Bend Over Backwards Poems | Examples

List of Member Poems

Premium Member sedulous

pull out all the stops
keep your shoulder to the wheel
go the extra mile

bust your chops sweat blood
work your fingers to the bone
bend over backwards

go to great lengths put 
your heart and soul into it
and work like a dog

go at it hammer 
and tongs roll up your sleeves do 
the heavy lifting

put your nose to the 
grindstone put in the hours 
break your back

Limbo

Limbo 
Hunched over and holding a Zimmer frame 
Limbo
Waiting for a call that is never - ever going to come 
Limbo 
The day draws nearer as the blinds on the window begin to shut sealed 
Limbo 
That's what they call it, hanging on every single word and action 
Limbo 
Bend over backwards. Don't bother in even trying. You're bent over now. 
Limbo 
Pull that duvet and run a bath and play some music 
Limbo 
Don't listen, just watch. Watch my lips move up and down in slow motion to the rhythm of this beat 
Limbo 
Don't bother in even trying. It is all done now. It has already gone by and it is told and told to whoever passes you by 
Limbo

Premium Member Straightforwardness

strange how the ones who bend over backwards ~ are truly the most upright 


By David Kavanagh


Premium Member Me

I am a willow tree with branches that bend over backwards.
Love a soft breeze fluffing my leaves, and even a hard wind.
Can be a tornado when you double cross me; I get even.

I love my hobbies. Poetry, cartooning, painting, drawing, writing.
My meals are simple, I care not what clothes I wear.
I am not persnickety about anything, but I love the word persnickety.

My friends adore me, and I adore them.
I have a terrific life, I am joyful.
Unless I am sad. No one is as sad as I can be.

Premium Member People Thank In Different Ways

She gushed and groveled and thanked me time and again.
For a small gesture, taking a speck of dust off her chin.
He on the other hand never said a word.
Although I gave him a million dollar gift.
Both instances a tiny bit absurd.

Some people bend over backwards in all kinds of ways
To preen and primp and provide way too much praise.
Others take advantage, and then act all tough
and angry because what you give them is never enough.

Lost Man Part 2

Beneath the waves of solemn grey.
Invisible eyes wait patiently,
Whilst the mind paupers a soft religion
The Fisherman`s dance.
A scared vision.

Hopeless dreams in cracked mirrors – the pain.
Numerical factors –  the “minorities” they say!

It`s not funny anymore.

She`s taken lives.
She pulls the strings.
A nation divides.
And I bend over backwards.

The Fractions and factors.

The Inky black and modest blue.
Now the spotlight fixes.
Its face on you.

Judgement day,
And all too soon.
Let`s have some fun,
Left - bible,
Right - gun.

The humble man.
Afghanistan.
Turns white with fear.
Lost man.

The homeless man,
Kicks the can
Gives up his fight
Lost man

Depths beneath the fluid sand.
A hidden city
You can`t understand

Glistening windows stand through clouds that gloom.
100 floors up.
The sun is rising.
At Midnight - Afternoon.

The floor. The carpet.
No clock on the wall.
The silence.
The view.
No end to it all.

It's sad.
It's peaceful.
It's inevitable,
A highlight!
One ceiling light.

At Midnight
Afternoon.


Premium Member Ungrateful Ones

You run...
from pillar to post,
stick your neck out,
bend over backwards
just to satisfy them.
They're "your friends,"
or so you think.
They ask for the moon,
you give it two-fold.
The thanks you get?
Well, they watch you...
brush your pearly-white teeth,
rinse it out with Listerine
so your breath smells...
minty-fresh.
But surprise, surprise!
It stinks to them in your time
of need. Forget the lips;
you don't even get 
a kiss on the cheek
for your troubles.
They show you...
zilch appreciation
Not a thank you 
for all services rendered.
Come time for them..
to return the favors
They grimace and ask...
"Who are you?"
Sweet.


Submitted for...
It Is What It Is..........Or Is It? Poetry Contest (Winner: 8th Place)
Sponsored by John lawless
Date written: 12/04/2020

Premium Member If I Was Any More Flexible

If I was any more flexible
I could bend over backwards
and touch the top of my head on the ground

If I was any more flexible
You could paint me green
and call me Gumby

If I was any more flexible
We could roll me up 
And bounce me

If I was any more flexible
I would ooze into your wallboards
And watch your every action

Premium Member Start Right Now This Instant

You have to approve yourself first
But that is not complete enough.
Forgiving yourself is the key.

I should have helped more neighbors.
I should have visited my mother more often.
I should have not wasted so many days at the TV set.

The second you wake up remember that you have power.
In your hand you are holding a red stop sign.
When you hear yourself saying “I should” hold it up
Yell “STOP!” as loudly as you can.

Start right now, this instant, being gentle and kind to you.
Bend over backwards and forwards to forgive yourself.
Give yourself applause for every teeny tiny thing you do.
Like you would do for a toddler or a dog who rolls over.
Most importantly

Remind yourself of all of the good things that you do.
It was great when I….
I felt fabulous when I…
I should….

