Best Acts Poems
A crazy old man once told me,
“Heaven is made of the things you give away.”
It appeared he was next in line for heaven
as he had next to nothing left to give.
We shared a cup of coffee, conversation,
well not so much conversation
as a gentle walk through a magical forest.
His voice had not grown old or weary
of his quest to share his experience.
He stooped to pick up a napkin
discarded in haste, tucked it
in his pocket as we walked.
He shared his muffin,
spoke with a woman
pushing a shopping cart
through the Common.
She walked away smiling.
The muffin crumbs he left for the birds.
He nodded to the homeless,
waved to strangers, petted stray dogs,
offering all the brightness of his being,
warmth of his eyes,
quizzical wrinkle of his grin.
His rambling soliloquy
poked sticks at the universe,
offered hope to the ducklings…
yeah … the ducklings followed him
as if they knew that he knew.
As we approached the starting point
of both walk and oration he spoke
of the completed circle – not the
circumference - but the center,
said that the achievement was not
in amassing things to give away
but to offer freely those things
that you always have. Time, he said,
is huge, as is a smile, a word,
a shared muffin, a moment
in the passing of an eon.
He left me sitting on a park bench
sharing muffin crumbs
and smiling.
1/25/2017
submitted to – Random Acts of Kindness – Poetry Contest
Based on a quote from Watership Down:
"He fought because he actually felt safer fighting than running."
His experience in fighting battles
had been friendly games of Monopoly
Rolling dice across a colorful board
after shaking, to hear them rattle.
Those were serious acts of aggression
and hotels were POWs, taken in possession
Weapons were a top hat, thimble or boot
Men built houses, not blew them up
Winner, the one accumulating the most loot
Snake eyes moved him two spaces forward,
instead of sniper eyes on roofs of Park Place
resulting in blood dripping from a man's face
He wished he was only playing a game
But shots were fired from somewhere near
Bullets seeking men to kill and maim
War is fought with emotions of courage and fear
It was time to clear his squadron out
That kind of move is what wars are about
With rifle ready he led the charge
Run through a mine field, though weary and tired
He heard a man cry out, "I've been hit, Sarge!"
Without a free space they could'nt stop to rest
No Short Line Railroad upon which to ride
No fox holes dug, in which to hide
Amid shots fired, he passed down the word, "GO!"
only stopping to collect dog tags of his dead men
This time the battle was fought and won
From a shrapnel wound his blood took flow
It was never bravery that he lacked
It was being interred with a bullet in his back.
When asked why he hadn't turned to run,
knowing his platoon was badly overpowered,
He sighed and replied, "I'm not a coward,
So I rolled the dice and landed on Chance.
The top card said Be brave and attack!
So we fought until we took our property back."
"Look what they've done to my song, Ma" ~ Melanie Saftka
Act I – Pie (One bright morning)
my muse just wants pie
I huffed, “Okay, give it a try.”
Pies begin with precision,
lovely decision.
I crave a treat, a sweet delight
one that brings a smile and makes my morning bright.
The popular apple and blackberry pie
Ah, just the thought makes me sigh.
Act 2 II – Ice-cream (Two hours later, on a yummy Sundae afternoon)
what fancy leads me on to dream
of sugar plums in frozen cream
I drool o'er yummy ice cream on my tongue
Thoughts of the tasty dish makes me so long
Betwixt lucky lips my eager tongue licks
A mouth watering afternoon dish fix
With a chuckle, he swore,
"I’ll just eat one more”.
Act One: the stage and scenery are set
I was told the play, I'd not soon forget
But if truth were to be told
More like the game, whack-a-mole
I needed a hammer, not a lorgnette
Thespians were vying for the limelight
Popping up everywhere, ready to fight
Sarcastic words ill spoken
The golden rule was broken
A princess rudely slandered by a knight
Act Two: the actors wrote their own stage play
A long soliloquy to have their say
The audience booed and hissed
"Put that one on the blacklist!
Kick that charlatan out," they did convey.
Someone had to quickly close the curtain
'fore the crowd decided they'd be hurtin'
the actor they were jeering
with sidelong looks of leering
meaning, "Fit for a role by Tim Burton!"
Act Three: Then Queenie tried to take control
Each part played, she admitted that she stole
Just another know it all
Boring with each scribbled scrawl
Showing up everywhere like whack-a-mole
Bad actors can't write plays worth a ripe fig
But criticize others to make a dig.
