im playing cards with pandora
and she’s bleeding her hand
its so painfully obvious
i see her grand plan,
because calamities hit a set
and she’s feeling alright
but theres one card left
im holding hope tonight
and its hope which
keeps me in this game,
im bankroll backed
no matter the pain
that might come
from losing it all
im in too deep
not prepared to fall
the scripture clearly indicates
what one should do in this place
step 1
admit you’re powerless
you cant fight demons which dont exist
step 2
find someone who
can save you and set your free
step 3
give up again,
find your god and pray to them
step 4
im getting tired of this
pray for strength to resist
temptations which prick and poke
nerve endings, sending signals
to the brain, wanting more
needing pain,
write it down, find where it hurts
tell us all how you’re the worst
step 5
step 6
step up
who gives a
you wont resist
until your hope ceases to exist
im playing cards with pandora
and she’s bleeding her hand
its so painfully obvious
i see her grand plan,
because calamities hit a set
and she’s feeling alright
but theres one card left
im holding hope tonight
and its hope which
keeps me in this game,
im bankroll backed
no matter the pain
that might come
from losing it all
im in too deep
not prepared to fall
the scripture clearly indicates
what one should do in this place
step 1
admit you’re powerless
you cant fight demons which dont exist
step 2
find someone who
can save you and set your free
step 3
give up again,
find your god and pray to them
step 4
im getting tired of this
pray for strength to resist
temptations which prick and poke
nerve endings, sending signals
to the brain, wanting more
needing pain,
write it down, find where it hurts
tell us all how you’re the worst
step 5
step 6
step up
who gives a
you wont resist
until your hope ceases to exist
A curled-dry orange peel,
all that stands against gray
dark lips of gaping hole,
whose eye can steal your form,
or lift your full bankroll.
A curled-dry orange peel,
hanging pith on the cliff-
edge ridge of my laptop,
now camera obscura
made of a lunchtime prop.
A curled-dry orange peel,
braver shield than post-it,
organic digestive,
space between aperture
hints at curves, suggestive.
A curled-dry orange peel,
modesty's upholder,
bulwark of hair carefree;
hunger's leftover coat
might have been potpourri.
Haikus of Suffering
Your memory rains
Sorrow drenches me with tears.
Crashed... last fifteen years.
Now sixty-two... old.
I have no young grand-children,
but one abortion.
She left, now alone.
I never had her... alone.
Stolen, by... desire.
Gold, silver, bankroll.
Shovel, seduction, harlot.
Stolen by my lust.
Best friend... ever had.
Fifteen years of loyalty.
Laid my dog to rest.
Missing you, away.
Another late night ... office.
You sleep without me.
My daughter grows old.
I died for you to be free.
She flew away... gone.
Tears, empty, wanting.
Hold, touch, hug, love, tender, want.
Gone... lost... hate... anger.
Longing... long-ing... long...
I long... longing... for so long...
very, very... long.
by, Martin Braun
August 24, 2023
The weight of old age increases with time,
dragging spirits down a depressive hole.
And taking pills, prescribed to ease your pain,
the last years are anything but sublime.
You question if believing in a soul,
is vain.
You squirrel away cash you'll never spend
just in case hard times should show up again.
But you pray you'll never need that bankroll,
choosing to believe God’s will, in the end,
will reign.
(Curtal Sonnet)
6/27/2021
The wife just went to spend a dime
But found she uncovered a crime
Inside the bowl
Was a bankroll
Of Ben Franklins sinking in slime
A secretary must control
A randy boss's rigid pole
Her knickers extol
A lacy peephole
A fitting end to his bankroll
Pauly’s Bank Deposits
Pauly’s passkey
Pickup hiccups
Passbook Facebook
Payload payroll
Honey money
Crossbow bankroll
5/18/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2021 ©
One of my many foibles is greed.
I have placed myself in a bad situation indeed.
If I only hadn't sat at this blackjack table today.
My depleted bankroll won't permit me to stay.
I am flummoxed by the way the dealer pulls twenty-one.
That's it. I am over and done.
"I didn't want to break your heart.
I had no thought of that at all,
When I told you I'd be leaving
Right after roundup time this fall.
A cowboy's life is lonely,
A saddle, bridle and a horse,
Bedroll, just to keep from freezing,
When he wanders off his course.
If I had a stack of money,
I'd settle down, make you my wife.
Until I'm through meandering,
I can't ask you to share my life.
Dry your eyes my little lady
And let me see that pretty smile.
There will be other cowboys
Who will outshine me by a mile.
If you find one with a bankroll,
Who can afford a little spread,
Get your lariat and rope him.
Forget about these tears you've shed.
I'll be thinking of you, Honey
As I travel 'cross the range.
But this cowboy is a rambler,
I expect he'll never change.
I'd find nirvana, if I could,
on distant coast by lapping bay,
far from all strain of daunting day.
Sustain no drama, as I should,
an ataraxis of my mind
that is a spot I'd wish to find.
If I ask you to join, you would
find full placidity flows not
from finding an idyllic spot.
Unlock this truth that long has stood:
it's good to know tranquility,
pursuing kind civility.
Concordant harmony is good;
it's worth our diamonds and bankroll
to own it in our inmost soul.
I'd find nirvana, if I could,
sustain no drama, as I should.
If I ask you to join, you would
unlock this truth that long has stood:
concordant harmony is good.
Lipogram
A lipogram is a composition from which the writer systematically omits a certain letter or letters of the alphabet (in this case, the letter 'e').
Constanza
Created by Soup's own Connie Marcum Wong, a Constanza consists of 3-line stanzas of 8-syllable lines, where the first lines of each stanza are monorhymed and combined to form the final stanza. The remaining lines of each stanza are rhymed couplets.
Por favor, senor
I ask a favor, no more
Hablo ingles, no espanol
You'll get my whole bankroll...
Welcome the stranger, take in the orphan
Comfort the mourner, call on the widow
Do not let depressed folks sink into woe
Bankroll the poor man, do all that you can
March 08, 2020
Kind Ink Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Charles Messina
Hired Hand
6-8-2016
Some people work hard but can also be lazy,
Thinking one person can be both, isn’t so crazy.
Being an early bird, may not be to his liking,
Even though his physique could be called striking;
Early risers generally, are the ones to get ahead,
Not those who choose to stay snuggled in bed.
Hard work, I’ve been told, has never killed a soul,
He’ll never accumulate much in terms of a bankroll.
To follow instructions seems to make him squirm,
Thinking he should be boss not someone’s worm?
But he’s more than willing and has a good heart,
His dilemma is getting here, at work time, to start.
My day started at seven and he’s not here at noon,
He’ll tell a pitiful story that will make me swoon.
He likely wonders why he can’t find steady work,
Perhaps it’s just because he’s an undisciplined jerk.
Some people play* for money.
My friends and I do not,
But every time we play, we toss
Five dollars in the pot.
Our games are only once a month
But still, the pile does grow
So there’s enough to have a meal
And see a Broadway show.
That sounds like a solution
Yet it’s not a simple task.
Five different busy women –
What’s the problem, you might ask.
Because we must concur on
Both a date and then a play,
There’s never a consensus
So each month we just delay.
Our bankroll keeps increasing
Though there is no guarantee
That we’ll ever spend that money
For we simply can’t agree!
*mah jongg, a game played with tiles
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