holiest text
Talking of Tree of Life, but what next?
At wits’ end and left with not a clue,
You hope some divine help might rescue.
______________________________________
Tongue-in-cheek sonnet |09.02.2022|
Poet’s note: a sonnet of sort set in anapaest meter.
Fire raged through heavy wooded terrain,
Blizzard hit the panhandle hard,
Bad windstorm slammed the western plains,
Mudslides hid hundreds of backyards.
Brutal sandstorm swept through arid plains,
Fierce hurricane aimed at the Keys,
Havoc descended on tornado lane,
Earth’s warming threatened baby seals.
Crops were at risk in fertile farm fields,
Crowds assembled for protest walks,
Northwest reached one hundred ten degrees,
Earthquakes possible near the fault.
Hospitals were overfull with the sick,
Medical teams were at wits end,
Some thought the nation’s flame left the wick,
Would never find its fire again.
People had the lowdown newscast blues,
Some feared apocalyptic end,
The anchors said it was breaking news,
And we looked for someone to blame.
Why is it Return On Investments
when one’s only Interest is in Returns,
to achieve my end, when I see lethargy
I tag my team as lacking in Synergy.
In my mad pursuit masked as Goals, I drive my team
In my Vision and Mission statements, what I say beam;
To appear caring, I balm my ego and paint a Big Picture
sheltering in Corporate Social Responsibility, I rapture.
When I don’t make money, I term it Negative Growth
Oh! this is a Roadblock in my Roadmap that I loathe,
At wits end, I hate to see myself in this mess, I press
Out of Box thinking the team must Leverage to progress.
Attack the pain point, I tell my team else you will rot
deep dive meaning show up with results that are sought,
this is the New Norm meaning old rules to stick to
only if Working from or far from Home gives my due.
In my FOMO, I bring every Buzz word to bear
these Low Hanging Fruits are all I can effortlessly share.
30-July-2021
Buzzword Bingo Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: John Anderson
I've heard it all my life: Wahoo!
"Sticks and stones may break your bones
but words will never hurt you."
It’s all in the accents and tones.
"A toodlerump! Jonathan Blasterscripp!”
yelled a classmate on the playground.
I’d slid in home on my rear, what a trip!
(At least, I was safe all the way round.)
Then when I won the spelling bee, I heard
loud whispers returning to my chair.
"Jon's a pricklesmart, a witwhit, a nerd.”
(They couldn’t spell those names on a dare.)
The restroom was the worst place to be
with a bunch of junior-high boys.
"Liptonlips done drunk too much tea.”
Or “Turdtumbler’s in there making noise!”
(Sometimes, that one fit the occasion.)
Girls were just as gross - those snotty sisters
in little cliques trying to smear or shun.
“Cankerwarf’s got new fever blisters!”
*****
In governmental circles as of late,
name-calling has become quite the trend...
Dubs like Crazy- and Crooked- clearly state
that jealousy and arrogance are at wits' end.
November 25, 2020
I'm really feeling sad for folks
they're almost at wits end
Don't seem to care if Cops get shot
(that's those you won't defend)
Notice you aren't yelling loud
for christians, (just the rest)
Let someone say an unkind thing
about muslims? You'll protest
Just remember all lives matter
you never pick and choose
For if you single someone out
eventually you'll lose
Won't hurt to do some research
and learn why you're still here
Yes many lives were sacrificed
so you don't live in fear
Pretty soon they'll over-run
you'll just be in the way
Churches? Nothing left of them
you will have to hide to pray
Those coming here they have a goal
pledge allegiance not on list
The clans are growing every day
they protest with raised fist.....
Pete Yuhas
When Cyris snored it shook the house piers,
Reducing his wife to constant tears,
At wits end she put a peg on his nose
To stop where the emanating air noise grows,
But unfortunately it blew off both of his ears.
WHEN OTHERS THINK
EXAGGERATION, YOU SEE ITS
MY IMAGINATION.
INSTEAD OF SUPPORT, i GOT
SEPERATION, YOU STEPPED UP
INTO MY DESPERATION.
AS MY SOUL WRITHED IN
HURT AND PAIN, YOU BEAMED
SUNSHINE THRU THE RAIN.
WHEN I WAS ISOLATED, SO
UTERLY ALONE, IT WAS
ALWAYS YOU RINGING MY
PHONE.
AND WHEN I FELT MY LIFE
WAS AT WITS END, I
ROUNDED THE BEND~AND
THERE AGAIN, ITS YOU, MY
FRIEND.
Yoo Hoo! Type A or B Personality
Beauteous - the brain- Imagine that
Reflections of your intelligence
Per se - or indeed is it lack of
In my eyes - I see the ID
Hey - beauty in the eyes of the beholder
Hence - I perceive - I believe
Your wit - Ingenuity - I sit
I still ponder - at wits end
You challenge the funny bone! That you intend
Curiosity they say! Killed the cat
You are curious - I am intrigued
Yes Personality Plus
You charm - with IQ
Yes charming - I question it - Yoo Hoo!
So here I am again
in redundancy I'll say hello
living life behind this screen
dreaming of a world most obscene
I wait, eager for response
Clicking refresh once more
My world inside a spider's web
in this fantasy I'm still no celeb
I can hear the sound of keystrokes
breaking the silence of a lost voice
Speaking only in the form of text
This part of me the world rejects
I'm at wits end words falling loose
and landing upon so bright a screen
breaking away the ever growing darkness
as my existence fades into evanescence
I'll take only this brief moment here
and wish those of you I remember farewell
For as this night descends to black
It is time that my real life is taken back
That beast that prowls and lurks
Always on the doors opposite side
Primeval and fetid scents rising
For it is here evil resides
Locked within these crumbling walls
Or so I have come to believe
In these halls distant and aloof
Ill-omened phantoms hang in warning
Stillness splinters from a shrill impact
A morbid acidic shriek trills from darkness
Perturbing the window panes peace
Shattering the walls content barriers
Terror stifles my throat closed
A repetitive blast goes off in my chest
Over and over against my consciousness
At wits end I fight the urge to run
To find safe haven from reaching talons
With irregular breath whipping me
I hold steadfast to feigned courage
Readying to look it in the eye and battle
Only to find the rampant torturing fiend
Are the pre-dawn winds playful wisps
Wreaking havoc on my half-awake mind
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