Negative comments given
Are they jealousy driven?
Wantin' to make the rules like a bigwig
The play, though not very well attended
is being recast with those commended
who are never rude and crude
and have a kind attitude
Instead of those whose words have offended
The next play is about a new dog breed
I heard it's called a boghound with a need
to chew on a bone until
its nibbling has caused ill will
and seats are all empty; audience freed.
A mother struggling through daily burdens
Raises her son to be studious and intelligent
Without any funds for his higher education
When strangers raise enough to pay his tuition.
When a boy in poverty becomes an orphan
And sorrow triumphs with reckless abandon
Evaporating all options with nowhere to turn,
Adoptive-parents take him to a loving home.
A war-zone stricken with death and destruction
Neglects its injured in merciless environment
Till esteemed doctors arrive risking own lives
To care for wounded, volunteering their time.
When a natural disaster ravages entire island
And millions are left without food and water,
A volunteer chef sets up a make-shift kitchen
Feeding millions on the strength of his passion.
Random acts arising from selfless ebullience
Shine a guiding light of heavenly compassion
Delivering against odds with gallant resilience
Exemplifying valiance of strangers in action.
March 2, 2018
When an angel would flow into our breath
That golden moment seldom we can know
Whenever that sublime sunrise occurs
A happiness glow builds its nest on our face
The police sergeant was controlling traffic
In spite of green signal he suddenly stopped all cars
Grin surfaced on the initially annoyed drivers
The sergeant walked an old man across the road
The teacher loved his pupil's mother
Her husband asked her to sleep with him
Looking into her eyes in question he said
The cancer patient is on the verge of death
A couple of days back I lost my purse
With two debit cards along with PIN record
I lost my balance of mind in a trauma
All advised me to report it to the police station
I was about to drive for the station house
A domestic aid appeared like an angel
With the purse in hand and smile on his face
I had dropped it when alighting from the car
Rain clouds lodge in certain souls' DNA
At the slightest heat and dust of exigency
Pearl like drops of pink and green empathy
Moisten their heart towards a rose garden
Out of the blue sometimes a golden hand
Warmly holds your anxious palm in sweat
Reassured you look with green gratefulness
Like a full moon a random help has walked in
________________________________________________
09/02/2017
Look at the face of a traitor within facts
through this fraud he pushed his own personal opinion and agenda
every vote cast from there on in
should be null and void as this is proof of rigging and tampering
Treason against the state body as a whole and an insult to civil rights
shameful politics that makes a mockery of democracy
Why do judges not press charges on these admissions of guilt
pleased to defend criminals breaking the law seems to act out as a cartel
In the political system unchallenged
where is the justice in this circus of ruling class
the referendum in this case has been tampered with and fixed one way
This is how my soul sees it
what says you the people of justice to speak
one just couldn't make this up if they tried
Noticing his neighbor’s young child
has laid a ladder against a tree,
determined to rescue a pet kitty stuck up there,
a middle-aged man crosses the street
and offers to help.
He STEPS UP the ladder
and retrieves the cat for his neighbor’s son.
A young woman
stands behind a harried mother
who struggles with a wailing baby
as she tries to take items from her shopping cart.
Without thinking twice, the young woman offers to help as
she STEPS FORWARD
to place the lady’s items on the grocery conveyer belt.
A teenage girl, eager to see a certain popular movie,
is standing in line waiting to buy her ticket.
She hears the couple behind her
speaking excitedly about this movie.
Learning there are only two seats left for that showing,
she STEPS BACK
and lets the couple buy the last two remaining tickets for themselves.
At a nursing home to see his mother,
a busy office worker is informed by his mother
of a lonely widower who never gets visitors
and who is feeling abandoned by his children.
Asking a nurse for the man's room number,
he STEPS IN
for a visit with the elderly widower.
A young boy who delivers newspapers
has noticed one of the older women on his route
is now using crutches.
Instead of tossing a rolled up paper to her lawn
as he usually does,
he STEPS OFF his bike
and delivers the paper to the woman personally at her door.
It matters not whether you are old or young
or whether the person you might see in need
is a stranger or a friend,
Don’t let opportunities for random acts of kindness
pass you by.
Whether it’s UP, FORWARD, BACK, IN or OFF,
just take a little action; take STEPS!
March 7, 2018 for Kai Michael Neumann's Random Acts of Kindness Contest
Each day begins as an act of faith.