STOP! 
Hold up that imaginary red stop sign.
Do not allow the “should ofs” to get into your life.
Because you need all the forgiveness and love you can give yourself.

A Reason To Hang Around

Well you haven't given me much of a reason these past
few seasons to put my whole heart into this so-called
relationship...well I need to know if you still love
me or not...I Need A Reason To Hang Around I don't 
know what you expect from me anymore and it's been a
long, long time since Heaven could be found...I really
don't want to leave you but you haven't given me much
to stick around for...well I Need A Reason, I Need A
Reason To Hang Around...I used to think you cared and
maybe you still do but we're like strangers livin'
together and for years that's not been anything new...
I used to bend over backwards for you but when it comes
to me it's like an inconvenient when I need you...well
I'm getting tired of you treating me like you do and I
don't know how many tears I can cry...it seems as tho
you think you got me where you want me well baby I’m
this close to saying goodbye...Heavens no more to be
found and I Need A Reason, I Need A Reason To Hang
around!

I Ll Wait Forever

How many boyfriends have you been through
While I stood by your side wishing you were
Mine the whole time, how many times have I
Helped you pick up the pieces of a broken
Heart, break up after break up, you say I can't
Really say I've ever been loved, we’ll all you have
To do is to look deep into my eyes to see you
Are truly loved...
Maybe all you see in me is an old friend and
Nothing more but I’d you'd only give me a
Chance I could love you like you've never been
Loved before...
I guess I'm just too scared of losing your
Friendship to tell you how I really feel about
You, I just keep wishing and hoping someday
You’ll think of me as more than just a friend...
Never would I ever break your heart oh no on
The contrary I'd bend over backwards to make
You happy so if I have to wait forever, I’ll WAIT
FOREVER, until maybe you look at me through
Loving eyes and realize it was always you and me
That was destined to be together so if I have to
Wait forever, I’ll WAIT FOREVER, I’LL WAIT
FOREVER until you love me!

That Kind of Love

Love is not one-quarter note
It's a violin concerto set on fire 
Played to a table for two
It’s not half-assed
Or half-baked
It’s the 3 inches thick 
finger licking frosting
with a cherry on top of my cake
It's full tilt 
Take a chance
Raw 
Messy
Hard
Bend over backwards
Give it all you’ve got 
Show me the damn cards
Risk layin' um down
Win or lose
Dare to feel alive 
Put your heart in gear and drive
sort of love…
Yeah, that kind

©~Cornelia Mattioli aka Flying Angel~

Creatures of the Dark

The creatures come out in the dark.
One after the other,
They drag their fat bodies,
In front of the moonlight,
That shimmers with dull
Desire.
One after the other,
They display their darkness.
They wiggle and crawl,
And bend over backwards,
Clawing at the walls,
And scaling the ceiling.
Sometimes there are flashes of red,
And blue,
And black,
And a tint of a yellowish purple,
That sprinkles the walls,
Like a confetti of emotions.
One after the other,
They endow the room,
With their whimsical display.
Their folly,
The things of nightmares,
And dreams,
The things of joy,
And tears. 
And as the sun rises,
One after the other,
The creatures retreat,
Back to the small crevice where they,
Belong.
And, you can almost see them smile.
Their reflection looks quite familiar.
Almost as if,
it were your own.

Words From a Paintbrush

Do mental somersaults and backflips to establish a message
Invisible thoughts of madness rebuilt no blemish the wreckage
And this impression of subconscious stability holds many debts 
So aggressions like monstrous in a degree to pay respects

Removing pain built partitions without the builders permission
Recreating brains dimensions now more sculptured the decisions
Verbally breaking down the encryptions of the mind
Purposelly making sounds for descriptions to the blind

Trying to humbly bend over backwards let fly not innocence captured
Supplying calmly hand when their awkwards confidence easily fractured
Instantly universalise languages throughtout cities, villages and any mountain range
Mentally solidify the dangerous so they physically make the boldest change

If I could artistically revitalise this world of woe
The colors would stay but division would go
When my brush touches canvas there'd be words such as these
When these seeds dust the planet there'll be better trees

Sha'ntez Jefferson

Sunshine After the Rain

Sunshine After The Rain

The hours pass and I find the time
To straighten out everything in my mind
No one can know what I’ve put myself through
Not even you understand 
The depths of my love for you

Yes, all I’ve seen and all I’ve come to believe
Lost for a time in the clouds
So the dream couldn’t be perceived
But after day comes the night
After every storm a ray of light
Sunshine after the rain

I look for ways to ease the load we carry
I long to give you strength when you feel weary
I bend over backwards
Turning the world inside out
So that I can stand beside you
Just to love and stand beside you

…After day comes the night
After every storm a ray of light
And I’ll give everything I have for you
To see the sunshine after the rain

Sub Categories

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace