Questioning my existence,
I feel myself responding
to what’s in my head.
Overthinking the next move?
A quick way to lose.
Not taking in what’s right here.
Moments shatter in your hand
never held again.
Walking on a balance beam,
wobble and remount.
Sunrise calls me to visit
and taste her coffee,
each day with a smile.
Beaming a warm reminder:
Go enjoy this day.
hanging slipping falling dream
smashing waking hearing scream
wonder i dont snore
down here on the floor
guest beds like a balance beam.
Balancing midst them both, two lives at once.
Split down the middle and torn at the seams.
Tiptoe the balance beam, pleasing the ones
who know only one side of things.
Confliction, a way of life down to the core.
From every angle, two people ‘twould seem.
Not yet discovered a way to be more,
so both lives are not but a dream.
Illusions, acts on stage, fulfilling roles.
Wondering how it would be.
Letting it melt to one, fill in the holes,
and finally just become me.
I wish it were simply that simple to do,
but both sides are set in their way,
and fully expect me to be the one who
they need at the end of the day.
But only so far can a double life go
before the stretch tears you in two.
And you cannot hide the blood, everyone knows…
but no one knows quite what to do.
There it is
Hard steel
Lined in felt
Walk the line
Toe to heel
Cards dealt
...hmm
Movement limited
Agility required
Success after failure
Repetition inspired
...hmpf
Music added
Flowing vibration
Fear dissipated
Leaping without hesitation
...triUMPH
Flooring preferred
Elevation elation
Not required
No name
No fame
Heart fired
...uPPPPP
Written by Trudy Schrader on 02-22-2023
Towering
Heavenly wood
Mount Olympus
awaits
Hermes hustles
Wings flailing
Seeking higher ground
Elemental gossip.
Aphrodite's eros oozes
bombastically from the cargo net
onlookers salivate.
Poseidon glares from the pit
monitoring his realm
for rapacious rambunctious rascals.
Apollo's mirth emanates
atop the monkey bars
emotions elevate.
Ares hangs by fingertips
below
scanning for signs of his
next blow.
Persephone checks herself
slide in-view
wandering if she'd ever get that
tattoo.
Hades peers up through the cracks
from down bellow
Lamenting on his bad boy role.
Artemis finds her center
in no time stat
balance beam barely buckles.
Sticky quicksand
swallows my feet.
The arena's stacked.
Better get a move on
Mom's sure to call
grape juice slurped
bugger all.
Our natural inclination is to achieve balance,
Like on the teeter-totter, seesaw, or balance beam
So difficult in life, like standing on the point of a lance.
Life can sometimes remind us of a humorous meme;
Other times we are torn by suffering and strife,
Almost as though fate, fortune or the gods may deem.
Such are the stark vicissitudes of the commonplace life
We are constantly buffeted about by storm and fear,
When we are out-of-balance, on the edge of the knife,
It behooves us to remember that God is very near,
That we are never alone through the good and bad
And, we must never be reluctant to shift our gear.
EIGHTH PLACE WINNER
Written February 25, 2022
Especially for “Consciousness Fulcrum” Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Unseeking Seeker
Young ladies of steel showing their true grit
as they prance on the narrow balance beam.
Breathtaking moves, never thinking to quit;
never losing site of that golden dream.
Twisting with grace amid strong somersaults,
impossible feats commanding the floor.
Soaring past fate to complete perfect vaults,
sticking their landing for a perfect score.
Spinning so quickly on uneven bars,
each bar another mountain to scale.
Flying as on wings thru space left ajar
where Olympians begin to set sail.
Brave gymnasts harken to Athena's schemes,
reaching on toes for their coveted dreams;
I watched a young gold medalist
Finish her routine
On the balance beam.
I watched a young girl
Walking barefoot
On the smooth bark of a fallen tree.
My heart soared at both
It only knows one kind of joy
Immeasurable
I heard the tale of Humpty Dumpty who sat on a wall,
and how he managed to have a terrible and fatal fall.
But let me be the first to set the record straight,
everything that happened that day was not fate.
Humpty was a rising and upcoming gymnast,
that could do flips on the balance beam really fast.