We cross our thresholds and expect
That no cruel twist of fate
Will stay us from returning.
But the twists await us in their careless abundance,
Well we know, in our hearts, that one day
There'll be no more coming home again.
For many it goes this way with love.
Love parts, returns, then parts again
Through all the shifts and flux of living,
Oftentimes traveling a little farther out,
Returning a little later
With every passing day, until one day, almost unnoticed
It comes not home at all.
A Random Act Of Kindness
A little old nun all dressed in black
A habit on her head and chest
Contrasted in white with her silver cane
Doubtful she could cross the street
A little boy sat on the curb
Playing with his spinning top
His hair a shiny yellow mane
A tee shirt and pair of shorts
He saw this figure very old
Dressed dramatically in black
A brandished sword was in her hand
A weapon that she did not hide
He stared at her with so much awe
He walked to her and took her hand
And checked the traffic as they walked
Then crossed her on the other side
She smiled at him and then she said
Thank you, little lad, you are very kind
You’re welcome lady, he said with pride
Any friend of Zorro is a friend of mine
Random Acts Of Kindness Contest
Sponsored by Kai Michael Neumann
March 7, 2018
I reach for the horizon of awareness,
A distant sun just beyond my grasp,
I stand at the shore of this vast ocean,
Ready to wade into its depths,
Unsure of how far the tides will carry me.
First, I must still the winds of my mind,
I close my eyes, and a storm of thoughts swirls,
If I could catch just one drifting leaf,
I might find the gateway to the infinite sky.
Next, I surrender to the night’s embrace,
To fall asleep with a mind like a placid lake,
No ripples of thought to disturb its surface,
Half-awake, I float through misty dreams,
Echoes of desires yet to be fulfilled.
The third step, perhaps a posture of grace,
To bend and breathe in harmony with the earth,
To let my spirit rise like morning mist,
Touching a realm where all is serene,
Only to fade as daylight returns.
I drink from the wisdom of sages and saints,
Their words flow like rivers, soothing but fleeting,
Perhaps I should journey to the valley of compassion,
Lend a hand to a fellow traveler on this road,
Maybe then, the path to consciousness will reveal itself.
THE POWER OF KINDNESS
Sponsored by: Mystic Rose Rose
Contest Judged: 10/8/2025 3:41:00 AM
( 3rd Place )
Written: October 1, 2025
A kind word can slip in quietly,
like sunlight through a dusty window,
softly touching a corner of the heart
you thought no one noticed.
A smile shared in passing
a hand held for a moment,
"thanks for being exactly you"
these are the sparks
that can set a heavy day aglow.
Kindness isn’t loud or grand;
it doesn’t need applause.
It’s in the gentle pause;
the patient ear,
the courage to care
when no one is watching.
And sometimes
one word—just one…
can turn someone’s world
from gray to bright,
from lonely to known,
from weary to whole.
So speak gently.
Act kindly.
For each small ripple
can reach farther than
you’ll ever know,
and the love you send out
always comes back around.
It is often said; "Let go of the past".
Acts of Creativity
As long as you have a mind, you have a past
with memories good and bad to last
Memories that stir many feelings
Time that brings many healings
So many lessons learned,
from experiences adjourned
The past, present and future intertwined
It is all deep within your mind
Through days that are always changing
Plans that are rearranging
There is the constant of a creative act
Writing. music, dance and art in tact
All these acts of human creativity,
connect us all to sweet eternity
Heidi Sands
8/7/23
Love Language of Yuletide Poetry 12-18-25 Acts of Service Nette Onclaud
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Acts of Service
Some say that Christmas now wanders lost
Yet, I see a callous world remember
Neighbors, friends, in sweet homemade thank you cards
I see this world stretch loving hands
To those wearing rags, facing empty shelves,
They bring the Magi's gift to poverty
And make sure children have gifts by the tree
A world of aching feet asks no thank you
As they spread the Christ child's gift of joy.
Through a random act of kindness
A stranger touched my soul
And now I behold the mindset
Of achieving that same goal
I felt a reward that was like no other
Through a random act of kindness
I passed forward onto another
Who, in turn, also felt blessed
And, inside, I must confess
I was hoping that they, too, would feel the need
Through a random act of kindness
To help another to succeed
And so, the momentum still remains
From creating so much happiness
As another link adds to the chain
Through a random act of kindness