he was hanging from the charcoal rafters
doing push-ups thinking cap dangling loosely
by his side like a detached trouser stripe
time for emotions and mindful assonance
for when reason fails feelings surpass
the limbo of a lost soul yet to be found
Let's be fair meet in the middle
Let's each do our share
Do like in any other real partnership
AP: 1st place 2025
Annoyances add up so fast
That sometimes you might be aghast
When life does prolong
All the things going wrong
And your stress level can’t be surpassed.
For somehow when nits multiply,
Even calm people cannot deny
That each problem presents
Such a knot that prevents
Peace of mind and I’d like to know why.
I guess life’s a balancing act
And the odds against joy have been stacked.
If you’re happy one day
It gets taken away;
That’s a guaranteed bona fide fact.
what forms shapes of thought
that understanding exists
between opposites
contradictories
languages and their meanings
negated and cleared
that understanding
exists between opposite
forms and shapes of thought
stan sand
The Balancing Act
It is as though I am constantly in a balancing act
I envy those that seemingly do not go through
This process of weighing things in my mind
Those like poker players that can go “all in”
Shove their chips into the middle of the table
As if there wasn’t even a fore thought involved
No, my mind has to go through “the process”
Is this a good decision or bad
What will be the consequences
Why am I doing this
What are the odds of something bad happening
How will the results affect my life
I look at the homeless who wander my streets
Judgment floods my mind
But is there jealousy at the heart of it
Is theirs a conscious choice
To have no bosses, no one to account to
Are they free from the balancing act
What of the daredevils that navigate Niagara falls
Who leap to peril, do they juggle their decision
Or is there absolute clarity of the mind
Pros and cons
Ins and outs
Good or bad
Happy or sad
Mad or glad
The balancing act
Andreas Simic©
I have spiritual callings, personal dreams
and a bunch of stuff in between.
My aspirations are many, so
how do I pursue them all?
I believe the answer is in mastering the
balancing act.
The hardest part of the balancing act is
adjusting to the unexpected
It’s like you’re walking a tightrope from
building to building, with 12 plates in
each hand, and 6 textbooks on your head.
You finally get your balance right –
one step, two step…and then comes the
gusting winds, 15mph stronger than before.
A squirrel has discovered and boarded the
tightrope, creeping towards your big toe
and mistaking it for an acorn.
You are forced to readjust and improvise,
losing plates and textbooks as you do.
But how many items you are able to keep
on the way to the other side does not
determine if you have mastered the
balancing act or not
The key is to accept that it’s life’s ritual to
throw you off balance
Then, you will have harmony within yourself,
conquering every obstacle as you continue to
move forward.
which road will you Choose
there is only Three
each day all three Paths will confront you
i Caution you to ponder each course
Good Self Evil
They will Beckon your Hearts Desire
your Soul intuitively perceives each outcome
Yet
You are Master of Your Own Destiny
Love Oblivion Darkness
Beware of Your Own Charm
Mindfully Balanced
T R U T H
The balancing act
New Year’s Eve how fine it was
Red wine and grilled meat
An exhibitionist dance alone
On wooden legs
Fell into a lake of wine almost
Drowned till someone pulled the plug
And he waded ashore to the strand of
Safe temperance
Today he sits in the corner of the restaurant
A plate of soup and a bottle of water
Around him, tables are full of revellers who
Try to stretch
The New Year Eve just a bit longer.
He looks at the people and wonders
Who will be alive next year?
Life is filled with many ups and downs
The trick is to balance the smiles and frowns
It's certainly not easy
It can make you queasy
Perseverance is a must to avoid being drowned
© Jack Ellison 2015
Balancing Act.
When crossing the bridge I met a fairly famous poet,
he was balancing the bridge´s railing, absorbed in total
concentration; under him the river flowed white and wild.
Then he jumped to safety and collapsed, this because
he was blotto, with the help of a passerby we got him
to hospital where he was pumped.
When the poet was feeling better I asked him why he
was doing this balancing act and he said it was to cure
him of his depression, it had worked wonders, and free
of his compulsion he happily walked home to write
a poem about spring. A fast car hit the curb mounted
the pavement and killed our poet. Alas, when the paper
wrote about the accident it forget to mention he had
been a fairly famous poet.
My faith hanging on a thread
All these thoughts pounding inside my head
So much on hanging onto this thin wire
My heart overpowered by desire
Am I right or am I wrong
Is this really where I belong?
So much is wrong, so much is right
But is this torture or delight
It's almost like I'm losing sight
From a light so blindingly bright
I feel safe and at home
But I sometimes feel so alone
It's a balancing act
I can't decipher what is false and what is fact
Comment,rate,critique :)
To Shaman Aboriginals
"Dreamtime" was the virginity
Of the earth
Before the dirt
Was soiled by humanity
Using crystals or their bare feet
They harness the earth's energy
To channel the grid
Over which we live
To balance and restore harmony
(Austrialian Aboriginals)
Received 11th place in "The Shaman's Way" contest
Received 12th place in "5th poem on the soup" contest
Stay in middle of road
Not failure... or God!
Work... play
Alone... socializing
Makes complete life!
L ovng and lenient
I ntiuitive and idyllic
B ashful but sometimes brazen
R omantic and reasonable
A lways seeking answers
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