He had enemies that hated him to the core,
they wanted to be Him,and so much more.
So one day they greased down the infamous wall,
Dumpty practiced there everyday, they knew he’d fall.
Until this day no one knows the true story,
It was the biggest lie told in modern history.
My father was a king's horseman and a gymnast,
and helped kill him and think of a lie that would last.
6-28-18
sunshine bends a knee in vigil
seeking absolution's hell
the steeper edge of steel
balance beam of a trail
the driving wheel
is Spiked for the kill
a heart in trespass
rigged like a printing press
cut from raw intensity
a Bad seed wild and free
blood of my blood is destiny's tongue
the devil is my kin
swimming in gin
drowning inside to simply be still
sinking deeper into gradual
furious and gently we lose will
angel’s tears fill my quill
shedding the reach of a mind idle
regrettable and suicidal
a ledge’s last chance to dance
this box in need of one last nail
leaving with a tourniquet smile
defined failure
bluffing on a blind
no chance of a winner
Terry Darcy-Ryan
I can't recall exactly when
Life swung and hit me on my chin
I"m ashamed to say, it knocked me cold
When I came to, I woke up old
While I was out, I had a dream
Of juggling on a balance beam
While jumping hoops, upon one leg
And one wrong move, cost one nest egg
Was it yesterday or the day before
I had it all but wanted more
When days were long and fears were short
Carouse by day, at night cavort
Yesterday, less was more
It must have been the day before
I wish I'd seen life's sucker punch
'cause now my memory's out to lunch
by Daniel Turner
Limit pushed to the balance beam
A limit point that is not as it seems
Figuratively missing the true meaning
Limit pushed to the balance beam
An act with more pressure to stick
A life that is a limit point that is as it seems
With more expectations than belief
Limited pushing of our own balance beam
Minds decision that is weighed
Right and Left vision with a judgement day
Daily testing the mental lapse
Where feeling defeated leaves a heart filled with gaps
Tearing a person from limb to limb
Feeling defeated as an excuse to giving in
Never a thought that falters to escape
The minds ability to overcome in a positive way
To turn around a frown that once was upside down
A fleeting moments thought that flicks by
To remind oneself how to still smile
Though the feeling lingers all the while
Limit that was pushed to balance on the beam
An exercise of truth to lies within the recess of mind
That extends to reach far beneath any true defeat
Mentally figuring that a mind is never complete
Walking on a balance beam
made of broken glass
My only get away
was going to class
One step forward
two steps back
I couldn't walk away
and i tried not to fall
But no one ever noticed
That i had to try at all
No one ever cheered
no one ever clapped
So i took it as permission
I Stop balancing
And I fell
Straight back
Simone Biles holds the World Championship,
gymnastics has always been her t r u e dream-
She GLOWS with beauty performing tough flips,
adored by her grace on the balance beam.
E l e g a n c e revealed on the dancing floor,
each girl so delicate with their routines-
While the whole entire crowd demands for more,
they show superb effort as a WHOLE team.
DESTINY awoke with the “Final Five”,
group of girls chosen to come out on top-
For excellence did each one of them strive,
not once did their d e t e r m i n a t i o n stop.
The USA g y m n a s t i c s team won more
much earned gold medals than EVER before.
Olympic Mania
Date Written: August 30, 2016
Her life is a circus
Making a clown of herself
Lacks substantial purpose
Balance and health
One rope to another
Rocking her balance beam
The circus is her lover
Together they scream
Blackened tears
Lips a horrid maroon
Juggling fears
Her life, a cartoon
Such an imagination
Seeing what doesn't exist
An awkward conversation
No partner to assist
Suddenly a spider
Her safety net, a web
She grabs a fly to ride her
Lands in a pool of red
People gather around
Curious to see
Her body on the ground
Her final act, a mockery
Her 5 minutes of fame
Detours and yellow tape
Chalk outlines the frame
Of what she couldn't escape
An eye witness chimed in
Giddy and camera ready
He saw her on the end
Trembling and unsteady
Intently, he watched
Gravity run it's course
It didn't appear botched
Invisible was the source
Following her brief report
They aired the walking dead
Her existence fell short
Not one viral thread
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